After the birth of his son Yevgeniy in 1889, the family moved to Taganrog, where Alexander Nentzel, manager of the Azov-Don Commercial Bank offered him a bookkeeper position.

On 1 October 1905, he made a speech during a meeting in Sevastopol, urging the citizens to stand up for their rights and demanding the authorities free political prisoners.

In the following days, Pyotr Schmidt gave a speech at the special session of the Sevastopol City Council and at the cemetery during the funeral ceremony, where he was arrested.

The same day, the Soviets of Sailors' and Soldiers' Deputies decided to start a Black Sea Fleet-wide mutiny and appoint Schmidt as Commander of the Fleet.

Schmidt sent a telegram to Emperor Nicholas II of Russia: The glorious Black Sea Fleet, sacredly devoted to the people, demands Your Majesty to immediately call a meeting of the Constituent Assembly (Учредительное собрание), and no longer obeys orders of Your ministers.

In 1922, Mikhail Stavraki, commander of the gunboat's firing squad was discovered in Batumi in possession of five fake passports in different names and old bank notes, by Cheka agents.

The trial of Stavraki, who was Schmidt's classmate at the Naval Corps in St Petersburg, was held on 1 April 1923 in Sebastopol, while most of the witnesses and participants of the events were still alive.