Black Sea Fleet

Black Sea Fleet sleeve ensign

Navies of Russia
Imperial Russia Navy (1696–1917) Soviet Union Soviet Navy (1917–1991) Russian Federation Russian Navy (1991–Present[update])

The Black Sea Fleet (Russian: Черноморский Флот) is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian (and formerly Soviet) Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

It is considered to have been founded by Prince Potemkin on May 13, 1783, together with its principal base, the city of Sevastopol. It defeated the Turks in 1790, fought the Ottomans during World War I, the Romanians during World War II, and the Georgians during the 2008 South Ossetia war.

History

Black Sea Fleet after the Battle of Sinop in 1853

Imperial Russia

The Black Sea Fleet is considered to have been founded by Prince Potemkin on May 13, 1783, together with its principal base, the city of Sevastopol. Formerly commanded by such legendary admirals as Dmitriy Senyavin and Pavel Nakhimov, it is a fleet of enormous historical and political importance for Russia. In 1790, Russian naval forces under the command of Admiral Fyodor Ushakov defeated the Turkish fleet at the Battle of Kerch Strait.^[1]

From 1841 onward, the fleet was confined to the Black Sea by the London Straits Convention.

As a result of the Crimean War, one provision of the Treaty of Paris was that the Black Sea was to be a demilitarized zone like the Island of Åland in the Baltic Sea, although Russia subsequently renounced the treaty and reconstituted its naval strength and fortifications in the Black Sea.

The crew of the battleship Potemkin revolted in 1905 soon after the Navy's defeat in the Russo-Japanese War. Lenin wrote that the Potemkin uprising had had a huge importance in terms of being the first attempt at creating the nucleus of a revolutionary army.

During World War I, there were a number of encounters between the Russian and Ottoman navies in the Black Sea. The Ottomans initially had the advantage due to their having under command the German battleship SMS Goeben, but after the two modern Russian dreadnoughts Imperatritsa Mariya and Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya had been built in Nikolayev, the Russians took command of the sea until the Russian government collapsed in November 1917. German submarines of the Constantinople Flotilla and Turkish light forces would continue to raid and harass Russian shipping until the war's end.

Soviet Navy

During the Russian Civil War, the vast majority of the Black Sea Fleet was scuttled or interned by the Western Allies (see Wrangel's fleet). A few ships were salvaged in the 1920s and a large scale new construction programme began in the 1930s.

The Fleet was commanded by Vice Admiral F.S. Oktyabrskiy on the outbreak of war with Germany in June 1941. The Fleet gave a credible account of itself, along with the Red Army forces that fought alongside it, during the Siege of Odessa and the Battle of Sevastopol.^[2] (See Black Sea Campaigns (1941–44) for more details.)

In the later post-war period, along with the Northern Fleet, the Black Sea Fleet provided ships for the 5th Operational Squadron (ru:5-я Средиземноморская эскадра кораблей ВМФ) in the Mediterranean, which confronted the United States Navy during the Arab-Israeli wars, notably during the Yom Kippur War in 1973.^[3]

However, its military importance has degraded since the collapse of the Soviet Union, due to significant funding cuts and, to a degree, the loss of its major missions.

Earlier, Turkey's decision to join NATO (putting the Bosporus Strait under Western control) and the invention of long-range nuclear weapons had dramatically decreased the strategic value of any naval activity in the Black Sea. The fleet has been free of nuclear weapons since the early 1990s.

However, recent local conflicts in the Caucasus region (particularly in Georgia), which obliged Moscow to mobilise the Black Sea Fleet off the coast of Georgia, and the development of oil transit in the region are forcing Russia to support the fleet as much as possible.^{[citation needed]}

Monument to Heroes of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet Squadron 1941–1944 in Sevastopol, featuring the list of 28 military ships that distinguished themselves in battles with Nazi invaders

Partition of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet

In 1992, the major part of the personnel, armaments and coastal facilities of the Fleet fell under formal jurisdiction of the newly independent Ukraine as they were situated on Ukrainian territory. Later, the Ukrainian government ordered the establishment of its own Ukrainian Navy based on the Black Sea Fleet; several ships and ground formations declared themselves Ukrainian.

However, this immediately led to conflicts with the majority of officers who appeared to be loyal to Russia. Simultaneously, pro-Russian separatist groups became active in the local politics of Ukraine's Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the Sevastopol municipality where the major naval bases were situated, and started coordinating their efforts with pro-Moscow seamen.

Joint Fleet and its partition

To ease the tensions, the two governments signed an interim treaty, establishing a joint Russo-Ukrainian Black Sea Fleet under bilateral command (and Soviet Navy flag) until a full-scale partition agreement could be reached. Formally, the Fleet's Commander was to be appointed by a joint order of the two countries' Presidents. However, Russia still dominated the Fleet unofficially, and a Russian admiral was appointed as Commander; the majority of the fleet personnel adopted Russian citizenship. Minor tensions between the Fleet and the new Ukrainian Navy (such as electricity cut-offs and sailors' street-fighting) continued.

Some major ships (including the flagship) of the Soviet and Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, August 2007

In 1997, Russia and Ukraine signed the Partition Treaty, establishing two independent national fleets and dividing armaments and bases between them.^[4] Ukraine also agreed to lease major parts of its new bases to the Russian Black Sea Fleet until 2017. However, the treaty appeared to be far from perfect: permanent tensions on the lease details (including often reported issue of lighthouses) control continued. The Fleet's main base is still situated in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol. However, the Yushchenko Ukrainian government declared that the lease will not be extended and that the fleet will have to leave Sevastopol by 2017.^[5]

Georgia in the Fleet partition

The newly independent nation of Georgia, which also hosted several bases of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet when it was the Georgian SSR, also claimed a share of the Fleet, including 32 naval vessels formerly stationed at Georgia's Black Sea port of Poti. Not a CIS member at that time, Georgia was not, however, included in the initial negotiations in January 1992. Additionally, some low-importance bases situated in the Russian-backed breakaway autonomy of Abkhazia soon escaped any Georgian control. In 1996, Georgia resumed its demands, and the Russian refusal to allot Georgia a portion of the ex-Soviet navy became another bone of contention in the progressively deteriorating Georgian-Russian relations. This time, Ukraine endorsed Tbilisi's claims, turning over several patrol boats to the Georgian Navy and starting to train Georgian crews, but was unable to include in the final fleet deal a transfer of the formerly Poti-based vessels to Georgia.^[6] Later, the rest of the Georgian share was decided to be ceded to Russia in return for diminution of debt.

Since the 2008 South Ossetia war Russian military officials refused to let the Black Sea Fleet take part in any joint naval exercises involving Georgian warships.^[7] However, such a statement has little meaning since the Georgian Navy has ceased to exist (early 2009 it was merged with the Georgian coast guard).^[8]

Russia is technically a member of the Black Sea Naval Co-operation Task Group.

Combat operations

Russia mobilised part of the fleet during the 2008 Georgian conflict. Russian units operating off Georgia's separatist Abkhazia region resulted in a reported skirmish with the Georgian Navy unconfirmed by Georgia. As a result, Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko announced that the Black Sea Fleet would henceforth need permission to cross the Ukrainian border to enter and leave to Sevastopol, to which a Russian admiral retorted that the President of the Russian Federation and not Ukraine commands the Black Sea Fleet.^{[citation needed]} Yushchenko's announcement was without force and deployed units of the Russian Black Sea Fleet returned to their home moorings without incident.

Black Sea Fleet and Ukraine

As a consequence of Ukraine's Yushchenko government announcing that the lease of Russian naval bases on the Crimea will not be extended beyond 2017,^[9][10] the Russian Black Fleet initiated the expansion of its base in Novorossiysk. In July 2007, the Navy Commander announced that the new base will be ready in 2012.^[11] Under the 1997 bilateral treaty, Russia paid $98 million annually and the treaty provided for an extension by mutual agreement. Russian officials have repeatedly said they would like to extend the lease.^[12][13][14]

In June 2009, the head of the Ukrainian Security Service said that after December 13, 2009, all officers from the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) represented at the (Russian) Black Sea Fleet must leave Ukraine, from then the Security Service of Ukraine will ensure the security of the (Russian) Black Sea Fleet and Russian sailors on Ukrainian territory.^[15] According to the Russian Foreign Ministry the employees of the FSB, who are working at the Black Sea Fleet facilities, are staying on the Ukrainian territory "in line with bilateral agreements".^[16]

