The Russian Hydrographic Service, full current official name Department of Navigation and Oceanography of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation ( rus, Управление навигации и океанографии Министерства обороны Российской Федерации),
/ref> is

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

hydrographic office A hydrographic office is an organization which is devoted to acquiring and publishing hydrographic information. Historically, the main tasks of hydrographic offices were the conduction of hydrographic surveys and the publication of nautical cha ...

, with responsibility to facilitate navigation, performing

hydrographic survey Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore oil exploration/ offshore oil drilling and related activities. Strong emphasis is placed ...

s and publishing

nautical chart A nautical chart is a graphic representation of a sea area and adjacent coastal regions. Depending on the scale of the chart, it may show depths of water and heights of land ( topographic map), natural features of the seabed, details of the co ...

s. Since the Russian state is of such a vast size and nature that it includes many different seas, long and indented coastlines and a great number of islands, as well as a complex system of waterways and lakes, surveying has been an indispensable activity for the Russian Navy since its modernization at the time of Czar Peter the Great in the 17th century. The hydrographic service has been historically attached to the Russian Navy and the agents and supervisors of hydrographic works have been largely

naval officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent contex ...

s throughout its history. Russia is a member of the

International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an intergovernmental organisation representing hydrography. , the IHO comprised 98 Member States. A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the world's seas, oceans and navigable waters a ...

Competences and functions

Despite having undergone a number of name changes along its history, the main functions of the Hydrographic Service of the Russian Navy have been quite consistently the following: *Providing specific services to the Navy, including other branches of the Russian Armed Forces, related to the Russian maritime and coastal areas, as well as navigable inland waters. These services are of a strategic order and encompass the following fields: **

Navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

and

hydrography Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, lakes and rivers, as well as with the prediction of their change over time, for the primar ...

. **

Hydrometeorology Hydrometeorology is a branch of meteorology and hydrology that studies the transfer of water and energy between the land surface and the lower atmosphere. Hydrologists often use data provided by meteorologists. As an example, a meteorologist might ...

** Surveys *Navigation and hydrographic support of maritime activities within Russian waters and implementation of the international

Safety of Life at Sea The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) is an international maritime treaty that sets minimum safety standards in the construction, equipment and operation of merchant ships. The International Maritime Organization c ...

Convention regulations in the waters under Russian jurisdiction. Navy Hydrographic Service - Structure - Russian Ministry of Defence

History

Background

At the time of Peter I hydrographic surveys were carried out following personal

decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used ...

s of the emperor through the General admiral. Hydrographic tasks were always performed by Naval officers, who from 1724 onward began to work under instructions from the

Admiralty Board The Admiralty Board is the body established under the Defence Council of the United Kingdom for the administration of the Naval Service of the United Kingdom. It meets formally only once a year, and the day-to-day running of the Royal Navy is ...

. By 1746 important matters concerning hydrography were entrusted to Fleet Captain

Alexey Nagayev Alexey Ivanovich Nagayev (russian: Алексей Иванович Нагаев, March 17, 1704, Sertyakino-January 8, 1781, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian hydrographer, cartographer and an admiral. Biography Born in a family of the lesser nobili ...

who compiled the first

atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geograp ...

of the Bering Sea, as well as of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

in 1752. Nagayev's charts were very detailed for its time and, despite a few shortcomings, his atlas of the Baltic Sea was republished in 1757, 1788, 1789 and 1795, serving Russian mariners for more than 50 years.

