Mikhail Vladimirovich Viktorov

Born Dec. 24, 1893 (Jan. 5, 1894); died August 1938. Squadron commander first class (1935). Born in Yaroslavl; son of an officer.

Viktorov graduated from the Naval School in 1913 and participated in World War I in the Baltic Fleet. After the October Revolution he joined the side of Soviet power and participated in the Civil War on the Baltic Sea and was senior navigator on the cruiser Oleg. He was in command of the destroyer Vsadnik and the battleships Andrei Pervozvannyi and Gangut. Viktorov took part in the suppression of the Kronstadt mutiny in 1921. From May 1921 he commanded the naval forces in the Baltic. He completed advanced courses at the Naval Academy in 1924 and that year became chief of naval forces in the Black Sea. In 1926 he was named commander of the Baltic Fleet and in 1932 commander of the Pacific Fleet. From August 1937 to April 1938, Viktorov was a member and chief of the Military Council of the Naval Forces of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army. He was awarded the Order of Lenin and Orders of the Red Banner and the Red Star.