List of Russian military accidents
Encyclopedia
This is a list of Russian military accidents that took place in Russia
after the fall of the Soviet Union
in 1991. Accidents have variously been attributed to cutbacks in spending on equipment, the lack of maintenance of hardware, and the theft of parts for sale to criminal gangs due to low pay in the services.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
after the fall of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1991. Accidents have variously been attributed to cutbacks in spending on equipment, the lack of maintenance of hardware, and the theft of parts for sale to criminal gangs due to low pay in the services.
1990s
- 1995 - A nuclear submarine had its electricity cut by an electricity company at a naval base due to unpaid bills. The submarine's cooling system ceased to function and the reactor "came close to meltdown".
2000s
- June 2000 - A fuel leak from a missileMissileThough a missile may be any thrown or launched object, it colloquially almost always refers to a self-propelled guided weapon system.-Etymology:The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send"...
poisoned servicemen at a naval base in Russia's Far East.
- 12 August 2000 - The OSCAR II-class nuclear-powered submarine KurskRussian submarine K-141 KurskK-141 Kursk was an Oscar-II class nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine of the Russian Navy, lost with all hands when it sank in the Barents Sea on August 12, 2000...
sank due to an explosion of ordnance in its torpedo room in the Barents SeaBarents SeaThe Barents Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of Norway and Russia. Known in the Middle Ages as the Murman Sea, the sea takes its current name from the Dutch navigator Willem Barents...
, killing all the 118 submariners on board.
- 30 August 2003 - The decommissioned NOVEMBER-class nuclear-powered submarine K-159 sank while it was being towed to a harbour in the Barents Sea to be stripped of its nuclear reactors. 9 crew died.
- August 2005 - The Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and the U.S. Navy provided assistance to rescue seven Russian sailors trapped in a minisubmarine that had become entangled in submerged nets off Russia’s Pacific coastline near Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy.
- 7 September 2006 - a fire broke out in the submarine, Daniil Moskovskiy (St Daniel of Moscow), as it was being towed across the Barents Sea to a base in VidyayevoVidyayevoVidyaevo is a closed rural inhabited locality in Kolsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. Despite having a rural status, it is municipally incorporated as Vidyayevo Urban Okrug, as such status is the only one allowed by the federal law for the closed inhabited localities. Population: 6,307 .It...
. Two on board died.
- 8 November 2008 - the AKULA II-class submarine K-152 NerpasRussian submarine K-152 NerpaThe K-152 Nerpa is a Project 971 Shchuka-B type nuclear-powered attack submarine. Construction was started in 1993, but suspended due to lack of funding. K-152 Nerpa was launched in October 2008 and entered service with the Russian Navy in late 2009...
freon fire extinguishing system was accidentally activated, killing 20 and injuring at least 22 people. The incident occurred while the submarine was conducting sea trials.
- 17 October 2008 - a MiG-29Mikoyan MiG-29The Mikoyan MiG-29 is a fourth-generation jet fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union for an air superiority role. Developed in the 1970s by the Mikoyan design bureau, it entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1983, and remains in use by the Russian Air Force as well as in many other...
crashed in southern SiberiaSiberiaSiberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
causing the fleet to be grounded temporarily.
- 5 December 2008 - a MiG-29 lost part of its tail section due to corrosion and crashed in southern SiberiaSiberiaSiberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. The whole fleet was grounded for inspection and 90 MiG-29s were found to be in a dangerous condition.
- 14 November 2009 - explosion on the outskirts of UlyanovskUlyanovskUlyanovsk The city is the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin , for whom it is named.-History:Simbirsk was founded in 1648 by the boyar Bogdan Khitrovo. The fort of "Simbirsk" was strategically placed on a hill on the Western bank of the Volga River...
at Arsenal 31, a navy depot. 2 firemen died during the decommissioning of munitions.
- 23 November 2009 - second explosion at Arsenal 31. 8 soldiers died as they removed munitions.
2010s
- 2010 - a MiG-31 crashed in the PermPermPerm is a city and the administrative center of Perm Krai, Russia, located on the banks of the Kama River, in the European part of Russia near the Ural Mountains. From 1940 to 1957 it was named Molotov ....
region, no one was injured.
- 26 May 2011 - explosion in an arms depot in the village of UrmanUrmanUrman may refer to:* Urman, a term originally from Kazan Tatar urman, "a forest", synonymous with taiga* Richard Urman, an American physician...
in Bashkiria. 12 people were hurt and 40 buildings damaged. Over 2,000 people were evacuated from the surrounding area. The cause was blamed by an official on the "combustion of gunpowder traces".
- 2 June 2011 - explosion in an arms depot near the city of IzhevskIzhevskIzhevsk is the capital city of the Udmurt Republic, Russia, situated on the Izh River in the Western Urals. Population: From 1984 to 1987 Izhevsk carried the name Ustinov |Minister of Defense of the USSR]], Marshal of the Soviet Union, Dmitry Ustinov). The city is an important industrial center,...
. 20,000 inhabitants of the surrounding area had to be evacuated. 25 people were injured in the blast, and 2 elderly people nearby died of heart attacks possibly caused by the sound of the blast. Windows were shatterd up to 10km away. A discarded cigarette has initially been blamed for the blast.
- 6 September 2011 - a MiG-31 on a training mission crashed in the PermPermPerm is a city and the administrative center of Perm Krai, Russia, located on the banks of the Kama River, in the European part of Russia near the Ural Mountains. From 1940 to 1957 it was named Molotov ....
region, killing the two pilots. The whole fleet of 370 fighters was grounded while an investigation into the cause was carried out.
See also
- Dedovschina - bullying in the Russian army.
- Komsomolets Nuclear Submarine Memorial SocietyKomsomolets Nuclear Submarine Memorial SocietyThe Komsomolets Nuclear Submarine Memorial Society , literally Society Remembering Atomic Underwater Boat VMF Komsomolets is a charitable non-profit organization providing assistance to the families of Soviet and Russian submariners lost at sea....