Russian Navy will stay in Sevastopol
In spite of the officially confirmed plans of removing the main base of the Russian Navy from Sevastopol to Novorossiysk it seems that the former will host a bigger part of the Russian Black Sea Navy in the foreseeable future. On, September, 17, 2003, after signing the decree on creating the naval base in Novorossiysk the President of Russia Vladimir Putin stressed that “it does not mean that we are going to leave the base in Sevastopol.
In 2004 Russia launched a federal target program on creating in Novorossiysk the naval base. The program allocated 12,3 billion rubles within five years. Construction works began in 2005. It was originally supposed to finish the program in 10 years. Then the time frame was cut with the deadline in 2011. However, this program assumes hosting only one third of the Black Sea fleet of the Russian Navy. Besides, by 2017 it is planned to construct one base to the south from Novorossisk - in Temryuk.
The Commander of the Russian Navy Admiral of Fleet Vladimir Masorin recently reported that in five years the construction of the protecting piers and moorings in Novorossisk will be finished. Up to 100 ships could stay there. Three out of five are already constructed. After 2012 the federal target program assumes building other objects of the naval infrastructure, including objects of coastal defense, aircraft and maintenance.