Soviet aircraft carrier Minsk
Encyclopedia
Minsk is an aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
that served the Soviet Navy
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval arm of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have played an instrumental role in a Warsaw Pact war with NATO, where it would have attempted to prevent naval convoys from bringing reinforcements across the Atlantic Ocean...
, and later the Russian Navy, from 1978 to 1994. She was the second Kiev
Kiev class aircraft carrier
The Kiev class carriers were the first class of fixed-wing aircraft carriers built in the Soviet Union....
-class vessel to be built.
History
Named after the capital city of BelarusBelarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, the Minsk was laid down in 1972, launched on 30 September 1975, completed on 27 September 1978, and decommissioned on 30 June 1993.
The Minsk operated in the Pacific Fleet. The ship had to be retired as a result of a major accident which could only be repaired at Chernomorski facility, located in the newly-independent Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. In 1995 she was sold to a South Korean businessman, and later resold to Shenzhen
Shenzhen
Shenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...
Minsk Aircraft Carrier Industry Company Limited. a Chinese
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
company. Until 2006, when the company went bankrupt, Minsk was part of a military theme park in Yantian district, Shatoujiao
Shatoujiao
Shatoujiao is an area located in the Yantian Qu of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in China, Located on the border of the mainland China and Hong Kong. Shatoujiao is a bustling metropolis in comparison to Sha Tau Kok in the Hong Kong , due to the development of special economic zone...
(沙头角) sub-district, Shenzhen called Minsk World
Minsk World
Minsk World is a military theme park located in Dapeng Bay, Shatoujiao, Shenzhen, China. It includes the huge former Soviet aircraft carrier Minsk, redesigned as a tourist attraction. The theme park opened on 10 May 2000...
. The aircraft carrier was put up for auction on 22 March 2006. No bids at the starting price of 128 million RMB
Renminbi
The Renminbi is the official currency of the People's Republic of China . Renminbi is legal tender in mainland China, but not in Hong Kong or Macau. It is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of the PRC...
were received, so the carrier was withdrawn from sale. On 31 May 2006, the Soviet aircraft carrier was finally auctioned off in Shenzhen for 128 million RMB to CITIC
CITIC
Not to be confused with Citigroup, another large financial services company.Not to be confused with CIT Group, another large financial services company....
Shenzhen, the current operator.