Moskva, formerly Slava, was a guided missile cruiser of the Russian Navy. Commissioned in 1983, she was the lead ship of the Project 1164 Atlant class, named after the city of Moscow. With a crew of 510, Moskva was the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet and the most powerful warship in the region.
The cruiser was deployed during conflicts in Georgia (2008), Crimea (2014), and Syria (2015). She led the naval assault during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, from February 2022 until her sinking on 14 April 2022.
History
As Slava
Slava was laid down in 1976 in Shipyard 445 of the 61 Kommunara Shipbuilding Plant in Mykolaiv, Ukrainian SSR, launched in 1979, and commissioned into the Soviet Navy on 30 January 1983. Between 18 and 22 November 1986, the ship visited the Greek port of Piraeus.
Slava played a role in the Malta Summit (2–3 December 1989) between Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and US President George H. W. Bush. She was used by the Soviet delegation, while the US delegation had their sleeping quarters aboard . The ships were anchored in a roadstead off the coast of Marsaxlokk. Stormy weather and choppy seas resulted in some meetings being cancelled or rescheduled, and gave rise to the moniker the "Seasick Summit" among international media. In the end, the meetings took place aboard , a Soviet cruise ship anchored in Marsaxlokk Bay.
Slava returned to Mykolaiv in December 1990 for a refit that lasted until late 1998. On 15 May 1995, the ship was formally renamed Moskva.
As Moskva
Recommissioned into the Russian Navy in April 2000, Moskva replaced the as the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
In early April 2003, Moskva, along with the frigate , Smetlivy, and a landing ship departed Sevastopol for exercises in the Indian Ocean with a Pacific Fleet task group (Marshal Shaposhnikov and Admiral Panteleyev) and the Indian Navy. The force was supported by the Project 1559V tanker Ivan Bubnov and the Project 712 ocean-going tug Shakhter.
Moskva visited Malta's Grand Harbour in October 2004, and the Ensemble of the Black Sea Fleet performed at a concert at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta for the occasion. In 2008 and 2009, she visited the Mediterranean and participated in naval drills with the ships of the Northern Fleet.
In August 2008, in support of the Russian invasion of Georgia, Moskva was deployed to secure the Black Sea. During a brief surface engagement, the Georgian Navy scored one missile hit on Moskva before being overwhelmed. After Russia's recognition of Abkhazia's independence, the ship was stationed at the Abkhazian capital, Sukhumi.
On 3 December 2009, Moskva was laid up for a month at floating dry dock PD-30 in Sevastopol for a scheduled interim overhaul which comprised replacement of cooling and other machinery, reclamation work at the bottom and outboard fittings, propulsion shafts and screws, clearing and painting of bottom and above-water parts of the ship's hull.
In April 2010 it was reported that Moskva would join other navy units in the Indian Ocean to conduct exercises. In August 2013 the cruiser visited Havana, Cuba.
In late August 2013, Moskva was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea in response to the build-up of US warships along the coast of Syria. During the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, Moskva blockaded the Ukrainian fleet in Donuzlav Lake.
On 17 September 2014, Moskva was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea, taking shift from guard ship Pytlivy.
In July 2015, Moskva visited Luanda, to strengthen military cooperation with Angola. From the end of September 2015, while in the eastern Mediterranean, the cruiser was charged with the air defences for the Russian aviation group based near the Syrian town of Latakia that conducted the air campaign in Syria. On 25 November 2015, after the 2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown, it was reported that Moskva, armed with the S-300F surface-to-air missile system, would be deployed near the coastal Syria-Turkey border. In 2016, she was replaced by sister ship in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. On 22 July 2016 Moskva was awarded the Order of Nakhimov.
Upon return from her deployment in January 2016, Moskva was to undergo a refit and upgrade but due to lack of funds her future remained uncertain as of July 2018.
In June 2019, Moskva left the port of Sevastopol in the Black Sea to test her combat systems and main propulsion.
In February 2020, Russian Orthodox officials said that a very rare and important Christian relic purported to be a part of the True Cross on which Jesus was crucified was to be placed aboard the ship.