Pyotr Velikiy () is the fourth Project 1144 Orlan (NATO reporting name ) battlecruiser of the Russian Navy. It was initially named Yuri Andropov () after the former General Secretary of the Communist Party Yuri Andropov, but the name was changed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The Russian designation for the type is "heavy nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser", but Western defense commentators have resurrected the term "battlecruiser" to describe them, as they are the largest surface combatant warships in the world. Pyotr Velikiy has been the flagship of the Northern Fleet since it entered service.

The Kirov-class battlecruisers were developed to counter NATO submarines and carrier strike groups. Pyotr Velikiy has a large armament that includes P-700 Granit anti-ship missiles, S-300 Fort-M surface-to-air missiles, 3K95 Kinzhal surface-to-air missiles, and several anti-submarine missile launchers. It also has a helicopter landing pad and under-deck facilities to store three Kamov Ka-27 helicopters. To enable the ship to reach a high speed of over 30 knots, it is equipped with a combined nuclear and steam system, with each of its two steam turbines being connected to a nuclear reactor and an oil-fired boiler that provides additional power.

Construction of the ship was delayed by lack of funding due to the national economic problems before and after the fall of the Soviet Union. As Yuri Andropov, the ship was laid down on 24 April 1986 at the Baltic Shipyard in Leningrad and launched on 29 April 1989. In May 1992 Yuri Andropov was renamed Pyotr Velikiy (Russian for Peter the Great) but the vessel was not completed and commissioned until 18 April 1998, twelve years after work had started. It has been known to carry two pennant numbers during its service: "183" and currently "099". Since entering service, Pyotr Velikiy has taken part in actions against piracy off the coast of Somalia and in support of the Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war. In 2017 it was present at the first Navy Day Main Naval Parade in Saint Petersburg. Since 2022 it has been laid-up in Severodvinsk.

Design The Project 1144 Orlan (, NATO reporting name ) nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser began to be developed in 1968 for the purpose of hunting enemy submarines. The Northern Design Bureau initially planned for it to be much smaller, displacing no more than 8,000–9,000 tons, but this was rejected by the commander-in-chief of the Soviet Navy, Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Sergey Gorshkov. In 1971 it was decided that it should include additional weapon systems, requiring a larger design. The Project 1144 cruiser intended primarily for anti-submarine warfare was merged with the Project 1165, which would have carried anti-ship missiles. To accommodate anti-submarine, anti-ship, and anti-air missiles, the Kirov class has a standard displacement of 24,000 tons and a displacement of 28,000 tons when fully loaded. For Pyotr Velikiy the latter has been reported as 26,000 tons. This makes the Kirovs the largest surface warships to have been built since World War II besides aircraft carriers. Being larger than any Western cruiser, it is often described as a battlecruiser.

Pyotr Velikiy has a top speed of . For such a large ship to achieve that speed, the Kirov-class battlecruiser is equipped with a combined nuclear and steam system (CONAS) that provides to its two propeller shafts. Both of its two steam turbines are connected to a KN-3 nuclear reactor and an oil-fired boiler, the latter providing additional power for the vessel to be able to reach its maximum speed. The alternative, having four to six nuclear reactors, was rejected by the designers as being too dangerous. It has a virtually unlimited range at lower speeds, and a top speed of , while on nuclear power, but its range at 31 knots is limited by fuel. The Kirovs have a length of , a beam of , and a draft of . The crew consists of 710, and the accommodations include a swimming pool, a gym, a sauna, a lounge with billiard tables and a piano, and a television studio. A two-level medical block includes isolation wards, dental rooms, an operating room, and a pharmacy. Officers and warrant officers have about 150 single or double cabins while the petty officers and enlisted sailors have 30 quarters for 8-30 people each.

The Kirov class was described by the U.S. intelligence community in the 1980s as having "an array of weapons that makes it one of the most powerfully armed surface warships in the world." The current armament of Pyotr Velikiy includes 20 P-700 Granit anti-ship missile launchers, each holding one missile; 12 S-300 Fort-M surface-to-air missile launchers with eight missiles each, for 96 in total; 16 3K95 Kinzhal surface-to-air missile launchers with eight missiles each, for 128 in total; six Kortik close-in weapon systems with up to 192 9M311 surface-to-air missiles in storage; one twin AK-130 dual-purpose gun with up to 840 shells in storage; ten torpedo tubes that can fire regular torpedoes or RPK-6M anti-submarine missiles; and one RBU-1000 and two RBU-1200 rocket launchers with up to 120 rocket-propelled depth charges. Its electronic sensors allow it to detect targets away, or up to above it. The ship also has a helicopter landing pad and an under-deck hangar, for up to three Kamov Ka-27 helicopters. Its armament enables it to counter NATO submarines as well as carrier strike groups, and having S-300FM missiles makes Pyotr Velikiy the only ship in the Russian Navy capable of defending against ballistic missiles.