In October–November 2009, the (Russian) Black Sea Fleet complained about inspection of (non-boat) transport vehicles owned by the fleet by the Sevastopol State Auto Inspectorate and Ukrainian security officers, calling them "disrespect for the status of the Russian military units and an unfriendly step aimed at worsening the Russian-Ukrainian relations".^[17][18]

On April 21, 2010, Ukrainian President Yanukovych and Russian President Medvedev reached an agreement whereby the Russian lease on naval facilities in Crimea would be extended beyond 2017 by 25 years with an additional 5 year renewal option (to 2042–47) in exchange for a multiyear discounted contract to provide Ukraine with Russian natural gas.^[19][20] This deal is controversial in Ukraine.^{[21][22][23][24][25]}

Joint exercises of the Ukrainian Navy and the (Russian) Black Sea Fleet may be resumed after a seven-year interval in June 2010.^[26]

In 2010, Russian military counterintelligence officers from the Russian Federal Security Service will return to the (Russian) Black Sea Fleet base.^[27]

While a Yushchenko administration minister said that Russia cannot unilaterally replace its Black Sea Fleet ships without Ukraine's consent,^[28] the recent lease extension also revalidated the agreements of 1997. Those agreements stipulate that the Russian Black Sea Fleet can maintain the same numbers and types of ships that it had based in Sevastopol as a result of the 1997 fleet division without approval by Ukraine. This stipulation permits Russia to increase the current current size of the fleet which has fallen below those numbers.^[29]

Additions of ships to the Fleet

Repeated and sometimes contradictory announcements have been made claiming that new ships will join the fleet. On December 3, 2009, First Vice Mayor of Sevastopol Vladimir Kazarin stated that Russia's Black Sea Fleet could lose its combat capability, given a small number of ships and the absence of new ones.^[30] Similar doubts has given by the Russian media. The Gazeta newspaper notes that by 2015 the majority of the warships would no longer be fit for duty.^[31]

Russian Navy sources say that up to four frigates and four diesel-electric submarines will be added to the Black Sea Fleet by 2015.^[32] Reportedly the lead ship of the Admiral Sergey Gorshkov class frigate class and the fourth Lada class submarine are planned to join the fleet.^{[citation needed]} These vessels will partially replace the reported decommissioning of Kerch, Ochakov, several large support ships, and a diesel-electric submarine.

In June 2010, Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky announced that Russia was reviewing plans for the naval modernization of the Black sea fleet. The plans include 15 new warships and submarines by 2020.^[33][34]

Sources from Russian Navy HQ have said that by 2020 six frigates of Project 22350 Gorshkov-class, six submarines of Project 677 Lada class, two large landing ships of Project 11711 Ivan Gren-class and four unspecified ships of another project will be delivered. Due to the obsolescence of Beriev Be-12 by 2015 they will be replaced with Il-38s. Su-24M are planned be upgraded to Su-24M2 at the same time.^[35][36][37]

The Project 636.3 (Kilo-class) diesel-electric submarine Novorossiysk — the first of three such new submarines — laid down at Admiralty Wharves Shipyard, St. Petersburg, on August 20, 2010 is destined to serve in the Black Sea Fleet.^[38] Navy sources also say that Project 11356 Grigorovich class frigate will be despatched to the Black Sea. ^[39] Admiral Grigorovich, the lead ship of project, was laid down on December 18, 2010 and is expected to be in service 34 months from that date (Oct 2013). Three ships of this class are to be in service in the Black Sea Fleet before 2015.^[40]

Incidents with Ukraine

The Russian Black Sea Fleet's use of leased facilities in Sevastopol and the Crimea has been controversial. A number of incidents involving official and unofficial Ukrainian individuals and groups have taken place:

• A lighthouse is located on the headland, which from 2005, was the subject of a controversy between Ukraine and Russia. From August 3, 2005, the lighthouse is occupied by the Russian Army.^[41] Not paying attention to the ruling of the Government Court in Sevastopol on the subject of the return of 77 geographical objects to Ukraine (including the lighthouse on Sarych), Russian military officials referred to the fact that they only subordinate to the chief of the Russian Navy headquarters and no one else. The Ukrainian public activists state that Sarych is illegally occupied by the Russian Navy.^[42] As a military object, the territory around the Sarych headland is closed to trespassers with barbed wire with the Russian flag flying above Sarych.^[43]

• In 2006, Ukrainian officials prevented Russian workers from entering the Black Sea Fleet lighthouse in Yalta.^{[citation needed]}

• During the 2008 South Ossetia War, the Ukrainian Navy was ordered to block the entrance of Russian vessels taking part in hostilities to Sevastopol.^[44] However, Russian Navy ships returned to base unimpeded.

