Vitaly Fokin

Vitaly Alekseyevich Fokin (Виталий Алексеевич Фо́кин) (17 March 1906 – 23 January 1964) was a Soviet admiral and the first deputy commander of the Soviet Navy.

Vitaly Alekseyevich Fokin
Admiral Fokin with Indonesian Admiral Eddy Martadinata in January 1960
Native name
Виталий Алексеевич Фо́кин
Born(1906-03-17)March 17, 1906
Pyshchugsky District, Russian Empire
DiedJanuary 23, 1964(1964-01-23) (aged 57)
Moscow, Soviet Union
Buried
Novodevichy Cemetery
Allegiance Soviet Union
Service/branch Soviet Navy
Years of service1927-1962
RankAdmiral
Commands heldPacific Fleet
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsOrder of Lenin; four Orders of the Red Banner; Order of Nakhimov, 1st Class; Order of Ushakov, 2nd Class; Order of the Red Star[1]

A worker's son, Vitaliy Alekseyevich Fokin joined the Soviet Navy when he was 16 in 1922.[2] He served as a deck officer aboard the cruiser Aurora from 1927 and commanded the destroyer Uritskiy from 1941 to 1944.[1] In 1944, the squadron that he commanded took part in the capture of the German base in Kirkenes, Norway.[2]

He was appointed chief of staff of the Northern Fleet in 1947, rising up the ranks to become commander of the Pacific Fleet in 1958 and then first deputy commander of the Soviet Navy between 1962 and 1964.[3] Admiral Fokin was a moderniser and was instrumental to the development of the Soviet submarine launched ballistic missile deterrent.[4][5] In the run up to the Cuban Missile Crisis, he said to his submarine commanders, "If they slap you on the left cheek, do not let them slap you on the right one."[6]

Ranks
  • Rear Admiral (25 September 1944)
  • Vice-Admiral (11 May 1949)
  • Admiral (3 August 1953)

Political career

Admiral Fokin was made a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1961 and a deputy in the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union in 1962.[2]

Honours, awards and decorations

See also

The following have been named after Admiral Fokin:

References
  1. Lurie, V. M. (2001). Адмиралы и генералы Военно-Морского флота СССР в период Великой Отечественной и советско-японской войн (1941—1945) (in Russian). St. Petersburg: Russian-Baltic Information Center. p. 228. ISBN 586789102X.
  2. "Admiral Fokin Dies". New York Times. 25 January 1964. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  3. Kostev, George Georgievich (2004). Военно-морской флот Советского Союза и России, 1945-2000 (in Russian). Moscow: Petergof Print. p. 29. ISBN 5875790385.
  4. Hudson, George E. (1976). "Soviet naval doctrine and Soviet politics, 1953–1975". World Politics. 29 (1): 90–113. doi:10.2307/2010048.
  5. "USSR Report, Military Affairs, No. 1766". Defence Technology Information Centre. 11 May 1983. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  6. Dobbs, Michael (2008). One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War. London: Hutchinson. p. 94. ISBN 9780099492450.
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