Museum of Early Russian Arts

A look inside the Russian Imperial Yacht Standart

Here I present an album of early 20th century photographs of the Russian Imperial Yacht Standart.

Music - Variation No 4. by Risky-Korskov.

The vessel served Emperor Nicholas II and his family and was, in her time, the largest Imperial Yacht afloat. Following the Revolution, the ship was placed in drydock until 1936, when she was converted to a minelayer. During the Siege of Leningrad she played a significant part in the defence of that city.
Originally, the Imperial Yacht, Standart was built on the orders of Alexander III, and was constructed at a Danish shipyard - Burmeister & Wein, beginning in 1893. She was launched on 21 March 1895 and came into service in early September 1896. the ship was manned and operated by a crew from the Russian Imperial Navy.

After the fall of the Romanov Dynasty, Standart was stripped down and pressed into naval service. The ship was renamed 18 marta (18 March), and later Marti. In 1932-1936, Marti was converted into a minelayer by the Marti yard in Leningrad. During the Second World War, Marti served in the Baltic, laying mines and bombarding shore positions along the coast. On 23 September 1941, Marti was damaged in an air attack at Kronstadt, but later repaired and continued service until the end of the war.

After the war, Marti was converted into a training ship and renamed Oka in 1957. She continued serving in that role until she was scrapped at Tallinn, Estonia, in 1963.