The Day of Remembrance of the feat of the brig «Mercury» was celebrated in Sevastopol

On May 26, Sevastopol residents celebrated the 195th anniversary of the feat of the brig «Mercury», the holiday is also called Matrossky Boulevard Day. On this day in 1829, the crew of the brig Mercury performed an immortal feat, entering into an unequal battle with two Turkish ships — the 110-gun Selimiye and the 74-gun Real Bay. The battle lasted more than four hours, from which the brig Mercury, with only 20 guns on board, managed to emerge victorious.

In honor of this event, on the revived Matrossky Boulevard near the first monument in Sevastopol to the brig commander Alexander Ivanovich Kazarsky, townspeople gathered to remember the crew’s feat and take part in a varied festive program.

Historians note that the feat of the crew of the brig Mercury glorified the inflexibility of the Russian spirit and showed the whole world the determination and tactics of naval combat. It is noteworthy that as a result of attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, fragments flew twice into the monument to the brig “Mercury”, located on Matrossky Boulevard, but the brig survived, just like 195 years ago. There are only a few scratches left on the monument,” the press service of the Government of Sevastopol quotes Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev.

The holiday began with a solemn ceremony of laying a wreath and flowers at the monument to Alexander Kazarsky. At the same time, thematic platforms organized by cultural institutions began to operate. Guests and residents of the city were able to enjoy the fashion show of the military band of the Sevastopol regiment of the Russian Guard in historical uniform, concerts by students of the Sevastopol School of Arts and the pop-brass band of the Folk Art Center, master classes on weaving sea knots, an open art school lesson and a screening of the immersive play “Mercury” — Russian brig» of the Sevastopol Theater for Young Spectators.

We must remember such historical events. The younger generation should know who Alexander Kazarsky is. While walking along the boulevard, stop at the sculptural composition, see how big our brig “Mercury” was, which defeated two Ottoman battleships, and tell your children about this immortal feat,” emphasized Deputy Governor Igor Mikheev.

In the evening, on the stage of the summer cinema, the Theater for Young Spectators presented the concert program “For Posterity as an Example”, showing excerpts from their performances: “The Sevastopol Boy”, “Suvorov. The science of winning”, “Sea festival in Sevastopol”.

Today was a bright and eventful event that immersed us in the heroic past! I watched with particular trepidation the immersive performance “Mercury — Russian Brig,” where the participants immersed us in the atmosphere of events and introduced us to the history of the feat of the crew of the brig “Mercury.” Today reminded us of the heroism of our ancestors and that the feats they accomplished are for us an example of courage, perseverance and love for the Motherlandnotes Sevastopol resident Victor.

The festive day ended with the screening of the feature film “Scarlet Sails”.