Aleksandr Arkadevich Tatarinov (; born 25 October 1950) is a former officer of 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 ...

. He holds the rank of

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

, and retired in 2016 after serving as First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy. Tatarinov's service began with 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 ...

, after studying at and graduating from the

Nakhimov Black Sea Higher Naval School The Nakhimov Black Sea Higher Naval School, formally the Black Sea Higher Naval Orders of Nakhimov and the Red Star School named after P. S. Nakhimov (), abbreviated as ChVVMU () is a higher naval education institution in Sevastopol which Military ...

. He entered service with 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 ...

, rising through the ranks to his own commands by 1980. He then went on to several staff appointments, at first with the Baltic Fleet, and then with the

Black Sea Fleet The Black Sea Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, are subordin ...

, where he served as chief of staff and was promoted to vice-admiral. He was tipped to take command of the fleet in 2002, but was passed over in favour of

Vladimir Masorin Vladimir Vasilyevich Masorin (; born 24 August 1947) is a retired Russian admiral of the fleet who was the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy from 2005 to 2007. He was previously the Chief of the Main Staff and First Deputy Commander-in-Chief ...

. When Masorin was appointed to a different post in 2005, Tatarinov took his post as commander of the Black Sea Fleet. His work required considerable diplomatic skill, as he held meetings and negotiations with

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

officials, and representatives of the Ukraianian forces over shared access to Black Sea naval facilities. On 20 July 2007 Tatarinov was appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, and then chief of staff and First Deputy Commander-in-Chief in 2009, and served in this post for several years. Despite criticism over the navy's response to the

2010 Russian wildfires The 2010 Russian wildfires were several hundred wildfires that broke out across Russia, primarily in the west in summer 2010. They started burning in late July and lasted until early September 2010. The fires were associated with record-high t ...

, Tatarinov played a key role in naval reforms, and trials of the

RSM-56 Bulava The RSM-56 Bulava (, " mace", NATO reporting names SS-N-30 / SS-NX-32, GRAU index 3M30, 3K30) is a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) developed for the Russian Navy and deployed in 2019 on the new of ballistic missile nuclear submari ...

ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are powered only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) typic ...

. He was given special dispensation to continue in service beyond the usual mandatory retirement age of 60, and instead retired at 65. He had received several honours and awards over his period of service.

Early career

Tatarinov was born on 25 October 1950 in

Olovyanninsky District Olovyanninsky District () is an administrativeRegistry of the Administrative-Territorial Units and the Inhabited Localities and municipalLaw #316-ZZK district (raion), one of the thirty-one in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia. It is located in the south o ...

Chita Oblast Chita Oblast ( rus, Чити́нская о́бласть, r=Čitínskaja óblastj, p=tɕɪˈtʲinskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) was a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) in southeast Siberia, Russia. Its administrative center was the city of Chita. ...

, then part of the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. He completed his high school studies in 1967, and went to study at the

, graduating in 1972. He began his active service with the

, acting as head of one of the rear base's mine-torpedo armaments laboratory between 1972 and 1973. In 1973 he was appointed commander of an anti-aircraft battery, and in 1976 took command of the artillery section of the Kashin-class destroyer ''Slavny''. From 1977 to 1979 Tatarinov was the senior assistant to the commander of the Krivak-class frigate ''Bodryy'', followed by a post as senior assistant to the commander of ''Bodryy''s sister ship ''Neukrotimyy''. He took the

Higher Special Officer Classes of the Navy The Higher Special Officer Classes of the Navy, formally the Higher Special Officer Order of Lenin Classes of the Navy (), and known by its abbreviation VSOK VMF () is a higher naval education institution in Saint Petersburg which educates serving ...

