Nikolai Kuznetsov as Admiral of the Fleet

Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov (Russian: Николай Герасимович Кузнецов) (July 24, 1904–December 6, 1974) was a Soviet naval officer and People's Commissar of the Navy during World War II. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... July 24 is the 205th day (206th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 160 days remaining. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... December 6 is the 340th day (341st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Motto: Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) (Russian: Workers of the world, unite!) Anthem: The Internationale (1922-1944) Hymn of the Soviet Union (1944-1991) Capital (and largest city) Moscow None; Russian de facto Government Federation of Soviet Republics  - Last President Mikhail Gorbachev  - Last Premier Ivan Silayev Establishment October Revolution   - Declared... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with: :Sovnarkom. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead...

Early Years and Advancement

Kuznetsov was born in the village of Medvedki in the Kotlas district of the Arkhangelsk Oblast. In 1919, he joined the Soviet Northern Dvina Naval Flotilla, adding two years to his age to be accepted. His military service records give the year of his birth as 1902. From 1920 stationed at Petrograd. In 1924, as a member of a naval unit he attended the funeral ceremony of Vladimir Lenin. That same year he joined the Bolshevik Party. Kotlas is a Russian city (61° 15 N, 46° 35 E) in the Archangelsk oblast that lies at the confluence of Northern Dvina and Vychegda. ... Arkhangelsk Oblast (Russian: , Arkhangelskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). ... 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Saint Petersburg  listen (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991... Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Russian: , better known by the alias   (Ленин)) (April 22, 1870 – January 21, 1924), was a Russian revolutionary, a communist politician, the main leader of the October Revolution, the first head of Soviet Union, and the primary theorist of Leninism, a variant of Marxism. ... The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Russian: Коммунисти́ческая Па́ртия Сове́тского Сою́за = КПСС) was the name used by the successors of the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party from 1952 to 1991, but the wording Communist Party was present in the partys name since 1918 when the Bolsheviks became the Russian...

Upon graduation from the Frunze Military Academy in 1926, Kuznetsov served on the cruiser Chervona Ukraina, first as watch officer and then as First Lieutenant. He completed studies in operations and tactics at the operations department of Naval College in 1932. Upon graduation he was offered a choice of position: he could opt for a job on the staff or a command post on a ship. There were a number of military academies in Soviet Union of different specialties. ... USS Port Royal (CG-73), a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, launched in 1992. ... Chervona Ukraina cruiser Chervona Ukraina (from Ukrainian: Червона Україна — Red Ukraine) was a Soviet Svetlana class light cruiser attached to the Black Sea Fleet. ...

Kuznetsov thought it unwise to let such an opportunity slip through his fingers; He applied for, and received, the post of executive officer on the cruiser Krasny Kavkaz ("Red Caucasus"). Within a year he had been promoted. In 1934 he returned to the Chervona Ukraina, this time as her commander. Under Kuznetsov, the ship became an outstanding example of discipline and organization, quickly attracting attention to her young captain. USS Port Royal (CG-73), a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, launched in 1992. ... Krasny Kavkaz during World War II Krasny Kavkaz (from Russian: Красный Кавказ - Red Caucasus) was a Soviet light guards cruiser. ...

From September 5, 1936 to August 15, 1937, Kuznetsov was the naval attache and chief naval advisor to Republican Spain, while serving in Spain, he developed a loathing for fascism. September 5 is the 248th day of the year (249th in leap years). ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... History of Spain series Prehistoric Spain Roman Spain Muslim Conquest of Iberia Timeline of Muslim Occupation Medieval Spain Age of Reconquest Age of Expansion Age of Enlightenment Reaction and Revolution First Spanish Republic The Restoration Second Spanish Republic Spanish Civil War The Dictatorship Modern Spain Topics Economic History Military History... Fascism (IPA: ) is a radical political ideology that combines elements of corporatism, authoritarianism, nationalism, militarism, anti-liberalism and anti-communism. ...

On returning home, on January 10, 1938, he was promoted to Flagman, 2nd rank, and given command of the Pacific fleet. While in this position, he came face to face with Stalin's purge of the military. Kuznetsov himself was never implicated, but many of the officers under his command were. Kuznetsov resisted the purges at every step, and his intervention saved the lives of many Soviet officers. 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

On April 28, 1939, Kuznetsov, still only thirty-four, was appointed the People's Commissar (Minister) of the Navy, a post he would hold through World War II. April 28 is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 247 days remaining. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead...

