Vasili Mikhailovich Altfater () (16 December 1883 – April 20, 1919) was a Russian-

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, ...

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 contextu ...

, the first Commander-in-chief of the Soviet Navy. Altfater was born in Warsaw the son of an artillery officer, General Mikhail Altfater who was from a noble

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 ...

Family. Altfater graduated from Marine Cadet Corps (1902) and Naval Academy's Department of

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 prima ...

(1908). During the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

, Altfater participated in the defense of Port Arthur ( Lüshunkou) and rescue of the crew of the

battleship A battleship is a large armour, armored warship with a main artillery battery, battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1 ...

''Petropavlovsk''. Later on, Altfater served as the squadron navigating officer of the 1st destroyer division of the

Baltic Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg , image_size = 150 , caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign , dates = 18 May 1703 – present , country = , allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present) ...

(1909–1910). 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, ...

, as Captain 2nd Rank Altfater was one of two liaison officers for the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from ...

at the Tsar's Supreme Headquarters (the Stavka), where he had responsibility for advising on command appointments in the Baltic Fleet. He was later head of the Military Administration under the Commander-in-chief of 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 ...

. In October 1917, Altfater was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral. 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 Soviets. In February 1918, Altfater was appointed assistant to the head of the Naval Headquarters. He participated in peace negotiations in

Brest-Litovsk Brest ( be, Брэст / Берасьце, Bieraście, ; russian: Брест, ; uk, Берестя, Berestia; lt, Brasta; pl, Brześć; yi, בריסק, Brisk), formerly Brest-Litovsk (russian: Брест-Литовск, lit=Lithuanian Br ...

as a naval technical adviser to the Soviet delegation. In April, Altfater became a board member at the

People's Commissariat A People's Commissariat (russian: народный комиссариат; Narkomat) was a structure in the Soviet state (in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, in other union and autonomous republics, in the Soviet Union) from 1917– ...

of Naval Affairs. In October, he became a member of the

Revolutionary Military Council The Revolutionary Military Council (russian: Революционный Военный Совет, Revolyutsionny Voyenny Sovyet, Revolutionary Military Council), sometimes called the Revolutionary War Council Brian PearceIntroductionto Fyodor ...

(Реввоенсовет, ''Revvoyensovet'') and appointed Commander-in-chief of the Soviet Naval Forces. Altfater died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

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 million ...

on April 20, 1919. On receiving the news about his death,

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...

said that "the Red Fleet lost a tireless, competent, energetic and honest worker". He is buried in the

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery ( rus, Новоде́вичье кла́дбище, Novodevichye kladbishche) is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular touris ...

, Moscow.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altfater, Vasili Mikhailovich 1883 births 1919 deaths Military personnel from Warsaw People from Warsaw Governorate Baltic-German people Imperial Russian Navy admirals Soviet admirals Treaty of Brest-Litovsk negotiators Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Russian military personnel of World War I Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Naval Cadet Corps alumni