This painting depicts the duel between the Turkish flagship Real Mustafa and Russian admiral Spiridov's ship Svyatoy Evstafiy (68). During the boarding action the burning debris of the Turkish ship set the Russian flagship on fire and soon she blew up. The Russian admiral escaped the explosion just minutes before. Ten minutes later Real Mustafa exploded too. The Turkish squadron retreated to the Bay of Chesma only to be destroyed there in the next two days in what later to be called Battle of Chesma.