Which Soviet representative signed Japan’s surrender instrument in 1945?

Kuzma Derevyanko signed Japan’s surrender instrument as the Soviet representative in 1945.

Lieutenant General Kuzma Derevyanko signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on behalf of the Soviet Union aboard USS Missouri on September 2. He signed after the representatives of the United States, China, and the United Kingdom, and before the representatives of Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.

The Soviet Union had declared war on Japan on August 8, 1945, and Soviet forces invaded Japanese-held Manchuria beginning August 9. That campaign continued during the final weeks of the war and shaped the postwar division of territory in Northeast Asia.

Derevyanko later served in Soviet military and diplomatic roles. His name is sometimes confused with better-known Soviet commanders such as Georgy Zhukov, but Zhukov did not sign Japan’s surrender document. Derevyanko’s signature specifically represented the Soviet government at the Tokyo Bay ceremony.