Pyotr Alexandrovich Smirnov
Encyclopedia
Pyotr Alexandrovich Smirnov (1897–1939) was a Soviet Commissar, Deputy Minister of Defence and Commander of the Soviet Navy
.
Smirnov was born in a workers family in a village near Vyatka in 1897. He finished school and worked as a smith in a lumber factory from 1913. He joined the Bolsheviks in 1917 and was a member of the Red Guards. He fought in the civil was ending as a brigade commander and a Political officer of an army. In 1921 he took part in the suppression of the Kronstadt rebellion
.
In the 1920s he was a Political Commisar of the Volga and North Caucasus Military districts. From 1926 he joined the political directorate of the armed forces and was political commisar of the Baltic Fleet
and Military districts.
In 1937 he was involved in the purge of military leaders including Yakov Gamarnik
in 1937. In October 1937 he became deputy minister of defence and was commander of the Soviet Navy from December 1937.
He was arrested in June 1938 and executed by firing squad in February 1939. He was rehabilitated
in 1956.
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval arm of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have played an instrumental role in a Warsaw Pact war with NATO, where it would have attempted to prevent naval convoys from bringing reinforcements across the Atlantic Ocean...
.
Smirnov was born in a workers family in a village near Vyatka in 1897. He finished school and worked as a smith in a lumber factory from 1913. He joined the Bolsheviks in 1917 and was a member of the Red Guards. He fought in the civil was ending as a brigade commander and a Political officer of an army. In 1921 he took part in the suppression of the Kronstadt rebellion
Kronstadt rebellion
The Kronstadt rebellion was one of many major unsuccessful left-wing uprisings against the Bolsheviks in the aftermath of the Russian Civil War...
.
In the 1920s he was a Political Commisar of the Volga and North Caucasus Military districts. From 1926 he joined the political directorate of the armed forces and was political commisar 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...
and Military districts.
In 1937 he was involved in the purge of military leaders including Yakov Gamarnik
Yakov Gamarnik
Jankel Borysovych Pukhdykovych , better known as Jan Gamarnik or Yakov Gamarnik was a Soviet politician of Jewish ethnicity.-Biography:...
in 1937. In October 1937 he became deputy minister of defence and was commander of the Soviet Navy from December 1937.
He was arrested in June 1938 and executed by firing squad in February 1939. He was rehabilitated
Rehabilitation (Soviet)
Rehabilitation in the context of the former Soviet Union, and the Post-Soviet states, was the restoration of a person who was criminally prosecuted without due basis, to the state of acquittal...
in 1956.