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Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov (Russian:Никола́й Гера́симович Кузнецо́в; 24 July 1904 – 6 December 1974) was aSoviet naval officer who achieved the rank ofAdmiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union and served asPeople's Commissar of the Navy during theWinter War and theSecond World War. TheN. G. Kuznetsov Naval Academy and theRussian aircraft carrierAdmiral Kuznetsov, as well as theKuznetsov-class carrier class, are named in his honor.
Kuznetsov was born in a peasant family of Serbian paternal ancestry in the village ofMedvedki,Velikoustyuzhsky Uyezd,Vologda Governorate,Russian Empire (now inKotlassky District ofArkhangelsk Oblast,Russia).
In 1919, Kuznetsov joined the Northern Dvina Naval Flotilla, having added two years to his age to make himself eligible to serve. In 1920, he was stationed atPetrograd and in 1924, as a member of a naval unit, he attended the funeral ceremony ofVladimir Lenin.[11]
That same year, he joined theCommunist Party.
Upon graduation from theFrunze Higher Naval School in 1926, Kuznetsov served on thecruiserChervona Ukraina, first as watch officer and then as First Lieutenant. In 1932, he graduated from the Naval College after studying operational tactics. Upon graduation, he was offered two options – a desk job with the general staff or a command post on a ship.
Kuznetsov successfully applied for the post ofexecutive officer on thecruiserKrasnyi Kavkaz. Within a year, the young officer earned his next promotion. In 1934, he returned to theChervona Ukraina, this time as her commander. Under Kuznetsov, the ship became an outstanding example of discipline and organization, quickly drawing attention to her young captain.
From 5 September 1936 to 15 August 1937, Kuznetsov served as the Soviet naval attaché and chief naval advisor toRepublican Spain.[12]: 165 During the early stages of theSpanish Civil War of 1936-1939 he developed a strong dislike offascism.[13]
On returning home, on January 10, 1938, he was promoted to the rank offlag officer, 2nd rank, and given command of thePacific Fleet. While in this position, he came face to face withStalin's purge of the military. Kuznetsov himself was never implicated, but many of the officers under his command were. Kuznetsov resisted the purges at every step, and his intervention saved the lives of many Soviet officers.
On 28 April 1939, Kuznetsov, still only thirty-four, was appointed thePeople's Commissar (Minister) of the Navy, a post he would hold throughout theSecond World War until 1946. In 1939, despite Stalin's negative attitude to theNikolaevsky Engineering Academy, Nikolay Gerasimovich Kuznetsov ordered the return of the Naval Engineering faculty from Moscow to Leningrad, and set up the Military Engineering-Technical University to educate engineers for the construction of naval bases.[14][15]
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 theSoviet Navy.[citation needed] By June 21, 1941, Kuznetzov was convinced of the inevitability of war with Nazi Germany. On the same daySemyon Timoshenko andGeorgy 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.[citation needed]
Shortly after midnight on the morning of June 22, Kuznetsov ordered all Soviet fleets to battle readiness. At 3:15 am that same morning, theWehrmacht beganOperation Barbarossa.[16] 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.[citation needed]
In the following two years, Kuznetsov's primary concern was the protection of the Caucasus from a German invasion. Throughout the war, theBlack Sea remained the primary theater of operations for the Soviet Navy. During the war years Kuznetsov honed Soviet methods ofamphibious assault. A notable subordinate in the Black Sea and in command of the Azov Flotilla wasS.G. Gorshkov who would later succeed him as Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. 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 ofHero of the Soviet Union. On May 31, 1945, his rank was equated to the rank ofMarshal of the Soviet Union with a similar insignia. In August 1945, he took part inOperation August Storm in theFar East, helping to provide functions for the Soviet Navy fleet for Commander-in-Chief of USSR Forces in the Far EastMarshalAleksandr Vasilevsky.[citation needed]
From 1946 to 1947 he was the Deputy Minister of the USSR Armed Forces andCommander-in-Chief of the Naval Forces.
In 1947 he was removed from his post on Stalin's orders and in 1948 he, as well as several other admirals were put on trial by the Naval Tribunal. Kuznetsov was demoted tovice-admiral, while the other admirals received prison sentences of varying length.
In 1951 Stalin ended Kuznetsov's pariah status, once again placing him in command of the Navy (as the Minister of the Navy of the USSR), but without restoring his military rank, which was returned to him upon Stalin's death in 1953. In the same year, he became the First Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR. In 1955, Kuznetsov was made Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Forces. His rank was raised toAdmiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union and he was awarded theMarshal's Star.
His newfound prominence brought him into direct conflict with now Defense Minister Marshal Zhukov, with whom he had clashed during the war years. On December 8, 1955, using the loss of thebattleshipNovorossiysk as a pretext, Zhukov removed the Admiral from his post. The commission that inspected the ship's loss was headed byVyacheslav Malyshev and its findings were used by Zhukov to blame Kuznetsov. In February 1956 he was again demoted to the rank of vice-admiral, retired and expressly forbidden "any and all work connected with the navy."[citation needed]
During his retirement he wrote and published many essays and articles, as well as several longer works, including his memoirs and an officially sanctioned book, "With a Course for Victory", which dealt with the Patriotic War. His memoirs, unlike those of many other prominent leaders, were written by him personally and are noted for their style.[citation needed][who?]
Kuznetsov also authored several books on the war, on Stalin's repressions, and on the navy which were publishedposthumously. In these he was highly critical of the Party's interference in the internal affairs of the military, and insisted that "the state must be ruled by law."[citation needed]
After the retirement of Zhukov in 1957, and of Khrushchev in 1964, a group of naval veterans began a campaign addressed to the Soviet leadership to restore Kuznetsov's rank, with all benefits, and to make him one of the General Inspectors of the Ministry of Defence. Not until July 26, 1988, underAndrey Gromyko did thePresidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR reinstate Kuznetsov to his former rank ofAdmiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union. Kuznetsov is now recognized as one of the most prominent men in the history of the Soviet and, today, of theRussian Navy. In recognition, theRussian Navy's largest surface warship, its only remainingaircraft carrier, is named in his honor.
Kuznetsov died on 6 December 1974 inMoscow, at aged 70 and was buried with fullmilitary honors at theNovodevichy Cemetery.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | People's Commissar of the Soviet Navy 1939–1946 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy 1939–1947 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of the Navy 1951–1953 | Succeeded by Nikolai Bulganin (as Minister of Defence ) |
| Preceded by | Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy 1951–1956 | Succeeded by |
| People's Commissars for Military and Naval Affairs (1917–1934) |
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|---|---|---|
| People's Commissars for Defence (1934–1946) |
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| People's Commissars for the Navy (1937–1946) |
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| People's Commissar for the Armed Forces (1946) | ||
| Ministers of the Armed Forces (1946–1950) |
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| Minister of War (1950–1953) | ||
| Ministers of the Navy (1950–1953) |
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| Ministers of Defence (1953–1992) |
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