Foundation and first phase (1777-1885)

In 1777 the Admiralty Board founded the Russian Hydrographic Service, implementing a plan that marked the beginning of systematic drawing of nautical charts.С этой чертежной началось централизованное производство морских карт в России, а дата утверждения штата чертежной — 2 (13) ноября 1777 г. — является датой основания ныне существующего Центрального картографического производства Военно-Морского Флота. In 1799 a committee for the dissemination of marine sciences and the improvement of the drawing of charts was created, and in 1807 the Russian Lighthouse Administration was established so that the lighthouse system in Russian shores, shoals and islands would follow an organized pattern and be provided with regular, state-controlled maintenance. The first director of this section was

Leontiy Spafaryev Knight Leontiy Vassilievich Spafaryev (russian: Леонтий Васильевич Спафарьев; 19 March 1765 – 30 January 1847) was a Lieutenant General of the Imperial Russian Navy.Igor Alexeev, ''Lighthouses of the Baltic Sea''
In 1827 the special Office of the Hydrographer General was established. In the same year the Corps of Naval Navigators was founded, the chief of which was also a hydrographer. The first and only general of the newly-instituted body was hydrographer Admiral Gavril Andreevich Sarychev (in office 1827-31), after whose death the management of the office was transferred to the Chief of Naval Staff Prince A. S. Menshikov. The first and only director of the hydrographic depot was F. F. Schubert (in office 1827-37).Russian Hydrography before 1917
/ref> In 1837 the former institutions dealing with hydrography were abolished and all the management of the hydrographic section was transferred to the newly-instituted Russian Hydrographic Department, the directors of which were: * A. G. Villamov (1837–54) *Baron F. v. Wrangel (1854–55) * M. v. Reinecke (1855–59) * S. I. Zelenoy (1859–74) * G. A. Vevel von Krieger (1874–81) * T. F. Veselago (1881) * P. N. Nazimov (1892-1898).

Publications

The Hydrographic Office engaged in the periodical publication of notes, devoted both to hydrographic information, as well as information on other sectors of naval affairs. The committee, established in 1799, published: *In 1801 - ''"

Notice to Mariners A notice to mariners (NTM or NOTMAR,) advises mariners of important matters affecting navigational safety, including new hydrographic information, changes in channels and aids to navigation, and other important data. Over 60 countries which pr ...

"'' (1 vol.) *From 1807 to 1827 - ''"Notes of the State Admiralty Department"'' (13 pieces) *From 1835 to 1837 - ''"Notes of the Hydrographic Depot"'' (5 parts) *From 1842 to 1852 - ''"Notes of the Hydrographic Department."'' *1854-83 - ''Annual reports of the Director of the Hydrographic Department.''

The Main Hydrographic Office (1885-1917)

In 1885 the Russian Hydrographic Department was overhauled and renamed as 'Main Hydrographic Office' —Главное гидрографическое управление (ГГУ)— of the Admiralty. Its chief was the former director in charge of the

lighthouses A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

and navigation of the Baltic Sea, Vice Admiral R. Bazhenov, who was also the chairman of the Maritime Scientific Committee —Морского учёного комитета. 1886 saw the establishment of the meteorological department. In 1891 the fields of drawing, engraving, lithography and printing were integrated into the maritime cartography section and from 1897 this section began successful experiments printing nautical charts using aluminum printing plates. In 1902 a new building with a photographic department, including a workshop introducing innovative photographic reproduction techniques, was built within the premises of the Main Hydrographic Office. By 1904 the new techniques had been mastered by the staff and high-quality material began to be printed.''150 лет гидрографической службе военно-морского флота.'' Исторический очерк. 1977 г.
/ref> The duties of the Hydrographic Department at the time included: *Planning and carrying out surveys. *Preparation of

map A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...

es, sailing directions and other guidance materials for safe navigation, as well as making periodical corrections —when needed. *Erection and proper maintenance of lighthouses,

electric beacon In navigation, a radio beacon or radiobeacon is a kind of beacon, a device that marks a fixed location and allows direction-finding equipment to find relative bearing. But instead of employing visible light, radio beacons transmit electromagnet ...

s, rescue stations,

towers A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specific ...

day beacon A day beacon (sometimes "daybeacon") is an unlighted nautical sea mark. A signboard identifying it is called a day mark. Day beacons typically mark channels whose key points are marked by lighted buoys. They may also mark smaller navigable rout ...

