The cruiser was taken into service in 1988. In 1999 it moored at Sevmash for repairs, but because of lacking financing, the repairs were never completed.
According to General Director at Sevmash Nikolay Kalistratov, the Russian state has allocated the funds for the modernization, and the vessel could be ready to be put back in service in 2012, ARMS-TASS reports.
In 2009 Kalistratov estimated that a full modernization of the cruiser would cost around RUB 20 billion (app. €455 million).
Today, Russia has only one nuclear powered battle cruiser, the “Pyotr Veliky”, based in the Northern Fleet. This vessel was taken into service in 1996 and is today considered to be the fleet’s flagship.
In September 2009 Deputy Minister of Defense Vladimir Popovkin said in an interview that Russia needs a renovated fleet of surface vessels, and that the nuclear powered cruisers were subject to reconstruction programs that were being developed.
