The military department confirmed the information that the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Viktor Chirkov filed a letter of resignation. The name of his probable successor is also known - this is the commander of the Northern Fleet, Vladimir Korolev. Versions about the reasons for the reshuffle vary, and Chirkov's state of health is not the only one.
For health
The Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Viktor Chirkov, filed a letter of resignation for health reasons. Admiral Vladimir Korolev, commander of the Northern Fleet and current acting commander-in-chief, may soon officially take his place, an informed source in the Ministry of Defense told RIA Novosti.
“Viktor Viktorovich came at a time when they seem to give money, but still there is not enough strength for everything”
The source noted that Chirkov submitted his resignation report back in February. The final decision on the appointment of the Queen should take place before the beginning of April.
“Chirkov wrote a letter of resignation about two weeks ago due to a state of health that does not allow him to fulfill the duties of commander in chief,” a TASS source in the military department confirmed the same information. At the same time, all sources call the next commander-in-chief Vladimir Korolev.
A little later, the press service of the Ministry of Defense RIA Novosti confirmed that Chirkov had indeed decided to resign due to poor health, and the duties of the head of the Navy were temporarily performed by Korolev.
Vice Admiral Alexander Fedotenkov, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, reported in January of this year that Chirkov “had a minor operation.” According to him, by order of the Minister of Defense, Korolyov was appointed acting commander-in-chief of the Navy "as the most experienced and competent" admiral in the Navy. The former chief of the main headquarters of the Navy, Admiral Viktor Kravchenko, noted that Korolev could soon be transferred to the post of commander-in-chief without the prefixes “acting.” or "vrio".
At the same time, according to a RIA Novosti source, Vice Admiral Nikolai Evmenov will become the new commander of the Northern Fleet.
Hard work
The former head of the Main Directorate of Navigation and Oceanography of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Admiral Anatoly Komaritsyn, has no doubt that if Viktor Chirkov resigns, it will be only for health reasons. “I know that he was ill, I know that he was in a rehabilitation center,” said the source of the VZGLYAD newspaper.
“Under Chirkov, although he did not lead the fleet for long, a lot was done. First, a program was adopted for the construction of new ships. Viktor Viktorovich came at a time when they seem to be giving money, but still there is not enough strength for everything. As you know, after the transfer of the Main Headquarters of the Navy to St. Petersburg, he constantly wandered between the two capitals, and this is all very difficult, including for health, in physical sense", he remarked.
Komaritsyn recalled that a few years ago, the Navy lost some of its functions and, on the whole, became a less independent structure within the Defense Ministry. “And their functions were cut off, and the number of people in the apparatus was reduced, and working conditions, of course, also became less simple. Viktor Viktorovich was forced to switch to almost manual control. And I need to say a big, big thank you to him for what he managed to do, ”the expert believes.
Unlike Chirkov, Komaritsyn does not personally know the commander of the Northern Fleet, Korolev, but he believes that we are also talking about a great professional. “Korolev went through all the steps in the fleet. Initially, he was a submariner. And this is a special profession that disciplines. Subsequently, he learned to work with other services,” he concluded.
According to the first vice-president of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems, captain of the first rank of the reserve Konstantin Sivkov, Chirkov is not remembered for any major reforms. “The fleet under him was well financed, regularly replenished with new ships. This is good. Plus, the admiral managed to establish the work of the General Staff in St. Petersburg, ”he listed.
At the same time, according to Sivkov, the state of health is unlikely to be the reason for leaving. “I can’t say for sure, I don’t know the details, but they say that Chirkov had certain disagreements with the leadership,” the expert said.According to retired colonel Viktor Litovkin, Chirkov managed a lot. Under him, submarines of project 955 "Borey", submarines of project 885 "Ash", surface ships were laid. Under the current commander-in-chief, the Black Sea Fleet was replenished with the lead patrol ship (frigate) "Admiral Grigorovich", etc. Under the current commander-in-chief, the Novorossiysk military port is being actively built. The Black Sea Fleet also acquired new aircraft and coast guard systems. “If it weren’t for the illness, Viktor Chirkov, I’m sure I would continue to lead the fleet even now,” Litovkin believes. The expert does not know of any other reason for his resignation.
