Admiral Fyodor Ushakov who took part in Russiaâs wars against Turkey and Napoleonâs France has been named by the Orthodox church as the patron saint of Russiaâs nuclear long-distance bombers. Ushakov was canonized in 2004. | I guess it's one of those curious Russian traditions |
Russian Patriarch Alexii II carried the admiralâs reliquary and icon into the Moscow chapel of the Russian Air Forceâs 37th Air Army in Moscow, AFP reported. âI am sure he will become your intermediary as you fulfil your responsible duties to the fatherland in the long-range air force,â the patriarch told the troops. âHis strong faith helped Saint Fyodor Ushakov in all his battles,â he said, adding that the admiral had never lost any battle.
Ushakov distinguished himself in numerous naval battles in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, most notably in the Russo-Turkish war between 1787 and 1791. But his reforms of the navy were not popular in the upper echelons of the Russian imperial administration and Tsar Alexander I forced Ushakov to retire. |