Among the Kremlin's mass media, one of the favorite topics is the navy as a symbol of great power and authority. But russian naval fleet leaves much to be desired, for example, they are not satisfied with their surface shipbuilding industry being able to only produce corvettes and frigates and having practically forgotten how to make destroyers, to say nothing of cruisers.
Against such a gloomy background, russians from time to time recall the history of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier named Ulyanovsk, laid down in Mykolaiv, back in the 1988's USSR. The extravagant project, however, has never seen completion, and the finished parts were scrapped in 1992.
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Although this historic episode has more symbolic than practical significance, it is still worth looking into, at least to understand why, judging by how often russians bring up this very Ulyanovsk, they still regret this ship wasn't completed — and stolen similarly to what happened with the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier in December 1991.
For reference, back then, the russian military simply hijacked this ship from the Mykolaiv shipyard, at that time the vessel had not even passed all the tests.
Why the Ulyanovsk aircraft carrier was never completed is actually quite simple to explain. The cost of its construction at the beginning of construction was estimated at 800 million Soviet rubles, or even 2 billion rubles if you take into account the armament and aviation.
As of early 1992, this ship was only 28% ready, and neither Ukraine nor russia had enough money for completion. Thus, Ulyanovsk's fate was sealed: on February 4, 1992, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine issued an order to dispose of the unfinished Soviet ship.
Now, an interesting question: if russia itself wasn't interested in this nuclear aircraft carrier back in 1992, then why feel so nostalgic for it now. Perhaps the answer lies in the design specifications of this ship that basically scream "unrivaled power" which looks especially attractive for cultivating an international image.
Ulyanovsk belonged to class Project 1143.7 (formally classified as a nuclear aircraft-carrying cruiser), it was to have a water displacement of 79,760 tons, and the largest hull dimensions: 324 meters long and 75 m wide, operated by a crew of 3,800 people.
The power plant was to consist of four nuclear reactors and four steam turbines with a total capacity of 280,000 horsepower, providing a maximum speed of 30 knots.
Ulyanovsk nuclear-powered aircraft carrier of the Soviet Project 1143.7 / Open-source archive photo
The aviation group based on Ulyanovsk was to consist of 70 aircraft, including 60 Su-33 fighters, four Yak-44 airborne early warning aircraft (this project was never implemented either), and two Ka-27 helicopters in modifications for anti-submarine warfare and search-and-rescue operations. In addition, the ship was supposed to be weaponized with 12 or 16 launchers for P-700 Granit anti-ship missiles (same as the equipment of Admiral Kuznetsov), the S-300M Fort-M air defense system, and the Kortik anti-aircraft artillery system.
But let us emphasize once again that listed above are the passport characteristics, they were never implemented, and became nothing but a pipe dream for the grievers of the unrealized naval superiority of russia as an imaginary global powerhouse.
In this context we should also recall that in June 2020, in order to save its imperialistic image, the Kremlin attempted to build nuclear destroyers under the Lider project, another undertaking that remained solely on paper.
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