The Caspian Flotilla () is the

flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' ( fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same cla ...

of the

Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...

in the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

. Established in November 1722 by the order of Tsar

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

as part of the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until being dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution and the declaration of ...

, the Caspian Flotilla is the oldest flotilla in the Russian Navy not operating in a body of water connected to the open ocean. In 1918, the fleet was inherited by the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

then the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in 1922, where it formed part of the

Soviet Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...

and was awarded the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

in 1945. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Caspian Flotilla and most of its vessels were inherited by the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The Caspian Flotilla's headquarters are in

Astrakhan Astrakhan (, ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the Caspian Depression, from the Caspian Se ...

, but were historically in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

(now in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

) from 1867 until 1991, with additional facilities in

Makhachkala Makhachkala, previously known as Petrovskoye (1844–1857) and Port-Petrovsk (1857–1921), or by the local Kumyk language, Kumyk name of Anji, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Dagestan, Russia. ...

(HQ being moved there) and Kaspiysk. The current commander is Rear Admiral Oleg Zverev.

Establishment

The Caspian Flotilla (CF) was created in November 1722 in

by the order of

. Led by the admiral Fyodor Apraksin, it participated in Peter's Persian campaign of 1722–1723 and the

Russo-Persian War (1804–1813) The Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813 was one of the many wars between the Persian Empire and Imperial Russia, and, like many of their other conflicts, began as a territorial dispute. The new Persian king, Fath Ali Shah Qajar, wanted to co ...

, assisting the Russian army in capturing

Derbent Derbent, also historically known as Darband, or Derbend, is the southernmost city in Russia. It is situated along the southeastern coast of the Dagestan, Republic of Dagestan, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucas ...

and

during the

Persian Expedition of 1796 The Persian expedition of Catherine the Great of 1796 , like the Persian expedition of Peter the Great (1722–1723), was one of the Russo-Persian Wars of the 18th century which did not entail any lasting consequences for either belligerent. ...

. As a result of the

Treaty of Gulistan The Treaty of Gulistan (also spelled Golestan: ; ) was a peace treaty concluded between the Russian Empire and Qajar Iran on 24 October 1813 in the village of Gülüstan, Goranboy, Gulistan (now in Goranboy District, the Goranboy District of Azerb ...

of 1813, the CF remained the only military flotilla in the Caspian Sea. Baku became its main base in 1867.

Revolution

As the situation on the Caspian Sea stabilized the number of ships in the CF began to decrease. By the beginning of the 20th century, it had two

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

s and a few armed

steamers Steamer may refer to: Transportation * Steamboat, smaller, insular boat on lakes and rivers * Steamship, ocean-faring ship * Screw steamer, steamboat or ship that uses "screws" (propellers) * Steam yacht, luxury or commercial yacht * Paddle st ...

. The

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

s of the CF were actively engaged in the

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

movement in Baku in 1903–1905 and establishment of the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

authority in 1917 in that region. In order to provide assistance to the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

, they formed the Military Fleet of the Astrakhan Region (''Военный флот Астраханского края'', or Voyenniy flot Astrakhanskogo kraya) in April – June 1918, reinforced with

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

s and

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

s from the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

in the fall of 1918. On October 13, the Soviets renamed it to the Astrakhan-Caspian Military Flotilla (''Астрахано-Каспийская военная флотилия'', or Astrakhano-Kaspiyskaya voennaya flotiliya). The ships of the flotilla were captured by the counterrevolutionary Centrocaspian Dictatorship in August 1918 and later regained by the Soviets after the overthrow of the

Musavat The Müsavat Party (, from ''musāwāt'', ) is the oldest existing political party in Azerbaijan. Its history can be divided into three periods: Early Musavat, Musavat-in-exile and New Musavat. The party was prohibited from contesting the 1995 ...

government.

Soviet era

In July 1919, the Astrakhan-Caspian Military Flotilla was combined with the Volga Military Flotilla (Волжская военная флотилия, or Volzhskaya voyennaya flotiliya) and renamed to the Volga-Caspian Military Flotilla (Волжско-Каспийская военная флотилия). On May 1, 1920, the Soviets established the Caspian Fleet, which comprised three

auxiliary cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

s, ten torpedo boats, four submarines and other ships. Together with the Caspian Fleet, there was the Red Fleet of the Soviet

, stationed in Baku, as well. Both fleets completed the conquest of the Caspian Sea from the

White Army The White Army, also known as the White Guard, the White Guardsmen, or simply the Whites, was a common collective name for the armed formations of the White movement and Anti-Sovietism, anti-Bolshevik governments during the Russian Civil War. T ...

. In July 1920, Caspian and Azerbaijani fleets were combined into the Naval Forces of the Caspian Sea (''Морские Силы Каспийского моря'', or Morskiye Sily Kaspiyskogo morya) and would later be renamed to the Caspian Flotilla on June 27, 1931. During the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

of 1941–1945, the Caspian Flotilla secured vital sea shipping of army units, military equipment and different cargo, especially during the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...

and the battle for the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

. (During the war, some of the

Lend Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),

were shipped to the USSR via the Persian Corridor and the Caspian Sea). During the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

the Caspian Flotilla was used to test missile armed ekranoplanes.

Post-Soviet era

Following the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, the flotilla shrank. With

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

and

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

joining to found the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...

(CIS), the CIS navy officials proposed to keep the flotilla under joint CIS command. However, the idea did not materialize, and on 16 April 1992, the countries agreed in

to divide the flotilla with its 50 small and medium-size vessels, bases, a navy school and buildings, which was in sharp contrast to protracted dispute between Russia and Ukraine over splitting the

Black Sea Fleet The Black Sea Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, are subordin ...

. Azerbaijan initially claimed 75 percent of the flotilla but later settled for less, while Turkmenistan expressed a desire to keep the flotilla united. The Kazakh contingent was removed to serve as a basis for Kazakhstan's naval service. For several years, Russia continued to lead a joint Turkmen-Russian force based at

. Among the Flotilla's units, from 2000, has been a new Naval Infantry brigade, the 77th, based at Kaspiysk. The headquarters and two battalions of the brigade were scheduled to be established by August 1, 2000. It was reported in June 2000 that the new brigade, which had inherited the lineage of the disbanded

77th Guards Motor Rifle Division The 77th Guards Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II. World War II and Stalingrad The division traces its history to the 21st Division of the Moscow People's Militia, formed in July 1941. In ...

, formerly with the

Northern Fleet The Northern Fleet (, ''Severnyy flot'') is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Arctic. According to the Russian ministry of defence: "The Northern Fleet dates its history back to a squadron created in 1733 to protect the terri ...

, was to have its troops housed in Kaspiysk and Astrakhan and have as many as 195 combat vehicles and one Gepard class frigate sent to it from Chukotka and the Northern Fleet, respectively. The brigade was to have helicopters added to it, according to the June 2000 report. The Brigade's full name was the 77th Detached Guards Moscow-Chernigov Order of Lenin, the Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Marine Brigade. It was disbanded in 2009. The brigade comprised a headquarters at Kaspiysk; the 414th Detached Naval Infantry Battalion (Kaspiysk); the 725th Detached Naval Infantry Battalion (Kaspiysk); the 727th Detached Naval Infantry Battalion (Astrakhan); the 1200th Detached Reconnaissance Battalion (Kaspiysk); the 1408th Independent Howitzer Artillery Battalion; the 1409th Independent Howitzer Artillery Battalion; the 975th Detached Naval Infantry Battalion (Kaspiysk); the 1387th Detached Air Defence Missile and Artillery Battalion; and the 530th Detached Electronic Countermeasures Company. Also, the flotilla has received 3 new ''Buyan''-class stealth type river gunboats built by the St. Petersburg Almaz shipyard. On November 13 and 23, 2009, there were two separate sets of explosions at the 31st Arsenal of the Caspian Sea Flotilla, an ammunition depot, in

Ulyanovsk Ulyanovsk,, , known as Simbirsk until 1924, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Ulyanovsk has been the only Russian UNESCO Ci ...

