Stepan Grigorievich Kucherov (russian: Степан Григорьевич Кучеров) ( – 30 March 1973) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

naval officer.

Biography

Kucherov was born in Olshanka in what is now the Arkadaksky District of

Saratov Oblast Saratov Oblast (russian: Сара́товская о́бласть, ''Saratovskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Saratov. As of the 2010 Ce ...

. After joining the Soviet Navy in 1922, he advanced through the ranks and held various commands, including Chief of Staff of the

Northern Fleet Severnyy flot , image = Great emblem of the Northern Fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Northern Fleet's great emblem , start_date = June 1, 1733; Sov ...

(August 1940), Commander of the

White Sea Flotilla White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

(February 1943), and Deputy Chief of Staff of the Soviet Navy (1944–45). In this capacity he participated in the conferences at

Yalta Yalta (: Я́лта) is a 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 Cri ...

and

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

. After the war he commanded the

Caspian Flotilla Kaspiyskaya flotiliya , image = Great emblem of the Caspian Flotilla.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Caspian Flotilla , dates = No ...

and from 1950 took up a series of teaching and administrative positions at the Military Academy. He retired in 1967. Kucherov received several decorations, including two of the highest honors in the Soviet Navy: the

Order of Nakhimov The Order of Nakhimov (russian: орден Нахимова) is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honour of Russian admiral Pavel Nakhimov (1802–1855) and bestowed to naval officers for outstanding military leadership. ...

and the

Order of Ushakov The Order of Ushakov (russian: орден Ушакова) is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honour of admiral Fyodor Ushakov (1744–1817) who never lost a battle and was proclaimed patron saint of the Russian Navy. ...

First Class.

Legacy

An ''Udaloy II'' class destroyer named ''Admiral Kucherov'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

in 1991 but scrapped in 1993.

References

External links

Photo of Rear Admiral Kucherov while Chief of Staff of the Northern Fleet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kucherov, Stepan 1902 births 1973 deaths People from Saratov Oblast Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Soviet admirals Soviet military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Nakhimov Recipients of the Order of Ushakov, 1st class Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States)