, graduating in 1980, and was appointed commander of the Kashin-class destroyer ''Obraztsovy''. Tatarinov graduated with honours from the

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. List of naval academies See also

* Military academy {{Authority control Naval academies, Naval lists ...

in 1988 and was appointed chief of staff of an anti-submarine brigade of the Baltic Fleet, becoming the brigade's commander in 1990. In 1994 he became the chief of staff and first deputy commander of the Baltic Naval Base, and then in April 1996, he was appointed the base's commander of the Baltic Naval Base. On 22 September 1997 Tatarinov was appointed chief of staff of the

, and was promoted to vice-admiral on 23 February 1999. Tatarinov undertook further study at the

Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia The Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation () is the senior staff college of the Russian Armed Forces. The academy is located in Moscow, on 14 Kholzunova Lane. It was founded in 1936 as a Soviet inst ...

, graduating in 2002. Following the resignation of the fleet's commander, Admiral , in October that year, there was media speculation that Tatarinov would be appointed to succeed him. Instead Vice-Admiral

, the commander of the

Caspian Flotilla The Caspian Flotilla () is the flotilla of the Russian Navy in the Caspian Sea. Established in November 1722 by the order of Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Caspian Flotilla is the oldest flotilla in the Russian ...

, was appointed as the fleet's commander, supposedly on the pretext of Tatarinov's "excessive exactingness and rigidity as leader".

Black Sea command and staff posts

On 15 February 2005 Masorin was appointed Chief of the Main Naval Staff, with Tatarinov assigned to fill his position as commander of the Black Sea Fleet. In his new role Tatarinov worked with

representatives in July 2005 to determine the role of Russian warships in

Operation Active Endeavour Operation Active Endeavour was a Navy, maritime operation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It operated in the Mediterranean Sea and was designed to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction. It had collateral ben ...

, an anti-terrorist operation in the Mediterranean. On 12 December 2005 Tatarinov was promoted to admiral. In January 2006 Tatarinov led a deputation of officers from the fleet's base in

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

Yalta Yalta (: ) is a resort town, resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crime ...

to negotiate with Ukrainian officials over the status of a disputed lighthouse. On 20 July 2007 he was appointed deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, and on 7 July 2009 was advanced to Chief of staff and First Deputy Commander of the Navy. After naval installations were damaged during the

, Russian President

Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia since 2020. Medvedev was also President of Russia between 2008 and 2012 and Prime Mini ...

sacked several senior naval officials, and warned both Tatarinov and Navy Commander-in-Chief

Vladimir Vysotskiy Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky (25 January 193825 July 1980) was a Soviet singer-songwriter, poet, and actor who had an immense and enduring effect on Soviet culture. He became widely known for his unique singing style and for his lyrics, which ...

over their "incomplete professional responsibility". In October 2011 he met with NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Admiral James G. Stavridis to discuss joint anti-piracy measures, and cooperation with Operation Active Endeavour. In October 2010 Dmitry Medvedev took the step of extending Tatarinov's time in service by another year. On 30 January 2012 it was extended by another four years, meaning Tatarinov would retire at the age of 65, rather than the usual mandatory retirement age of 60. This was part of several extensions granted to important figures connected to Russian military reform. Tatarinov was noted as playing a key role in the trials of the

Awards and honours

Over his career Tatarinov has been awarded the Order of Military Merit, the Order of Naval Merit and the

Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" (), also known as the Order "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", was a Soviet Union, Soviet Order (honour), military order awarded in three classes ...

Third Class. On 10 November 2005 he was awarded the Order of Saint Righteous Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy Second Class by

Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow Patriarch Alexy II (or Alexius II, ; secular name Aleksei Mikhailovich Ridiger ; 23 February 1929 – 5 December 2008) was the 15th Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus', the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. Elected Patriarch of Moscow ...

, for his "hard work on the revival and establishment of the original spiritual traditions of the Russian military in the Russian Navy". Tatarinov is married, with two children, a daughter and son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tatarinov, Aleksandr 1950 births Living people People from Olovyanninsky District Soviet Navy personnel Russian admirals Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Russia) Recipients of the Order of Naval Merit (Russia) Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class Recipients of the Order of Saint Righteous Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy, 2nd class Nakhimov Black Sea Higher Naval School alumni N. G. Kuznetsov Naval Academy alumni Higher Special Officer Classes of the Navy alumni Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia alumni