Russian submarine Svyatoy Georgy

A crew of submariners from the Arctic Ocean Flotilla, led by Senior Lieutenant^[6] Ivan I. Riznich, was sent by the Russian naval command to Italy. Riznich previously captained multiple submarines and was then serving as the commander of the flotilla's submarine division. They noted that the pipes of Svyatoy Georgy would freeze if the boat submerged in the cold northern waters, but the government saw its purpose for joining the Arctic Ocean Flotilla as that its presence would intimidate German warships from operating outside the port of Arkhangelsk. So despite the problem with the pipes, the Russian government planned to acquire another two submarines of this class for service in the northern waters.^[2]

The crew departed in February 1917 and reached Italy by ship either in March or April.^[6] After Svyatoy Georgy was commissioned into the Imperial Russian Navy on 20 May [O.S. 7 May] 1917 in La Spezia, in a ceremony that was attended by Russian diplomatic officials and Italian officers,^[6] the crew spent time in the rest of May and early June familiarizing themselves with the submarine, and also meeting with Italian officials.^[2] After this was complete they began their journey to Russia and departed from La Spezia to Genoa on 26 June [O.S. 13 June] 1917.^[1][2] It was the start of voyage that took the submarine over 5,000 miles.^[3]

After a brief stop in Genoa the submarine left Italy for Gibraltar, where they were met by the British and rested for several days before departing, and entered the Atlantic Ocean. During their time in the Atlantic the crew had to keep the hatch open for the diesel engines to receive air, which became a problem when during a storm water started getting into the submarine. They had to pump it out but had difficulty keeping up with the amount of water entering the submarine. They reached Lisbon in 19 July, and then continued before eventually reaching Plymouth in August. There Svyatoy Georgy underwent repairs before departing later that month with the British minesweeper Iceland. After passing between Ireland and Great Britain they stopped at Scapa Flow on 6 September. The submarine and the minesweeper left on the 10th for the final section of the voyage. Svyatoy Georgy had problems with its diesel engines along the way but managed to keep going at a slow speed until it finally reached Arkhangelsk on 22 September [O.S. 9 September] 1917.^[2][7]

The following day they were visited by Rear Admiral Vikorst, commander of the Arctic Ocean Flotilla, who delivered a message from Dmitry Verderevsky, the Minister of the Navy of the Russian Republic, congratulating Riznich and the entire crew for completing the voyage in difficult conditions. Every member of the crew was awarded the Cross of St. George and several officers received other orders. However, a commission of the Naval General Staff, after realizing that Svyatoy Georgy could not dive in the cold waters due to pipes freezing inside, recommended that the boat be transferred to either the Baltic Fleet or the Black Sea Fleet.^[2] Svyatoy Georgy did not carry out any combat operations against the Germans.^[7]

In late October 1917 the boat began preparations to be put in a dry dock for maintenance, which was done on 12 November, and in the spring of 1918 they were expecting that Svyatoy Georgy would be transferred to the Baltic. Riznich remained in command. However, on 3 August 1918 the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War reached Arkhangelsk as British troops entered the area.^[2] When they arrived, Svyatoy Georgy was taken up the Northern Dvina river and ran aground on a sandbank, where it was left by its crew. There are contradictory reports as to whether the crew was loyal to the Soviet government and did this on their orders or if it was done to try to get the submarine to the White movement.^[2][7] One source also says that the boat was strafed by a French aircraft.^[7] In any case, the submarine remained stranded there until it was eventually recovered by the Soviets: either in the winter of 1918–19,^[2] or in February 1920.^[1]

The Red Navy appointed Lieutenant P. I. Lazarevich as the new commander and it was renamed Kommunar in May 1920.^[1][2] The submarine became part of the Naval Forces of the Northern Seas within the Red Navy and remained in limited service in the White Sea until being decommissioned in January 1923.^[2][7] After being struck from the navy list on 24 July 1924,^[1] it was still used as part of equipment for the recovery of sunk ships by the Soviet agency EPRON,^[2] and it may have been turned into a training hulk that was in use until 1941,^[8] before being scrapped.^[2]

• Budzbon, Prezemyslav (1986). "Russia". In Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Conway Maritime Press. pp. 295–321. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
• Polmar, Norman & Noot, Jurrien (1991). Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies, 1718–1990. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-570-1.