The Second World War

Kuznetsov played a uniquely crucial role during the first hours of the war - at this pivotal moment, his resolve and blatant disregard for orders averted the destruction of the Soviet Navy. By the June 21, 1941, Kuznetzov was convinced of the inevitability of war with Nazi Germany. On the same day Timoshenko and Zhukov issued a directive prohibiting Soviet commanders from responding to "German provocations." The Navy, however, constituted a distinct ministry (narkomat), and thus Kuznetsov held a position which was technically outside of the direct chain of command. The admiral utilized this fact in a very bold move. The Soviet Navy (Russian: Военно-морской флот СССР, Voyenno-morskoy flot SSSR, literally Naval military forces of the USSR) was the naval arm of the Soviet armed forces. ... June 21 is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 193 days remaining. ... This article is about the year. ... Marshal of the Soviet Union Semyon Timoshenko Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko (Russian: Семён Константинович Тимошенко) (February 6 O.S (February 18 N.S.), 1895-March 31... Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgi Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov (Russian: Гео́ргий Константи́нович Жу́ков) (December 1, 1896 - June 18, 1974), Soviet military commander and... From 1919 to 1946, functions of ministers in the government of Russia and, later, the Soviet Union were performed by Peoples Commissars (Russian title: Narodny Komissar, or Narkom). ...

Shortly after midnight on the morning of June 22, Kuznetsov ordered all Soviet fleets to battle readiness. At 4.45 that same morning, the Wehrmacht began operation Barbarossa. The Soviet Navy was the only branch of the military prepared to resist the initial German push, meeting the attack with tremendous resistance and losing neither a single ship nor a single plane. Wehrmacht troops of the Heer (military land forces) marching at a military parade in honour of the 50th birthday of Adolf Hitler, on April 20, 1939. ... Combatants Germany Romania Finland Italy Hungary Slovakia Soviet Union Commanders Adolf Hitler Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim Joseph Stalin Strength ~ 3. ...

In the following two years, Kuznetsov's primary concern was the protection of the Caucusus from a German invasion. Throughout the war, the Black Sea remained the primary theater of operations for the Soviet navy. During the war years Kuznetsov honed Soviet methods of amphibious assault. In February 1944 he was given the rank of Admiral of the Fleet - a newly created station initially equated to a four-star general. In the same year, Kuznetsov was given the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. His rank was equated to the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union with a similar insignia on May 31, 1945. Map of the Black Sea. ... This article is about a military strategy involving land troops dispatched from naval ships. ... Hero of the Soviet Union (Russian: Герой Советского Союза, Geroy Sovetskogo Soyuza) was the highest honorary title and the superior degree of distinction of the Soviet Union. ... The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union (Russian: Marshal Sovietskogo Soyuza [Маршал Советского Союза]) was in practice the highest military rank of the Soviet Union. ... 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ...

The First Fall

From 1946 to 1947 he was the Deputy Minister of the USSR Armed Forces and Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Forces. Commander-in-Chief (in NATO-lingo often C-in-C or CINC pronounced sink) is the commander of all the military forces within a particular region or of all the military forces of a state. ...

In 1947 he was removed from his post on Stalin's orders and in 1948 he, as well as several other admirals were put on trial by the Naval Tribunal. Kuznetsov was demoted to vice-admiral, while the other admirals received prison sentences of varying length. Vice Admiral is a naval rank of three star level, equivalent to Lieutenant General in seniority. ...

In 1951 Stalin ended Kuznetsov's pariah status, once again placing him in command of the Navy (with the Minister of the Navy of the USSR), but without restoring his military rank, which was returned to him upon Stalin's death in 1953. In the same year, he became the First Deputy Minister of Defence of the USSR. In 1955, Kuznetsov was made Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Forces. His rank was renamed Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union and he was awarded the Marshal's Star. The rank of Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union (Russian: Admiral Flota Sovietskogo Soyuza, Адмирал Флота Советского Союза) was the highest naval rank of the Soviet Union. ... The Star of the Marshal (Russian: ) was a military symbol in the Soviet Union and today in the Russian Federation. ...

