sentences:  Together with his knowledge of the Russian language and prevailing conditions, he was appointed in May 1917 naval attaché to the British Embassy in the tense revolutionary city of Petrograd (Saint Petersburg), Russia.Highly respected among Russia's elite, his diplomatic tact, during the Russian revolution, earned him much respect from the extremists for his fairness.In April 1918, after the Germans had secured control over the Baltic coast, he was responsible for the evacuation and scuttling of the British Baltic submarines.