Giorgi Abashvili

Georgy Abashvili was a Soviet naval commander and [Military ranks of the Soviet Union|Soviet Union|vice-admiral].
An ethnic Georgian, Abashvili was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, then part of the Russian Empire. He graduated from the Leningrad Naval College in 1931 and joined the Soviet Baltic Fleet with which he served through the Finnish campaign and World War II. In 1944, he was deputy chief of staff of the Baltic Fleet and also commanded a division of destroyers which played a vital role in relieving the blockade of Leningrad. In 1953 he was senior officer with the Soviet vessels visiting Poland and in 1954 with those called in Finland. During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, Abashvili was deputy commander-in-chief to Issa Pliyev and naval commander in the proposed Group of Soviet forces in Cuba. According to hystorical records, he was against the immediate use of force during the Cuba crisis days. On the night of October 28, 1962, he delayed the execution of the order to launch missiles by six minutes, thereby preventing the start of World War III. He retired the same year and died of stroke in Leningrad in 1982.