Which Soviet general signed Japan’s surrender instrument for the Soviet Union in Tokyo Bay?

Kuzma Derevyanko signed Japan’s surrender instrument for the Soviet Union in Tokyo Bay.

Lieutenant General Kuzma Nikolayevich Derevyanko represented the Soviet Union at the ceremony aboard USS Missouri on 2 September 1945. He signed at approximately 9:16 a.m., after the representatives of the United States, China, and the United Kingdom had signed.

Derevyanko had studied Japanese and served in Soviet military intelligence and command positions. His language skills and experience in the Far East made him a suitable representative at the surrender ceremony. Afterward, he served as the Soviet representative at Allied headquarters during the occupation of Japan.

The Soviet Union had declared war on Japan late on 8 August 1945 and invaded Japanese-held territory in Manchuria shortly afterward. This timing explains why the Soviet signature was included among the Allied signatures even though the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact had existed earlier in the war.