Nikolay Gerasimovich Kuznetsov Nikolay Gerasimovich Kuznetsov ( ) ( July 24 , 1904 , Medvedki – December 6 , 1974 , Moscow ) was a Soviet naval officer who achieved the rank of Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union and served as People ' s Commissar of the Navy during The Second World War . The Russian aircraft carrier is named in his honor . Biography . Early years and advancement . Nikolay Gerasimovich Kuznetsov was born into a peasant family of Serbian descent in the village of Medvedki in the Kotlassky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast . In 1919 , Kuznetsov joined the Northern Dvina Naval Flotilla , after adding two years to his age in order to be eligible to serve . In 1920 he was stationed at Petrograd and in 1924 , as a member of a naval unit , he attended the funeral ceremony of Vladimir Lenin . That same year he joined the Bolshevik Party . Upon graduation from the Frunze Higher Naval School in 1926 , Kuznetsov served on the cruiser , first as watch officer and then as First Lieutenant . In 1932 he graduated from the Naval College after studying operational tactics . Upon graduation he was offered one of two options – a desk job with the general staff or a command post on a ship . Kuznetsov successfully applied for the post of executive officer on the cruiser . Within a year the young officer earned his next promotion . In 1934 he returned to the " Chervona Ukraina " , this time as her commander . Under Kuznetsov , the ship became an outstanding example of discipline and organization , quickly drawing attention to her young captain . From September 5 , 1936 to August 15 , 1937 , Kuznetsov was the naval attache and chief naval advisor to Republican Spain . While serving in Spain he developed a strong dislike of fascism . On returning home , on January 10 , 1938 , he was promoted to the rank of flag officer , 2nd rank , and given command of the Pacific fleet . While in this position , he came face to face with Stalin ' s purge of the military . Kuznetsov himself was never implicated , but many of the officers under his command were . Kuznetsov resisted the purges at every step , and his intervention saved the lives of many Soviet officers . On April 28 , 1939 , Kuznetsov , still only thirty - four , was appointed the People ' s Commissar ( Minister ) of the Navy , a post he would hold for the duration of The Second World War . In 1939 , despite the Stalin policy against the Nikolaevsky Engineering Academy , Nikolay Gerasimovich Kuznetsov ordered to returned the Marine Engineering faculty from Moscow , and created the Military Engineering - Technical University . In 1941 , he ordered the creation near Leningrad a special forces company RON , the first Soviet underwater special force . The Second World War . Kuznetsov played a crucial role during the first hours of the war – at this pivotal moment , his resolve and blatant disregard for orders averted the destruction of the Soviet Navy . By June 21 , 1941 , Kuznetzov was convinced of the inevitability of war with Nazi Germany . On the same day Semyon Timoshenko and Georgy Zhukov issued a directive prohibiting Soviet commanders from responding to " German provocations " . The Navy , however , constituted a distinct ministry ( narkomat ) , and thus Kuznetsov held a position which was technically outside the direct chain of command . He utilized this fact in a very bold move . Shortly after midnight on the morning of June 22 , Kuznetsov ordered all Soviet fleets to battle readiness . At 4 : 45am that same morning , the Wehrmacht began Operation Barbarossa . The Soviet Navy was the only branch of the military in the highest state of combat readiness at the start of the initial German push . In the following two years , Kuznetsov ' s primary concern was the protection of the Caucasus from a German invasion . Throughout the war , the Black Sea remained the primary theater of operations for the Soviet Navy . During the war years Kuznetsov honed Soviet methods of amphibious assault . In February 1944 he was given the rank of Admiral of the Fleet – a newly created position initially equated to that of a four - star general . In the same year , Kuznetsov was given the title of Hero of the Soviet Union . On May 31 , 1945 , his rank was equated to the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union with a similar insignia . The First Fall . From 1946 to 1947 he was the Deputy Minister of the USSR Armed Forces and Commander - in - Chief of the Naval Forces . In 1947 he was removed from his post on Stalin ' s orders and in 1948 he , as well as several other admirals were put on trial by the Naval Tribunal . Kuznetsov was demoted to vice - admiral , while the other admirals received prison sentences of varying length . In 1951 Stalin ended Kuznetsov ' s pariah status , once again placing him in command of the Navy ( as the Minister of the Navy of the USSR ) , but without restoring his military rank , which was returned to him upon Stalin ' s death in 1953 . In the same year , he became the First Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR . In 1955 , Kuznetsov was made Commander - in - Chief of the Naval Forces . His rank was raised to Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union and he was awarded the Marshal ' s Star . The Second Fall and Retirement . His newfound prominence brought him into direct conflict with Marshal Zhukov , with whom he had clashed during the war years . On December 8 , 1955 , using the loss of the battleship as a pretext , Zhukov removed the Admiral from his post ; in February 1956 Kuznetsov was again demoted to the rank of vice - admiral , retired and expressly forbidden " any and all work connected with the navy . " During his retirement he wrote and published many essays and articles , as well as several longer works , including his memoirs and an officially sanctioned book , " With a Course for Victory " , which dealt with the Patriotic War . His memoirs , unlike those of many other prominent leaders , were written by him personally and are noted for their style . Kuznetsov also authored several books on the war , on Stalin ' s repressions , and on the navy which were published posthumously . In these he was highly critical of the Party ' s interference in the internal affairs of the military , and insisted that " the state must be ruled by law . " Rehabilitation and Legacy . After the retirement of Zhukov in 1957 , and of Khrushchev in 1964 , a group of naval veterans began a campaign to restore Kuznetsov ' s rank , with all benefits , and to make him one of the General Inspectors of the Ministry of Defence . Invariably , these requests fell on deaf ears , particularly on those of Kuznetsov ' s successor , Admiral Gorshkov . Not until July 26 , 1988 did the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR reinstate Kuznetsov to his former rank of Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union . Kuznetzov is now recognized as one of the most prominent men in the history of the Soviet and , today , of the Russian Navy . Dates of rank . " Personal ranks for the Russian Navy were abolished in 1918 , and were only restored in 1935 , excepting the various ranks of admiral which were not restored until 1940 . "