At all times, war has been one of the main areas of human activity. Of course, its consequences have always been extremely negative, nevertheless, in the social environment, it was quite popular. This is due to the fact that through war it is possible to obtain land, power, resources, etc. In addition, with the help of military operations, many international political conflicts were resolved. Thus, armed struggle is an important part of social activity.
Throughout history, society has modernized its capabilities in the field of military art. This led to the emergence of standard rules for the construction of troops, which are used to this day. According to one of them, all the armed forces of any state are divided into three components: naval, land and air. In this article, the author would like to talk about the Navy of the Russian Federation, which today occupies a significant place in the world ranking of such troops.
What is a navy?
Today in the Russian Federation there are a large number of military units that have different in essence tasks and functions. This begs the quite logical question: what is a marine fleet? At its core, it is an integral part of the naval forces of any state, in our case, the Russian Federation. This component is divided into two main elements: surface and underwater. It should be noted that a large number of traditions and features of this formation are largely due to the development of maritime relations and the territorial features of the country. In this regard, the Russian Federation has a rather long history of the formation of naval military formations, which will be indicated below.
Fleet of the Russian Empire
The Russian imperial fleet existed from 1721 to 1917. During this time, the formation participated in many naval battles. In addition, the imperial fleet was distinguished by a high level of combat training and efficiency in conditions of war on the water.
The first representatives of the formation were ships built for warfare in the framework of the Northern War. The main bases for managing the imperial fleet at that time were Kronstadt, Revel, Abo and Helsingfors. By the beginning of 1745, the forces of His Imperial Majesty at sea consisted of 130 sailing ships, 36 battleships, as well as 9 frigates and ships of other types. The navy of the Russian Empire lived according to a special charter.
In the history of the imperial fleet, there are many famous personalities, for example Admiral Nakhimov. This man was distinguished by heroism and competent construction of tactical defense during the siege of Sevastopol in 1854-1855. Today, Admiral Nakhimov is the unspoken symbol of the Russian fleet.
It should also be noted that the formation was used in the Crimean and Russian-Japanese wars. In addition, the final stage in the development of the naval imperial fleet was his participation in the First World War.
Soviet navy
The military units of the Soviet Union, based on the sea, existed from 1918 to 1992. The main objective of the USSR fleet was to protect the borders of the state from external aggression. The composition of the formation included subunits, naval aviation, surface ships, missile and artillery troops, as well as the marine corps. The command was carried out from the headquarters of the Navy, located in the city of Moscow. During its existence, the fleet participated in the most ambitious military conflict - World War II.
At the end of the 80s, the formation included the following number of equipment: 160 surface ships, 113 submarines, 83 missile carriers, as well as about 12 thousand personnel of the marine corps. The marine fleet of the USSR had its peak in development by 1985. At this time, he was the second largest vessel after the United States of America.
The tasks of the fleet at the present stage
The modern naval fleet of the Russian Federation is one of the main elements of the armed forces of the state. In accordance with this, it completely lays down the fulfillment of a number of specific tasks inherently:
- comprehensive containment of any use of military force at sea;
- continuous protection of state borders, as well as the sovereignty of the Russian Federation in the areas of the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf;
- ensuring safety in the implementation of activities of a maritime nature in the oceans;
- provision and widespread maintenance of the military presence of the Russian Federation in the oceans;
- participation in peacekeeping as well as military missions, if such are in the interests of the Russian Federation;
As we see, the fleet of maritime Russia has a fairly wide range of basic tasks that need to be implemented everywhere.
The structure of the Navy of the Russian Federation
The fleet of the maritime RF has its own structure, which ensures the effectiveness of the use of this formation in conditions of military operations on the water. But it should be noted that the Navy has a large number of units, which, in turn, are endowed with a number of rather specific functions. The fleet of maritime Russia consists of the following elements:
1. Surface forces, which include units using surface assets in work, that is, ships.
2. Underwater forces.
3. The third element is naval aviation, which, in turn, is subdivided into smaller structural units.
4. Coastal forces related to the navy.
Moreover, as mentioned earlier, each of the presented components performs its own functional tasks to ensure the effectiveness of the use of the Navy as a whole.
