Aleksandr Andreyevich Nikolayev (; 17 August 1905 – 10 October 1949) was an officer of the

Soviet Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...

. He served during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and reached the rank of

vice-admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

Career

Nikolayev was born on 17 August 1905 in the village of , Kirsanovsky Uyezd, in what was then

Tambov Governorate Tambov Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, the Russian Republic, and the Russian SFSR, with its capital in Tambov. It was located between 51°14' and 55°6' north latitude, north and betwee ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. He spent some time in the

Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, usually known as Komsomol, was a political youth organization in the Soviet Union. It is sometimes described as the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), although it w ...

, before joining the Communist Party in 1927. He entered the Red Navy that same year, studying at the Baltic Fleet's submarine school from 1928, and graduating with a specialisation in diesel machinery in 1929. He then served as an instructor in diesel motors at the submarine school until 1934, while also taking courses at the Leningrad Communist University and graduating in 1932. He continued to be involved with political education, and naval training more generally, serving as secretary of the school's party bureau, and a senior instructor of the political departments. From May 1933 to 1934, he was senior instructor at the political department of , the forerunner of the

Northern Fleet The Northern Fleet (, ''Severnyy flot'') is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Arctic. According to the Russian ministry of defence: "The Northern Fleet dates its history back to a squadron created in 1733 to protect the terri ...

consisting of a detachment of ships of the

Baltic Fleet The Baltic Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. Established 18 May 1703, under Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Baltic Fleet is the oldest Russian fleet. In 1918, the fleet w ...

transferred between May and August to the Arctic Ocean via the

White Sea–Baltic Canal The White Sea–Baltic Canal (), often abbreviated to White Sea Canal (), is a man-made ship canal in Russia opened on 2 August 1933. It connects the White Sea, in the Arctic Ocean, with Lake Onega, which is further connected to the Baltic Sea. U ...

. In August 1934 he became chief of the Northern Military Flotilla's political department. Nikolayev enrolled in the Tolmachev Military-Political Academy's naval faculty in 1934, graduating in 1938. In January that year he was appointed senior instructor of the navy's political directorate, and commissar of a special detachment consisting of the hydrographic vessels ''Polyarny'' and ''Partizan'' on a voyage from

Kronstadt Kronstadt (, ) is a Russian administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg, port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Saint Petersburg, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg, near the head ...

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

. From December 1938, he was military commissar for the navy's chief of staff. He was appointed to the Military Council of the Northern Fleet in 1940, serving during the Second World War under the fleet's commander, Admiral Arseny Golovko. He was promoted to divisional commissar on 17 March 1941, rear-admiral on 13 December 1942, and vice-admiral on 31 May 1944. Nikolayev transferred to the

in June 1945 as a member of its military council, and when it was split into two fleets, the South Baltic Fleet from February 1946, and the 4th Fleet from April 1947. From April 1947, he was Deputy Chief of the Armed Forces's Main Political Directorate, and chairman of the Orgburo of DOSFLOT. Nikolayev died in Moscow on 10 October 1949 at the age of 44. He was buried in the city's

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery () 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 tourist site. History The cemetery was designed by Ivan Mashkov and inaugurated ...

Awards and honours

Over his career Nikolayev was awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

, three Orders of the Red Banner, the

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () 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 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

, the Orders of Nakhimov, and the Patriotic War First Classes, and various medals. Two ships of the Soviet and Russian Navies have been named for Nikolayev . The first was a T43-class minesweeper in service between 1950 and 1966. The ''Ivan Rogov''-class landing ship ''Aleksandr Nikolayev'' was built for the Soviet Navy and launched in 1982. She served with the

Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...

until her decommissioning in 2006. On 13 November 1969, Metallistov Street in

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

was renamed after Nikolayev.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nikolayev, Aleksandr Andreyevich 1905 births 1949 deaths People from Kirsanovsky Uyezd People from Tambov Oblast Soviet admirals Soviet military personnel of World War II Lenin Military Political Academy alumni Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Nakhimov, 1st class Recipients of the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery