Order of the Red Banner second award nr. 5888 was awarded by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of November 5, 1946 to 38-year-old Rear Admiral Boris Dmitriyevich Popov, chief of staff of the Northern Fleet.

Boris Dmitriyevich Popov was born on April 12, 1908 in the village of Derevyanskoye in Ust-Kulom District in the Komi Autonomous Republic. His father, Dmitriy Popov, was a well-known regional official who served as a member of the regional Duma and held various other government posts.

Boris Popov finished high school in his village and, following examinations in 1926, enrolled in Frunze Naval Academy in Leningrad in October 1926. After his graduation in May 1930 he was assigned to the Amur Military Flotilla. There he served as a watch commander on the patrol boat Vorovsky. In February 1932 he was transferred to the patrol ship Krasny Vympel, where he, in short succession, served as watch commander, chief navigator, executive officer, and finally – from February 1934 until January 1935 – as captain. In 1935 he was given a staff position at Pacific Fleet headquarters and the next year he was promoted to assistant chief of the Military Readiness Section of the Pacific Fleet. Popov simultaneously received additional training at Voroshilov Naval Academy, finishing a minelayer commander’s course in March 1936. That same year Popov commanded three ships in the Pacific Fleet: first he commanded the destroyer Rezky for five months, then he served as interim captain of Tanker nr. 1, which was attached to the Pacific Fleet’s main port at Vladivostok, and from late 1937 to late 1939 he was skipper of the destroyer Voikov. During the fighting at Lake Khasan in 1938 Popov was chief of staff of a newly created special naval detachment, which was tasked with transporting troops, heavy materiel, gear, and transport vehicles to the theater of operations and evacuating wounded troops.

In October 1939 Popov was promoted to commander of the 1st Destroyer Squadron of the Pacific Fleet, a year later he was appointed as chief of staff of the Pacific Fleet’s Destroyer Brigade, and in June 1942 he was given command of this brigade. In October 1942 he was given the post of chief of staff of the Light Forces Detachment of the Pacific Fleet and in March 1944, as a Captain, he was appointed as commander of this unit. He reached the rank of Rear Admiral in November 1944 and that month was made head of the Military Readiness Section of the Pacific Fleet. Popov would hold this position until May 1945 and again from October to November 1945. Popov served as commander of the 5th Independent Ship Detachment of the Navy from May to October 1945, responsible for taking over minesweepers from the American Navy in Alaska, familiarizing itself with the new vessels, and transferring them across the Pacific to Vladivostok. By late May the Soviet Navy had taken over 53 American ships, and by mid-September 36 more followed.

In November 1945 Popov was designated deputy section chief within the Military Readiness Directorate of the Navy High Command. In April 1946 he was promoted to assistant chief of that directorate. In August 1946 he was appointed as chief of staff of the Northern Fleet, a position he would hold for just over a year. In September 1947 Popov received his final command when he was designated commander of the 3rd Minesweeper Brigade of the Black Sea Fleet. Popov retired in November 1949 and died in Odessa on June 2, 1984.

Popov was one of only 197 WW2-era Soviet Navy admirals. He was a member of the Communist Party from 1940 to 1950. In addition to his Soviet decorations, Popov was also awarded the American Legion of Merit in 1946.

Record card

Order booklet nr. 583356

1. Last name: Popov
2. First name and patronymic: Boris Dmitriyevich
3. Military rank: Rear Admiral
4. Sex: Male
5. Year of birth: 1908
6. Place of birth: Village of Derevyansk, Komi Autonomous Republic
7. Party membership (since which year): Member of the Communist Party since 1940
8. Education: Higher
9. Nationality: Russian
10. Since which year in the Red Army: Since 1926
11. Place of service (name of the unit) and position occupied at the time of the award: Commander of the Light Forces Detachment, Pacific Fleet
12. Current place of service and position: Chief of staff of the Northern Fleet
13. Home address of the awardee: The Circular House, city of Polyarnoye

14. List of all awards he received:

Signature of the recipient: [signed]

I confirm the correctness of the data and the signature of the awardee (position and signature):

On behalf of the chief of the 2nd Desk, 4th Section, Officer Personnel Department of the Navy
[signed]
September 7, 1946

Rear Admiral Boris Dmitriyevich Popov

Order of the Red Banner 2nd award nr. 5888, obverse and reverse

Rear Admiral Popov with members of his staff	Soviet Navy officers are welcomed in Alaska. Popov is center-right
Popov during his arrival at Dutch Harbor, Alaska, April, 1945	Popov with Soviet and American officers during the transfer ceremony in Alaska
Popov addresses his men on one of the newly acquired American minesweepers, Cold Bay, Alaska	Popov inspects an antiaircraft training gun, Naval Air Facility Adak, Alaska, July 1945
Order of the Red Banner 2nd award nr. 5888, obverse	Order of the Red Banner 2nd award nr. 5888, reverse