A leading navy commander during the Siege of Leningrad, Tributs led the Soviet evacuation of Tallinn, organized military operations in defense of the ports of Kronstadt and Oranienbaum during 1941-1943, and arranged counterattacks by naval aircraft of the Baltic Fleet defending Leningrad from aerial bombing attacks. His active involvement in the defense of Leningrad helped to save the city from still more destruction, but failed to save the suburban palaces of the Tsars, such as the Peterhof Palace, from destruction by the Nazis.