Forester Gordey

(1916), participant in the First World War, the storming of the Winter Palace, battles with the troops of General Yudenich, suppression of the rebellions of the Krasnaya Gorka fort and in Kronstadt. Member of the CPSU(b) since 1919.

He graduated from the Naval School (1922), served on ships of the Baltic Fleet. In 1927, he was appointed to the position of commander of the destroyer Artyom. In 1930, after completing courses at the Naval Academy, he commanded the cruiser Aurora and a detachment of training ships. From January 1932 to January 1933, commander and military commissar of the Caspian Military Flotilla. From January 1933 to August 1935 - commander and military commissar of a brigade of battleships of the Baltic Fleet. In August 1935, he was demoted for causing the death of the submarine B-3 during an exercise. In 1935-1937 he commanded a division and brigade of destroyers of the Black Sea Fleet.

From August 1937 to January 1938 - chief of staff, and from January 1938 to April 1939, commander of the Baltic Fleet. Since April 1939, Deputy People's Commissar of the USSR Navy.

During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, as a representative of the naval command, he participated in the defense of Odessa, Nikolaev, Sevastopol, and commanded the troops of the Crimea (October 22 - early November 1941).

In November 1941, after the surrender of Kerch, he was arrested, pleaded guilty to defeatism and panic, and testified against G.I. Kulik. On January 25, 1942, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but on January 31, 1942, he was pardoned and demoted to the rank of captain 1st rank.

He led the landing operation to capture Sommers Island in the Gulf of Finland on July 8, 1942, which ended in the complete destruction of the landing force and significant losses in ships (8 boats were sunk).

Since April 1944, Deputy People's Commissar of the USSR Navy.

From May 1946, commander of the South Baltic Fleet (4th Navy), then again deputy minister.

After the end of the war, he showed himself to be an active opponent of strengthening the Soviet fleet and the creation of the People's Commissariat of the Navy, being an admiral of the fleet, he played his role in the decision-making process on choosing the “land” vector of development of the armed forces of the Soviet Union.

In 1953-1956 he was an admiral inspector of the Navy, and in 1956-1958 he served as deputy commander-in-chief of the Navy for combat training.

In September 1960 he retired.

On May 24, 1982, his name was assigned to the large anti-submarine ship of Project 1155, which in 1989 became part of the Northern Fleet.

Biography

In the Navy since 1913, graduated from the Jung School (1914), class of artillery non-commissioned officers in Kronstadt (1916), participant in the First World War, the storming of the Winter Palace, battles with the troops of General Yudenich, suppression of rebellions at the Krasnaya Gorka fort and in Kronstadt . Member of the CPSU(b) since 1919.

He graduated from the Naval School (1922), served on ships of the Baltic Fleet, commanded the cruiser Aurora and a detachment of training ships. In 1932-1933, commander of the Caspian military flotilla. In 1933-1937 he commanded a brigade of battleships of the Baltic Fleet, a division and a brigade of destroyers of the Black Sea Fleet.

Since 1937, Chief of Staff, and since 1938, Commander of the Baltic Fleet, since 1939, Deputy People's Commissar of the Navy.

During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, as a representative of the naval command, he participated in the defense of Odessa, Nikolaev, Sevastopol, and commanded the troops of the Crimea (October 22 - early November 1941).

In November 1941, he was arrested, pleaded guilty to failure of the offensive and panic, and testified against G.I. Kulik. On January 25, 1942, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but on January 31, 1942, he was pardoned and demoted to the rank of captain 1st rank.

He led the landing operation to capture Sommers Island in the Gulf of Finland on July 8, 1942, which ended in the complete destruction of the landing force and significant losses in ships (8 boats were sunk).

In 1942-1944 he commanded the Leningrad and then the Kronstadt naval base, participating in the defense of Leningrad. Provided transportation and supplies for troops during the breaking of the blockade.

Since April 1944, Deputy People's Commissar of the USSR Navy.

From May 1946, commander of the South Baltic Fleet (4th Navy), then again deputy minister.

In 1953-1956 he was an admiral inspector of the Navy, and in 1956-1958 he served as deputy commander-in-chief of the Navy for combat training. Since 1958, in the Group of Inspectors General of the USSR Ministry of Defense. In September 1960 he retired.

Awards

USSR awards

• 3 Orders of Lenin
• 4 Orders of the Red Banner
• 2 Orders of Ushakov, 1st degree
• 2 Orders of the Red Star

The name of the ship is not an abstract name invented by the builders when it was laid down. Admiral Levchenko is a real figure, a significant personality in Russian history. He was born and lived in the days of the formation of Russia as a world power and an all-Union state, and became the person who created its future.

The beginning of the way

The future admiral Levchenko Gordey Ivanovich began his rapid career at the school of a cabin boy. A native of Belarus, a very small boy, Gordey entered the school of naval affairs - from that day on, his life story became inseparable from the pages of the military history of Russia.

After graduating from college in 1913, he was immediately “lucky” to become a participant in World War I. The shells of military battles kindled a genuine love for military affairs in a very young boy. That is why, after the events of the civil war and joining the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), he decided to continue his studies.

In 1922, Gordey Ivanovich graduated from the Higher Naval School and joined the officer ranks of the Russian Navy.

The rapid career of an admiral

The discipline, diligence, ambition and hard work that Gordey Levchenko was endowed with helped him skyrocket up the career ladder, and 22 years after graduation, receive the rank of admiral.

A couple of years after being drafted into the fleet, Gordey Ivanovich was appointed commander of the famous cruiser Aurora, and in 1933 he was promoted to commissar of the Caspian Flotilla. His track record was replete with many positions, including commander of battleships in the Baltic, commander of a destroyer brigade in the Black Sea, etc. In 1939, Levchenko received the post of commander of the Baltic Fleet.

Gordey Ivanovich faced a difficult time - wars, revolutions, changes in the country's way of life. However, he always had a gallant spirit. During the Great Patriotic War, the future admiral Levchenko participated in the defense of Crimea and Leningrad, and provided supplies to the troops during the breaking of the blockade.

The courage and bravery he showed during the war played a significant role in his career growth. Since 1953, he was appointed to the post of admiral-inspector of the USSR naval forces, and then deputy commander-in-chief for combat training. However, this was the final period of his lightning career. In 1960, Admiral Levchenko retired.

History of the ship's construction

Ironically, laid down at the plant named after. Zhdanov's ship originally had the name of one of the cities of the Far East - Khabarovsk. However, fate had prepared an outstanding destiny, filled with success and victories, and therefore an appropriate name was required for it. 3 months after the laying - at the end of May 1982, it was decided to rename the Khabarovsk BOD and give it the name BOD Admiral Levchenko. This date coincided with the anniversary of the death of the admiral - Gordey Ivanovich died at the end of May 1981.

On October 30, 1988, captain 2nd rank - future rear admiral - Yu. A. Krysov first raised the naval flag on a ship. At the end of October 1988, the history of one of the most significant combat units of the Northern Red Banner Navy of Russia begins.

Characteristics

The vessel had the following parameters:

• Length -160 m.
• Width - 19 m.
• Draft - 8 meters.
• Displacement - 7 t/(full) 7.5 t.
• Autonomy - 30 days.
• The crew is about 300 people.

Has the following types of weapons:

• Artillery
• Kinzhal missiles.
• Anti-submarine and mine-torpedo.
• Aviation group.

For ease of perception, rounded indicators of the Admiral Levchenko BOD were given. The photos clearly demonstrate the power and strength of his weapon.

Pages of success

The anti-submarine ship Admiral Levchenko ends its first year of service victoriously - the team wins the prize of the Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Navy for successfully completing the mission to search for an enemy submarine. The medal laid the foundation for the ship's future victories in the naval field, of which there were many.

In the next 3 years - from 1990 to 1992, the team did not want to give up the palm branch of the championship to its colleagues in the service and became the winner in military training exercises 3 times in a row.

In 1993, the ship was inspected by the Minister of Defense Grachev himself and brilliantly completed the task assigned to him in lowering the mooring lines and entering the open sea, which once again confirmed the professionalism and high cohesion of the team.

After a short break in 1996, Admiral Levchenko again became the best ship for training diverse ground forces, and in 1997 it again repeated the successful search for nuclear submarines.

In 2004 - a brilliant search for enemy submarine forces as part of a search and strike group of ships and a new prize from the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy.

