Editing Sea of Azov (section)

===Azov campaigns of 1695–96 and 1736–37===
[[File:Capture of Azov 1696.png|thumb|Capture of Azov 1696, painting by [[Robert Ker Porter]].]]
{{main|Azov campaigns}}
The Sea of Azov was frequently the scene of military conflicts between Russia, pursuing naval expansion to the south, and the major power in the region, [[Ottoman Empire|Turkey]]. During the [[Russo-Turkish War (1686–1700)]], there were two campaigns in 1695–96 to capture the then Turkish fortress of Azov defended by a garrison of 7,000. The campaigns were headed by [[Peter I of Russia|Peter I]] and aimed to gain Russian access to the Sea of Azov and Black Sea. The first campaign began in the spring of 1695. The Russian army consisted of 31 thousand men and 170 cannons and included selected trained regiments and [[Cossacks]]. It reached Azov on 27–28 June and besieged it by land by 5 July. After two unsuccessful assaults on 5 August and 25 September, the siege was lifted.<ref name=bse95/>

The second campaign involved both ground forces and the Azov fleet, which was built in Moscow Oblast, Voronezh, Bryansk and other regions between winter 1695 and spring 1696. In April 1696, the army of 75,000 headed by [[Aleksei Shein]] moved to Azov by land and by ship via the Don River to Taganrog. In early May, they were joined by another fleet led by Peter I. On 27 May, the Russian fleet blocked Azov by sea. On 14 June, the Turkish fleet tried to break the blockade but, after losing two ships, retreated to the sea. After intensive bombardment of the fortress from land and sea, on 17 July the Russian army broke the defense lines and occupied parts of the wall. After heavy fighting, the garrison surrendered on 17 July. After the war, the Russian fleet base was moved to Taganrog and Azov, and 215 ships were built there between 1696 and 1711. In 1711, as a result of the [[Russo-Turkish War (1710–1711)]] and the [[Treaty of the Pruth]], Azov was returned to Turkey and the Russian Azov fleet was destroyed.<ref name=bse95>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://bse.sci-lib.com/article003498.html|language=ru|title=Azov campaign 1695–96|encyclopedia=[[Great Soviet Encyclopedia]]|access-date=June 20, 2010}}</ref><ref name=bsefleet>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://bse.sci-lib.com/article003510.html|language=ru|title=Azov fleet|encyclopedia=[[Great Soviet Encyclopedia]]}}</ref> The city was recaptured by Russia in 1737 during the [[Russo-Austrian-Turkish War (1735–1739)]]. However, as a result of the consequent [[Treaty of Niš (1739)|Treaty of Niš]], Russia was not allowed to keep the fortress and military fleet.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sokolov |first=B. V. |url=http://www.bibliotekar.ru/encW/100/62.htm |title=Russo-Turkish Wars of 18th–19th Centuries |language=ru}}</ref>