• June 20, 2009 — In Sevastopol, an incident again took place involving the Black Sea Fleet. In 2007, the administration of this organization was contracted by some 200 citizens of Sevastopol to build four several stories residential buildings. The job was never finished although the financial aspect of the contract was fulfilled as it was a prepaid venture. At this time, there are only two buildings that are only finished at 95% as stated in the local newspaper Novyi Sevastopol. The protesters are being simply kicked out by force without any intention to regulate the conflict. The protesters also sent a letters to the President and the Prime-Minister of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin, and also to the Minister of Defense of Russia, Anatoliy Serdyukov. Those attempts brought no results. UNIAN

• On August 27, 2009, Ukrainians identifying themselves as bailiffs were detained when they attempted to seize a Russian lighthouse. Russia states that Ukrainians may not step onto its bases without permission.^[45]

Fleet Commanders

#	Rank	Name	Year
#	VADM	Fedot A. Klokachev	1783
#	VADM	Yakov F. Sukhotin	1784–1785
#	RADM	Nikolay Mordvinov	1785–1789
#	RADM	Marko I. Voynovich	1789–1790
#	RADM	Fyodor Ushakov	1790–1792
#	ADM	Nikolay Mordvinov	1792–1799
#	ADM	Vilim Fondezin	1799–1802
#	ADM	Ivan I. deTravers	1802–1811
#	ADM	Roman R. Gall	1811
#	VADM	Nikolay L. Yazykov	1811–1816
#	ADM	Aleksey S. Greyg	1816–1833
#	ADM	Mikhail Lazarev	1834–1851
#	ADM	Verkh	1851–
#	ADM	Aleksandr Menshikov	1854–1855
#
#	ADM	Nikolay A. Arkas	1871–1881
#	ADM	Mikhail P. Manganari	1881–1882
#	VADM	Aleksey A. Peshchurov	1882–1890
#	RADM	Roman A. Grenkvist	1890
#	VADM	Nikolay V. Kopytov	1891–1898
#	VADM	Evgeniy I. Alekseyev	1898
#	VADM	Sergey P. Tyrtov	1898–1903
#	VADM	Yakov A. Giltebrandt	1903
#	VADM	Nikolay I. Skrydlov	1903–1904
#	VADM	Aleksandr Kh. Kriger	1904
#	VADM	Grigoriy P. Chukhnin	1904–1906
#	RADM	Ivan K. Grigorovich	1906
#	VADM	Nikolay I. Skrydlov	1906–1907
#	RADM	Genrikh F. Tsyvinskiy	1907
#	RADM	Robert N. Viren	1907–1908
#	VADM	Ivan F. Bostrem	1908–1909
#	VADM	Vladimir S. Sarnavskiy	1909–1911
#	VADM	Ivan F. Bostrem	1911
#	RADM	Pavel I. Novitskiy	1911
#	VADM	Andrey A. Ehbergard	1911- Jun 1916
#	VADM	Aleksandr V. Kolchak	Jun 1916 – Jun 1917
Acting	RADM	Veniamin K. Lukin	Jun 1917 – Jul 1917
#	RADM	Aleksandr V. Nemitts	Jul 1917 – Dec 1917
#
#	RADM	Aleksey V. Dombrovskiy	May 1920 – Oct 1920
#	VADM	Ehduard S. Pantserzhanskiy	Nov 1920 – Nov 1921
#	Ship Division Cmdr.	Andrey S. Maksimov	Nov 1921 – Jul 1922
#	Ship Division Cmdr.	Aleksandr Vekman	Jul 1922 – May 1924
#	Ship Division Cmdr.	Mikhail V. Viktorov	May 1924 – Dec 1924
#	FLTCMDR	Ehduard S. Pantserzhanskiy	Dec 1924 – Oct 1926
#	FLTCMDR	Vladimir M. Orlov	Oct 1926 – Jun 1931
#	FLTCMDR	Ivan K. Kozhanov	Jun 1931 – Aug 1937
#	FFO2	Petr I. Svetlovskiy (Smirnov)	Aug 1937 – Dec 1937
#	ADM	Ivan S. Yumashev	1938 – Mar 1939
#	VADM	Filipp Oktyabrsky	Mar 1939 – Apr 1943
#	VADM	Lev A. Vladimirskiy	Apr 1943 – Mar 1944
#	VADM	Filipp Oktyabrsky	Mar 1944 – Nov 1948
#	ADM	Nikolay E. Basistyy	Nov 1948 – Aug 1951
#	VADM	Sergey G. Gorshkov	Aug 1951 – Jul 1955
#	VADM	Viktor A. Parkhomenko	Jul 1955 – Dec 1955
#	ADM	Vladimir Kasatonov	Dec 1955 – Feb 1962
#	ADM	Serafim E. Chursin	Feb 1962 – Dec 1968
#	ADM	Viktor Sysoyev	Dec 1968 – Mar 1974
#	ADM	Nikolay Khovrin	Mar 1974 – April 1983
#	ADM	Aleksey Kalinin	Apr 1983 – Jul 1985
#	ADM	Mikhail Khronopulo	Jul 1985 – Oct 1991
#	ADM	Igor Kasatonov	Oct 1991 – Dec 1992
#	ADM	Ehduard Baltin	Dec 1992 – Feb 1996
#	ADM	Viktor Kravchenko	Feb 1996 – Jul 1998
#	ADM	Vladimir Komoyedov	Jul 1998 – Oct 2002
#	ADM	Vladimir Masorin	Oct 2002 – Feb 2005
#	ADM	Aleksandr Tatarinov	Feb 2005 – Jul 2007
#	VADM	Aleksandr Kletskov	Jul 2007 – Jul 2010
#	VADM	Vladimir Korolev	Jul 2010 – Jun 2011
#	RADM	Aleksandr Fedotenkov	Jun 2011 – present

