The delegation of the Olympic Athletes from Russia team headed by Stanislav Pozdnyakov today took part in the solemn event dedicated to the 114th anniversary of the feat of the cruiser Varyag sailors and the gunboat in the Korean port of Chemulpo (now Incheon).
At the site of the wreck of ships in the Incheon Bay, Yellow sea, the wreath was float out on the water to the sounds of mourning march. Upon the arrival at the port, the delegation laid flowers to the monument, installed in 2004 on the city square, named after St. Petersburg, to the 100th anniversary of the Varyag and Koreyets battle with 14 ships of the Japanese squadron. The memorial is made of garnet amphibolite, which reminds of the blood, spilled by the sailors and the cold February waters of the Chemulpo Bay, where the Russian ships took an unequal battle with the enemy squadron during the Russo-Japanese war.
9 February (January 27 old style), 1904 the Varyag cruiser and the Koreyets gunboat under the overall command of captain 1st rank Vsevolod Rudnev were blocked by the Japanese fleet under the leadership of rear admiral Soliciti Uriu. Russian sailors tried to break the blockade, entered a battle against superior forces of the enemy. After a fierce battle where it sustained significant damage, the cruiser was sunk by its crew in shallow water and the Koreyets gunboat was blown up. Losses of Russian sailors on both ships, according to different data, made 31 to 33 people killed and 60 to 190 wounded.
It is a great honor for me to take part in this ceremony. The feat of the Varyag cruiser and the Koreyets gunboat, of course, is one of the glorious military history of our country. We remember everything that happened 114 years ago in Chemulpo Bay and we are proud of the heroism of our sailors. While in Korea, it was impossible to miss this event and not to honor the memory of the victims, Stanislav Pozdnyakov said.
