Kuzma Derevyanko

Who was Kuzma Derevyanko?

Kuzma Nikolayevich Derevyanko was a Lieutenant General in the Soviet Army. He was born on November 14, 1904, in the village of Kosenivka, Kiev Governorate, Russian Empire.

Derevyanko was the representative of the Soviet Union at the ceremonial signing of the written agreement that established the armistice ending the Pacific War and with it World War II. The Soviet delegation joined other Allied representatives on the battleship USS Missouri which was anchored in Tokyo Bay. Together, the waiting Allies silently acknowledged the representatives of the Japanese Emperor and the representative of the Imperial Japanese Army, who were the last to arrive. The proceedings began when General MacArthur stepped before a single microphone. The 23-minute surrender ceremony was broadcast worldwide. Derevyanko signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender at precisely 9:17 a.m. in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945.

He died on December 30, 1954, and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery. In 2007, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine.