Aleksandr Nikolayev

Aleksandr Andreyevich Nikolayev (; 17 August 1905 – 10 October 1949) was an officer of the Soviet Navy. He served during the Second World War and reached the rank of vice-admiral.

Career Nikolayev was born on 17 August 1905 in the village of , Kirsanovsky Uyezd, in what was then Tambov Governorate in the Russian Empire. He spent some time in the Komsomol, before joining the Communist Party in 1927. He entered the Red Navy that same year, studying at the Baltic Fleet's submarine school from 1928, and graduating with a specialisation in diesel machinery in 1929. He continued to be involved with political education, and naval training more generally, serving as secretary of the school's party bureau, and a senior instructor of the political departments. He was promoted to divisional commissar on 17 March 1941, rear-admiral on 13 December 1942, and vice-admiral on 31 May 1944.

Awards and honours Over his career Nikolayev was awarded the Order of Lenin, three Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of the Red Star, the Orders of Nakhimov, and the Patriotic War First Classes, and various medals. The Ivan Rogov-class landing ship Aleksandr Nikolayev was built for the Soviet Navy and launched in 1982. She served with the Russian Navy until her decommissioning in 2006. On 13 November 1969, Metallistov Street in Murmansk was renamed after Nikolayev.