Russian Battleship of 19th Century Discovered in Gulf of Finland

On September 7, 1893 the battleship entered Helsinki, but was rubbed into heavy weather and sank with the crew of 177 seamen
The legendary Russian battleship Rusalka (Mermaid) was found in the Gulf of Finland. The information was confirmed by Estonian divers on July 24 after they dove down to the remains of the Russian battleship sunk near Helsinki 110 years ago.

The captain of the Mare research vessel tells that Estonian divers saw the remains of the battleship and filmed it. "Now we are absolutely sure it is Rusalka lying at the sea bottom." According to the Mare captain, Rusalka is a very unusual vessel; it is impossible to mix it up with any other military or commercial vessel. It is not clear yet what should be done with the battleship remains next; first of all the Estonian divers want to inform the Russian side of the find, as Rusalka is a Russian battleship.

It is important that the Estonian divers didn't touch the remains of the vessel as they considered it to be a burial place of seamen. The Mare research vessel and a Finnish research ship worked the area where Rusalka might have been with sonars and magnetometers within about a month. On July 22, the sonar fixed remains of a vessel lying at the sea bottom 25 kilometers to the south of Helsinki. Rusalka's armored body dug into the oozy bottom like a knife.  

 
The battleship is at the bottom of the Gulf of Finland, at the depth of 74 meters, 25 kilometers to the south from Helsinki. BNS reports that Rusalka was built in 1868. On September 7, 1893 the battleship entered Helsinki, but was rubbed into heavy weather and sank with the crew of 177 seamen. The demise of the Rusalka battleship remained a mystery for more than 50 years. Previous searches for the ship were not a success.

Drawing by the son of Rusalka's perished captain