Describing the personality of Chirkov's likely successor, Litovkin noted that Korolev was in charge of the most powerful fleet Russia - North. Under the Queen in the North, very active work began on the arrangement of the military in the polar zone, the construction of airfields, and port infrastructure.
“I note that in addition to leading the fleet, Korolev also heads the general strategic military direction “North”. I think he will continue the work of Chirkov. In addition, Korolev is a member of the team of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu,” he concluded.
Biographies of admirals
Viktor Viktorovich Chirkov was born on September 8, 1959 in the city of Alma-Ata (Kazakhstan). He graduated from the Higher Naval School in Vladivostok in 1982, the Higher Special Officer Classes of the Navy in 1987, the Naval Academy named after N.G. Kuznetsov in 1997, Military Academy General Staff in 2000.
Chirkov began his officer service as the commander of the mine-torpedo warhead of a patrol ship in the Pacific Fleet, was the captain of several warships, from 2005 to 2007 - commander of the Primorsky flotilla of diverse forces of the Pacific Fleet, in 2009-2012 - commander of the Baltic Fleet. He has been at the head of the Navy since May 2012, replacing Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky in this post.
The future Admiral Vladimir Ivanovich Korolev was born on February 1, 1955. In 1977 he graduated from the Higher Naval School named after M.V. Frunze and was sent to the Northern Fleet. Served on nuclear submarines. In 1987 he graduated from the Higher Special Officer Classes of the Navy, in 1995 - from the Admiral Fleet Naval Academy Soviet Union N.G. Kuznetsova.
Since 2002 - the first commander of the Gadzhiyevskaya naval base, then held the posts of chief of staff and commander of the Northern Fleet's nuclear submarine squadron. Since November 2007 - Deputy Commander of the Northern Fleet. In the autumn of 2008, he led the campaign of a detachment of warships of the Northern Fleet, which completed tasks in the Mediterranean region.
Since July 2010, Korolev has been the commander Black Sea Fleet, since June 2011 - Commander of the Northern Fleet.
Today September 8, 2014 Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Russian Federation- Admiral Viktor Chirkov is celebrating his fifty-fifth birthday.
Viktor Viktorovich was born on September 8, 1959 in the city of Alma-Ata, Kazakh SSR. After graduating from school in 1977, he entered the Pacific Higher Naval School named after Admiral S.O. Makarov at the mine-torpedo department. After graduating from college in 1982, he began to serve as a commander of a mine-torpedo warhead of a patrol ship. Subsequently, he also served in destroyer and a large anti-submarine ship.
In 1987 he graduated from the higher officer classes in Leningrad, after graduation he arrived at the Red Banner Pacific Fleet, was appointed commander of a patrol ship. In the early 1990s, he held the position of commander of a large anti-submarine ship, and later, from 1993 to 1998, he was appointed to the position of deputy commander of a formation of anti-submarine ships and subsequently became commander of the formation.
In 1997 he graduated from the Naval Academy named after Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union N.G. Kuznetsova.
In 2000 he graduated from the Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, after which he was appointed chief of staff - first deputy commander of troops and forces in the North-East of Russia.
In June 2005, he was appointed commander of the Primorsky Flotilla of the diverse forces of the Red Banner Pacific Fleet. In 2006 awarded military rank vice admiral. In September 2007, he was rotated to, where he took over as chief of staff of the DCBF.
An interesting fact is that on his birthday, September 8, 2009, Viktor Chirkov was appointed commander of the Twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet.
He served in this position until May 2012. By Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 584 dated May 6, 2012, Vice Admiral Chirkov was appointed to the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy.
In the same year, on August 9, he was awarded the military rank of admiral. It is worth noting here that the rather difficult task of transferring the General Staff of the Russian Navy from Moscow to St. Petersburg fell on the shoulders of the new Commander-in-Chief. Ultimately, the final translation was completed in the spring of 2013.
It should be noted that Admiral Viktor Chirkov actually stands at the origins of creating a new look for the future Navy of the Russian Federation. We have compiled a summary of the changes in the fleet during his more than two years of command of the fleet:
1). The process of transferring the General Staff of the Russian Navy from Moscow to a historical place in St. Petersburg has been completed.
2). A general program for the development and rearmament of the Russian Navy for the period up to 2025 has been created and approved. To date, as part of its implementation, dozens of new warships and boats, support vessels have been laid down and launched. Modernization and construction of separate fleet bases is underway.
