Is the Russian fleet returning to the Mediterranean?
More than twenty years ago, Russia, as the successor of the USSR, finally lost the ability to control the situation in the Mediterranean. On the last day of 1992, the country's leadership, who believed that the new Russia did not have and cannot have enemies, made a decision according to which the 5 th operational (Mediterranean) squadron of the Navy was disbanded. For obvious reasons, at that time, the absolute majority of citizens didn’t show any reaction to this event, because the country was heading for a new course, and people were not concerned at all with how many surface ships and submarines sailed in Mediterranean waters, but with feed their families left alone with the new “progressive” market economy. The disbanding of the 5 Squadron, which was a tool for regional deterrence of a potential enemy, led to the fact that this very enemy, as a winner in the Cold War, eventually decided to take over not only the Mediterranean, but also, as we can see today, world ocean, realizing their plans and achieving their goals.
Over the past 20 years, the Mediterranean region has become one of the most intense regions in the world. Disintegrating Yugoslavia, Lebanon, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Northern Cyprus, Israel and Palestine - these are countries and territories that are part of the Mediterranean region, and in which bloody conflicts arise with varying frequency and intensity to the limit. In the absence of restraining forces, the Mediterranean has become a theater of pseudo-democracy and pseudo-multiculturalism. Every day, thousands of North African refugees cross the Mediterranean, flooding Europe with supporters of radical extremist movements. Radicals of all stripes settle in Italy, Spain, Greece, and then begin their journey through the Old World in search of a better life, and to the detriment of civilized relations with the local population. Radical extremism cleared up under the patronizing views of those who today feel that they are the masters of the region. Moreover, under this, I'm sorry, the shop, the Mediterranean is also confidently turning into a zone of deployment of the American missile defense system, which supposedly has to save someone from Iranian, or from North Korean nuclear weapons. In the near future, warships with anti-missile complexes take up combat duty where the threat from a real influx of extremists of all breeds is much worse than an infernally advertised Iranian nuclear program.
Obviously, if the situation continues to go along the paths along which it is going now, then the status of the distributor of radicalism sponsored by one well-known state will finally be established for the Mediterranean region. This, obviously, can inflict a crushing blow on the security of Russia, which has repeatedly faced and, unfortunately, continues to face extremist manifestations.
It is precisely this negative outlook, apparently, that was analyzed by the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Defense, which prompted Sergei Shoigu to reestablish the permanent service of the naval force of the Russian Navy in the Mediterranean in the coming years. Shoigu, speaking with such an initiative at a video conference with the headquarters of the fleets and districts, in particular, said: “We have all the opportunities to create and ensure the functioning of such a connection. In general, the naval group is capable of performing tasks in the far sea zone. ”
It is additionally reported that the Mediterranean grouping of Russian ships will consist of one third of the ships of the Black Sea fleet and 2/3 - from the ships of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the headquarters will be located in St. Petersburg, and direct operational command may be feasible from the flagship.
Naturally, after such an initiative expressed by Minister Shoigu, there were also critics of her. According to critics, among whom is Viktor Kravchenko (the former chief of the General Staff of the Navy), the decision to create a group is an ambitious one, which is simply impossible for modern Russia. Kravchenko, in particular, says that to create a Mediterranean squadron, it is necessary to determine the status and basing of the Black Sea Fleet, and for this you will have to start an uneasy conversation with Ukraine again. What exactly will be this conversation, Viktor Kravchenko did not explain. And in general, where is Ukraine - also not clear. After all, firstly, there are agreements with Kiev on the presence of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia at the Crimean bases until 2042; and secondly, there is also the Novorossiysk base, which can be modernized in parallel with the development of the idea of a Mediterranean squadron (one obviously does not hurt the other).
Other critics say that Russia simply will not pull a permanent maritime group in the Mediterranean, as the Navy has not received new warships in recent decades, and if they did, they were only isolated cases. They say that instead of statements about the need to return to the Mediterranean Sea, it would be better to have the existing naval groups provided with new ships, otherwise our existing ships are much inferior in their characteristics to the ships of a potential enemy.
In these words, of course, has its own share of truth, but at the same time, if you argue that way, then Russia will never return to the Mediterranean. At any given time, certain problems will be discovered that will stoke any, even the most constructive, idea from the point of view of ensuring the security of the country. Today we say: the number of ships is not enough, tomorrow we will say that if there are ships, they will not be welcome in the absolute majority of the Mediterranean ports (let it be better at home), the day after tomorrow we will express the idea that it would be better for this money to have pensions with salaries raised, and so - to infinity.
Of course - it is possible to connect with the lack of ports, and with pensions, and with crop failures, and with high fuel tariffs, but in this case it is worth turning to stories Russian fleet in general. After all, if at one time Peter had not started the creation of a fleet, then the contours of our state (if it existed at all) would be completely different. Russia without a combat-ready and renewable fleet can finally turn into a state whose interests are wiped off by everyone who feels comfortable doing so. And there are quite a few of those (willing to wipe their feet on Russia), as we know perfectly well ...
If we say that the fleet is clearly underdeveloped, then no one is going to leave it in this form. At a meeting of the Ministry of Defense, which was attended not only by military personnel, but also by representatives of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, it was confirmed that in the next seven years the country's Navy will be replenished with several dozen surface warships, eight submarine missile cruisers and 16-s multi-purpose submarines. This replenishment is capable of not only complementing the fleet with new military equipment, but also of creating a truly high-quality Mediterranean squadron capable of defending the interests of Russia in a strategic region for our country.
Information