Vladimir Kasatonov

Admiral Vladimir Lvovich Kasatonov (; born 17 June 1962) is an officer of the Russian Navy who has been Chief of the Main Staff and First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Navy since 2024.

Born into a family with a distinguished military past, Kasatonov studied at naval institutions in Leningrad and on the Black Sea, before joining the navy's Northern Fleet. Much of his early service was spent aboard the heavy nuclear missile cruiser Kirov, rising through the ranks to eventually serve as her assistant commander. During his time with the ship he served through search and rescue operations for two Soviet submarines, the K-219 in 1986 and the Komsomolets in 1989. After service with the 5th Operational Squadron and undertaking the navy's Higher Special Officer Classes, Kasatonov went on to take up his own commands, firstly the destroyer Gremyashchy, and then her sister ship Rastoropny. After further study at the Naval Academy, he was appointed head of the department of the mobilization at the Northern Fleet headquarters, before becoming captain of the battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy in 2000.

It was during exercises in August 2000, led by the admiral aboard the Pyotr Velikiy, that the submarine K-141 Kursk suffered a fatal accident and sank. Kasatonov's ship was the first to locate the stricken submarine sixteen hours after her sinking and became the command ship for the recovery efforts. He continued in command of Pyotr Velikiy until 2005, having been promoted to rear-admiral during this period. He then took up staff positions with the Northern Fleet's missile ship division and carried out several long distance voyages with divisions of ships. He became chief of staff and first deputy commander of the Pacific Fleet in 2012, and in 2016 took up the position of head of the Naval Academy. This was followed by his posting in 2019 to be deputy commander in chief of the navy. He has received numerous medals over his career, as well as the Orders of Military Merit and Naval Merit. His life, as well as those of his relatives, is commemorated in a museum in Belenikhino, Belgorod Oblast.

Family and early career

Kasatonov was born in Moscow, part of the Russian SFSR in the Soviet Union on 17 June 1962. He was born into a military family with strong connections to the naval service. His great-grandfather Afanasy Stepanovich was a non-commissioned officer who received the Order of St. George while serving with the Uhlan Regiment of Her Imperial Majesty Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Afanasy's son, and Vladimir Lvovich's grandfather, Vladimir Afanasyevich, served in the Soviet Navy, rose to the rank of admiral of the fleet, and was awarded Hero of the Soviet Union. Vladimir Afanasyevich's son, and Vladimir Lvovich's uncle, , reached the rank of admiral and commanded the Black Sea Fleet before serving as First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. On the morning of 12 August, the Kursk was scheduled to make a dummy torpedo attack on the Pyotr Velikiy. During preparations for the attack, the Kursk suffered an explosion and fire in her torpedo room, followed by a second larger explosion that sank her. Kasatonov's sonar operators aboard the Pyotr Velikiy reported the sounds of two explosions from the vicinity of the Kursk, and when the submarine failed to report in as scheduled, search operations began. At 4:30 AM local time, five hours after the search began, and sixteen hours after the submarine had sunk, Pyotr Velikiys sonar detected the wreck of the Kursk lying at some from Severomorsk. Rescue operations began, co-ordinated by Admiral Popov aboard the Pyotr Velikiy. By this time the survivors of the explosion were probably already dead. He later denied there was any threat from the nuclear reactor. Observers noted that the comments probably reflected in-fighting in the naval high command, where Kuroyedov was under pressure after a series of accidents, including the loss of the Kursk and the foundering of the K-159 in August 2003.

Chief of Staff and flag commands Between 2005 and 2006 he served as Chief of Staff of the Northern Fleet's 43rd missile ship division. In October 2008 he led a detachment of Northern Fleet warships on a cruise from the Arctic Ocean into the Atlantic, with port calls in Venezuela, and then into the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. On 12 June 2013 he was promoted to vice-admiral. On 3 October 2016 he was appointed head of the Naval Academy, taking over in a ceremony attended by his predecessor, Vice-Admiral Aleksandr Nosatov, and the Chief of Staff of the Navy Andrei Volozhinsky. During the ceremony Volozhinsky described Kasatonov as "a true professional with a brilliant track record who has devoted many years to the service in the Northern and Pacific Fleets." In December 2019 Kasatonov was appointed deputy commander in chief of the navy. In June 2023 Kasatonov was promoted to Admiral.

Sanctions He was sanctioned by the UK government in 2022 in relation to the Russo-Ukrainian War.

In February 2022 Kasatonov was added to the European Union sanctions list for being "responsible for actively supporting and implementing actions and policies that undermine and threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine as well as the stability or security in Ukraine".

Awards and honours Over his career Kasatonov has been awarded the Orders of Military Merit, Naval Merit, and various medals of the USSR, Russian Federation, and foreign countries. Of the museum's five rooms, one is devoted to the three admirals Kasatonov: Vladimir Afanasyevich, Igor Vladimirovich, and Vladimir Lvovich.