''Moskva'' (russian: links=no, Москва, lit=Moscow, ), formerly ''Slava'' (russian: label=none, links=no, Слава, lit=Glory) was a
guided missile cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles.
The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
of the
Russian Navy. Commissioned in 1983, she was the
lead ship
The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels.
Large ships are very complex and may ...
of the
Project 1164 ''Atlant'' class, named after the city of
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
. With a crew of 510, ''Moskva'' was the
flagship of the
Black Sea Fleet and the most powerful warship in the region.
The cruiser was deployed during conflicts in
Georgia (2008),
Crimea (2014), and
Syria (2015). She led the naval assault during the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...
, from February 2022 until her
sinking on 14 April 2022.
History
As ''Slava''
''Slava'' was
laid down
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one o ...
in 1976 in Shipyard 445 of the
61 Kommunara Shipbuilding Plant
Mykolayiv Shipyard ( uk, Миколаївський суднобудівний завод) is a major shipyard owned by state and located in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. In modern times, the shipyard has been most commonly referred to as Mykolayiv North ...
in
Mykolaiv
Mykolaiv ( uk, Миколаїв, ) is a city and municipality in Southern Ukraine, the administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv city, which provides Ukraine with access to the Black Sea, is the location of the most downriver brid ...
,
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
,
launched in 1979, and
commissioned into the
Soviet Navy on 30 January 1983. Between 18 and 22 November 1986, the ship visited the Greek port of
Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saron ...
.
''Slava'' played a role in the
Malta Summit (2–3 December 1989) between
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and US President
George H. W. Bush.
She was used by the Soviet delegation, while the US delegation had their sleeping quarters aboard . The ships were anchored in a
roadstead off the coast of
Marsaxlokk
Marsaxlokk () is a small, traditional fishing village in the South Eastern Region of Malta. It has a harbour, and is a tourist attraction known for its views, fishermen and history. As at March 2014, the village had a population of 3,534. The ...
. Stormy weather and choppy seas resulted in some meetings being cancelled or rescheduled, and gave rise to the moniker the "Seasick Summit" among international media. In the end, the meetings took place aboard , a Soviet
cruise ship
Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as ...
anchored in Marsaxlokk Bay.
''Slava'' returned to
Mykolaiv
Mykolaiv ( uk, Миколаїв, ) is a city and municipality in Southern Ukraine, the administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv city, which provides Ukraine with access to the Black Sea, is the location of the most downriver brid ...
in December 1990 for a refit that lasted until late 1998. On 15 May 1995, the ship was formally renamed ''Moskva''.
As ''Moskva''
Recommissioned into the
Russian Navy in April 2000, ''Moskva'' replaced the as the
flagship of the Russian
Black Sea Fleet.
In early April 2003, ''Moskva'', along with the frigate , ''Smetlivy'', and a landing ship departed Sevastopol for exercises in the Indian Ocean with a
Pacific Fleet task group (''Marshal Shaposhnikov'' and ''Admiral Panteleyev'') and the
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...
. The force was supported by the
Project 1559V tanker ''Ivan Bubnov'' and the Project 712
ocean-going tug ''Shakhter''.
''Moskva'' visited Malta's
Grand Harbour
The Grand Harbour ( mt, il-Port il-Kbir; it, Porto Grande), also known as the Port of Valletta, is a natural harbour on the island of Malta. It has been substantially modified over the years with extensive docks ( Malta Dockyard), wharves, a ...
in October 2004, and the Ensemble of the Black Sea Fleet performed at a concert at the
Mediterranean Conference Centre
The Mediterranean Conference Centre (MCC, mt, Dar il-Mediterran għall-Konferenzi) is a conference centre in Valletta, Malta. The building was built as a hospital in the 16th century by the Order of St. John, and it was known as the Sacra Inferm ...
in
Valletta
Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...
for the occasion. In 2008 and 2009, she visited the Mediterranean and participated in naval drills with the ships of the Northern Fleet.