3). The Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy also held this moment conducts regular work on the development and issuance of tactical and technical specifications for the construction of completely new projects of warships, submarines and support vessels. Over the past two years alone, more than twenty technical specifications for new ship and vessel designs have been developed and issued.
4). Behind last years the overall floatation of ships and vessels of the Navy in the near and far operational zone has increased several times. The number of tactical exercises of various sizes and surprise checks has increased.
5). A special event in the history of the Russian Navy was the return of our forces to the Arctic zone. In September 2013, a detachment of ships led by the heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Peter the Great made a trip to the New Siberian Islands. To date, a decision has been made to create separate units and formations of the Red Banner Northern Fleet in this zone.
6). In June 2013, an operational formation of the Russian Navy was created on a permanent basis in the Mediterranean Sea, and with it a new body within the Navy - the operational command in the far operating zone. This made it possible to create on a permanent basis a group of our ships and vessels operating in the interests of the Russian Federation in this region. Thus, the fleet actually permanently and permanently entrenched itself in an important strategic area of the Mediterranean.
These are just the general results of the development of our Navy for recent times. It must be understood that in addition to the above changes, internal smaller ones are also being carried out in the field of education, social security of military personnel and, of course, the setting of new combat missions.
The management and staff of the Center for Military-Political Studies congratulate the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Viktor Chirkov, on his jubilee. We wish vivacity and strength of the sea spirit, so that health is always in high degree readiness to solve any assigned tasks for the benefit of our Great Fleet and Fatherland.
Happy Anniversary Comrade Admiral!
The Russian navy, which our country now has, is one of the most powerful and combat-ready in the world. The Russian fleet deserved this position not only by the current state of the seafarers, but also by the legacy inherited from the Soviet Union. This primarily concerns the level of training of command personnel and the technical equipment of the fleet's infrastructure. The huge naval economy, inherited from the Soviet navy, allows Russia to maintain its leading position at sea. Russia is still trying to continue the glorious maritime traditions that began with the time of Tsar Peter I.
The fleet continues to be one of the most powerful and combat-ready branches of the armed forces of the Russian Federation. Service in the Navy today is honorable. Despite the difficulties and trials, young people willingly go to serve in the fleet.
Paying tribute to naval traditions, already in modern Russia An official holiday was approved - the day of the Navy of the Russian Federation. In accordance with the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of May 31, 2006, every last Sunday of July is celebrated in the country as the day of the Russian Navy. The holiday is celebrated throughout the country, from the westernmost point on the map of the country to the eastern borders. From the Baltic naval base in the Baltic to the eastern borders, in Vladivostok and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. From the Polyarny country road and Murmansk in the Far North, to Sevastopol and Novorossiysk on the Black Sea. During the celebrations in the cities and in the places where the fleet is based, naval parades are held with the participation of ships and units of the Navy, units marines and naval aviation.
However, the parade and festivities are one side of the coin, and the daily work of keeping the ships and other units of the Russian Navy at a high level of combat readiness is completely different. The fleet is the most complex living mechanism, with its own skeleton - structure and thousands of technological and departmental connections that play the role of blood vessels of a huge mechanism. Without major capital investments, without updating the crew and putting the coastal infrastructure in order, the fleet will not be able to stay in a combat-ready state for a long time.
The ships of the Navy, which entered service in the time Soviet state gradually fall into disrepair. The rear infrastructure of the fleet is morally obsolete, urgent military-technical modernization of combat ships in service is required. The fleet needs a radical technical re-equipment and re-equipment. Evidence that the country's leadership understands the importance of naval problems is the fleet development program adopted in July 2017, which provides for a phased modernization of the Russian fleet until 2030. At the core adopted program the necessary measures are clearly spelled out that will make the Russian Navy a modern combat mechanism by the indicated time.
Russian fleet today. Organizational structure
Traditionally, the navy is a separate branch of the Armed Forces of our country, with its own commander-in-chief and headquarters. The tasks of the fleet include the armed protection of the sea borders of Russia, ensuring the interests Russian state in all maritime military theaters. In terms of its structure and composition, the Russian fleet is an ocean-going fleet capable of delivering nuclear missile strikes against a potential enemy, ensuring tactical operations in any corner the globe, to act on enemy communications on the high seas and near its coasts. Together with the ground forces and the air force, the navy participates in repelling the aggression committed against the Russian state with all its members. The army and navy are in close cooperation with each other in repelling aggression.
