Chernavin was born in Mykolaiv, Ukrainian SSR, in the Soviet Union.

In 1977 he was appointed commander of the Northern Fleet and in 1981 was awarded a title of the Hero of the Soviet Union.

From 1981–85 he was chief of the main staff/1st deputy commander-in-chief of the Soviet Navy.

He became the commander-in-chief of the Soviet Navy upon the retirement of Sergey Gorshkov.

He was a prominent attendee at Victory Day Parades as recently as 2019.