The missile, which seemed to have silently taken off from a vertical launcher, roared, swirled with a plume of exhaust gases, like a beauty at a social ball in a dress, and melted in the sky in a matter of seconds. Soon a short report arrived: "The target is hit!". So, in September last year, the Grad Sviyazhsk small rocket ship (MRK) - the lead project 21631 Buyan-M - fired its first shot with the Caliber-NK complex.

Small missile ships of project 21631 are, in fact, combat units of a new class, which, with a relatively small displacement of 949 tons, a length of 74.1 m and a width of 11 m, carry powerful strike weapons - 8 missiles of the Caliber-NK or Onyx integrated complex ". With high accuracy, they can hit ships and vessels of the enemy, as well as military bases, headquarters, bodies government controlled, industrial enterprises and the coastal infrastructure of the opposing side, and at considerable distances. That is, these RTOs are universal ships capable of performing not only tactical and operational, but also strategic tasks. They have a small draft (2.6 m), so they can operate not only at sea, but also on navigable rivers. The 100-mm automatic universal artillery mount A190-01 "Universal" is designed to combat surface, coastal and air targets. For air defense purposes, including to combat incoming cruise missiles, a 30-mm twelve-barreled AK-630M2 "Duet" installation of high fire performance is used, as well as two "Gibka" installations with four guides each for MANPADS "Igla" or "Igla- M. Two 14.5- and three 7.62-mm machine guns were deployed on RTOs to destroy saboteurs and terrorists. Project 21631 RTOs are highly automated ships. That's why when saturated big amount a variety of weapons it is served by a crew of 29-36 people.

Small rocket ship "Grad Sviyazhsk" fires a missile of the "Caliber-NK" complex

On December 9 last year, the state commission signed an acceptance certificate for the Grad Sviyazhsk RTO into the Russian Navy, and on December 19, that is, just ten days later, Uglich, the first serial ship of this type. In April, these RTOs completed a full cycle of sea trials and in June of this year they will be officially included in the Caspian Flotilla (CFL) of the Russian Navy. By the end of this year, this association will be replenished with another "mini-strategist" - RTO "Veliky Ustyug". At the Zelenodolsk plant named after A.M. Gorky, three more such ships are being built for the CFL.

The need to strengthen the Caspian Flotilla became apparent when the threat of radical Islamic fundamentalism to the states of the region became clear. Today, no one can predict how the situation in the region will develop after the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan, which could not cope with the Taliban. Besides, in Lately Attempts to gain a foothold on the shores of the Caspian Sea by powers very far from this region became more and more noticeable. Thus, the United States is seeking to establish its own base in the Kazakh port of Aktau. During a visit to Ashgabat, US Secretary of the Navy Ray Maebus probed the ground for the possibility of setting up US troops somewhere on the Caspian coast of Turkmenistan. The "bouquet" of threats to the security of the Caspian region, unfortunately, is extensive. And this circumstance cannot be ignored.

The Caspian Flotilla is Russia's advanced outpost on the western flank of the Central Asian region. That is why it has been strengthened in recent years great attention. It should be noted here that the Grad Sviyazhsk RTO is not the first ship equipped with a universal ship-based firing system (UKSK) ZK14, designed to launch Caliber-NK and Onyx missiles. The missile ship of the 2nd rank (it is also qualified as a “patrol ship”) of the Caspian flotilla “Dagestan” of project 1161 K mastered this new technique in the Russian Navy. In September 2012, during the strategic command and staff exercise “Kavkaz-2012”, he struck at an important target of a conditional enemy. From the first shot of the Caliber-NK rocket, a small-sized fortified object (about 10 × 10 m), located far from the seashore, was turned into dust.

Vice Admiral Sergei Alekminsky, Commander of the Caspian Flotilla, states that by 2016 the CFL will have a solid missile and artillery group. It will be based on the Dagestan missile launcher and six project 21631 RTOs. Even earlier, the flotilla received small artillery ships (MAK) of the Buyan project 21630 (three units), which served as prototypes for the Buyan-M RTO. The flagship of the flotilla - the patrol ship "Tatarstan" - also belongs to the missile and artillery ships. It is armed with Uran anti-ship missiles with a range of destruction of surface targets up to 130 km (Uran missiles (X-35) are also part of the coastal missile division of the Bal complex. It is called upon from the firmament of the earth to reinforce the actions of the ships of the Caspian flotilla and protect from invasion from the sea). Here it is impossible not to pay attention to the fact that all the above-mentioned KFL ships were designed by the Zelenodolsk Design Bureau. They are not only well suited to the conditions of the theater, but also have a modular design that allows you to change the configuration of weapons on the basis of a single platform.

Small artillery ship "Makhachkala" project 21630

In view of the unrelenting terrorist threats, specialized ships were required to neutralize the sorties of sea bandits. Last year, the flotilla was replenished with the first anti-sabotage boat (PrDKa) of project 21980 Grachonok developed by Vympel Design Bureau. With a displacement of about 140 tons and a full speed of 23 knots, it has a variety of means for detecting and destroying underwater saboteurs and terrorists. Hydroacoustic stations "Kalmar" and "Anapa" control the underwater environment. The MTK-201 optoelectronic surveillance system makes it possible, under bad weather conditions, day and night to monitor the situation on the sea surface. To destroy divers and their means of transportation, a ten-barreled 55-mm anti-sabotage grenade launcher DP-65A and a double-barreled 45-mm grenade launcher DP-64 are used. This arsenal is complemented by a 14.5 mm machine gun and Igla MANPADS. Now at the Zelenodolsk plant named after A.M. Gorky, the construction of the second PDC for the Caspian Flotilla is underway, which will replenish it this year.

The amphibious forces of the CFL are also being updated. In addition to the well-known landing craft on the air cavity of the project 11770 "Serna", the DKA of the project 21280 "Dugong" comes from the industry. Now their production has been mastered by the Yaroslavl shipbuilding plant. The first of them - "Denis Davydov" - has already been handed over to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the second - "Lieutenant Rimsky-Korsakov" - was launched in April this year, and the third - "Midshipman Lermontov" - will go into the water this month. These DKAs with a total displacement of about 280 tons, a length of 45 m, a width of 8.6 m and a maximum speed of up to 35 knots transport three main battle tanks or five armored personnel carriers with troops to the landing site. The lead boat of this type, built at the Volga plant in Nizhny Novgorod, the Ataman Platov, has been serving in the Caspian since 2010.

Major changes are noticeable in the auxiliary forces of the CFL. In recent years, three raid tugs of project 705B have been included in their composition. The lead rescue ship SB-45 of project 22870 developed by Vympel design bureau is currently being tested in the Caspian Sea. It is intended for search and rescue operations of the flotilla. Its standard displacement is 1200 tons, length - 57 m, width - 14 m, draft - 3.2 m, maximum speed - 14 knots. The ship will receive the most modern facilities rescue at sea and diving operations at depths up to 60 meters. The raid tugs and the rescue ship were built by the Astrakhan Shipyard, that is, they are of “local origin”. And from the Baltic came the transport of weapons VTR-79 of project 20360 "Dubnyak" built in 2010 in Gorokhovets. It serves as a “bandolier” for “mini-strategists” of the Buyan-M type, supplying them with Ka-libr-NK and Onyx missiles. This year, the flotilla is to receive three project 23040 integrated rescue boats from the Nizhny Novgorod ship plant.

Much attention is paid to the development of the infrastructure of the flotilla. Base points in Astrakhan and Makhachkala are being upgraded. Work has begun on strengthening the coast and deepening the port waters, as well as the approach channels. Modern stationary mooring fronts are being built with all the necessary communications to provide ships with electricity and water. A complex with gyms and a swimming pool was built in Kaspiysk for special underwater training of personnel.

Stationary hydroacoustic stations for automated detection of underwater objects with determination of their coordinates are located in the waters of the flotilla's base points. With the help of these GAS, it is possible to detect and classify underwater targets with high accuracy, and calculate the routes of their movement. The Podsolnukh over-the-horizon radar station has recently been put into operation. This radar detects surface and air targets at a distance of up to 450 km.

The combat training of the flotilla is being actively carried out. Some teachings replace others. So, at the end of April of this year, a sudden check of the combat readiness of the mine-sweeping forces of the CFL was announced. The guards division of minesweepers was alerted. The ships left their base point - the Zolotoy backwater in Astrakhan - and began to conduct a test tactical exercise. It involved ten minesweepers, boats and support vessels. Caspian miners conducted a control and reconnaissance search and liquidation of "minefields" with contact and non-contact trawls. Then a group of minesweepers led the ships through the "minefield". The sailors performed artillery firing at floating mines. The actions of the minesweeping group under the command of Captain 1st Rank Kirill Taranenko were highly appreciated. At the same time, in another region of the Caspian Sea, as part of the final check of the ship forces, an exercise was held with firing of a group of rocket and artillery ships.