Service history Construction and early service

Yuri Andropov was laid down on 24 April 1986 at the Baltic Shipyard in Leningrad and launched on 29 April 1989. In May 1992 all four Kirov-class ships were renamed, and Yuri Andropov became Pyotr Velikiy, after Peter the Great. Work on Pyotr Velikiy delayed after the dissolution of the Soviet Union (a fifth ship was laid down in 1989 but it was later cancelled and scrapped). In February 1993 it was announced that Pyotr Velikiy will be completed, and work resumed in August. At that time two other Kirov-class ships were inactive due to reactor problems, and was the only battlecruiser in service. After completing its sea trials, Pyotr Velikiy was transferred to the Northern Fleet at Severomorsk on 24 November 1996, and underwent further tests in 1997. It was commissioned into the Russian Navy on 18 April 1998. In August 1998 Russian president Boris Yeltsin observed a naval exercise from aboard the cruiser, which became the flagship of the Northern Fleet.

Starting on 10 August 2000, Pyotr Velikiy was in the Barents Sea to oversee the a large training exercise involving thirty ships and submarines. The battlecruiser was to be the designated target of a practice torpedo attack by the submarine , and was conducting evasive maneuvers when communication with Kursk was lost on 12 August. The submarine was later found to have suffered catastrophic torpedo detonations, resulting in the loss of all 118 crew members. Pyotr Velikiy was the first to locate the submarine with its acoustic equipment, and served as the command ship during the subsequent recovery operation in the fall of 2000. It patrolled the area around the submarine during the salvaging in August 2001.

In March 2004, the commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral of the Fleet Vladimir Kuroyedov, was reported to have said that Pyotr Velikiy was unfit for service due to problems with the ship's maintenance, especially its nuclear reactor. He denied the statement within hours, and it was reported that he had made the remark because of a conflict with Admiral Igor Kasatonov, whose nephew, Vladimir Kasatonov, was the captain of Pyotr Velikiy at the time. In April 2004, the cruiser was docked in the floating drydock PD-50 for painting of the underside of the hull, repairs, and examination of the steering system. The repairs were completed later that year, and she was carrying out missions again by August. From September 21 to October 22, 2004 she sailed on her first long voyage. Accompanying the aircraft carrier , the destroyers Admiral Chabanenko and Admiral Ushakov, as well as several auxiliary ships, she went into the north-western Atlantic in what was the largest Russian naval exercise after the end of the Cold War.

2008–2009 cruise

On 8 September 2008, it was announced that Pyotr Velikiy would sail to the Caribbean Sea to participate in naval exercises with the Venezuelan Navy, along with the destroyer and other support ships. This action would represent the first major Russian show of force in the Caribbean since the end of the Cold War. On 22 September Pyotr Velikiy and Admiral Chabanenko left their homeport of Severomorsk.Moscow Interfax-AVN Online, 1102 GMT 10 March 2009 On 22 October, Pyotr Velikiy made a port visit to Aksaz Karagac, TurkeyMoscow Vesti TV, 2100 GMT 22 October 2008 and on 6–9 November the cruiser and Admiral Chabanenko made a port visit to Toulon, France,Moscow Zvezda Television, 1900 GMT 6 November 2008 before departing the Mediterranean on 10 November, passing through the Strait of Gibraltar.St Petersburg Rosbalt-Sever, 11 November 2008 Pyotr Velikiy arrived in La Guaira, Venezuela on 25 November,Moscow Zvezda TV, 1304 GMT 25 November 2008 coinciding with a visit by Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. A combined exercise, VENRUS-200, with the Venezuelan Navy took place on 1–2 December 2008.Moscow Kommersant Daily, 3 December 2008

After finishing the exercises, Admiral Chabanenko made a short visit to Panama 5–10 December, then to Bluefields, Nicaragua from 13 to 15 DecemberMoscow Vremya Novostei, 15 December 2008 and sailed into Havana, Cuba on 19 December. Pyotr Velikiy continued alone to Cape Town, South Africa. On 11 January 2009, the chief of the Russian General Staff announced that Pyotr Velikiy and six other Russian warships would participate in a joint naval exercise with the Indian Navy later the same month. The Kirov-class cruiser paused for three days to visit Cape Town before continuing on to India. On 31 January Pyotr Velikiy left the port of Mormugao in the Indian state of Goa. After a two-day visit that included a naval exercise with the Indian guided-missile destroyer the cruiser left for African waters where the vessel joined other warships from the Russian navy and conduct the INDRA-2009 exercise. On 12 February, the ship captured ten pirates in three boats off the coast of Somalia. On 10 March, Pyotr Velikiy returned to her homeport of Severomorsk, ending a six-month deployment.Moscow Vesti TV, 1436 GMT 11 March 2009

2010s On 30 March 2010, Pyotr Velikiy left the Northern Fleet for a new six-month deployment. During her six-month tour of duty, the warship passed through the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea before entering the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal. In the Indian Ocean the cruiser conducted maneuvers with other Russian warships from the Black Sea Fleet. On 14 April the missile cruiser visited the Mediterranean port of Tartus in Syria. In early May, Pyotr Velikiy met up with the cruiser in the South China Sea. There they conducted joint exercises and held a traditional farewell ceremony on 5 May. The two vessels were due to arrive in Russia's Far Eastern port of Vladivostok to take part in the Vostok-2010 large-scale strategic exercise. On 29 September Pyotr Velikiy returned to her home base in the Northern Fleet after six months at sea. The flagship of the Northern Fleet had covered about since the beginning of the mission on 30 March.