Valentin Ponikarovsky

Valentin Nikolayevich Ponikarovsky (; 10 January 1927 — 14 August 2009) was an officer of the Soviet Navy. He reached the rank of admiral, and served as a deputy commander in chief of the Black Sea Fleet between 1975 and 1977, the Northern Fleet between 1977 and 1981, and the head of the Naval Academy from 1981 to 1991.

Biography

Ponikarovsky was born on 10 January 1927 in the village of Nekrasovo, Oparinsky District, in what was then the Northern Dvina Governorate, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, in the Soviet Union. His parents, Nikolai Elizarovich (1898–1967) and Anna Andreevna (1904–1944), were peasants. He enrolled for a year in the Leningrad Military Mechanical Institute in 1944, but left to enter the M. V. Frunze Higher Naval School. He graduated in 1949, and was assigned to serve aboard submarines in the Black Sea Fleet. Initially a navigator aboard the M-class submarine ''M-115'', he rose to be assistant to the commander of ''M-237'' in the by 1951, and took the Higher Special Officer Classes of the Navy between 1951 and 1952. He then returned to the Black Sea Fleet, and went from executive officer of the under-construction Whiskey-class ''S-87'', to her commander in September 1955. He sailed her to join the Pacific Fleet's that year. He was back in the Northern Fleet by 1957, a captain 2nd rank with command of the Zulu-class ''B-91'' until 1960.

Ponikarovsky undertook further studies at the Naval Academy from 1960 until 1963, and on graduating was appointed as a captain 1st rank to command the Echo II-class nuclear missile submarine ''K-22'' in the Northern Fleet's . He held this position until 1966, when he became deputy commander of the , and its commander by in 1968. He was promoted to rear-admiral on 6 November 1970. The division operated the new generation of nuclear submarines then entering service, and carried out long-distance voyages to operate in the Mediterranean. Ponikarovsky personally took part in seven of these. He left the division in 1971, moving to become deputy chief of the Naval General Staff's Operations Directorate. He was based here until 1975, when he became chief of staff of the Black Sea Fleet. Promoted to vice-admiral on 28 October 1976, he returned to the Northern Fleet in 1977 as its chief of staff. He held this post until 1981, being promoted to admiral on 10 February 1981, and becoming the first chief of staff of the Northern Fleet in history to hold that rank.

Ponikarovsky became head of the Naval Academy in 1981, a post he held until his retirement ten years later. He oversaw the increasing use of electronics and computers in training, and developed a number of initiatives, including the return of the academy's orchestra in 1983, which had been disbanded in the 1950s. Ponikarovsky was particularly interested in academic affairs, being a candidate of military sciences, a professor, and a corresponding member of the International Slavic Academy of Sciences. He authored more than 100 scientific papers and publications.

Ponikarovsky retired from the navy in 1991, but remained active in scientific and public affairs. He was president of the International Association of Veterans and Submariners. Ponikarovsky was married, with his wife, Zhanna Azhelovna, born in 1927. She was a physiotherapist. The couple had two sons who followed their father into the navy. Viktor was born in 1951, and retired as a captain 1st rank to serve as a deputy for personnel and security in the Tax Inspectorate. Yevgeny, born in 1959, also retired as a captain 1st rank. Valentin died in Moscow on 14 August 2009, at the age of 82. He was buried in Saint Petersburg's Serafimovskoe Cemetery.

Ponikarovsky and Pupkin's penis

During Ponikarovsky's time in command of ''B-91'', a story emerged of an accident aboard the submarine during a patrol in stormy weather in the Barents Sea. One of the boat's petty officers, given the placeholder name of Pupkin had attempted to urinate into a toilet while standing in the doorway. The boat had rolled in a wave, the door slammed shut, and almost completely severed his penis. The submarine's doctor performed emergency surgery, and Ponikarovsky radioed naval command to request an immediate return to port. The request was granted, but news leaked and spread around the small naval base, rumours escalating and suggesting that Ponikarovsky himself had suffered the injury. The matter was cleared up when ''B-91'' returned to port. Petty Officer "Pupkin" made a full recovery, with reports suggesting the only lasting issue was a decrease in sensitivity due to nerve damage, which according to "Pupkin's" account, enabled him to last longer and better please his wife. The story made the rounds of naval wardrooms, and was confirmed by Ponikarovsky's son, Captain 1st Rank Yevgeny Valentinovich Ponikarovsky.

Honours and awards

Over his career Ponikarovsky received the Order of the October Revolution, the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of the Red Banner of Labour, the Order of the Red Star, and the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" Third Class, and various other medals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ponikarovsky, Valentin Nikolayevich
1927 births
2009 deaths
People from Kirov Oblast
Soviet admirals
Saint Petersburg Naval Institute alumni
Higher Special Officer Classes of the Navy alumni
N. G. Kuznetsov Naval Academy alumni
Recipients of the Order of the October Revolution
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Recipients of the Order of the Red Star
Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 3rd class
Burials at Serafimovskoe Cemetery