This list of aviation cruisers built in the Soviet Union comprises all aviation cruisers constructed in the same Black Sea Shipyard of Mykolaiv in the Ukrainian SSR. As of 2026, one of these Soviet-built aviation cruisers is still in Indian service, another still in Chinese service; the rest has been decommissioned. Although sometimes called "aircraft carriers", none of them (with the exception of the never-completed Ulyanovsk) have been classed as a "true" aircraft carrier (supercarrier). Specifically, they were all ASW helicopter carriers or aircraft cruisers, including the Admiral Kuznetsov, the only carrier that was still in service with the Russian Navy until it was decommissioned in 2025.

Name Class Type Comm­ission Decomm­issioned Notes Moskva Moskva class Helicopter carrier19671996 Leningrad Moskva class Helicopter carrier19691991 Kiev Kiev class Aircraft cruiser19751993Sold to Chinese company. Converted to military theme park, then hotel. Minsk Kiev class Aircraft cruiser19781993 Sold initially for scrap. Re-sold to China as museum piece. Novorossiysk Kiev class Aircraft cruiser19821993 Scrapped in 1997 in Pohang, South Korea. Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Gorshkov (Baku till 1991) Kiev class (modified) Aircraft cruiser 1987 1996 Modified, rebuilt and sold to India. Re-commissioned 2013 as INS Vikramaditya. Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov Admiral Kuznetsov Aircraft cruiser 1990 2025 Decommissionned from the Russian Navy. Varyag Admiral Kuznetsov Aircraft cruiser 2012 Launched 1988, construction stopped 1992; hull sold by Ukraine to China. Completed 2012 as Liaoning. Ulyanovsk Ulyanovsk Supercarrier Keel laid 1988, stopped 1991, scrapped 1992.

Trivia As of 2017, Russia was considering building a supercarrier, code-named Project Shtorm. As of 2026, the proposal still has not been approved.

See also Project 1153 Orel Project 23000 aircraft carrier List of aircraft carriers List of aircraft carriers in service List of aircraft carriers by country Timeline for aircraft carrier service List of aircraft carriers by configuration

Notes

References

External links Prospective aircraft carrier (In Russian) Aircraft Carriers INS Vikramaditya Aircraft Carrier