Vladimir Tributs

Vladimir Tributs

Vladimir Tributs (1900-1977)
Born July 28, 1900(1900-07-28)
St. Petersburg, Russia
Died August 30, 1977(1977-08-30) (aged 77)
Moscow
Allegiance Soviet Russia (1918-1922)
 Soviet Union (1922-1961)
Service/branch Soviet Navy
Years of service 1918-1961
Rank Admiral
Commands held Baltic Fleet
Battles/wars Russian Civil War, World War II
Awards Order of Lenin - twice
Order of the October Revolution
Order of Ushakov - twice
Order of the Red Banner - four times
Order of Nakhimov
Order of the Red Star

Vladimir Filippovich Tributs (Russian: Влади́мир Фили́ппович Три́буц) (July 28 [O.S. July 15] 1900, Saint Petersburg - August 30, 1977) was a Soviet naval commander and admiral from 1943.

Tributs joined the Navy in 1918 and during the Russian Civil War participated in combat actions on the Volga and in the Caspian. Graduated and received his commission from M.V. Frunze Higher Naval School in 1926 and graduated from the Naval Academy in 1932. From 1932 to 1936 he served on ships of the Baltic Fleet (the Parizhskaya Kommuna and the Battleship Marat) and commanded the destroyer Yakov Sverdlov. From February 1938 to April 1939 Tributs served as the Chief of Staff of the Baltic Fleet and from April 1939 to 1947 he commanded it.

As war approached, Tributs observed the growing evidence of hostile German activity with apprehension; in the summer of 1940, he "advanced Baltic Fleet headquarters from its historic seat at the Kronstadt fortress in Leningrad to the port of Tallinn, two hundred miles to the west" despite his worries about security problems and the difficulty of constructing a new base.[1] On June 19 he put the Baltic Fleet up to "Readiness No. 2" state, which meant fueling the ships and putting their crews on alert, and late on the evening of June 21 (the eve of the German invasion) he moved to "Readiness No. 1" state, which was fully operational.[2] On August 17, the defense of Leningrad was placed in his hands.[3]

A leading navy commander during the Siege of Leningrad, Tributs led the Soviet evacuation of Tallinn, organized military operations in defense of the ports of Kronstadt and Oranienbaum during 1941-1943, and arranged counterattacks by the naval aviation of the Baltic Fleet defending besieged Leningrad from aerial bombing attacks. His active involvement in the defense of the besieged Leningrad helped save the city from still more destruction, but failed to save the suburban palaces of the tsars from destruction by the Nazis, such as the Grand Peterhof Palace.

Tributs retired in February 1961, having earned two Order of Lenin, one Order of the October Revolution, for Order of the Red Banner, two 1st class Orders of Ushakov, one Order of Nakhimov,one Order of Red Star, and numerous medals. Turning to military history after his retirement, he produced over 50 works including military histories of the Baltic Fleet and its operations during the Second World War.

The Udaloy class destroyer Admiral Tributs is named after him.

References

  1. ^ Harrison E. Salisbury, The 900 Days: The Siege Of Leningrad (Da Capo Press, 2003: ISBN 0306812983), p. 16.
  2. ^ John Erickson, The Road to Stalingrad: Stalin's War with Germany, Vol. 1 (Yale University Press, 1999: ISBN 0300078129), pp. 96, 107.
  3. ^ Salisbury, The 900 Days, p. 224.

Sources

Works