Soviet Navy

The Soviet Navy (Russian: Вое́нно-морско́й флот СССР (ВМФ), tr. Voyénno-morskóy flot SSSR (VMF), lit. 'Military Maritime Fleet of the USSR') was the naval warfare uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet (Russian: Красный флот, tr. Krasnyy flot), the Soviet Navy was a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with the opposing superpower, the United States, during the cold war period between the two countries. The influence of the Soviet Navy played a large role in the events involving the Cold War (1945-1991), as the majority of conflicts centered with the American-led alliance in the Western Europe or power projection to maintain its sphere of influence in Eastern Europe.

The Soviet Navy's organizational structure was divided into four major fleets: the Northern, Pacific, Black Sea, and Baltic Fleets, which were under the separate command was the Leningrad Naval Base. In addition, Soviet Navy had a smaller fleet, Caspian Flotilla, operated in the Caspian Sea and followed by a larger fleet, 5th Squadron, in the Middle East. The Soviet Navy included the Naval Aviation, Naval Infantry, and the Coastal Artillery.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian Federation inherited the largest part of the Soviet Navy and reformed it into the Russian Navy, with smaller parts becoming the basis for navies of the newly independent post-Soviet states.