In 1985, aged 13, and despite three paternal generations of infantry officer preceding me, I joined the Royal Australian Navy cadets. The result, perhaps, of years of watching Patrol Boat.
In those days, with China yet to invest heavily in naval power, Russia was seen as the key regional threat. Specifically, the formidable fleet of nuclear-armed submarines and surface ships based in Vladivostok.
In the late ‘80s, the USSR had three aircraft carriers under construction and it seemed that with those commissioned and 1-2 deployed in the Pacific they would be in a position to project force southwards to Australia.
You can see what we were worried about…
With the fall of the Soviet Union this did not come to pass, and by the 1990s the Russian Pacific Fleet was a shadow of itself.
Fast-forward 30 years and I find myself wandering the Pacific Fleet museum, encountering it’s rather extraordinary battle honours, history and legacy of innovation.
The Russian Navy has four fleets, the Northern (at Severomorsk), the Pacific (Vladivostok), Baltic (on the Vistula at Kaliningrad); in the Black Sea (Sevastapol), and a Caspian flotilla based for most of it’s history in Baku (now Azerbaijan).
Each of these fleets has featured in some remarkable way in military history, and collectively played a prominent role in the 1905 and 1917 revolutions, and of course in the defence of the Russian state. This contribution is acknowledged annually on the third Sunday in July, when Russia celebrates Navy Day.
A festive atmosphere, notwithstanding the soundtrack of gunfire and rocketry.
The Pacific Fleet dates all the way back to 1731, first moving to Vladivostok in 1871. Accordingly here in Vladivostok Navy Day is no small event, with a sail-past by the fleet; various military displays and an evening of fireworks.
Of course all of this was new to us, coming to light only when we wandered in to town to find it rammed with punters, being buzzed by cars flying Russian Navy flags; and with the waterfront subject to an assault by Russian marines.
What’s most charming however is the deep affection and pride demonstrated by the people of Vladivostok towards the fleet, and the sailors - past and present - that serve on it.
For more pics around Vladivostok, see our latest gallery.
