Gennady Suchkov

Gennady Aleksandrovich Suchkov (; 7 January 1947 – 7 August 2013) was an officer of the Soviet and Russian Navies. He held the rank of admiral, and served as commander of the Pacific Fleet in 2001, and the Northern Fleet from 2001 to 2003.

Born in 1947, Suchkov joined the navy after studying at the M. V. Frunze Higher Naval School, and was assigned to the Northern Fleet. He began a long career associated with submarines, rising from junior positions to eventually command his own vessels. After reaching higher ranks he served in staff positions as commander of the and . He was then appointed First Deputy Commander of the Black Sea Fleet, before briefly becoming Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet in 2001. Later that year he was appointed commander of the Northern Fleet when the preceding commander, Admiral Vyacheslav Popov, was removed following the Kursk submarine disaster. Suchkov spent less than three years in this post before another submarine accident occurred in the fleet. The decommissioned K-159 sank on 30 August 2003 while being towed for scrapping, resulting in the deaths of nine sailors. Suchkov was temporarily removed from command 2003 and put on trial on charges of negligence. Despite support and the belief that Suchkov was being made the scapegoat for the loss, he was convicted and sentenced to four years of suspended imprisonment. He nevertheless became an advisor to the Minister of Defence, and in retirement became President of the International Association of Public Organizations of Navy Veterans and Submariners. He died in 2013, having received a number of honours and awards.

Naval career A Foxtrot-class submarine underway. Suchkov commanded the B-105 and B-4 of this class. Suchkov was born on 7 January 1947 in the village of , Sechenovsky District, in what was then Gorky Oblast, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, in the Soviet Union. He entered the Soviet Navy, studying at the M. V. Frunze Higher Naval School in Leningrad from 8 April 1964 to 1969. On graduating he was commissioned as a lieutenant and assigned to the Northern Fleet. He was initially placed on a minesweeper, but pressed for a submarine posting, and was appointed commander of the torpedo department of a large submarine, based out of Polyarny. Unusually for submariners, he was a teetoller. He was advanced to commander of the brigade in December 1985, holding the position until November 1988, when he became Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of the fleet's . Suchkov was brought to trial on charges of negligence on 12 January 2004, a case which became controversial with the belief that Suchkov was being made the scapegoat for the loss. One of the prosecuting lawyers withdrew during the trial on the grounds he was not convinced of Suchkov's guilt. An open letter in support of Suchkov was addressed to President Putin, and signed by Governor of Murmansk Oblast Yury Yevdokimov, 11 naval officers, and others. Nevertheless Suchkov was convicted on 18 May 2004. He was sentenced to four years of suspended imprisonment with a probationary period of two years.

Family and later life Suchkov nevertheless became an advisor to the Minister of Defence on naval issues in April 2005. He served in this role until 2007, when he retired from military service, and in December that year became President of the International Association of Public Organizations of Navy Veterans and Submariners.

Honours and awards Over his career Suchkov has received the Order of Friendship, the Order of the Red Star, the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", and various other medals. Another bronze bust was erected after his death in Sechenovo, close to his home village, in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast.