Vladimir Nikolayevich Chernavin (russian: Владимир Николаевич Чернавин; born 22 April 1928) is a former officer of the Soviet Navy. He served as the last Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy from 1985 to 1991 and the only Commander-in-Chief of the Commonwealth of Independent States Navy from 1991 to 1992. He reached the rank of Fleet Admiral during his career.

Biography

Chernavin was born in

Mykolaiv Mykolaiv ( uk, Миколаїв, ) is a city and municipality in Southern Ukraine, the administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv city, which provides Ukraine with access to the Black Sea, is the location of the most downriver brid ...

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

, in the

Soviet Union 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, ...

. He entered the Higher Naval School in Baku in 1944 and graduated from the

Frunze Higher Naval School The Peter the Great Naval Corps - St. Petersburg Naval Institute (), formerly known as the M.V. Frunze Higher Naval School (named after Mikhail Frunze, in ), is the oldest of the Russian Navy's naval officer commissioning schools. It is located i ...

in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) in 1951. He was the executive officer of a submarine in 1951 and became commander of the in 1959. He attended the

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. See also * Military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally pro ...

in 1962–65 and the General Staff Academy in 1967–69 after which he became divisional commander in 1969 and commanded the submarine flotillas of the Northern Fleet. In 1977 he was appointed Commander 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 ...

and in 1981 was awarded a title of the

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

. From 1981–85 he was Chief of the Main Staff/1st Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy. He became the commander-in-chief of the Soviet Navy upon the retirement of

Sergey Gorshkov Sergey Georgyevich Gorshkov (russian: Серге́й Гео́ргиевич Горшко́в; 26 February 1910 – 13 May 1988) was an admiral of the fleet of the Soviet Union. Twice awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, he oversaw the exp ...

. He retired in 1992. In retirement he is chairman of the Soviet submariners association. He has been a prominent attendee at

Victory Day Parade ukr, Парад Перемоги be, Парад Перамогі , nickname = Victory Parades , observedby = Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, some former Soviet countries , duration = 1 day , frequency = annual , scheduling = same d ...

s as recently as 2019.

Honours and awards

Order 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 ...

(twice) *

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (russian: Орден Октябрьской Революции, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on October 31, 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferr ...

Order 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 t ...

* Order of Aleksandr Nevsky * Order of the Red Star (twice) * Order of Courage * Order of Naval Merit *campaign and jubilee medals

References

Vladimir Chernavin
at warheroes.ru

Literature

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chernavin, Vladimir Soviet admirals Soviet Navy personnel Living people Military personnel from Mykolaiv Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Recipients of the Order of Courage Recipients of the Order of Naval Merit (Russia) 1928 births Soviet submarine commanders Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni N. G. Kuznetsov Naval Academy alumni