Mutiny: The True Events That Inspired The Hunt For Red October by Boris Gindin, David Hagberg

souls just under their skin. It’s a common heritage, as an old Russian proverb provides:
We are all related; the same sun dries our rags.
    Mischa Mihailov was one of the typical sailors aboard the
Storozhevoy
in that he was average in just about everything he did. Gindin recalls that Mischa never showed any passion for his work, though he did have some fairly good basic knowledge of the machinery. If he could get out of a job, he would do it without a moment’s hesitation.
    But Mischa could play the guitar and sing Russian songs until there wasn’t a dry eye in his
cubrick.
Whenever he had time off, usually just before bed, the other sailors would beg him to sing. Especially one particular song that back on base was played all the time on the radio:
    Our duty was tough today, carried out
Far from Russia, far from Russia.
Every day we sacrifice our lives
Far from Russia, far from Russia.
    The song had been approved by the Kremlin just for sailors like those aboard the
Storozhevoy,
and whenever it was played everyone, sailors and officers alike, couldn’t help but get a little misty-eyed.
    “It was glorifying and praising us for the tough job we did far from home,” Gindin says. “It represented the value and the morality of our Soviet system, and what was important and what deserved to be honored.
    “It uplifted our spirits, made us proud of what we did far from our homes and families. It gave us an incredible sense of accomplishment that our people and our government knew and appreciated how difficult our mission was.”
    A warship’s mission and the morale of his crew are bound together tighter than anyone who never served in a navy can understand. And both elements come from the top down. Although Potulniy wasn’t asclose to his sailors as was Sablin, everyone knew that the captain was a first-class officer who understood the ship and his systems better than anyone else aboard.
    Potulniy was in his late thirties when he was assigned to the
Storozhevoy,
and he was very proud of his position. He spent most of his time either on the bridge or wandering around his ship to make sure that everything was working the way it should be and that his crew was doing their jobs. His personality and style of command was actually a perfect balance between Sablin’s friendliness and Novozilov’s strictness.
    Captain Lieutenant Nikolay Novozilov was the
Storozhevoy’s
executive officer,
starpom,
and if ever there was a no-nonsense officer it was the exec. He was a perfectionist. Everything needed to be done accurately and on time, with no excuses. There wasn’t an ounce of pity in the man’s body, as Gindin remembers, and he simply didn’t want to hear the circumstances behind any lapse in duty. If Novozilov thought his orders weren’t being carried out to the letter, he’d come down like a ton of bricks on the hapless sailor or officer. Your rank didn’t matter; he was equally tough on everyone aboard.
    “He was the kind of officer you never took personal problems to,” Gindin recalls. “He didn’t care. He was beyond that sort of thing. For him the
only
priority was the ship.”
    Heading down the corridor to the midshipmen’s corridor this chilly Riga evening, Gindin is somewhat relieved that at least for the moment they don’t have to worry about Novozilov showing up and finding fault with something his officers had done yesterday or today. Their
starpom
went home on leave to his wife and kid. His presence aboard isn’t really needed for the short cruise down to the shipyard and the refit. He’ll be back when they get to the base at Baltiysk and will once again put them through the wringer before their next rotation.
    Or at least that’s what Gindin and the others believe at this moment in time.

THE SHIPBOARD SCHEDULE
     

    The
Storozhevoy
is a little universe all of its own, connected to Fleet Headquarters only by radio while at sea. The captain is the supreme authority, of course. He has the power of life