Today, the CFL of the Russian Navy is the largest naval association of the states of the "Caspian five". The flotilla consists of 31 combat units: two patrol ships, two small missile ships, four small artillery ships, five missile boats, five artillery boats, one anti-sabotage boat, two base minesweepers, five raid minesweepers, seven landing boats. However, it should be noted that out of five missile boats, four need to be replaced, since they are at the limit of their service life. They could be replaced by Project 21632 Tornado small missile ships or Project 20970 Katran missile boats. This would make it possible to strengthen the combat stability of such valuable units as "mini-strategists" of the "Buyan-M" type. A replacement is also needed for the Caspian minesweepers, which are also not young.

Of course, the Coast Guard of the Border Guard Service of the FSB in the Caspian Sea is a serious help to the CFL. It consists of 12 patrol ships of various ranks, eight patrol boats and two patrol boats. For the most part, these are modern units. Among them is the newest border guard ship "Brilliant" of project 22460 "Hunter". Its total displacement is 630 tons, length is 62.5 m, maximum speed is more than 24 knots. The PSKR is armed with a 30-mm AK-306 six-barreled artillery mount and is equipped with a variety of detection tools. In the stern there is a platform for receiving a light helicopter or an unmanned aerial vehicle.

The Iranian Navy and the naval units of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are traditionally the second in terms of their capabilities in the hierarchy in the Caspian, although they even surpass the CFL in terms of the number of units. Mostly in their composition - small speedboats. Some of them are armed with short-range missiles based on ATGMs. Until recently, three Sina-class missile boats (Iranian version of the French Combattante II RCAs) were considered the main strike force of the Iranian Navy in the Caspian Sea, each of which is armed with four Chinese-made S-802 anti-ship missiles with a firing range of up to 120 km. But last year, at the shipyard in Band der Anzeli, a corvette (“destroyer” - according to Iranian classification) Damavand of the Jamaran type was launched. Its displacement is about 1,500 tons, its length is 95 m. It is armed with four Noor anti-ship missiles (Iranian version of the Chinese S-802 anti-ship missiles), an air defense system of an unknown model, one 76-mm, one 40-mm and two 20-mm automatic artillery mounts, four MANPADS, two triple-tube 324-mm anti-submarine torpedo tubes and a helicopter. Two diesel engines with a capacity of 10,000 hp each. allow you to develop a maximum 30-knot stroke. The crew consists of 140 people.

The appearance of an Iranian "destroyer" in the Caspian Sea testifies to Tehran's desire to play an important role in this theater. As Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Forces of the Islamic Republic, said at the opening of the first national conference on marine technologies, Iran is going to expand its presence in the Caspian. In turn, the commander of the 4th naval zone of the Iranian army, Admiral Khordada Hakimi, said that "the Islamic Republic of Iran plans to build new frigates for the Caspian Sea."

And not only frigates. According to the authoritative research group IHS Jane's, a submarine is being built in Bandar Anzeli - the second type of Fateh ("Conqueror"). Unlike its prototype, which was assembled in Bostan on the coast of the Persian Gulf, the Caspian submarine has a greater length (48 m versus 40 m at the lead one). The main characteristics of the submarine were not disclosed, but the Iranian media report that the Conqueror-2 uses Newest technologies reducing hydroacoustic visibility and fire control.

After the acquisition from Russia in 2011 of two Project 12418 Molniya missile boats, each armed with 16 Uran-E missile boats, for the Navy and two Project 12200 Sobol patrol boats for the Coast Guard, Turkmenistan immediately moved up in the rankings "Caspian five" from last to third place. To a certain extent, in terms of striking power, he even disputes the second place with Iran.

In October 2010, Turkmenistan signed a contract worth 55 million euros with the Turkish shipyard Dearsan Shipyard for the construction of two patrol boats of the NTPB project with a displacement of 400 tons each for the BOHR. Turkish small patrol and anti-submarine ships of the Tuzla type were taken as a prototype. The hulls of the Turkmen border ships were assembled at the shipbuilding and ship repair plant in Turkmenbashi (former Krasnovodsk) from parts supplied from Turkey. The head guard, called Arkadag (“Patron” is one of the official titles of President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov) was launched in early 2012. Today, the BOHR of Turkmenistan has four such ships. Their length is 55.75 m. They are armed with a twin 40-mm Oto Melara Twin Compact automatic artillery turret and two 25-mm Aselsan STOP remote-controlled machine guns. PSKR type Arkadag equipped with surveillance radar Thales Variant 2D. Ten small 15-meter AMV-type patrol boats (Bars-12) have been ordered from the same Turkish company, most of which have already been delivered.

Last year, Dearsan Shipyard signed a contract to supply Turkmenistan with components for eight more NTPB-type boats, but not for the needs of the Coast Guard, but for the Navy. In the navy version, these ships will carry significantly more powerful weapons. In addition to the Melara 40-mm OTO twins and two 25-mm machine guns, they will receive two twin anti-ship missile launchers of an as-yet unnamed model, two remotely controlled MANPADS, two 12.7-mm machine guns and one six-barreled rocket launcher. After the implementation of this program, the Navy of Turkmenistan will become one of the strongest in the Caspian.

The Navy and the Coast Guard of Kazakhstan now have a fairly large staff, but there is no need to talk about any qualitative strengthening of them. To a certain extent, this is explained by the fact that in the event of any threat at sea, Astana can always rely on the help of one of its closest allies - Russia.

Over the past two years, the Kazakh Navy has replenished with two project 250 Bars-MO missile and artillery ships built by the Ural plant Zenit (the third one was launched this month). They were created on the basis of the Bars project 300 border patrol ships, which, in turn, are the Kazakh version of the project 22180 developed by the St. Petersburg Northern Design Bureau. Their displacement is about 250 tons, length - 41.75 m, width - 7.8 m, draft - 2.5 m, maximum speed - 30 knots, and an economic cruising range of 1200 miles. The lead ship - "Kazakhstan" - is armed with two twin 23-mm artillery mounts designed for self-defense, and a 12-barreled MLRS "Grad". The armament of the second "Bars-MO", called "Oral", differs from the head. It carries the Barrier-VK missile system with ZhK-2V laser-guided anti-tank guided missiles, the Arbalet-K anti-aircraft turret launcher with the Igla MANPADS. Both of these systems were supplied by the Kyiv design bureau Luch. In front of the superstructure is a 30-mm six-barreled artillery mount AK-306.

As can be seen from the above characteristics, these ships can only be classified as "missile" ships with a stretch. "Kazakhstan" is a small landing fire support ship, and "Oral" is a typical quasi-missile boat, since ATGMs are only capable of hitting small ships at short distances. But, undoubtedly, the construction of the first Kazakh warships at the national shipyard is a significant step in the development of naval technologies.

A useful acquisition of the Kazakh Navy, of course, will be the raid minesweeper (RTShch) of project 10750E developed by the Almaz Central Design Bureau, which is now being built at the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard. With a displacement of about 140 tons, a length of 31.45 m, a width of 6.5 m and a speed of 11 knots, which is provided by two MAN diesel engines with a power of 279 kW, this small ship with a crew of 14 carries a variety of anti-mine weapons. These are the latest Sea Bat mine detection hydroacoustic station with a range of up to 500 m, the Alister 9 autonomous underwater vehicle for the primary search for mine-like objects, the K-Ster Inspector remote-controlled uninhabited underwater vehicles for classifying detected objects and the K-Ster Mine Killer for destroying mines. RTSH can also use traditional anti-mine means - contact and non-contact trawls. All this complex equipment is controlled by the Diez-10750E automated mine action system.

The ship also carries a 30 mm AK-306 artillery mount, a 12.7 mm Kord machine gun and an Igla MANPADS. If necessary, it can be used as an anti-sabotage boat. The project 10750E minesweeper is best suited for operations in the shallow waters of the northern and northeastern Caspian. It fully meets the requirements for ships of this class. It would not be harmful to think about acquiring such RTS for the Russian Navy. And not only for the Caspian.

Unfortunately, nothing new can be said about the Azerbaijani Navy in the Caspian. Despite Baku's repeated statements about plans to create, together with Turkish firms, enterprises for the construction of ships for civil fleet, as well as ships and boats for the needs of the Navy, these intentions have not yet passed into practice. Existing ships deteriorate, and new ones do not appear.

Let's briefly summarize. Three states of the "Caspian five" - ​​Russia, Iran and Turkmenistan - are actively engaged in naval construction. Kazakhstan, although sluggishly, is forming the Navy and Coast Guard mainly on the basis of domestic industry. There is stagnation in Azerbaijan naval forces, although the financial resources of this country make it possible to create a fairly effective navy capable of making weather in the southern waters of the Caspian Sea.

Let us pay attention to such a trend as the construction of large attack surface ships and submarines in Iran. In addition to the assembly of Fateh-class submarines in Bender-Anzeli, it was previously reported that several ultra-small Ghadir-class submarines with a displacement of 123 tons were transported from the Persian Sea to the Caspian Sea by road.

I have heard more than once the assertions of naval experts that the Caspian Sea is too shallow for the operation of submarines. Indeed, the average depths of the northern part of this largest lake in the world barely exceed 4 meters. However, the average depth of the Caspian is 208 m, and the maximum in the South Caspian depression is 1025 m. For comparison: the average depth of the Baltic is only 51 m, while the maximum depth in the Landsort Basin is 470 m. However, no one has ever disputed the possibility of using submarines in the shallow Baltic.