Like other types of armed forces, the Russian fleet has all the necessary attributes and regalia in accordance with the Charter and regulations on the navy. The main symbol is St. Andrew's flag. Each structural formation that is part of the fleet has its own distinct Navy badge, which allows you to distinguish sailors from the Northern Fleet from the military personnel of the Caspian Flotilla.
Today the composition of the Navy is as follows:
- submarine forces;
- surface forces;
- parts of naval aviation;
- Marines;
- subdivisions and units of coastal defense troops.
It should be noted that each branch of the military, which is part of the fleet, has its own certain goals and tasks that, in combination, ensure the combat capability of the fleet at any time and in any place. The marines cannot fully operate without providing fire support from naval aviation and surface forces of the fleet. In turn, the submarine forces, being one of the main strike elements of the fleet, need the support of surface ships and naval aviation forces.
The organizational structure of the fleet is represented by associations, which in turn are geo-referenced. The united fleet of the Russian Federation includes the Northern, Pacific, Baltic and Black Sea fleets. A separate naval formation is the Caspian military flotilla, which also has its own headquarters and permanent bases. The fleets and flotillas include detachments of surface ships and submarines, naval aviation forces and special forces of the Navy, a special unit within the Russian fleet.
The numerical composition of the fleets differs, as in the number personnel, and seafarers. In many ways, the combat capability is determined by the goals and tasks that this naval association is solving. Traditionally, the Northern and Pacific Fleets occupy a strategic position in the country's defense system. The Baltic, Black Sea Fleets and the Caspian Flotilla are more focused on solving tactical problems.
Under present conditions, the main strike force of the Russian Navy is nuclear strategic missile submarines carrying intercontinental ballistic missiles. There are nuclear submarine brigades in the Northern Fleet and pacific ocean. The next types of ships in terms of importance and strength of weapons are missile and aircraft-carrying cruisers with nuclear or conventional power plant. The basis of the tactical formations of the Russian fleet today are ships of new types, missile frigates and corvettes. In the near sea zone, all fleets operate patrol and patrol ships. The special forces of the Navy, units of the Marine Corps represent the main strike force of the coastal units of the Navy.
Of these fleets, the largest and most powerful at the moment is the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy, which includes the largest and most powerful warships.
The main bases of the Northern Fleet are:
- Severomorsk with fleet headquarters;
- Vidyaevo (submarines);
- Severomorsk;
- Gadzhiyevo;
- Polar.
The only naval base in the fleet is the White Sea Naval Base in Severodvinsk.
Today, the Black Sea Fleet is considered the smallest, which, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, ceased to play a key role in maritime theaters. Only in recent years, the situation with the technical equipment of the Black Sea Fleet began to change for the better. The old cruisers and frigates are being replaced by new missile ships and submarines. The fleet is based at Sevastopol and Novorossiysk. The Novorossiysk and Crimean naval bases are used as a strong point.
A difficult situation has developed in the Pacific Ocean. The once powerful and combat-ready Pacific Fleet is going through a difficult period today. Old ships inherited from Soviet times are scrapped or undergoing modernization. New warships are arriving extremely slowly to equip the fleet. Nuclear submarines based in Kamchatka today spend most of their time at the quay wall. Formidable missile submarines are being routinely decommissioned, and new or modernized nuclear submarines are entering the fleet at an extremely slow pace.
The Pacific Fleet has the most extensive area of responsibility. The locations are thousands of kilometers apart. The main naval service points in the Pacific are:
- Vladivostok with fleet headquarters;
- Fokino;
- Sovetskaya Gavan;
- Vilyuchinsk (submarines).
The Baltic Fleet, operationally locked in the cramped waters of the Baltic Sea, is in a dormant state. With the change in naval doctrine, in which multi-purpose universal ships play the main role at sea, the Baltic Fleet needs to be re-equipped and re-equipped with new ships. The headquarters of the fleet is located in Kaliningrad, and the main places of basing of ships and parts of the fleet are:
- Baltiysk;
- Kronstadt.
In the Baltic, the fleet has two naval bases, Baltic and Leningrad. Since 2000, the Russian Navy has ceased to be based in Kronstadt, shifting its focus to the Western part of the Baltic Sea.
The Caspian flotilla operates in the waters of the Caspian Sea. The main basing point for ships and parts of the flotilla is Kaspiysk and Makhachkala. The headquarters of the flotilla is located in Astrakhan.
All fleet associations have marine brigades, naval special forces of the Navy, auxiliary and rescue units, coastal defense forces
Before the collapse of the USSR, the Soviet Navy was the second largest in the world after the US Navy and consisted of more than one and a half thousand ships of all types. By 2010, all four fleets included only 136 ships capable of going to sea and solving combat missions.
Command and controls
The Commander-in-Chief of the Navy of the Russian Federation today is Admiral Vladimir Ivanovich Korolev, who took office on April 6, 2016. The Commander-in-Chief of the Navy is responsible for the entire naval economy, spread over the entire vast territory of the country from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok. All operational work is carried out by the First Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Chief of Staff of the Navy Andrei Olgertovich Volozhinsky with the rank of Vice Admiral. It should be noted that military ranks in the Russian modern fleet were inherited from Soviet times, which were finally adopted in 1943. The most senior in the fleet is the rank of Admiral of the Fleet. This is followed by ranks and ranks corresponding to military ranks in other branches of the armed forces and branches of service.
Today, the following classification of the ranks of the Navy of the Russian Federation is used, which was finally formed in the 70s of the XX century.
- sailors and foremen;
- midshipmen (midshipman was put into use in the mid-70s), for coastal units - ensigns;
- junior officers;
- senior officers - captain III rank, captain II rank and captain I;
- the highest officers are rear admirals, vice admirals, admirals and admirals of the fleet.
Military ranks are awarded for length of service or for special military merit. Accepting a new higher position in the navy, as in the army, implies the assignment of an extraordinary rank.
The erroneous decision to transfer the management and command of the fleet to St. Petersburg, taken in 2012, was canceled by the current leadership of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Since 2015, the general management of the Russian fleet, command and control is located in Moscow. From here, all the fleets of the country are controlled, control is exercised over the operational situation in maritime theaters, and work is underway to organize the fleet economy.
Who goes to serve in the Navy
AT organizational plan in the modern Russian fleet, the structure and procedures that operated in the Soviet Navy have been preserved. In Russia today, as well as in the United States and Great Britain, in many other countries the fleet, despite the highest technological effectiveness among the branches of the armed forces, is their most conservative part. Here innovation and reorganization are extremely reluctantly welcomed. Traditions, combat experience and maritime practice become the main engines of progress. It is fashionable and prestigious to serve in the Navy today, given the significantly reduced terms military service, up to 12 months, and the opportunity to go to serve in the fleet under a contract.
The main contingent recruited for service in the fleet are contract soldiers. The significantly increased technological load on the crew of any modern warship requires the ship's crew members to high level knowledge and professionalism. Basically, military personnel are recruited to warships, who conclude a contract with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. This category of servicemen goes to command and management positions. Conscripts are mainly completed by the crews of ships that serve in the near sea zone or are under scheduled repairs.
An applicant who wants to become a sailor, foreman or midshipman must have a second group neuropsychic stability, category A3 and above. It is obligatory to have a secondary education. For senior positions and midshipmen, the presence of a civil secondary special education. The bulk of the conscripts go to serve in the Baltic Fleet. Other fleets prefer contractors.
The large-scale organizational and staff measures carried out in recent years in the Armed Forces set one of their main goals (according to their authors) to destroy the complex bureaucratic administrative structures that have become ossified over the past decades. But in some areas of military construction, the final result, according to representatives of the domestic expert community, is not entirely unambiguous.
By and large, the original idea of the reform of the Armed Forces is correct and timely. It was necessary to reduce the excessively swollen command and control apparatus, increase the mobility of the army and the efficiency of the execution of directives and orders of the General Staff and the Supreme Commander, and adapt the command and control system of the Armed Forces to the realities of modern warfare.
At the same time, it was understood that future military conflicts would be exclusively of a regional scale. The threat of a large-scale war was considered unlikely at this stage. In wars like August 8, 2008, the most important was the ability of formations and units of the branches of the Armed Forces (arms of service) to operate effectively and quickly in relatively small tactical groups.
Similar Western models were taken as a model for a new type of command and control system (for commanding troops and forces) in such conflicts. It would seem that in numerous local wars and conflicts of recent times, they have proven their high efficiency. However, copying foreign samples and models, as well as their mechanical transfer to domestic soil, rarely gives positive results. And there are many historical examples of this.
In this particular case, a complete and authentic copy, of course, did not work out. Much had to be redone, taking into account local conditions. As a result, the resulting organization of command and control of troops (forces) turned out, according to most experts, to be quite controversial in terms of its effectiveness. There are also more radical assessments - it is completely incapable of any effective control over the troops and the Navy in particular. Let's take a closer look at the fleet.
What were, according to a number of experts, the most significant miscalculations in the creation of a control system that was fundamentally new for our army and navy?
To fully understand the current situation in the fleet in the field of management, let us first consider american original. The pinnacle of government is the President of the United States, who directly gives orders to the Secretary of Defense. The administrative branch of government begins at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which is subdivided into four main branches of the armed forces: Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps.
The Chief of Naval Staff, reporting to the Secretary of the Navy, is responsible for organizing and training subordinates, as well as determining the needs of the Navy. The Fleet Forces Command is an administrative-strategic unit that unites the US Pacific and Atlantic fleets and partially duplicates the functions of the chief of staff.
Operational unit - Unified Combat Command reporting directly to the US Secretary of Defense. Under his command are several branches of the armed forces, acting jointly in a certain area of responsibility and assigned by order of the minister to the corresponding branch of the armed forces.
There are currently six commands in the US: African, Central, European, Pacific, North and South. In the described system, as you can see, the main emphasis is on a clear separation of the administrative and operational verticals of command, as well as the maximum concentration of commands different types Armed forces (arms) in one joint headquarters.
Exactly the same capabilities were required from Russian system control of troops (forces) before the reform. Before proceeding to the analysis of what was done in the course of the reform, it is necessary to look back - what system of government were abandoned by modern reformers?
She looked like this before. The Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, who is also the President of Russia, the Minister of Defense was subordinate to him. Further, the now rejected principle of the “commander-chief of staff” pair was implemented, which, starting from the Minister of Defense (in the role of chief commander) and the chief of the General Staff (as chief staff officer), went vertically up to the battalion level.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Navy was subordinated to the General Staff. It was in charge of the operational management of the Navy - a body planning the use of forces and means of the fleet, as well as their interaction with other types of the Armed Forces (arms of service), and the body that implements the decisions of operational management - the Central Command Post of the Navy. Further, orders and instructions went down already to specific combat units.
This system, inherited from the Soviet Union, has been in operation for many years. The need for some modernization to bring this control scheme into modern look was obvious.
Let us now take a look at the new structure of the Russian Armed Forces.
Today, the chain of command begins with the President in the role of Supreme Commander, who issues commands directly to the Minister of Defense. The minister, in turn, reports to the chief of the General Staff, who is responsible for the system of main commands, including the Navy. Commander-in-Chief of the Navy performs only administrative functions: organization of combat training, measures for the development of the fleet, material support, training of specialists, development of statutory documents.
The operational command of the fleet is now carried out by the naval department of the Joint Strategic Command (USC), which is subordinate to the General Staff and has a certain area of responsibility. In the course of the reform, four USCs were created: Western, in charge of the Northern and Baltic Fleets, Southern, in charge of the Black Sea Fleet and the Caspian Flotilla, Central and Eastern, responsible for the Pacific Fleet.
As you can see, the domestic scheme, largely repeating the overseas one, is significantly simplified.
First of all, American Chiefs of Staff represent all branches of the armed forces as opposed to one land general in the RF Armed Forces.
Secondly, there are absolutely no operational controls at the main command of the Navy.In other words, the direct control of the fleet is in the hands of the USC, as opposed to the command of the US Navy, which has the authority to enforce combat orders from the national command.
These simplifications, apparently, were carried out in order to further optimize the control apparatus. It was supposed to further reduce the time for passing the order directly to the executing ship. It seems formally everything is correct and at first glance the goal is achieved. But how close is this paper organization to the realities of our Armed Forces?
Probably, it is worth starting with the foundation of the foundations - the Military Doctrine of the Russian Federation, more precisely, the formulation of external threats to our country. And it turns out that there is simply no clearly defined enemy in the Military Doctrine. And if so, what should the troops (forces) reflect and what should they be ready for? Accordingly, it becomes difficult to set tactical and technical tasks for defense industry enterprises in the development and mass production of weapons and military equipment. It is completely unclear for what exactly the "sharpened" equipment is needed by the army and navy.
But this is the least of the problems that the fleet faces today. Sailors are glad at least some ships. But who and how will manage these ships? By old memory I want to say - Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. However, today this statement is more than far from the truth. The main command of the Navy has now lost all available control levers. Until recently, the General Staff of the Navy was subordinate to such a body as the Central Command Post of the Navy, responsible for managing all the available forces of the fleet, both in peacetime and in wartime. However, as of December 1, 2011, the TsKP was abolished. Along with him, the last opportunity to lead the fleet at the operational level also went away.
The Commander-in-Chief (apparently, as a consolation prize) was left with exclusively administrative functions. Meanwhile, the command of the fleet was not only curtailed in its capabilities, but also seriously reduced in strength. Of the 850 officers, only 90 retained their posts in the main command. Naturally, it is simply impossible to solve any serious tasks with such a modest staff. For example, the same development of TTZ for defense enterprises. As a result, however tragicomic it may sound, many employees themselves do not fully understand what they should be doing.
Who is now entrusted with the operational management of the Navy?
This function was entirely taken over by the unified headquarters of the joint strategic commands. The decision, we repeat, is correct in theory (and tested in the West in practice) - different kinds The Armed Forces (arms of the armed forces) must effectively coordinate their actions. However, as mentioned above, today naval officers do not take the slightest part in the command of the fleet.
Instead, it is purely land commanders who are doing this, and with quite predictable results. Moreover, the strength of the naval department, for example, Western District, responsible for two full-fledged fleets at once, is only 14 people. From any point of view it is difficult to explain such a system. It is not surprising that sailors often complain about ridiculous and inadequate instructions from the headquarters of the districts.
The next minus of USC is the insufficiently clearly defined area of responsibility outside the borders of the Russian Federation. Formally, each district has its own region, but there are still no clearly defined borders, like the American unified combat commands. Imagine a situation in which a ship, for example, of the Eastern USC makes a transition to the Mediterranean Sea, which is in the area of responsibility of the Southern USC. It is difficult to say to whom the specified combat unit will obey in this case.
Meanwhile, at an early stage of the reform, the idea of creating a command of the far sea zone was considered. Unfortunately, this project has so far remained unrealized. And this is not the only organizational flaw. new system. The well-honed system of communication and information exchange between the command and individual units, including those with strategic submarine missile carriers, has also been broken for years.
If earlier the “atomic” signal could reach each submarine personally from the commander-in-chief, then with the liquidation of the Navy Communications Department, most of the channels were cut off. An additional element of confusion, and quite a considerable one at that, in the activities of the fleet is introduced by the recent relocation of the main command of the Navy from Moscow to St. Petersburg. But more on that below.
The third shortcoming, which could be fatal, was the actual separation naval forces nuclear deterrence from the forces of the Northern Fleet, which ensures their actions. Recall that, according to the draft reform, the command of the strategic nuclear forces is independent of the USC. And this means additional difficulties in interaction. Orders will have to be coordinated sequentially at several levels. In the event of force majeure, this will take a lot of precious time.
The system of military education in the Navy has also undergone a reorganization, which is more appropriate to call collapse.. Also borrowed from the United States, it turned out to be largely incapacitated in Russian conditions. About 75% of graduates leave immediately after graduation, having received a diploma of higher vocational education. In the meantime, the unprecedented concentration of higher education institutions has ruined many of the best military educational establishments in the navy, forcing them to merge with major centers. As a result, further fundamental changes are needed, otherwise the number of officers in the fleet may drop to a critical level.
Probably, it will not come as a surprise to anyone that practically all sailors - from the commanders of the fleets (chiefs of staff of various levels) to the commanders of ships / submarines - were opposed to such changes from the very beginning. However, their opinion was not taken into account.
Moreover, according to a long-established Russian tradition, the idea and even the course of the reform were kept secret until the very last moment.
Perhaps the most complete and capacious description of what is happening with the fleet now is the epic with the relocation of the main command of the Navy to St. Petersburg. Absolutely unnecessary for strategic reasons, protracted for a long time, brought outright chaos in fleet management, disabled organizational structure command posts, communication centers, fleet control bodies, and most importantly - incredibly, simply prohibitively expensive in cost.
