List of Russian Navy cruisers Currently , only the navies of Russia and the United States operate modern vessels classified as cruiser s . Russia currently operates eight , one of which is only nominally in commission and has not put to sea since 1991 ( Kirov - class " Admiral Ushakov " ) , and one of which is under construction ( Slava - class " Admiral Lobov " ) . " Kirov " class . The vessels of the " Kirov " class are the world ' s largest cruisers , and for this reason they are generally referred to as a battlecruiser s . Two " Kirov " battlecruisers are currently in service , the RFS " Admiral Nakhimov " and RFS " Pyotr Velikiy " . In the last 6 years , the " Pyotr Velikiy " ( Peter the Great ) has participated in numerous military exercises , with President Vladimir Putin being on board during the last one . The older " Admiral Nakhimov " was repaired and returned to service in 2005 . " Kirov " class battlecruisers are outfitted with a very large number of weapons systems as well as modern electrical equipment , and are fully capable of fighting a large number of sea - , air - and land - based enemy targets " Slava " class . The " Slava " class was designed as a less radical back - up to the aforementioned " Kirov " s , providing most of the facilities of the larger ships in a considerably smaller , gas turbine - powered hull . The main armament is made up of sixteen SS - N - 12 " Sandbox " launchers , mounted in eight pairs on either side of the forward superstructure . These launchers are fixed at an angle of some 15° . Over - the - horizon targeting for SS - N - 12 systems is provided by helicopter or Punch Bowl Satcom . The " Slava " class was designed as part of a new strategy of creating bastions for ballistic missile submarine s . Project 1143 and 1164 ships were to protect these bastions , and the new SS - N - 12 missile was designed to strike major enemy anti - submarine warfare units . One of the other major roles of this cruiser type is to hunt down and destroy enemy aircraft carrier s , and other heavy ships . Her SA - N - 6 Grumble long - range SAMs can defend an entire strike group against enemy aircraft and missiles . " Kuznetsov " class . " Kuznetsov " class aircraft carrier s are designated as heavy aircraft carrying cruisers by the Russian Navy because their main strike armament is long - range antiship cruise missiles and the air wing is intended for defensive purposes . The flight deck area of the class is 14 , 700 square meters , and aircraft takeoff is assisted by a bow ski jump angled at 12° in lieu of steam catapults . Two starboard lifts carry aircraft from the hangar to the flight deck . The ship was designed with the capacity to support 16 Yakovlev Yak - 41M ( which was cancelled ) and 12 Sukhoi Su - 27K fixed - wing aircraft and a range of Kamov Ka - 27 helicopters . The ship has a " Granit " anti - ship missile system equipped with 12 surface - to - surface missile launchers . The air defence gun and missile system includes the " Klinok " / SA - N - 9 Gauntlet air defence missile system with 24 vertical launchers and 192 surface - to - air missiles , plus 8 CADS - N - 1 Kashtan CIWS mounts . The system defends the ship against anti - ship missiles , aircraft , unmanned aerial vehicles and surface ships . The ship is also equipped with an UDAV - 1 integrated anti - submarine system with 60 anti - submarine missiles . Currently , the only ship ever commissioned in the class , the " Kuznetsov " , operates 24 Sukhoi Su - 33 , unknown numbers of Sukhoi Su - 25UTG and 24 Kamov Ka - 27 helicopters for use in various roles , such as long range radar , anti - submarine and other uses .