Russian Lawmaker Called for Return of Carrier Sold to China - In September 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his goal was not to revive the Soviet Union – yet his country's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February of that same year might suggest otherwise. Even if Putin didn't want to revive the Soviet Union, it seems like he and other Russian lawmakers would like to see former parts of the "Evil Empire" returned to their sphere of influence.

It was in December 2023 that Russian politician Sergey Mironov, leader of the "A Just Russia" faction in the country's parliament, called for Alaska to be returned to Moscow's control. The Russian Empire had sold what is now the 49th state to the United States in 1867 for $7.2 million.

While Moscow has never formally asserted a territorial claim to Alaska, multiple Russian politicians have now suggested that the former colonial territory is rightfully Russian.

In 2022, parliament member Oleg Matveychev included Alaska in a list of demands in response to the war in Ukraine and the economic harm caused to the country by U.S. sanctions. However, historians have noted that Russia's hold on Alaska wasn't very strong when it was purchased, and Moscow was ready and eager to get rid of it – especially as it would have been difficult to defend in a war with a power like the UK, which controlled neighboring Canada.

The Cold War Aircraft Carrier

It isn't just territory that some Russians would like to see returned. It was a year ago that another Russian lawmaker suggested that Moscow should try to buy back the Soviet aircraft carrier sold by Ukraine to China following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Launched in November 1988, the unfinished Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier Varyag was transferred to Ukraine in 1992 – but Kyiv was unable to complete the vessel, and sold it to China, where it was described as just a pile of scrap metal.

The official Chinese plan was to convert it into a floating casino.

Yet, instead, Beijing eventually refurbished the vessel as the Shi Lang before it was renamed Liaoning, after its northeastern province. Completed in 2012, it became the Type 001 aircraft carrier and allowed the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) to begin its first naval aviation carrier program, leading to the development of the domestically built Type 002 Shandong while last year, China launched a third and even larger carrier, the Type 003 Fujian.

Could it Return to Russia?

In January 2023, Sergey Karginov, the first deputy chairman of the Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Development of the Far East and Arctic, proposed that Moscow should seek to buy back the carrier for service in the Black Sea.

"After the collapse of the country, Ukraine preferred to sell it in fact for a few bottles of vodka, at the price of scrap metal. Given the current situation, I propose to buy the ship from China, give it the name of the founder of the Liberal Democratic Party Vladimir Zhirinovsky and make it the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet," Karginov, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), told Russian state media.

Few in the Kremlin would like to see the return of the carrier – especially as Russia's only carrier, Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov is still undergoing a costly refit. That aircraft cruiser has been in dry dock for repairs since 2017 and has suffered a number of debacles, including multiple fires – with the most recent one occurring in late December 2022. The Kremlin has announced that the warship will finally begin sea trials later this year, but it has made such claims in the past.

Aircraft Carrier: Would China Sell It?

It is very unlikely Beijing would be eager to sell the carrier. Though it was originally classified as a training ship, and used to allow the PLAN to experiment, train, and gain familiarity with aircraft carrier operations, following upgrades that were completed in late 2018, Chinese state media announced the ship would shift to a combat role.

The Liaoning Carrier Strike Group (CSG) has conducted numerous deployments, including in the South and East China Seas.

The Indian Option

Perhaps, Moscow could turn to New Delhi, which continues to operate the INS Vikramaditya, a modified Kiev-class aircraft carrier that was originally built as the Baku for the Soviet Navy. She later served with the Russian Navy as the Admiral Gorshkov before being transferred to India in 2004.

The ship has also suffered from numerous problems, and some experts have suggested that India would likely be happy to get its money back and see the ship returned to Russia. Perhaps now is the time to make a deal, especially as the first domestically-built Indian carrier has entered service. 

Peter Suciu: Author Experience and Expertise

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. Email the author: [email protected].