According to the most preliminary estimates, the relocation of the main command of the Navy cost up to 50 billion rubles. For comparison: the Yury Dolgoruky SSBN, which is very expensive even by world standards, cost the Ministry of Defense half the price. Isn't this the best illustration of the senselessness of the relocation of the General Staff of the Navy, undertaken solely for voluntaristic reasons, very far from the issues of truly strengthening the country's defense capability.
As a result, the situation with the operational management of the Navy cannot be called anything other than catastrophic today.. In fact, what we have now is a direct opposite of the old Soviet system, which, according to fleet veterans, was distinguished by sufficient speed, reliability, management efficiency and high professionalism of personnel.
Again, this system was not ideal, especially in the mid-2000s. The need for modernization is long overdue, including radical reductions in the number of government bodies. For example, the size of the General Staff under the USSR was one and a half times less than the pre-reform “brain of the army”. However, at the top they decided to chop off the shoulder. This, ultimately, led to many mistakes, which, of course, could have been avoided.
What needs to be done in order for the fleet to regain the meaning of life and be able to fulfill its original purpose? It is absolutely clear that another fundamental restructuring of the entire management system is indispensable. Experts propose to return the old system (of course, with elements of the necessary modernization), the main structural units of which were previously the Central Command Post of the Navy, the Central Computing Center of the Navy, the Central Communications Center of the Navy, operational management Navy.
In other words, the fleet should remain independent of the district command structure with its own control system. The unified command itself will also benefit, which will be able to direct the released command resources to the more familiar Ground Forces and Air Force. All that remains is for the very top to recognize the need to urgently correct the mistakes made. Otherwise, you will have to pay for them at very high rates.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Viktor Chirkov, filed a report on his dismissal from the Russian Armed Forces due to health reasons. This was announced on Monday, March 14, by a source in the military department.
Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Viktor Chirkov. Photo: Vitaly Nevar / TASS
Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Fleet Admiral Vladimir Korolev has been appointed as acting Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. According to the source of the agency, in the near future he will take the post of Chirkov. Decisions on this issue, allegedly, should take place before the beginning of April.
In January of this year, Vice Admiral Alexander Fedotenkov, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, told the media that Chirkov "had undergone a minor operation." According to him, at that time, by order of the Minister of Defense, Korolev was appointed Acting Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, "as the most experienced and competent" admiral in the Navy. Fedotenkov also noted that the decision on whether the 57-year-old Admiral Chirkov will continue military service, will later be accepted based on the results of the survey.
Viktor Chirkov was born on September 8, 1959 in Alma-Ata. From 1982 after graduation naval school named after Makarov, he served in the Pacific Fleet and went from the commander of a mine-torpedo warhead to the commander of the Primorsky Flotilla of the diverse forces of the Pacific Fleet (he took this post in 2005). Since July 2007, Chirkov has been appointed chief of staff of the Baltic Fleet, and since September 8, 2009, he has become commander of the Balflot. On May 6, 2012, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev dismissed Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky from the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Navy and appointed Viktor Chirkov commander. In August of the same year, he was awarded the military rank of admiral.
Vladimir Korolev, who can replace Chirkov as Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, was born on February 1, 1955 in the village of Pustynka, Kashinsky District, Kalinin Region. Since 1985, he served in the 24th submarine division of the Northern Fleet (SF) in Gadzhiyevo (Murmansk region), in 1993 he became deputy division commander, then head of the anti-submarine warfare service of the Northern Fleet. In August 2000, Korolev was appointed commander of the 24th submarine division, after 2 years he became commander of the 12th submarine squadron of the Northern Fleet and served in this position until 2007. Then Korolev served as deputy commander of the Northern Fleet.
In 2008-2009, he led the first round-the-world cruise of warships of the Russian Navy. In August 2009, Korolev became chief of staff of the Northern Fleet, and on July 2, 2010 he was appointed commander of the Black Sea Fleet. He served in this post for less than a year - on June 23, 2011, Korolev became commander of the Federation Council. He was awarded the rank of admiral in February 2013. It is known that Korolev is a participant in 15 long-distance cruises on nuclear submarines and surface ships.