Viktor Chirkov

Viktor Viktorovich Chirkov was appointed as the new commander of the Russian Navy on President Medvedev’s last day in office.

 

Chirkov was born in Almaty, in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan.

In 1982 he graduated from the Higher Naval School S.O. Makarov in the city of Vladivostok.

He has been in command of a frigate and destroyer.  He has also served in a number of staff and support assignments.

He is also a graduate of the Kuznetsov Naval Academy and the General Staff Military Academy.

Before becoming the commander in chief of the Russian Navy Chikov served as the commander of the Baltic Fleet.

After his appointment, Chirkov said he would prioritize the construction of navy fleets in Russia.

New President, New Commander

Putin with veterans during the Victory Day celebrations

This week Russia inaugurated a new president (kind of new). 

 However on President Medvedev’s last day in office he replaced the commanders of the Air Force and Navy. Prior to this Vladimir Vysotsky had been the commander of the Russian Navy for nearly five years. However his time in the post was seen as one laden with accidents, and the leadership felt that he had done little to improve the capabilities of the navy.

Vladimir Vysotsky

While he was commander in chief there was an accident on a submarine in the Pacific Fleet that killed 20 people, and more recently in December there was a fire while a nuclear submarine carrying nuclear weapons was in dry dock.

Igor Korotchenko, chairman of the Defense Ministry’s Public Council previously said that the reshuffle was a normal practice for military officials.

“Medevedev’s move will give the road to new, younger military specialists,” Korotchenko said.

While Vysotsky cannot be held personally responsible for these accidents, they happened under his leadership.  Sometimes it’s better to bring in a new person and see what they can do.

Viktor Chirkov

The new commander of the Russian Navy is Viktor Chirkov. He was commander of the Baltic Fleet prior to this assignment. We will cover his biography in our Monday morning update.

Commander In-Chief

 

     The Russian Navy is overseen by an admiral. The current commander in chief is 

Vladimir Sergeevich Vysotsky (Not to be confused with the famous Soviet singer). 

Official photo from the Ministry of Defense

     Vysotskiy graduated from the P.S. Nakhimov Black Sea Higher Naval School in Sevastopol in 1976, and was then sent to serve with the Pacific Fleet. While stationed there he served on a variety of ships, including a being the executive officer (XO) of the Svedlov Class  cruiser Admiral Senyavin.  

Svedlov Class cruiser

     After attending an advanced officers school Vysotskiy was appointed to be the XO of the Soviet aircraft carrier Minsk. 

Kiev class carrier 

      Vysotskiy was assigned as the commanding officer of the Varyag, the sister ship to the Admiral Kuznetsov, but this unit was never finished due to the breakup of the Soviet Union. 

Varyag

      After the break-up of the Soviet Union, Vysotskiy returned to the Pacific Fleet for a time, served with the Baltic Fleet, and eventually was appointed commander of the Northern Fleet in 2005.

      By decree of the president  Vysotskiy was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy. 

       Vysotskiy has severed in the Russian Navy through a very difficult period. A period of decline and budget woes. However if all the promises of Putin are to believed then Vysotskiy will oversee the Russian Navy through a period of enormous change. In a decade the Russian Navy will be a completely different force. If given the opportunity Admiral Vysotskiy will have as much impact on the Russian Navy as Admiral Gorskov had with the Soviet Navy. 

Admiral Vysotskiy on an official visit to India.