Today, on the Russian Navy Day, the latest edition of the ‘Exhibit with History’ column features a story about the Snuffbox with the medal commemorating the victory in Gangut battle on July 27 (August 7), 1714.

Silver parcel-gilt snuffbox with detachable lid was made in the last third of the 18th century in Moscow, Russian Empire. An award medal commemorating the victory in the Battle of Gangut with the portrait of Tsar Peter I on the front side is embedded in the lid of the snuffbox. The image of a naval battle among islands borrowed from the Book of Mars of 1713, with the Cyrillic circumscription “ПРИЛѢЖАНИЕ * ИВѢРНО[СТЬ*ПРЕ] ВОСХОДИТЬ*СИЛНО" is on the rear side of the medal.

The Battle of Gangut in 1714, was the first naval victory of Peter I in the Northern War of 1700-1721. In honour of this victory "staff- and chief-officers were awarded medals (gold), each in proportion to his rank, and the unranked − with silver medals and money”.
A medal "For the Naval Battle of Gangut" was made for the combatants. Gold medals were equivalent to 100, 70, 45, 30, 11 and 7 chervonets (ten-rouble coin). Silver medals with diameter and weight equalled to rouble coins of that time. Initially, only 1,000 silver medals were stamped out. But this was clearly not enough to reward all the lower ranks, as there were about 3,500 participants in the battle. In 1715, another 1000 medals were stamped, but this quantity was also not enough. And only in 1717, at the request of Admiral General Fyodor Apraksin (1661–1728), another 1.5 thousand silver medals were stamped, which was more than enough. The remaining 387 medals were returned to the documentation office of the Admiral-General.

On August 7, 1714, in the battle at Cape Gangut (now Peninsula Hanko, Finland) the first significant naval victory in the Northern War was won out. Its history was as follows – by the spring of 1714, southern and almost all central parts of Finland were occupied by Russian troops. To resolve finally the issue of Russia's free access to the Baltic Sea, it was necessary to defeat the Swedish navy, which had retained supremacy in this territory. By the end of June, the Russian galley fleet and auxiliary ships with 15 thousand troops, led by Admiral General Fyodor Apraksin (the battle was actually commanded by the tsar that joined the fleet) concentrated near the eastern coast of Gangut to land troops with the aim to reinforce the Russian military garrison in Abo. The path for the Russian combatants was blocked by the Swedish squadron of Admiral Gustaf Wattrang that was comprised of 15 battleships, 2 bombardier ships, 3 frigates and 9 galleys.

To avoid fighting with the superior forces of the enemy, Peter I used a military cunning, ordering to drag part of the galleys to the north of Gangut, across the 2.5 km wide isthmus. When he learned that the Russians began to build a turnstile (wooden planking), G. Wattrang sent to the west coast of the peninsula one 18-gun frigate "Elephant", 6 galleys and 3 scheerboots under the command of Rear-Admiral Nils Ehrenschiöld. His main forces, consisting of 8 battleships and 2 bombardier ships under Vice-admiral E. Lillier, the Swedish commander planned to attack the main forces of the Russian galley fleet.

This was precisely the division of enemy forces that Peter sought to achieve. The weather was favourable to him. On the morning of August 6 there was no wind, depriving the Swedish sailing ships and vessels of the ability to manoeuvre. By order of the tsar the vanguard of Russians − 20 galleys under the command of admiral Matvei Zmayevich − started to break through, bypassing the Swedish squadron from the sea and keeping the enemy at a distance exceeding the range of his guns. After that, the vanguard the second Russian detachment of 15 ships rushed into the breakthrough. During the crossing, galleys of M. Zmayevich were engaged in combat with a vessel from the detachment of E. Taube, sent to reinforce squadron of Gustaf Wattrang. The Swedish flagship was forced to withdraw to the Åland Islands, allowing the galleys of Zmayevich to block Nils Ehrenschiöld detachment near Lackisar Island, thus eliminating the need to haul ships across the isthmus. Meantime, the plan of Peter I continued to be carried out, and largely thanks to the Swedish flagship. G. Wattrang, assuming that other detachments of Russian galleys would break through the same path, ordered Lillier to take a new position, moving away from the coast and essentially opening the coastal way for the passage of Russian ships, which was used by Fyodor Apraksin, who headed to the west coast of the peninsula with the main forces of the galley fleet, as soon as the sea was calm again in the evening.

On the 7^th of August, about 2 o’clock, 23 ships of the Russian advanced guard attacked the detachment of Nils Ehrenschiöld, formed in two lines in a crescent, with forward flanks, hidden by islands. The Swedes managed to repel the first two attacks by the fire of the ship's guns. The third attack was carried out against the flanking ships of the Swedish detachment, which did not allow the enemy to use the advantage in artillery. The attack was successful. The fight culminated in a fierce boarding battle, in which Peter I participated personally, showing his subordinates an example of courage and heroism. After a relentless battle Nils Ehrenschiöld, holding his flag on the frigate "Elephant", surrendered. All his nine rowing ships were captured as well.

As a result, the Battle of Gangut ended with the first major victory of the Russian regular fleet, giving it freedom of action in the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia, and thus effectively supported the Russian military forces in Finland. In the Battle of Gangut the Russian commanders skilfully used the advantages of rowing ships, which, compared to sailing ships, were much less dependent on the strength and direction of the wind. Equally skilfully was used the presence of a large number of soldiers, which gave the Russians a decisive advantage in the boarding battle. Quickly and expediently the commanders reacted to changes in the situation, applying military cunning, revealing and anticipating the enemy's intentions and imposing their plan.

In September 1714, large-scale celebrations were held in St. Petersburg to mark the victory, accompanied by the entry of captured Swedish ships into the Neva River. Peter I himself, understanding the significance of the first victory of the Russian regular fleet, ordered that its importance be equated with that of the great Battle of Poltava.