s, buoys, signals, and other warning devices to improve navigation safety. *Supply of military tools such as maps, pilot manuals, signals manuals and other guides. *Inspection and evaluation of ships' logbooks in order to gather relevant navigational, astronomical, magnetic, and other observations. The jurisdiction of the Main Hydrographic Office included the management of: * Pilotage instructions and

navigational instrument Navigational instruments are instruments used by nautical navigators and pilots as tools of their trade. The purpose of navigation is to ascertain the present position and to determine the speed, direction, etc. to arrive at the port or point o ...

s workshops in St. Petersburg and Nikolaev *The Russian Maritime Observatory in

Kronstadt Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for " crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city ...

and Nikolaev. *The

weather station A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include tempera ...

s on the shores of the Russian seas. *The maritime semaphore telegraph in Kronstadt. *The

signal station A signal station is a form of Aids to Navigation that is defined by the IHO simply as "A signal station is a place on shore from which signals are made to ships at sea". While this broad definition would include coastal radio stations and fog sig ...

s in Nikolaev,

Bogdanovka Bogdanovka was a concentration camp for Jews that was established in Transnistria Governorate by the Romanian authorities during World War II as part of the Holocaust. Location Three concentration camps were situated near the villages of Bogd ...

, Parutino, Adzhigol and

Ochakov Ochakiv, also known as Ochakov ( uk, Оча́ків, ; russian: Очаков; crh, Özü; ro, Oceacov and ''Vozia'', and Alektor ( in Greek), is a small city in Mykolaiv Raion, Mykolaiv Oblast (region) of southern Ukraine. It hosts the adminis ...

. The period between 1885 and 1917 was characterized by full-scale construction and modernization of lighthouse equipment,

compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself wit ...

technology and improvements in the printing of nautical charts. The 1910-1915 Arctic Ocean Hydrographic Expedition, led by Rear Admiral Boris A. Vilkitsky on

icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

s Vaigach and Taimyr mapped the last blank areas of the northern coast of Eastern

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

—which were the last unmapped coastal areas of

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...

, and gathered as well a vast amount of oceanographic and meteorological data.The Arctic Ocean Hydrographic Expedition 1910-1915
The heads of the Main Hydrographic Office were: * Konstantin Mikhailov (1898-1903) * Yakov Gilterbrandt (1903-1907) *

Andrey Vilkitsky Andrey Ippolitovich Vilkitsky (russian: Андре́й Ипполи́тович Вильки́цкий; — ) was a Russian hydrographer and surveyor. He was born in the Minsk Governorate. His son, Boris Vilkitsky followed up his father's work; ...

(1907-1913) * M. Y. Zhdanko (1913-1917)

The Soviet period (1917-1992)

USSR, Flag auxiliary fleet 1924 survey military

USSR, Flag auxiliary fleet 1924 survey civil

After the initial period of instability that followed the 1917 Russian Revolution against the Imperial Government, the Hydrographic Office slowly returned to its duties as the situation calmed down and the Soviet takeover was completed. The work and dedication of hydrographers such as Konstantin Neupokoev, ensured that the service returned to normality.''Синюков, В. В.'' Александр Васильевич Колчак : Учёный и патриот : в 2 ч. / В. В. Синюков; отв. ред. А. П. Лисицын ; Ин-т истории естествознания и техники им. С. И. Вавилова РАН. — М.: Наука, 2009. — (ч. 2), С. 34 Czarist names and symbols were quickly removed, the former hydrographic institution being renamed as the 'Main Hydrographic Office of the Russian Republic' —Главное гидрографическое управление Российской Республики. Between 1918 and 1922 hydrometeorological service units named Ubek (Убек) were established for the management of navigation safety measures. The Ubek regulated the particular hydrographic zone —in

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near ...

for example it was 'Ubek-North'— as part of the unified local authority directly responsible to the central Soviet government. In 1924 the Hydrographic Office was renamed the 'Central Hydrographic Department of the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

' and a set of new flags and pennants was issued. Barely two years later, in September 1926, the office underwent another name change; the new name was "Hydrographic Department of the Office of Naval Forces of the Workers' and Peasants'

