the kirov class soviet designation project 1144 orlean c eagle is a class of nuclear-powered
guided missile cruisers of the soviet navy and russian navy the largest and
heaviest surface combatant warships i.e not an aircraft carrier or amphibious assault ship
in operation in the world among modern warships they are second in size only to large aircraft
carriers and of similar size to a world war i era battleship the soviet classification of the
ship type is heavy nuclear powered guided missile cruiser russian tiagiali atomy racinee chrysler
the ships are often referred to as battle cruisers by western defense commentators due to their size
and general appearance the appearance of the kirov class played a key role in the recommissioning of
the iowa class battleships by the united states navy in the 1980s the kirov class hull design
was also used for the soviet nuclear-powered command and control ship ssv 33ural
originally built for the soviet navy the class is named after the first
of a series of four ships constructed admiral ashikov named kirov until 1992.
original plans call for construction of five ships the fifth vessel was planned to be named
fleet admiral of the soviet union kuznetsov also referred as dzerzynski seven the name
was later changed to opti abuscair revolutsiya october revolution eight and then just kuznetsov
nine but on four october 1990 plans for construction of a fifth vessel were abandoned
the lead ship of the class kirov renamed admiral ushakov in 1992 was laid down in june 1973 at
leningrad's baltiski naval shipyard launched on 27 december 1977 and commissioned on 30 december 1980
when she appeared for the first time in 1981 nato observers called her balcom eyed baltic
combatant eye she is currently in reserve kirov suffered a reactor accident in 1990
while serving in the mediterranean sea repairs were never carried out due to lack of funds
and the changing political situation in the soviet union in 1983 a command and control
ship ssv 33 ural was launched although the ship would not be officially commissioned until 1980
she utilized the basic hull design of the cure of class vessels but with a modified superstructure
different armament and was intended for a different role within the soviet navy
ural was decommissioned and laid up in 2001 due to high operating costs and scrapped starting in 2010
franz the second vessel in the class was commissioned in 1984.
she was assigned to the pacific fleet in 1992 she was renamed admiral lazer the ship became
inactive in 1994 and was decommissioned four years later on 21 february 2021 the russian armed forces
and the russian state atomic energy corporation ross adam signed a contract to dismantle and
scrap the nuclear-powered heavy cruiser admiral lazer set sail 30 april 2021 for 30th shipyard
dismantlement should be completed by 30 november 2025. kalinin now admiral nakhimov
was the third ship to enter service in 1988. she was also assigned to the northern fleet
renamed admiral nakhimov in 1992 she was muffled in 1999 and reactivated in 2005.
she is undergoing overhaul and modernization at several vinsk shipyard construction of the
fourth ship yuri andropov encountered many delays her construction was started in 1986
but was not commissioned until 1998. she was renamed piotr veliky after peter the great
in 1992 she currently serves as the flagship of the russia's northern fleet