When the first Borei class submarine, the Yury Dolgoruky, was launched on April 15th, 2007 the rumors were flying around the shipyard. The rush to put the SSBN in the water had led to poor work by the yard, and they knew it. It was no surprise when the Yury Dolgoruky was floated at a reported 82% completion with huge ceremony, but quickly put into drydock the day after with plenty of work to do. To illustrate the problem, Sevmash shipyard workers were so frustrated for being rushed to finish the submarine they painted graffiti on the dry dock, specifically the word "madhouse". They failed to realize they were caught in the politics, Putin swept into office just in time for the K-141 incident, and would make damn sure he exits office with the Yury Dolgoruky.
Five billion rubles later, which by the way was 40% of the total Russian Navy shipbuilding budget for 2007, Russia launched its first new-generation nuclear submarine on a quiet Tuesday night.
The Yuri Dolgoruky was launched at Russia's secretive Sevmash shipyard in the Arctic town of Severodvinsk on Tuesday night. "The atomic submarine Yuri Dolgoruky was launched into the water," Sevmash said in a short statement.
Named after a Slavic prince who helped to defend Moscow, the Borei-class (Arctic Wind) submarine can carry 107 sailors for 100 days without surfacing.
The long-delayed submarine was moved to a dry dock last year in the presence of First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, who hailed the construction as a major step towards reviving the accident-prone navy.
No parades, hardly any press, on a cold Russian winter night the next generation Russian boomer met the sea, this time for real. The picture above is from the ceremony last April, I wouldn't expect to see any photography from Tuesday night.
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