Once, Russia’s Admiral Kuznetsov was the pride of its navy, the crown jewel of a country’s ambitions to project naval power and showcase technological prowess. Commissioned in 1985 and brought into full commission during the early 1990s, it was designed to make Soviet—and subsequently Russian—power felt on the world’s seas. But most of its existence has been spent idled in port, beset by chronic mechanical issues, fires, and rising costs of repair that have prolonged a dark shadow over its storied history.
Right from the beginning, Kuznetsov has been a ship of compromises. Unlike other top navies’ nuclear-powered carriers, it consumes mazut, a tar-like, heavy fuel that is wasteful, sloppy, and hard on engines. The result is those long strings of black smoke that follow it wherever it goes, both an environmental hazard and an unmistakable warning to onlookers.
Its propulsion system proved unreliable, having stranded the carrier more frequently than not, and tugboats are a permanent escort when it does have to be moved. Recurring mechanical breakdowns, from electrical malfunctions to power failures, have kept workers running around the clock just to get it operational.
Operationally, the carrier’s track record is less a string of successes than one of accidents. In a 2016 deployment near Syria, Kuznetsov had lost several aircraft—albeit not to enemy fire, but as a result of faulty arrestor cables and outmoded launch systems. The losses revealed the ship’s weakness in safely handling aircraft.
Toss structural corrosion and design shortcuts into the equation, and some maintenance teams have literally raised an eyebrow regarding whether the carrier would survive a catastrophic accident. Indeed, foreign observers have tracked Kuznetsov not so much as a potential threat but rather in fear that it would actually sink.
Efforts to modernize the vessel have often derailed. In 2017, Kuznetsov went into dry dock in Murmansk for long-overdue upgrades, only to have the effort repeatedly delayed. In 2018, the floating dock itself sank suddenly, crashing a crane on the deck and causing extensive damage.
Fires aboard the vessel have flared multiple times since, some with fatal consequences, further delaying progress. Repair schedules have slipped again and again, and reports suggest that work may have stalled altogether as military leaders debate whether the ship is worth the effort and expense.
The problems extend beyond maintenance. Keeping Kuznetsov operational raises larger questions about the role of aircraft carriers in the modern era. The Ukrainian conflict has sucked money out of the system, redirected funds to land warfare, and complicated procuring parts under sanctions. Redeployment of some of the crew members to the front lines is even being done.
In the Navy, skepticism is increasing about the usefulness of carriers in a world that is becoming more missile- and drone-dominated. Ex-Pacific Fleet commander Admiral Sergei Avakyants has labeled carriers “relics” and has advocated for a transition to unmanned systems.
While official documents continue to include carriers for the Northern and Pacific Fleets, no new construction is underway, and the prospect of Kuznetsov returning to service becomes increasingly remote with each year. Its long, painful history is now a mirror of the general problems within Russia’s navy: out-of-date infrastructure, few resources, and an industrial sector eroded by continuing conflict and budget restrictions.
While the rest of the world continues to grow and upgrade its carrier fleets, Russia will soon have to dispose of its only aircraft carrier permanently. If that’s the case, Admiral Kuznetsov will be remembered as a cautionary warning—a vision of grandeur undermined by technical shortcomings, fiscal constraints, and the shifting needs of 21st-century naval warfare.
