Zelenoi, Aleksandr

Born Aug. 25 (Sept. 6), 1872, in Odessa; died Sept. 4, 1922, in Petrograd. Soviet naval leader.

The son of a nobleman, Zelenoi graduated from the Naval Corps in 1892 and served in World War I, becoming a rear admiral in 1917. Chief of the mine defense of the Baltic Sea in 1917, he was chief of staff of the commander of the Baltic Fleet until July 1917. During the October Socialist Revolution of 1917, Zelenoi went over to the side of Soviet power, commanded the mine defense of the Baltic Sea, and was senior commander in the waters of Finland and Kronstadt. One of the leaders of the Ice Campaign of the Baltic Fleet of 1918, Zelenoi was later chief of training detachments and, from January 1919 to June 1920, commander of the naval forces in the Baltic Sea and in charge of operations during the defense of Petrograd. After 1920 he was at the disposal of the commander in chief of the armed forces, an expert on naval questions with the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic, and representative plenipotentiary of the navy department with the Soviet representation in Finland.