Russian battlecruiser Petr Velikiy Petr Velikiy ( Петр Великий ) is a heavy nuclear - powered missile cruiser ( TARKR ) , the fourth " Kirov " class battlecruiser of the Russian Navy , originally shipyard name " Yuri Andropov " ( " Юрий Андропов " ) . Although the ship is not a battlecruiser by the traditional definition of the type , but a missile cruiser ( official : " Heavy Rocket Cruiser " ) , its size has given it the unofficial designation of a battlecruiser in the mass media of many countries . " Petr Velikiy " is the flagship of the Northern Fleet . Because of economic problems both before and after the fall of the Soviet Union , work on the ship was severely postponed . It was not commissioned until 1996 , ten years after the construction started . It had by then been renamed " Petr Velikiy " , Russian for " Peter the Great " . After completing its acceptance trials in November 1996 , the vessel was transferred to the Northern Fleet at Severomorsk becoming the flagship of the Northern Fleet . In August 2000 " Petr Velikiy " was in the Barents Sea involved in the largest naval training exercise since the fall of the Soviet Union . The ship was to be the designated target of the Oscar - II class submarine K - 141 " Kursk " , and was conducting evasive maneuvers when communication with " Kursk " was lost , the submarine apparently having suffered a catastrophic torpedo detonation with all hands lost . " Petr Velikiy " guarded the area where the submarine sank during the subsequent salvage operation in 2001 . In March 2004 , Russian Navy chief Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov declared " Petr Velikiy " unfit for service due to problems with the ship ' s engineering maintenance . On April 19 , 2004 , it was docked in the floating drydock PD - 50 for painting of the underside of the hull , repairs and examination of the steering system . The repairs were completed later that year , and it was carrying out missions again by August . " Petr Velikiy " has been known to carry two pennant number s during its service ; " 183 " and currently " 099 " . 2008 - 09 deployment . On September 8 , 2008 , it was announced that " Petr Velikiy " would sail to the Caribbean Sea to participate in naval exercises with the Venezuelan Navy , along with the destroyer " Admiral Chabanenko " and other support ships . This action would represent the first major Russian show of force in that sea since the end of the Cold War . On September 22 , 2008 , " Petr Velikiy " and " Admiral Chabanenko " left their homeport of Severomorsk . On October 22 , 2008 " Petr Velikiy " made a port visit to Aksaz Karagac , Turkey and on November 6 – 9 , 2008 the nuclear cruiser and " Admiral Chabanenko " made a port visit to Toulon , France , before departing the Mediterranean on November 10 , 2008 passing through the Strait of Gibraltar . The " Petr Velikiy " arrived in La Guaira , Venezuela on November 25 , 2008 coincident with a visit by Russian President Medvedev and a combined exercise VENRUS - 200 with the Venezuelan Navy took place on December 1 – 2 , 2008 . After finishing the exercises , " Admiral Chabanenko " made a short visit to Panama December 5 – 10 , 2008 then to Bluefields , Nicaragua December 13 to 15 and Havana , Cuba from December 19 to 23 . " Petr Velikiy " continued alone to Cape Town , South Africa . On January 11 , 2009 , the chief of the Russian General Staff announced that " Petr Velikiy " and six other Russian warships would participate in a joint naval exercise with the Indian Navy later the same month . On the way to India , the Kirov - class cruiser made a three - day visit to Cape Town , South Africa . On January 31 , " Petr Velikiy " left the port of Mormugao in the Indian state of Goa . After a two - day visit that included a naval exercise with the Indian guided - missile destroyer INS Delhi the cruiser left for African waters where the vessel joined other warships from the Russian navy and conduct the INDRA - 2009 exercise . On February 12 , 2009 , the ship captured 10 pirates in three boats off the coast of Somalia . On March 10 , 2009 " Petr Velikiy " returned to its homeport of Severomorsk , ending a six - month deployment . 2010 deployment . On March 30 , 2010 " Petr Velikiy " left the Northern Fleet for a new six - month deployment . During its six - month tour of duty , the warship passed through the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea before entering the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal . In the Indian Ocean the Cruiser conducted maneuvers with other Russian warships from the Black Sea Fleet . On April 14 the missile cruiser visited the Mediterranean port of Tartus in Syria . In September 2008 , Russia was reported to be in talks with Syria about turning Tartus into a permanent base for Russian warships in the Middle East . In early May 2010 " Petr Velikiy " met up with the Russian missile cruiser " Moskva " in the South China Sea . There they conducted joint exercises and held a traditional farewell ceremony on May 5 . The two vessels are due to arrive in Russia ' s Far Eastern port of Vladivostok to take part in the Vostok - 2010 large - scale strategic exercise . On 29 September " Petr Velikiy " returned to its home base in the Northern Fleet after six months at sea . The flagship of the Northern Fleet had covered about 28 , 000 nautical miles since the beginning of the mission on March 30 , 2010 . 2013 . During early September 2013 " Petr Velikiy " led a flotilla of Russian navy ships through the Russian portion of the Northern Sea Route in preparation for establishment of regular patrols .