Nicholas I turns the fleet into an instrument of policy

Nicholas I wanted a navy capable of advancing Russian influence in Europe and the east and of applying pressure against the Ottoman Empire. His ambitions included Constantinople and leadership of the Orthodox world, making command of the approaches to the city strategically and symbolically important. He promoted professionalization and benefited from Dutch, Scottish, and other foreign officers, while Russian ships fought alongside British and French forces at the Battle of Navarino during the Greek War of Independence. The victory showed that inherited ships could become a purposeful navy when political leadership treated the service as more than an extension of the army.