Returning to academia after the war, he was attached to the Naval Academy once more, until 1948, when he and several fellow officers were convicted of passing secrets to Britain and the US during the war years. Stepanov was imprisoned for a time, but was fully rehabilitated after the death of Stalin. He returned to academic life, and died in 1957. He had received a number of awards from both the Tsarist and Soviet governments over his long career.