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The Marine Strategy of Russia in the Middle East

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The Marine Strategy of Russia in the Middle East СРАВНИТЕЛЬНАЯ ПОЛИТИКА И ГЕОПОЛИТИКА DOI: 10.24411/2221-3279-2021-10007 THE MARINE STRATEGY OF RUSSIA IN THE MIDDLE EAST Alexander V. Krylov MGIMO University, Moscow, Russia Natan Z. Shuminov MGIMO University, Moscow, Russia Article history: Abstract: The world media and international discussions at the highest level again are focusing on the Russian’s Received: policy in the Middle East. This is to a large extent the re- 04.06.2020 sult of the successful operations of the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Navy in Syria. The article defi nes the con- Accepted: ceptual fundamentals of the modern maritime policy of 03.09.2020 Russia in the Middle East. The authors analyze the main points of the new directions of Russian maritime strategy About the authors: in the Mediterranean, which were formulated in the fol- Alexander V. Krylov, Dr. of Historical Sciences, lowing documents: “Fundamentals of the State policy of Professor, Leading Researcher, the Russian Federation in the fi eld of naval activities for Center for Middle East Studies, the period until 2030”, “Marine Doctrine of the Russian Institute of International Studies, MGIMO University Federation” and “Agreement between the Russian Fed- eration and the Syrian Arab Republic on the expansion e-mail: [email protected] of the territory of the logistics point of the Navy of the Russian Federation in the vicinity of the port of Tartus”. Natan Z. Shuminov, The participation of the Russian fl eets in the military op- Postgraduate Student in History erations in Syria showed that the Russian Navy success- of International Relations, MGIMO fully overcame the systemic crisis and took up positions corresponding to the status of a great power. e-mail: [email protected] Key words: Middle East; Mediterranean Sea; Persian Golf; Syria; Marine Strategy; Russia; Russian fl eet; Russian marine doctrine Historical background Two decades ago, Russia had no naval expensive and reliable component of Moscow strategy. Western naval experts noted that the as part of the USSR Armed Forces, decreased Russian Navy was a “fl eet, doomed to death” from 400 submarines in 1985 to 65 in 2007. and for a long time had been in state of coma.1 The number of sailors in active military service That was a fair conclusion. During the era of fell from almost half a million in 1985 to 146 Gorbachev and Yeltsin, the potential of only a thousand, many of whom were conscripts. submarine fl eet, which at one time was the most However, the situation began to change 1 since 2008, when V. Putin was the Prime O’Keefe, A. Dr. Tom Fedyszyn on the State of Minister of Russia. Since that time, a quarter of the Russian Navy // The Maritime Executive, January 2, 2017. Mode of access: https:// all defense funds have gone to the restoration www.maritime-executive.com/article/dr-tom- of the Navy. Russia's shipbuilding capacity fedyszyn-on-the-state-of-the-russian-navy system has started to show progressive trends 82 СРАВНИТЕЛЬНАЯ ПОЛИТИКА . 2021 Т.12 № 1 СРАВНИТЕЛЬНАЯ ПОЛИТИКА И ГЕОПОЛИТИКА in the production of several types of warships Table 1. equipped with the most advanced equipment, Submarines in the Russian Fleet (as of 2020)4 including “Yasen” ballistic missiles. Nuclear Class BF BSF NF PF CF Total: submarines of a new class that are well known among specialists in naval engineering Nuclear-powered Ballistic Missile --83-11 appeared – “Borey”, “Akula”, “Severodvinsk”, Submarines (SSBN) “Kazan”; surface ships “Steregushchiy”, Nuclear-powered “Boykiy”, “Stoykiy”, “Admiral Gorshkov”; Guided Missile --45-9 aircraft carrier “Kuznetsov”. Already in 2009, Submarines (SSGN) the military-political leadership of Russia made Nuclear-powered an offi cial announcement according to which the Attack Submarines - - 13 4 - 17 (SSN) Russian fl eet overcame the crisis period, fully Nuclear-powered recovered and is now able to carry out tasks that Special Mission --8--8 correspond to the fl eet of the great power.2 Two Submarines (SSAN) Special Purpose years later the head of naval operations of the --1--1 US Navy, Admiral Garry Roughhead, speaking Submarines (SSA) to the members of the military subcommittee of Attack Submarines (SS) 1 7 6 9 - 23 the Senate Appropriations Committee, said that Total: 69 “the Russian Navy is on the rise again”.3 BF – Baltic Fleet, BSF – Black Sea Fleet, NF – Northern Fleet, On September 1, 2013, in order to carry PF – Pacifi c Fleet, CF – Caspian Flotilla out tasks in the Mediterranean region and taking into account the evolving military-political Table 2. situation, a Permanent Operational Connection Warships in the Russian Fleet (as of 2020) of the Russian Navy in the Mediterranean Class BF BSF NF PF CF Total: Sea was created. With the start of the military Aircraft Carriers (CV) - - 1 - - 1 operation