Marko Voinovich

Marko Ivanovich Voinovich (Ма́рко Ива́нович Во́йнович, Марко Ивановић Војновић/Marko Ivanović Vojnović; 1750–1807) was an Admiral of the Russian Imperial Navy, one of the founders of the Black Sea Fleet.

Life
Vojnović was born in Herceg Novi, Republic of Venice (now Montenegro). He was a member of the Vojnović noble family, a Serb family recognized as nobility by Venice and Imperial Russia.

In 1770 he was accepted in the Russian Navy as an ensign. He was distinguished in the Mediterranean expedition of Russian Navy during the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774).

In 1780 he was appointed the Commander of the Caspian Flotilla He led an expedition to the Caspian Sea in 1781 and discovered offshore Oil and gas deposits near Chilov Island.

In 1783 he was appointed the commander of the first battleship of the nascent Black Sea Fleet. In 1785 he became the commander of Sevastopol Squadron. Count Marko Vojnović fought in the Black Sea against the Turkish Navy led by Hassan Pasha in 1788. In the end of 1789-beginning 1790 Vojnović was the Chief of the Black Sea Fleet. Although the Russian Navy won the Battle of Fidonisi under his command, his actions in the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792) were considered indecisive and he was dismissed from commanding of the Fleet in March 1790.

Since 1797 Vojnović was the member of the Black Sea Admiralty Administration. Since 1801 he was a full Admiral. Since 1805 he was retired.