Mikhail Georgievich Zakharenko was born on March 24, 1947 in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Since I was eighteen years old in the Navy. He began his service as a sailor in 1965. Since that time, all life is connected with the Far East. He graduated from the Makarov Pacific Higher Naval School (1972), the Higher Officer Classes in Leningrad (1978), the Naval Academy (1986) and the Military Academy of the General Staff (1992). He served in Kamchatka. Passed all naval command positions. In 1996, he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Pacific Fleet. A year later, he became Commander of the Pacific Fleet.

He was awarded the Order" For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR " of the III degree "For Military Merit".

He is married and has a son.

There is an opinion that the military reform did not affect the quality of the Navy very much. Noticeable, they say, is only a reduction in the number of ships. In reality, the navy is undergoing a major, large-scale transformation. A new organizational and staff structure is being created, and qualitatively different associations are being formed, including land and coastal forces, aviation and air defense in addition to the naval forces.

Our interlocutor is Admiral Mikhail Georgievich Zakharenko, Commander of the Red Banner Pacific Fleet.

- Comrade Commander, the state of the Russian fleet can hardly cause optimism. And yet I would like to think that the" last parade " of the Pacific Fleet is not provided for by any plans and directives?

- Despite the overall difficult economic state of the country, limited funding, the Pacific Fleet is combat-ready and manageable. The moral and psychological situation in military collectives is stable. The intensification of the combat training process is indicated by the fact that over the past year and a half the number of complex sea trips has increased. At the same time, the number of heterogeneous forces and means involved is growing, and the tasks being solved have become more complex. The percentage of their successful completion is quite high. Fire training has become more intensive, and competitive events are held much more often. In March - April of this year, the Pacific Fleet actively participated in a strategic command and staff exercise in the Russian Far East. I would like to note that the commander of the Far Eastern Military District, Colonel-General Viktor Chechevatov, watched the amphibious landing and the conduct of the battle on the shore.By the way, he highly appreciated the actions of the Pacific Fleet.

- Comrade Admiral, in connection with the ongoing transformations, apparently, the goals and tasks solved by the fleet entrusted to you have changed?

- No, our priorities have not changed. The Pacific Fleet, together with formations of other types of Armed Forces, protects the sovereignty, territorial integrity, vital interests and economic activities of Russia in the World Ocean, prevents the outbreak of wars and armed conflicts in the region, having all the appropriate forces and means: naval strategic nuclear forces, multi-purpose and diesel submarines, surface ships for operations in sea and sea areas. marine missile-carrying, anti-submarine, and air defense aircraft, ground forces, marines, and rocket and artillery units. At the same time, the navy remains an important tool of Russia's foreign policy. In order to strengthen interstate cooperation, over the past five years, the main base of the Pacific Fleet has been visited 17 times by ships of the naval forces of the United States, Japan, China, Canada, the Republic of Korea, and Thailand on official and friendly visits... We pay special attention to the formation and maintenance of general-purpose forces in the established combat readiness. The main thing here is to optimize the structure, management bodies, logistics and technical support systems. I should note that the availability of weapons by type and type meets the standards, and yet most of them are morally or physically outdated. There are not enough funds, materials and highly qualified specialists for repairs and maintenance.

- Mikhail Georgievich, what is the degree of completion of structural and other changes in the Pacific Fleet? Is there a specific naval reform?

- In the course of structural and organizational staff changes, we focus on the balance of branches, forces of optimal staffing levels, rational proportions of combat and support structures, mobility, manageability of forces and troops, and the effectiveness of the entire infrastructure - from Vladivostok to the Bering Strait. Do not forget to cover the coast of the country for more than thirteen thousand kilometers. A grouping of troops and forces was created in Kamchatka, which included flotillas of diverse forces, submarines, aviation, and land forces of the Far Eastern Military District. Due to the optimization of management, it was possible to reduce the amount of funding, and most importantly, to create a sufficiently flexible organizational structure in a short time that can quickly switch to martial law in order to realize its capabilities for combat purposes.

Reforming the Pacific Fleet on the basis of a phased, comprehensive transformation of all its components is a multi-faceted problem, and it must be solved with an understanding of the feasibility of a naval grouping of forces and troops sufficient to protect Russia's interests in the Far East. Reform is not easy. The composition of the Pacific Fleet has significantly decreased due to ships that have served the established deadlines and require repairs. And yet, for the first time, we felt real changes, especially in combat training. In addition, it is estimated that all measures to reform the fleet in the period from 1998 to 2000 will bring an economic effect of six million rubles.

- What problems concern the fleet commander more than others?

