The Kara is a class of Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

 era 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....

 guided missile cruiser

Cruiser

A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...

s. The Soviet designation is Project 1134B Berkut B - Беркут Б (Golden Eagle) and the Soviet mission description is "large anti-submarine warfare ship" (BPK) and not "cruiser".

Design

These ships were enlarged versions of the Kresta II class

Kresta II class cruiser

The Kresta II Class, Soviet Designation Project 1134A, Berkut A were Soviet guided missile cruisers of the Cold War. The ships entered service in the late 1960s and were rapidly decommissioned after the end of the Cold War...

, with gas turbine

Gas turbine

A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between....

 engines replacing the steam turbines. These ships were fitted as flagships with improved command, control and communications facilities. These are dedicated ASW ships with significant anti-aircraft capability including both SA-N-3 and SA-N-4 surface to air missiles.

The Specifications for the class were issued in 1964 with the design being finalised in the late 1960s. The gas turbine engine was chosen instead of steam for greater efficiency, quietness and because the main Soviet gas turbine plant had a long association with the Nikolayev shipyards.

The cruiser Azov was constructed as a trials ship for the SA-N-6 missile system and was also fitted with the associated Top Dome Radar. During the cold war she was confined to the Black Sea.

Ships

These ships were built by the 61 Kommunar Shipyard

Shipyard named after 61 Communards

Shipyard named after 61 Communards is a major shipyard located in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. In modern times, the shipyard has been most commonly referred to as Nikolaev North Shipyard but was also known as Soviet Shipyard No. 200.- History :...

 at Mykolaiv

Mykolaiv

Mykolaiv , also known as Nikolayev , is a city in southern Ukraine, administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv is the main ship building center of the Black Sea, and, arguably, the whole Eastern Europe.-Name of city:...

 (Nikolayev) on the Black Sea

Black Sea

The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...

.

Ship	Fleet	Laid Down	Launched	Completed	Fate/Status
Nikolayev - Николаев	Black Sea	25 June 1968	19 December 1969	31 December 1971	Scrapped in 1994
Ochakov Russian cruiser Ochakov Ochakov is a Kara-class cruiser of the Russian Navy. The ship is on paper stationed in the Russian Black Sea Fleet as of 2011. However the cruiser has not been operational since the early 2000s.- History :...  -Очаков	Black Sea	19 December 1969	30 April 1971	4 November 1973	Decommissioned 22 August 2011
Kerch Russian cruiser Kerch Kerch is a Kara-class missile cruiser of the Soviet and later Russian Navy. The cruiser is in active service with the Russian Black Sea Fleet as of 2011.- History :... - Керчь	Black Sea	30 April 1971	21 July 1972	26 December 1974	Active, 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.... , 2009; Scheduled to be decommissioned in late 2010/2011
Azov Russian cruiser Azov Azov was a Kara-class missile cruiser of the Soviet and later Russian Navy.- History :Azov was laid down on 21 July 1972, launched on 14 September 1973 and was commissioned on 25 December 1975. The ship was stationed in the Black Sea Fleet...   - Азов	Black Sea	21 July 1972	14 September 1973	25 December 1975	Decommissioned 28 December 1998, scrapped at Inkerman (Sevastopol) in 1999-2000
Petropavlovsk - Петропавловск	Russian Pacific Fleet	9 September 1973	22 November 1974	29 December 1976	Sold for scrap in 1996. Deployed in search for KAL 007 shot down in 1983
Tashkent - Ташкент	Pacific Fleet	22 November 1974	5 November 1975	21 December 1977	Sold for scrap in 1994
Vladivostok - Владивосток - (ex Tallinn)	Black Sea Fleet	5 November 1975	5 November 1976	31 December 1979	Sold for scrap in 1994