of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Heavy Nuclear-powered Syria on September 30, 2015 the compound Guided Missile --21-3 takes part in this operation, providing the cover Cruisers (CGN) Guided Missile -111-3 for the Russian aerospace forces in Syria and Cruisers (CG) the Khmeimim air base. At different times on Large ASW -154-10 the basis of rotation the compound included the Ships (DDGS) fl agships of all Russian fl eets: the heavy aircraft- Guided Missile 1-12-4 carrying cruiser “Admiral Kuznetsov”, the Destroyers (DDG) Guided Missile heavy nuclear missile cruiser “Peter the Great”, 4--2-6 the guards missile cruisers “Moscow” and Corvettes (FFC) Guided Missile “Varyag”, the frigates “Admiral Grigorovich”, 261-211 Frigates (FFG) “Admiral Essen” and “Admiral Makarov”. Offshore Patrol -2--- 2 At present, the Russian fl eet has 217 warships Vessel (OPV) of various types and 69 submarines, of which Small ASW 6668-26 45 operate on nuclear fuel (See Tables). Ships (FSS) Guided Missile 8724324 Corvettes (FC) Guided Missile Boats 65-11123 (PGM) Small Gun Ships (FS) - - - - 3 3 2 The Maritime Strategic Evaluation for Israel Gunboats (PG) - - 1 - 5 6 2018/19. Haifa Research Center for Maritime Seagoing Minesweepers 1832-14 Policy & Strategy, 2019. P. 44. (in Hebrew) (MSO) 3 Cavas, C.P. Roughead Says Russian, Chinese Navies Growing // Navy Times, March 16, 2011. 4 Russian Navy 2020: List of Active Russian Mode of access: www.navytimes.com/news/Varch Navy Ships and Submarines // RussianShips. 2011/03/defense-navy--cno-assesses-russian- info, January 17, 2020. Mode of access: http:// chines-navies-031611 russianships.info/eng/today/vb COMPARATIVE POLITICS RUSSIA . 2021 Vol.12 No. 1 83 СРАВНИТЕЛЬНАЯ ПОЛИТИКА И ГЕОПОЛИТИКА Class BF BSF NF PF CF Total: stability and strategic containment and makes Base Minesweepers (MSC) 4 - 6 7 2 19 it possible to implement independent national Inshore Minesweepers maritime policy as an equal participant in 5111513 (MSI) international maritime activities. Landing Ships (LST) 4 7 5 4 - 20 The logic of the formation of the current Landing Crafts Air Cush- 2---- 2 naval policy of the Russian Federation shows ion (LCAC) that the implementation of the government’s Landing Crafts (LCM) 9 5 4 4 6 29 naval policy in the future is ineffective without: Total: 219 – understanding in the higher echelons of For comparison, at the beginning of power the value of the Russian Navy; 2020 the US Navy was armed with 290 units – the creation in the state of the relevant of military naval equipment, including 68 management body for the implementation of submarines, of which only 12 were equipped naval policies on the sound legal doctrinal basis with ballistic missiles.5 in the form of the “Naval Doctrine of Russia”; At the international conference “Geopo- – a long-term construction program of the litics: Maritime Aspect”, which was held on Navy, approved at the level of law and binding February 3, 2020 at Haifa University, the for the domestic industry; participating experts on maritime policy and the – the support of the country’s population 8 law of the sea unanimously noted that Russia had authority service in the Navy. again become a global power and took a strong The twenty-seventh paragraph of this position in the strategically important region of document explains the need for the naval the Eastern Mediterranean and Persian Gulf.6 presence of the Russian Federation in strategically important and other areas of the oceans, including the Middle East: The contemporary geopolitical position a) the increased aspirations of a range of of Russia in the Middle East states to possess the sources of hydrocarbon Immediately after the crushing defeat of energy resources in the Near East, the Arctic the terrorist international in Syria, in August and the Caspian Sea basin; 2017 President Vladimir Putin signed a b) the negative impact on international document called “Fundamentals of the State security of the confl ict in the Syrian Arab Republic, policy of the Russian Federation in the fi eld of the Republic of Iraq, the Islamic Republic of naval activities until 2030”.7 According to the Afghanistan, confl icts in the Near and Middle East, eighth paragraph of this document the Russian and in several countries in South Asia and Africa; Federation continues to maintain the status of a c) the possibility of escalation of existing great maritime power, the maritime potential of and the emergence of new interstate confl icts in which ensures the realization and protection of any area of the World Ocean; its national interests in any region of the World d) the spread of piracy in the Gulf of Ocean, is an important factor of international Guinea, as well as in the waters of the Indian and Pacifi c Oceans; 5 Naval Vessel Register. Fleet Size. Classifi cation e) the ability of foreign states to hinder the of Naval Vessels are in Accordance with SECNAV Russian Federation’s economic activities and Instruction 5030.
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