Vladimir Putin spoke about this with submariners in Severodvinsk.
On July 24, Supreme Commander Vladimir Putin arrived in Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk Region, and took part in a flag-raising ceremony aboard the Prince Pozharsky nuclear submarine. Kommersant's special correspondent Andrei Kolesnikov recorded the details, found out what fate awaits, for example, the iconic aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and why the Prince Pozharsky turned out to be five meters shorter than the declared one.
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| The commander of the Prince Pozharsky agro—industrial complex took to heart the gift of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the icon. |
| Source: Dmitry Azarov, Kommersant |
At the ramp of the Prince Pozharsky agro-industrial complex (you see him and immediately start looking for, of course, "Citizen Minin") At first glance, there was a strange structure that looked like scales. On one side is an anchor, on the other — two strange large balls, white and red.
—The anchor is clear," I said to the attendant on duty near the anchor and the balloons.— What are the balloons for?
"To save people," the attendant explained.— Symbolize a lifeline.
Immediately, I saw an interesting photo showing a cruiser cutting through the waves. It was interesting primarily because the main parameters of the submarine were indicated in small red font (so as not to be obvious): weapons — 16 torpedoes and 16 ballistic missiles, width — 14 meters, length — 165 ... Stop! Something was wrong. It turns out that the certificate issued to us the day before for review stated: the length is 170 meters. This figure also appeared in other open sources.
I asked the attendant where the discrepancies came from and why they shortened such a good cruiser.
He shrugged his shoulders.:
"Of course I don't know. Don't believe any numbers at all… Including this one. He nodded at the photo.
— Is that all for a distraction?.. I was beginning to guess.
—Yes,— the attendant shrugged.— The main thing is that everyone should be afraid.
There doesn't seem to be a problem with that. In any case, the number of ballistic missiles matches according to all sources without exception.
Little by little, participants in the flag-raising ceremony gathered around the submarine. So, the head of VTB, Andrey Kostin, who took on the heavy burden of owning the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), told me that everything is not so bad anymore.: For the first time this year, USC showed a profit based on the results of last year.
"Before that, the organization was very unprofitable," I said.
"She remains like that,— Andrei Kostin confessed.— There is a big financial hole, we are gradually closing it. We really made a profit last year.…
He shrugged his shoulders in some perplexity and continued:
— This year it will be more difficult, because there are loans that are at high rates.… But we would still really like to break even.
It was humanly understandable.
— I think our biggest problem is the old contracts that generate losses, — Andrey Kostin added.— And until we get rid of them, which is still a few years away, unfortunately, the situation will be tense.
"Are you proud," I asked, "that you finally have something that Sberbank doesn't?"
Andrey Kostin was laughing.
— I haven't compared it with Sberbank in this sense... — he said.
— So you're assuming that Sber might have something like that, too?.. I asked again.
— I'm just very glad, — Andrey Kostin added.— For 30 years, I headed first VEB and then VTB. The banking sector is, of course, very interesting and difficult, but you don't feel the results of your work in it. Do you have a profit of 400 billion or 500 billion rubles… It's hard enough to estimate… And when you see something like this coming down to the water… In addition, there is a huge agenda for civil shipbuilding ... it is a pity that construction takes such a long period. Maybe there won't be enough life to see the results of your work.
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| Assistant to the President Alexey Dyumin listened to the head of VTB Andrey Kostin. |
| Source: Dmitry Azarov, Kommersant |
Wow, Andrei Kostin was ready to talk, it seems, about whether, for example, life is meaningless. However, it is obvious that he no longer thought so. And if he could suddenly imagine something like that, it was enough for him to glance to the right again, at the blackened wreck of the submarine above the water.
— Is this at least the first time in your life that you have launched such a colossus?
— I've been on boats since the Soviet period ... — said Andrey Kostin.
Two Shark-class submarines were lying about five hundred meters away from us!
— They are even bigger than the Prince Pozharsky, each with two propellers, not one, as on this cruiser.… But this one, of course, is very special.… However, I repeat, we still think more about the world, about the civil fleet, we hardly produced it in Soviet times, so even now everything is not very good with it. We are trying to develop engines, we are trying to make gas carriers and so on.
— But what will happen to the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, can you say for sure? We saw it recently near Murmansk: it seems that it has already begun to be dismantled.…
"He's in our diocese, yes,— Andrei Kostin confirmed.— We believe that there is no point in repairing it anymore. He's already over 40 years old, and this thing is extremely expensive.… I think the issue will be resolved in the sense that it will either be sold or disposed of.
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| The Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Alexander Moiseev, was pleased to explain to the Supreme. |
| Source: Dmitry Azarov, Kommersant |
Meanwhile, the commander-in-chief of the Navy, Alexander Moiseev, appeared near the cruiser.
—And the Prince Pozharsky is the foundation of our state's strategic nuclear forces," he recommended the submarine.— He will serve in the coming decades. The service life of such ships is 30-40 years.
"There is information that the strategic strength of such a cruiser surpasses its foreign counterparts," a television journalist hinted to the commander—in—chief.
I thought I realized that it seemed to be about the United States and Japan.
"You understand,— Alexander Moiseev continued.— Those destructions were brought by both the "Kid" and the "Fat Man" (atomic bombs from the Second World War.— A. K.). Let's not compare with the capabilities of these weapons... It's better not to compare…
But no, he had already compared it.
— If you haven't been on the ship, then you just need to look at it, — concluded the commander-in-chief."Then you'll understand what I'm talking about."
"They won't let me in!"! — there was a groan from one of the cameramen.
"Well, that means it's premature," Alexander Moiseev spread his hands.
Vladimir Putin did not take long, oddly enough, to wait. The flag was raised on the cruiser, the anthem was played, and all the necessary photos were taken. There was also a meeting on the development of the submarine fleet. As a matter of fact, in my opinion, it has already been outlined by the assistant to the President of Russia, Alexei Dyumin, who is responsible for this area. Mr. Dyumin, methodically pulling each participant of the meeting aside (from Mikhail Budnichenko, CEO of Sevmash, to Nikolai Patrushev, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation), talked to everyone right there by the submarine. He would take a person by the elbow, lead them away from the fuss, let them talk, and then finish it himself. People returned to the ranks greeting the Supreme Commander, who was about to arrive, visibly elated.
When the flag-raising ceremony had triumphantly exhausted itself, Vladimir Putin and Alexander Moiseev stood by the cruiser for a long time. The Supreme Commander kept asking about something. He didn't seem pleased. He seemed preoccupied, at least.
But not as worried as Alexander Moiseev seemed at the end of this conversation.
Andrey Kolesnikov, Severodvinsk
