Vladivostok

Vladivostok was the second Soviet Navy Project 1134 Admiral Zozulya-class Large Anti-submarine Ship (, BPK) also known as a Kresta I guided missile cruiser. Launched on 1 August 1966, the ship was reclassified a Large Rocket Ship (, RKR) on 3 August 1978 to reflect the wide-ranging capability of the vessel. Serving primarily in the Pacific Fleet during the Cold War, Vladivostok took part in exercises and tours that demonstrated Soviet naval power in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The ship played a part at a number of points of potential escalation in the Cold War, including the Indo-Pakistani War of December 1971 and the collision between the aircraft carrier and the submarine in March 1984. Vladivostok was taken out of service to be modernised and updated on 28 September 1988 but there were insufficient funds to complete the work. Instead the ship was decommissioned on 19 April 1990 and, the following January, sold to an Australian company to be broken up. Design and development Design Vladivostok was the second Project 1134 Berkut-class vessel launched. The class were envisioned as a more balanced follow-on to the specialist Project 58 and Project 61 classes, combining the attributes of both in a single hull. The vessels were approved by Nikita Khrushchev as part of Sergey Gorshkov's buildup of the Soviet Navy. Termed Kresta I cruisers by NATO, and also named the Admiral Zozulya class after the lead ship, the class were initially called Large Anti-submarine Ships ( or BPK) but this was changed to Large Rocket Ship (, RKR) on 3 August 1978 to reflect their wider role.