"In many ways, the Kuznetsov became the victim of prejudiced attitudes toward the ocean-going surface fleet as a whole. Russia has a large collection of publicists and experts who believe that specificities of Russian geography mean that the country shouldn't spend too much on the fleet. For these authors, the Kuznetsov is a favorite target for criticism."
- Military observer Vasily Kashin

Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov ("Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov") is an aircraft carrier (heavy aircraft-carrying missile cruiser, or TAVKR, in Russian classification) serving as the flagship of the Russian Navy. She was built by the Black Sea Shipyard, the sole manufacturer of Soviet aircraft carriers, in Nikolayev within the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR). The initial name of the ship was Riga; she was launched as Leonid Brezhnev, embarked on sea trials as Tbilisi, and finally named Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov after Admiral of the fleet of the Soviet Union Nikolay Gerasimovich Kuznetsov.

She was originally commissioned in the Soviet Navy, and was intended to be the lead ship of her class. However, her sister ship Varyag had neither been completed nor been commissioned when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. The second hull was eventually sold by Ukraine to the People's Republic of China, completed in Dalian and commissioned as Liaoning.

Pictured here is a 1:700 scale replica of the aircraft carrier, Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Nikolay Gerasimovich Kuznetsov. Pre-order! Price and ship date to be determined.

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Historical Account: "Supporting Syria" - Following ongoing maintenance, Admiral Kuznetsov set sail on October 15th, 2016, from the Kola Bay for the Mediterranean, accompanied by seven other Russian Navy vessels including the nuclear-powered battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy and two Udaloy-class destroyers. The carrier was accompanied by an ocean-going tugboat, as a precaution due to potential propulsion failure. The air wing included 6-8 Su-33 fighters, four Mig-29KR/KUBR multi-role aircraft, Ka-52K "Katran" navalized attack helicopters, Ka-31R "Helix" AEW&C helicopters and Ka-27PS "Helix-D" search and rescue helicopters. All the Su-33 aircraft had been upgraded with the Gefest SVP-24 bombsights for free-fall bombs, giving them a limited ground-attack capability. Analysts, including Mikhail Barabanov of the Moscow Defense Brief, suggested that a lack of trained pilots restricted the number of fixed-wing aircraft that could be deployed from the carrier.

On October 21st, the Admiral Kuznetsov battle group sailed through the English Channel, escorted by Royal Navy ships, while UK Defense Minister Michael Fallon speculated that the task force was designed to "test" the British naval response. On October 26th, 2016, the ship was reported to have passed through the Strait of Gibraltar and refueled at sea off North Africa the following day. On November 3rd, 2016, the Admiral Kuznetsov battle group paused off the east coast of Crete. On November 14th, 2016, a MiG-29K crashed into the sea after taking off from the carrier. The pilot ejected safely from the plane and was rescued by helicopter. According to initial reports from Russian officials, the crash was a result of technical malfunction, but it was later revealed that the plane had actually run out of fuel waiting to land while the crew was attempting to repair a broken arresting wire. The carrier commander could have diverted the aircraft to land at a nearby airbase, but hesitated in the hope that the arrester gear would be repaired in time.

On November 15th, 2016, Admiral Kuznetsov, took part in "a large-scale operation against the positions of terrorist groups Islamic State and Al-Nusra, in the provinces of Idlib and Homs" in Syria by launching Su-33 fighter strikes. This was the first time a Russian aircraft carrier would take part in combat operations. Russian Defense Ministry later reported that 30 militants had been killed as a result of those strikes, including three field commanders, among them Abul Baha al-Asfari, leader of Al-Nusra reserves in the provinces of Homs and Aleppo. Al-Asfari had also planned and led several insurgent attacks on the city of Aleppo itself. The Su-33s reportedly used 500-kg precision bombs. On December 3rd, 2016, an Su-33 crashed into the sea after attempting to land on the carrier. The plane crashed on its second attempt to land on the aircraft carrier in good weather conditions. The pilot was safely recovered by a search and rescue helicopter. Initially it was suspected that the plane missed the wires and failed to go around, falling short of the bow of the warship, but later it was revealed that the arresting cable failed to hold the aircraft, and was damaged in the attempt. Following the two incidents, the air wing was transferred to shore at Khmeimim Air Base near Latakia, Syria to continue military operations while the carrier's arresting gear issues were addressed.