Igor Vladimirovich Smolyak (; born 27 February 1968) is a retired 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

Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

, and served as commander of the

Leningrad Naval Base The Leningrad Naval Base is part of the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Navy. History The Naval base was created on the basis of Order No. 117 as of March 15, 1919 of the Baltic Sea Fleet. The Naval Forces of Petrograd were transformed by the order in ...

between 2015 and 2016, and as commander of 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 ...

between 2016 and 2017.

Biography

Smolyak was born on 27 February 1968 in the village of Velyki Sorochyntsi,

Myrhorod Raion Myrhorod Raion (; translit.: ''Myrhorods'kyi raion'') is a raion (district) in Poltava Oblast of central Ukraine. The raion's administrative center is the city of Myrhorod. Population: On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Uk ...

Poltava Oblast Poltava Oblast (), also referred to as Poltavshchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of central Ukraine. The capital city, administrative center of the oblast is the city of Poltava. Most of its territory was par ...

, in what was then the

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

, in 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 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 ...

, studying at the

Leningrad Nakhimov Naval School The Nakhimov Naval School () in Saint Petersburg is a military boarding school of the Russian Navy. Overview The Leningrad Nakhimov Naval School was created in accordance with the decree of the Council of People's Commissars on 21 June 1944 and ...

and graduating in 1985. Having received a grounding in naval training, he entered the

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 ...

to prepare for officer commissioning, and graduated in 1990. He began his active service in 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 ...

, serving as commander of a missile and artillery warhead control group aboard the aircraft carrier ''Admiral Kuznetsov''. He was transferred to 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 ...

in 1993, where after starting out as commander of a warship's missile and artillery warhead group, he was executive officer of the Kashin-class destroyer ''Sderzhanny'', and then executive officer of the

Kara-class cruiser The Kara class, Soviet designation Project 1134B Berkut B ("golden eagle"), was a class of Cruiser#Soviet cruiser development, guided missile cruisers ("large anti-submarine warfare, anti-submarine warfare ship" in Soviet classification) built fo ...

''Kerch''. His next post was in command of his own ship, the Kashin-class destroyer ''Smetlivy''. After carrying out further studies at the

Kuznetsov Naval Academy The N. G. Kuznetsov Naval Academy is the main staff college and postgraduate institution for the Russian Navy and is located in Saint Petersburg. In 1827 Admiral Ivan Kruzenshtern initiated an Officers' Class at the Naval Cadet Corps. In 18 ...

and graduating in 2004, Smolyak returned to the Black Sea Fleet. He served as commander of a rescue vessel division, executive officer of the missile cruiser ''Moskva'', before being appointed to command the ''Moskva''. Black high naval school 07

Smolyak continued his service with the Black Sea Fleet, as deputy commander, and then commander of the . In December 2011, he transferred to the Pacific Fleet to command the 36th Surface Ship Division. He held this post until 25 March 2014, when he was appointed as head of the

in Sevastopol. He became the first head of the former-Ukrainian school after the

annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation In February and March 2014, Russia invaded the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, part of Ukraine, and then annexed it. This took place in the relative power vacuum immediately following the Revolution of Dignity. It marked the beginning of the Russ ...

. In March 2015, he was reassigned to 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 ...

as commander of the

. His next posting was as chief of the

Western Military District The Western Military District () was a Military districts of Russia, military district of Russia, in existence from 2010 until its abolishment as a unitary military command on February 26, 2024, succeeded by the newly reconstituted Moscow Mil ...

's naval directorate between September 2016 and September 2017. After studies at the Military Academy of the General Staff, from which he graduated in 2019, Smolyak was appointed chief of staff and first deputy commander of the Black Sea Fleet. During his time as first deputy commander, the

2021 Black Sea incident The 2021 Black Sea incident was a diplomatic incident between Russia and the United Kingdom involving the British destroyer '' HMS Defender'' while it transited from Odesa, Ukraine, to Batumi, Georgia. Background In 2014, Russia annexed the ...

took place. On 23 June 2021, the British destroyer conducted a

freedom of navigation Freedom of navigation (FON) is a principle of law of the sea that ships flying the flag of any sovereign state shall not suffer interference from other states when in international waters, apart from the exceptions provided for in international ...

voyage through waters off

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

. The ability of the British ship to do so caused controversy in Russia, and on 5 October 2021, Smolyak was reassigned, being appointed as deputy commander of the Baltic Fleet. It was noted by online commentators that this was an effective demotion from having been second in command of the Black Sea Fleet. Smolyak is married and has a daughter.

Honours and awards

Over his career Smolyak has received the Order of Courage, the Order of Military Merit, and various other medals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smolyak, Igor Vladimirovich 1968 births Living people Military personnel from Poltava Oblast Soviet Navy personnel Russian admirals Nakhimov Black Sea Higher Naval School alumni N. G. Kuznetsov Naval Academy alumni Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia alumni Recipients of the Order of Courage (Russia) Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Russia)