Vladimir Kuroyedov

Admiral of the Fleet Vladimir Ivanovich Kuroyedov (5 September 1944 – 5 February 2026) was a Russian naval officer who was Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy from 1997 to 2005. His previous roles included chief of staff of the Baltic Fleet from 1993 to 1996, commander of the Pacific Fleet from 1996 to 1997, and Chief of the Main Staff and First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Navy in 1997. He started his career in the Soviet Navy by graduating from the Pacific Higher Naval School in 1967 and mostly served in the Pacific Fleet, later becoming a graduate of the Grechko Naval Academy and the Voroshilov General Staff Academy. He was the second officer to be promoted to admiral of the fleet in the Russian Federation. His tenure as the head of the navy coincided with several major accidents, most notably the Kursk submarine disaster in 2000.

Early life and career Kuroyedov was born on 5 September 1944 in , a settlement in the Khasansky District, Primorsky Krai, Soviet Union. He completed his secondary education in Ussuriysk, On 2 August 1993, he became the Chief of Staff of the Baltic Fleet, he was made the Commander of the Pacific Fleet. Kuroyedov was the Chief of the Main Staff and First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy for a few months. In January 2003, he announced that one-fifth of the Russian fleet would have to be scrapped, because the navy did not receive the funding necessary to keep those ships in a working condition. He also said that since 1996 the navy had been given 12% of the budget that it expected. In March 2004, Kuroyedov received international attention after he claimed that the nuclear-powered cruiser was in such a poor state that it could "explode any moment." He took back the statement hours later, saying that the ship's nuclear reactors were not any threat. Kuroyedov had a personal disagreement with the retired admiral Igor Kasatonov, who was a relative of the cruiser's then-captain, Vladimir Kasatonov.

His tenure as the head of the navy coincided with several major accidents involving naval ships. These most notably included the Kursk submarine disaster in August 2000, in which all 118 crewmen were killed, and the loss of the in August 2003 with the deaths of nine sailors. Several other incidents took place, including the February 2004 failure of a ballistic missile test being observed by President Vladimir Putin, and the March 2005 sinking of the bathyscaphe AS-28. After the Kursk disaster in 2000, Kuroyedov offered to resign, along with Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev and Northern Fleet commander Vyacheslav Popov, but their resignations were rejected by President Vladimir Putin.

He was retired on 4 September 2005, one day before his 61st birthday, and Admiral Vladimir Masorin assumed command as the next Commander-in-Chief. Around this time, Kuroyedov had been hospitalized due to an illness, disrupting his ability to carry out his duties. or because the President wished to emphasize the need for greater discipline in the Navy.

In his retirement, Kuroyedov in 2006 became the leader of the "Admirals' Club" organization for retired senior officers of the Russian Navy.

Honours and awards Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 3rd class (1999) and 2nd class (2020) Order of Military Merit (1996) Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR, 3rd class (1990) Jubilee Medal "300 Years of the Russian Navy" Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" Medal "For Military Valour" 1st class (Min Def) Medal "For Strengthening Military Cooperation" (Min Def) Medal "For diligence in carrying out engineering support tasks" (Min Def) Medal "200 Years of the Ministry of Defence" (Min Def) Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" Medal "Veteran of the Armed Forces of the USSR" Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" Medal "For Impeccable Service" 1st, 2nd and 3rd classes