Russian Frigate under sail

The Russians have a working sailing frigate the Shtandart. Came accross this video of her.

Quite an early rig; what is her "history"?

(IMPORTANT. If you research this ship further on-line there are some sites using it's name which activate security protocols and presumably may be operated by Russian hackers)

Shtandart is a 30-metre replica of a Russian frigate built in St. Petersburg.The original was designed by Peter the Great himself and completed at the Olonet shipyard on the Svir river in August 1703 by the Dutch master Vibe Gerense. The ship was named Shtandart after a new royal standard which showed all four seas Russia now had access to. It was in service during the War of the North and for 16 years it was the flagship of the Russian navy. After being retired, it remained in the Kronverk Canal behind the Peter and Paul fortress in St. Petersburg. By 1728 it had deteriorated so much that further preservation was impossible. Orders were given for a replica to be built, but they were never carried out.

In November 1994, 275 years after it sailed for the last time, the reconstruction of the Shtandart finally took place thanks to the donations of several companies and institutions. Six years of hard work in all seasons followed, even in frosts of -25 C. The team, rapidly becoming professional, used the same materials and methods as the orginal flagship. For planking they used timber from a forest planted by Tsar Peter to supply his navy. To fasten the planking, 8000 massive 8-inch nails were made by hand.

The replica Shtandart was named on 30 May 1998 by the ship's two patrons, HRH the Duke of York, and the Governor of St. Petersburg. On September 4 1999, Shtandart was launched. An enthusiastic crowd of 40,000 people came to see the ceremony as Shtandart was picked up by a giant crane and lowered into the Neva.

Information obtained at www.vanlinden.nl/shtandart/ where construction photos and close ups of parts of the ship can be viewed.

It also features in this 10 minute video of the all the ships in harbour for Tall ships 2007 (I'll add part one in a second post below for those who get hooked on just looking at all the tall ships - sorry about the intro music it doesn't last long )