- The transition to a new organizational and staff structure is a very difficult process. The most difficult year was 1998, as the organizational structure of the fleet and the management system changed. A squadron of ships, several brigades, aviation and support units were disbanded and reorganized. There are problems of preserving the released material resources, weapons and equipment. Permanent "headache" - control and maintenance of the life of decommissioned nuclear submarines. Financing of the social block of reforms is an acute problem. The structural reorganization led to the reduction of nine thousand military personnel. Each of them must either be reassigned or dismissed with full accounting and security. In 1998, more than 108 million rubles were spent for these purposes - almost everything that was allocated for fleet reform. The housing problem is also acute, although we are trying to attract extra-budgetary funds (last year - more than 50 million rubles). "Lack of apartments" is still chronic. The navy has more than two and a half thousand quarterless officers, midshipmen and ensigns. Even more people are in need of better housing conditions. Often, because of this, experienced officers are forced to leave early for the reserve, and some young people do not want to serve, especially in remote garrisons. For better or worse, the difficulties of state reconstruction are our destiny. We must meet this challenge with dignity, for the sake of Russia's future.

- Mikhail Georgievich, in this difficult time it is very important to have reference points. Which people, ships, and units of the Pacific Fleet are the mainstays in transformation and the lighthouses in service?

- There are enough people in the navy who perform their duties as conscientiously and creatively as possible in difficult modern conditions. I would like to especially mention Vice Admiral Alexander Neshcheryat, Major General Anatoly Tikhomirov, Rear Admiral Vyacheslav Simenkovich. It is the human potential that allows the navy to carry out military reform, largely relying on its own strength and capabilities. The best ships and units of the Pacific Fleet are submarines commanded by captains of the 1st rank Sergey Yarkin and Vladimir Senko, as well as the Admiral Vinogradov BOD, and coastal units of colonels Alexander Solyanin, Mikhail Pleshko, and Gennady Sarychev. It is clear to everyone that the time has come for a decisive military transformation. However, we should not think that tomorrow funding will dramatically improve and the fleet will immediately receive everything it needs. The main thing is not to wait passively for help from above, it is necessary to overcome the psychology of indecision. Unfortunately, not everything stands the test of time. There are also looters in our ranks who turned the fleet into a feeder, alcohol lovers, lazy people who justify their failure with difficulties. We are getting rid of such people and will continue to follow this line even more strictly.

- It is no secret that the state of the fleet largely depends on the position and support of the regional authorities. What is the extent of your mutual understanding and interaction?

- The history of the Pacific Fleet is inextricably linked with the development and development of the Russian Far East, in fact, discovered by the crews of ships of the Okhotsk Military Flotilla. Further development of the fleet and economic activity were conducted simultaneously, with mutual consideration of interests, on the basis of cooperation. And today we do not change this tradition. For example, whenever the Far Eastern nature brings down snowfalls, cyclones and earthquakes, Pacific sailors come to the aid of the population: they clear the streets, deliver bread and ambulance doctors, and deliver necessities to hard-to-reach areas. The fleet has repeatedly helped out the Far East with fuel during periods of crisis for power engineers. Many military camps, service and economic facilities that are being released as a result of the reduction are transferred to the municipal authorities. The population successfully uses the services of naval institutions of culture, sports and medical support. The degree of interaction with regional leaders is determined by the degree of mutual understanding:

The Pacific Fleet is not only ships and military equipment, but first of all it is people, military personnel and their families who have a good education and a huge life experience.

experience. These are people who forever connect their lives with the Russian Far East, and determine the future of the local territories - poorly developed and very promising.

- Mikhail Georgievich, what can we say about the prospects of the Pacific Fleet itself?

- During the recent work at the Pacific Fleet, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Vladimir Ivanovich Kuroyedov, identified the main promising tasks for us. The main ones are:

keep a cadre of young officers and existing ships, as far as possible to put into operation the reserve ships and repair, because for the Navy almost nothing is being built... We will pay more attention to the basing system, coastal infrastructure, and conduct a thorough economic calculation of a particular event. And, of course, in the long run - further development of the command and headquarters for their combat mission in the new structure, without any conventions, against the tactical background of the predicted real military conflict. The main method of training forces will continue to be conducting gathering campaigns of forces and troops with the deployment and development of tactical groups and groups of heterogeneous forces with the performance of combat exercises... We will continue to work out interaction with ground forces during operations in the coastal areas. To conduct an armed struggle in conditions of enemy superiority, the most important task of the fleet remains to ensure the combat stability of the naval nuclear deterrent forces. The future of the Pacific Fleet and the security of the Fatherland largely depend on the level of training and responsibility of officers. In general, everything is in the hands of people, in our hands...

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