Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union
Admiral of the fleet of the Soviet Union (Admiral Flota Sovietskogo Soyuza) | |
---|---|
Country | Soviet Union |
Service branch | Soviet Navy |
Rank | General officer |
NATO rank code | OF-10 |
Formation | March 1955 |
Abolished | 1991 |
Next higher rank | None |
Next lower rank | Admiral of the fleet |
Equivalent ranks | Marshal of the Soviet Union |
An Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union (Russian: Адмирал Флота Cоветского Cоюза, romanized: Admiral Flota Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest naval rank of the Soviet Union. It was comparable to NATO five-star rank (OF-10 level).
Overview[]
The rank was largely honorary and could be considered equivalent to admiral of the fleet in other nations. It was formally established by the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union on March 3, 1955, and replaced a similarly named rank, Fleet Admiral/Admiral of the Fleet (aдмирал флота) that had been equivalent to marshal of the Soviet Union since 1945. The holders were entitled to a marshal's star.
Upon its creation, the only two admirals of the fleet, Nikolai Kuznetsov and Ivan Isakov, were "promoted" to this rank. Less than a year later Kuznetsov was demoted to vice admiral for political reasons in 1956 and Isakov remained the only admiral of the fleet of the Soviet Union until his death in 1967. Then, in October 1967, Fleet Admiral Sergei Gorshkov became the third and final admiral of the fleet of the Soviet Union. Gorshkov died in 1988 and no further appointments were made before the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the elimination of the rank.
From 1962 onwards, it was one grade higher than Fleet Admiral, which was recreated as an intermediate rank, equivalent to Army General.
List of admirals of the fleet of the Soviet Union[]
Name | Photo | Lifespan | Promoted | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ivan Isakov | (1894–1967) | March 3, 1955 | ||
Nikolai Kuznetsov | (1904–1974) | March 3, 1955 | Demoted February 17, 1956 Restored July 26, 1988 (posthumous) | |
Sergei Gorshkov | (1910–1988) | October 28, 1967 |
See also[]
- Ranks and rank insignia of the Soviet Army 1943–1955, and ... 1955–1991
- Marshal of the Soviet Union
- Soviet military ranks
Junior rank Fleet Admiral |
(ranks Soviet Navy) Admiral of the fleet of the Soviet Union |
Senior rank Generalissimus of the Soviet Union |
- Soviet admirals
- Admirals of the Fleet of the Soviet Union
- Admirals
- Soviet Navy
- Military ranks of the Soviet Union
- Soviet Union stubs