The Russian Navy in the 21st Century: The Legacy and the New Path

The development of the navy occupies a major place in the modernization of the Russian armed forces. It is not possible to understand the processes unfolding in Russian naval modernization without studying the causes, contradictions, and consequences that affect the navy and the fulfillment of its missions.

This paper examines the status, mission set, and development strategy of the Russian Navy by showing the continuity that links modern concepts and current constraints to the views and issues of the late Soviet era.

We show the correlation of the main issues of naval modernization in Russia over the past 30 years and highlight ways to address them. We examine key obstacles that have repeatedly kept the Russian Navy from implementing its ambitious renewal strategies. We also provide a plausible and realistic set of tasks that the Russian Navy could fulfill in the form in which it is developing now.