Lev Felixovich Lagorio, 1826-1905

The Imperial paddle steamer Derzhava was built in St. Petersburg for Alexander II in 1871 and in commission until 1894 when it was taken out of service. 94,8 metres in length it displaced 3,114 tons and comfortably cruised at 14.5 knots. It had a crew of 244 men and carried six four-pound cannons as armament.

No expense was spared in the construction of the Derzhava and it was considered to be one of the most luxurious and modern steamships of its time. Alexander II commissioned his court architect Hippolyte Antonovich Monighetti to design the interior of the yacht as well as the various porcelain and glass services that were required for use not only by the imperial family but by the visiting royalty and diplomats who were entertained on board. Monighetti’s designs incorporated nautical motifs and chains with the cypher of Alexander II in a manner that echoed Old Russian strapwork.

In the middle of May 1874, Emperor Alexander II together with the Tzarevich Alexander Alexandrovich made an official visit to England arriving at Dover on the Derzhava to visit Queen Victoria and his daughter, Maria, recently married to Victoria’s second son and now the Duchess of Edinburgh.

The ship served as an imperial yacht until 1894, and Nicholas II’s diary reveals that many of the interior elements, the furniture and silverware were incorporated in the Standart, the new imperial yacht commissioned by Alexander III and completed in 1895.

For an image of the Derzhava in a painting of 1888 by Alexei Petrovich Bogoliubov, see V.M.Zevakhin, Russki Imperatorskie Yakht Konetz XVII-Nachala XX Veka, St.Petersburg, 1997, pp.152-3.