Ivan Gannibal

Ivan Abramovich Gannibal (Russian: Иван Абрамович Ганнибал; June 5, 1735 – October 12, 1801) was an eminent Russian military leader. He was the son of military commander and politician Abram Petrovich Gannibal, as well as the great-uncle of Russia's most famous poet, Alexander Pushkin. His father was born somewhere in Africa, either in modern Eritrea or modern Cameroon.

Gannibal led a detachment of the Imperial Black Sea Fleet, which besieged and captured the Turkish fortress of Navarin during the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774), and took part in the founding of the city of Kherson. Gannibal's ultimate military rank was Général en Chef.

Gannibal was the oldest of 10 children born to Abram Gannibal and his Swedish wife Christina Regina Siöberg in Karjaküla, Reval Governorate, Russian Empire (presently in Estonia). Gannibal was destined for a military career from an early age, entering the Naval Artillery School in the imperial capital at the age of 9. He would eventually graduate from the Naval Academy and join the Imperial Russian Navy as an officer.

At the height of the Russo-Turkish War, the 34-year-old Gannibal, in the rank of Brigadier, took a leading role in the siege and capture of the Ottoman fortress of Navarin.

The Russian Mediterranean Expeditionary Force under the command of Count Alexey Grigoryevich Orlov, sent a Squadron of ships toward Navarin in the early spring of 1770. Three of the vessels were sent toward shore with a forward force of 300 men and a number of artillery pieces, under Gannibal's command. The forward force commenced an artillery barrage on the fortress, eventually forcing its surrender after several days of bombardment. The Russians would use Navarin as a temporary naval base for the following several months. Gannibal was awarded the Order of St. George, third degree, for his actions in the siege of Navarin.

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