RUSSIAN-GERMAN CONFRONTATION IN THE BALTIC REGION DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR

The article examines the military and diplomatic confrontation between Russia and Germany in the Baltic region during the First World War. The relevance of the topic is due to insufficient study of this large-scale conflict in the Russian historiography. Germany and Russia initially adhered to defensive tactics in the Baltic region. The attempt of Admiral N.O. Essen the Russian Baltic Fleet Commander to begin active operations against the enemy was put down by the Russian military leadership. In 1914, at the initial stage of the war, Germany managed to isolate Russia from the Allies, interrupting Russian maritime communications in the Baltic Sea. From 1915, Germany intensified naval operations against Russia in the Baltic Sea. However, during the Gotland battle, the German navy suffered significant losses and was unable to acquire the Gulf of Riga. These failures forced the German Army to return to defensive tactics. The revolutionary events in Russia in 1917 contributed to the Russian fleet weakening, which Germany took advantage of. That very year, as a result of Riga operation and the Moonsund Battle Germany gained control of the eastern part of the Baltic Sea. That event threatened Petrograd. However, under the Treaty of Brest, signed on 3 March, 1918, Soviet Russia withdrew from the war and the Russian-German confrontation in the Baltic region was over.