# Russian Navy of the Verge of Collapse? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 25, 2004, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-navy-of-the-verge-of-collapse/236362 "2004-03-25T16:06:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-navy-of-the-verge-of-collapse/236362/1 "2004-03-25T16:06:01Z")
Reuters just reported that the pride of the (Russian) Northern Fleet, the cruiser “PETER THE GREAT” has been recalled to port for urget repairs. According to the Admiralin command of the fleet, the boilers of the ship could"explode at any time"! According to what I read, this ship is the Russian Navy’s most modern surface ship-it is nuclear powered, and carries a complement of 600 men…it also is equipped with nuclear warhead cruise missiles. The ship is only 7 years old-how can such a situation be? Is the whole fleet ready to sink? Scarey stuff-I thought Russia wasgetting better! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-navy-of-the-verge-of-collapse/236362/2 "2004-03-25T16:16:11Z")
I’ve only read a little about this, but it strikes me as political manuevering more that any actual technical difficulties. What I think we’re looking at is a combination of personal feuds, shaky discipline and attempted justification for more funding. The _Peter the Great_ isn’t likely to disappear under a mushroom cloud any time soon. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-navy-of-the-verge-of-collapse/236362/3 "2004-03-25T16:19:36Z")
Yes from what I heard, it was about trying scare up some additional funding. The squeaky, about to blow up nuclear catastrophe, wheel gets the grease and all. ---
**Author:** ![paperbackwriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@paperbackwriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paperbackwriter)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-navy-of-the-verge-of-collapse/236362/4 "2004-03-25T17:20:12Z")
No, the Russian Navy is not on the verge of collapse. The process of collapse is well underway and has been for the past five or so years. The Soviet Navy was built up at enormous cost to the second-largest fleet in the world. The current Russian economy cannot support the maintenance or personell expenditure to properly maintain this fleet. For instance, one [well-respected web site](http://www.hazegray.org/worldnav/russia/surface.htm) has this to say about the status of the fleet: > [@](#): > > Due to continued political, economic and societal chaos in Russia, the Fleet is in a badly deteriorated state. Even those ships that remain in commission and theoretically operational are generally unable to deploy, due to lack of trained crews and lack of funds to buy fuel and stores. In general maintenance is minimal or nonexistent, and there are no funds to conduct much-needed overhauls, even for major fleet units. Many ships have been abandoned when repairs or refits came due. > This list identifies those units believed to remain operational, but most of these units are unable to deploy for the reasons cited above. … Many ships, especially auxiliaries, have been operating in commercial or charter freight or passenger service to raise operating funds. There are reliable reports of submarines rotting at their docks, surface ships sinking at their piers and resting (and rusting) in place, and other such indications of wide-spread failure. Ships have crews of half their required complement or even less, and frequently “borrow” sailors for other ships in order to make it out of port. You mention that the _Petr Velikiy_ is only seven years old. It was completed in 1998, but it had a tortured building history. It was laid down in (IIRC) 1991, launched in 1995 without all her equipment, and finally commissioned in 1998. So she is really older than the commisioning date suggests. This lack of proper maintenance led directly to the _Kursk_ disaster.