Russia’s Superheavy Nuclear Powered Cruiser Deemed Too Worn Out for Further Modernisation

Russia may retire its Kirov class nuclear-powered cruiser Pyotr Velikiy, the flagship of the Northern Fleet, after a special commission preliminarily concluded that the ageing warship could not be economically restored. Vladimir Maltsev, head of the All-Russian Navy Support Movement, disclosed the assessment on October 30, although he stressed that a final decision had yet to be announced. “The commission has already made a preliminary decision, the final one has not yet been announced: the cruiser cannot be restored. The ship has a certain degree of wear,” Maltsev said. Despite the assessment, he nevertheless argued that the vessel should be modernised if possible, describing the Kirov class as among the most successful warship designs in history.

Laid down in Leningrad in 1986 and commissioned in 1998, Pyotr Velikiy was the last Kirov class cruiser to enter service. At approximately 251 metres long and displacing around 28,000 tonnes, it and its sister ship the Admiral Nakhimov are by far the largest surface combat ships in the world. Where Admiral Nakhimov has been deeply modernised to integrate up to date weaponry and onboard systems, the Pyotr Velikiy is increasingly obsolete, and requires similarly extensive modernisation to remain viable. The extreme costs of this modernisation have led analysts to assess that it would likely be more cost effective to initiate a new destroyer program to produce surface combat ships with lower operational costs and more up to date designs. 

The highly protracted modernisation of the Admiral Nakhimov has illustrated the immense challenges involved in refurbishing Soviet-era capital ships. Technical complications led work to extend well beyond a decade, which were exacerbated to changing requirements, supply chain disruptions, labour shortages, and the sheer complexity of rebuilding one of the largest and most sophisticated surface combatants ever constructed. The Admiral Nakhimov was re-floated on July 25, 2025, and subsequent set sail under its own power for the first time in 28 years in August 2025. It began the final phase of its sea trials on June 1, 2026,  and completed sea trials in August. 

The Pyotr Velikiy has been laid up at a pier in Severomorsk since autumn 2022. Its planned modernisation was originally expected to begin after work on its sister ship, Admiral Nakhimov, was completed in 2018. However, the latter’s overhaul continued for years beyond its original schedule, preventing the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk from beginning work on Pyotr Velikiy. By the time Admiral Nakhimov approached the end of its refit, Pyotr Velikiy had reportedly reached the end of its service life. If Pyotr Velikiy is decommissioned, Admiral Nakhimov will become the world’s sole nuclear-powered surface combat ships. The two other vessels of the class, Admiral Ushakov and Admiral Lazarev, were previously withdrawn from service after maintenance standards declined significantly in the post-Soviet years.