Vekman, Aleksandr Karlovich

Born July 31, 1884, in Kronstadt; died Apr. 10, 1955, in Leningrad. Vice admiral (1940); professor of the Naval Academy.

Vekman fought in World War I as a captain second class. He joined the Soviet Navy in March 1919 and fought in the Civil War, first as an artillery squadron commander and then as commander of a mine detachment; in August 1919 he became commander of the Upper Astrakhan Detachment and in December 1919, chief of staff and commander of the Northern Detachment of the Volga-Caspian Military Flotilla. From June to October 1920 he was commander of the naval forces of the Caspian Sea and then of large units of the Baltic Fleet. Vekman was commander of the naval forces of the Black Sea in 1922-24, of the Baltic Sea in 1924-26, and of the Caspian Sea in 1926-27. In August 1927 he was appointed chairman of the standing commission for accepting ships under construction. In 1940-47, Vekman held a responsible post in the hydrographic directorate of the navy. He retired in 1947. Vekman was awarded the Order of Lenin, two Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of the Patriotic War First Class, and various medals.