Vladimir Prokofyevich Valuyev (; born 16 July 1947) 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

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

, and served 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 2001 and 2006.

Biography

Valuyev was born on 16 July 1947 in

Krasnyi Luch Khrustalnyi or Krasnyi Luch is a city in Luhansk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. Its population is approximately It has historically been one of the most important coal mining locations in the Donbas region. The city was founded in the 1880s after t ...

, in what was then

Voroshilovgrad Oblast Luhansk Oblast (; ), also referred to as Luhanshchyna (), is the easternmost oblast (province) of Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Luhansk. The oblast was established in 1938 and bore the name ''Voroshilovgrad Oblast'' until 1 ...

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

, 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

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 ...

from 1964 to 1969. On graduating, he was assigned to the Pacific Fleet, serving on nuclear submarines as the commander of various departments aboard the Whiskey-class ''S-44'', rising to the position of executive officer aboard the Juliett-class ''K-70'' in 1971. He took 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 ...

between 1973 and 1974, and on graduation was appointed executive officer 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 ...

's ''K-478''. In 1978, he was appointed commander of the

Charlie-class submarine The Project 670 ''Skat'' submarine (NATO classification Charlie class) was a nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine built for the Soviet Navy and later operated by the Russian Navy. All Charlie I/II-class submarines are decommissioned. One Ch ...

''K-325'', sailing her from the Northern Fleet to join the Pacific Fleet's 10th Submarine Division at

Kamchatka The Kamchatka Peninsula (, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and western coastlines, respectively. Immediately offshore along the Pacific ...

. Valuyev carried out further studies at 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 ...

between 1981 and 1983, and on graduating was appointed as deputy commander of one of the Pacific Fleet's submarine divisions. In 1988, he was appointed the division's commander. He studied at the Military Academy of the General Staff between 1991 and 1993, during which time the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

took place, and Valuyev transitioned from serving the

to the

. On graduating, he was assigned to the post of chief of staff and first deputy commander of the Pacific Fleet's 4th Submarine Flotilla. The flotilla was subsequently reorganized as a squadron, and Valuyev, by now a rear-admiral, was appointed its commander. By the time of the squadron's disbandment in 1996, Valuyev had been promoted to vice-admiral, and was appointed Deputy Chief of the Naval General Staff. On 20 November 1996, he was appointed first deputy commander of the Baltic Fleet, serving under the fleet commander, Vladimir Yegorov. Yegorov was elected

governor of Kaliningrad Oblast The Governor of Kaliningrad Oblast (Губернатор Калининградской области) is the head of executive branch for the Kaliningrad Oblast (former Königsberg, East Prussia), considered as Prime Minister of Kaliningrad Obl ...

in November 2000, with Valuyev serving as acting commander of the fleet until being confirmed in the position on 11 April 2001. He was promoted to admiral on 11 December 2001. On 30 January 2006, he suffered a

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. He stepped down as commander on 6 May 2006, and retired from the navy that month on medical advice.

Family and personal life

Valuyev is married, with two daughters. His hobbies are hunting, chess, and winter swimming. He settled in

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

, and has been a member of the

Security Council of Russia The Security Council of the Russian Federation ( SCRF or Sovbez; ) is a constitutional consultative body of the Russian president that supports the president's decision-making on national security affairs and matters of strategic interest. Comp ...

's working group for Kaliningrad Oblast. He is a candidate of military sciences, and president of the Union of Navy Veterans, Chairman of the Moscow Association of Kaliningraders, a board member of the Luhansk and Donetsk Associations in Moscow. He heads the Admiral's Board of Trustees for the building of a church in Saint Petersburg to

Fyodor Ushakov Admiral Fyodor Fyodorovich Ushakov ( rus, Фёдор Фёдорович Ушаков, Fëdor Fëdorovič Ušakov, p=ʊʂɐˈkof; – ) was an Imperial Russian Navy officer best known for his service in the French Revolutionary and Napoleon ...

Honours and awards

Over his career Valuyev has received the Order of Courage, the Order of Military Merit, the Order of Honour, the

Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" (), also known as the Order "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", was a Soviet Union, Soviet Order (honour), military order awarded in three classes ...

, and various other medals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valuyev, Vladimir Prokofyevich 1947 births Living people People from Krasnyi Luch Soviet Navy personnel Russian admirals Higher Naval School of Submarine Navigation 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 Courage (Russia) Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Russia) Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 3rd class