Ivan Isakov
Encyclopedia
Hovhannes Stepani Isakov , an ethnic Armenian, was a Soviet military commander, Chief of Staff of the Soviet Navy, Deputy USSR Navy Minister, and held the rank of Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union. He played a crucial role in shaping the Soviet Navy, particularly the Baltic
and Black Sea
flotilla
s during the Second World War. Aside from his military career, Isakov became a member and writer of the oceanographic committee of the Soviet Union Academy of Sciences
in 1958 and in 1967, became an honorary member of that of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic's Academy of Sciences
.
, then a part of the Russian Empire
(currently the Kars vilayet
of Turkey
). His family moved to Tiflis, where he attended and graduated from the local realschule
in 1913.
and graduated as a midshipman
in March of that year and briefly saw action against the Germans in West Estonian archipelago (Moonsund archipelago). He continued his service after the Russian Revolution
in the Baltic Sea
fleet as a torpedo
officer where he served on several warships including the Izyaslav, the Riga, the Kobchik and the Korshun. In 1918, he took part in several battles against the German Imperial Navy until the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
, which effectively ended the war between Russia and Germany, granting the Baltic Sea
to the latter. In March 1918, Isakov participated in the Ice Cruise of the Baltic Fleet
from the naval base at Helsingfors where Russian warships and icebreaker
s were transferred from the Baltic to the naval base in Kronshtadt near Petrograd. An authoritative Russian Navy source notes that Isakov completed additional courses in mine-sweeping and mine-laying in 1919 and then served in the Caspian Sea, returning to the Baltic in 1920, and subsequently serving in the Black Sea through the mid-1920s.
In 1920, Isakov was transferred and assigned to the destroyer
Deyatelni, which patrolled from the Volga River
down to the Caspian Sea
and later shelled the positions of Allied interventionist
forces in the midst of the Russian Civil War
. Noted for his distinction during the battles, in 1921 he was made the gun battery
commander of the destroyer Izyaslav. From 1922 to 1927, he served as a shtab operative, or a member of the deputy chief of staff, of naval forces in the Black Sea Fleet
. In 1928, Isakov completed academic courses at the Naval Academy Leningrad
and from 1930 he was Chief of Staff of the Baltic Fleet. In 1932, Isakov became the professor and head of the naval art department of the Soviet Naval Military Academy and taught as a professor for five years until being promoted commander of the Baltic Fleet
. From 1938-39 he headed the Naval Academy. In 1938, he was made a podpolkovnik
or lieutenant colonel
and chief of main naval headquarters and Deputy People's Commissar the following year. Isakov was appointed vice-commissar of naval affairs, and in 1939 he led a naval delegation to the United States
with the goal of purchasing new warships from America. He met with the Secretary of the Navy, although the delegation left empty-handed, since the US was unwilling to extend aid to Soviet Russia
. Isakov broke away from teaching with onset of the Winter War
and entered active service; he coordinated not only the movement of naval warships in the Baltic Sea but also the ground forces of the Red Army
in the Soviet war against Finland
. From 1941-43 Isakov was the chief of the Main Maritime Staff, in 1946-47 chief of the Main Navy Staff, in 1947-1950 deputy Navy Commander-in-Chief, and in 1950-56 deputy USSR Naval Minister. From 1957 he was a member of the USSR Defense Ministry General Inspectorate.
invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the Soviet Navy's manpower drastically decreased due to a need of men to help stave off the advances made by the German armies. Nevertheless, Isakov temporarily served in the Soviet Red Banner Northern Fleet until 1942 where he became a commander in the North Caucasus
front where German forces were attempting to penetrate the oil fields of Baku
. There, he was a member of the North-Caucasian Directive, a military council which planned operations and directed naval forces defending in the region. He was responsible for the successful naval landing by Soviet forces on the Kerch
peninsula
(the Kerch–Eltigen Operation), then held by German forces. On October 4, 1942, Isakov was injured in a German bombing raid in Tuapse
and had his foot amputated, spending the remainder of the war in a field hospital
. Nevertheless, Isakov continued to serve in his capacity as chief of staff of Soviet naval forces.
On May 31, 1944, Isakov was promoted to the service rank of Admiral of the Fleet
but also managed to find the time for scholarly work. After becoming a professor in 1932, Isakov had spent much of his time researching military naval tactics and strategy. From 1932 to 1933, he had participated in a Soviet military report which examined German naval, particularly submarine
, tactics used during battles in the First World War. In 1937, he received his Doktor nauk
after defending his dissertation on the routing of German forces by the Imperial Japanese Navy
in the Battle of Tsingtao
in 1914. In 1947, Isakov was appointed editor and president of The Atlas of the Sea, a three-volume work which was, respectively, devoted to the charting of naval routes, the mapping of the seafloor and the physical landscape of the oceans, and the history of naval warfare. The work went on to receive the 1951 USSR State Prize
. Other prestigious positions Isakov went on to hold was editor and adviser in the writing of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia
.