In 2005-2006 for the umpteenth time confirms and confidently retains the title of the best on the Kola Peninsula.

Military campaigns

Just 2 years after its launch, the ship “Admiral Levchenko” joined the ranks of Russia’s advanced forces at sea and defended the country’s interests off the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

During its career, the ship managed to visit:

• Mediterranean Sea and the port of Tartus in 1990
• French Toulon in 1993
• English ports of Portsmouth and Plymouth in 1996
• The shared polar archipelago of Svalbard in 2003
• Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea in 2007-2008, as well as Norway, England, France, Iceland and Tunisia.
• Exercises with Turkey in 2009
• In 2009-2010 he served in and off the coast of Syria.
• Protected Russian interests in the Mediterranean from 2013 to 2014.
• Since 2014, he has been an integral member of the group of ships of the Northern Fleet monitoring the situation off the coast of Syria.

In almost 30 years of brilliant service, the Admiral Levchenko BOD managed to undergo repairs twice. However, each time the crew quickly returned to work and successfully completed the tasks assigned to them.

Ship commanders

Unfortunately, periodicals and books lack accurate information about the ship’s commanders and a clear chronology of their service in their positions. Based on news reports, we were able to recreate an approximate picture:

• 1988-1995 - captain 2nd rank Yu. A. Krysov;
• 2005 - A.P. Dolgov;
• 2007 - captain 2nd rank S. N. Okhremchuk;
• 2010 - captain 1st rank S. R. Varik;
• 2012-2016 - captain 1 I. M. Krokhmal;

Today “Admiral Levchenko” is not just a significant name in the history of Russia, it is a whole team of like-minded people, excellently performing the tasks of protecting the interests of our Motherland. This is the power and becoming of the Northern Fleet. These are those who daily bear the difficult burden of service and protect our peaceful sleep.

Current page: 1 (book has 20 pages total) [available reading passage: 12 pages]

Gordey Ivanovich Levchenko
Together with the fleet. Unknown memoirs of an admiral

The book was published thanks to Nikolai Vladimirovich Martynyuk. Special thanks to Elena Vasilievna Upereva and Dragan Grujicic.

© Levchenko G.I., 2015

© TD Algorithm LLC, 2015

Part 1
First imperialist

I was born on January 20, 1897 in the village of Dubrovka. The village where I spent my childhood is divided into two halves by the Smolka River. Under administrative subordination, the village belonged to the Novgrad-Volynsky district of the Zhitomir province. A significant part of the land belonged to Count Potocki. He was also the leader of the local nobility.

The narrow, impoverished strips of land produced little, but this was the basis of the life of the peasants. The landowner used cheap labor, especially female labor, to harvest the crops.

...The rickety huts huddled one against the other, the village became silent. Guys and girls rarely got together in the evenings. The men often gathered, whispered cautiously, but were already talking about dividing the land of the landowners and the church. Men especially often gathered with fellow villagers who had returned from the Russo-Japanese War. For me, much in these conversations was incomprehensible. They sounded anxious and joyful. They promised a different life, a happier one.

And I already knew what the peasant share was. A hut with an adobe floor into one large room with a Russian stove, and in the evenings a torch continuously smokes. Mother spreads a homespun canvas on the floor, and we sit side by side to sleep on it. When the torch goes out, the smell of dry wood lingers in the darkness for a long time. You can hear a cricket singing behind the stove.

Of seven children in the family, I was the sixth. But I already had a lot of responsibilities: I helped cut and chop wood, chipped wood, helped my mother with housework.

The news of the January events of 1905 came to the village late. It was brought by a wounded soldier who was returning home and dropped into our village along the way. It was he who told the peasants about all the events. Of particular interest was the news about the possible division of landowner and church land between peasants. The soldier often said that this requires great strength and intelligence, it is a pity that there are not enough literate men among the men. We may even have time to take away the land, and our children will manage it.

The gendarmes arrived in the village. Many peasants were beaten, a soldier was arrested. I never saw him again, but his words sank deeply into my soul and were remembered for the rest of my life. It seemed to me that a simple peasant guy, along with millions of the same simple people, would have to manage the land.

