Oskar Victorovich Stark
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Oskar Victorovich Stark (Russian: Оскар Викторович Старк, 16 August 1846 — 13 November 1928) was a vice-admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy and a noted explorer of Peter the Great Bay and the Far Eastern seas. A strait in Peter the Great Bay and a bay in the Tatar Strait are named after him.
[edit] Start of the Russo-Japanese War
Stark was in command of the Russian Pacific Fleet between 7 February and 24 February 1904, a stint when the Russian-Japanese War broke out. On 10 February, the Japanese launched a sneak attack on the Russian fleet anchored at Port Arthur. At the time of the attack, Stark was holding a birthday party for his wife on the deck of his main battleship, the Petropavlovsk, and the crowd attending the party mistakenly thought the exploding Japanese ordnance was fired in honour of the birthday. Here is a quote from commentary on the beginning of the battle:
| “ | The band was playing loudly, and the most honorary guest, Admiral Alexeev, the viceroy, glided along the parquet with the heroine of the day with surprising grace for his rather obese figure. When the dance reached its apogee, and the viceroy stood on his knee to circle the lady, the windowpanes suddenly shook from the thunder of the cannonade. Everyone applauded surprised by such a timely salute, and the overall excitement increased. The ball continued to the accompaniment of the orchestra and artillery fire. | ” |
The Japanese attack was more or less successful, and Stark (despite wanting to engage the Japanese and being over-ruled by the viceroy) was subsequently sacked by the Tsar from his post. The Japanese went on to win the war, destroying first the Russian Pacific fleet, and then the Russian Baltic fleet in the Battle of Tsushima.
[edit] Postscript
After the war, Stark was discharged from the military and became involved in business activities. For a time he was Chairman of the Board of the Izhora plants. Following the Russian Revolution he settled in Helsinki, where he died in 1928. For details about the Stark family, see here.
