The Russian sailing fleet was capable, comparatively uniform, and supported by sustained investment. In the age of sail, a huge empire could convert money and manpower into effective maritime force even when education was uneven across its territory. Russia’s vast geography made common national education standards especially difficult to establish with nineteenth-century transport and communications. As warships became more technically demanding, scale alone could no longer compensate so easily for gaps in education and specialized training.
Notable Point · 41:03-42:34
How sail-era technology let Russia exploit imperial scale
Sailing fleets let Russia convert money and manpower into naval strength before technical complexity made uneven national education a larger handicap.