This is a list of Russian accidents that befell the Russian Armed Forces after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Accidents have variously been attributed to cutbacks in spending on equipment, the lack of maintenance of hardware, and the theft of parts for sale to criminal gangs due to low pay in the services. For accidents involving the Russian Air Force during the Second Chechen War, see List of Russian aircraft losses in the Second Chechen War.
1990s 1992 7 February - A MiG-29 crashed due to adverse weather conditions on a routine training flight in Dobrinsky District, Lipetsk Oblast. The pilot, Major General Sulom-Bek Oskanov was killed. May - The first of a series of five ammunition explosions at Pacific Fleet ammunition storage arsenals that lasted until 2003.
1993 24 July – Two Mig-29s of the Russian Air Force collided in mid-air and crashed away from the public during the International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom. No one on the ground sustained any serious injuries, and the two pilots ejected and landed safely. 23 August - Some 40 minutes after takeoff from Engels Air Force Base in Saratov Oblast, an An-12 suffered a partial electrical failure followed by engine failure. While performing an emergency landing, it collided with a tree, causing it to crash and catch fire.
1994 18 January – After takeoff, an Antonov An-22 reported control problems. The aircraft rolled to the right and crashed near Antonovo, Tver Oblast. Three occupants were seriously injured while seven others were killed. 13 July – A An-26 was stolen from Kubinka airbase, Moscow Oblast by an engineer planning to commit suicide. He circled Lyakhovo at 300–2000 feet until the aircraft ran out of fuel and crashed, killing him. 5 August – An Antonov An-12 aircraft impacted a hilltop at 140 metres due to poor visibility at Bada, Chita Oblast. 1994 – Four conscripts in the Pacific Fleet died of a stomach infection due to malnutrition.
1995 22 September – A nuclear submarine had its electricity cut by an electricity company at a naval base due to unpaid bills. The submarine's cooling system ceased to function and the reactor "came close to meltdown". 12 December - 2 Su-27s and a Su-27UB of the Russian Knights flight demonstration team crashed into terrain outside of Cam Ranh, Vietnam, killing four team pilots.
1997 5 December – Russian Air Force Antonov An-124 Ruslan, RA-82005, delivering two Sukhoi Su-27 Flankers to Vietnam, lost power in both port engines at 200 feet (60 m) on take-off from Irkutsk and crashed into a residential area, killing eight crew, 15 passengers, and 45 on the ground (some accounts list higher ground casualties). The cause was thought to be either contaminated or wrong grade fuel.
1998 17 June – A Kamov Ka-50 Hokum crashed at the Army Aviation Combat Training Centre, Torzhok, Tver Oblast, killing Army Major-General Boris Vorobyov.
1999 22 April – A Sukhoi Su-24 MR Fencer disappeared from radar while descending through cloud during a coastal surveillance flight along the Black Sea in Krasnodar Krai. Its wreckage was found ≈9 miles (15 km) from Novorossiysk and 25 miles (40 km) from Anapa. Both crew did not eject and were killed. 13 June – A prototype of the Sukhoi Su-30 crashed during a demonstration at the opening of the 43rd Paris Air Show.
2000s 2000 16 June – A fuel leak from a missile poisoned 11 servicemen at a naval base in Primorsky Krai. 12 August – In the Kursk submarine disaster a series of explosions aboard the nuclear-powered submarine Kursk sinks the submarine killing all 118 people on board. 25 October – A Russian Air Force Ilyushin Il-18 crashed near Batumi, Georgia killing all 86 people on board.
2001 27 January – An Antonov An-70 prototype crashed close to Omsk Tsentralny Airport during testing of the aircraft. All 33 passengers and crew on board the aircraft survived. 17 July - A Su-33 crashed during an air show in Pskov Oblast. The pilot, Major-General Timur Apakidze, died in the crash. 1 December – An Ilyushin Il-76TD caught fire and crashed near Novaya Inya, Khabarovsk Krai killing all 18 on board.
2002 21 February – A Russian Navy Antonov An-26, crashed 1.5 km short of the runway at Lakhta Airfield, near Arkhangelsk, during an emergency landing. Of the 20 people on board, 17 were killed.
2003 30 August – The decommissioned November-class nuclear-powered submarine K-159 sank while it was being towed to Polyarny, Murmansk Oblast in the Barents Sea to be stripped of its nuclear reactors.Timesonline Nine crew members died. 18 September – A TU-160 strategic bomber crashed in Engels-2 base near Sovetskoye, Saratov oblast. All four crew members were killed.
2005 5 August – AS-28, under the command of Lieutenant Vyacheslav Milashevskiy, became entangled with the aerial of a hydrophone array off the coast of Kamchatka, in Berezovaya Bay, 70 km southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy. The aerial, anchored by 60-tonne concrete blocks, snared the propeller of the submarine, and the submarine then sank to the seafloor at a depth of 190 m (600 ft). This was too deep for the ship's complement of seven to leave the submarine and swim to the surface. On August 7, all seven sailors were rescued with the help of the United States Navy and the Royal Navy 6 September – During maneuvers of the Northern Fleet, in the northern Atlantic, a Su-33 fell in the water during landing on the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov. The pilot was able to catapult himself and survived. 15 September – A Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker of the 6th Air and Air Defence Forces Army, 177th Fighter Regiment, during a flight between St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad, for unknown reasons veered off its course while travelling over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea, entering Lithuanian airspace and crashing in the Jurbarkas region. No one was injured, and pilot Maj. Valery Troyanov ejected safely.
