Russia may abandon plans to overhaul and modernize the nuclear-powered battlecruiser Pyotr Veliky after a special commission provisionally concluded that restoring the warship would not be economically justified.
Vladimir Maltsev, head of the All-Russian Fleet Support Movement, told TASS that the preliminary decision was based on the vessel’s condition and the exceptionally high cost of repairs. However, no final decision on the cruiser’s future has been announced.
Maltsev acknowledged that modernizing Pyotr Veliky remains technically possible, but said the work would depend on the availability of sufficient resources and capabilities.
The experience of the Admiral Nakhimov, another Project 1144 nuclear-powered cruiser, has also raised concerns about the financial viability of such an overhaul. Preliminary estimates suggest that its modernization cost more than building a new cruiser.
Plans to refit Pyotr Veliky had been under discussion for several years. The Russian Navy originally intended to send the ship for major repairs once modernization work on Admiral Nakhimov was completed. The commission’s preliminary findings now cast doubt on whether that program will proceed.
Pyotr Veliky was laid down at the Baltic Shipyard on August 25, 1986, and launched on April 25, 1989. The vessel received its current name in 1992 and officially joined Russia’s Northern Fleet on April 18, 1998.
The warship belongs to the Project 1144 Orlan class and remains the only cruiser of its type currently in active service. Admiral Nakhimov is undergoing trials following modernization, while the other two ships of the class, Admiral Ushakov and Admiral Lazarev, have already been decommissioned.
Pyotr Veliky is also the world’s largest operational nuclear-powered surface combatant other than an aircraft carrier.