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

" (UVMS Hydrographic Department of the Red Army) —Гидрографический отдел Управления Военно-морских сил Рабоче-крестьянской Красной Армии. In 1927 the name was simplified to 'Hydrographic Office UVMS Red Army' —Гидрографическое управление УВМС РККА. Emperor Nicholas II Land first partially charted by Boris Vilkitsky in 1913, but still not fully surveyed when it was renamed ''Severnaya Zemlya'' by the

Presidium A presidium or praesidium is a council of executive officers in some political assemblies that collectively administers its business, either alongside an individual president or in place of one. Communist states In Communist states the presid ...

of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR in 1926, was the last blank area on the vast map of the Soviet Union. Vilkitsky's expedition, which in 1913 sighted and surveyed a section of the eastern coastline of what he assumed was a single landmass, had to concentrate on the Siberian continental shore in order to prepare the way for the Northeast Passage and he had no means to make a comprehensive survey further north. Finally a hydrographic expedition of the Arctic Institute of the USSR led by

Georgy Ushakov Georgy Alexeyevich Ushakov (russian: Георгий Алексеевич Ушаков) (17 (30) January 1901 – 3 December 1963) was a Soviet explorer of the Arctic. Ushakov broke new ground when he surveyed and explored Severnaya Zemlya, togeth ...

and

Nikolay Urvantsev Nikolay Nikolayevich Urvantsev (russian: Николáй Николáевич Урвáнцев; – 20 February 1985) was a Soviet geologist and explorer. He was born in the town of Lukoyanov in the Lukoyanovsky Uyezd of the Nizhny Novgorod Gove ...

thoroughly surveyed the large Severnaya Zemlya archipelago in 1930–32, making it the last sizable territory on

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

to be put on the map. In 1935 the Ubek were replaced by hydrographic offices subordinate to the commander of the fleets and

flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' ( fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same clas ...

s. In 1937 the 'Hydrographic Office UVMS Red Army' was renamed the "Hydrographic Office of the Workers' and Peasants' Navy" —Гидрографическое управление Рабоче-крестьянского Военно-морского флота (РК ВМФ). The design of the flags and pennants used by the office also underwent changes. In 1940 the Hydrographic Office was renamed 'Hydrographic Office of the Navy' —Гидрографическое управление ВМФ. The following year, owing to the dire situation of the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sou ...

(1941-1945), a Task Force in the Hydrographic Department of the Navy was formed in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

by the

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Af ...

in order to deal more effectively with the emergency matters caused by the war in Russian soil and waters. In postwar times, after the initial period of reconstruction was over, the Soviet Navy began the challenging task of creating an oceanic fleet carrying

nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

s. The 1960-1970 decade saw the introduction and development of ballistic missile submarines as part of the strategical aims of the Soviet fleet. These submarines were designed to be able to navigate in all areas of the oceans, including in the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

under the

ice cover Sea ice arises as seawater freezes. Because ice is less density, dense than water, it floats on the ocean's surface (as does fresh water ice, which has an even lower density). Sea ice covers about 7% of the Earth's surface and about 12% of the wo ...

. In the field of navigation, during this period

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

reflectors,

radio beacons In navigation, a radio beacon or radiobeacon is a kind of beacon, a device that marks a fixed location and allows direction-finding equipment to find relative bearing. But instead of employing visible light, radio beacons transmit electromagnet ...

and other modernized signal systems were introduced. The technological leap of that decade would impose a radical change in the navigational, hydrographic and hydrometeorological support of the Navy. During this period the need for innovative and detailed survey and mapping of the Earth's

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' so ...

, including

gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...

and magnetic fields, became of the utmost importance for the Hydrographic Service of the Soviet Union. At that time, using its survey vessels, the department spearheaded a comprehensive study of large areas of the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...

