View source for Soviet Navy

{{Short description|Maritime service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = Soviet Navy
| native_name = {{Lang|ru|Военно-морской флот СССР}}
| image = Naval Ensign of the Soviet Union (1950–1991).svg
| image_size = 
| caption = [[List of Soviet navy flags|Naval ensign]] of the Soviet Union
| start_date = {{Start date text|11 February 1918|{{OldStyleDate|11 February|1918|29 January}}}}{{efn|{{Langx|ru|Декрет Совета Народных Комиссаров от {{tooltip|29 января|Old Style}} (11 февраля) 1918 г. «О Социалистическом Рабоче-Крестьянском Красном Флоте»|lit=Decree of the Council of People's Commissars dated {{OldStyleDate|February 11|1918|January 29}} ''On the Socialist Workers' and Peasants' Red Fleet''.}}<ref>{{GREn|voenno-morskoi-flot-82ea45|Военно-морской флот {{bracket|Military Maritime Fleet}}}}.</ref>}}
| disbanded = {{End date|df=yes|1992|2|14}}
| country = {{ubl|{{nowrap|{{flag|Russian SFSR|1918}} (1918–1922)}} | {{flag|Soviet Union}} (1922–1991) | ''{{flag|CIS}}'' (1991–1992)}}
| command_structure = [[Soviet Armed Forces]]
| branch = 
| type = [[Navy]]
| size = {{ubl|467,000 personnel (1984)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/irp/dia/product/smp_84_ch3.htm |title=Soviet Military Power 1984 – Chapter III – Theater Forces |access-date=9 January 2021 | publisher=Federation of American Scientists | url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904063407/http://fas.org/irp/dia/product/smp_84_ch3.htm |archive-date=4 September 2015 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>|1,057 ships (1990)|1,172 aircraft (1990)|5 [[aircraft carriers]] (1990)|2 [[helicopter carriers]] (1990)|3 [[battlecruisers]]|30 [[cruisers]]|45 [[destroyers]]|113 [[frigates]]|124 [[corvettes]]|63 [[ballistic missile submarines]]|72 [[cruise missile submarine]]|68 [[nuclear attack submarine]]|63 [[conventional attack submarine]]|9 auxiliary submarines|35 [[amphibious warfare ships]]|425 [[patrol boats]]|1 [[Lun-class ekranoplan]]}}
| nickname = Red Fleet
| patron = 
| march = [[If You'll be Lucky]]
| mascot = 
| equipment = 
| equipment_label = 
| battles = {{ubl|[[Russian Revolution]]|[[Russian Civil War]]|[[Polish–Soviet War]]|[[Soviet–Japanese border conflicts]]
|[[Spanish Civil War]]|[[Invasion of Poland]]|[[Winter War]] ([[Finland]])|[[World War II]] ([[Eastern front (World War II)|Great Patriotic War]])|[[Soviet invasion of Manchuria]]|[[Vietnam War]]|[[1966 Soviet submarine global circumnavigation]]|[[Cold War]]|[[Vlora incident]]}}
| anniversaries = 
| notable_commanders = {{ubl|[[Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union|Fleet Admiral USSR]] [[Sergey Gorshkov]]|Fleet Admiral USSR [[Nikolay Kuznetsov (officer)|Nikolay Kuznetsov]]|Vice Admiral [[Aleksandr Nemits]]|Vice Admiral [[Yevgeny Berens]]|Fleet Admiral [[Vasili Altfater]]|Admiral [[Ivan Yumashev (admiral)|Ivan Yumashev]]}}
| identification_symbol = [[File:Naval Jack of the Soviet Union.svg|150px|border]]
| identification_symbol_label = Naval jack
| identification_symbol_2 = 
| identification_symbol_2_label = 
| identification_symbol_3 = [[File:USSR, Naval 1950 redban guards.svg|150px|border]]
| identification_symbol_3_label = Guards Red Banner naval ensign
}}
{{Soviet_military}}
The '''Soviet Navy''' ({{Langx|ru|Военно-морской флот (ВМФ) СССР|Voyenno-morskoy flot (VMF) SSSR}}) was the [[naval warfare]] [[Military|uniform service branch]] of the [[Soviet Armed Forces]]. Often referred to as the '''Red Fleet''',{{efn|{{langx|ru|Красный флот|Krasny flot}}.}} the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the [[Soviet Union]]'s [[strategic planning]] in the event of a conflict with the opposing [[superpower]], the [[United States]], during the [[Cold War]] (1945–1991).<ref name="Naval Institute Press, Polmar & Brooks, 2019">{{cite book |last1=Polmar |first1=Norman |last2=Brooks |first2=Thomas A. |title=Admiral Gorshkov: The Man Who Challenged the U.S. Navy |date=2019 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Washington DC |isbn=978-1-68247-332-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZnyGDwAAQBAJ&q=soviet+navy+us+navy |access-date=31 March 2020 |language=en-us |format=google books|pages=i-iii}}</ref> The Soviet Navy played a large role during the Cold War, either confronting the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] in [[western Europe]] or [[power projection]] to maintain its [[Eastern Bloc|sphere of influence]] in [[eastern Europe]].<ref name="Routledge, Gottfried & Bracken, 2019">{{cite book |last1=Gottfried |first1=Kurt |last2=Bracken |first2=Paul |title=Reforging European Security: From Confrontation To Cooperation |date=2019 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-000-30934-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f02fDwAAQBAJ&q=soviet+navy+eastern+europe+NATO&pg=PT109 |language=en-us |format=google books}}</ref>

The Soviet Navy was divided into four major fleets: the [[Soviet Northern Fleet|Northern]], [[Pacific Fleet (Russia)|Pacific]], [[Black Sea Fleet|Black Sea]], and [[Baltic Fleet|Baltic]] Fleets, in addition to the [[Leningrad Naval Base]], which was commanded separately. It also had a smaller force, the [[Caspian Flotilla]], which operated in the [[Caspian Sea]] and was followed by a larger fleet, the [[5th Operational Squadron|5th Squadron]], in the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. The Soviet Navy included [[Soviet Naval Aviation|Naval Aviation]], [[Russian Naval Infantry|Naval Infantry]], and the [[Coastal Artillery]].

The Soviet Navy was formed from the remnants of the [[Imperial Russian Navy]] during the [[Russian Civil War]]. After the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] in 1991, the [[Russian Federation]] inherited the largest part of the Soviet Navy and reformed it into the [[Russian Navy]], with smaller parts becoming the basis for navies of the newly independent [[post-Soviet states]].