List of Black Sea Fleet ships

30th Surface Ship Division

11th Anti-submarine Ship Brigade

#	Type	Name	Class	Year	Status
121	Guided Missile Cruiser	Moskva	Slava	1983	Active
713	Large ASW Ship	Kerch	Kara	1974	Scheduled to be decommissioned in 2010/2011
707	Large ASW Ship	Ochakov	Kara	1973	Not active, to be decommissioned in 2010
810	Guided Missile Destroyer	Smetlivy	Kashin	1969	Active as of 2011[46]
801	Guided Missile Frigate	Ladnyy	Krivak-class frigate	1978
808	Guided Missile Frigate	Pytlivyy	Krivak-class frigate	1979

197th Assault Ship Brigade

#	Type	Name	Class	Year
152	Landing Ship	Nikolay Filchenkov	Alligator	1975
148	Landing Ship	Orsk	Alligator	1968
150	Landing Ship	Saratov	Alligator	1966
151	Landing Ship	Azov	Ropucha-II	1990
142	Landing Ship	Novocherkassk	Ropucha-I	1987
158	Landing Ship	Tsezar Kunikov	Ropucha-I	1986
156	Landing Ship	Yamal	Ropucha-I	1988

247th Independent Submarine Division

#	Type	Name	Class	Year	Base	Status
554	Diesel Attack Submarine	Alrosa (B-871)	Kilo	1990	Sevastopol	Active
572	Diesel Attack Submarine	Svyatoy Knyaz Georgiy (B-380)	Tango	1982[47]	Sevastopol	Out of service, will be decommissioned [36]

68th Coastal Defense Ship Brigade

400th Antisubmarine Ship Division

#	Type	Name	Class	Year
059	ASW Corvette	Alexandrovets	Grisha I	1982
053	ASW Corvette	Povorino	Grisha III	1989
071	ASW Corvette	Suzdalets	Grisha III	1983
064	ASW Corvette	Muromets	Grisha III	1983
060	ASW Corvette	Vladimirets	Project 11451 / Mukha-class	1984

418th Minesweeper Division

#	Type	Name	Class	Year
913	Seagoing Minesweeper	Kovrovets	Natya I	1974
911	Seagoing Minesweeper	Ivan Golubets	Natya I	1973
912	Seagoing Minesweeper	Turbinist	Natya I	1972
909	Seagoing Minesweeper	Vice Admiral Zhukov	Natya I	1977

