VLADIVOSTOK, May 21 (RIA Novosti's Anatoly Ilyukhov) - The Russian Pacific fleet is marking its 274th birthday. On Saturday, a garland and flowers were laid to the Pacific Fleet Combat Glory memorial in Vladivostok. The fleet commanders and municipal officials attended the ceremony.
The fleet's press officer Alexander Kosolapov, Captain 1st Rank, told RIA Novosti that festive colors had been hoisted on the warships. Meetings with veterans, amateur art performances and sports competitions are being held in Vladivostok.
The Russian Senate issued the decree establishing the Okhotsk military flotilla in St. Petersburg on May 21, 1731. The Siberian military flotilla, based in Okhotsk, was set up for the protection of the Pacific coast and islands discovered by Russian travelers and seafarers.
In later years, the fleet's main bases were Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Nikolayevsk-on-Amur. In 1872 the base shifted to Vladivostok and the Pacific Fleet became the successor of the Siberian flotilla.
Today Russia's Pacific fleet has strategic underwater missile cruisers, multipurpose nuclear and diesel submarines, surface ships for operations in the coastal and open-sea zones. The Pacific Fleet also has maritime missile-carrying, antisubmarine and fighter aviation and a marine division.