==Early history==

===Russian Civil War (1917–1922)===
[[File:aurora 1903.jpg|thumb|left|250px|{{Ship|Russian cruiser|Aurora||2}} was unofficially the first Soviet Navy ship, after it [[mutiny|mutinied]] against the [[Russian Provisional Government]] of [[Alexander Kerensky]] in the 1917 [[October Revolution]]]]

The Soviet Navy was based on a [[Russian Republic|republican]] naval force formed from the remnants of the [[Imperial Russian Navy]], which had been almost completely destroyed in the two [[Russian Revolution|Revolutions of 1917]]—{{OS2NS|[[February Revolution|February]]||March}} and {{OS2NS|[[October Revolution|October]]||November}}—during [[World War I]] (1914–1918), the following [[Russian Civil War]] (1917–1922), and the [[Kronstadt rebellion]] in 1921. During the revolutionary period, Russian sailors deserted their ships at will and generally neglected their duties. The officers were dispersed (some were killed by the [[Red Terror]], some joined the "[[White movement|White]]" (anti-communist) opposing armies, and others simply resigned) and most of the sailors walked off and left their ships. Work stopped in the shipyards, where uncompleted ships deteriorated rapidly.

The [[Black Sea Fleet]] fared no better than the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]]. The [[Bolshevik]] (Communist) revolution entirely disrupted its personnel, with mass murders of officers; the ships were allowed to decay to unserviceability. At the end of April 1918, [[German Empire|Imperial German]] troops moved along the [[Black Sea]] coast and entered [[Crimea]] and started to advance towards the [[Sevastopol]] naval base. The more effective ships were moved from Sevastopol to [[Novorossiysk]] where, after an ultimatum from Germany, they were scuttled by [[Vladimir Lenin]]'s order.

The ships remaining in Sevastopol were captured by the Germans and then, after the later [[Armistice of 11 November 1918]] on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] which ended the War, additional Russian ships were confiscated by the British. On 1&nbsp;April 1919, during the ensuing [[Russian Civil War]] when [[Red Army]] forces captured [[Crimea]], the British [[Royal Navy]] squadron had to withdraw, but before leaving they damaged all the remaining battleships and sank thirteen new submarines.

When the opposing [[Czar]]ist [[White Army]] captured Crimea in 1919, it rescued and reconditioned a few units. At the end of the civil war, [[Wrangel's fleet]], a White flotilla, moved south through the Black Sea, [[Dardanelles]] straits and the [[Aegean Sea]] to the [[Mediterranean Sea]] to [[Bizerta]] in French [[Tunisia]] on the [[North Africa]] coast, where it was interned.

The first ship of the revolutionary navy could be considered the rebellious Imperial Russian [[cruiser]] {{Ship|Russian cruiser|Aurora||2}}, built 1900, whose crew joined the communist Bolsheviks. Sailors of the Baltic fleet supplied the fighting force of the Bolsheviks led by [[Vladimir Lenin]] and [[Leon Trotsky]] during the [[October Revolution]] of November 1917 against the democratic provisional government of [[Alexander Kerensky]] established after the earlier first revolution of February against the [[Czar of Russia|Czar]]. Some imperial vessels continued to serve after the revolution, albeit with different names.

The Soviet Navy, established as the "'''Workers' and Peasants' Red Fleet'''"{{efn|{{langx|ru|Рабоче-крестьянский Красный флот (РККФ)|Raboche-krest'yansky Krasny flot (RKKF)}}.}} by a 1918 [[Soviet Decrees|decree]] of the new [[Council of People's Commissars]], installed as a temporary Russian revolutionary government, was less than service-ready during the interwar years of 1918 to 1941.

As the country's attentions were largely directed internally, the Navy did not have much funding or training. An indicator of its reputation was that the Soviets were not invited to participate in negotiations for the [[Washington Naval Treaty]] of 1921–1922, which limited the size and capabilities of the most powerful navies – British,
American, Japanese, French, Italian. The greater part of the old fleet was sold by the Soviet government to post-war Germany for scrap.

In the [[Baltic Sea]] there remained only three much-neglected battleships, two cruisers, some ten destroyers, and a few submarines. Despite this state of affairs, the Baltic Fleet remained a significant naval formation, and the [[Black Sea]] Fleet also provided a basis for expansion. There also existed some thirty minor-waterways combat flotillas.

===Interwar period (1922–1941)===
During the 1930s, as the [[industrialization of the Soviet Union]] proceeded, plans were made to expand the Soviet Navy into one of the most powerful in the world. Approved by the Labour and Defence Council in 1926, the Naval Shipbuilding Program included plans to construct twelve submarines; the first six were to become known as the {{sclass|Dekabrist|submarine|4}}.<ref name="sbp1926">''Periods of Activities (1926–1941)'', [http://www.ckb-rubin.ru/eng/history/pred/1926_1941/index.htm Online (Accessed 5/24/2008)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080208232916/http://www.ckb-rubin.ru/eng/history/pred/1926_1941/index.htm |date=8 February 2008 }}, [http://www.ckb-rubin.ru/eng/ SOE CDB ME "Rubin"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070916152438/http://www.ckb-rubin.ru/eng/ |date=16 September 2007 }}, Russia, Saint-Petersburg</ref> Beginning 4&nbsp;November 1926, ''Technical Bureau Nº 4'' (formerly the Submarine Department, and still secret), under the leadership of [[Boris Mikhailovich Malinin|B.M. Malinin]], managed the submarine construction works at the [[Baltic Shipyard]].<ref name="sbp1926"/>

In subsequent years, 133 submarines were built to designs developed during Malinin's management. Additional developments included the formation of the Pacific Fleet in 1932 and the Northern Fleet in 1933.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hill |first=Alexander |year=2007 |title= The birth of the Soviet Northern Fleet 1937–42 |journal=The Journal of Slavic Military Studies |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=65–82 |doi=10.1080/13518040308430560 |s2cid=143506251 }}</ref> The forces were to be built around a core of powerful {{sclass|Sovetsky Soyuz|battleship|1}}s. This building program was only in its initial stages by the time the [[Operation Barbarossa|German invasion]] forced its suspension in 1941.

By the end of 1937, the biggest fleet was the [[Baltic Fleet]] based at Leningrad, with two battleships, one training cruiser, eight destroyers including one destroyer leader, five patrol ships, two [[minesweeper]]s, and some more old minesweepers.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Jürgen Rohwer |author2=Mikhail Monakov |title=The Soviet Union's Ocean-Going Fleet, 1935–1956 |journal=The International History Review |volume=18|number=4|date=November 1996|page=848|jstor=40107569 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40107569}}</ref> The Black Sea Fleet at Sevastopol included one battleship, three cruisers, one training cruiser, five destroyers, two patrol ships, and four minesweepers. The Northern Fleet operating from the shores of [[Kola Bay]] and [[Polyarny, Murmansk Oblast|Polyarny]] was made up of three destroyers and three patrol ships, while the Pacific Fleet had two destroyers, transferred east in 1936, and six patrol ships assembled in the Far East.

