Arseny Grigoryevich Golovko (; 10 June 1906 – 17 May 1962) was a Soviet

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 ...

, whose naval service extended from the 1920s through the early Cold War.

Service

He entered 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 ...

in 1925 and graduated in 1928 from the M.V. Frunze Higher Naval School in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. After that he served in various Fleet assignments. In 1937 and 1938 he took part in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

on the side of the

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. After his return to the USSR he attended the naval warfare school. From 1940 to 1946, 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 ...

, he was Commander of the

Soviet Northern Fleet The Northern Fleet (, ''Severnyy flot'') is the 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 territories of th ...

. After the war he held various naval commands, among them Commander 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 ...

. In 1956 he was named First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy. He died in 1962.

Honours and awards

For his services, Golovko received 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 ...

four times and the Order of the Red Banner four times (twice with the Order of Ushakov). He also was decorated numerous times with other domestic and foreign orders and medals. * Four

Orders 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 ...

Order of Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of Sovi ...

, four times * Order of Ushakov, 1st class, twice * Order of Nakhimov, 1st class *

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 ...

, twice *

Medal "For the Defence of the Soviet Transarctic" The Medal "For the Defence of the Soviet Transarctic" () was a World War II campaign medal of the Soviet Union. Medal History The Medal "For the Defence of the Soviet Transarctic" was established on December 5, 1944, by decree of the Presidium ...

Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Medal "For the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union established on May 9, 1945, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to denote military partici ...

* Jubilee Medal "20 Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" * Jubilee Medal "30 Years of the Soviet Army and Navy" *

Jubilee Medal "40 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Jubilee Medal "40 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" () was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established on December 18, 1957 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to denote the fortieth anni ...

* Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

(1946)

Personal life

His wife was the distinguished Russian actress Kira Golovko. His daughter Natalia Golovko is also an actress.Школа-студия МХАТ: 1970—1979
Кира Головко
on the web-page peoples.ru

Commemoration

The Soviet cruiser ''Admiral Golovko'' took its name from Arseniy Golovko.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Golovko, Arseniy 1906 births 1962 deaths Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Soviet admirals Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of Ushakov, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Nakhimov, 1st class Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Russian people of the Spanish Civil War Soviet military personnel of World War II Soviet people of the Spanish Civil War Baltic Fleet Saint Petersburg Naval Institute alumni