Fyodor Ushakov's Black Sea Squadron at Büyükdere

This early 19th-century engraving shows Fyodor Ushakov's Russian Black Sea squadron at anchor off Büyükdere on the Bosphorus. The ships ride a light swell, their sterns and port sides towards the viewer; the shores can be seen in the middle distance, and the sky is cloudy. The plate was engraved with a burin by K. Chessky after a drawing by S. F. Shchedrin.

Below the image are a double-headed eagle and a dedication to Emperor Alexander I in Russian and French. The caption explains that the squadron under the command of Vice Admiral Ushakov lay at Büyükdere in the Strait of Constantinople on 25 August 1798.

This was the beginning of the Mediterranean campaign. On 12 August 1798 a squadron of six ships of the line, seven frigates and three avisos left Sevastopol for Constantinople, where it was joined by Kadir Bey's Turkish squadron. Russia and Turkey had become allies in the war against France: the combined squadron took the Ionian Islands and stormed Corfu, for which Ushakov was promoted to admiral in 1799.