Support The Moscow Times!

French Ship Russia Wants to Buy in St. Petersburg

A municipal worker sweeping near the French Navy's Mistral amphibious assault ship, docked on the Neva River in St. Petersburg, Monday, Nov. 23, 2009. Dmitry Lovetsky

ST. PETERSBURG — A French amphibious assault ship like the one Russia hopes to buy arrived Monday in St. Petersburg, fueling concern in Georgia and other ex-Soviet nations that Russia is upgrading its navy to intimidate its neighbors.

The Mistral military ship, which can carry more than a dozen helicopters along with dozens of tanks and other armored vehicles, would certainly be a modern way to project Russian power.

It docked Monday on the Neva River, about one kilometer from the Hermitage museum. Russian officials are considering buying a Mistral ship and a license to build several others — their first such purchase from a NATO country.

Media reports have said it would cost Russia up to 500 million euros ($750 million) to buy a Mistral-class ship.

NATO officials in Brussels would not comment Monday on the possible French navy sale.

The Kremlin has sought in recent years to reaffirm Russia's global reach and prestige in world affairs. It has sent its warships to patrol pirate-infested waters off Somalia and dispatched a Navy squadron to the Caribbean where it took part in joint maneuvers with the Venezuelan navy and made several port calls in 2008.

The Caribbean mission, aimed at flexing military muscles near the United States in the tense months after the war between Russia and Georgia in August 2008, was the most visible Russian Navy deployment since Soviet times.

But despite the Kremlin's ambitions, the post-Soviet economic slowdown has left the Navy with only a handful of big ships in seaworthy condition and badly crippled the nation's shipbuilding industries.

Russia has only one Soviet-built aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov , which is much smaller than the U.S. aircraft carriers and has been plagued by mechanical problems and accidents.

Russian shipbuilders have opposed the Mistral deal, saying the government should invest in domestic production instead. Navy officials have argued that licensed production of Mistral-class ships would help modernize Russia's aging industries.

The Navy chief, Vladimir Vysotsky, has said a ship like the Mistral would have allowed the Russian Navy to mount a much more efficient operation in the Black Sea during the 2008 war with Georgia. He said the French ship would take just 40 minutes to do the same job that the Russian Black Sea Fleet vessels did in 26 hours, referring to amphibious landing operations.

Georgia was clearly worried about the possible deal.

"We strongly oppose the sale of such ship to Russia," Nika Laliashvili of the Georgian parliament's defense affairs committee said in an interview. "It poses a serious danger to Georgia."

Since the 2008 war, Russia has declared the Georgian territory of Abkhazia an independent nation and sent thousands of troops there. Abkhazia has a coastline along the Black Sea that is next to Russia's coast.


Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more