The Soviet Navy had some minor action in the [[Winter War]] against Finland in 1939–1940, on the Baltic Sea. It was limited mainly to cruisers and battleships fighting artillery duels with Finnish forts.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}

==World War II: The Great Patriotic War (1941–1945)==
{{main|Baltic Sea campaigns (1939–45)|Black Sea campaigns (1941–44)}}
Building a Soviet fleet was a national priority, but many senior officers were killed in the [[Great Purge]] in the late 1930s.<ref>Jürgen Rohwer and Mikhail S. Monakov, ''Stalin's Ocean-going Fleet: Soviet Naval Strategy and Shipbuilding Programmes, 1935–1953'' (Psychology Press, 2001)</ref> The naval share of the national armaments budget fell from 11.5% in 1941 to 6.6% in 1944.<ref>Mark Harrison, "The Volume of Soviet Munitions Output, 1937–1945: A Reevaluation," ''Journal of Economic History'' (1990) 50#3 pp. 569–589 at p 582</ref>

When the Soviet Union entered the Second World War, during [[Operation Barbarossa]] in June 1941, initially millions of soldiers were captured, many sailors and naval guns were detached to reinforce the [[Red Army]]; these reassigned naval forces had especially significant roles on land in the battles for [[Battle of Odessa (1941)|Odessa]], [[Battle of Sevastopol|Sevastopol]], [[Battle of Stalingrad|Stalingrad]], [[Novorossiysk]], [[Reichskommissariat Kaukasus#German Caucasian campaign|Tuapse]], and [[Siege of Leningrad|Leningrad]]. The Baltic fleet was blockaded in Leningrad and [[Kronstadt]] by minefields, but the submarines escaped. The surface fleet fought with the [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft]] defence of the city and bombarded German positions.<ref name=autogenerated1>Sergeĭ Georgievich Gorshkov, ''Red Star Rising at Sea'' (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1974)</ref>

[[File:Marinaurss cappello.jpg|thumb|right|Soviet souvenir naval cap]]
The composition of the Soviet fleets in 1941 included:<ref>''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946''</ref>
* 3 battleships,
* 7 cruisers
* 59 destroyers (including 46 modern {{sclass|Gnevny|destroyer|0}} and {{sclass|Soobrazitelny|destroyer|0}} destroyers),
* 218 submarines,
* 269 torpedo boats,
* 22 patrol vessels,
* 88 minesweepers,
* 77 [[submarine chaser]]s,
* and a range of other smaller vessels.
In various stages of completion were another 219 vessels including 3 battleships, 2 heavy and 7 light cruisers, 45 destroyers, and 91 submarines.

Included in the totals above are some pre-World War I ships ({{ship|Russian destroyer|Novik|1911|2}}-class destroyers, some of the cruisers, and all the battleships), some modern ships built in the USSR and Europe (like the Italian-built destroyer {{sclass|Tashkent|destroyer|5}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://flot.sevastopol.info/ship/lider/tashkent.htm |title=Лидер "Ташкент" Черноморского Флота |access-date=2006-09-30 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060516074054/http://flot.sevastopol.info/ship/lider/tashkent.htm |archive-date=16 May 2006 |df=dmy-all }} reference</ref> and the partially completed German cruiser [[German cruiser Lützow (1939)|''Lützow'']]). During the war, many of the vessels on the slips in [[Leningrad]] and [[Mykolaiv|Nikolayev]] were destroyed (mainly by aircraft and [[Naval mine|mines]]), but the Soviet Navy received captured Romanian destroyers and [[Lend-Lease]] small craft from the U.S., as well as the old [[Royal Navy]] battleship {{HMS|Royal Sovereign|05|6}} (renamed ''Arkhangelsk'') and the [[United States Navy]] cruiser {{USS|Milwaukee|CL-5|6}} (renamed ''Murmansk'') in exchange for the Soviet part of the captured Italian navy.
[[File:RIAN archive 834147 Hoisting the banner in Port-Artur. WWII (1941-1945).jpg|thumb|right|[[Pacific Fleet (Russia)|Pacific Fleet]] [[Naval Infantry (Russia)|marines of the Soviet Navy]] hoisting the [[List of USSR navy flags#Ensign and Flag|Soviet naval ensign]] in [[Port Arthur, China|Port Arthur]], on 1 October 1945]]

In the Baltic Sea, after [[Tallinn]]'s capture, surface ships were blockaded in Leningrad and [[Kronstadt]] by minefields, where they participated with the anti-aircraft defence of the city and bombarded German positions. One example of Soviet resourcefulness was the battleship {{ship|Soviet battleship|Marat||2}}, an ageing pre-World War I ship sunk at anchor in Kronstadt's harbour by German [[Junkers Ju 87]] aircraft in 1941. For the rest of the war, the non-submerged part of the ship remained in use as a grounded battery. Submarines, although suffering great losses due to German and Finnish [[Anti-submarine warfare|anti-submarine]] actions, had a major role in the war at sea by disrupting [[Kriegsmarine|Axis navigation]] in the Baltic Sea.

In the Black Sea, many ships were damaged by minefields and [[Luftwaffe|Axis aviation]], but they helped defend naval bases and supply them while besieged, as well as later evacuating them. Heavy naval guns and sailors helped defend port cities during long sieges by [[Wehrmacht|Axis armies]]. In the Arctic Ocean, Soviet Northern Fleet destroyers (''Novik'' class, Type 7, and Type 7U) and smaller craft participated with the anti-aircraft and anti-submarine defence of Allied [[convoy]]s conducting Lend-Lease cargo shipping. In the Pacific Ocean, the Soviet Union was not at war with Japan before 1945, so some destroyers were transferred to the Northern Fleet.<ref name=autogenerated1 />

From the beginning of hostilities, [[Soviet Naval Aviation]] provided air support to naval and land operations involving the Soviet Navy. This service was responsible for the operation of shore-based [[floatplane]]s, long-range [[flying boat]]s, catapult-launched and vessel-based planes, and land-based aircraft designated for naval use.

As post-war spoils, the Soviets received several Italian and Japanese warships and much German naval engineering and architectural documentation.