Baltic Fleet
The Twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet - is the Russian Navy's presence in the Baltic Sea. In previous historical periods, it has been part of the navy of Imperial Russia and later the Soviet Union. The Fleet gained the 'Twice Red Banner' appellation during the Soviet period, indicating two awards of...
and Black Sea
Black Sea Fleet
The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov....
flotilla
Flotilla
A flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...
s during the Second World War. Aside from his military career, Isakov became a member and writer of the oceanographic committee of the Soviet Union Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
in 1958 and in 1967, became an honorary member of that of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic's Academy of Sciences
Armenian Academy of Sciences
The Armenian Academy of Sciences is the primary body that conducts research in and coordinates activities in the fields of science and social sciences in the Republic of Armenia. It was founded on November 29, 1943...
.
Early life
Ivan Isakov was born Hovhannes Ter-Isahakyan in the family of an Armenian railway worker in the village of Hadjikend in the Kars OblastKars Oblast
Kars Oblast was one of Transcaucasian governorates of Russian Empire between 1878 and 1917. Its capital was in the city of Kars, presently in the Republic of Turkey. The governorate bordered with the Ottoman Empire, Batum Oblast, Tiflis Governorate, Erivan Governorate, and from 1883 to 1903 with...
, then a part of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
(currently the Kars vilayet
Kars Province
Kars Province is a province of Turkey, located in the northeastern part of the country. It shares part of its border with the Republic of Armenia.The provinces of Ardahan and Iğdır were until the 1990s part of Kars Province.-History:...
of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
). His family moved to Tiflis, where he attended and graduated from the local realschule
Realschule
The Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and in the Russian Empire .-History:The Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and...
in 1913.
Early service
In 1917, Isakov moved to Petrograd, Russia, and entered the Naval Guards School of the Imperial Russian NavyImperial Russian Navy
The Imperial Russian Navy refers to the Tsarist fleets prior to the February Revolution.-First Romanovs:Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, construction of the first three-masted ship, actually built within Russia, was completed in 1636. It was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein...
and graduated as a midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
in March of that year and briefly saw action against the Germans in West Estonian archipelago (Moonsund archipelago). He continued his service after the Russian Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
fleet as a torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
officer where he served on several warships including the Izyaslav, the Riga, the Kobchik and the Korshun. In 1918, he took part in several battles against the German Imperial Navy until the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, mediated by South African Andrik Fuller, at Brest-Litovsk between Russia and the Central Powers, headed by Germany, marking Russia's exit from World War I.While the treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year,...
, which effectively ended the war between Russia and Germany, granting the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
to the latter. In March 1918, Isakov participated in the Ice Cruise of the Baltic Fleet
Ice Cruise of the Baltic Fleet
Ice Cruise of the Baltic Fleet was an operation which transferred the ships of the Baltic Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy from their bases at Tallinn and Helsinki to Kronstadt in 1918, caused by the possible threat to those bases from the final German offensives against Russia during World War...
from the naval base at Helsingfors where Russian warships and icebreaker
Icebreaker
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...
s were transferred from the Baltic to the naval base in Kronshtadt near Petrograd. An authoritative Russian Navy source notes that Isakov completed additional courses in mine-sweeping and mine-laying in 1919 and then served in the Caspian Sea, returning to the Baltic in 1920, and subsequently serving in the Black Sea through the mid-1920s.
In 1920, Isakov was transferred and assigned to the destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
Deyatelni, which patrolled from the Volga River
Volga River
The Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through central Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including the capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage...
down to the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
and later shelled the positions of Allied interventionist
Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War
The Allied intervention was a multi-national military expedition launched in 1918 during World War I which continued into the Russian Civil War. Its operations included forces from 14 nations and were conducted over a vast territory...
forces in the midst of the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
. Noted for his distinction during the battles, in 1921 he was made the gun battery
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
commander of the destroyer Izyaslav. From 1922 to 1927, he served as a shtab operative, or a member of the deputy chief of staff, of naval forces in the Black Sea Fleet
Black Sea Fleet
The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov....
. In 1928, Isakov completed academic courses at the Naval Academy Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
and from 1930 he was Chief of Staff of the Baltic Fleet. In 1932, Isakov became the professor and head of the naval art department of the Soviet Naval Military Academy and taught as a professor for five years until being promoted commander of the Baltic Fleet
Baltic Fleet
The Twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet - is the Russian Navy's presence in the Baltic Sea. In previous historical periods, it has been part of the navy of Imperial Russia and later the Soviet Union. The Fleet gained the 'Twice Red Banner' appellation during the Soviet period, indicating two awards of...
