About the book: 2020 / In 1769 from Kronstadt around throughout Europe, two squadrons of the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Empire departed for the Eastern Mediterranean. This expedition - Russia's first military campaign in the Mediterranean - came as a big surprise to the Ottoman Empire, which entered into yet another Russian-Turkish war. One of the squadrons was commanded by the Scotsman John Elphinstone (1722–1785), who had just been accepted into Russian service with the rank of rear admiral. In 2003, the Princeton University Library acquired a collection of papers by Elphinstone and his sons, among which was a unique memoir about the events of that expedition. The author of the “Narrative” compares the Russian and British fleets, describes stops in different European cities, shares his impressions of meetings with Catherine II, Paul I and prominent figures of that era, quotes their letters, many of which are published for the first time. Translation, research and commentary on the “Narrative” were carried out by HSE professor Elena Smilyanskaya and lecturer at the University of Exeter (UK) Dr. Yulia Leikin.