Russia's Future Power at Sea

Before Germany fought in World War I they underwent the most massive naval buildup of their time. Germany's Fleet Acts were aimed at outdoing the Royal Navy, the dominant sea power of the time. The ensuing arms race was considered one of the chief causes of World War I. Now an eerily similar buildup is being talked up in Russia.

Commander-in-Chief of the Russian fleet announced last month the intentions to have a massive buildup of the Russian navy. This buildup would include six aircraft carriers, three in the Northern Fleet and three in the Pacific Fleet. This would be a vast increase in Russia's naval power and exceed to the capabilities of the Soviet Navy at it zenith.

The expansion however, does not just include aircraft carriers, but be an increase of a hundred ships including submarines and surface ships. Part of this arms buildup for the period up to 2015 puts the naval buildup on par with buildup of the nuclear arsenal. Part of this buildup will involve advanced nuclear subs like Borei and Yasen. Borei employs the Bulava ballistic missiles an advanced variant of the Topol-M, which is designed to avoid missile defense system. With ten such subs, one holding 12 missiles and the other nine holding 16 missiles, Russia will have 156 Bulava missiles. The Yasen is purported to be more advanced than the most advanced American submarines.

It also doesn't just involve the North Fleet and Pacific Fleet. Russia is also planning to enlarge its presence in the Black Sea Fleet. The Fleet's Commander-in-Chief has also talked of building a permanent naval presence in the Mediterranean. Russia has reportedly been deepening two ports in Syria, Latakia and Tartus, to serve as bases for this new fleet presence. This would be the first time since the Cold War that Russian ships would be based in the Mediterranean Sea.

This effort may even overlap with Russia's reaction to Kosovo's independence. Russia and Ukraine have been in a long-running dispute over Crimea which became increasingly tense after anti-NATO protests last year. Many of those in Crimea have called for independence from Ukraine and joining with Russia. Russia's State Duma even put forth the idea of annexing the Crimea as a response to Ukraine's threats of raising the rent for a Russian naval base there and the protests in Crimea. In connection with this a plan to build a nearly 3-mile bridge connecting Russia and Crimea would ease such an annexation. With a base being built in Russia, the annexation of Crimea would allow for a larger naval presence in the Black Sea and would almost completely cut Ukraine off from the sea. The potential fallout in Southern and Eastern Ukraine, dominantly pro-Russian, could be immense.

Command-in-Chief of Russia's navy, Admiral Vladimir Masorin, has said the buildup would be done within 20 years. Higher arms exports to Venzuela, Iran, Syria, China and India combined with Russia's massive energy monopoly, the funds for such massive military plans will not be hard to find.