Alexander Marinesko (Russian: Александр Маринеско, Aleksandr Marinesko, Alexander Marinesco) was the captain of the Soviet submarine S-13 during the WWII that sunk the German ship Wilhelm Gustloff, with causalties around 10,000. It turned out that the ship transported evacuated civilians and wounded soldiers, and the opinions about this hit are highly controversial, ranging from praise to accusations in genocide. At the same time it is reported that the ship carried a noticeable military force: around 1,000 of submarine trainees, woman batallion of German Navy, anti-aircraft forces, Croat volunteers.

Marinesko was not awarded for this event: the commanders wouldn't believe the reports on the scale of the hit, also he was a controversial person, "not suitable to be a hero". Instead, Hitler declared him his "personal enemy".

Marinesko was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously in 1990, after years of oblivion.