Konstantin Matveyevich Kuznetsov (; – 21 July 1977) 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 reached 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 saw service in the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

, the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

, and 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 ...

. Born in 1902, Kuznetsov joined the Bolshevik forces during the

, initially fighting with the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

, and then from 1922 with the

Red Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare 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 the opposi ...

. After a brief period in the Arctic, he undertook his early service and training 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 on submarines. Transferring to the Pacific Fleet in the early 1930s, he was given his own commands, eventually rising to staff positions. He was arrested for a time and dismissed from the navy during the

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

, but was reinstated and after 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 ...

, was appointed deputy head of the submarine department of the navy's combat training department, and was serving in this role at the

Axis invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis powers, Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet ...

in June 1941. On the outbreak of war, Kuznetsov visited the submarines at the naval bases to direct operations. He wrote instructions on submarine tactics for distribution to commanders in the field, and studied methods of anti-submarine defence. In 1943, he was appointed deputy head of the navy's submarine navigation department. He went on to command a number of naval bases, first the Osinovetskaya naval base of the , then the , and finally the . He received numerous awards for his wartime service, and entered a mostly academic life after the war, serving as head of the Leningrad Naval Preparatory School, the M. V. Frunze Higher Naval School, a deputy head of 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 ...

, and head of the Higher Naval School of Submarine Navigation.

Early years and education

Kuznetsov was born on in

Saint Petersburg 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 ...

, 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 joined up for service in the

in 1921, and saw action in the

as part of the Forces of Special Purpose. He switched branches in March 1922, joining the

and being sent to the

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near its mouth into the White Sea. The city spreads for over along the ...

naval detachment. He was soon redeployed to the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

, as a sailor in the

's 1st Integrated School in June 1922, and from March 1923, serving as a mine specialist aboard the Black Sea Fleet

minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine, military aircraft or land vehicle deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for ins ...

''1 Maya''. He enrolled as a cadet in the 1st Integrated School in October 1923, joining the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) that year. In March 1924, he was appointed senior mine specialist aboard the ''1 Maya''. Kuznetsov returned to his hometown, now renamed Leningrad, in July 1924, and enrolled as a cadet in the M. V. Frunze Naval School. After graduating from its courses, he returned to the Black Sea Fleet and was appointed acting navigator aboard the submarine ''Marxist'' in October 1927. He took the Black Sea Fleet's special command classes from October 1929 to October 1930, being appointed senior assistant commander of the submarine in May 1930, and then her commander from May 1931. A reassignment to the Pacific Fleet followed, with Kuznetsov taking command of the submarine in November 1932. In October 1934, Kuznetsov was appointed a division commander in the Pacific Fleet, then in April 1936, chief of staff of the fleet's 2nd Submarine Brigade, becoming its acting commander in September 1936. He 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 ...

that year for his work in putting the submarines through combat training. In April 1937, he was appointed chief of the 7th department of the Pacific Fleet headquarters, and then in December 1937, he became commander of the fleet's 1st Submarine Brigade, with the rank of

captain 2nd rank Captain 2nd rank () is a rank used by the Russian Navy and a number of List of communist states#Former communist states, former communist states. The rank is the middle rank in the staff officer's career group. The rank is equivalent to lieutenant c ...

. On 8 April 1938, during the

, he was arrested and then dismissed from the navy on 9 May 1938. He was reinstated in June 1939. He returned to the Black Sea Fleet as commander of a training detachment of submarines, before in August 1939, joining the

as acting-commander of its 1st Submarine Brigade. He was confirmed as its commander on 2 February 1940, and went on to see action in the

in this role. He was awarded 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 ...

in 1940 for his combat service. On 13 May 1941, Kuznetsov was appointed deputy head of the submarine department of the navy's combat training department, and was serving in this role at the

in June 1941.

Wartime service

RIAN archive 397 Cutters carrying foodstuffs to besieged Leningrad on Ladoga Lake

On the outbreak of war, Kuznetsov visited the submarines at the naval bases to direct operations, in the Baltic, Northern and Black Sea Fleets. He wrote instructions on submarine tactics for distribution to commanders in the field, and studied methods of anti-submarine defence. He wrote a "Guide to the Self-Defence of Merchant Ships" for the Soviet merchant fleet. On 26 January 1943, he was appointed deputy head of the navy's submarine navigation department. On 15 July 1943, he was nominated for the

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War () is a Soviet Union, Soviet military Order (decoration), decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to Partisan (military), partisans for heroic deeds in the Easte ...

First Class for his wartime work. Later in 1943, he was appointed commander of the Osinovetskaya naval base of the . He carried out offensive and defensive operations during the

siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad was a Siege, military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the city of Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 1941 t ...

, organising reconnaissance and raiding operations, and attacking enemy artillery positions. He was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st Class on 8 July 1944. In August 1944, Kuznetsov was appointed commander of the , and on 3 November that year was awarded the

Order of the 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 S ...

. He was moved shortly afterwards, on 27 November, to command the . From this position on the Baltic coastline, he supported the Red Army flank during advances along the

Karelian Isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (; ; ) is the approximately stretch of land situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia, to the north of the River Neva. Its northwestern boundary is a line from the Bay of Vyborg to the we ...

, and attacking German sea communication lines between Windau, Libau and Danzig. He ended the war in this position, receiving the Order of Nakhimov Second Class on 20 July 1945, the Medal "For the Capture of Königsberg" on 30 March 1946, and the

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 ...

on 29 July 1946.

Post-war life

Kuznetsov entered a mostly academic life after the war, being appointed head of the Leningrad Naval Preparatory School in 1946, and then of the M. V. Frunze Higher Naval School in 1947. In 1951 he became deputy head of 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 ...

, and from 1953 until he retired in 1956, he was head of the Higher Naval School of Submarine Navigation. He died on 21 July 1977 and was buried in Leningrad's Serafimovskoe Cemetery.

Honours and awards

Over his career Kuznetsov received the

twice, the

twice, the Order of Nakhimov Second Class, the

First Class twice, the

, and various other medals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuznetsov, Konstantin Matveyevich 1902 births 1977 deaths Military personnel from Saint Petersburg Soviet admirals Soviet submarine commanders Saint Petersburg Naval Institute alumni Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Nakhimov, 2nd class Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel of the Winter War Soviet military personnel of World War II Burials at Serafimovskoe Cemetery