==Cold War (1945–1991)==
[[File:Soviet navy personnel (1982).JPEG|thumb|250px|Soviet Navy enlisted personnel stand at attention (1982)]]

In February 1946, the Red Fleet was renamed and became known as the Soviet Navy ({{langx|ru|Советский Военно-Морской Флот|Sovyetsky Voyenno-Morskoy Flot|Soviet Military Maritime Fleet}}).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://army.armor.kiev.ua/titul/rusflot_1943-55.shtml|title=Красный Флот (Советский Военно-Морской Флот) 1943–1955 гг. |website=army.armor.kiev.ua |url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110714135947/http://army.armor.kiev.ua/titul/rusflot_1943-55.shtml|archive-date=14 July 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref> After the war, the Soviets concluded that they needed a navy that could disrupt [[Sea lines of communication|supply lines]], and display a small naval presence to the developing world.<ref name=CRS-SOD>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/sovietoceansdeve00unit |title=Soviet Oceans Development |author=Congressional Research Service |work=94th Congress, 2nd session |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |id=69-315 WASHINGTON : 1976 |date=October 1976 |access-date=23 April 2013}}</ref> As the natural resources the Soviet Union needed were available on the Eurasian landmass, it did not need a navy to protect a large commercial fleet, as the western navies were configured to do.<ref name=CRS-SOD /> Later, countering seaborne nuclear delivery systems became another significant objective of the navy, and an impetus for expansion.<ref name=CRS-SOD />

The Soviet Navy was structured around submarines and small, maneuverable, tactical vessels.<ref name=CRS-SOD /> The Soviet shipbuilding program kept yards busy constructing submarines based upon [[World War II]] German ''Kriegsmarine'' [[U-boat#U-boat developments|designs]], which were launched with great frequency during the immediate post-war years. Afterwards, through a combination of indigenous research and technology obtained through espionage from [[Nazi Germany]] and the Western nations, the Soviets gradually improved their submarine designs.

The Soviets were quick to equip their surface fleet with [[missile]]s of various sorts. Indeed, it became a feature of Soviet design to place large missiles onto relatively small, but fast, [[missile boat]]s, while in the West such an approach would never have been considered tactically feasible. The Soviet Navy did also possess several very large and well-armed [[Cruiser#Later 20th century|guided-missile cruisers]], like those of the {{sclass|Kirov|battlecruiser|5}} and {{sclass|Slava|cruiser|5}} classes. By the 1970s, Soviet submarine technology was in some respects more advanced than in the West, and several of their submarine types were considered superior to their American rivals.<ref>J.E. Moore, "The Modern Soviet Navy", in: ''Soviet War Power'', ed. R. Bonds (Corgi 1982)</ref>

The [[5th Operational Squadron]] ([[:ru:5-я Средиземноморская эскадра кораблей ВМФ]])<ref>Michael Holm, [http://www.ww2.dk/new/navy/5opesc.htm 5th Operational Squadron] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525000208/http://www.ww2.dk/new/navy/5opesc.htm |date=25 May 2013 }}, accessed 16 February 2012</ref> operated in the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. The squadron's main function was to prevent largescale naval ingress into the [[Black Sea]], which could bypass the need for any invasion to be over the Eurasian land mass.<ref name=CRS-SOD/> The flagship of the squadron was for a long period the {{sclass|Sverdlov|cruiser|1}} ''Zhdanov''.

===Carriers and aviation===
[[File:Kiev 1985 DN-SN-86-00684r.jpg|thumb|upright|{{Ship|Soviet aircraft carrier|Kiev||2}}, an [[aviation cruiser]], and the rest of [[Kiev-class aircraft carrier|her class]] constituted an important component of the Soviet anti-submarine warfare system]]
[[File:USS Deyo with Admiral Kuznetsov.jpg|thumb|The {{ship|Russian aircraft carrier|Admiral Kuznetsov}} deployed off the coast of [[Italy]], as seen patrolling with {{USS|Deyo}} in 1991]]

In the strategic planning laid by the Soviet strategists, the [[aircraft carrier]]s were seen as relatively unimportant and received little attention, as Moscow focused on a naval strategy designed to disrupt [[sea lines of communication]]. Nonetheless, the Soviet navy pursued an aircraft carrier program as a way of matching stoking competition with the [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]].<ref name=CRS-SOD />

The Soviet Navy still had the mission of confronting Western submarines, creating a need for large surface vessels to carry anti-submarine helicopters. During 1968 and 1969 the {{sclass|Moskva|helicopter carrier}}s were first deployed, succeeded by the first of four aircraft-carrying cruisers of the {{sclass|Kiev|aircraft carrier|4}}, in 1973. Both types were capable of operating ASW helicopters, and the ''Kiev'' class also operated [[V/STOL]] aircraft (''e.g.'', the [[Yakovlev Yak-38|Yak-38 'Forger']]); they were designed to operate for fleet defense, primarily within range of land-based Soviet Naval Aviation aircraft.

During the 1970s the Soviets began [[Project 1153 Orel]] (Eagle), whose stated purpose was to create an aircraft carrier capable of basing fixed-wing fighter aircraft in defense of the deployed fleet. The project was canceled during the planning stages when strategic priorities shifted once more.

In 1981, the Soviet Navy ordered its first true aircraft carrier, ''[[Soviet aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov|Tbilisi]]'', subsequently renamed ''Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov'',<ref name="nwcr_flightops">"[http://www.nwc.navy.mil/press/review/1998/summer/art7su98.htm The Self-Designing High-Reliability Organization: Aircraft Carrier Flight Operations at Sea] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000817012015/http://www.nwc.navy.mil/press/Review/1998/summer/art7su98.htm |date=17 August 2000 }}." Rochlin, G. I.; La Porte, T. R.; Roberts, K. H. Footnote 39. ''[[Naval War College Review]]''. Autumn, 1987, Vol. LI, No. 3.</ref> which carries [[Sukhoi Su-33|Sukhoi Su-33 'Flanker-D']] and [[Mikoyan MiG-29|MiG-29]] fighters, as well as [[Kamov Ka-27|Ka-27]] helicopters.

A distinctive feature of Soviet aircraft carriers has been their offensive missile armament (as well as long-range anti-aircraft warfare armament), again representing a fleet-defense operational concept, in distinction to the Western emphasis on shore-strike missions from distant deployment. A second carrier (pre-commissioning name ''Varyag'') was under construction when the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991. Construction stopped and the ship was sold later, incomplete, to the [[China|People's Republic of China]] by [[Ukraine]], which inherited part of the old Soviet fleet after the break-up of the USSR. It was commissioned into the [[People's Liberation Army Navy]] in 2012 as the {{ship|Chinese aircraft carrier|Liaoning||2}}.

Soon after the launch of this second ''Kuznetsov''-class ship, the Soviet Navy began the construction of an improved aircraft carrier design, {{Ship|Soviet aircraft carrier|Ulyanovsk||2}}, which was to have been slightly larger than the ''Kuznetsov'' class and nuclear-powered. The project was terminated, and what little structure had been initiated in the building ways was scrapped.

In part to perform the functions usual to carrier-borne aircraft, the Soviet Navy deployed large numbers of [[strategic bomber]]s in a maritime role, with the ''[[Soviet Naval Aviation|Aviatsiya Voenno-Morskogo Flota]]'' (AV-MF, or Naval Aviation service). Strategic bombers like the [[Tupolev]] [[Tupolev Tu-16|Tu-16 'Badger']] and [[Tupolev Tu-22M|Tu-22M 'Backfire']] were deployed with high-speed [[anti-shipping missile]]s. Previously believed to be interceptors of [[NATO]] supply convoys traveling the [[sea lines of communication]] across the [[North Atlantic Ocean]] between Europe and North America, the primary role of these aircraft was to protect the Soviet mainland from attacks by U.S. carrier task forces.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tokarev |first1=Maksim |title=Kamikazes: The Soviet Legacy |journal=Naval War College Review |date=2014 |volume=67 |issue=1 |page=9 |url=https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol67/iss1/7}}</ref>

===Submarines===
[[File:Whiskey Twin Cylinder submarine.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Whiskey-class submarine|Whiskey Twin Cylinder]]-class [[guided missile submarine]], an important platform for launching anti-ship strikes]]
{{See also|1966 Soviet submarine global circumnavigation}}
Due to the Soviet Union's geographic position, submarines were considered the capital ships of the Navy. Submarines could penetrate attempts at blockade, either in the constrained waters of the Baltic and Black Seas or in the remote reaches of the USSR's western Arctic, while surface ships were clearly much easier to find and attack. The USSR had entered the Second World War with more submarines than Germany, but geography and the speed of the German attack precluded it from effectively using its more numerous fleet to its advantage. Because of its opinion that "quantity had a quality of its own" and at the insistence of Admiral of the Fleet [[Sergey Gorshkov]], the Soviet Navy continued to operate many first-generation missile submarines, built in the early 1960s, until the end of the Cold War in 1991.

In some respects, including speed and reactor technology, Soviet submarines achieved unique successes, but for most of the era lagged their Western counterparts in overall capability. In addition to their relatively high speeds and great operating depths they were difficult anti-submarine warfare (ASW) targets to destroy because of their multiple compartments, their large reserve buoyancy, and especially their double-hulled design.<ref name="polmar">Norman Polmar, ''Guide to the Soviet Navy'', 4th ed., (1986), United States Naval Institute, Annapolis Maryland, {{ISBN|0-87021-240-0}}</ref>
[[File:Overseas Facilities and Anchorages Used by Soviet Naval Forces.png|thumb|right|Overseas Facilities and Anchorages Used by Soviet Naval Forces, mid-1980s]]
Their principal shortcomings were insufficient noise-damping (American boats were quieter) and primitive [[sonar]] technology. Acoustics was a particularly interesting type of information that the Soviets sought about the West's submarine-production methods, and the long-active [[John Anthony Walker]] spy ring may have made a major contribution to their knowledge of such.<ref name="polmar"/>

The Soviet Navy possessed numerous purpose-built [[guided missile submarine]]s, such as the {{sclass2|Oscar|submarine|1}}, as well as many [[ballistic missile]] and attack submarines; their {{sclass|Typhoon|submarine|4}} are the world's largest submarines. While Western navies assumed that the Soviet attack submarine force was designed for interception of NATO convoys, the Soviet leadership never prepared their submarines for such a mission.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Polmar |first1=Norman |last2=Whitman |first2=Edward |title=Hunters and Killers: Volume 2: Anti-Submarine Warfare from 1943 |date=2016 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis |isbn=978-1-61251-897-8 |pages=85–88}}</ref>
Over the years Soviet submarines suffered a number of accidents, most notably on several nuclear boats. The most famous incidents include the {{sclass2|Yankee|submarine|1}} {{ship|Soviet submarine|K-219||2}}, and the {{sclass2|Mike|submarine|1}} ''[[Soviet submarine K-278|Komsomolets]]'', both lost to fire, and the far more menacing nuclear reactor leak on the {{sclass2|Hotel|submarine|1}} {{ship|Soviet submarine|K-19||2}}, narrowly averted by [[Nikolai Vladimirovich Zateyev|her captain]]. Inadequate [[nuclear safety]], poor damage control, and quality-control issues during construction (particularly on the earlier submarines) were typical causes of accidents. On several occasions there were alleged collisions with American submarines. None of these, however, has been confirmed officially by the U.S. Navy. On 28 August 1976, ''K-22'' ([[Echo-class submarine|Echo]] II) collided with frigate {{USS|Voge}} in the Mediterranean Sea.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=210066&dt=2082&dl=1345| title=Collision with Soviet submarine| access-date=2010-04-02| publisher= [[United States Department of State]]| date= 1976-08-29}}</ref>

At the height of the 1962 [[Cuban Missile Crisis]], the [[Foxtrot-class submarine]] [[Soviet submarine B-59|''B-59'']] was involved in a [[nuclear close call]]. Sent to the [[Sargasso Sea]] to support the Soviet nuclear arsenal buildup on Cuba it came under pursuit from blockading units of the [[United States Navy|US Navy]], which dropped signalling [[depth charges]]. Out of contact with Moscow for days, and with struggling life support conditions, Captain Valentin Savitsky suspected a US-Soviet war had begun, and ordered preparations to fire the submarine's single [[T-5 torpedo|T-5]] [[nuclear torpedo]]. Requiring agreement of the three officers, detachment chief of staff [[Vasily Arkhipov]] alone prevented the nuclear launch order, and the submarine surfaced and returned to the USSR as the crisis abated. The event was publicly revealed at the 40th anniversary Cuban Missile Crisis Havana Conference in 2002.''<ref>https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2022-10-03/soviet-submarines-nuclear-torpedoes-cuban-missile-crisis: National Security Archive</ref>''

===Transition===
After the [[dissolution of the USSR]] and the end of the Cold War, the Soviet Navy, like other branches of Armed Forces, eventually lost some of its units to former Soviet Republics, and was left without funding. Some ships were transferred to former Soviet states:
* Baltic Sea: [[Estonian Navy]], [[Latvian Navy]] and [[Lithuanian Navy]]. All three countries joined NATO in 2004.
* Black Sea: [[Ukrainian Navy]] and [[Georgian Navy]].  The Georgian Navy was defeated by the Russian Navy at the [[battle off Abkhazia]] in 2008. Most of the Ukrainian Navy ships were captured back during the [[annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation]] in 2014.
* Caspian Sea: [[Azerbaijani Navy]], [[Kazakh Naval Forces|Kazakh Navy]] and [[Turkmen Naval Forces|Turkmen Navy]].

===Soviet Naval Aviation===
{{Main|Soviet Naval Aviation}}
The regular Soviet naval aviation units were created in 1918. They participated in the [[Russian Civil War]], cooperating with the ships and the army during the combats at [[Petrograd]], on the [[Baltic Sea]], the [[Black Sea]], the [[Volga]], the [[Kama River]], [[Northern Dvina]] and on the [[Lake Onega]]. The newborn Soviet Naval Air Force consisted of only 76 obsolete hydroplanes. Scanty and technically imperfect, it was mostly used for resupplying the ships and the army.

In the second half of the 1920s, the Naval Aviation order of battle began to grow. It received new reconnaissance hydroplanes, bombers, and fighters. In the mid-1930s, the Soviets created the Naval Air Force in the Baltic Fleet, the Black Sea Fleet and the Soviet Pacific Fleet. The importance of naval aviation had grown significantly by 1938–1940, to become one of the main components of the Soviet Navy. By this time, the Soviets had created formations and units of the torpedo and bomb aviation.

=== Naval Infantry ===
[[File:Soviet naval infantry m43 uniform.JPG|thumb|[[World War II]] Soviet Marines uniform]]

During [[World War II]], about 350,000 Soviet sailors fought on land. At the beginning of the war, the navy had only one naval brigade in the [[Baltic fleet]], but began forming and training other battalions. These eventually were:
* 6 Naval Infantry regiments (650 marines in two battalions)
* 40 naval infantry [[brigade]]s of 5–10 battalions, formed from surplus ships' crews. Five brigades were awarded [[Russian Guards|''Gvardy'']] (Guards) status.
* Numerous smaller units
* 1 division – the [[55th Naval Infantry Division]], formerly a Red Army formation

The military situation demanded the deployment of large numbers of marines on land fronts, so the [[Naval Infantry]] contributed to the defense of [[Moscow]], [[Leningrad]], [[Odessa]], [[Sevastopol]], [[Stalingrad]], [[Novorossiysk]], and [[Kerch]]. The Naval Infantry conducted over 114 landings, most of which were carried out by platoons and companies. In general, however, Naval Infantry served as regular infantry, without any amphibious training.

They conducted four major operations: two during the [[Battle of the Kerch Peninsula]], one during the [[Battle of the Caucasus|Caucasus Campaign]] and one as part of the [[Moonsund Landing Operation|Landing at Moonsund]], in the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]]. During the war, five brigades and two battalions of naval infantry were awarded Guards status. Nine brigades and six battalions were awarded decorations, and many were given honorary titles. The title [[Hero of the Soviet Union]] was bestowed on 122 members of naval infantry units.

The Soviet experience in [[amphibious warfare]] in World War II contributed to the development of Soviet [[combined arms]] operations. Many members of the Naval Infantry were parachute trained, conducting more drops and successful parachute operations than the [[Soviet Airborne Troops|Soviet Airborne Troops (VDV)]].

The Naval Infantry was disbanded in 1947, with some units being transferred to the [[Coastal Defence Forces]].

[[File:Soviet naval infantrymen DN-SN-86-00829.jpg|right|thumb|Soviet Naval Infantrymen in 1985]]
[[File:Soviet naval infantrymen DN-SC-91-02252.jpg|right|thumb|Soviet Naval Infantrymen during a demonstration in 1990]]

In 1961, the Naval Infantry was re-formed and became one of the active combat services of the Navy. Each Fleet was assigned a Marine unit of regiment (and later brigade) size. The Naval Infantry received amphibious versions of standard [[Armoured fighting vehicle]], including tanks used by the [[Soviet Army]].

By 1989, the Naval Infantry numbered 18,000 marines, organized into a Marine Division and 4 independent Marine brigades;
* [[55th Naval Infantry Division]], at [[Vladivostok]] ([[Pacific Fleet (Russia)|Pacific Fleet]])
* [[61st Naval Infantry Brigade (Russia)|61st Kirkenes Naval Infantry Brigade]] at [[Pechengsky District|Pechenga]] ([[Northern Fleet]])
* 175th Naval Infantry Brigade, at [[Tumanny]] (Northern Fleet)
* [[336th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade]] at [[Baltiysk]] ([[Baltic Fleet]])
* [[810th Naval Infantry Brigade]], at [[Sevastopol]] ([[Black Sea Fleet]])

By the end of the [[Cold War]], the Soviet Navy had over eighty [[landing ship]]s, as well as two {{sclass|Ivan Rogov|landing ship|1}}s. The latter could transport one infantry battalion with 40 armoured vehicles and their [[landing craft]]. (One of the ''Rogov'' ships has since been retired.)

At 75 units, the Soviet Union had the world's largest inventory of combat [[hovercraft|air-cushion assault craft]]. In addition, many of the 2,500 vessels of the Soviet [[Merchant marine|merchant fleet]] (''Morflot'') could off-load weapons and supplies during amphibious landings.

On 18 November 1990, on the eve of the Paris Summit where the [[Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe|Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty]] and the [[Vienna]] Document on Confidence and Security-Building Measures (CSBMs) were signed, Soviet data was presented under the so-called initial data exchange. This showed a rather sudden emergence of three so-called coastal defence divisions (including the [[3rd Guards Motor Rifle Division|3rd]] at [[Klaipėda]] in the [[Baltic Military District]], the 126th in the [[Odessa Military District]] and seemingly the [[77th Guards Motor Rifle Division]] with the [[Northern Fleet]]), along with three artillery brigades/regiments, subordinate to the Soviet Navy, which had previously been unknown as such to [[NATO]].<ref>''[[IISS]] Military Balance 1991–1992'', pp. 30–31</ref>

Much of the equipment, which was commonly understood to be treaty limited (TLE) was declared to be part of the naval infantry. The Soviet argument was that the CFE excluded all naval forces, including its permanently land-based components. The Soviet Government eventually became convinced that its position could not be maintained.

A proclamation of the Soviet government on 14 July 1991, which was later adopted by its successor states, provided that all "treaty-limited equipment" (tanks, artillery, and armored vehicles) assigned to naval infantry or coastal defense forces, would count against the total treaty entitlement.

==Heads of the Soviet Naval Forces==
===Commanders of the Naval Forces===
'''Commanders of Naval Forces of the RSFSR ("KoMorSi")'''
* [[Vasiliy Altfater|Vasili Mikhailovich Altfater]]<ref>Military ranks were abolished in 1918–1935.</ref> (15 October 1918 – 22 April 1919),
* [[Yevgeniy Berens|Yevgeny Andreyevich Berens]] (24 April 1919 – 5 February 1920),
* [[Aleksandr Nemits|Aleksandr Vasiliyevich Nemits]] (5 February 1920 – 22 November 1921).

'''Commander-in-Chief's Assistant for Naval Affairs (from 27 August 1921)'''

'''Commanders-in-Chief of the Naval Forces of the USSR ("NaMorSi") (from 1 January 1924)'''
* [[Eduard Pantserzhanskiy|Eduard Samoilovich Pantserzhansky]] (22 November 1921 – 9 December 1924),
* [[Vyacheslav Zof|Vyacheslav Ivanovich Zof]] (9 December 1924 – 23 August 1926),
* [[Romuald Muklevich|Romuald Adamovich Muklevich]] (23 August 1926 – 11 June 1931),
* Fleet Flag-officer 1st Rank<ref name="A naval rank from 1935">A naval rank from 1935.</ref> [[Vladimir Mitrofanovich Orlov]] (11 June 1931 – 15 August 1937),
* Fleet Flag-officer 2nd Rank<ref name="A naval rank from 1935"/> [[Lev Galler|Lev Mikhailovich Galler]] (10 July – 15 August 1937) Acting,
* Fleet Flag-officer 1st Rank [[Mikhail Viktorov|Mikhail Vladimirovich Viktorov]] (15 August 1937 – 30 December 1937).

'''[[People's Commissariat of the Navy of the Soviet Union|People's Commissars of the Navy]] ("NarKom VMF USSR") (from 30 December 1937)'''
* Army Commissar 1st Rank [[Pyotr Alexandrovich Smirnov]] (30 December 1937 – 5 November 1938),
* Army Commander 1st Rank [[Mikhail Frinovskiy|Mikhail Petrovich Frinovsky]] (5 November 1938 – 20 March 1939),
* Admiral<ref>Fleet Flag-officer 2nd Rank from 17 January 1938, Admiral (June 1940), Admiral of the Fleet (February 1944), Rear Admiral (1948), Admiral of the Fleet (1953), Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union (March 1955), Vice-Admiral (February 1956), Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union (1988, posthumous).</ref> [[Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov]] (from 27 April 1939).

'''Commanders-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy ("GlavKom VMF") (from 1943)'''
* Fleet Admiral [[Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov]] (to January 1947),
* Admiral [[Ivan Yumashev|Ivan Stepanovich Yumashev]] (17 January 1947 – 20 July 1951),
* Fleet Admiral of the Soviet Union Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov (20 July 1951 – 5 January 1956), second term,
* Fleet Admiral of the Soviet Union [[Sergey Gorshkov|Sergey Georgyevich Gorshkov]] (5 January 1956 – 8 December 1985), considered the officer most responsible for reforming the Soviet Navy,
* Fleet Admiral [[Vladimir Chernavin|Vladimir Nikolayevich Chernavin]] (8 December 1985 – December 1991; CIS Navy through August 1992).

===Chiefs of the General Staff of the Navy===
'''Chief of the Naval General Staff'''
* [[Yevgeny Berens|Behrens, Evgeny Andreevich]] (1 November 1917 – 22 May 1919)
* Vecheslov, Vladimir Stepanovich (wreed, 22 May – 11 September 1919)
* Melentyev, Alexander Nikolaevich (11 September 1919 – 27 August 1921)

'''Chief of Staff of the Commander of the Republic Naval Forces'''
* Radzievsky, Boris Stepanovich (22 July 1919 – 3 July 1920)

'''Chief of Staff of All Republic Maritime Forces'''
* Radzievsky, Boris Stepanovich (3 July 1920 – 11 January 1921)
* Dombrovsky, Alexey Vladimirovich (11 January 1921 – 27 August 1921)

'''Chief of the Naval Staff of the Republic'''
* Dombrovsky, Alexey Vladimirovich (27 August 1921 – 23 December 1923)

'''Chief of Staff of the RKKF'''
* Dombrovsky, Alexey Vladimirovich (23 December 1923 – 17 December 1924)
* [[Georgy Stepanov|Stepanov, Georgy Andreevich]] (wreed, 17 December 1924 – 2 January 1925)
* Blinov, Sergei Pavlovich (17 December 1924 – 31 August 1926)

'''Head of the Training Directorate of the UVMS of the Red Army'''
* Toshakov, Arkady Alexandrovich (31 August 1926 – 23 August 1927, vred until 29 October 1926)
* Petrov, Mikhail Alexandrovich (23 August 1927 – 12 October 1930)
* Ludry, Ivan Martynovich (28 November 1930 – 9 March 1932)
* [[Eduard Pantserzhanskiy|Panzerzhansky, Eduard Samuilovich]] (13 April – 4 October 1932)

'''Head of the 1st Directorate of the UVMS of the Red Army'''
* Gorsky, Mikhail Emelyanovich (4 October 1932 – 20 January 1935)

'''Head of the 2nd Directorate of the UVMS of the Red Army'''
* [[Eduard Pantserzhanskiy|Panzerzhansky, Eduard Samuilovich]] (4 October 1932 – 20 January 1935)

'''Head of the 1st Department of the Red Army Naval Forces Directorate'''
* [[Eduard Pantserzhanskiy|Panzerzhansky, Eduard Samuilovich]] (20 January 1935 – 5 March 1937), 1st rank flagship

'''Chief of Staff of the Red Army Naval Forces'''
* Stasevich, Pavel Grigorievich (20 March – 19 August 1937), Captain 1st Rank
* Kalachev, Vladimir Petrovich (19 August 1937 – 3 February 1938), Captain 1st Rank

'''Chief of the Main Naval Staff of the Navy'''
* Haller, Lev Mikhailovich (10 January 1938 – 23 October 1940), flagship of the 2nd rank fleet
* [[Ivan Isakov|Isakov, Ivan Stepanovich]] (23 October 1940 – 21 April 1945), Admiral, from 1944 Admiral of the Fleet
* Alafuzov, Vladimir Antonovich (Wreed, July 1942 - March 1943), Rear Admiral
* Stepanov, Georgy Andreevich (Wreed, March 1943 - July 1944), Vice Admiral
* Alafuzov, Vladimir Antonovich (Wreed, July 1944 - April 1945), Vice Admiral, from 1944 Admiral
* Kucherov, Stepan Grigorievich (21 April 1945 – 18 February 1946), Admiral

'''Chief of the Main Staff of the Navy'''
* [[Ivan Isakov|Isakov, Ivan Stepanovich]] (18 February 1946 – 19 February 1947), Admiral of the Fleet
* Golovko, Arseny Grigorievich (19 February 1947 – 10 February 1950), Admiral

'''Chief of the Naval General Staff'''
* Golovko, Arseny Grigorievich (10 February 1950 – 6 August 1952), Admiral
* Eliseev, Ivan Dmitrievich (interim, 6 August 1952 – 10 March 1953), Vice Admiral

'''Chief of the General Staff of the Navy'''
* Eliseev, Ivan Dmitrievich (interim, 15 March – 11 May 1953), Vice Admiral
* Fokin, Vitaly Alekseevich (11 May 1953 – 16 March 1955), Vice Admiral, from 1953 Admiral

'''Chief of the Main Staff of the Navy'''
* Fokin, Vitaly Alekseevich (16 March 1955 – 19 February 1958), Admiral
* Zozulya, Fyodor Vladimirovich (19 February 1958 – 25 May 1964), admiral, died on 21 April 1964.
* [[Nikolai Sergeyev (admiral)|Sergeev, Nikolai Dmitrievich]] (13 June 1964 – 1 July 1977), Vice Admiral, Admiral from 1965, Admiral of the Fleet from 1970
* [[Georgy Yegorov|Egorov, Georgy Mikhailovich]] (1 July 1977 – 18 November 1981), Admiral of the Fleet
* [[Vladimir Chernavin|Chernavin, Vladimir Nikolaevich]] (16 December 1981 – 29 November 1985), Admiral of the Fleet
* [[Konstantin Makarov|Makarov, Konstantin Valentinovich]] (30 December 1985 – 12 September 1992), Admiral, since 1989 Admiral of the Fleet

==See also==
{{col-float-begin|style=width:30em}}
* [[Naval history of World War II]]
* [[1966 Soviet submarine global circumnavigation]]
* [[List of ships of the Soviet Navy]]
* [[List of Soviet navy flags]]
* [[List of Russian admirals]]
* [[Soviet naval ballistic systems]]
{{col-float-break|style=width:30em}}
;Fleet of the Soviet Navy
*[[Northern Fleet|Red Banner Northern Fleet]]
*[[Baltic Fleet|Twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet]]
*[[Black Sea Fleet|Red Banner Black Sea]]
*[[Pacific Fleet (Russia)|Red Banner Pacific Fleet]] ([[Soviet Far East]])
*[[Caspian Flotilla|Red Banner Caspian Flotilla]]
*[[5th Operational Squadron|Fifth Eskadra]] ([[Mediterranean Sea]])
*[[8th Operational Squadron|Eight Eskadra]] ([[Indian Ocean]])
*[[17th Operational Squadron|17th Eskadra]] ([[Maritime Southeast Asia|Indochina]])
{{col-float-end}}
==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Goldstein, Lyle; Zhukov, Yuri (2004). [https://web.archive.org/web/20040720020645/http://www.nwc.navy.mil/press/Review/2004/Spring/pdfs/art2-sp04.pdf "A Tale of Two Fleets: A Russian Perspective on the 1973 Naval Standoff in the Mediterranean"]. ''Naval War College Review''.
* Goldstein, Lyle; [[John Hattendorf]]; Zhukov, Yuri. (2005) [http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/jss/2005/00000028/00000002 "The Cold War at Sea: An International Appraisal"]. ''[[Journal of Strategic Studies]]''. ISSN 0140-2390
* Gorshkov, Sergeĭ Georgievich. ''Red Star Rising at Sea'' (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1974)
* {{cite journal|last1=Mawdsley|first1=Evan|year=1990 |title=The Fate of Stalin's Naval Program|journal=Warship International|volume=XXVII |issue=4 |pages=400–405 |issn=0043-0374}}
* Nilsen, Thomas; Kudrik, Igor; Nikitin, Aleksandr (1996). [https://web.archive.org/web/20041210184448/http://bellona.no/en/international/russia/navy/northern_fleet/report_2-1996/11084.html ''Report 2: 1996: The Russian Northern Fleet'']. Oslo/St. Petersburg: [[Bellona Foundation]]. {{ISBN|82-993138-5-6}}. Chapter 8, "Nuclear submarine accidents".
* [[James Oberg|Oberg, James]] (1988). ''[https://www.jamesoberg.com/sub.html Uncovering Soviet Disasters]''. New York: Random House. {{ISBN|0-394-56095-7}}.
* Rohwer, Jürgen, and Mikhail S. Monakov, ''Stalin's Ocean-Going Fleet: Soviet Naval Strategy and Shipbuilding Programmes, 1935–1953'' (Psychology Press, 2001)
* {{cite journal|last1=Sokolov |first1=Alexei Nikolaevich|year=2010|title="Our Ambitious Plans": Soviet Shipbuilding Programs of the Post-war Decades|journal=Warship International|volume=XLVII|issue=3|pages=191–256|issn=0043-0374}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Sokolov|first1=Alexei Nikolaevich|title="Our Ambitious Plans": Soviet Shipbuilding Programs of the Post-war Decades, Part III: 1981–1990 and 1986–1995 |journal=Warship International|date=2012|volume=XLIX|issue=3 |pages=245–269 |issn=0043-0374}}
* Sontag, Sherry; Drew, Christopher; Drew, Annette Lawrence (1998). ''[[Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage]]''. Harper. {{ISBN|0-06-103004-X}}.

==External links==
* [http://rusnavy.com Russian Navy]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051122201633/http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1982/jul-aug/chipman.html Admiral Gorshkov and the Soviet Navy]
* [https://americanhistory.si.edu/subs/const/anatomy/sovietsubs/ Soviet Submarines]
* [https://www.spartacus-educational.com/2WWredN.htm Red Fleet]
* [http://navalstory.com/flags/index.htm Flags & Streamers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623151638/http://navalstory.com/flags/index.htm |date=23 June 2022 }}
* [http://uboat.net/allies/warships/listing.html?navy=USSR Warship Listing]
* [http://milit.ru/ Russian Navy Weapons] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160121162809/http://milit.ru/ |date=21 January 2016 }}
* [https://russianships.info/eng/warships/ All Soviet Warships – Complete Ship List (English)]
* [https://russianships.info/eng/submarines/ All Soviet Submarines – Complete Ship List (English)]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20150918070556/http://merelinc.com/chapters/understanding-soviet-naval-developments Understanding Soviet naval developments. ]}}

{{Navies in Europe}}
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[[Category:Soviet Navy| ]]
[[Category:Military of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Disbanded navies]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1918]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1991]]
[[Category:1918 establishments in Russia]]
[[Category:1991 disestablishments in the Soviet Union]]