In 1922, he joined the
Soviet Navy and in 1925, he became member of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union. From 1924 to 1928, he was a student at the Naval Political School Named After S.G. Roshal and the
M. V. Frunze Higher Naval School. From October 1928, Kharlamov began his service in the
Black Sea Fleet where he served as watch officer and supply manager of the destroyer
Dzerzhinsky, artilleryman and assistant commander of the destroyer
Frunze, and commander of the destroyers
Dzerzhinsky,
Bodry, and cruiser
Voroshilov. In February 1938, he was appointed as Chief of Staff of the Black Sea Fleet. He managed to establish effective interaction with the British military circles and even with the leadership of the
MI6 and provided the Soviet leadership with a significant amount of intelligence information. From 20 November 1944, he served as head of department and deputy head of the Main Naval Staff of the Navy.
Post war After the war, Kharlamov served as deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces for Naval Forces from 1946 to 1950 and commander of the 8th Fleet of the
Baltic Fleet from 1950 to 1954. In July 1956, he was appointed as head of the Naval Department of the Higher Military Academy Named After K. E. Voroshilov. From November 1956 to May 1959, he served as commander of the Baltic Fleet. In May 1959, he was sent to
China where he served as a military specialist in the
People's Liberation Army Navy. From 1961 to 1971, he worked in a responsible position in the Central Office of the Navy and at the same time served as chairman of the Naval Scientific and Technical Committee of the Navy. Kharlamov retired from military service in August 1971. He also served as people's deputy at the 4th and 5th convocation sessions of the
Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1962. ==Later life==