Admiral Kuznetsov: How Russia’s Only Aircraft Carrier Became a Floating Disaster

National Security Journal ^ | 7/29/2025 | Robert Farley

[whyilovetexas111]

The Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia’s only aircraft carrier, is likely headed for the scrapyard after a disastrous career. Plagued by mishaps, including a fire, a crane collapsing on its deck, and the sinking of its drydock, the carrier has been out of service since 2017. With its crew reportedly transferred to fight in Ukraine and the Russian economy strained by war, the Kremlin can no longer afford the “albatross.”

[whyilovetexas111]

This thing is a total mess.

[chajin]

The only areas a Russian aircraft carrier would easily protect would be the Baltic sea or the Sea of Okhotsk; probably not worth the trouble, given all the other ways those two relatively small bodies of water can be protected.

[TexasGunLover]

When you cover as much geographical area as Russia and have allies in all continents, you don’t need a blue water navy in modern times.

[redfreedom]

“you don’t need a blue water navy in modern times.”

I disagree. Any nation with overseas interests needs a blue water navy to defend those interests. Russia may not need an aircraft carrier, but the rest of the fleet they do need. And nuke missile capable subs they need just as much as we do.

It’s actually dangerous for them to get rid of their whole blue water navy, for that leaves only planes and missiles to defend the homeland against overseas aggressors. Here we are talking nukes. No one in their right mind wants to corner Russia with their nukes.

[tlozo]

Admiral Kuznetsov: How Russia’s Only Aircraft Carrier Became a Floating Disaster

Showing Russian decline, vs China who has two active carriers, the Liaoning and Shandong, with the third, Fujian, currently undergoing sea trials.

[EQAndyBuzz]

“No one in their right mind wants to corner Russia with their nukes.”

They don’t even know if their nukes work.

[DownInFlames]

Do you really want to find out?

[MichaelRDanger]

It was doomed the day they named it “Cuts Nuts Off”... :)

[Srednik]

Srednik has something to offer on this occasion. To translate and quote from the Imperial Russian naval song “The Brave Varyag,”

‘No inscription, no memorial stone, no cross marks the resting place of the brave [Kutznestsov].

Only the waves mark the grave of the glory of the heroic Russian fleet.’

In the modern sense, it was not the Imperial Japanese Navy that did in this “aircraft carrier” as it did the Varyag, but rather a corrupt, non-competitive, and nepotistic party industrial complex.

What we see in Vladolf Putler’s feudal land is not traditionally Russian. It is thoroughly a “Chekhist” (secret police) state — a sort of time machine yanking the longsuffering Russian people back into its Stalinist nightmare. Oh, and Iosef Visarionovich Dzhugashvilii (Stalin) was Georgian, not Russian. Ironies of ironies.

[sloanrb]

Even though Russia has experience with nuclear powered ships they decided to make the Admiral Kuznetsov run off of a very low grade fuel oil called Mazut.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazut

This stuff is so bad that whenever it burns it leaves an oily residue that coats the ship and the sailors. Only Iran and a few former Soviet republics burn this stuff. It is the absolute dregs of petroleum refining.

This is what happens when you have a drunken communist design your aircraft carrier.

[BroJoeK]

"When you cover as much geographical area as Russia and have allies in all continents, you don’t need a blue water navy in modern times."

Russians have always maintained a blue water submarine force, and even larger numbers of relatively quiet non-nuclear subs for coastal defense.
Even combined, Russia's numbers of modern subs do not match the US all-nuclear submarines, however, when also combined with China's rapidly expanding, and increasingly capable submarines, they can achieve numerical (if not yet technological) superiority in the Western Pacific.

Russia's surface fleet, while huge in terms of numbers, is almost entirely smaller ships -- frigates, corvettes & patrol boats -- somewhat useful in coastal defenses but utterly humiliated by Ukraine in the Black Sea.

Bottom line -- since Russian media propagandists daily threaten nuclear war against the West, Russia's nuclear missile submarines are considered necessary and so are well maintained.
Everything else, not so much.

As for Russia's main allies -- China, North Korea & Iran -- China does have an increasingly serious navy.
Other global allies -- Cuba, Venezuela, various African countries -- not so much.

Russia's allies and friends (red), US allies & friends (green), uncertain (blue) --
not 100% accurate since Turkey, Saudi Arabia & Guiana should be green, while South Africa & Mongolia are blue at best:

[wbarmy]

China who has two active carriers

Please look up videos of the carrier operations of those two carriers. Takes them 10 or so minutes to launch one plane, moving one plane from the hanger bay to the deck is a super involved, slow process. The USA can launch an entire wing in the time it takes them to launch a few airplanes. They have the officers oversee every movement and the NCOs seem to be non-existent. And everything is done with respect to "zero defect".

[FreedomNotSafety]

Who is cornering Russia? In any event Russia cornered is better than Russia running amok.

[JadeEmperor]

And then there are Soviet-designed diesel locos like 2TE10 which can belch black smoke to put many a steam loco to shame!

https://youtu.be/OPpgp5B1jVU?si=jsEaTGSdP96I5n7o&t=26

[desertsolitaire]

We are moving in the direction of yes, we may wellfind out if they work or not. Not my preference. We should be friends with Russia and encouraging g them to behave better for their people’s benefit.

[sloanrb]

What gets me is that there are environmentalists that claim we need to become communist in order to save the environment, but it is the commies that were the worst polluters. And they have a habit of imprisoning those who complain.

But sometimes you can’t fix stupid.

[TexasGator]

“We should be friends with Russia “

LOL! You don’t make friends with an evil, corrupt dictator.

[NorthMountain]

We should be friends with Russia

We tried that back in the 1990s. It was working pretty well until Vlad the Invader came to power.

The common factor in all of Russia's unsatisfactory international relationships is Russia.

[paddles]

The ChiComs will buy it for a “floating casino” just like the Varyag.

[dfwgator]

We tried that back in the 1990s. It was working pretty well until Vlad the Invader came to power.

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Until Clinton got us involved in the Balkans.