Nikolay Kuznetsov
Никола́й Гера́симович Кузнецо́в ore on english, Gerasimovich Kuznetsov was born July 24, 1904 in Medvedki and die December 6, 1974 in Moscow was a Soviet naval officer who achieved the rank of Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union and served as People’s Commissar of the Navy during The Second World War. Before the war Kuznetsov was the naval attaché and chief naval advisor to Republican Spain 1936-1937. After his return home to Soviet Union Kuznetov was promoted to commander of the Pacific Fleet. The year after Kuznetov was promoted to People’s Commissars for the Navy (naval minister).
Kuznetsov played a crucial role during the first hours of the war – at this pivotal moment, his resolve and blatant disregard for orders averted the destruction of the Soviet Navy. By June 21, 1941, Kuznetzov was convinced of the inevitability of war with Nazi Germany. On the same day Semyon Timoshenko and Georgy Zhukov issued a directive prohibiting Soviet commanders from responding to “German provocations”. The Navy, however, constituted a distinct ministry (narkomat), and thus Kuznetsov held a position which was technically outside the direct chain of command. He utilized this fact in a very bold move.
Shortly after midnight on the morning of June 22, Kuznetsov ordered all Soviet fleets to battle readiness. At 3:15 am that same morning, the Wehrmacht began Operation Barbarossa. The Soviet Navy was the only branch of the military in the highest state of combat readiness at the start of the initial German push.
In the following two years, Kuznetsov’s primary concern was the protection of the Caucasus from a German invasion. Throughout the war, the Black Sea remained the primary theater of operations for the Soviet Navy. During the war years Kuznetsov honed Soviet methods of amphibious assault. In May 1944 he was given the rank of Admiral of the Fleet – a newly created position initially equated to that of a four-star general. In the same year, Kuznetsov was given the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. On May 31, 1945, his rank was equated to the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union with a similar insignia.
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