On June 9, 1989, thirty years ago, at the age of 79, Admiral of the Fleet, Hero of the Soviet Union Vladimir Afanasyevich Kasatonov, an outstanding Soviet military leader, naval commander who commanded the Black Sea and Northern Fleets of the USSR Navy during the Cold War, died in Moscow.
The beginning of a glorious journey: the Soviet submarine fleet
Vladimir Afanasyevich Kasatonov is a representative of a wonderful military family that gave the Motherland a number of real warriors, defenders of the country.
The father of the future admiral of the fleet, Afanasy Stepanovich Kasatonov, was a full Knight of St. George. He received four "Georgias", being a non-commissioned officer of the Ulan regiment of Her Imperial Majesty Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. The Afanasy family had four sons and a daughter.
Vladimir Afanasyevich was born on July 8 (21), 1910 in Peterhof. From a young age he had no doubts about his choice of profession - the sea, and only the sea. In 1931, 21-year-old Volodya Kasatonov graduated from the M. V. Frunze, and in 1932 - the command classes of the training scuba diving detachment named after S. M. Kirov.
Thus, Vladimir Afanasyevich Kasatonov was among those who stood at the origins of the combat power of the Soviet submarine fleet. At that time, the submariner's profession was even more difficult and dangerous than it is today. Given the technical features of the submarines of that time, the submariners risked their lives very seriously, carrying out daily service in very difficult conditions. Nevertheless, Vladimir Kasatonov sailed safely until December 1932 in the positions of navigator and assistant commander of the submarine "Komissar" of the Baltic Fleet.
In 1933, Vladimir Kasatonov was appointed assistant commander of a submarine in the Pacific Fleet, where at that time the most dangerous enemy of the Soviet state, militaristic Japan, was gaining strength. Soon Vladimir became the commander of the submarine, and then he was entrusted with the command of the 12th submarine division of the Pacific Fleet.
War and post-war years
Noticing a capable young officer, the higher command decided to send Kasatonov to study at the K. E. Voroshilov. At the academy, the hero of our article studied from 1939 to 1941, and then was the chief of staff of a separate submarine division of the Diving Training Squad named after V. I. CM. Kirov of the Baltic Fleet. Vladimir Kasatonov was to serve in Leningrad, where he met the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Vladimir Afanasevich took part in the defense of Leningrad from the advancing enemy troops.
Then Vladimir Kasatonov was transferred to staff work. There is no need to think that this was some kind of evasion from the front - Vladimir Afanasyevich, among other staff officers, planned the operations of the Soviet fleet, was engaged in improving the combat training of the fleets, including the Pacific Fleet, which was ready throughout the war, waiting for the attack of militarist Japan.
During the Great Patriotic War, Vladimir Afanasyevich served as a senior commander-operator, then head of the operational management department of the Main Naval Staff. On May 24, 1945, Vladimir Afanasyevich Kasatonov, who was only 34 years old, received the rank of Rear Admiral, becoming one of the youngest Soviet naval commanders with admiral's shoulder straps.
Thanks to the contribution of, among other things, Kasatonov, the Pacific Fleet in the summer and autumn of 1945 showed itself at its best during the war with Japan. In December 1945, Kasatonov was appointed chief of staff of the Kronstadt naval defense region, and in 1947-1949. he served as chief of the naval department and assistant chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces.
In October 1949, Vladimir Kasatonov was transferred to the Pacific Fleet, already familiar to him, to the post of Chief of Staff - First Deputy Commander of the 5th Fleet, based in Vladivostok. In 1951, 41-year-old Rear Admiral Vladimir Kasatonov was promoted to the next military rank of Vice Admiral.
In 1953 he was appointed First Deputy Commander - Chief of Staff of the Pacific Fleet of the USSR Navy. It should be noted that it was at this time that the role of the Pacific Fleet in the defense of the Soviet Union and its eastern sea borders increased many times over. The Pacific Fleet has become one of the main components of the country's defense against a potential enemy - the United States and its allies and satellites in the Asia-Pacific region. Moreover, the situation in the Pacific Ocean in the early - mid-1950s was very tense - the war on the Korean Peninsula, the war in Indochina, threats to the young communist China. And in the event of a critical situation, it was the Pacific Fleet that had to respond to these challenges.
From the Black Sea to the Far North
In November 1954, Vladimir Kasatonov was appointed commander of the 8th Fleet, in charge of the northern part of the Baltic Sea. In August 1955, Vice Admiral Kasatonov was awarded the rank of admiral, and in December 1955 he received a new high appointment - the commander of the Black Sea Fleet of the USSR Navy. Thus, Vladimir Kasatonov led one of the most glorious and important fleets of the Soviet Union. Kasatonov was the commander of the Black Sea Fleet from December 1955 to February 1962 - more than six years.
