To return to the main
Northern Fleet entry, see the Northern Fleet
file.
After serving as a diesel powered submarine base in the 1960s, Vidyayevo
Naval Base took on nuclear submarine activities in 1979. While Vidyayevo
includes two separate bases, one at Ara Bay and one at Ura Bay, only the
former deals with nuclear submarines (the latter services diesel submarines
and some surface vessels). The town of Vidyayevo, with a population
of some 20,000, is located six kilometers north of the town of Ura Bay,
on the eastern side of the bay itself.
Vidyayevo, approximately 48 kilometers north and northwest of Murmansk,
16 kilometers east of Zapadnaya Litsa
Ara Bay runs approximately 10 kilometers in length and one kilometer in
width.[1] Although Ara Bay served all three generations of nuclear submarines
in the 1980s, it is now one of the most poorly equipped bases of the Northern
Fleet. It actively serves some Akula class attack submarines.
Ara Bay houses 14 decommissioned submarines, nine of which are Echo
II class (with two reactors each) and five of which are Charlie
II class, equaling 23 nuclear reactors still containing fuel.
In addition to an alleged solid and liquid radioactive waste storage facility,
Ara Bay houses a three-cubic meter storage tank for collecting liquid radioactive
waste from the nuclear submarines it serves. Naval officials are
considering using three incomplete tunnels, each 400 meters in length and
30 meters in diameter, for temporary reactor compartment storage until
a permanent radioactive waste depository is constructed in northwest Russia.
The tunnels, originally intended to hide submarines, could house up to
100 reactor compartments for 80 to 100 years, but a lack of funding is
hindering progress on the project.
Ara Bay experienced 2,000 curies of radioactive contamination over a one
kilometer area when a K-192 nuclear submarine with reactor damage from
a 1989 accident remained docked there. In 1994, in order to keep
the submarine from sinking, it was transferred to Polyarninskiy Shipyard.[2]
4/24/2002: OLD DECOMMISSIONED
NUCLEAR SUBMARINES TO BE TRANSFERRED FROM GREMIKHA TO ARA GUBA
On 24 April 2002, Trud reported that the Northern Fleet would
transfer in the near future 17 old decommissioned nuclear submarines [four Kit-class
[NATO name 'November'] SSNs, 10 Kefal I-class [NATO name 'Victor I'] SSNs, and three Kefal
II-class [NATO name 'Victor II'] SSNs] from Gremikha
Naval Base to Ara Bay Naval Base in
Vidyayevo for further dismantlement. The submarines will have to be
transported inside floating docks. The operation will have to take place in
calm weather to ensure the safety of the endeavor.
4/19/2001: MOSCOW SENDS VIDYAYEVO BUILDING
MATERIALS
On 19 April 2001, Moskovskaya pravda reported
that Moscow Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov had issued a directive to send Vidyayevo
building materials worth 8.44 million rubles (over $291,000 as of 19 April
2001) to improve the living conditions of Vidyayevo garrison sailors.
3/6/2001: VIDYAYEVO GETS CLOSED CITY STATUS
Vidyayevo was given closed city status by presidential
edict on 6 March 2001.[1] This status will enable the town to receive priority financing from the federal
budget.[2]
2/2001: SERVICEMEN SENTENCED FOR STEALING WEAPONS
The Vidyayevo garrison court finished hearing the case of
eight servicemen and one civilian charged with stealing weapons from a
storehouse;
illegal possession, transfer and sale of weapons and firearms; violation of
military patrol service rules; and other crimes (see the 6/10/2000 entry in this section). The
court ruled that two sailors who stored the stolen arms but did not
participate in the act of theft had to pay fines;
two
more sailors, found guilty of participation in two of the thefts, received prison sentences but were released under an amnesty;
three other sailors who participated in the thefts received prison sentences of up to three years and nine months; Master Chief Petty Officer Aleksandr Kolesnikov,
who headed the group, received
five years of imprisonment; and one civilian, a high-school student who introduced Kolesnikov to
the sailors who carried out the thefts, was given
four years but released on parole.
6/10/2000: STOLEN ARMS CONFISCATED; SUSPECTS ON
TRIAL
From August to November 1999 Russian servicemen stole
large numbers of weapons from the Vidyayevo nuclear submarine base.[1]
The suspects were organized and led by Master Chief Petty Officer Aleksandr
Kolesnikov, a professional serviceman, and included nine servicemen and
civilians. The suspects reportedly stole five assault rifles, one
machine gun, 33 grenades, 37 Makarov pistols, daggers, binoculars, "sword-belts"
and between 3500 and 5000 cartridges of various calibers.[1,2] The
arms were sold in Murmansk, Petrozavodsk, Sverdlovsk, and elsewhere; as
of March 2000, 43 weapons and most of the ammunition had been recovered.[1,2]
1/26/99: SAILOR SELLS NUCLEAR
SUBMARINE'S REACTOR PARTS
At the Vidyayevo Naval Base in Murmansk Oblast, on
26 January 1999, a sailor serving on a nuclear attack submarine stole 24
rings of palladium-vanadium wire that form an integral part of the control
system for the submarine's auxiliary reactor.[1,2] The theft was
discovered by commanding officers of the submarine, which was not on combat
alert at the time, and resulted in an estimated 300,000 rubles (approximately
$13,000) of damage. It is thought that while the sailor was on watch,
he took advantage of lax oversight and used a key to enter the control
station of the auxiliary nuclear reactor, where he stole the valuable parts.[2]
The sailor sold the wire to a petty officer from another submarine for
1050 rubles (approximately $50). The petty officer intended to resell
the wire for a much higher price, but both he and the sailor were arrested
on 31 January 1999. According to officials at the military procurator's
office, the damage to the submarine can only be repaired in a shipyard.
Aleksandr Nikitin, a former Russian naval officer and nuclear submarine
expert at the Norwegian non-governmental organization Bellona, said that
the incident was worrisome, but was unlikely to have caused any radioactive
contamination.[1] The base's military prosecutors are leading the
investigation, but there has been no examination of the possible motivation
behind the theft. The sailor will be charged with both grand theft
involving illegal trespassing and with intentional damage to military property.
According to the garrison's senior prosecutor Vladimir Dudkin, the incident
is a unique one, and most of the submariners are very loyal to their boats.[2]
2/19/98: VIDYAYEVO WORKERS GO ON HUNGER STRIKE
Vidyayevo Naval Base workers, who have not been paid in 18 months, went
on a hunger strike in February 1998. The workers continue to perform
their duties and allegedly do not blame the Northern Fleet, which reportedly
tries to pay its employees in a timely fashion. Many bases and shipyards
have experienced similar problems. The Northern Fleet command decided
to issue promissory notes to settle the debt, but they will not be available
until summer 1998. Workers assume they will not be paid in full and
that much of the money will be returned to the state in the form of taxes.
Last updated 1 August 2002
Comments or questions? Contact Cristina Chuen at MIIS
CNS: Cristina.Chuen@miis.edu
This material is produced independently for NTI
by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the
Monterey Institute of International Studies and
does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has
not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers,
employees, agents. Copyright © 2002 by MIIS.
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