In August 2008, in support of the
Russian invasion of Georgia, ''Moskva'' was deployed to secure the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
. During a brief surface engagement, the
Georgian Navy
The Georgian Coast Guard ( ka, საქართველოს სანაპირო დაცვა) is the maritime arm of the Georgian Border Police, within the Ministry for Internal Affairs. It is responsible for the maritime protection ...
scored one missile hit on ''Moskva'' before being overwhelmed. After Russia's recognition of
Abkhazia's independence, the ship was stationed at the Abkhazian capital,
Sukhumi
Sukhumi (russian: Суху́м(и), ) or Sokhumi ( ka, სოხუმი, ), also known by its Abkhaz name Aqwa ( ab, Аҟәа, ''Aqwa''), is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the capital and largest city of ...
.
On 3 December 2009, ''Moskva'' was laid up for a month at
floating dry dock
Floating may refer to:
* a type of dental work performed on horse teeth
* use of an isolation tank
* the guitar-playing technique where chords are sustained rather than scratched
* ''Floating'' (play), by Hugh Hughes
* Floating (psychological p ...
''PD-30'' in Sevastopol for a scheduled interim overhaul which comprised replacement of cooling and other machinery, reclamation work at the bottom and outboard fittings, propulsion shafts and screws, clearing and painting of bottom and above-water parts of the ship's hull.
In April 2010 it was reported that ''Moskva'' would join other navy units in the Indian Ocean to conduct exercises. In August 2013 the cruiser visited
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. , Cuba.
In late August 2013, ''Moskva'' was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea in response to the build-up of US warships along the coast of Syria. During the
Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, ''Moskva'' blockaded the Ukrainian fleet in
Donuzlav Lake.
On 17 September 2014, ''Moskva'' was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea, taking shift from guard ship ''Pytlivy''.
In July 2015, ''Moskva'' visited
Luanda
Luanda () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major Angola#Economy, industrial, Angola#Culture, cultural and Angola#Demographics, urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atl ...
, to strengthen military cooperation with Angola. From the end of September 2015, while in the eastern Mediterranean, the cruiser was charged with the air defences for the Russian aviation group based near the Syrian town of
Latakia that conducted the
air campaign in Syria. On 25 November 2015, after the
2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown
A Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jet shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24M attack aircraft near the Syria–Turkey border on 24 November 2015. According to Turkey, the aircraft was fired upon while in Turkish airspace because it violated the ...
, it was reported that ''Moskva'', armed with the
S-300F surface-to-air missile system, would be deployed near the coastal Syria-Turkey border. In 2016, she was replaced by
sister ship in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. On 22 July 2016 ''Moskva'' was awarded the
Order of Nakhimov
The Order of Nakhimov (russian: орден Нахимова) is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honour of Russian admiral Pavel Nakhimov (1802–1855) and bestowed to naval officers for outstanding military leadership. ...
.
Upon return from her deployment in January 2016, ''Moskva'' was to undergo a refit and upgrade but due to lack of funds her future remained uncertain as of July 2018.
In June 2019, ''Moskva'' left the port of Sevastopol in the Black Sea to test her combat systems and main propulsion.
In February 2020,
Russian Orthodox
Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...
officials said that a very rare and important Christian relic purported to be a part of the
True Cross
The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althoug ...
on which
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
was
crucified
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...
was to be placed aboard the ship.
On 3 July 2020, ''Moskva'' completed two and a half months of repairs and maintenance intended to allow her to remain in service until 2040. The first post-repair deployment was scheduled for August 2020; however, in reality, she only began to prepare for the deployment in February 2021. She was at sea on exercises in March 2021, and fired the new
Vulkan anti-ship missiles in April 2021.
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
''Moskva'', the
flagship of the Russian
Black Sea Fleet, helped lead the naval assault during the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...
from February until April 2022.
[Cruiser Moskva retains buoyancy, explosions of ammunition stopped – Defense Ministry](_blank)
14 April 2022, TASS. Retrieved 14 April 2022 She was the most powerful surface vessel in the Black Sea region at the time,
and Ukraine's only threat against it were a limited number of Neptune missiles.
