Vladimir Bogdashin
Vladimir Bogdashin | |
---|---|
Native name | Владимир Иванович Богдашин |
Born | 14 March 1952 Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
Died | 22 July 2021 Moscow, Russia | (aged 69)
Buried | |
Allegiance | Soviet Union Russia |
Service/ | Soviet Navy Russian Navy |
Years of service | 1969–2007 |
Rank | Rear Admiral |
Commands held | Bezzavetnyy Moskva Moskva |
Awards | Order of the Red Star Medal "For Battle Merit" Medal "For Impeccable Service" First, Second and Third Classes |
Vladimir Ivanovich Bogdashin (Russian: Владимир Иванович Богдашин; 14 March 1952 – 22 July 2021) was an officer of the Soviet and Russian navies. He reached the rank of rear admiral.
Bogdashin began his naval career with studies at the
After studying at the Grechko Naval Academy, Bogdashin went on to command the helicopter carrier Moskva and the missile cruiser Moskva. He then became deputy head of the navy's Central Command Post for Combat Control, prior to his retirement in 2007 with the rank of rear admiral. In civilian life he was deputy director general of the managing company "GazPromService", and worked in the administration of the Chertanovo Tsentralnoye District in Moscow's Southern Administrative Okrug. Between 2011 and his retirement in 2017 he headed the Training and Research Centre of the Moscow Federation of Trade Unions.
Early life and career
Bogdashin was born on 14 March 1952 into a Russian family in the town of
After a year on the Bezzavetnyy Bogdashin was transferred to the
1988 Black Sea bumping incident
Prelude
In 1986 the United States Navy cruiser USS Yorktown and destroyer USS Caron had entered Soviet territorial waters in the Black Sea, testing an interpretation of the law of innocent passage that was disputed by the Soviets. The event had caused controversy with Soviet naval officers, who regarded it as insult, but there was uncertainty over how to respond because of the Cold War thaw and rapprochement initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev.[5] When the command of the Black Sea Fleet received notification that Yorktown and Caron would return to the Black Sea, they began preparations to counter a probable repeat of the violation of Soviet territorial waters. Captain 2nd Rank Nikolai Mikheyev, who commanded a group of surface warships of the Black Sea Fleet, was instructed to first warn the US vessels not to enter Soviet territorial waters, and if they did not respond, to bump the ships, forcing them to change course.[6]
On 11 February 1988 Bezzavetnyy, under the command of Captain 2nd Rank Bogdashin, returned to
Bumping
As the US vessels approached the Soviet coastline off Sevastopol, Bogdashin broadcast warnings that they were approaching Soviet territorial waters, and demanded they change course. Receiving the reply that they were not violating anything, Bogdashin prepared to use the ships to "bump" them, and turn them aside from their courses. He had hoped for the support of the auxiliary vessel Donbass, a large vessel with an ice-strengthened hull, but she was unable to make contact with the group. Instead, as the Caron crossed into Soviet waters, SKR-6 moved to bump the vessel. She made contact, but with her smaller bulk, was unable to effect much difference to the Caron.[5] When the Yorktown also entered Soviet waters, Bogdashin accelerated his ship, and collided with the US cruiser. He later recalled that "the first blow was relatively light. With our starboard side, we hit the port side of Yorktown at speed. It was a sliding blow, we demolished the American gangway in the area of the navigating bridge. We received orders from the shore to withdraw and continue observation, but I could no longer do this."[1][6] Bezzavetnyy then collided with the stern of the Yorktown, her bow scraping along the cruiser's stern, buckling the side plating, sweeping away the railings, and damaging the Harpoon missile launchers.[5] The Bezzavetnyy's starboard anchor was dropped onto the Yorktown's deck, tore into the side plating, and was carried away.[5][6]
The two ships moved apart, with Bogdashin now facing the threat of the Caron, which manoeuvred to try to trap the Bezzavetnyy between herself and the Yorktown. The crew of the Yorktown attempted to launch their helicopter, but after the appearance of more Soviet ships and helicopters, and a warning that if launched, the helicopter would be shot down for violating Soviet airspace, abandoned the attempt.
Aftermath
On his return to port Bogdashin learned that his actions had divided opinion within the Soviet leadership, with some demanding he be punished.[5] He recalled how the fleet commander scolded him for losing an anchor, while the fleet's chief navigator was concerned that Bogdashin had violated the International Rules for Preventing Collisions of Vessels at Sea.[5] Bogdashin was summoned to Moscow a couple of days later. Bogdashin recalled that "Later I learned that my fate was finally decided by the chairman of the KGB of the USSR, Chebrikov. It was he who reported to Gorbachev that I did everything right. [Gorbachev] did not object."[1]
Following the incident, Bogdashin was quickly removed from the fleet for a period by being appointed a delegate to the
In 1999, Bogdashin became deputy head of the navy's Central Command Post for Combat Control.[1] Bogdashin retired from military service in 2007.[1][2][4] He entered civilian life as deputy director general of the managing company GazPromService, and worked in the administration of the Chertanovo Tsentralnoye District in Moscow's Southern Administrative Okrug.[3] Between 2011 and his retirement in 2017 he headed the Training and Research Centre of the Moscow Federation of Trade Unions.[1][2] In addition to various awards and medals, including the Medal "For Battle Merit", he was also an honorary citizen of Tatsinsky District, in Rostov Oblast.[7][8]
Bogdashin died from COVID-19 in Moscow on 22 July 2021.[2] He was 69 years old. He was buried in the Alley of Admirals in Moscow's Troyekurovskoye Cemetery on 27 July, shortly after Russia's Navy Day.[1][9] He was married to Olga Leonidovna, and had two children; a son Dmitry who graduated from the S. M. Kirov Military Medical Academy and served as chief medical officer on a submarine, before returning to the Medical Academy as head of the resuscitation and anesthesiology department at the Department of Traumatology and Orthopedics; and a daughter, Dasha, a graduate of the University of Finance and Economics.[3][10]
References
- ^ Gazeta.ru. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Ovchinnikov, Aleskei (23 July 2021). "От последствий коронавируса умер контр-адмирал Богдашин, выгнавший американцев из территориальных вод СССР" (in Russian). Rosbalt. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Ignatova, Natalya (23 July 2021). "К 81-й годовщине образования Ростовской области. Владимир Богдашин: «Хочу, чтобы дети были счастливыми!»" (in Russian). Raionnie Vesti. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "Владимир Богдашин" (in Russian). Свободная Пресса. 12 April 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Ovchinnikov, Aleskei (12 February 2016). "Плата за наглость: как наш сторожевик протаранил корабль ВМС США в Черном море" (in Russian). Zvezda. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f "Выгнали «навалом»: операция ВМФ СССР против ВМС США в Чёрном море — видео" (in Russian). Eurasia Daily. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ "Почётные граждане Тацинского района". Тацинский историко - краеведческий музей (in Russian). Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ "Богдашин Владимир Иванович". Тацинский историко - краеведческий музей (in Russian). 1 October 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ "«ОФИЦЕРЫ РОССИИ» проводили в последний путь легендарного адмирала Владимира Богдашина" (in Russian). oficery.ru. 29 July 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
- ^ Ter-Markaryan, Arshak (23 February 2015). "Иду на вы!" (in Russian). Liternaturnaya Rossiya. Retrieved 24 July 2021.