The appearance of submarines significantly changes the situation in the Caspian basin, since the navies of the states of the region do not have the necessary anti-submarine forces and assets. Today there is an urgent need to have PLO ships in this theater. To standardize and reduce costs, Buyan-M can be taken as a prototype. Moreover, the Zelenodolsk Design Bureau has already demonstrated the Sarsar project based on the project 21631 RTOs at the International Naval Salon last year in St. Petersburg. This ship with a displacement of about 900 tons is equipped with a wing-mounted sonar, carries the Pack-NK anti-submarine system or two 533-mm twin-tube torpedo tubes for firing anti-submarine torpedoes, as well as artillery and anti-aircraft weapons.

Commander of the CFL, Vice Admiral Sergei Alekminsky, does not rule out that in the foreseeable future the flotilla will have ultra-small and small submarines. Russia has a rich choice here. The designers of the SPMBM "Malakhit" have developed a whole line of MPL projects with a displacement of 130 to 1000 tons. For example, with a displacement of 370 tons, a diving depth of up to 200 m and an underwater speed of 12 knots, it has a cruising range of 2000 miles. The submarine is equipped with two 533 mm and four 400 mm torpedo tubes. Can also carry four mines. Her crew consists of four people. Additionally, the boat transports six special forces soldiers. But the MPL of the P-750 project with a displacement of 960 tons and a maximum speed of 17 knots is armed with 4-8 cruise missiles of the Caliber-PL complex for hitting sea and coastal targets, four 533-mm and eight 400-mm torpedoes, 12- 24 mines and MANPADS "Igla". Its cruising range is 3,000 miles, and its diving depth is up to 300 meters. Such submarines will be able to control not only the surface of the Caspian Sea and its depths, but also the surrounding shores.

The origin of the Russian fleet

The Caspian Sea was used by Slavic tribes even before the appearance of the first state in Rus'. On it, merchants sailed to Asian countries and exchanged goods with colleagues from another part of the world.

But soon the rich eastern lands attracted the attention of military leaders, as a result of which campaigns began on the Caspian in order to capture rich booty. The last campaign was made in 1174 and ended with the complete defeat of the Slavs. Their fleet was completely destroyed and, as a result, they were discouraged from sailing in this direction for almost three hundred years.

The next time a delegation of merchants from Rus' set off across the Caspian Sea only in 1466. The trip turned out to be successful, and permission was obtained to create their own flotilla. But the process stalled because of the "time of troubles."

The representatives of the Romanov dynasty who came to power attempted to strengthen their position in the Caspian Sea and built for this warships. But the final victory was achieved by Peter the Great, who in 1722 defeated the Persians and issued a decree on the formation of a naval base in Astrakhan.

After Peter's death, the state for some time lost access to the Caspian Sea, but new conquests made it possible to regain a strategically important region. The importance of the area increased especially after the discovery of oil fields there. It happened at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, and in 1867 the headquarters of the flotilla moved to Baku.

Caspian flotilla as part of the Soviet Navy

A few decades later, the first tankers appeared, and industrial production of hydrocarbons started. October Revolution made its own adjustments to the development of the flotilla.

The Caspian flotilla of the USSR was formed on October 3, 1918. She became part of the Red Army, and the main task was to protect the borders of the state from foreign invaders. The British fleet was considered one of the strongest in the world, so part of the ships from the Baltic were transferred to the Caspian to strengthen their positions.

By the end of 1918, the fleet consisted of 1,170 sailors. The base returned to Astrakhan, and all forces were divided into river and sea fleets so that operations could be carried out effectively.

An important role was played by the Caspian military flotilla during the Great Patriotic War. The ships covered the supply of Azerbaijani oil to refineries, where it was used to make fuel for combat vehicles and other needs of the front. And the river fleet took a direct part in the hostilities.

It was the gunboats from the Caspian that covered the defenders of Stalingrad with fire from the Volga. For the successful conduct of military operations, 13 sailors were awarded the highest title Hero Soviet Union. And on August 27, 1945, the flotilla was the first of the naval forces to be awarded the Order of the Red Banner by the state.

After the war, the task of the flotilla was to stabilize the situation in the region. We did not forget about improving the material and technical base. The convenient location within the country made it possible to safely test the latest weapons.

After the collapse of the USSR, the fleet had to be completely withdrawn from Baku and relocated to Makhachkala. Part of the ships were sent to Astrakhan to the main forces.

How are things going in the Caspian Flotilla of the Navy today?

IN current time The Caspian flotilla of the Russian Navy stands guard over the sea border of the state and is constantly being improved. With the help of joint exercises with foreign partners, there is an exchange of experience, and the foundations of collective security in the region are being developed.

It was here that the newest warship with stealth technology was first launched and tested. He can covertly approach the targets almost closely and carry out the task without unnecessary noise. It happened in 2006, and after successful tests, mass production began.

The ships of the Caspian flotilla are currently equipped with the most advanced technical means that allow them to effectively combat surface, underwater, air and land targets.

The high-precision guidance system leaves little to no chance for enemies to take cover. So you don't have to worry about the security of maritime borders.

The bases of the Caspian flotilla are located in Astrakhan, Makhachkala, Kaspiysk, Nikolsky and Trudfront. The main directorate, headquarters, and the auxiliary fleet are located in Astrakhan. The garrison here is about 5 thousand people, which includes not only sailors, but also service personnel.

An emergency service is located in Nikolskoye. A group of support vessels, a hydrographic service and a special separate detachment are deployed in Makhachkala to intercept underwater sabotage groups and special equipment.

Another group of support vessels was located in the village of Trudfront, and Kaspiysk sheltered the coastal missile division of the marines, the 412th separate battalion of the marines, and a separate radio engineering center.

To date, the flagship of the Caspian Flotilla is the rocket ship of project 11661 "Tatarstan" (No. 691). Tactical and tachnic characteristics of RK "Tatarstan":

• Displacement - 1500 tons;
• Crew - 93 people;
• Cruising speed - 21 knots;
• Autonomy of the course - 20 days;
• Maximum range - up to 4000 miles;
• Draft - 3.6 m.

The armament of the Tatarstan patrol ship includes Kh-35 anti-ship missiles (2x4 Uran anti-ship missile launchers), OSA-MA anti-aircraft systems (20 9M33 missiles), Igla MANPADS, anti-submarine torpedo tubes (533 mm), artillery (1x76 mm and 2x30 mm) and anti-sabotage weapons, as well as electronic warfare systems and other electronic weapons.

The Caspian Flotilla includes the following combat units:

• patrol ships of the near sea zone - 2 units;
• small warships - 8 units;
• combat boats - 6 units;
• landing craft - 8 units;
• minesweepers - 7 units;
• military transport vessel - 2 units;
• hydrographic vessel of small and medium class - 12 units;
• physical field control vessel - 1 unit;
• degaussing vessel - 1 unit;
• water tanker - 1 unit;
• tugboat - 12 units;
• fire-fighting boat - 4 units;
• diving vessel - 5 units;
• passenger boat - 1 unit;
• communication boat - 2 units;
• floating workshop - 1 unit;
• self-propelled dry-cargo barge - 1 unit;
• oil-garbage collector - 2 units;
• large ship shield - 1 unit.

Such an extensive fleet of vehicles is designed to perform the following tasks:

1. Combating terrorism, maritime piracy and extremism on religious or ethnic grounds.
2. Fight against poachers in the coastal strip and rivers of the Astrakhan region.
3. Protection of national interests in the region with oil fields and industrial production of hydrocarbons.
4. Monitoring and elimination of emergencies in river navigation.
5. Protection of trade routes in the entrusted region.

At the same time, the marines of the Caspian Flotilla are often used in consolidated units during combat operations. In particular, black berets took part in both Chechen campaigns in the hottest spots.

Today, infantrymen are recruited for raids on militants in the Republic of Dagestan and adjacent areas.

Combat operations of the Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Federation in Syria

Since October 7, 2015, the Caspian Flotilla has been participating in the operation of the Russian armed forces in Syria. The country's leadership decided that it was necessary to prevent the spread of extremism and restore constitutional power, as the situation threatens the collective security of the entire Middle East region.

The number of specialists is limited, but the fire support is quite effective, so that the terrorists suffer significant losses.

The missile strike of the Caspian flotilla against ISIS has become one of the most successful episodes civil war in Syria. The ships fired 26 medium-range cruise missiles at previously reconnoitred terrorist positions.

As a result of an accurate hit on targets, militants' factories for assembling weapons and explosives, warehouses with ammunition and fuel, and training camps for new extremists were destroyed. Intelligence confirmed the exact defeat of all targets.

The missile ships of the Caspian Flotilla worked well and smoothly on November 20, 2015, when 18 cruise missiles were launched at seven designated targets. All of them were hit, and the enemy suffered significant damage in equipment and manpower. At the same time, no one from the personnel of the flotilla was at risk, since the targets were one and a half thousand kilometers from the launch site. The missiles successfully passed over the territories of Iran and Iraq, landing in a precisely marked place.

When is the holiday at the Caspian flotilla?

Day of the Caspian Flotilla is celebrated on November 15, starting with the signing by Peter the Great of the decree on the creation of a garrison in Astrakhan. On this day, the leaders of the country congratulate all sailors, officers, service personnel and veterans with warm words.

Representatives of other military formations also convey their kind words. And from the authorities, especially distinguished fighters are awarded awards, certificates and prizes. They also remember the comrades-in-arms who fell during various operations.

The 290th anniversary of the founding of the flotilla was especially pompously celebrated. An event took place in 2012, and everyone could look at the achievements of the unit and the battle path traveled.

The 300th anniversary is just around the corner, so we can expect a grandiose performance that the sailors will prepare for the audience. For such a long period of existence, their own traditions have been developed, which are observed by all generations and are sacredly revered by everyone who served.

The flags of the Caspian Flotilla will inspire fear in the enemies for a long time to come, and provide a reliable cover for the Motherland. To serve in the navy is not only an honor, but also very interesting, because during the service you can visit distant countries and see many interesting places.

Maritime romance attracts only young people who are strong in body and spirit, because alone with the elements in open water, you can only rely on yourself and the reliability of your ship. Therefore, it is worth testing yourself for strength and choosing a morphflot for urgent service.

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Separation and redeployment of the Caspian military flotilla in 1992

In 2012, it was twenty years since the Caspian military flotilla moved from Baku to Astrakhan, the city of its historical birth. Then the issue of preserving the Caspian flotilla as a combat unit necessary to ensure the political, economic and military interests of Russia in the Caspian Sea was decided.

By 1991, the ships of the Caspian military flotilla (CFL) were deployed in this way:

Baku: the 73rd brigade of ships for the protection of the water area and the 106th brigade of surface ships, consisting of the 227th division of the OVR; 33rd, 34th and 250th minesweeper divisions; 93rd division of anti-submarine ships and 613th division of GISU. In addition, the training division of boats of the Higher Naval School named after Kirov was located in Baku.

Makhachkala: 469th division of the OVR.

Kaspiysk: 236th WIG Battalion.

Astrakhan: 804th division of the OVR, 606th division of the GISU.

Bautino(Kazakhstan): 284th OVR division.

Krasnovodsk (Turkmenistan): 228th division of the OVR.

realizingthat everything is moving towards the collapse of the USSR, the command of the CFL took measures to preserve the flotilla. This was done, of course, very carefully, so as not to give the authorities at that time the Azerbaijan and Turkmen Union Republics a pretext for unwanted conversations. For example, the division of conservation ships in 1990, under a plausible pretext, was quietly and peacefully transferred from Baku to Russia. A quite convenient explanation was also found during the relocation of a division of hovercraft from the Absheron Peninsula in 1990: they say, the waters of the overflowing Caspian crept up to the old place of deployment of the “pillows”.

In December 1991, the fact of the collapse of the USSR received its legal confirmation. On December 25, 1991, President of the USSR M.S. Gorbachev announced the termination of his activities as President of the USSR "for reasons of principle", signed a decree on resignation of the Supreme Commander of the Soviet Armed Forces and transferred control of strategic nuclear weapons to President of Russia B.N. .Yeltsin. December 26 session of the upper houseThe Supreme Soviet of the USSR, adopted Declaration No. 142-N on the termination of the existence of the USSR.

All of this coincided with a change in leadership at the CFL. On December 24, 1991, the commander of the Caspian Flotilla, Vice Admiral Vladimir Efimovich Lyashenko, was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the USSR Navy (he died in Moscow in 1994). Rear Admiral Boris Mikhailovich Zinin, who served as chief of staff of the flotilla, took over as commander of the flotilla. The first thing he did was to send to Russia from Krasnovodsk (Turkmenistan), supposedly for repairs, the last ships and ships of the flotilla that were there. With Azerbaijan, everything was more complicated.

Even before the collapse of the USSR, official Baku began to create its own armed forces. The decision to create the armed forces of the republic was taken on October 9, 1991 by President Ayaz Mutalibov under pressure from the Popular Front. Simultaneously with the curtailment and removal, and often the destruction of military equipment and equipment of the former Soviet Army, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan began to function in the republic. At first, it acted purely formally and in parallel with the headquarters of the ZakVO, but gradually gaining strength they began claim everything that was on the territory of Azerbaijan. So the further stay of the CFL in a foreign country became risky. Meanwhile, the main forces of the flotilla were located in Baku - headquarters, administration, services, warehouses, the entire 73rd brigade of ships for the protection of the water area, the hydrographic service with its own ships, and much more. But the main thing is the families of military personnel.

It was no longer possible to withdraw at least a small unit or even a torpedo boat unnoticed. But none of the sailors began to take an oath to Azerbaijan. None of the high command Armed Forces CIS (there was such a thing before the formation of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation), no orders or instructions were received from the Main Command of the Navy regarding the future fate of the flotilla. Already after the official collapse of the Soviet Union, many generals and officers still hoped for the preservation of a unified Armed Forces within the framework of the CIS. But on the ground they understood that this was not the case and tried to convey this information to the leadership. In February 1992, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral Chernavin, flew to Azerbaijan to get acquainted with the situation. On February 17, when meeting with him, the head of the military counterintelligence department for the Caspian flotilla, Captain 1st Rank G. A. Ugryumov directly told him: “ There is no need to build any illusions, we must clearly realize that we have missed the situation in Azerbaijan and in Checheno-Ingushetia. » Neither the military prosecutor's office, nor the military tribunal, nor the commandant's office, nor the military traffic police operate in Baku. The Azerbaijanis established operational surveillance of our units. The Ministry of Security of Azerbaijan conducted operations to recruit military personnel to control the withdrawal of weapons and equipment.

But there was a feeling that the fate of the Caspian Flotilla was of little concern to Moscow. It's no joke, entire districts and fleets became the subject of bargaining between sovereigns and Russia, and here is some kind of small flotilla. So the solution to the fundamental question - whether or not to be a Russian flotilla - entirely depended only on Commander Zinin.

In the first half of 1992, Zinin took a number of decisive measures to organize the redeployment of the flotilla from Baku. The question arose about the location of the new main base for the flotilla. An excellent place to base could be the port of Makhachkala - good depths, equipped piers, a favorable exit of ships to the sea in any weather conditions. However, in the current political conditions, it was decided to create the main base of the Caspian flotilla in Astrakhan, despite the existing shortcomings. Exit to the sea is difficult, since more than 100 km passes through shallow depths. In winter, the fairway freezes and access to the sea is possible only with the help of icebreakers, while there is a risk of damage to the ship by ice floes. And besides, the military infrastructure was poorly developed in Astrakhan. At the end of February, Zimin flies to Astrakhan and enlists the support of the governor of the Astrakhan region on the issue of redeploying CFL forces to the Volga delta.

On March 19, 1992, Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 260 "On the transfer of the Transcaucasian Military District and the Caspian Flotilla of the Navy temporarily under the jurisdiction of Russian Federation", it reads: " In order to maintain sustainable management and ensure the functioning of the Transcaucasian Military District and the Caspian Flotilla of the Navy, ensuring the safety of weapons and military equipment, to protect the life, honor and dignity of military personnel and members of their families from criminal encroachments and to prevent the involvement of the troops of the Transcaucasian Military District and the forces of the Caspian Flotilla in interethnic conflicts, I decide:

1. Transfer the Transcaucasian Military District and the Caspian Flotilla of the Navy temporarily under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation with subordination to the Commander-in-Chief of the CIS Joint Armed Forces.

2. The Government of the Russian Federation, together with the Commander-in-Chief of the Joint Armed Forces of the CIS, form government delegations and immediately begin negotiations with the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Georgia on the legal status and conditions for the presence of the troops of the Transcaucasian Military District and the forces of the Caspian Flotilla on the territory of these states.

3. Establish that until the legal status is determined and an agreement on joint financing is concluded, the financing of the Transcaucasian Military District and the Caspian Flotilla is carried out at the expense of the budget of the Russian Federation.

4. Appoint Colonel-General Valery Anisimovich Patrikeev as authorized representative of the Russian Federation for the deployment of district troops and flotilla forces on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Georgia.

5. The Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation for the stay of the district troops and flotilla forces to take measures to suppress attempts to seize weapons, military equipment and military installations of the district and flotilla, to involve troops in interethnic conflicts and prevent their interference in the internal affairs of independent states.

6. The decree comes into force from the moment of signing.

President of Russian Federation

B. Yeltsin»

In Azerbaijan, as in the whole of Transcaucasia, the situation was not easy, armed provocations are being committed against the military. So on the morning of April 28 in Baku, a group of 10 people attacked the checkpoint of the sea border guards, one of the sailors was killed and two were wounded, a pistol was lost.

In such an environment, the commander of the CFL makes a bold attempt to sign an agreement on the division of the flotilla at the level of the heads of state of Russia and Azerbaijan during the CIS summit in Tashkent in May of that year. In Tashkent, everything was going well, and Yeltsin was ready to sign the document. But this attempt failed due to the coup that took place in Baku in those days, when Mutalibov, who did not plan his arrival at the summit in Tashkent, replaced the former leader of Azerbaijan. Zinin's next step was the preparation of a decree of the Russian Government on the creation of a base for the Caspian Flotilla in Astrakhan and the Astrakhan region. Many officials in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral Chernavin, helped Zinin "punch through" this decree. And such a decree number 436, signed by First Deputy Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar, was issued on June 28, 1992. Zinin received the main thing - the legal basis for the start of the transfer of the flotilla to Russia. It only remained to agree with Azerbaijan. Kazakhstan, like Turkmenistan, then refused its share in the division of the flotilla. The former commander of the Navy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Rear Admiral Ratmir Komratov recalled: “ Kazakhstan at that time officially refused to divide the fleet, relying on the fact that our interests in the Caspian would be protected by Russia". But the negotiations were not easy.

At the talks held in Baku, the Azerbaijani military delegation demanded 100 percent of the ships and property for themselves. But the head of the delegation from the Ministry of Defense of the Republic, Gaziev, made a mistake in this, allowing himself to speak impolitely about the President of Russia in his temper. This is what Zinin took advantage of, defiantly withdrawing our delegation from the negotiations. Oddly enough, the demarche worked. The then President of Azerbaijan had to intervene in the negotiation process. And all the conditions of Zinin were accepted the very next day: Russia - 75 percent of the ships and property of the former allied flotilla, Azerbaijan - 25.

The section of the Red Banner Caspian Flotilla of the former USSR Navy between Baku and Moscow took place in July 1992. In addition to warships and vessels of almost all classes and auxiliary vessels available to the flotilla, Azerbaijan received at its disposal a well-equipped Baku naval base with large stocks of ammunition and materiel, military shipyard No. 23 and other elements of the naval infrastructure.The first ship to raise the national flag of Azerbaijan was the project 159A SKR-16 patrol ship - Bakunets. It happened on July 26, 1992. This date marked the revival of the national Navy of Azerbaijan. At the beginning of August, the flags of the republic were already raised on three ships. The Azerbaijani side, represented by the Chief of Staff of the Azerbaijani Navy, Captain 1st Rank Rafik Askerov, stated in August 1992 that the transferred ships were in poor condition. And this despite the fact that our sailors were literally forced to fulfill all the requirements of the receiving side. It got to the point that they had to dismantle their outgoing ships, removing some devices and units from them, and putting them on the ones they left. Regarding the problems on the Azerbaijani ships, the commander of the Caspian flotilla, Rear Admiral Boris Zimin, explained to him that the technical condition of the ships is poor due to for the inactive repair plant of the Navy in Baku (SRZ No. 23 of the USSR Navy), which is idle due to the fault of the Azerbaijani authorities. In total, as a result of the partition, Azerbaijan received 15 warships - the patrol ship "SKR-16" (received the name "Bakinets") of project 159A (interestingly, the second ship of this project, which departed for the Caspian Sea of ​​Russia - "Komsomolets of Dagestan" - was in 1992. scrapped), project 205U missile boat "R-173", 2 artillery boats of project 205P "AK-234" and "AK-374" (two or three more of their counterparts of project 205P were, according to some reports, left border guards to Azerbaijan), patrol boat of project 1400M "AKA-55", 3 basic minesweepers of project 12650 "BT-16", "BT-103", "BT-155" and 2 raid minesweepers of project 1258 "RT-136" and "RT -473", 4 small landing ships: 3 project 770 "MDK-36", "MDK-37", "MDK-68" and 1 project 771A "MDK-107", project 1785 tank landing boat "D-603". The Azerbaijani Navy also received the Oka training ship of project 888, 2 fire-fighting vessels of project 1893 PZhS-551, PZhS-552 and 2 fire-fighting boats of project 364 PZhK-12 and PZhK-179, a small cable ship of the project 1172 "Emba", hydrographic vessel "Rezonans" and a number of other vessels.

But this was not enough for them, they tried, wherever possible, to take more. The Azerbaijani military seized and stole in an unknown direction a whole train with equipment and property of the KFL armored service, prepared for shipment to Russia.

But the main problem of the leadership of the flotilla was to carry out the evacuation of personnel and their families with property from independent Azerbaijan to Russia. As the commander of the flotilla, Vice Admiral B. Zimin, recalled: “ The flotilla is not only and not so much the ships themselves, support vessels, warehouses, weapons, it is primarily people - officers and midshipmen, civilian personnel, their families, relatives. Along with the fate of the flotilla, their fate was also decided". Problems arose with the removal of the property of the families of officers. To solve this problem, it was decided to use ships from the navy for this. The Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral of the Fleet V. Chernavin, helped to allocate a flotilla of container ships. The officers left for Astrakhan, in fact, to an empty place - there were no apartments, no dormitories - the containers stood unpacked for a long time. And at the same time, the new Azerbaijani authorities complicated the life and departure of our military as much as they could. Officers and their families left, leaving comfortable apartments, property acquired over the years, because in the ports and on the piers where containers with personal property were loaded onto transports, extortionate customs regulations were in effect.

The evacuation of equipment and equipment of the flotilla was carried out as a special. operations, many of which were headed by the head of the Special Department of the Caspian Flotilla, Captain 1st Rank Ugryumov German Alekseevich. As a colleague of Ugryumov, an employee of the Special Department of the KVF, Captain 2nd Rank Vyacheslav Avt-ov recalled: “ German Alekseevich felt that the situation was to some extent overlooked, since issues of global importance were resolved at the level of Moscow - and here he was powerless. And he began to work on the issue of withdrawing our special equipment - the initiative was his! - on the redeployment of the department. The deal was hard. The Azerbaijani side first offered 50 to 50%, then they spoke differently and tougher: they say, what does Russia have to do with it? We declared sovereignty, therefore, everything is for us - and no talk-negotiations!

It was easy to move from words to deeds. There were many attacks on military units, cars were stolen - and without hiding, in broad daylight. They stopped the car, threw people out, beat them and calmly left. And German Alekseevich developed a plan for the withdrawal of vehicles. We brought it out in two stages. German Alekseevich connected people from among the locals, whom we knew well. They started a rumor that they were supposed to go to Makhachkala on such and such a day, and at another time they left in a completely different direction by a different route. “Desu” We launched regularly. Helped in this ordinary people. The KGB of Azerbaijan has already worked only for itself: how to protect yourself. Russians, Armenians were driven out, they began to divide portfolios. Their mentality played in our favor: we always worked ahead of the curve.

We took out the archives in broad daylight, at lunchtime, on Saturday, knowing that this is the time of the Azerbaijani siesta - as in a comic song: “Everyone lies in the sun, scratches their stomachs with their heels.”

If we had not removed the archives, we would have suffered the fate of the Stasi. On August 3, 1992, everything they considered necessary was loaded onto the Anemometer reconnaissance ship and headed for Astrakhan. At full steam, as many knots as they could squeeze, they rushed out of the bay. I was the transition leader.

At that time, we had virtually no technology. German Alekseevich replied to requests from the NFA that the equipment was on a business trip and would return in a week. We hid the people who helped with the removal. “Where are such and such people?” - “It is said: on a business trip. Will be soon". » And this is not just the flattery of a subordinate. The then head of military counterintelligence, Vice Admiral Alexander Vladislavovich Zhardetsky, recalled: “ A separate cable connected Moscow with the Special Department of the Caspian Flotilla. The Popular Front, having come to power, had the opportunity to listen to any telephone conversations- from the building of the Central Committee, the Council of Ministers, the KGB of the republic, the prosecutor's office. The special link with Herman was the only secure thread they couldn't penetrate. On this connection, he reported on the situation, on which he received orders from the Center.

The Caspian School had a lot of secret documentation. In particular, for nuclear submarines, since chemists were trained there for the nuclear fleet. (A stupid decision, speaking in hindsight, but what can you do - it happened.) I remember telling him: “Herman, do everything possible so that not a single piece of paper remains in the safes!” Herman was engaged not only in his department, he also took out all the documents of the command of the Caspian flotilla.

They tried to block the exit from the bay. Ugryumov proposed to allocate several ships, which would, let's say, lay a clear fairway for the ship with the archives. There was shooting, but there were no casualties: they shot at fright - under the bow, over their heads.

Naturally, they could not take out all the weapons, but most of them, yes. There were also stationary installations, coastal artillery since the First World War - almost with cap loading. They were blown up along with the caponiers.

Grushniki were based not in a military camp, but in Baku itself. Outside the city, about fifteen kilometers away, they had a small detachment - about a hundred people: mostly hearers - listened to the air. They and the documentation were also taken out on the ships of the Caspian flotilla. »

The relocation of the flotilla took place over several months. The ships were transferred under their own power or in tow. So the division of ships under the command of Captain 2nd Rank Viktor Ivanovich Melovantsev relocated from July to November 1992. The first in the middle of summer, under the command of Lieutenant Commander A. Kiparisov, was the PDK-179. Behind him at the end of August was the AK-232 artillery boat under the command of Lieutenant Commander V. Babenko. Some problems were with the T-118 torpedo boat, the repair of which at the plant for various reasons could not be completed, and its commander, Lieutenant Commander A. Zverev, was transferred to Ukraine. The passage of the ship was carried out under tow.

At the end of July, the Chief of Staff of the KFL, Rear Admiral Yuri Startsev, arrived in Astrakhan, and already on August 15, the flotilla was controlled from Astrakhan. All tasks for command and control of forces during this period were assigned to a separate communications company, which in 1992 communications battalion. The head of communications of the KFL was captain 2nd rank Telkov Igor Borisovich. By September 10, the battalion and the communications department of the flotilla were transferred to Astrakhan, and since September 15, the command and control of forces has been carried out from the new location of the flotilla.

In November 1992, the Azerbaijani side made an attempt to seize the T-75 torpedo boat with tail number 300, the last of the remaining combat units of the flotilla in Baku due to its repair. He was part of the division of ships of Captain 2nd Rank V.I. Melovantsev, and it was he who was instructed by the flotilla command to lead the passage to Astrakhan of the last ships - the T-75 torpedo boat and the GS-202 hydrographic vessel. The preparation proved difficult. Although repairs on a torpedo boat was finished he continued stand at the wall of the plant, since sea trials have not yet been carried out, and this made the possibility of its passage by sea rather problematic. Having sorted out the situation, Melovantsev contacted the captain of the hydrographic vessel to clarify the situation on the GS and agree on a release date. However, under various pretexts, for some reason he began to delay time, several times postponing the previously agreed release date. The weather continued to worsen, winter was approaching, and the products on board the torpedo boat were running out, and the crew could no longer get them the same way, since the warehouses were taken over by the Navy of another state. In the end, nevertheless, the day came when the wind seemed to subside a little, and the local authorities confirmed their consent to the departure of the boat. Azerbaijani customs officers got on board, checked the relevant documents and, finding them in perfect order, wished them a happy journey. By radio, permission was requested from the duty officer in Astrakhan for the passage, and the exact time of withdrawal was agreed with the Azerbaijani authorities. However, the captain of the GS-202, citing the absence of almost half of the crew, which consisted mainly of civilians, on board, refused to go out to sea. And at the pier Melovantsev was already waiting for the senior lieutenant of the Azerbaijani Navy with an indication of his command to prohibit the exit of the ship, in connection with "new circumstances that have arisen." As it later became known, this step was explained by the desire of the Azerbaijani side to take possession of the T-75 boat as "compensation" for some debts of the Russian Navy. The operational service of the Baku naval base was ordered not to release the torpedo boat. Melovantsev decided to leave secretly. But it was not easy to do so. I had to, in violation of the rules, ignore the last order of the Azerbaijani command. At the same time, it was necessary to slightly change the route of the transition. For obvious reasons, the division commander could not make a phone call and notify the operational duty officer in Astrakhan of his decision. It remained to establish contact with him by radio, but only after going to sea. The severity of the situation was aggravated by the fact that the ship had engines that were not tested on the move. In addition, it was difficult for him to move along the narrow fairway of the bay on his own, without the help of tugboats: the hydrofoils, which protruded far beyond the contours of the boat, interfered. In addition, the crew was completed by only 60%, and most of the sailors were actually recruits who arrived on the ship only two or three months ago and did not have time in terms of repairs as they should master the material part. Old-time sailors came to the rescue, such as the foreman of the motor team, senior midshipman V. Serdyukov, who served the Engines incessantly and at the same time trained his subordinates. The crew was informed that the boat was secretly leaving for Astrakhan. During the lunch break, there are practically no people on the territory of the plant. It was at this time, having independently given up the moorings, the boat began to move at the slowest speed towards the exit from the bay. Finally, its narrow fairway was left behind, and then, on the expanse of the open sea, they went full speed ahead. Only it was not possible to communicate by radio with his command in order to inform about the exit and the route of movement. The boat safely reached Makhachkala, and from there, having replenished supplies, moved to Astrakhan. Later, upon the arrival of the boat to the main base, Melovantsev, as they say, "got nuts." The question arose about assessing his actions in the current situation in Baku. On the one hand, he violated certain rules, on his own, without informing the relevant services of the Russian Navy and the Azerbaijani Navy, he left the point of his previous deployment. On the other hand, he showed determination and initiative in executing the order. The commander of the Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy had to conduct difficult negotiations on this issue with the command of the Azerbaijani Navy, since there were still several Russian ships in Baku with the cargo and equipment of the flotilla, which still had to move to new bases .

There were many problems in the new place. The instant Caspian flotilla was deprived of a stationary mooring front and storage bases that remained in independent Azerbaijan. Immediately after the withdrawal of ships and the removal of property from Baku, the question became acute: where to locate the arsenal and where to store a huge amount of artillery, small arms and missile ammunition. Volzhsky Island, located far from the city, was allocated for him, and besides, there was already a minesweeper base there. It is clear that the buildings and storage facilities of the minesweeper division did not meet the requirements for a weapons base of such an impressive size and storage volume. But all the same, here it is much easier to deploy it than to rebuild it in a flat field. The veterans of the unit, the senior midshipman of the reserve Garik Harutyunyan and the employee Georgy Grigoriev, recall: “ At that time, it was important, first of all, simply to place and secure boxes with cartridges, shells and small arms. Let it be in the open air". Then they started building storage facilities.

At the beginning of November 1992, President of the Russian Federation B. Yeltsin arrived in Astrakhan on a working trip. He also visited the flotilla. November in Astrakhan is not the best month for visiting, mud, rain, streets flooded with water due to the lack of storm sewers. The first to fly to Astrakhan was the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral of the Fleet F. Gromov. The territory of the flotilla headquarters is undeveloped, the building has not been renovated. In the office of the Chief of Staff, where the meeting was held, whitewashing was falling on the Commander-in-Chief from the ceiling, but he was courageously silent, never making any remarks. Approximately in the same atmosphere, the meeting of the President with the personnel of the flotilla took place. At the end of the meeting, Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin thanked Vice Admiral B. Zimin, commander of the flotilla, saying: "Well done, everything is fine with you!"

At the end of November 1992, when the ship's forces and military equipment were transferred to Astrakhan, Vice Admiral B. Zimin, the commander of the Caspian Flotilla, also left the city of Baku.

The relocation of the hydrographic service of the KF was actually the final stage in the relocation of the Caspian Flotilla. The military and civilian personnel at that time honorably and selflessly fulfilled all the tasks facing them, which was noted by the President of Russia and the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy.

In addition to the ships of the Caspian flotilla itself, there were also border guard ships that were organizationally subordinate to the KGB of the USSR. 17 ObrPSKR territorially remaining in Baku, until April 1992, it was formally a Soviet military formation and continued to solemnly raise the flag of a non-existent state every day and perform no one knows what tasks. The “great” sitting on two chairs ended with the signing in April 1992 by the then President of the Russian Federation B.N. Yeltsin, the Decree on the transfer of all border units and formations of the former Transcaucasian border district of the KGB of the USSR under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation.

In the spring of 1992, an active development of a plan for the redeployment of 17 ObrPSKR to the territory of Russia began. To this end, the place of further basing of the maritime border formation was finally determined. This place was the city of A Strahan. The main role in the development and practical implementation of the relocation plan for the brigade was played by the senior officer of the operational-military department (OVO) "Baku" captain 1st rank Chernyshev Vyacheslav Petrovich, and of course, the commander of the 17th ObrPSKR, captain 1st rank Yudin Arkady Nikolaevich. It was on the shoulders of these officers that a colossal legal and moral responsibility for the success of this operation fell as a heavy burden. The active phase of the implementation of the plan for the redeployment of the 17th ObrPSKR from Baku to Astrakhan began in the summer of 1992. Astrakhan. Initially, this group was located in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe plant. Uritsky, but for a number of objective and subjective reasons, after a while, she moved to a new base in the area of ​​​​the village. Solyanka. The final base of the withdrawn group of ships and boats in the city of A Strakhani for many years to come, soon became the territory and coastline of tank farm No. 2, in the village. III International. It was here that the necessary infrastructure was formed for the basing, repair and maintenance of ships and boats, as well as all related coastal units and the brigade headquarters. Along with solving organizational and technical problems, the command of the brigade, together with local authorities, devoted a lot of time to solving the social and domestic problems of military personnel and members of their families. To this end, in the fall of 1992, when part of the military personnel of the brigade were still in , and the other part was already in Astrakhan, the command managed to rent barrack-type living quarters along Rozhdestvensky Street - 18. In this "border" town, officers and midshipmen lived for several years, while having the most modest, even by military standards, set of utilities amenities.

The process of redeployment of the border part in time and space was quite long. Having begun in the summer of 1992, it received its legal and logical completion in late November - early December 1992. It was at the end of November 1992 that the final acts on the division of property and material assets were signed with the Azerbaijani side, and on December 9, 1992 the final a group of Russian sailors - border guards, led by the commander of the 17th ObrPSKR captain 1st rank Yudin A.N., on on board the Il-86 aircraft, with honor left the capital of sovereign Azerbaijan, the city of Baku. Thus ended the 70-year history of the brigade's stay in the city of Baku. By order of the commander of the unit, December 9 was declared the day of the end of the redeployment of the 17th ObrPSKR in the city of A Strakhan. Border guards in Baku left three ships pr.205P: "PSKR-618", "PSKR-624" for decommissioning semi-disassembled and "PSKR-625" on the go. But of the two that were said to be decommissioned, one "PSKR-618" in 1989 was overhauled.

After the collapse of the USSR, the forces of the flotilla were divided between Russia and Azerbaijan. 18 warships and 62 support vessels left the flotilla. The flotilla lost 3 bases and 18 combat training areas. The ships that remained in Russia after the partition will be relocated to Astrakhan and Makhachkala. Astrakhan becomes the main base. At the same time, there was a danger that the flotilla itself would cease to exist.

At the beginning of 1993, a directive of the Russian Ministry of Defense appeared, according to which the Caspian Flotilla was to be reorganized into a naval base. However, its commander, Vice Admiral Zinin, seeks an audience with the then Minister of Defense, General of the Army Pavel Grachev, and convinces him to keep the flotilla on the Caspian Sea. Soon the ill-fated directive was cancelled. Moreover, missile and artillery boats from the Baltic and Black Sea fleets were transferred to the Caspian. At the insistence of Zinin, for the first time in its history, marine corps units were formed as part of the flotilla, which in the future made a worthy contribution to the defeat of the Basayev gangs in Chechnya.

Anniversary 2012 year, Rear Admiral Sergei Gavrilovich Alekminsky, commander of the Caspian Flotilla, stated: «… 20 years ago personnel The Caspian Flotilla, headed by Commander Vice Admiral Boris Mikhailovich Zinin, ensured the relocation of the main base and flotilla forces from Baku to their historical homeland in Astrakhan. Thus, our association was preserved for Russia, for its Navy. And already here, in Astrakhan, a new main base was created by the selfless labor of these people, the conditions were prepared for the revival of the combat power of the flotilla. Without any exaggeration, we can say that at that time the military personnel, members of their families, workers and employees of the association performed a real feat in the name of the Fatherland. »

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KhairullinShamil captain 2nd rank reserve "Caspian-style Renaissance" "Red Star" 01/25/2012

"Anniversary of the main base of the Caspian Flotilla" Journal "Sea Collection" No. 6, 2012, pp. 18-20.

Yarovoy Arkady Fedorovich "Farewell to the KGB"

Rosin Alexander.

Alexey Zakvasin

The main base of the Red Banner Caspian Flotilla will be the city of Kaspiysk located in Dagestan. This was stated by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. According to him, the military is currently building coastal infrastructure and housing. After the collapse of the USSR, most of the flotilla units were deployed in the Astrakhan region. According to experts, the move will significantly increase the capabilities of this operational association of the Navy. About the reasons for the relocation - in the material RT.

• Small rocket ship "Grad Sviyazhsk" during the exercises of ship groups of the Caspian flotilla
• RIA News
• Denis Abramov

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of the Red Banner Caspian Flotilla (KFL) from Astrakhan to Kaspiysk. The head of the department said that construction of coastal infrastructure and housing facilities is underway on the territory of the future base point.

“A decision was made to transfer the Caspian flotilla to Kaspiysk. We have a huge construction site going on there: piers, moorings, service points, housing. The number of our officers and military personnel will increase by a multiple," Shoigu said at a meeting with the leadership of the military department.

Strike force base

The decision to improve the infrastructure of the Caspian Flotilla was made in August 2017 at the board of the Ministry of Defense. A month later, the first deputy head of the military department, Ruslan Tsalikov, arrived in Kaspiysk on a visit.

The Deputy Minister of Defense listened to reports from the command of the Southern Military District on plans for the construction of a berthing front and ground structures of the CFL. Tsalikov also inspected the territories intended for construction work and facilities subject to major repairs.

According to the plans of the Ministry of Defense, the first stage of construction of the ship bases will be completed in 2019. Over the next two years, work will be carried out in Kaspiysk to deepen the bottom, build a mooring front (ship mooring lines, pools and piers) and a number of ground infrastructure facilities.

• Basing point of the Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy in Kaspiysk
• Fred Schaerli/Wikimedia Commons

In 2020, a hospital, ammunition depots, barracks for soldiers and housing for officers will appear in Kaspiysk. As a result, a full-fledged port infrastructure will be created in the Dagestan port. The base point will be protected from natural Disasters and possible enemy attacks.

Kaspiysk is the base of the strike forces of the CFL. There are five divisions of the CFL in the city: the 106th brigade of ships for the protection of the water area, the 250th guards division of surface ships, the 242nd division of landing ships, the 414th separate battalion of marines, a separate radio engineering center.

Detachment 137 deployed in Makhachkala special purpose for combating underwater sabotage forces and means (PDSS) and a subdivision of the hydrographic service.

IN Soviet years Baku was the main base of the flotilla. In 1992, the headquarters and a significant part of the KFL units were moved to Astrakhan, a geographic location that was less advantageous from a strategic point of view. Now the 293rd rescue squad, a logistics base, a group of hydrographic vessels and a communications squad are in the city.

The 198th division of minesweepers (Nikolo-Komarovka), the 727th separate battalion of marines (Novolesnoye), the logistics center (Trudfront), the 73rd brigade of ships for the protection of the water area (Golden Zaton) and 327 th division of missile boats (Golden Zaton).

southern outpost

In total, the Caspian Flotilla consists of 17 units. The surface component includes 28 warships and boats: two patrol ships, three small missile ships, four small artillery ships, five artillery boats, one missile boat, six landing craft and seven minesweepers.

The tasks of the CFL include assisting the forces of the Southern Military District, protecting trade routes and oil fields, conducting anti-terrorist activities and carrying out joint missions with partners in the region.

• Ship groups of the Caspian flotilla consisting of small missile ships Grad Sviyazhsk, Uglich, Veliky Ustyug, base minesweeper M. Gadzhiev" and two raid minesweepers completed tactical exercises at sea and returned to their bases - the ports of Makhachkala and Astrakhan
• Ministry of Defense of Russia

The Caspian Flotilla is the smallest formation of the Navy, but its role has become much more significant after the start of the Syrian operation. The flotilla received its baptism of fire on October 7, 2015. Ships "Dagestan", "Uglich", "Grad Sviyazhsk" and "Great Ustyug".

Dagestan media write that Kaspiysk is much better suited for the role of the main base of the CFL. The city has a developed transport infrastructure, sufficient territory for the construction of military facilities and no dominant heights.

more southerly geographical position future point of deployment will solve a number of problems. The Caspian flotilla will be less dependent on ice drift and will be able to deploy forces in the region more quickly at any time of the year.

• At the basing points of the ship formations of the Caspian Flotilla in Astrakhan and Makhachkala, the crews of ships and support vessels completed special work on their maintenance and preparation for operation and parking during the winter training period
• Ministry of Defense of Russia

In an interview with Krasnaya Zvezda, Vice Admiral, Commander of the CFL in 1991-1996 Boris Zinin said that the idea of ​​​​creating a military port in Kaspiysk appeared in 2011. The new basing point should become a convenient parking lot for a growing number of warships.

According to Zinin, access to the sea from the Astrakhan base is difficult due to shallow depths and the Volga fairway freezing in winter. At the same time, the Caspian basing point today is a narrow coastal strip 150 m long. Ships often have to moor not sideways to the berth, but in a less safe contact way (side by side to each other).

In an interview with RT, Alexei Leonkov, commercial director of Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine, explained that the transfer of CFL units from the Astrakhan region to Kaspiysk would significantly increase the capabilities of this operational association of the Navy. Russia will be able to deploy a missile umbrella over the Transcaucasus and the vast territory of the Middle East.

“With the commissioning of the new base, the ships of the Caspian flotilla will be more quickly transferred to the areas of combat duty. The zone of destruction of the Caspian flotilla, thanks to the Caliber complexes, is extremely large. Russia will be able to reliably cover its allies in the Transcaucasus, Central Asia and in the Middle East,” Leonkov said.

The specific geographical location of the Caspian Sea makes it a potential zone of geopolitical conflict. There are several international treaties, the purpose of which, first of all, is to regulate the issue of the use of natural resources. However, for some reasons, there are reasons to doubt that these agreements can be a full guarantee of the absence of any conflict. Therefore, in the media, statements by politicians and experts, as well as in "kitchen" discussions, the topic of possible military operations in the Caspian Sea is regularly raised. Let's try to figure out what forces the countries whose shores are washed by this sea have.

Ships in the line: Project 11661K missile ship Tatarstan - flagship, Project 11661K missile ship Dagestan, Project 1265E PSKR Astrakhanets (former base minesweeper), Project 21630 MAK Astrakhan, Project 21630 MAK Volgodonsk, Rocket boat R-32 project 12421, IAC "Gomel" project 12411 (former missile boat)

The most powerful force in the region is the Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy. It includes ships and boats of various projects, the total number of which is almost three dozen. The largest, most powerful and armed ships of the Caspian flotilla are two Project 11661 Gepard patrol boats. The ships "Tatarstan" and "Dagestan" have artillery, torpedo and missile weapons: one 76-mm gun mount AK-176, two anti-aircraft guns AK-630M, two torpedo tubes of 533 mm caliber and two quadruple launchers for anti-ship missiles of the Caliber family . In addition, the crew has at its disposal one RBU-6000 bomb launcher for combating submarines and 20 anti-aircraft missiles of the Osa-MA complex for air defense. The guard ship "Tatarstan" is the flagship of the Caspian flotilla. In addition to patrol ships, the flotilla also includes ships of other classes. These are small artillery ships of projects 21630 "Buyan" and 12411. The project "Buyan" is represented by the ships "Astrakhan" and "Volgodonsk". Each of these carries a 100mm A-190 artillery mount and a 40-barreled A-215 multiple rocket launcher. In addition, for defense against air attack, the Buyan ships have AK-306 anti-aircraft guns and launchers for 3M47 Gibka missiles. In addition, the Caspian Flotilla has one MAK-160 small artillery ship belonging to the modified project 12411. Its armament is generally similar to previous ships, but it does not carry anti-aircraft missile launchers. The main caliber of the MAK-160 is the 76-mm artillery mount AK-176. The driving characteristics of the ships of projects 11661, 21630 and 12411 allow them to navigate most of the Caspian Sea without replenishing fuel supplies. To this radius of action, you can add the firing range of anti-ship missiles (in the case of the Cheetahs). In fact, at least half of the entire Caspian Sea is under the control of patrol boats and small missile ships alone.

Twins-MAKs "Astrakhan" and "Volgodonsk"

Despite the presence of fairly large ships with a relatively large displacement in the Caspian Flotilla, the bulk of the equipment is made up of boats of various classes and projects. At the same time, the bulk of combat boats have been serving in the Caspian Sea for more than a dozen years. So, the newest of the project 1204 artillery boats was commissioned back in 1972. The situation is approximately the same with missile boats, however, even the oldest of them (P-50 Karachay-Cherkessia) began service later than artillery boats 1204, in 1978. At the same time, there are newer boats on the Caspian Sea. AK-326 (project 1400M) was commissioned in 1990, and R-32 of project 12421 - in 2010. In view of such a large spread in the time of construction and commissioning, the armament of artillery missile ships is quite diverse. Artillery is mainly represented by AK-176 and AK-630 installations, missile weapons - by P-15 Termit and P-270 Moskit anti-ship systems. The list of warships of the Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy is completed by six landing craft of projects 11770, 1176 and 21820, as well as five minesweepers of projects 1258, 12650 and 10750.

Project 12150 Mongoose border patrol boat

Border patrol boat of project 18623 "Mustang-2"

The main goals of the Caspian Flotilla, according to official statements, are the protection of coastal waters, the fight against poaching and the protection of national interests in oil production areas. As a matter of fact, similar goals are declared by other states that have access to the Caspian Sea. However, in quantitative and qualitative terms, their flotilla is significantly behind the Russian one.

Iran has the most powerful maritime grouping in the Caspian among foreign countries. On the Caspian Sea, the Islamic Republic has three naval bases, one of which is used for training purposes. A characteristic feature of the Iranian flotilla is the absence of large ships. The basis of the military power of the Iranian fleet in the Caspian Sea is made up of missile boats of Chinese-made Houdong, German-made Kaman and Sina projects of their own design. The main armament of all these boats is Chinese YJ-82 anti-ship missiles. In addition, several dozens of light boats and motor boats equipped with less solid weapons, from machine guns to medium-caliber recoilless rifles, are serving at the Caspian bases of Iran. Recently, talks about the strengthening of the Iranian presence in the Caspian Sea have become more frequent. Admirals from Tehran from time to time promise to transfer more serious ships, guards or frigates to the Caspian Sea. However, so far the entire Caspian flotilla of Iran consists only of boats of various classes.

Landing craft project 11770 "Serna"

It is worth noting that the second place in terms of the power of its naval forces in the Caspian Sea with Iran could be shared by Kazakhstan. The latter is significantly behind in terms of the total number of vehicles, but it has several more serious ships. The flagship of the Kazakh flotilla is the only missile boat "Kazakhstan" of project 20971. It was developed by the Russian Central Design Bureau "Almaz" and built at the Kazakh plant "Zenith" in the city of Uralsk. The basis of the ship's armament is eight Kh-35 anti-ship missiles. In addition to them, the ship has artillery, as well as air defense equipment. In the coming years, Kazakhstan will receive three Yoon Young-ha-class missile boats ordered from South Korea. Three more Korean-made boats, but only with artillery weapons, were received in the middle of the 2000s. These are "Shapshan" ("Fast"), "Batyr" ("Brave") and "Izet" ("Fearless") belonging to the Sea Dolphin project. A little earlier, Astana bought one patrol boat of the Turk project from Turkey. It should be noted that large boats are not a priority for the development of the Kazakh fleet. The most massive class of equipment in the Kazakh Navy are patrol boats, of which there are more than fifty. It is noteworthy that most of the patrol boats that entered service after the collapse of the USSR were built by Kazakhstan either independently or with the help of Russia. Only about two dozen boats were bought abroad. The armament of patrol boats is quite heterogeneous: from machine guns, including large-caliber ones, to artillery of 76 mm caliber.

In the attack - artillery boats of project 1204 "Bumblebee"

Azerbaijan has a relatively large fleet. This country has one project 159A patrol ship and five project 205P missile boats built back in Soviet times. In addition, the Azerbaijani fleet has five patrol boats of various designs, including those purchased from Turkey. An interesting fact is that the most massive type of equipment in the Azerbaijani Navy are landing ships and boats. About a dozen ships of projects 770, 771 and 106 serve at naval bases. The reasons for such an original structure of the Caspian flotilla of Azerbaijan, apparently, are the features of the basing of the USSR Navy in the Caspian Sea, as well as the economic opportunities of the new independent state.

However, a dozen ships and boats with serious weapons and another ten landing craft are not an anti-record in the Caspian Sea. Turkmenistan received "inheritance" from the USSR and acquired an even smaller amount of equipment after its collapse. Currently, this country has only two project 12418 Molniya missile boats, ten patrol boats of Soviet, Ukrainian and Turkish production. In addition, Turkmen sailors serve on one LCM-1 landing craft, one ambulance boat and one tugboat. At the same time, a remark should be made: the boats of the Molniya project became part of the Turkmen naval forces only in 2011.

As you can see, the composition of the naval forces of the states of the Caspian Sea is quite heterogeneous both in quantitative and qualitative aspects. On this moment the leaders can be called the Russian and Iranian Caspian flotillas. At the same time, serious differences are noticeable in the approach to the formation of the composition of these operational formations. Thus, in recent years Russia has been trying to equip the Caspian flotilla with missile and artillery ships. Iran, in turn, prefers to create the so-called. mosquito fleet. The reasons for this discrepancy are obvious: the Caspian Flotilla of the Navy of the USSR and Russia has always had a slightly lower priority than the rest of the fleets. Therefore, the recently begun rearmament has become an occasion and a means for a significant increase in the potential of the Caspian connection and the renewal of its equipment. In the case of Iran, the reason for the specific equipment of the naval forces is the need to deploy the bulk of the ships in the Persian Gulf. In addition, taking into account the current political situation in this region, one can draw a conclusion about the direction of the strikes expected by Tehran. Judging by the mosquito fleet in the Caspian, the Islamic Republic does not consider Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan or Turkmenistan to be potential adversaries, from which it is urgently necessary to “fence off” with a powerful fleet.

As for the hypothetical military conflict between the states of the Caspian region, some things are already clear here. It is easy to guess that the same Turkmenistan with its few ships and boats can hardly compete with Iran or Azerbaijan. Much more unpredictable will be the clashes of countries with good fleets - Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan or Azerbaijan. In the case of these states, the outcome naval battles will depend more on the interaction of units and their management. In addition, other types of troops will definitely join the conflict, which, in the end, makes forecasting even more difficult. Regardless of the current alignment of forces or the possibility of a military conflict, all countries in the region should continue to develop and strengthen their armed forces. In the coming years, the Caspian flotilla of Russia will be replenished with two ships of project 21631 Buyan-M and several more boats for various purposes. The construction of this equipment is carried out in order to update the flotilla, as well as to preserve its combat potential. In the light of regular statements about the strengthening of the fleets of the states of the Caspian Sea, the renewal of our flotilla looks logical and useful. Perhaps in the future, the strengthening of the Caspian flotilla will even prevent a conflict - "hot heads" from neighboring states will not start fighting, risking to meet in battle with the Buyans, Cheetahs and other Russian ships.

According to the websites:
http://flot.com/
http://almaz-kb.ru/
http://armstrade.org/
http://waronline.org/
http://globalsecurity.org/
http://lenta.ru/
http://kazpravda.kz/
http://argumenti.ru/
http://turkmenistan.gov.tm/

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