Russia's African Empire

I do love surprising, unknown information. I am pretty well read on the history of Africa, particularly the colonial period. But this one is completely new to me: Sagallo (Russian: Сагалло, French: Sagallou), also known as Russian Somalia, was a short-lived Russian colony in 1889, on the Gulf of Tadjoura in present-day Djibouti.

The Russian Empire required a safe harbour between its Black Sea holdings and the Pacific Ocean. French Somaliland was chosen due to its mild climate.

In 1883, Nikolay Ivanovitch Achinov (an adventurer, and burgess of Penza b. 1856) visited Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in order to establish clerical and political ties between the two countries. After his return to Russia, Achinov voiced his plans for a 1888 expedition to French Somaliland, while claiming to be a free cossack.

Achinov assured the participants that the sultan of Tadjoura, Mohammed Loitah, had permanently leased him land in the region.
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On January 14 the abandoned Egyptian fort of Sagallo was chosen as the new base of the expedition. Achinov named the fort New Moscow. A tent was erected to serve as the church of St. Nicholas and a flag of the expedition was raised.

Rumours about the formidable size of the expedition quickly spread through the press. Later, several colonists escaped to Obock, informing the French of the colony's whereabouts. On 5 February, the cossacks noticed one cruiser and three gunboats. An ultimatum was issued, but Achinov misunderstood it and did not surrender. The artillery barrage that followed came as a complete surprise for the Russians, leaving 6 colonists dead and 22 wounded. A white shirt was raised to show surrender. The Russian Government disavowed Achimov, accusing him of disobedience to the Czar and acts of piracy. Participants were arrested and deported back to Odessa aboard Zabiyaka.