Vladimir Nikolayevich Chernavin (Russian: Владимир Николаевич Чернавин; 22 April 1928 – 18 March 2023) was a Russian officer of the Soviet Navy. He served as the last commander-in-chief of the Soviet Navy from 1985 to 1991 and the only commander-in-chief of the Commonwealth of Independent States Navy from 1991 to 1992. He reached the rank of fleet admiral during his career.

Vladimir Chernavin
Chernavin in 2013
Born(1928-04-22)22 April 1928
Mykolaiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Died18 March 2023(2023-03-18) (aged 94)
Moscow, Russia
Buried
Allegiance Soviet Union
Service / branch Soviet Navy
Years of service1944–1992
RankFleet admiral
CommandsNorthern Fleet
Soviet Navy
CIS Navy
Battles / warsCold War
AwardsHero of the Soviet Union

Biography

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Chernavin was born in Mykolaiv, Ukrainian SSR, in the Soviet Union. He entered the Higher Naval School in Baku in 1944 and graduated from the Frunze Higher Naval School in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) in 1951. He was the executive officer of a submarine in 1951 and became commander of the November-class submarine K-21 in 1959. He attended the Kuznetsov Naval Academy in 1962–65 and the General Staff Academy in 1967–69 after which he became divisional commander in 1969 and commanded the submarine flotillas of the Northern Fleet. In 1977 he was appointed commander of the Northern Fleet and in 1981 was awarded a title of the Hero of the Soviet Union. From 1981–85 he was chief of the main staff/1st deputy commander-in-chief of the Soviet Navy. He became the commander-in-chief of the Soviet Navy upon the retirement of Sergey Gorshkov. He retired in 1992. In retirement he was chairman of the Soviet submariners association. He was a prominent attendee at Victory Day Parades as recently as 2019.

Chernavin died in Moscow on 18 March 2023, at the age of 94.[1] He was buried with military honours at the Federal Military Memorial Cemetery's Pantheon of Defenders of the Fatherland on 21 March 2023.[2]

Honours and awards

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References

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  1. ^ "Умер последний главком ВМС СССР Владимир Чернавин". Kommersant. 18 March 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  2. ^ Dzhey, Anna (18 March 2023). "Последний главнокомандующий ВМФ СССР Владимир Чернавин. Досье". Argumenty i Fakty. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Биография Владимира Чернавина". TACC (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  4. ^ "Награждённые государственными наградами Российской Федерации". Президент России (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-11-20.

Literature

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Military offices
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief,
Soviet Navy/CIS Navy

1985–1992
Succeeded by
Feliks Gromov
Commander-in-Chief, Russian Navy