Political relations
Laying flowers at the monument to fallen sailors of the cruiser Varyag and the gunboat Koreyets
Vladimir Putin ended an official visit to the Republic of Korea by visiting the city of Incheon, where he laid flowers at the monument to the fallen sailors of the cruiser Varyag and the gunboat Koreyets.
In one of the first battles of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, the Varyag cruiser faced an unequal fight with a Japanese squadron of 14 warships in the Korean port of Jemulpo (now Incheon). The Varyag was badly damaged, and its commander Vsevolod Rudnev gave order to sink the cruiser to prevent it from being captured by the enemy. In 1905, the Japanese lifted the cruiser from the seabed. Later the Varyag relics were displayed in a museum in Korea.
Three years ago, the Incheon city authorities transferred the Varyag’s flag to Russia. The flag is now displayed at the Naval Museum in St Petersburg.