How did my life turn out later? I entered a parochial school. The teacher was Semyon Mikhailovich Beletsky. He invested a lot of his strength, labor and love to give basic knowledge to the village children, to open the path to knowledge. The opposite of this was the village priest Kovalevsky. With his shouts, and sometimes even direct mockery, supported by divine sayings from the Holy Gospel, his threats that God would punish us, he discouraged any desire to study. Many village boys completed their education here.

I graduated from the parish church school. I began to ask my father to send me to the city of Novgrad-Volynsk, located thirty kilometers from Dubrovka, to study at the city two-year school. My wish came true. The tuition fee was 6 rubles. In order to earn money for books, notebooks and to be able to pay other expenses related to my studies, in the summer I hired out to graze cattle in my village. In the summer, I dressed myself. He knew how to weave bast shoes well and in the summer he got by in any weather; boots were not needed. This happened in the summer all three years while I was studying at the city school. The corner was rented - just a corner - only for an overnight stay with the shoemaker Korostylev, who always drank away his earnings at the fair, and his wife was a laundress. I very often had to carry water from the river for washing and other household needs. Once a month, my father brought food from home: potatoes, flour, lard.

I studied successfully. Three years passed quickly, and now the question arose: what to do next, what to do? The most I could count on was to get a position as a scribe in the zemstvo council. No, that didn't suit me. Study further? But this requires funds.

One day, while walking around the city, I accidentally read an advertisement that the school of cabin boys in Kronstadt was recruiting young people aged 16–17 years. The announcement indicated that all those admitted to the school were fully supported. For admission to boys' school it was necessary to pass exams and undergo a medical examination at one of the listed points. The nearest city was Mogilev. The exams were scheduled for the month of July.

Who among us in our youth did not dream of long sea voyages, of the harsh and exciting life of a sailor! In addition, the opportunity opened up to study, and even with full support.

The preparations were short-lived. A knapsack with groceries, a 4th class ticket bought with the last bit of money - and now I’m on my way to Mogilev.

Upon arrival at the place, I found the selection committee and met with the same seekers of happiness - Molodtsov, Demidenko, Drozdov and Vydra. I passed the entrance exams and was declared fit for service in the navy by the medical commission. You could return home and wait there for the first of September. There was no money for a return ticket. I had to get there as a “hare” - sometimes on the platform between the cars, sometimes in the vestibule, sometimes on the roof, and in some places - on foot along the sleepers. But, as they say, the world is not without good people. I met such a kind person. His name was Pyotr Sidorovich Ogorodnikov, he was the chief conductor of a freight train and a large watch and whistle hung on his chest. Pyotr Sidorovich took me off the roof of the carriage and sternly reprimanded me. Then, after listening to my story, he grumpily remarked: “The trouble is with you, with the “hares.” Come after me".

I thought he was taking me to the gendarme. However, Pyotr Sidorovich put me in an empty carriage and sealed it. Now I could drive calmly.

The train stopped often and stood for a long time. Time passed slowly. It was sad in the empty carriage. Hunger tormented me. At one of the stops, the door of the carriage opened and Pyotr Sidorovich cheerfully asked: “Well, how are you, traveler? Here, eat,” he handed me a large piece of bread with lard, “my favorite dish.” I greedily attacked the food. After waiting until I had eaten, he began to question me, occasionally asking questions and smiling all the time. His good-natured eyes reminded me of the look of that wounded soldier whom I saw in Dubrovka in 1905. “Learning is good. Our people are smart and talented, but they are not taught to read and write. Maybe this is why we live in poverty and savagery,” said Pyotr Sidorovich.

At the Ovruch station we parted ways with him; the train did not go any further. Sidorovich gave me 50 kopecks for the further journey. In total, it took me many days to get from Mogilev to Polonnoye station, which is located 20 kilometers from Dubrovka. However, all these ordeals seemed insignificant to me compared to the main thing. This main thing was contained in a short poetic word - sea! I entrusted my destiny and heart to him; it, not yet seen, but already close, imperiously called to itself.

In my village on the Smolka River, my brother and I, even before school in the spring, during floods, or after heavy rains, often liked to test our courage and dexterity. We stood on large boards or logs and, pushing off with a long dough, standing at our full height, swam along the river. There were times when we jumped off the logs into the water and took cold baths. Then they quickly ran home, put on something dry and again continued their journey to the water mill. We were often punished by our mother for these entertainments, but a love for the water element was instilled in us. But now there was a trip to a real maritime school.