Purpose of using surface and submarine forces
As you know, the main forces of the Russian Navy are surface and underwater units. It is they who realize the main tasks of this part of the armed forces. But in the structure of the Navy of the Russian Federation, surface and underwater units carry out a number of their specific functions. For example, the first type of formations is used, as a rule:
- to cover the landing, as well as its transfer to the point of landing and evacuation;
- protection of the territorial borders of the state;
- the establishment of barriers from mines;
- ensuring the activities of submarine units.
The second, no less important in its effectiveness unit in the Navy of the Russian Federation are underwater formations. Their main task is reconnaissance of the deep sea in peacetime, as well as damage to water and ground targets in war. It is worth noting that the key technique in the composition of the submarine units are nuclear submarines. They are armed with quite serious weapons, namely ballistic and winged missiles.
Naval aviation
For many people, the existence of marine aviation is an incomprehensible factor. Many people confuse this component with a separate military branch, which is a mistake. It is worth noting that the army, navy and military aviation are included in the armed forces . At the same time, the units of the same name in the structure of the Navy have nothing to do with the last element of the RF Armed Forces. Naval aviation has a whole range of its own functional tasks, for example:
- counteraction to surface forces of the enemy;
- the implementation of attacks on the coastal base of the enemy;
- reflection of air strikes.
Thus, maritime aviation is a special unit created to carry out functions within the framework of the Navy.
Marine Corps Features
The history of the navy at all times has been inextricably linked with the development of units of the marines. The formation refers to the structure of coastal troops. In fact, such units are designed specifically for combat actions by means of naval landing. Marine Corps were known during the reign of Peter the Great. In those days, the size of this unit was about 20 thousand people.
Today, this indicator is at around 8 thousand people, which are distributed across four main teams. The main task of the marines is landing operations, that is, short-term landings to perform certain tasks, as well as the protection of coastal tactical objects and surface vehicles.
The main grouping of the Navy
The flag of the navy can not be seen throughout the state. The forces and means of this element of the armed forces are distributed in accordance with tactical necessity. Simply put, the main groups are located in those places where the Russian Federation is washed by water. Based on this important factor, the entire Navy of the Russian Federation is divided into the following separate groups:
1. The Northern Fleet is based at the Belomorsky military base in the city of Severodvinsk. Its main task is to protect the territorial interests of the Russian Federation in the eponymous part of the world.
2. The Pacific Fleet is based mainly in eastern Russia, in cities such as Vladivostok, the Danube, and Sovetskaya Gavan.
3. The Baltic grouping is located near the cultural capital of the Russian Federation, St. Petersburg. The location is no less significant historical monument. In this case, we are talking about Kronstadt.
4. The Caspian fleet is based in Astrakhan and Kaspiysk.
5. As for the Black Sea group, it is based in the region of the same sea. The fleet is located on the territory of Sevastopol, once owned by Ukraine. It should be noted that this group of the Navy has quite an important tactical significance. Its main goal is to protect the interests of Russia in the regions of the Black and Mediterranean Seas. The commander of the Black Sea Fleet today is Admiral Alexander Viktorovich Vitko.
Emblem and flag of the Navy of the Russian Federation
The symbols of the Russian Navy cause a lot of questions and disputes around the world. It should be noted that the main designation of the fleet today is its flag. It shows the oblique St. Andrew's cross. Few people know that an almost identical symbol is the flag of Scotland. The symbol became the banner of the Navy in 2001.
The emblem of the Russian Navy also has a special symbolic subtext. It is a golden coat of arms eagle, on the background of which the anchors are crossed. This emblem of the Russian Navy is universally recognized and is used in all groups of the corresponding type of troops.
Conclusion
So, in the article we tried to consider all aspects and characteristic features of the Navy of the Russian Federation. Today, this part of the armed forces is one of the strongest in the world, which indicates a high level of military power of the Russian Federation as a whole.