On 22nd June 2006, the day following the International Day of Hydrography, members of the Hydrographic Society and Russian naval officers living in Saint Petersburg had an opportunity to wish happy 81st birthday to HSR member Admiral (Ret.) Arkady Petrovich Mikhailovsky.



Admiral Mikhailovsky joined the Soviet Navy 65 years ago, and during these years he was in command of various ships and formations, including the Northern Fleet. He navigated beneath the ice in the western sector of Arctic in a submar-ine in 1971. During this long voyage of navigation, complex hydrographic and hydro-acoustic research was carried out. From 1985 to 1988, the admiral was Chief of the Head Department of navigation and oceanography (HDNO). In this post he supervised and personally participated in research of the world’s oceans, and the creation of modern charts and manuals for navigation. In 1987 he headed the Soviet delegation to the thirteenth International Hydrographic Conference. Hydrog-raphers are especially grateful to admiral for his creation of a museum of Russian hydrography in the HDNO building.



The admiral is now a professor at the Naval Academy and continues to transfer rich professional and life experience to young officers. In recent years we have seen a new side to his many talents since he began to write books, including his memoirs. In these books he is seen as the thoughtful and serious researcher whose life has been spent intimately connected to the Soviet (Russian) Navy. On the occasion of the admiral's birthday, the St. Petersburg publishing house 'Nauka' ('Science') has issued his fifth book under the title The Price of Success.



Various persons and members of HSR must be mentioned as having contributed to the publication of this series of the admiral’s five books: director of publishing house Nauka, former chief of the HDNO cartographical department, captain of the 1st rank (Ret.) Sergey Val'chuk, Nauka editor, captain of the 1st rank (Ret.) Ratmir Berkutov and director of the oldest printing house in St. Petersburg, former chief of the Navy printing-house, captain of the 1st rank (Ret.) Nikita Markov.



Despite old age, the admiral does not exclude the possibility of continuing his literary activities. In this sense, it is possible to see a symbolical hint in this birthday presentation by HSR members of the fifth book in his series.