. From 1938-39 he headed the Naval Academy. In 1938, he was made a podpolkovnik
Podpolkovnik
Podpolkovnik is a military rank in Slavic countries which corresponds to a lieutenant colonel in English-speaking states. Usually this word is translated as lieutenant colonel, however the transliteration is also in common usage, for the sake of the historical context.The exact name of this rank...
or lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
and chief of main naval headquarters and Deputy People's Commissar the following year. Isakov was appointed vice-commissar of naval affairs, and in 1939 he led a naval delegation to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with the goal of purchasing new warships from America. He met with the Secretary of the Navy, although the delegation left empty-handed, since the US was unwilling to extend aid to Soviet Russia
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
. Isakov broke away from teaching with onset of the Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
and entered active service; he coordinated not only the movement of naval warships in the Baltic Sea but also the ground forces of the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
in the Soviet war against Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. From 1941-43 Isakov was the chief of the Main Maritime Staff, in 1946-47 chief of the Main Navy Staff, in 1947-1950 deputy Navy Commander-in-Chief, and in 1950-56 deputy USSR Naval Minister. From 1957 he was a member of the USSR Defense Ministry General Inspectorate.
World War II
With the NaziNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the Soviet Navy's manpower drastically decreased due to a need of men to help stave off the advances made by the German armies. Nevertheless, Isakov temporarily served in the Soviet Red Banner Northern Fleet until 1942 where he became a commander in the North Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
front where German forces were attempting to penetrate the oil fields of Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
. There, he was a member of the North-Caucasian Directive, a military council which planned operations and directed naval forces defending in the region. He was responsible for the successful naval landing by Soviet forces on the Kerch
Kerch
Kerch is a city on the Kerch Peninsula of eastern Crimea, an important industrial, transport and tourist centre of Ukraine. Kerch, founded 2600 years ago, is considered as one of the most ancient cities in Ukraine.-Ancient times:...
peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
(the Kerch–Eltigen Operation), then held by German forces. On October 4, 1942, Isakov was injured in a German bombing raid in Tuapse
Tuapse
Tuapse is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the northeast shore of the Black Sea, south of Gelendzhik and north of Sochi. It serves as the administrative center of Tuapsinsky District, although administratively it is separate from it...
and had his foot amputated, spending the remainder of the war in a field hospital
Field hospital
A field hospital is a large mobile medical unit that temporarily takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent hospital facilities...
. Nevertheless, Isakov continued to serve in his capacity as chief of staff of Soviet naval forces.
Admiralship and scholarly work
Admiral of the Fleet (USSR)
The rank of Admiral of the Fleet was the highest naval rank of the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1955 and second-highest from 1962.The rank has a rather confusing history...
but also managed to find the time for scholarly work. After becoming a professor in 1932, Isakov had spent much of his time researching military naval tactics and strategy. From 1932 to 1933, he had participated in a Soviet military report which examined German naval, particularly submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
, tactics used during battles in the First World War. In 1937, he received his Doktor nauk
Doktor nauk
Doktor nauk is a higher doctoral degree, the second and the highest post-graduate academic degree in the Soviet Union, Russia and in many post-Soviet states. Sometimes referred to as Dr. Hab. The prerequisite is the first degree, Kandidat nauk which is informally regarded equivalent to Ph.D....
after defending his dissertation on the routing of German forces by the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
in the Battle of Tsingtao
Battle of Tsingtao
The Siege of Tsingtao was the attack on the German-controlled port of Tsingtao in China during World War I by Imperial Japan and the United Kingdom....
in 1914. In 1947, Isakov was appointed editor and president of The Atlas of the Sea, a three-volume work which was, respectively, devoted to the charting of naval routes, the mapping of the seafloor and the physical landscape of the oceans, and the history of naval warfare. The work went on to receive the 1951 USSR State Prize
USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize was the Soviet Union's state honour. It was established on September 9, 1966. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the prize was followed up by the State Prize of the Russian Federation....
. Other prestigious positions Isakov went on to hold was editor and adviser in the writing of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia
Great Soviet Encyclopedia
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia is one of the largest and most comprehensive encyclopedias in Russian and in the world, issued by the Soviet state from 1926 to 1990, and again since 2002 .-Editions:There were three editions...
.
Appraisal and legacy
As a naval commander, Isakov has been described by one military historian as "more a naval practitioner than a theoretician." He "emphasized that the theory of the command of the sea was a rational theory."Writings
- "Japanese Operations Again Tsingdao in 1914", 1936
- "USSR Naval Fleet in the Patriotic War", 1947
- "Stories About the Navy", 1962
- "The End of a Nine", 1963
- "The First Diplomatic Assignment", 1964
- "Story of an Indestructible Major", 1965
- "Naval Attractions", 1984
- "Selected Works", 1984
Further reading
- Harutyunyan, Ashot H. Սովետական Միության Նավատորմի Ծովակալ Ի.Ս. Իսակով (ռազմական ակնարկ) (Admiral of the Soviet Navy, I.S. Isakov [A Military Essay]). Yerevan: Haypethrat, 1975.