In February 2022, the cruiser left
Sevastopol
Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...
to participate in the attack on Ukraine. The ship was later used against the Ukrainian armed forces during the
attack on Snake Island, together with the Russian
patrol boat
A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and the ...
''
Vasily Bykov''. ''Moskva'' hailed the island's garrison over the radio and demanded its surrender, and was told "
Russian warship, go fuck yourself
"Russian warship, go fuck yourself",, uk, Російський військовий корабель, іди нахуй, translit= Rosiiskii viiskovyi korabel, idy nakhui was the last communication made on 24 February 2022 during the Russian ...
". After this, all contact was lost with Snake Island, and the thirteen-member Ukrainian garrison was captured. ''Slava''-class cruisers are built for both
air
The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...
and
sea
The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...
superiority, and have no
land-attack missile
A land-attack missile (LAM) is a naval surface-to-surface missile that is capable of effectively attacking targets ashore, unlike specialized anti-ship missiles, which are optimized for striking other ships. Some dual-role missiles are suitable ...
s. ''Moskva'' mainly stayed behind other Russian warships, providing air cover for
military demonstrations of
amphibious landings with Odesa as the apparent target.
Sinking
In the late hours of 13 April 2022 Ukrainian presidential adviser
Oleksiy Arestovych
Oleksii Mykolaiovych Arestovych ( uk, Олексій Миколайович Арестович; born 3 August 1975) is a Ukrainian intelligence officer, blogger, actor, political and military columnist, and propagandist. He was a speaker of th ...
reported ''Moskva'' was on fire and
Odesa governor Maksym Marchenko
Maksym Mykhaylovych Marchenko (; born 10 February 1983) is a Ukrainian colonel, former commander of the 28th Mechanized Brigade and the Aidar Battalion of the Ukrainian Ground Forces and the Governor of Odesa Oblast since 1 March 2022.
Biogra ...
said their forces hit ''Moskva'' with two
R-360 Neptune
R-360 Neptune ( uk, Р-360 «Нептун», translit=R-360 "Neptun") is a Ukrainian anti-ship cruise missile developed by the Luch Design Bureau.
Neptune's design is based on the Soviet Kh-35 anti-ship missile, with substantially improved ran ...
anti-ship missile
An anti-ship missile (AShM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. A goo ...
s. A radar image showed the ship was about south of
Odesa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrati ...
around 7 p.m. local time (GMT+3), shortly after the damage occurred.
Two reports indicated the ship sank before 3 a.m., 14 April.
The
Russian Ministry of Defence
The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (russian: Министерство обороны Российской Федерации, Минобороны России, informally abbreviated as МО, МО РФ or Minoboron) is the govern ...
said a fire caused a munitions explosion, and the ship sank in stormy seas while being towed to port. ''Moskva'' is the largest warship to be sunk in combat since the in the 1982
Falklands War, and the largest Russian warship to be sunk since
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
According to the Lithuanian defense minister, there were 485 crew members aboard, including 66 officers. He also said that a Turkish ship responded to a distress call and saved 54 crew members at 2 a.m. local time.
Russia stated one sailor from the ''Moskva'' was killed and 27 were missing, while 396 crew members were rescued.
In November 2022, after families demanded information, a Russian court in Crimea acknowledged the deaths of a further 17 sailors, mostly conscripts. A Russian recruitment office mistakenly sent
conscription papers to a missing ''Moskva'' sailor in October 2022.
Ukraine has officially declared the wreck of the ship to be an underwater cultural heritage site.
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moskva
Slava-class cruisers
1979 ships
Ships built in the Soviet Union
Cruisers of Russia
Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation
Russian involvement in the Syrian civil war
Cold War cruisers of the Soviet Union
Southern Ukraine campaign
Ships involved in the Russo-Ukrainian War
Maritime incidents in 2022
Military history of the Black Sea
Russo-Georgian War
Shipwrecks in the Black Sea
Shipwrecks of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Naval magazine explosions
Ships involved in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine