“Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov” (referred to in short as Admiral Kuznetsov) is a heavy aircraft carrier that has become a symbol of the power and technical skill of the Soviet fleet. Today, she is the flagship of the Russian Navy and the Northern Fleet. When the initial design was created, the cruiser was named “Soviet Union”, and when the hull was under construction she was known as “Riga”. She was launched as “Leonid Brezhnev” and embarked on sea trials as “Tbilisi”.

The Admiral Kuznetsov was designed and built at the Black Sea Shipyard in the city of Nikolayev (Mykolaiv), which is located on the territory of modern Ukraine. The ship was part of Project 1143, a series of Soviet multipurpose heavy aircraft carriers with missiles designed for operations in the off-shore maritime and ocean zones.

The development of such aircraft carriers with a displacement of up to 35,000 tons began even before the Great Patriotic War. Admiral Nikolay Kuznetsov, who paid considerable attention to the technological modernization of the fleet and in particular the development of aircraft carriers, contributed greatly to their creation. The famous cruiser was named after him. However, the government decree authorizing the design of an anti-submarine cruiser, Project 1143, was not issued until 1968. The cruisers of this series were designed to engage in anti-submarine warfare, as well as to transport aircraft and troops.

The project of the heavy aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov was developed on the basis of the previous heavy aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov. The Admiral Kuznetsov surpasses the Admiral Gorshkov in displacement (58,500 tons compared to 40,000 tons), but has a slightly lower speed — 29 knots compared to 32 knots of the Admiral Gorshkov.

The ship was designed to carry modified Su-27, Su-25 and MiG-29 fighters. The Admiral Kuznetsov was the first ship in the USSR with the hull formed by large blocks up to 1,400 tons in weight. After she was launched in December 1985, the ship was still under construction: the outfitting process began only almost four years later. On September 8, 1989, the crew began settling in, and on October 21, the cruiser embarked on sea trials for further tests.

The Admiral Kuznetsov carrier is currently undergoing an armament upgrade.