Dead "Admiral Nakhimov" and rusty "Admiral Kuznetsov": As the Fleet of the Russian Federation turns into a bunch of iron

The Soviets built four 28,000 tonne ships with rocket weapons to lead farm fighting groups designed to confront the NATO warships on the high seas. Three ships were put into operation in the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the latter became part of the 1998 Russian Navy after many years of delays in construction. This youngest "Kirov", "Peter the Great" of the Northern Fleet is the only combat cruiser that is still in order.

He is one of the large warships of the Soviet era, including the rusty "Admiral Kuznetsov", the only Russian Rustic aircraft carrier - which support Russia's less ability to produce sea power through the oceans. The second old cruiser "Admiral Nakhimov" has been standing near the pier ship "Sevmash" in Severodvinsk, in northern Russia, since 1999. Farry history with his planned return testifies to Russia's widest naval decline.

The decision to return "Admiral Nakhimov" was made by the Kremlin in 2008. The reconstruction was started in 2013. The planned upgrade involves the installation of crystal missiles "Caliber" and "Onyx", as well as new sensors and communications. In the autumn of this year, a photo appeared on the network that testify to a modest but noticeable progress in installing equipment. But the works have not been invested in time - for many years.

In 2014, it was planned that Admiral Nakhimov would return 2020. But that didn't happen. As of 2018, the brighter cruiser was to be put into effect in 2021. A year later, the introduction was put into operation to 2022. This term has come and has passed, as well as the next - 2024. It is now planned that Admiral Nakhimov will return to the Navy in 2026. Costs associated with Russia's 33-month war against Ukraine have led to inflation and investment in Russia. The country's economy is towing.

The expensive attempt to squeeze out of a 38-year-old battle ship for several years may seem redundancy soon. If an attempt to return the Admiral Nakhimov in the end will fail, it can mean the onset of a new one-and more modest-era for the Russian fleet. In 2023, the Russian Navy added only 6,300 tons to its total tonnage, having ended a year with a total weighing of 2 152,000 tons.

Last year, thanks to the construction of a new frigate, corvettes, mine trail and several submarines, the Russian fleet had to add 17,700 tons, but Ukrainian missiles and drones destroyed ships with a total weight of 11,400 tons. Having lost in 2023 almost as much tonnage as it was built, the Russian fleet will join the exclusive and shameful club of naval forces that are stagnant, which, oddly enough, also includes the British royal fleet, which has 886,000 tons and is reduced in sizes.

In recent years, the British fleet has derived more ships than he has been building. For Russians, this is mostly reduced to a strategy, money . . . and engines. Large ships are expensive - and do not need a country whose basic strategic ambitions lie along the land border. The Russians still build many modern atomic submarines and can deploy them to restrain direct conflict with a great opponent. Given this guarantee, the overwarming fleet of global deployment is a luxury.

Fortunately for the Russian leadership, its industry is unlikely to be able to build new large warships, even if it has money and clear reasons for this. By 2014, Russian shipbuilders imported most of their large marine engines from Ukraine. It goes without saying that they do not now. In the absence of a source of new engines of Russia, it is much easier to restore the old cruiser than to build a new one from scratch.

It is very helpful that the "Admiral Nakhimim" has a nuclear power plant, because the Russian industry still manages to build and maintain them independently. When the latter large Soviet ships go to the last path, the Russian fleet will become predominantly coastal - albeit with a powerful underwater restraint potential. Even if Admiral Nakhimov returns to the fleet and goes to swim several more times, it only delay the inevitability.