For the Soviet Union and its armed forces, the period of the 1950s - early 1960s was a time for the emergence and development of new capabilities, the development of new strategies. By this time, the USSR had become a world power, opposing the United States on an equal footing. The influence of the Soviet state grew in the world, friendly countries appeared in Asia, Africa and even Latin America, which was previously considered the fiefdom of the United States. Naturally, special hopes were pinned on the fleet in a situation of confrontation between the two great powers.
The Black Sea Fleet, commanded by Vladimir Kasatonov, was supposed to defend the southern borders of the USSR from a potential enemy - the NATO bloc. At that time, only one country from the North Atlantic Alliance, Turkey, had access to the Black Sea. However, the Black Sea Fleet was also tasked with protecting the interests of the Soviet Union in the Mediterranean.
In February 1962, Admiral Kasatonov was transferred to command the Northern Fleet of the USSR Navy. So the naval commander had to change the warm climate of the Crimea to the harsh weather of the northern seas. But Kasatonov enthusiastically set about increasing the power of the Northern Fleet. Under the command of Kasatonov, the fleet has seriously increased its combat capabilities. So, Soviet nuclear submarines first entered the Atlantic Ocean, voyages were made to the North Pole.
In the same 1962, the Northern Fleet under the command of Kasatonov conducted the most complex Shkval exercises on Novaya Zemlya. It was at this time that the nuclear submarine fleet, which was part of the Northern Fleet of the USSR Navy, developed at an accelerated pace. In 1963, Vladimir Afanasyevich personally directed the cruise of the nuclear submarine "K-181" to the North Pole. The admiral took part in many other campaigns of Soviet submarines, personally commanded military exercises.
First Deputy Commander-in-Chief
In 1964, taking into account the merits of Vladimir Afanasyevich at the head of the Northern Fleet of the USSR Navy, he was appointed First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Navy of the Soviet Union, and in 1965 he was awarded the title of Admiral of the Fleet. On November 25, 1966, for his colossal contribution to the development of the nuclear submarine fleet, to strengthening the combat power of the USSR Navy, Vladimir Afanasyevich Kasatonov was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
In the high position of First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Fleet Admiral Kasatonov continued continuous work on improving the capabilities of the Soviet Navy and improving the quality of combat training of personnel. At the same time, Vladimir Afanasyevich was often engaged in military-diplomatic work, making visits to friendly countries, agreeing on interaction with the military fleets of other states.
Admiral of the Fleet Vladimir Afanasyevich Kasatonov held the post of First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Navy for ten years - until 1974. In September 1974, the 64-year-old naval commander was transferred as a military inspector-adviser to the Group of Inspectors General of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union. It should be noted that during 1958-1979. Vladimir Afanasyevich was also elected a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 5th and 6th convocations.
Vladimir Afanasyevich Kasatonov entered the history of the navy of our country as one of the brilliant commanders and staff workers. The best monument to Vladimir Afanasyevich is the navy of our country itself, especially the nuclear submarine fleet, for the development of which the admiral did so much.
Vladimir Afanasevich Kasatonov died in 1989 at the age of 78. He did not live to see the collapse of the Soviet Union, to which he devoted most of his life. Vladimir Afanasyevich did not see the section of the Black Sea Fleet, which he commanded at one time for more than six years. But now, thirty years after the death of the famous Soviet admiral, Russia can once again feel pride in its fleet, which is literally restoring its power before our very eyes and reasserting itself in various corners of the globe.
In the footsteps of father and grandfather
The story about Vladimir Afanasyevich Kasatonov would be incomplete if we had not written about his famous son - our contemporary Admiral Igor Vladimirovich Kasatonov. By the way, this year on February 10 he turned 80 years old.
Igor Vladimirovich Kasatonov, like his father, devoted his entire adult life to serving in the Navy of the USSR and Russia. He largely repeated the life path of his father - even commanded the fleets of about the same: in 1988-1991. Igor Vladimirovich was the deputy commander of the Northern Fleet of the USSR Navy, and in 1991-1992. commanded the Black Sea Fleet.
It was at this time that the Black Sea Fleet was under the threat of division between Russia and Ukraine, but the efforts of Igor Kasatonov managed to keep almost the entire composition of the fleet in our country. Then, from 1992 to 1999, Igor Vladimirovich Kasatonov, like his father in his time, held the post of First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Navy.
The grandson of Vladimir Afanasyevich Kasatonov and the nephew of Igor Vladimirovich Kasatonov, Vladimir Lvovich Kasatonov, also gave his whole life to the Navy. Vladimir Lvovich went through a difficult path on the ships of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy, in 2003 at the age of 41 he received the rank of Rear Admiral, and since 2013 has been wearing the epaulettes of a Vice Admiral. Since October 3, 2016, Vice Admiral Vladimir Lvovich Kasatonov has been the head of the Naval Academy named after Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union N. G. Kuznetsov.
