Not many Americans lived in Imperial Russia and most who did were diplomats at the U.S. embassy. But there were exceptions, such as the U.S. Navy’s founder and one of America’s greatest artists. A few were prominent even before their arrival in Russia, but some, perhaps inspired by life in Tsarist Russia, went on to do great things once they returned to the U.S.
1. John Paul Jones
Founder of the U.S. Navy; Russian admiral, 1788-90
Jones was personally invited to Russia by Catherine the Great, because he had already achieved worldwide fame in the late 1770s for his naval victories. Born in Scotland, Jones first fought the English on behalf of American freedom, but he felt rudderless when the American War of Independence ended in 1783.
After the war, while in Paris, Russia offered Jones a commission as admiral and he was sent to the Black Sea to fight the Turks. Catherine wrote that Jones “will get us to Constantinople” and she called him Павел де Жонес (Pavel de Zhones). As admiral on the 24-gun flagship Vladimir, Jones repulsed Ottoman forces during the Battle of Ochakov.
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