School of cabin boys

At the end of August I bought a ticket and went to St. Petersburg. On the way, I met people like myself, seekers of happiness. These were Proydokov, Vakulenko, Linich and Skachko. We decided to stick together and share our supplies.

St. Petersburg amazed us with the abundance of people and light, noise and bustle. Gas lamps were burning, and in their uneven light a motley crowd swayed, crowding Nevsky from Znamenskaya Square (now Vosstaniya Square) to the Admiralty. The cab drivers shouted vying with each other, beckoning riders, and intrusive brokers scurried around, offering all sorts of services for money.

After asking the people we met how to get to Kronstadt and receiving clarification, we set off along Nevsky Prospekt. Further inquiries helped us get to the departure point of steamships that went to Kronstadt. In those days, entry into Kronstadt was free and the pier was crowded with many well-dressed civilians who intended to take an excursion to the fortified city. There were also many military sailors. One of them came up to us and asked where we were going. Our appearance, clothes and age spoke for themselves. But still we answered - to the school of cabin boys. “Then come to us. That's what I thought. Well, let’s load,” the sailor suggested. We didn't understand the ranks. We took tickets and went on a ship that made trips to Kronstadt. The sailor told us that he is from the school of cabin boys, his rank is non-commissioned officer and he serves as a platoon commander in one of the training companies of the school, and his name is Alexander Zimin. On the way, he told us a lot about the school of young boys, about what and how they teach there.

The steamer left the Neva and we saw the sea for the first time. Wide and endless, it was all covered with white caps of waves. It reminded me of a plowed field. Even rows of waves rolled towards the steamer and, breaking against it, scattered into small splashes. The steamer shuddered nervously. I felt slightly dizzy. I never experienced such a feeling while floating on the Smolka River. So this is what it is like, the sea! Not like our Smolka River. How many times have I pictured the sea in my imagination, but it turned out to be completely different - restless and completely unkind, as if it immediately warned me that I should not joke with it. What does it promise us, what awaits us on the path that we, five young dreamers, have embarked on today?

At school we were assigned to different companies. Based on my height, I was assigned to the 4th company under midshipman V. Yapuk. On the very first day, we were taken to the bathhouse and our hair was removed under the clipper for the first number. We were given new, canvas, working outerwear and were introduced to the rules of school life. From the next day, our life at school followed a strict military schedule, corresponding to ship life.

All uniforms were adjusted according to height. The school had its own tailor's and shoemaker's workshop. While uniforms of appropriate height were being made, canvas canvas was the main clothing.

Full staffing of all companies lasted only two or three days, since all future cabin boys were checked in advance by special medical commissions at those points in the provinces where they submitted applications for admission to the cabin boys school.

In addition to checking the state of health, that is, medical suitability for service in the fleet, the degree of general training of candidates for study, their knowledge, and their general educational level were determined.

It should be noted that the principles of selection for the school of cabin boys before the First World War were not particularly different from the conditions for admission to naval schools, with the only difference being that future cabin boys had to come to the location of the school at their own expense. There were no entrance examinations at the cabin boys school itself. As stated above, the knowledge of candidates for study was tested by provincial selection committees.

Barsukov, Zakorchevny, Chernenko, Voskoboynikov, Petrukhin, Vakulenko and others came to school with me. Everyone’s life’s fate took its own course. Even today I remember my platoon commander A. Zimin, how he taught us by show and tell.

The basis of training at the school for cabin boys was combat training, the study of general education disciplines and the development of a naval specialty. All ship professions of that time were studied, and each of the cabin boys could choose a specialty at their own discretion. I was most interested in artillery weapons and I preferred the specialty of a naval gunner 1
The gunner is a gunner and knowledgeable about the materiel.

General education subjects - physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, mechanics and others, and there were only about 12 of them, were taught by specialist officials and some officers - Pel, Dergachev, Ulrich and others. The law of God was taught by priest Putilin, who in 1921 during the uprising in Kronstadt was the main ideologist of the rebels. He was the main resident of Kronstadt and worked in some organization of churchmen before the mutiny. Then he fled to Finland when the assault troops of the Red Army occupied Kronstadt.

