On August 29, 2025, Sredne-Nevsky Shipbuilding Plant JSC (SNSZ, part of United Shipbuilding Corporation JSC - USC) in St. Petersburg hosted the laying ceremony for the mine defense ship Leonid Balyakin (naval minesweeper) of Project 12700 (code "Alexandrite") for the Navy of the Russian Federation with the factory number 535. This is the fifteenth ship in the Project 12700 series.
The mortgage board of the Leonid Balyakin mine defense ship project 12700 (code "Alexandrite"), which was laid on 08/29/2025 at JSC Sredne-Nevsky Shipbuilding Plant (SNSZ, part of JSC United Shipbuilding Corporation) in St. Petersburg for the Russian Navy. The company stubbornly continues to refer to the ships of Project 12700 as "base minesweepers" (c) Curious / forums.airbase.ru
The ship is named after Leonid Nikolaevich Balyakin (1915-1981), who was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union as commander of the patrol ship Metel for his participation in the Soviet-Japanese War of 1945. Subsequently, Balyakin, with the rank of rear admiral in 1970-1974, was the head of the auxiliary fleet and the emergency rescue service of the USSR Navy.
Previously, nine Project 12700 minesweepers were built and transferred to the Russian Navy at the SNSZ - Alexander Obukhov (serial number 521, commissioned by the Navy on December 9, 2016), Ivan Antonov (serial number 523, commissioned on January 26, 2019), Vladimir Yemelyanov (serial number 524, commissioned on December 28, 2019), "Yakov Balyaev" (factory number 525, commissioned on December 26, 2020), "Georgy Kurbatov" (factory number 522, commissioned on August 20, 2021), "Peter Ilyichev" (factory number 526, commissioned on November 16, 2022 year), Anatoly Shlemov (factory number 527, commissioned on December 29, 2022), Lev Chernavin (factory number 528, commissioned on December 25, 2023) and Afanasy Ivannikov (factory number 529, commissioned on May 7, 2025).
The lead minesweeper Alexander Obukhov and the minesweeper Lev Chernavin are part of the Baltic Fleet, the minesweepers Yakov Balyaev, Pyotr Ilyichev and Anatoly Shlemov are part of the Pacific Fleet, the minesweepers Ivan Antonov, Vladimir Yemelyanov and Georgy Kurbatov are part of the Black Sea Fleet, and the minesweeper Afanasy Ivannikov is part of the Northern Fleet.
The construction of minesweepers of this project Polyarny (serial number 530, laid down on June 12, 2022, launched on April 24, 2025, scheduled for commissioning into the Northern Fleet), Dmitry Lysov (serial number 531, laid down on June 19, 2023), Semyon Agafonov (factory number 532, laid down on January 18, 2024), Victor Corner (serial number 533, laid down on July 16, 2024) and Sergey Premin (serial number 534, laid down on May 16, 2025),
Interestingly, the Russian Navy and Sredne-Nevsky Zavod continue to be confused about whether the ships of Project 12700 are naval or base minesweepers. If the Navy, after much thought, decided, it seems, to classify these ships as naval minesweepers, then the SNSZ referred to the Leonid Balyakin on the plaque as the "base minesweeper", and on the banner at the laying ceremony as the "sea minesweeper".
The laying ceremony at JSC Sredne-Nevsky Shipbuilding Plant (SNSZ, part of JSC United Shipbuilding Corporation) in St. Petersburg for the Russian Navy mine defense ship (minesweeper) Leonid Balyakin project 12700 (code "Alexandrite") with serial number 535. Saint Petersburg, 08/29/2025 (c) United Shipbuilding Corporation JSC
