After a long wait, the fate of the first Russian aircraft carrier, the heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Kiev of the Northern Fleet, has been decided. Unfortunately, the ship will end its legendary journey in one of the ports of the People's Republic of China, where it will be scrapped.

The Kiev (Project 1143) was the lead ship in a series of cruisers specifically designed to carry a squadron of Yak-38 vertical takeoff attack aircraft and a squadron of Ka-25 anti-submarine helicopters. With the arrival of the Kiev in the Northern Fleet in 1976, the Soviet Navy became not only a nuclear-missile force but also an aircraft carrier force. By repeatedly participating in major exercises, the new ship's naval and air crews clearly demonstrated the advantages of naval groups that include an aircraft carrier. It is no coincidence that in 1985, the Kiev was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. By the way, it was the first surface ship of the country's Navy to receive such a high honor in the post-war era. He traveled more than 240,000 nautical miles (which is equal to 11 circumnavigations of the equator), and completed 10 combat missions. However, in 1996, according to the order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, the Kiev was decommissioned.

In September 1997, the Russian Government decided to sell the ship for scrap on a competitive basis through the Central Department of Material Resources and Foreign Economic Relations of the Ministry of Defense. The competition was won by Maritime Suppliers LLC, which will carry out the ship's dismantling. By the way, the Kiev is not the first Soviet-built aircraft carrier to face such a fate. Almost simultaneously, the aircraft-carrying cruisers Minsk and Novorossiysk, previously assigned to the Pacific Fleet and sold for scrap to South Korea, were removed from the Navy's active roster.

The amount for which Russia sold the Kiev has not been officially disclosed. However, the Minsk, which is of the same type, was sold for \$4.5 million, and the Novorossiysk was sold for \$4.3 million.

China intends to build its own aircraft carrier by 2015, with a displacement of approximately 45,000 tons. The Kiev has a similar displacement. In addition, Beijing has the unfinished Varyag aircraft carrier, which was sold to Macau by Ukraine.

Since the collapse of the USSR, almost 40 ships and vessels have been decommissioned and sold for scrap from the Russian Navy. Of these, fifteen are large anti-submarine ships, five are diesel submarines, three are cruisers, three are heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers, and two are anti-submarine cruisers, as well as ten support ships and auxiliary vessels.

India, South Korea, and Poland are the largest buyers of Russian "marine" scrap metal.

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