commander in the Grand Duchy of Finland. After the siege of Danzig (1813), Van Heiden was promoted to Commodore. He was decorated several times during this period, apparently partly in order to keep him in the Russian ranks. Commander in the Mediterranean In 1826, Van Heiden was given command of the Russian fleet in the Mediterranean (with Mikhail Lazarev as deputy). On 27 October 1827 he was the commander of the Russian squadron in the Battle of Navarino against the Turks during the Greek War of Independence - one of the most important sea battles of that war. It ended with the defeat of the Turko-Egyptian fleet and the destruction of the feared artillery at the fortress of Navarino. Van Heiden narrowly escaped death when the quarter-deck where he was standing was shattered by a cannonball. The victory meant promotion to Vice-Admiral and several more decorations. His international prestige grew: the Greeks considered him their redeemer from the Turks. In Athens one of the roads to Victoria Square is named after van Heiden. There is also a statue, and in 1927 his portrait was on a Greek stamp. Governor of Kronstadt At the height of his fame, respected everywhere and by everyone, decorated with numerous European medals, he was summoned by the Tsar to become military governor of Kronstadt (on Kotlin Island in the Gulf of Finland between Estonia and Saint Petersburg) and Reval (Tallinn, now capital of Estonia, then capital of the Governorate of Estonia). The population loved him and, as the Greeks did, called him baba (Father). Return to the Netherlands In 1832, Van Heiden returned to the Netherlands for the last time. He was welcomed by the monarch, King William I, who lent him an armoured steamship to visit several important cities, as well as his home town, Zuidlaren. Guards of honour accompanied him to the town hall and a large banquet was held at Laarwoud. He stayed at the estate for some time, but couldn't reacclimatise and shrank into himself. He only appeared in public to sail the Zuidlaardermeer lake. He left for the New World, but was disappointed and eventually returned to Estonia. Back in Tallinn he fell ill from edema and died there in 1850 at the age of 77. Contrary to his wish to be buried in Zuidlaren, Van Heiden was buried at the now destroyed Kopli cemetery in Tallinn. Honours and awards