Between the mediterranean and baltic seas: nelson and the russian navy

This article will explore the relationship between Nelson and the Russian Navy, the result of their encounters in the Mediterranean and the Baltic between 1798 and 1805, at a time, that is, when Russia was penetrating the Great Sea through the Dardanelles Straits after having built fleets capable of causing concern to all the powers involved in the Euro-Mediterranean space and to the English vice-admiral himself. A new phase had begun in which the Tsarist Empire was becoming a protagonist in the waters of the Aegean, the Ionian and the Adriatic, without ever losing sight of the Baltic. Nelson’s opinions on the politics of the Tsars and their endowments, also crossed with the reflections of other important players in the Mediterranean space in close relation with Saint Petersburg, such as the Bourbons of the Kingdom of Naples, give back the picture of a liquid space affected by an increasingly heated Eastern Question. They also highlight how the English vice-admiral had clearly understood the Tsarist political line and plans both with respect to the Ottoman Empire and the Mediterranean.