In the height of summer in 1711, a mysterious schooner appeared at the entrance to the Reval Bay. Without a flag, it cautiously maneuvered closer to the shore and dropped anchor. The commandant watched in surprise as a boat immediately departed from the side. The rowers were real pirates: shaggy, in tattered clothes, with long beards. At the stern of the boat, standing tall, was an old man in a half-rotten kaftan, waving his arms. Incredible, but this was Prince Yakov Dolgorukov, a 'companion of Peter's affairs,' who had disappeared without a trace near Narva 11 years earlier. In that historic battle, about 700 Russian soldiers were captured. After the battle of Narva, they were sent to Sweden, where the Scandinavian ruler ordered the execution of the most exhausted. The captives were treated brutally: they were tied up, laid down in threes, and stabbed with bayonets. Even Karl XII found amusement in this until the aches in his joints began.

Dolgorukov and the survivors were forced to perform hard labor in mines and quarries, fed like cattle. The already elderly prince suggested to the soldiers to escape. In the winter of 1711, 44 Russian captives were felling trees on the Finnish shore. When the schooner came to transport them to the barracks, the captives revolted. Dolgorukov had previously assigned roles: who was to knock the Swedes off the stern, and who was to throw them overboard on the deck. He himself, with a dozen assistants, set out to capture the captain. At his cry, 'Smash the enemy!' the Russians fell upon the guards. Some 'Vikings' were thrown overboard, others had their weapons taken away, and the remaining ones were driven into the hold. A knife was held to the skipper's throat, and they said, 'If you want to live, take the schooner to Reval.'

Upon learning of the daring escape, Peter I invited the old prince to him and kissed him on both cheeks, then smiled contentedly: 'It seems the fighting spirit of the Russians is strong, as they have not lost faith in liberation from captivity for so many years!' After this, the prince became one of the tsar's favorites; it is even said that during Dolgorukov's last illness, Peter personally prescribed him remedies. The 'Russian Spartacus' passed away at an advanced age, at 81 years old.