![]() ![]() In a matter of days in early 2014, Russian troops fanned out and occupied the Crimean Peninsula using the bases of Russia's Black Sea Fleet as staging areas. "Thank God that everything is back to normal, and Crimea and Sevastopol returned to their home port," Tarariyev said about the Russian annexation. Foreign invaders besieged Sevastopol twice in the span of a century, and Tarariyev's father helped liberate the city from Nazi invaders in 1944. Such reasoning resonated with locals whose lives were tied to Crimea's storied military past, which predates its history as a Ukrainian territory. At the time, Russian President Vladimir Putin justified the annexation by saying it would prevent Crimea's naval bases from falling into NATO's hands. ![]() Like many Crimeans, Tarariyev cheered Russia's takeover of the peninsula in 2014 after protests in Kiev brought a pro-Western government to power. Built 400 feet under Mount Tavros, the underground base in Balaklava Bay fell into disrepair and was plundered for scrap metal before it became a museum in 2003. Although Russia ended up keeping most of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet, it had to lease Crimean naval facilities from the Ukrainian government in Kiev. Today the Soviet warship is a theme park in China.Ĭrimea had suddenly become part of independent Ukraine. "When we went out to sea, we took nuclear warheads on board and were ready to use them if ordered to," he said.Ī model of the Kiev aircraft carrier is on display in the museum. The base is now a museum and Tarariyev, its director. During his lifetime, he saw Crimea go from being the Soviet Union's "unsinkable aircraft carrier" to Ukrainian vacation resort to occupied Russian military stronghold. Yury Tarariyev served as a captain in the Soviet navy's 14th Submarine Division, which was based in Balaklava. nuclear strike - and then deliver a retaliatory blow. During the Cold War, Balaklava Bay was home to a top-secret submarine base designed to survive a U.S. Located on the southwestern tip of the Crimean Peninsula, Balaklava is a suburb of Sevastopol, a strategic port that Russia has used to project power across the Black Sea and beyond for more than 200 years. But 30 years ago, the bay was a restricted military zone, filled with submersible giants of the Soviet navy. Today, white yachts bob on the turquoise surface of Balaklava Bay, a quiet inlet hidden from the open waters of the Black Sea. Hazmat suits hang next to the canal that leads from Balaklava Bay to the heart of the underground base. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |