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Posted by Christopher Eger Jul 13, 2008 |
The Russian Black Sea Fleet, a favorite of the country since the time of the Tsars, may be homeless and forced to move soon. When the Ukraine broke away from the Russian state a few years ago the fleet, based in harbors that now belonged to the new country, the fleet's future was in doubt. Some units went to the Ukraine, others were scrapped, but about 35 remain. Sevastopol, the main Russian naval base in the Black Sea since before the Crimean War, is now part of the Ukraine and they want the Russians 100% gone by 2017.
One thought is that the Russians may take their fleet to Syria and be based in the Mediterranean . The Russians have been in the Med for centuries. Back in the time of old Tsar Nicholas the Russian Navy kept a Squadron in the European great lake Soudha on the Greek island of Crete was the homeport of the Russian gunboat Khrabry and others since the 1890s.
During the Cold War the Soviet navy again expanded around the world, setting up bases in Africa, Vietnam and Syria. In 1971 the base at Tartus was founded on Syria’s coastline and the Soviet Navy’s Mediterranean Squadron was founded to rival the US 6th Fleet. In 1991 with the break-up of the Soviet Union the Squadron was disbanded but the base remained. Today the base's 720th Logistics Support Point of the Russian Navy with its floating drydocks, warehouses, and barracks is the only remaining overseas unit. Russia is currently dredging the port of Tartus and began in 2006 to build another set of docks in the Syrian port of Latakia.