Viktor Petrovich Kravchuk (; born 18 January 1961) 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

Vice-Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

, and served as commander of the

Caspian Flotilla The Caspian Flotilla () is the flotilla of the Russian Navy in the Caspian Sea. Established in November 1722 by the order of Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Caspian Flotilla is the oldest flotilla in the Russian ...

between 2005 and 2009, and as 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 ...

between 2012 and 2016.

Biography

Kravchuk was born on 18 January 1961 in the village of Palasher, Usolsky District, in what was then

Perm Oblast Until 1 December 2005, Perm Oblast () was a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) in Privolzhsky (Volga) Federal District. According to the results of the referendum held in October 2004, Perm Oblast was merged with Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug ...

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, 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 Pacific Higher Naval School in

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from 1978 to 1983. He was then assigned to serve in the Pacific Fleet, where he worked up through the positions of commander of the navigation combat unit of a patrol ship, to commander of a missile boat. He undertook further study with the Higher Special Officer Classes of the Navy between 1987 and 1988, and then served as chief of staff of a missile boat division, then its commander, then chief of staff, and then commander of a missile boat brigade by 1999. He combined this with studies at the Kuznetsov Naval Academy, gradutating in absentia in 1997. Between 1999 and 2000, he was deputy flotilla commander and head of armaments of the

. Kravchuk studied at the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces between 2000 and 2002, and on graduation was appointed deputy commander of the Caspian Flotilla. From 2003, he served as chief of staff and first deputy commander of the flotilla, being promoted to 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 ...

on 22 February 2004. On 4 November 2005 he was appointed commander of the Caspian Flotilla, and was promoted to

vice-admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

in 2007. He held this post until December 2009, when he was appointed deputy commander of the

. On 14 September 2012, by

decree of the President of Russia A Decree of the President of the Russian Federation (; ''Ukaz Prezidenta Rossiyskoy Federatsii'') or Executive Order (Decree) of the President of Russia is a legal act (''ukase'') with the status of a by-law made by the President of Russia. As no ...

, Kravchuk was appointed commander of the Baltic Fleet.

Dismissal from service

On 29 June 2016, Kravchuk, the Baltic Fleet's chief of staff Sergei Popov, and a number of other Baltic Fleet officials, were removed from their posts by order of

Defence Minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

Sergei Shoigu Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu; , . (born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician and military officer who has served as secretary of the Security Council since 2024. He served as Minister of Defence of Russia from 2012 to 2024. Shoigu has served a ...

. The removals followed a control inspection of the Baltic Fleet between 11 May and 10 June 2016, which in turn followed a period of increased

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activity around

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and the May Anaconda and June BALTOPS 2016 military exercises. The

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

issued a statement attributing the removals as "for serious omissions in combat training, as well as distortion of the real state of affairs in reports." The removal of officers temporarily left Vice-Admiral Sergei Yeliseyev, a former deputy commander of the

Ukrainian Navy The Ukrainian Navy (), is the Navy, maritime force of Ukraine and one of the eight Military branch, service branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The naval forces consist of five components: surface forces, submarine forces, Ukrainian Naval ...

prior to his defection to Russia during the Russian annexation of Crimea, as senior officer of the Baltic Fleet, before Vice-Admiral Aleksandr Nosatov, only recently appointed as head of the Kuznetsov Naval Academy, was assigned as the new commander. Kravchuk filed a complaint with the

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in July 2016, arguing for the reason of dismissal due to professional incompetence be cancelled and that he be allowed to resign due to health reasons. This would have allowed him to retain his pensions and benefits. The Supreme Court dismissed Kravchuk's case in 2017.

Honours and awards

Over his career Kravchuk has received the Order of Military Merit, and various other medals. On 6 February 2016 he was awarded a personalized

dirk A dirk is a long-bladed thrusting dagger.Chisholm, Hugh (ed.); "Dagger", ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 11th ed., Vol. VII, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press (1910), p. 729. Historically, it gained its name from the Highland dirk (Scott ...

for special services to the state and the Armed Forces by Colonel-General Andrei Kartapolov, commander 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 ...

, at a ceremony of the district's Military Council 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kravchuk, Viktor Petrovich 1961 births Living people People from Usolsky District, Perm Krai Soviet Navy personnel Russian admirals Pacific Higher Naval School alumni Higher Special Officer Classes of the Navy 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 Military Merit (Russia)