Russia marks the Black Sea Fleet Day on May 13, a holiday that has been celebrated since 1996 but dates back to the eighteenth century.
Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Admiral Alexander Moiseyev congratulated the veterans and personnel of the Black Sea Fleet on the 241st anniversary of its foundation, noting that the fleet’s sailors have always upheld Russia’s national interests.
The Black Sea Fleet was founded by Russian Empress Catherine II back in 1783 when 11 ships from the Sea of Azov entered a bay near the village of Akhtiar, which was renamed Sevastopol a year later.
The Black Sea Fleet is an operational-strategic formation corps with the Russian Navy, which includes main bases in Sevastopol, Novorossiysk, Temryuk, and Tuapse.
As an integral part of the Russian Navy, the fleet aims to ensure Russia’s military security in the country’s south.
Its main tasks include:
protection of the economic zone and areas of production activity, as well as suppression of illegal production activities;
ensure navigation safety;
implement foreign policy actions by the government in economically important areas of the world's oceans (visits, business visits, joint exercises, actions as part of peacekeeping forces, etc.).