EXPLAINED: Why Does Russia Care About Black Sea And Sinking of ‘Moskva’ Warship So Much?

The sinking of the 600-foot, 12,500-tonne flagship of the is not just a huge symbolic defeat for Russia as it was named after its capital Moscow, but also a serious damage to its dominance in the Black Sea.

New Delhi: In the latest setback for President Vladimir Putin, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, Moskva, a guided-missile cruiser, sank on Thursday after it was heavily damaged. Though Ukrainian officials said their forces hit the vessel with missiles, Russia denied any attack, reported the Associated Press.

The loss of the warship is a huge symbolic defeat for Moscow as its troops regroup for a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine after retreating from much of the north, including the capital, Kyiv. The vessel was the biggest Russian warship to be sunk in action since World War II. The sinking of the 600-foot, 12,500-tonne flagship of the is not just a huge symbolic defeat for Russia as it was named after its capital Moscow, but also a serious damage to its dominance in the Black Sea.

History of Black Sea

Black Sea has always been a busy waterway. Greece controlled it in the 9th century BC and by 500 BC Greek communities took its control. It helped them increase their trade. In 1479, the Black Sea came under the control of the Ottoman Empire until it was taken over by the Russian Navy in 1783. The 1853-1856 Crimean War saw immense bloodshed to take control of this region. One of Russia’s main reasons for joining World War I was to take over control of the Black Sea, reported Indian Defence Review.

Significance of Black Sea to Russia

1. The Black Sea is located between Europe and Asia. It is flanked by Turkey in the south, Crimea in the north, Georgia and Russia in the east and Romania and Bulgaria in the west.
2. Not only is the Black Sea an entry point for Russia into the Mediterranean and a buffer between NATO and itself, it also serves as an economic gateway for the country to major markets in southern Europe, as reported by the Deccan Herald.
3. Moscow sees the Black Sea as vital to its geo-economic strategy and it may be right to do so. It helps in supplying Russia’s oil and gas to the west.
4. Russia depends on the Black Sea for both for military operations outside its immediate neighbourhood and for exports of Russia’s main commodity (hydrocarbons), reported The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
5. With the breaking away of the USSR, ideally NATO should have been dissolved. But this did not happen. In fact, despite multiple assurances by the US and NATO, it has expanded four times since 1991 and almost reached the doorstep of Russia.
6. The Kremlin sees the Mediterranean as a largely NATO-dominated region. So, by increasing its presence in the Black Sea, Russia hopes to spot opportunities to make political, economic, and military inroads with key regional states in the region.
7. A domination of the Black Sea and Sea would give Russia a major advantage in the Crimea-Odessa-Mariupol region now that Sevastopol is already under its command.

Future course of action

Many pacts have been signed in the last 100 years, mostly between Russia, Turkey and the West to determine who controls the region. But, just like the South China Sea, it’s not clear yet who has a legal claim over the region. Russia, being the world’s largest exporter of foodgrains and the second largest exporter of crude oil, would definitely want and take all possible measures to control the area to keep the flow of export of its commodities ongoing without any hurdle.