41st Missile Boat Brigade

166th Novorossiysk Small Missile Boat Division

#	Type	Name	Class	Year
615	Guided Missile Corvette	Bora	Dergach	1988
616	Guided Missile Corvette	Samum	Dergach	1991
620	Guided Missile Corvette	Shtyl	Nanuchka-III	1976
617	Guided Missile Corvette	Mirazh	Nanuchka-III	1983

295th Sulinsk Missile Boat Division

#	Type	Name	Class	Year
966	Missile Boat	R-44	Matka Mod	disc
955	Missile Boat	R-60	Tarantul-III Mod	1985
962	Missile Boat	R-71	Tarantul-II Mod	1985
952	Missile Boat	R-109	Tarantul-III	1991
953	Missile Boat	R-239	Tarantul-III	1991
954	Missile Boat	Ivanovets	Tarantul-III	1988

184th Novorossiysk Coastal Defense Brigade

#	Type	Name	Class	Year
054	Small Antisubmarine Ship	Eysk	Grisha-III	1987
055	Small Antisubmarine Ship	Kasimov	Grisha-III	1984
901	Seagoing Minesweeper	Zheleznyakov	Gorya-class	1988
770	Seagoing Minesweeper	Valentin Pikul'	Natya I Mod	2001
426	Base Minesweeper	Mineralnyye Vody	Sonya-class	1990
438	Base Minesweeper	Leytenant Ilyin	Sonya-class	1982

Black Sea Naval Infantry and Coastal Defense Force

11th Independent Coastal Missile-Artillery Brigade
Anapa, Krasnodar region

3x K-300P Bastion-P anti-ship missile system ^[48]

810th Naval Infantry Brigade
382nd Independent Naval Infantry Battalion

Black Sea Fleet Naval Air Force – HQ Sevastopol

Main article: Russian Naval Aviation

• Status in 2010 ^[35][36]
  • 25th Independent Anti-submarine Helicopter Regiment - HQ at Kacha, Crimea - ~20 helicopters of types Ka-27 and Mi-14
  • 917th Independent Composite Air Regiment - HQ at Kacha, Crimea - ~10x Antonov transport aircraft of types An-2, An-12 and An-26; 4x Be-12; ~10x Mi-8
  • 43rd Independent Naval Shturmovik (Assault) Air Squadron - HQ at Gvardeyskoye, Crimea - 18x Su-24M; 4x Su-24MR;