The Second Fall and Retirement

His newfound prominence brought him into direct conflict with Marshal Zhukov, with whom he had clashed during the war years. On December 8, 1955, using the loss of the battleship Novorossiisk as pretense, Zukhov removed the Admiral from his post; in February 1956 Kuznetsov was again demoted to the rank of vice-admiral, retired and expressly forbidden "any and all work connected with the navy." Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgi Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov (Russian: Гео́ргий Константи́нович Жу́ков) (December 1, 1896 - June 18, 1974), Soviet military commander and... December 8 is the 342nd day (343rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... HMS Victory in 1884 Battleship was the name given to the most powerfully gun-armed and most heavily armored classes of warships built from the mid-16th through the mid-20th centuries. ... Novorossiysk was a battleship of the Soviet Navy which sank in 1955 with the loss of 608 lives, one of the worst maritime disasters since World War II. Novorossiysk was originally the Italian battleship Giulio Cesare and on 3 February 1949 at Vlorë she was ceded to the Soviet Union...

During his retirement he wrote and published many essays and articles, as well as several longer works, including his memoirs and an officially sanctioned book, "Курсом к Победе" (With a Course for Victory), which dealt with the Patriotic War. His memoirs, unlike those of many other prominent leaders, were written by him personally and are noted for their style.

Kuznetsov also authored several books on the war, on Stalin's repressions, and on the navy which were published posthumously. In these he was highly critical of the Party's interference in the internal affairs of the military, and insisted that "the state must be ruled by law." Posthumous means after death. ...

Restoring his Name

After the retirement of Zhukov in 1957, and of Khruschev in 1964, a group of naval veterans began a campaign to restore Kuznetsov's rank, with all benefits, and to make him one of the general inspectors of the Ministry of Defence. Invariably, these requests fell on deaf ears, particularly on those of Kuznetsov's successor, Admiral Gorshkov. Not until July 26, 1988 did the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet reinstate Kuznetsov to his former rank of Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union. Kuznetzov is now recognized as one of the most prominent men in the history of the Soviet and, today, of the Russian Navy. Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, GCB (Russian: ) (December 1, 1896 [O.S. November 19]–June 18, 1974), was a Soviet military commander who, in the course of World War II, led the Red Army to liberate the Soviet Union from the Nazi occupation, to overrun... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... Sergey Georgyevich Gorshkov (b. ... July 26 is the 207th day (208th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 158 days remaining. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Supreme Soviet (Russian: , Verhovniy Sovet, literally the Supreme Council) comprised the highest legislative body in the Soviet Union in the interim of the sessions of the Congress of Soviets, and the only one with the power to pass constitutional amendments. ... The rank of Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union (Russian: Admiral Flota Sovietskogo Soyuza, Адмирал Флота Советского Союза) was the highest naval rank of the Soviet Union. ... The Russian Navy (Russian: Военно Морской Флот (ВМФ) - Voyenno- Morskoy Flot (VMF) or Military Maritime Fleet) is the naval arm of the Russian armed forces. ...

Quote

My whole life has been the Soviet Navy. I made my choice when young and have never regretted it.

Mikhail Petrovich Frinovsky (Russian: Михаил Петрович Фриновский) (January of 1898 - February 4, 1940 was a Soviet military and political figure. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... Ivan Stepanovich Yumashev (Russian: Иван Степанович Юмашев) (October 9 (O.S. September 27) 1895, Tbilisi - September 2, 1972, Leningrad) was a Soviet admiral (1943), Hero of the Soviet Union (September 14, 1945), and Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Naval Forces from January of 1947 to July of 1951. ... Ivan Stepanovich Yumashev (Russian: Иван Степанович Юмашев) (October 9 (O.S. September 27) 1895, Tbilisi - September 2, 1972, Leningrad) was a Soviet admiral (1943), Hero of the Soviet Union (September 14, 1945), and Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Naval Forces from January of 1947 to July of 1951. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sergey Georgyevich Gorshkov (b. ...

See also

• Soviet aircraft carrier Kuznetsov

Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov (originally named Tbilisi) is an aircraft carrier (heavy aircraft carrying cruiser (TAVKR) in Russian classification) serving as the flagship of the Russian Navy. ...

External links

• Information page, including memoirs