Special subjects of maritime practice, tying all kinds of knots, the boatswain's naval pipe - were taught by experienced non-commissioned officers who knew their job very well. Many of them began their service as cabin boys themselves. Almost all the instructors, squad and platoon commanders had been on long-distance foreign campaigns many times and often told us about their impressions. These stories were listened to with enthusiasm, instilled hope that we too would see and experience a lot and, it must be said, significantly strengthened our attachment to naval service.

Remembering now these intimate conversations with senior comrades about naval service, I think about how little attention we today pay to instilling in young sailors a passionate love for naval service, for its trials, difficulties and joys. Many of our senior officers do not know how to talk with great elation about the true romance of naval life. Often a young man of 18–19 years old, with the dreaminess characteristic of youth, imagines naval service as a continuous chain of extraordinary adventures and exciting pleasure walks along the mirror-like surface of the sea, under the gentle summer sun. Arriving with such an idea of ​​​​serving on a ship, he immediately encounters difficulties, with harsh reality that overturns these ideas. The difficulties of service seem too ordinary, “earthly” to him, and he sometimes begins to be disappointed. This is where the foreman should come to his aid and tell him very well, skillfully and entertainingly about what real naval romance is. He must be able to show that true romance lies in the struggle with these difficulties, in the exciting danger that awaits sailors everywhere, in constant physical and spiritual tension, in a clear understanding of the meaning and purpose of their service - the great goal of serving the people who are building the brightest human society is communism. A passionate and intelligent conversation about all this should inspire people...

The current availability of modern technology on ships of all classes requires personnel to have excellent knowledge of it. It is necessary to be able to operate this equipment, and this task is assigned to the sailors servicing the equipment. Modern sailors must be experts in their field and have an excellent understanding of the operation of individual mechanisms and assemblies. Every sailor, while at his combat post, must be able to understand and feel the operation of the mechanisms of his command at a glance.

High qualifications of sailors are achieved through persistent daily study and are inextricably linked with the love of the personnel for the assigned work, for their department.

It should be noted that in the school of cabin boys, physical training was given paramount importance. Every morning we went to the sea arena, where we learned various sports, except swimming, since there were no swimming pools then. While studying at school, each cabin boy received all the skills and knowledge he needed in physical exercises and could be a physical training instructor on the ship where he served and at the same time perform his main job in his specialty.

At the school of young boys, much attention was paid to practical training. Along with mastering the basic specialty, we had to learn how to repair individual parts and mechanisms ourselves, and acquire skills in plumbing. To this end, three times a week in the evenings we went to mechanical workshops. The practical skills acquired there were later very useful.

After two months of schooling, we were allowed to leave for the city for the first time. During these two months, we were intensively drilled: we were trained in saluting, taught to stand “in the front,” and forced to do this for hours not only on the parade ground, but also to pose in front of the mirror. When leaving shore leave, the dream of each of us was to go to the movies. But it was almost impossible to get there: there was only one cinema in the whole of Kronstadt. In those days there was not a single film installation in military units or on ships. Therefore, those discharged ashore, as a rule, wandered around the city idle, while the more daring ones surveyed the shopping arcades on Bolotnaya Square and shop windows on Gospodskaya Street (the main street of the city). The lower ranks were allowed to walk, counting from the church square to the merchant harbor only on the left side of this street. That’s why the left side was called “cloth”. They were especially afraid of the Kronstadt Governor-General, Vice Admiral Viren. He often rode along the main streets in a one-horse carriage and kept order. He had some special passion for this. Probably his favorite pastime was stopping a sailor. His coachman knew this, and therefore, from afar, as soon as he noticed a sailor or soldier, he immediately directed the carriage towards him, drove up and stopped. At the admiral’s call, you had to run to him, and when you ran up, give a report and introduce yourself. Viren demanded that he be shown those specific places on the visor and trousers on which information about their owner was written. He wanted to make sure that the necessary inscriptions were made. And those who did not have the required inscriptions were guaranteed a place in the guardhouse. He always asked about the external distinctions and titles of officer ranks, as well as members of the royal family, “most serene princes,” etc. All the sailors and soldiers knew the dappled white stallion and Viren’s carriage, and when they saw them, they ran away and hid in the nearest courtyards.

