Kronshtadt definition of Kronshtadt in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Kronshtadt (krənshtät`), city, NW European Russia, on the small island of Kotlin in the Gulf of Finland, c.15 mi (20 km) from Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly Leningrad, Rus. Sankt-Peterburg, city (1990 est. pop. 5,036,000), capital of the Leningrad region (although not administratively part of it) and the administrative center of the Northwest district, NW European
..... Click the link for more information. . It is one of the chief naval bases for the Russian Baltic fleet. The harbor is icebound for several months each year. It was founded (1703) by Peter I as a port and a fortress to protect the site of St. Petersburg, and it was the commercial harbor of St. Petersburg until the 1880s. The port lost its commercial value after the development of St. Petersburg. The visit (1891) of a French naval squadron to Kronshtadt was followed by a Franco-Russian military agreement heralding the formation of the Triple Entente of France, England, and Russia. Mutinies of the naval garrison took place in 1825 and 1882 and played a part in the revolutions of 1905 and 1917 (see Russian Revolution Russian Revolution, violent upheaval in Russia in 1917 that overthrew the czarist government.

Causes

The revolution was the culmination of a long period of repression and unrest.
..... Click the link for more information. ). A revolt of the sailors in Mar., 1921, was instrumental in establishing Lenin's New Economic Policy New Economic Policy (NEP), official economic reconstruction program of the USSR from 1921 to 1928. It replaced the economic policies of "war Communism" (1918–21), an emergency program established by Lenin during the civil war.
..... Click the link for more information. . The general unrest among peasants and workers touched off this mutiny of the naval garrison that had been loyal to the Bolsheviks during the revolution. This was the climax of the anti-Bolshevik unrest in the country. In World War II, Kronshtadt played a major role in the defense of St. Petersburg (then Leningrad) against the Germans. It is also spelled Cronstadt.