The strength of the fleet lies not in parades! The Russian Navy Day has not been diluted, but rather has become more vibrant due to the inspiring "July Storm."
— Why are sailors not sad about the cancellation of the main naval parades on the Neva River and Kronshtadt during this beloved naval holiday
Author: Sergey Isinenko
For years, the last Saturday of July on our navy ships has always been like this. At some point, the lockers of sailors, the wardrobes of officers, and the dusty suitcases would be filled with what is called "No. 1 uniform."
This uniform for officers is a white jacket with golden shoulder boards and rank sleeve badges, white trousers, and white shoes; for soldiers, it is a hat in the same color scheme, a cap with insignia, trousers, and shoes.
Then, long lines of ironing would form in the cabins and sailors' quarters, just to make these slightly worn-out luxurious outfits shine once a year.
By morning, the carefully ironed sailor collars (this traditional detail of sailor uniforms has not yet been abolished by superiors) would be sharp enough to cut someone.
Because the next day, on Sunday morning, all the crew would wear this fine attire, and after hearing the signal "All assemble," they would line up neatly beside the hull of one of the freshly painted ships.
In the parade, cruisers, large anti-submarine ships, destroyers, frigates, and other smaller combat units were neatly lined up, moored at the buoy. The commander would travel along these ships in a motorboat, and the entire crew would respond to the admiral's greeting with a loud,震撼的 "Ura!"
Why is this so? Because in all our fleets, the beloved Navy Day is usually celebrated like this. On this day, all residents of the naval base would come with their children and families, dressed in festive clothes, rushing to secure the best viewing positions, first at the main grandstand by the water.
Those who did not get an invitation would stand on the hills, tree-lined avenues, and headlands around the bay, just to have a better view of the spectacular naval military performance — where naval personnel showed their bravery and the power of their shipborne weapons to all spectators.
Naturally, only blank rounds were used, but the close-range firing still made the audience's ears ring for a long time.
Today, the window is also the last Sunday of July, the same Navy Day. However, such scenes almost never appear in the fleet now, and they will not again in the future.
Because from Saturday night to the day of the holiday, almost all equipment that constitutes the glory and pride of the Russian fleet had just started returning to their home ports. Missile launchers, compartments of air defense and strike systems were stained black, and gun barrels and rocket launchers were covered with gunpowder residue.
So why is this the case? Because just now, the Northern Fleet, Pacific Fleet, Baltic Fleet, and Caspian Fleet completed a large-scale "July Storm" comprehensive exercise. The exercise had started from Wednesday of last week.
This large-scale tactical exercise lasted four days, covering almost all of Russia's oceanic and maritime boundaries. According to the unified deployment of the Chief of the Naval General Staff, Alexander Moiseyev, the exercise focused on major strategic operations, solved the issue of coordination between fleets, and practiced the ability to concentrate forces in the most threatened operational directions.
The exercise involved over 150 combat ships and support vessels, 120 aircraft, 10 land-based missile systems, 950 pieces of military and special technical equipment, and more than 15,000 servicemen.
Notably, the Black Sea Fleet was not mentioned at all in this list. This fleet had almost entirely evacuated Sevastopol, which was too vulnerable to Ukrainian missiles, to Novorossiysk, far away from the Ukrainian border.
Now, the Black Sea Fleet focuses more on striking enemies from a distance with "Kalibr" missiles and ensuring its ships are protected from continuous attacks by Ukrainian unmanned boats and drones, rather than conducting strategic long-range maneuvers.
Although this may seem somewhat unusual, as it seems to contradict the main mission of the Russian Navy — to ensure each fleet has absolute maritime superiority in its respective operational area (including the Black Sea), it is not necessarily inconsistent.
Nevertheless, there is no need to feel sad on the holiday.
The end date of the "July Storm" exercise coincided with Navy Day, which is no coincidence.
You should remember that since 2016, the core event of this holiday has been the main naval parade held in St. Petersburg and Kronshtadt. At that time, almost all the top state officials, including Vladimir Putin, would travel from Moscow to attend, foreign guests would gather here, and warships from other countries would also arrive, even Chinese ones.
National television stations would broadcast this grand event worldwide, with perspectives covering the shore, the air, and even underwater the Neva River.