. Ten servicemen died. The depot was to be closed. The first Russian warship equipped with the Caliber missile system entered service with Caspian Flotilla in 2012. On October 7, 2015, Russia's Defense Minister

Sergey Shoigu Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu; , . (born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician and military officer who has served as secretary of the Security Council since 2024. He served as Minister of Defence of Russia from 2012 to 2024. Shoigu has served ...

announced that four Russian Navy warships in the Caspian Sea had fired a total of 26 Kalibr-class cruise missiles at the positions of the terrorist group

ISIL The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signif ...

in Syria. Up to 2020, further enhancements in the capabilities of the Caspian Flotilla were announced. In 2019, it was announced that an aviation component would be added to its capabilities involving the deployment of Be-200 aircraft and Mi-14PB helicopters with the Flotilla. Further air support is drawn from 4th Air and Air Defence Forces Army (HQ: Rostov-on-Don) in the Southern Military District. In 2020, the deployment of the Bal coastal defence missile system with the Flotilla was also announced. Caspian Flotilla Parade

As of 2016, 85 percent of the Caspian Flotilla consists of modern ships and vessels. In 2014–2015, Flotilla received 3 Buyan-M missile corvettes, one modernized frigate and auxiliary vessels. On September 20, 2016, Rear Admiral Igor Osipov was replaced by Rear Admiral Sergey Pinchuk. In Dagestan, a regiment of the marine infantry was formed on December 1, 2018, as part of the Caspian Flotilla of the Southern Military District (YuVO). To date, the new formation is fully staffed with modern weapons and military equipment, including

BTR-82A The BTR-80 () is an 8×8 wheeled amphibious armoured personnel carrier (APC) designed in the Soviet Union. It was adopted in 1985 and replaced the previous vehicles, the BTR-60 and BTR-70, in the Soviet Army. It was first deployed during the ...

armored personnel carriers, 120-mm self-propelled mortars

2S9 Nona The 2S9 ''NONA'' () is a self-propelled and air-droppable 120 mm mortar designed in the Soviet Union, which entered service in 1981. The 2S9 chassis is designated the S-120 and based on the aluminium hull of the BTR-D airborne multi-purpose ...

, 122-mm howitzers D-30, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) "Eleron" and "Orlan". On March 20, 2022, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that ships of the CFL had fired Kalibr-class cruise missiles at a Ukrainian fuel and lubricant depot in Kostiantynivka, Mykolaiv Oblast, supported by air-launched Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. On 17 June 2022, a photo emerged of the ship '' Veliky Ustyug'' being towed on the

Volga River The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

in a damaged state. The Buyan-M-class corvette had participated in the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. On November 6, 2024,

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

launched a drone attack on the Caspian Flotilla with an A-22 reportedly damaging the s ''Tatarstan'' and ''Dagestan'' and one in the Kaspiysk naval base.

Ships in service

*Frigates **2 ''Gepard''-class frigates, ''Tatarstan'', ''Dagestan'' (active as of 2021) Caspian Frigate Dagestan

*Corvettes **3 ''Buyan''-class corvettes, ''Astrakhan'', ''Volgodonsk'', ''Mahachkala'' **3 ''Buyan M''-class corvettes, ''Grad Sviyazhsk'', ''Uglich'', ''Veliky Ustyug'' (all active as of 2021). ''Veliky Ustyug'' damaged in the

. **1 Karakurt-class corvette ''Amur'' **1 ''Tarantul''-class corvette ''R-101 Stupinets'' Caspian_MRK_700

*Artillery boat **4 Gunboats Project 1204 Shmel ''Ak-209'', ''Ak-223'', ''Ak-201'', ''Ak-248'' *Minesweepers **3 ''Sonya''-class minesweepers ''German Ugryumov'' (former ''BT-244''; in refit, returning to the fleet 2021), ''Astrakhanets'' (former ''BT-705''), ''Magomed Gadzhiev'' (former ''BT-116'') **2 ''Lida''-class minesweepers ''RT-233'', ''RT-234'' **3 ''Yevgenya''-class small minesweepers ''RT-71'', ''RT-302'', ''RT-373'' Caspian boat 207

*Patrol boats **3 ''Grachonok''-class anti-saboteur ships **1

Raptor-class patrol boat The Raptor-class patrol boat, Russian designation Project 03160, is a series of Russian high-speed coastal patrol boats. Boats of the class belong to the 4th rank ships in the Russian Navy. This project was developed by the design bureau of JSC L ...

(''P-434'') *Landing craft **1 ''Dyugon''-class landing craft **1 ''Akula''-class landing boats **6 ''Serna''-class landing craft

Commanders

Soviet Union

Russia

References

External links

The Russian Navy in the Caspian Sea: a new chapter
via eurasian-research.org {{Authority control Military units and formations established in 1722 Naval units and formations of the Soviet Union Russian Navy Russian fleets Naval forces in the Caspian Sea 1722 establishments in the Russian Empire Military history of Baku