Slava played a role in theMalta Summit (2–3 December 1989) betweenSoviet leaderMikhail Gorbachev and US PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush.[5] She was used by the Soviet delegation, while the US delegation had their sleeping quarters aboardUSS Belknap.[6][7][8] The ships were anchored in aroadstead off the coast ofMarsaxlokk. Stormy weather and choppy seas resulted in some meetings being cancelled or rescheduled, and gave rise to the moniker the "Seasick Summit" among international media. In the end, the meetings took place aboardMaxim Gorkiy, a Sovietcruise ship anchored in Marsaxlokk Bay.[9]
Slava returned toMykolaiv in December 1990 for a refit that lasted until late 1998.[10] On 15 May 1995, the ship was formally renamedMoskva.[11]
In early April 2003,Moskva, along with the frigatePytlivyy,Smetlivy, and a landing ship departed Sevastopol for exercises in the Indian Ocean with aPacific Fleet task group (Marshal Shaposhnikov andAdmiral Panteleyev) and theIndian Navy.[13] The force was supported by theProject 1559V tankerIvan Bubnov and the Project 712ocean-going tugShakhter.
Moskva visited Malta'sGrand Harbour in October 2004, and the Ensemble of the Black Sea Fleet performed at a concert at theMediterranean Conference Centre inValletta for the occasion.[14] In 2008 and 2009, she visited the Mediterranean and participated in naval drills with the ships of the Northern Fleet.[15]
On 3 December 2009,Moskva was laid up for a month atfloating dry dockPD-30 in Sevastopol for a scheduled interim overhaul which comprised replacement of cooling and other machinery, reclamation work at the bottom and outboard fittings, propulsion shafts and screws, clearing and painting of bottom and above-water parts of the ship's hull.[12][failed verification]
In April 2010 it was reported thatMoskva would join other navy units in the Indian Ocean to conduct exercises.[19] In August 2013 the cruiser visitedHavana, Cuba.[20]
In late August 2013,Moskva was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea in response to the build-up of US warships along the coast of Syria.[21] During theRussian invasion of Crimea in 2014,Moskva blockaded the Ukrainian fleet inDonuzlav Lake.[22]
On 17 September 2014,Moskva was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea, taking shift from guard shipPytlivy.[15]
In July 2015,Moskva visitedLuanda, to strengthen military cooperation with Angola.[23] From the end of September 2015, while in the eastern Mediterranean, the cruiser was charged with the air defences for the Russian aviation group based near the Syrian town ofLatakia that conducted theair campaign in Syria.[24] On 25 November 2015, after the2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown, it was reported thatMoskva, armed with theS-300F surface-to-air missile system,[25] would be deployed near the coastal Syria-Turkey border.[26] In 2016, she was replaced bysister shipVaryag in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.[27] On 22 July 2016Moskva was awarded theOrder of Nakhimov.[28]
Upon return from her deployment in January 2016,Moskva was to undergo a refit and upgrade but due to lack of funds her future remained uncertain as of July 2018.[29][30]
In June 2019,Moskva left the port of Sevastopol in the Black Sea to test her combat systems and main propulsion.[31][better source needed]
In February 2020,Russian Orthodox officials said that a very rare and important Christian relic purported to be a part of theTrue Cross on whichJesus wascrucified was to be placed aboard the ship.[32][33]
On 3 July 2020,Moskva completed two and a half months of repairs and maintenance intended to allow her to remain in service until 2040.[34][35] The first post-repair deployment was scheduled for August 2020; however, in reality, she only began to prepare for the deployment in February 2021.[36][37] She was at sea on exercises in March 2021,[38] and fired the newVulkan anti-ship missiles in April 2021.[39]
Moskva, theflagship of the RussianBlack Sea Fleet, helped lead the naval assault during the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine from February until April 2022.[40][41] She was the most powerful surface vessel in the Black Sea region at the time,[42] and Ukraine's only threat against it were a limited number of Neptune missiles.[43]
In February 2022, the cruiser leftSevastopol to participate in the attack on Ukraine.[44] The ship was later used against the Ukrainian armed forces during theattack on Snake Island, together with the Russianpatrol boatVasily Bykov.[45]Moskva hailed the island's garrison over the radio and demanded its surrender, and was told "Russian warship, go fuck yourself". After this, all contact was lost with Snake Island, and the thirteen-member Ukrainian garrison was captured.[46]Slava-class cruisers are built for bothair andsea superiority, and have noland-attack missiles.Moskva mainly stayed behind other Russian warships, providing air cover formilitary demonstrations ofamphibious landings with Odesa as the apparent target.[47]
According to the Lithuanian defense minister, there were 485 crew members aboard, including 66 officers. He also said that a Turkish ship responded to a distress call and saved 54 crew members at 2 a.m. local time.[4] Russia stated one sailor from theMoskva was killed and 27 were missing, while 396 crew members were rescued.[55] In November 2022, after families demanded information, a Russian court in Crimea acknowledged the deaths of a further 17 sailors, mostly conscripts. A Russian recruitment office mistakenly sentconscription papers to a missingMoskva sailor in October 2022.[56][57]Meanwhile,Oleksiy Danilov, former secretary of theNational Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, claimed on 22 April 2022 that out of a complement of 510 crew members, only 58 had been rescued.[58]
According to Andrii Bulavin, one of the authors of the bookThe Hunt for the Moskva Cruiser, the ship's crew consisted of "approximately" 496 to 512 people, but he also added that the cruiser may have had a marching headquarters of 30 to 40 soldiers and a company of guards on board. Additionally, he also mentioned unverified open-source claims of two 350-kiloton nuclear warheads on board the ship at the time of the sinking, but said he was unable to confirm or deny these claims.[59][60]
Ukraine has officially declared the wreck of the ship to be an underwater cultural heritage site.[61][62]
→
Soviet Union → Russia
Moskva on fire and listing to port
Soviet Navy
Russian Navy
Ukrainian Navy