At one of the meetings in the Kremlin in 1939, after all the work, Comrade Stalin I.V. asked Comrade Kuznetsov why the People's Commissar of the Navy should not establish order in naval bases similar to what was in Kronstadt under Viren. To do this, it is necessary to remove Virenov’s monarchical rust and the tsarist despotism of the autocracy, replacing it with our Soviet way of life, military order and discipline, respect and love for the sailor and soldier. Don't forget the civilian population. After all, the sailors did not die from those orders, if we exclude this nonsense, but there were orders, and not bad ones,” added Comrade Stalin. People's Commissar N. Kuznetsov promised to fulfill this.

The Great Patriotic War passed and in 1946 Comrade Stalin I.V. again reminded of Viren’s orders. At that time, Rear Admiral Rumyantsev was appointed commander of the Kronstadt naval base. He tried to do something, but he failed, because he transferred everything to the city commandant. I had to check the order and work of the base commander, being the chief inspector of the Navy.

The commander of the school of cabin boys was Major General von Petz. He constantly and vigilantly took care of raising us as sailors devoted to the royal throne. At school, all patronal holidays and birthdays of the numerous royal family were sacredly celebrated, and they regularly visited the Naval Cathedral. On the eve of Easter Day, the entire school of cabin boys, about 400 people, with company commanders in full dress uniform, and the head of the school, occupied the balcony (choir) on the second floor. After the church ceremony, Viren came up to our balcony and walked around the line, accompanied by von Petz. Viren kissed the one who most impressed and liked him three times, according to Christian custom. There were 3–5 people like that. After that, they marched off to school. All military units, without fail, passing the residence-house in which Viren lived, the team leader gave the command “at attention” with his head turned in the appropriate direction. The line pulled up, marking each step along the cobblestone street.

In the February revolution of 1917, the sailors of Kronstadt and all its old-timers recalled to the governor and military governor of the city all his bullying and humiliation of the sailors’ human dignity. Moreover, they told Viren: “We are judging and punishing you not for the order that existed in the city, but for bullying, an insult to human dignity.”

Each cabin boy had to know by heart the genealogy of all the “most illustrious” princes and royal persons. In order to study this pedigree, special classes were conducted with us under the guidance of platoon commanders. The head of the school, von Petz, knew that a check upon dismissal to the city could be carried out when the cabin boy was detained by Vice Admiral Viren. But the cabin boy doesn’t know. What will happen to the head of the school?

Priest Putilin was the most zealous according to God's law. Specially selected articles from the Gospel were persistently hammered into our heads. They preached the legality of war, death on the battlefield, about royal power, about the right of property and many, many other various sayings.

The tsarist government, seriously concerned about the growing discontent in the country, tried to find support in the army and navy in order to use the country's armed forces to suppress this discontent.

In March 1914, the cabin boys went to Tsarskoye Selo, located near St. Petersburg. Here the young sailors had to participate in the royal review while simultaneously taking an oath of allegiance to the king. The review was conducted by Russian Emperor Nicholas II. Dozens of different military units lined up on the huge parade ground. The horse guards and cavalry guards sparkled with gold and silver, and the variety of uniforms of the guards regiments was stunning. The young men here, in the presence of the king, took the oath among a group of generals surrounding a man with a reddish beard and dull eyes. This colonel is Tsar Nicholas, the autocratic ruler of the Russian Empire, the master of the Russian people and the Russian land.

Together with other military units, we marched in front of the Tsar in a ceremonial march and received the Tsar’s “thank you” and a silver ruble as a gift. This was where the royal “favors” were limited.

After the parade, the boys went to Petrograd to inspect the Winter Palace. Having never seen anything like this before, the cabin boys walked confusedly through the huge halls, trying to step as lightly as possible barefoot on the parquet floors polished to a mirror shine. We were stunned by the luxury that surrounded us. It was hard to believe that all this splendor belonged to one person - the king. I couldn’t wrap my head around why he needed these hundreds of halls, why did he spend so much money for one person?

Involuntarily I remembered villages, smoking huts, splinters. Depressed, we left the royal palace. We put on our boots and thought about the blatant injustice: for some, everything, and for the rest, pitiful crumbs!..

It must be assumed that the tsar at that time did not think that three years later many of us, with arms in hand, would storm this palace in order to forever establish the power of workers and peasants in the country.