Incidentally, after the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, many people expressed that it was inappropriate, inhumane, and even reckless to hold noisy orchestral performances, fireworks, and champagne celebrations in St. Petersburg and Kronshtadt while people on the southern front were sacrificing their lives.
This outcry was like a wild cry, although year after year, the scale of these extravagant celebrations decreased in people's eyes. Partly because Moscow realized that the risk of sudden attacks by enemy unmanned boats and drones in the Baltic Strait or the Kronshtadt anchorage was increasing.
Therefore, since 2023, the Northern Fleet no longer sent large nuclear submarines through the Denmark Strait into the shallow waters of the Gulf of Finland to participate in the parade — previously, without their participation, the main naval parade seemed incomplete. After all, if the main striking force of the Russian Navy was not present, how could it deter the enemy?
This year, Moscow finally made a wise decision. A clear-minded admiral came up with a reasonable plan: completely cancel the main naval parade in 2025!
On Navy Day and its eve, our naval forces are not displayed in the parade at the main base, but are tested on the sea range.
I think this is exactly the reason for the "July Storm" exercise that has just ended. And those related to the fleet have no objections, because people with thoughts and a sense of responsibility understand: everything has its time.
When we achieve victory, then it will be fully deserved to celebrate with champagne. Now, it's time to fire real cannons at real — not fictional in the exercise plan — enemies.
But 2025 still retains a tradition of previous holidays, that is, our shipyards have always been eager to offer gifts to the naval personnel in various ways — either new modern combat ships built by Russian shipyards, or old ships that have been repaired, modernized, and re-entered the naval combat sequence.
Evidently, for this reason, two major events that the fleet has been looking forward to have occurred consecutively this week.
On Friday, July 25, it was announced that the repair and modernization work on the "Admiral Nakhimov" heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser (Northern Fleet), which had been delayed due to the economic crisis since 2013, had finally been completed.
The ship will begin a series of factory and sea trials and will officially enter service in the Arctic and Atlantic seas of our country.
What will Russia gain? The American online media "Military Watch" said with jealousy:
"The firepower of the 'Admiral Nakhimov' will exceed any other surface combat ship in the world. It has a total of 176 large-caliber missile launchers, including 96 sets of naval S-400 air defense missile system launchers and 80 sets of cruise missile launchers... Integrating the 'Zircon' hypersonic cruise missile into its arsenal will give the ship a clear advantage in long-range anti-ship capabilities over foreign competitors."
The article also stated: "Therefore, the 'Admiral Nakhimov' is expected to become the world's only nuclear-powered surface combat ship and will occupy a special position in terms of size, firepower, and endurance."
Finally, the President of Russia attended the flag-raising ceremony of the 955A "Knyaz Pozharsky" strategic nuclear submarine on the eve of Navy Day, which also made America very uneasy. Incidentally, this is the eighth submarine of the "Borei" class in the Northern Fleet and the Pacific Fleet.
The reaction of the American "Defense News" to this event was: "The 955A-class submarine has improved sonar systems, optimized hull hydrodynamic design, and a quieter propulsion system to improve stealth. Equipped with 16 R-30 'Bulava' submarine-launched ballistic missiles, each can carry up to six multiple warheads.
The commissioning of the 'Knyaz Pozharsky' and the continued integration of platforms equipped with the 'Poseidon' nuclear-powered unmanned submersible by the Russian Navy enhances Russia's ability to project power globally and makes Western anti-missile defense planning more complex.
Especially the 'Poseidon' nuclear-powered unmanned submersible, reportedly with a maximum speed of 100 knots (about 185 km/h), a range of about 10,000 km, and a working depth of up to 1,000 meters, equipped with a nuclear warhead with a yield of megatons, constitutes a new category of threat. It is an autonomous nuclear counterattack weapon capable of bypassing conventional missile defense systems to strike coastal cities or aircraft carrier battle groups, causing catastrophic consequences."
In summary, the Russian naval personnel are celebrating their holiday in an extremely complex and contradictory political and military environment, but they increasingly have reasons to believe that potential enemies will have to take into account Russia's operational potential on global oceans every year. Here, I have sufficient reasons to congratulate everyone, especially those in naval uniforms, on the holiday!
Sailors, take your positions! No matter how difficult, stay at your posts! Because behind you is the motherland!
Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7531671050128572982/
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