The Soviet Union’s aircraft carrier, Minsk, was one of just four Kiev-class ships built for the Soviet Navy at Mykolaiv, the USSR’s leading shipbuilding site.
Like the other Kievs, the Minsk is a kind of hybrid aircraft carrier and cruiser that, while in service with the Soviet Navy, could launch Yak-38 VSTOL aircraft and helicopters while also boasting a substation missile armament.
Unlike other aircraft carriers in American, British, or French service, which use naval aviation as the centerpiece of power projection, the Kiev-class instead used its aircraft to support other surface elements.
Of course, like all warships, they will need to be retired at some point. As crazy as it sounds, the Minsk would find itself in a bizarre retirement ‘home’: in China as a theme park exhibit.
The Minsk: A Russian Aircraft Carrier That Made History
After the end of the Cold War and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union, Minsk was taken out of service and sold to a group of South Koreans.
These investors then later sold the ship to a group of Chinese investors, who saw the ship’s potential for entertainment.
The ship became the main attraction of Minsk World, a military-themed park in Shenzhen, China. The Minsk caught fire in 2024.
The Kiev-class
The Kiev-class aircraft carriers were employed completely differently than how aircraft carriers were for NATO countries.
At about 45,000 tons, they are less than half the size of the largest of the American aircraft carriers, which tip the scales at about 100,000 tons.
But in addition to their much more diminutive size, the Kiev-class uses a ski-jump launch system and a complement of vertical take-off and landing aircraft that have a more limited payload capacity and range than their Western counterparts.
Despite their shortcomings, the Kiev class was one of the Soviet Navy’s most ambitious attempts to build a capable and credible naval aviation force that boasted significantly more offensive capability.
China’s Carrier Building Program
China has taken a keen interest in acquiring old and decommissioned aircraft carriers in the past in order to build its organic aircraft carrier and naval aviation force.
Several examples include the Minks, the Australian carrier Melbourne, and the Soviet-era Varyag, which was later sold to a Chinese front company and extensively refurbished and refitted.
That ship is now in active People’s Liberation Army Navy service as the Liaoning.
Together, these aircraft carriers gave China extremely valuable insight into how to build and maintain an aircraft carrier, how their propulsion works, and the intricacies of naval aviation operations.
Upon these ships, China began its indigenous aircraft carrier program.
Following the Liaoning’s commissioning in 2012, China has made rapid progress in expanding its aircraft carrier fleet.
The second Chinese carrier, Shandong, was based on the Soviet-era Varyag. But, that ship was made entirely in China, the first home-grown carrier in the PLAN, and entered service in 2019.
There is a third carrier currently undergoing testing, the Fujian, and it is much more advanced and more akin to modern Western carriers, though somewhat smaller than the largest American ships with a displacement of around 80,000 to 85,000 tons.
China is also building a fourth aircraft carrier, the Type 004, which will be a significant leap ahead of the carriers that China currently ha
s. Not only will it be larger, estimated at around 100,000 tons in displacement, but it will also use onboard nuclear reactors for nuclear propulsion — strong evidence of China’s desire for the PLAN to become a blue-water navy with global power projection capabilities and one that could challenge the United States.
China Loves Buying Old Aircraft Carriers
Though the Mink was likely too old and doctrinally different from the carriers China currently has in service or construction to be of much use to the PLAN, it’s nonetheless a fascinating chapter in China’s carrier program.
About the Author: Caleb Larson
Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.