, as well as of the then little explored

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-small ...

off the coast of

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

. As a result, a huge volume of data on bottom topography, physical fields, and hydrophysical characteristics of the water masses, among other pioneering

oceanographic Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...

information of the oceans, were collected. In 1972, owing to Cold War dictated priorities, the Hydrographic Office of the Navy was overhauled and transformed into the 'General Directorate of Navigation and Oceanography of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR' —Главное управление навигации и океанографии Министерства обороны СССР (ГУНиО МО). The 1970-1980 decade was marked by an increased international prominence of the 'General Directorate of Navigation and Oceanography of the Ministry of Defense'. Since then the Hydrographic Service of the USSR officially represented the interests of the Soviet Union —in the same manner that the organization that replaced it in later years would do for the Russian Federation— in the

and the

International Association of Lighthouse Authorities The International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA), previously known as International Association of Lighthouse Authorities, is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1957 to collect and provide naut ...

, as well as the interests of the Ministry of Defence in the

Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC/UNESCO) was established by resolution 2.31 adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO. It first met in Paris at Unesco Headquarters from 19 to 27 October 1961. Initially, 40 States becam ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. The heads of the Hydrographic Service of the USSR''История Гидрографической службы Российского флота.'' Т.4. — Спб.: Издание ГУНиО МО РФ, 1997 were: * Eugene Byalokoz (1917-1919) * Pavel Messer (1920-1922) * Sergei Blinov (1922-1925), 1st term *

Mikhail Viktorov Mikhail Vladimirovich Viktorov (; December 24, 1893 – August 1, 1938) was a Russian military leader and Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Naval Forces from August 1937 to January 1938. Career Born at Yaroslavl, Viktorov was the son of an office ...

(1925-1926) *Sergei Blinov (1926-1928), 2nd term * Izrail Razgon (1928-1932) *

Vasily Vasilyev Vasily Pavlovich Vasilyev or Wassiljew (Василий Павлович Васильев; 1818-1900) was the preeminent Russian Sinologist of the 19th Century. Vasiliev was born in Nizhny Novgorod and entered the Oriental department of the Kazan ...

(1932-1937) *

Nikolai Gorbunov Nikolai Petrovich Gorbunov (russian: Николай Петрович Горбунов) (21 June 1892 – 7 September 1938) was a Soviet politician, chemist, engineer and academic; at one time personal secretary to leader Vladimir Lenin. Biograp ...

(1937-1939) * Iakov Lagushkin (1939-1947) * Mikhail Kulikov (1947-1948) * Vladimir Tributs (1949-1952) * Pavel Abankin (1952-1958) * Valentin Chekurov (1958-1963) * Anatoliy Rassokho (1963-1985) * Arkady Mikhailovsky (1985-1988) * Yuri Zheglov (1988-1994)

The Russian Federation (from 1992 onward)

Russia, Flag of hydrogrphic vessels of the Navy 1992

In the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the 'General Directorate of Navigation and Oceanography of Defense of the USSR' would be placed under the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, the legal successor of the USSR. In 1992 the service was renamed as the 'Main Directorate of Navigation and Oceanography of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation' —Главное управление навигации и океанографии Министерства Обороны Российской Федерации (ГУНиО Минобороны России). Depending from their location, some of the vessels of the Soviet Hydrographic Service managed to be released and join the navies of the newly-formed republics after the breakup of the USSR. These ships were usually renamed and overhauled or transformed before being put into use, for example the GS-13 small hydrographic vessel that had been launched in 1986 in Soviet Lithuania became the Pereyaslav (U512) when it was made part of the

Ukrainian Navy The Military Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Військо́во-морські́ си́ли Збро́йних сил Украї́ни, ВМС ЗСУ) is the maritime forces of Ukraine and one of the five branches of the Ar ...

in November 1995. Although the basic designs were left unchanged, prominent Communist-era symbols —such as the hammer and sickle and the red star, were removed from the flags of the Russian Hydrographic Service and the blue and white

Russian Navy Ensign The Russian Navy ensign, also known as St. Andrew's flag (russian: Андреевский флаг; Russian Pre-reform: ''Андреевскій флагъ''), was the ensign of the Navy of the Russian Empire (from 1712 to 1918), and is the na ...

