The Caspian Flotilla is the maritime element of the Southern Military District, which is stationed in Astrakhan and ensures Russian national interests in the Caspian Sea region by carrying out antiterrorist activities, providing safety of trade, protecting national interests in the area of oil fields. The flotilla consists of several brigades and divisions of surface ships and units of coastal troops. It operates the Tatarstan and the Dagestan missile ships, the Grad Sviyazhsk, the Uglich, the Veliky Ustyug corvettes and the Stupinets missile boat.
Russia is preparing a new base for its Caspian Flotilla, which is set to become of the countrys most technically advanced naval facilities. The Black Sea Fleets former commander, Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, welcomed the decision to relocate the Caspian Flotilla headquarters from Astrakhan to Kaspiisk in Dagestan as strategically correct. From a strategic standpoint, all the neighboring countries are our good friends. Secondly, we are just moving the command and control headquarters there, Komoyedov said 01 April 2018. He added that having the fleets strike force deployed up front is one thing and having its headquarters in the middle is another. My guess is that in terms of the ships deployment and operation, including overseas ones, this might be a better way to go, the admiral noted.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Russia will be closing the headquarters of the Caspian Flotilla in Astrakhan and moving to a new location in Dagestan. Vast construction work is in progress there: piers, logistic facilities and housing. The number of our officers and other personnel will increase manifold," Shoigu said at a conference of senior Defense Ministry officials on 01 April 2018.
The Caspian Flotilla is also a strong factor in ensuring Russias leadership on the worlds largest landlocked sea where littoral states have been engaged in a 15-year-old tug-of-war over the seas oil and bio resources. The Caspian Flotilla gained prominence in Russia's strategic vision when it carried out a series of cruise missile strikes at terrorist positions in Syria in October 2015.
The Caspian Flotilla is a small force for coastal defense and waterways patrol consisting of two frigates, twelve patrol boats, and about fifty other small craft based in Astrakhan'. Command and equipment are shared with Azerbaijan and Kazakstan, other former Soviet republics on the Caspian littoral. The Caspian Flotilla was for a time a bone of contention between Russia and various other republics, though a March 1992 agreement divided up the Caspian Flotilla among Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan. The withdrawal of troops from Azerbaijan required Russia to establish military infrastructure in Astrakhan, providing a new base for the Caspian flotilla.
Divided in 1992, by 1995 the Caspian sea flotilla was no longer able to cope with its mission of deterring smuggling. In mid-1997 Russia decided to reinforce the Caspian Flotilla and expand its activities. The flotilla will receive funding to create additional coastal facilities for its ships and a crack unit for special operations on land. It is also to receive additional armored personnel carriers for its marine infantry. A related program reportedly envisages more frequent visits by flotilla ships to Iranian ports.
Today, under the new geopolitical conditions, the role and value of Caspian flotilla grows. Primary tasks today become the guarantee of nation- state interests of Russia in the region, opposition to terrorism. Contemporary realities of life placed ships and parts of the Caspian flotilla on the guard of the southern boundaries of Russia.
An example of further development and growth of the military power of Caspian flotilla was the transfer of new contemporary destroyer escort "tatarstan" to the composition of flotilla, patronage of which had the administration of federal state unitary enterprise "ON the plant im. Sergo" city it was Zelenodol'sk the republics Of tatarstan. At present the government of the Russian Federation affirmed the state ship-building program of the building of ships for the Caspian flotilla, within the framework of which is already at the present moment developed the design of warships taking into account the specific character of Caspian Region. In 2003 the beginning of the building of the ship of this series is planned.
The guard Moscow- Chernigov brigade of marines, which participated in conducting of the dissents of the terrorist operation in the Chechen republic. It is more than 900 officers, Warrant Officers and ensigns flotillas were honored government rewards. An example in the fulfillment of military duty and service to the native land for entire personnel of flotilla is the hero of the Russian Federation elder ensign Grigoriy zamyshlyak.
During August 2002 on the decision of President of the Russian Federation, in Caspian Sea the large-scale study of Caspian flotilla with the attraction of parts and air force units, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of the Russian federation on the matters of civil defense, the extraordinary situations and overcoming of the consequences of the natural calamities and ministry of transport of Russia was carry ouied. These are first in the recent decades of this scale study, conducted in the Caspian region, the tasks, to which they were set by the President of Russia during the visit to Astrakhan and the visit to them the ships of Caspian flotilla. The ships and the parts of the Caspian flotilla obtained the appreciation of the alert from the President of the Russian Federation Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich and this it makes it possible to say on the sums of the carried out studies that the southern boundaries of Russia are reliably protected.
Also during September 2002 the ships of flotilla visited with the friendly visit the capital of the republic of Azerbaijan - Baku. During October 2002 Caspian flotilla noted its 280- summer anniversary and 10-year anniversary from the day of conclusion from Baku.
Russia in recent years has beefed up its Caspian military presence. The flotilla, based in Astrakhan, includes two frigates, 12 patrol ships and a variety of smaller vessels. The Tatarstan, launched in 2003, is one of the newest ships in the Russian navy. The Caspian flotilla would play a major role in any regional effort to combat terrorism and narcotics trafficking in the region.
Caspian Sea Context
The Caspian Sea, located on Iran's northern border, surrounded by Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan, and sharing a border with the south-west corner of Russian territory, is the epicentre of a collision of regional, national and business issues. These include questions among the littoral countries over demarcating the Sea, route diversification for oil pipelines, state interests, investor concern over political and ethnic stability, and the role of international agreements. The Caspian has been compared to the North Sea in size of petroleum holdings. It is credited with 20 to 40 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, though this pales in comparison to Russia's massive Siberian reserves bordering on 200 billion proven barrels.
The political battle over the Caspian began with a confrontation in April 1994 among Azerbaijan, Britain and Russia. Azerbaijan was turning toward an alliance with Turkey and proceeding with a de facto division of the Caspian Sea. Russia sought to prevent the Sea from being divided into national sectors as proscribed by the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention, because some of the Sea's richest deposits did not lie in its sector. Under these circ*mstances, it seemed possible that the Russian Caspian flotilla might launch a military operation to restore the status quo in the Caspian Sea. Finally, in November 1996 Russia proposed a 45-mile coastal zone, beyond which there would be a condominium approach to the problem.
According to national defense doctrine, Kazakstan had a minimal requirement for naval forces. In late 1993, Kazakstan received about 25 percent of the patrol boats and cutters in Russia's Caspian Sea Flotilla, which subsequently constituted the entire naval force. In 1993 naval bases were planned for Fort Shevchenko on the Caspian Sea and at Aral, north of the Aral Sea, but a scarcity of funds delayed completion. Kazakhstan since 1997 received ten ships from the USA and Germany. The Kazakh flotilla is intended to perform coastal guard missions only. Aktau is its main base. As of July 1998 the Caspian Flotilla of Kazakhstan took delivery of the third Kazakh-made combat cutter, built (as were the first two) at the Zenith shipyard in Uralsk, a city in western Kazakhstan. Two similar vessels remained under construction there. By late May 2022, the international sanctions imposed against the occupying country do not allow to fully maintain and repair the navigation equipment and diesel equipment of the fleet's warships. To ensure buoyancy on some ships, including cruise missile carriers, instead of the original units were installed units of Chinese-made appliances, which were purchased at an inflated price several times. Now the occupiers, aware of "import substitution", perceive every exit to the sea as a one-way ticket. After all, it could be their last and even lead to an ecological catastrophe in the region.The command of the Caspian flotilla, fearing inspections and accusations of embezzlement of spare parts for the purchase of funds, ordered to hide the facts of incompetence of the ship's crew. Those guilty of leaking this threat are threatened with high treason and up to 15 years in prison.Sailors of the 106th brigade of surface ships of the Caspian flotilla of the Southern Military District of the Russian Federation, which as part of a naval group involved in the war against Ukraine, refuse to perform combat missions due to the emergency condition of the ships. The occupiers decided to secretly write collective letters to Putin and the Shoigu, in which to reveal all the financial machinations of the command.
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