Lev Mikhailovich Galler (Born Leo Julius Alexander Philipp von Haller; russian: Лев Михайлович Галлер; – 12 July 1950) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

military leader and

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...

origin. Galler was born into a

family of a military engineer Philipp Michael Hugo von Haller (Galler) and joined the Baltic Fleet on completing the Naval school in 1905. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

he was squadron gunnery officer of the Battleship Division, executive officer of the ''Slava'' and commanded the destroyer ''Turkmenets Stavropolski''. After the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mom ...

he joined the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

and participated in the

Ice Cruise of the Baltic Fleet The Ice Cruise of the Baltic Fleet (russian: Ледовый поход Балтийского флота) was an operation which transferred the ships of the Baltic Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy from their bases at Tallinn, at the time kno ...

. Subsequently, he commanded the destroyer ''Mecheslav'', the battleship ''Andrei Pervozvanny'' and was subsequently chief of staff of the Baltic Fleet during the

British Campaign in the Baltic 1918–1919 British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

. After the Civil War, Galler was commander of the Baltic Fleet's battleship division and commanded the Baltic Fleet from 1932 to 1937. In 1938 he became chief of naval staff and in 1940 he became Deputy Commissar for the Navy responsible for naval construction. In 1947 he was head of the Naval Academy. Galler was arrested in 1948 and imprisoned. He died in custody in 1950 and was rehabilitated in 1953.

Honours and awards

;Soviet Union * Three

Orders of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

* Four

Orders of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

* Two

Order of Ushakov The Order of Ushakov (russian: орден Ушакова) is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honour of admiral Fyodor Ushakov (1744–1817) who never lost a battle and was proclaimed patron saint of the Russian Navy. ...

, 1st class *

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Medal "For the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (russian: Медаль «За победу над Германией в Великой Отечественной войне 1941—1945 гг.») was a military dec ...

Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" The Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «XX лет Рабоче-Крестьянской Красной Армии») was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Un ...

;Russian Empire *

Order of St. Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus ( pl, Order Św. Stanisława Biskupa Męczennika, russian: Орден Святого Станислава), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Ponia ...

, 2nd class with Swords (1916) and 3rd class (1909) * Order of St. Anna, 3rd class (1913) ;Poland *

Cross of Grunwald The Order of the Cross of Grunwald (') was a military decoration created in Poland in November 1943 by the High Command of Gwardia Ludowa, a World War II Polish resistance movement organised by the Polish Workers Party. On 20 February 1944 it ...

, 1st class

References

External links

Галлер Лев Михайлович
in ''

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...

'' 1883 births 1950 deaths Imperial Russian Navy officers Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet admirals Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Ushakov, 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 1st class Soviet rehabilitations Soviet people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in Soviet detention Burials at Arskoe Cemetery {{Russia-mil-bio-stub