1888 German map of Kronstadt bay
The Kronstadt rebellion (Russian: Кронштадтское восстание, tr. Kronshtadtskoye vosstaniye) was a major unsuccessful uprising against the Bolsheviks in March 1921. The rebellion originated in Kronstadt, a naval fortress on Kotlin Island in the Gulf of Finland that served as the base of the Russian Baltic Fleet and as a guardpost for the approaches to Saint Petersburg, 55 kilometres away. It was led by Stepan Petrichenko and consisted of Russian sailors, soldiers and civilians. The Bolshevik government began its attack on Kronstadt on 7 March 1921. Some 60,000 troops under command of Mikhail Tukhachevsky took part in the attack. The workers of Saint Petersburg were under martial law and could offer little support to Kronstadt. There was a hurry to gain control of the fortress before the melting of the bay as it would have made it impregnable for the land army. On March 17, the Bolshevik forces entered the city of Kronstadt. On March 19, the Bolshevik forces took full control of the city of Kronstadt after having suffered fatalities ranging from 527 to 1,412. Although there are no reliable figures for the rebels' battle losses, historians estimate that 1,200 to 2,168 were executed in the days following the revolt.
Red Army troops attack Kronstadt
Ποιός θα με ορίσει όταν θα 'μαι αντίλαλος
που 'φυγε απ'τα στήθη κι έφτασε ως τις Άνδεις
ποιός θα με υποτάξει όταν θα 'χω φυλαχτό
το χαμένο όνειρο του ναύτη της Κροστάνδης