was restored. In 2001 a new regulation introduced slight alterations in the symbols that had been adopted in 1992 following the fall of the USSR. In 2006 the name of the Russian Hydrographic Service would be changed to 'Department of Navigation and Oceanography of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation' —Управление навигации и океанографии Министерства Обороны Российской Федерации (УНиО Минобороны России), its current official name. Russian military presence in Arctic waters resumed in the summer of 2013 when Hydrographic Service vessels belonging to the

Northern Fleet Severnyy flot , image = Great emblem of the Northern Fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Northern Fleet's great emblem , start_date = June 1, 1733; Sov ...

sailed to

Rudolf Island Prince Rudolf Land, Crown Prince Rudolf Land, Prince Rudolf Island or Rudolf Island (russian: Остров Рудольфа) is the northernmost island of the Franz Josef Archipelago, Russia and is home to the northernmost point in Russia. Owing t ...

Franz Josef Land Franz Josef Land, Frantz Iosef Land, Franz Joseph Land or Francis Joseph's Land ( rus, Земля́ Фра́нца-Ио́сифа, r=Zemlya Frantsa-Iosifa, no, Fridtjof Nansen Land) is a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. It is inhabited on ...

. The area had been neglected by the armed forces for a long time in the years that followed the fall of the USSR. The heads of the Hydrographic Service of the Russian Federation in recent times have been: *Yuri Zheglov (1988-1994) * Anatoly Komaritsyn (1994-2006) * Sergey Kozlov (2006-2010) * Alexander Shemetov (2010-2013) * Sergey Travin (2013-)

Vessels

The vessels operating for the Russian Hydrographic Service have been historically of two orders or categories. To the first category belong those vessels that were built specifically as survey ships, of which there are different classes, and to the second, other kind of vessels of the Russian Navy that, although not especially built for the purpose, have eventually engaged in survey operations. The latter usually undertook surveys for specific periods of time during their naval service, such as the a four-masted tall ship Kruzenshtern, which performed hydrographic surveys between 1961 and 1965.

Types of vessels

Hydrographic vessels

* 1896 Project, large hydrographic boats *

Baklan Baklan is a town and a district of Denizli Province, in Turkey's Aegean Region. The town is at a distance of about an hour from the city of Denizli, neighboring the town of Çivril, and it is situated on the road to Ankara. Name For the pre-Turki ...

(19920 Project), large hydrographic boats * Yaroslavets (G376 Project), middle-sized hydrographic boats *

Flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbea ...

(T-1415 Project), middle-sized hydrographic boats * 382 Project, small hydrographic boats * 727 Project, small hydrographic boats * Kaira (1403 Project), small hydrographic boats * Drofa (16830 Project), small hydrographic boats

Oceanographic vessels

* Project 97B, Vladimir Kavrayskiy (only ship built) * 852 Project, 6 vessels built, including Admiral Vladimirskiy * 22010 Project

Survey vessels

* Ocean class, large survey vessels * Kamchadal * Nord class * 860 Project * Arktika class (861 Project) * 862 Project (Yug class), 9 ships built; includes hydrographic survey ship ''Senezh''.Гидрографическое судно «Сенеж» проекта 862 Северного флота РФ
/ref> * 865 Project * 870 Project, small survey vessels * 871 Project, small survey vessels * 872 Project, small survey vessels * 16611 Project, small survey vessels * Alex Maryshev class, small survey vessels * V19910 Project, small survey vessels

Images of selected vessels

References

External links

The Siberian Sea Road: The Work of the Russian Hydrographical Expedition to the Arctic 1910-1915Hydrographic Society Russia - Hydro International

Department of Navigation and Oceanography. Of the Russian Federation. Ministry of Defence
{{Authority control Government agencies of Russia Scientific organizations based in Russia Russian Navy National hydrographic offices Lighthouse organizations 1777 establishments in the Russian Empire Surveying organizations Soviet Navy