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The Soviet Navy didn’t actually have many cruisers during the Civil War or Second World War. Only six of the cruisers inherited from the Tsars survived to do anything meaningful, and four of the six Kirov class cruisers served in the Baltic or Black Sea.
The chapter on cruisers laid down during the Tsarist Period starts with an overview of Soviet naval operations during the Civil War period that covers all of the cruisers inherited from the Tsars. However most of these ships spent that period in port and were either soon scrapped, captured or sunk. As a result we only get a detailed look at six of these early ships – three Svetlana class ships that were completed under the Soviets, the cruisers Aurora and Komintern and the minelayer Marti. Of these the Aurora is the most famous, having played a major role in the October Revolution of 1917. Probably because of that it remained in service throughout this period, and still exists as a museum ship. She already had a long career by the time of the revolution, having been one of the few Russian ships to escape from the defeat at Tsushima.
The newer Svetlana class ships had more active careers during the Second World War, so we get a good account of their roles in the Black Sea, where the Soviets had naval superiority (although always threated by air power). These early cruisers get the most coverage – we are at page 36 of 48 before we reach the cruisers laid down in 1917-45. This covers the Kirov class of six cruisers and the former German cruiser Lutzow. Four of the six Kirov class ships served in two groups – two in the Baltic and two in the Black Sea, so their operations can be covered quite easily (the two that were built in the Far East aren’t covered). Lutzow was provided incomplete, and served as a floating gun battery during the siege of Leningrad.
The last chapter actually goes into the post-war period, but it is only a single paragraph on the Project 68 ships built as Sverdlov or Chapaev class gun cruisers after the war.
This is a handy guide to the careers of the handful of cruisers that served with the Soviet Navy, with an interesting insight into the different naval wars in the Baltic and the Black Sea.
Chapters
Cruisers Laid Down During the Tsarist Period
Cruisers Laid Down and Completed 1917-45
Post-war Gun Cruisers
Author: Alexander Hill
Edition: Paperback
Pages: 48
Publisher: Osprey
Year: 2024