Project 1171 (Tapir) class landing ship (NATO reporting name

NATO reporting name

NATO reporting names are classified code names for military equipment of the Eastern Bloc...

: Alligator) is a class of Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 / Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n general purpose, beachable amphibious transport dock

Amphibious transport dock

An amphibious transport dock, also called a landing platform/dock , is an amphibious warfare ship, a warship that embarks, transports, and lands elements of a landing force for expeditionary warfare missions. Several navies currently operate this kind of ship...

s (Soviet classification: Large landing ship).

Design of Project 1171 was initiated in 1959 by the Navy, while a similar dual-purpose Project 1173 was ordered by the civilian Ministry of Shipping. Eventually both designs were merged under Project 1171 umbrella, and the resulting ship was a compromise between military (speed, survivability

Survivability

Survivability is the ability to remain alive or continue to exist. The term has more specific meaning in certain contexts.-Engineering:In engineering, survivability is the quantified ability of a system, subsystem, equipment, process, or procedure to continue to function during and after a natural...

) and civil (fuel economy) objectives. Design team produced four different configurations of the ship. The Navy selected the most powerful and fastest option, which was also least fuel-efficient, and the civil Ministry withdrew from the project completely. All production ships were made for the Navy and never operated on shipping lines.

A total of 14 vessels were completed between 1964 and 1975; all were retired in 1992–1995. As at September, 2008, two vessels, currently named Orsk and Saratov are in active service with the 179-th brigade of Russian Black Sea Fleet

Black Sea Fleet

The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov....

. An unidentified number remains in reserve.

Saratov (БДК-65) was launched in July 1964, commissioned in 1966 as Voronezhsky Komsomolets. As a leader ship of a formation, it lacked the habitable troops compartments installed on other ships of the class. Saratov was stationed in Donuzlav (Black Sea Fleet

Black Sea Fleet

The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov....

) until the Union collapsed and then remained mothballed in Odessa

Odessa

Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...

 until 1994. The ship was reported in active operations in 2000 and later.

Orsk (БДК-69) was launched and commissioned in 1968 as Nikolay Obekov. It served a total of 11 campaigns in Indian

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

 and Atlantic

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 oceans and the Mediterranean. Later, under Russian flag, it carried peacekeeping troops and materials to Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

, Adjaria and Abkhazia

Abkhazia

Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...

.

Some vessels were used in the 2008 South Ossetia war

2008 South Ossetia war

The 2008 South Ossetia War or Russo-Georgian War was an armed conflict in August 2008 between Georgia on one side, and Russia and separatist governments of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other....

.