World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseHovhannes Ter-Isahakyan was born to an ethnic Armenian family in the village of Hadjikend in Kars Oblast, Russia (now in Turkey). His family moved to Tiflis (now Tbilisi, Georgia), where he would complete his secondary education in 1913. In Mar 1917, he graduated from the Naval Guards School in Petrograd (later Leningrad, now Sankt-Peterburg) in northern Russia. He saw action against the Germans during WW1 in the West Estonian archipelago in the Baltic Sea. Some time during the Russian revolution, he adopted the Russian name Ivan Stepanovich Isakov. In the next few years, he served aboard minesweepers and destroyers of the Soviet Navy on the Baltic Sea, Caspian Sea, and Black Sea. Between 1922 and 1927, he held staff positions with the Black Sea Fleet. In 1928, he completed courses at the Naval Academy in Leningrad. Between 1930 and 1932, he was the Chief of Staff of the Baltic Fleet. In 1932, he became the head of the naval art department of the Soviet navy academy in Leningrad. In the mid 1930s, he was the commanding officer of the Baltic Fleet. In 1937, he received a doctorate degree, with his dissertation on the Japanese victory over the Germans at the Battle of Qingdao (Postal Map romanization: Tsingtao) in 1914. Between 1938 and 1939, he returned to the Leningrad academy, now named Kliment Voroshilov Naval Academy, as its commandant. In 1939, as a Vice Commissar of Naval Affairs, he was dispatched to the United States in an attempt to complete negotiations for the purchase of modern warships, but no deal was to be reached. While he played no part in Soviet Union's first chapter in the European War, ie. the invasion of Poland, he coordinated fleet movements in the Baltic Sea and deployments of naval infantry during the Winter War with Finland. Between 1941 and Oct 1942, Isakov was made the chief of the Main Maritime Staff, while simultaneously commanded surface and naval infantry units in the Caucasus region of southern Russia and in southern Ukraine. On 4 Oct 1942, during a German air attack on Tuapse, Krasnodar Krai, Russia, Isakov was seriously injured, which ultimately led to the amputation of one of his feet. This injury led to no further contribution from him for the remainder of the war in the field, but he would continue to serve as a high level staff officer. Between 1946 and 1947, he served as the chief of the Main Navy Staff. In 1947, he was appointed the editor of "The Atlas of the Sea", which was to be a comprehensive three-volume work on naval routes, naval history, and ocean floor topography. Between 1947 and 1950, he served as the Deputy Chief of the Soviet Navy. Between 1950 and 1956, he served as the Navy Minister. In 1955, he was promoted to the rank of Admiral of the Fleet, making him one of only three persons to ever hold that rank. In 1957, he was made a member of the Soviet Defense Ministry General Inspectorate. In 1958, he was made a member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. In 1967, he became a honorary member of the Armenian Academy of Sciences. He passed away in Moscow, Russia in Oct 1967.

Ivan Isakov Timeline