Nicholas I of Russia orders one of his frigates burned for surrendering to the Turks!

>[Nicholas](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Franz_Kr%C3%BCger_-_Portrait_of_Emperor_Nicholas_I_-_WGA12289.jpg)’s wrath was not limited to people who displeased him, but inanimate objects as well. In 1829, the warship *Raphael* surrendered in a battle with the Turks. The emperor was incensed with the vessel and wrote to the admiral of the fleet: “Trusting in the help of the Almighty I persevere in the hope that the fearless Black Sea fleet, burning with the desire to wash off the shame of the frigate ‘Raphael,’ will not leave it in the hands of the enemy. But, when it is returned to our control, considering this frigate to be unworthy in the future to fly the flag of Russia and to serve together with the other vessels of our fleet, I order you to burn it.” ________________________ **Source:** Farquhar, Michael. “Chapter 10 – Nicholas I (1825-1855): “A Condescending Jupiter”.” *Secret Lives of the Tsars: Three Centuries of Autocracy, Debauchery, Betrayal, Murder, and Madness from Romanov Russia*. Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2014. 193. Print. ________________________ [Nicholas I (Russian: Николай I Павлович, tr. Nikolay I Pavlovich)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_I_of_Russia)