Viktor Nikolayevich Liina (; born 19 July 1968) is an 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 admiral and has served as the commander of the Pacific Fleet since 2023. Previously, he served as the 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 ...

from 2021 to 2023.

Career

Liina was born on 19 June 1968 in

Pechory Pechory (; Estonian and Seto: ') is a town and the administrative centre of Pechorsky District in the Pskov Oblast, Russia. Its population in the 2010 Census was 11,195, having fallen from 13,056 recorded in the 2002 Census and& ...

Pskov Oblast Pskov Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the west of the country. Its administrative center is the Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Pskov. As of the Russian Census ...

, then part of the

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

, 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 ...

. His surname is Estonian, as he has

Seto Seto may refer to: Places *Seto, Aichi, production place of Japanese pottery and venue of Expo 2005 * Seto, Ehime, facing the Seto Inland Sea * Seto, Okayama, adjacent to Okayama, in Okayama Prefecture *Seto Inland Sea of Japan *Setomaa (''Seto ...

ancestry from his father's side. He studied at the

Higher Naval School of Submarine Navigation The Higher Naval School of Submarine Navigation, formally the Higher Naval School of Submarine Navigation named after Leninsky Komsomol (), was a higher naval education institution in Saint Petersburg which prepared prospective officers for commi ...

Leningrad 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 ...

, graduating in 1990 and being assigned to serve on the submarines of 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 ...

. Beginning as an engineer in the electronic navigation department of a cruiser submarine, he rose through the ranks to eventually command a nuclear submarine. In 1996 he graduated from the

Higher Special Officer Classes of the Navy The Higher Special Officer Classes of the Navy, formally the Higher Special Officer Order of Lenin Classes of the Navy (), and known by its abbreviation VSOK VMF () is a higher naval education institution in Saint Petersburg which educates serving ...

. From 1999 to 2004 he was commander of the 74th "Segezha" crew of the Northern Fleet's 11th Submarine Division. Liina graduated from 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 ...

in 2006, and was appointed in succession as deputy commander and chief of staff, and then commander of a submarine division, deputy commander of the submarine forces of the Northern Fleet, and then commander of the from 2010 to 2012. On 9 August 2012 Liina was promoted to the rank of ''kontr-admiral''. This was followed with a posting as commander of Northeastern Group of Troops and Forces in December 2012. In 2014 Liina enrolled in the

Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia The Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation () is the senior staff college of the Russian Armed Forces. The academy is located in Moscow, on 14 Kholzunova Lane. It was founded in 1936 as a Soviet inst ...

, and on graduating in 2016, was appointed First Deputy Commander of 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 May that year. On 12 December 2018 Liina was promoted to 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 on 1 August 2019 he took up the role of Deputy Chief of the

General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation () is the military staff of the Russian Armed Forces. It is the central organ of the military command of the Armed Forces Administration and oversees operational command of the arme ...

. In this capacity in July 2020 he led the General Staff's control group on an inspection of the Black Sea Fleet before the upcoming strategic command and staff exercises "

Caucasus 2020 Strategic command and staff exercise "Caucasus-2020" (), commonly known as Caucasus 2020 (also called Kavkaz 2020), was a multinational Military exercise#Command Post, command post exercise in Russia. The exercise took place from September 21 to ...

". On 18 May 2020 he presented diplomas to graduates of the

NBC Protection Military Academy The Marshal Semyon Timoshenko Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense Military Academy () is a military university in Kostroma training officers for service in the Russian NBC Defense Troops of the Russian Ground Forces. It was established in ...

. On 5 October 2021 Liina was appointed Commander of the

. He was promoted to the rank of admiral on 7 December 2022. Over his career Liina has received the Orders of Nakhimov, Military Merit and Naval Merit, as well as various medals. On 22 April 2023 he was appointed commander of the Pacific Fleet, replacing Admiral

Sergei Avakyants Admiral Sergei Iosifovich Avakyants (, ; b. 6 April 1957) is a Russian retired naval officer and a recipient of the Order of Naval Merit and the Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR. Biography Early life Avakyan ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liina, Viktor 1968 births Living people People from Pechory Soviet Navy personnel Russian admirals Recipients of the Order of Nakhimov Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Russia) Recipients of the Order of Naval Merit (Russia) Recipients of the Medal of Zhukov Higher Naval School of Submarine Navigation alumni N. G. Kuznetsov Naval Academy alumni Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia alumni