2006 7 September – A fire broke out in the submarine, Daniil Moskovsky, as it was being towed across the Barents Sea to Vidyayevo, Murmansk Oblast. Two on board died.
2008 20 March - A Su-25 exploded in mid-air during a live firing exercise over Primorsky Krai, 143 km from Vladivostok, killing the pilot. Further investigations revealed that the aircraft was downed by a missile accidentally launched by a wingman. 15 July – Seven soldiers died and six were injured in Chechnya after a tank shell they were loading exploded unexpectedly. 8 November – The Akula II-class submarine K-152 Nerpas freon fire extinguishing system was accidentally activated, killing 20 and injuring at least 22 people. The incident occurred while the submarine was conducting sea trials off the Russian Pacific coast. 17 October – A MiG-29 crashed in Chita Oblast causing the fleet to be grounded temporarily. 5 December – A MiG-29 lost part of its tail section due to corrosion and crashed in southern Siberia. The whole fleet was grounded for inspection and 90 planes were found to be in a dangerous condition.
2009 7 January – A small fire broke out on board the Admiral Kuznetsov while anchored off Turkey. The fire, caused by a short circuit, led to the death of one crew member from carbon monoxide poisoning. 15 January – Two Ilyushin Il-76MDs collided in Dagestan after one of them tried to make a landing with low visibility. Eleven were killed and one aircraft was damaged beyond repair while the other suffered substantial damage. 11 February - An Antonov An-2 aircraft suffered a loss in engine power while climbing through an altitude of about 50–70 metres. The pilot had to carry out a forced landing in a wooded area because he could not reach the airport at Pskov. All three crew members and ten paratroopers on board survived. 16 February – The Admiral Kuznetsov, along with other Russian naval vessels, was involved in a large oil spill while refueling off the south coast of Ireland. March – A fire broke out on the hull of the decommissioned nuclear submarine Orenburg, a Delta III-class submarine while at the Severodvinsk docks in Arkhangelsk Oblast. 26 April – The fourth Su-35BM prototype was destroyed in a high-speed taxi run due to brake failure. The aircraft crashed into the barrier at the end of the runway at Dzyomgi Airport, Khabarovsk Krai and was destroyed. The pilot ejected and sustained burns. 4 May – A Kamov Ka-27 Helicopter landing on the frigate Yaroslav Mudry, crashed on the deck and then rolled over the side into the Baltic Sea. The five helicopter crew were successfully rescued. 17 June – A Sukhoi Su-24MR Fencer crashed on landing at the Monchegorsk Air Base, Murmansk Oblast. The aircraft from the 98th Separate Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment suffered a heavy landing forcing the two crew to eject safely 19 June – A Sukhoi Su-24MR Fencer from the 1st Composite Air Division, North Caucasus Military District crashed near the village of Kostino-Bystrianská, Rostov-on-Don, Rostov Oblast after suffering a mechanical fault that forced the two crew to eject safely after several aborted landings. 16 August – Two Russian Knights air display Sukhoi Su-27 jets collided during training near Zhukovsky Airfield, outside of Moscow, killing one pilot, Igor Tkachenko, and injuring five civilians on the ground. October – Another blaze occurred during the decommissioning of the nuclear submarine, Kazan at Severodvinsk. 1 November – An Ilyushin Il-76 belonging to the Russian Ministry of Interior crashed shortly after takeoff in Sakha Republic. The 11 crewmembers died. 6 November – A Russian Naval Aviation Tupolev Tu-142 M3 from the 310th Independent Long Range Anti-Submarine Aviation Regiment based at Kamenny Ruchey Airbase, Khabarovsk Krai crashed on a routine training exercise into the Tatar Strait near Sakhalin island 15–20 km from the coast off Cape Datta north of Sovetskaya Gavan with the loss of all 11 crew. 14 November – Explosion on the outskirts of Ulyanovsk at Arsenal 31, a navy depot. Two firemen died during the decommissioning of munitions. 23 November – Second explosion at Arsenal 31. Eight soldiers died as they removed munitions.
2010s
2010
14 January – A Sukhoi Su-27 crashed near Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Khabarovsk Krai. Pilot killed. February – A blaze broke out on the decommissioned nuclear submarine K-480 Ak Bars, at Severodvinsk. Casualties unknown.
2011
26 May – Explosion in an arms depot in the village of Urman in Bashkortostan. 12 people were injured and 40 buildings damaged. Over 2,000 people were evacuated from the surrounding area. The cause was blamed by an official on the "combustion of gunpowder traces". 2 June – Explosion in an arms depot near Izhevsk, Udmurtia. 20,000 inhabitants of the surrounding area had to be evacuated. 95 people were injured in the blast, and two elderly people nearby died of heart attacks possibly caused by the sound of the blast. Windows were shattered up to 10 km away. A discarded cigarette was initially blamed for the blast. 6 September – A MiG-31 on a training mission crashed in Perm Krai, killing the two pilots. 29 December – The Delta-IV-class nuclear submarine, Ekaterinburg, caught fire while in dry-dock in the Roslyakovo shipyard, north of Murmansk. The blaze broke out on scaffolding that had been erected around it. The rubber outer hull was badly burnt and nine people were injured fighting the fire. No radiation leak was detected.
2012
13 March – A new Ka-52 attack helicopter crashed near Torzhok, Tver Oblast, killing both pilots. 2 May – Explosion at a military training centre near Nizhny Novgorod killed six soldiers.