The Battle of Sinop, Oil on canvas, by Ivan Ajvazovskij (Russian-Armenian Romantic painter, 1817-1900). The Battle of Sinop, or the Battle of Sinope, was a naval battle that took place on 30 November 1853 between Russia and the Ottoman Empire at Sinop, a sea port along the southern shore of the Black Sea.[2] It was a precursor to the Crimean War (1854-1856).