Name of the battle

The word Gangut in the name of the battle is a romanization of Гангут, which is the
traditional Russian cyrillization of Hangöudd, the traditional Swedish name of the
Hanko Peninsula.[3] Seldom used names are Battle of Hangö [4][5] (Finnish Hanko)
and Battle of Hangöudd (Finnish Hankoniemi).[3][6] The battle took place in the
Rilax bay north of the Hanko Peninsula. In Sweden and Finland, the battle is
therefore known as the Battle of Rilax (Finnish Riilahti). It is also known in some
sources as the battle of Ahvenanmaa, the Finnish name of Åland which Russia seized
after its victory.[7]

Background
The Russian Tsar Peter I had begun his offensive in Finland in the spring of 1713.
The Russian armies quickly advanced all the way to Turku on the southwestern coast
of Finland, and with Russian victory in the Battle of Storkyro on 19 February 1714,
left southern Finland fully in Russian control. The Russian governor in Finland,
Prince Mikhail Galitzine, with his headquarters in Turku, was unable to receive
support by sea, which was then far more important than land-based support as
Swedish battle fleet under Admiral Gustav Wattrang had started blockading the
coastal sea route past Hanko Peninsula already on 24 April. While it also blockaded
the Russian supply route the blockade also prevented the Russian coastal fleet from
reaching Sweden and raiding the Swedish coast. First Russian transports left from
Helsingfors in early May but had to stop east of Hangö to Ekenäs from where the
supplies needed to be hauled overland. Russian attempts to provide ships to west of
Hangö ended when newly formed Swedish coastal squadron led by Captain Anton Wrangel
intercepted the Russian supply ships south of Turku on 10 May and in one sided
engagement sunk most of them while the rest were scattered. Admiral Apraksin's
fleet was sent from its base at Kronstadt by the Tsar to open these service lines.
[8]