See also

• Crimean anti-NATO protests of 2006

References

1. ^ Black Sea Fleet (BSF) Morskoyo Flota (Naval Force)
2. ^ John Erickson, The Road to Stalingrad, Cassel Military Paperbacks, 2003, p.205
3. ^ On Airpower.org, Military Thought article on Soviet Mediterranean squadron air defence, accessed 30 May 2008
4. ^ Subtelny, Orest (2000). Ukraine: A History. University of Toronto Press. p. 600. ISBN 0-8020-8390-0. 
5. ^ http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-274818.html
6. ^ Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (opt, mozilla, unix,english,,new) Newsline. Vol. 1, No. 42, Part I, 30 May 1997
7. ^ Russia's Black Sea Fleet rules out joint drills with Georgia, UNIAN (June 17, 2009)
8. ^ Navy to Merge with Coast Guard, FINANCIAL (December 3, 2008)
9. ^ Russia denies naval bases report, BBC News (January 16, 2009)
10. ^ Yulia Tymoshenko: Russian Black Sea Fleet will not remain in Crimea, Personal web site of Yulia Tymoshenko (June 25, 2009)
11. ^ Moscow News – News – Russia's New Black Sea Base Complete by 2012
12. ^ Russia hopes to keep naval base in Ukraine, Reuters, (July 14, 2009)
13. ^ Kremlin promises new Black Sea Fleet base by 2016, Reuters, (July 14, 2009)
14. ^ Russia fleet 'may leave Ukraine', BBC News, (October 18, 2008)
15. ^ All FSB officers working at Russian Black Sea Fleet must leave Ukraine –SBU, UNIAN (June 17, 2009)
16. ^ Russia says FSB to stay in Crimea, UNIAN (June 18, 2009)
17. ^ Black Sea Fleet: Black Sea Fleet concerned by checks by Ukrainian security agencies, Kyiv Post (October 14, 2009)
18. ^ Russian Black See Fleet slams Ukraine authorities over trucks incident, Kyiv Post (November 3, 2009)
19. ^ ITAR-TASS 21.04.2010 17:13
20. ^ Deal Struck on Gas, Black Sea Fleet, The Moscow Times (April 21, 2010)
21. ^ Russia, Ukraine agree on naval-base-for-gas deal, CNN (April 21, 2010)
22. ^ Our Ukraine: Yanukovych should be impeached, Kyiv Post (April 21, 2010)
23. ^ Ukrainian parliament ratifies agreement extending Russian Black Sea Fleet's presence in Crimea, Kyiv Post (April 27, 2010)
24. ^ Oppositional deputies throw eggs in Lytvyn, Kyiv Post (April 27, 2010)
25. ^ Police clash with protesters in front of Ukrainian parliament, Kyiv Post (April 27, 2010)
26. ^ "Russia and Ukraine resume joint naval exercises". Voice of Russia. 16 April 2010. http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/04/16/6503071.html. Retrieved 22 April 2010. 
27. ^ Russian counterintelligence officers to return to Sevastopol, Kyiv Post (May 12, 2010)
28. ^ Ukrainian minister: Russia cannot unilaterally replace Black Sea Fleet ships, Kyiv Post (April 28, 2010)
29. ^ Russia-Ukraine Agreement on the Division of the Black Sea Fleet, May 1977
30. ^ Sevastopol official: Black Sea Fleet risks to lose combat capability by 2017, Kyiv Post (December 3, 2009)
31. ^ http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20100403/158417122.html
32. ^ Globalsecurity.org, Russia plans to upgrade Black Sea Fleet with new warships, 13 April 2010
33. ^ http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100623/159538260.html
34. ^ http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20100625/159576417.html
35. ^ ^{a b} http://flot.com/news/navy/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=56395
36. ^ ^{a b c} http://rusnavy.com/news/newsofday/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=10601
37. ^ http://rusnavy.com/news/navy/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=10637
38. ^ http://www.deepstorm.ru/DeepStorm.files/on_1992/636/list.htm
39. ^ http://rusnavy.com/news/navy/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=10703
40. ^ "RIA Novosti: a new frigate is laid down in Kaliningrad for the Russian Navy (in Russian)". RIA Novosti. December 18, 2010. http://www.rian.ru/defense_safety/20101218/310453755.html. 
41. ^ "The owner of the "sarych" lighthouse came back with a blank document to the President of Ukraine" (in Ukrainian). CPCFPU. http://cpcfpu.org.ua/projects/foreignpolicy/headlines/security/internal/2302/. Retrieved February 24, 2007. 
42. ^ "Access to Ukrainians is prohibited." (in Ukrainian). Zakryta Zona. Archived from the original on March 10, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070310131212/http://www.zakrytazona.tv/ua/programs/pershiy-viddil/teksti/service/ukrayintsyam-vhid-zaboroneno/. Retrieved February 24, 2007. 
43. ^ ""Sarych" was surrounded with a barbed wire and had a Russian flag flying above it" (in Ukrainian). Korrespondent. February 10 2006. http://www.korespondent.net/main/47225. 
44. ^ http://www.rt.com/Politics/2010-03-18/crimea-black-sea-fleet.html
45. ^ http://www.rt.com/Top_News/2009-08-27/sevastopol-black-sea-fleet.html
46. ^ http://rusnavy.com/news/navy/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=13499
47. ^ Only submarine of Russian Black Sea Fleet to be repaired by late July, Kyiv Post (July 1, 2010)
48. ^ http://rusnavy.com/news/navy/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=11270

Further reading

• Simonsen, Sven Gunnar (June 2000). ""You take your oath only once:" Crimea, The Black Sea Fleet, and national identity among Russian officers". Nationalities Papers 28 (2): 289–316. doi:10.1080/713687467. 

External links

• Russia – Ukraine Lease agreement
• Unofficial site (English version)
• History of the Black Sea Fleet during WWII (in Russian)
• Narodny Oglyadach reports on morale situation in Russian naval base in Sevastopol
• (Ukrainian) KOРАБЛІ УKРАЇНСЬKOЇ ФЛOТИ (1917–1918 рр.) – Ukrainian Navy (1917–1918)
• Ukrainian Navy: ferial excursions into the past and present
• Ukraine – Historical Naval Flags (1918)