The 20th century was just beginning, and the Russian Empire was making significant upgrades to its Navy. Towards the end of 1911, they built a vessel unlike most at the time: a salvage ship that would rescue submarines from the ocean depths.Based on the German SMS Vulkan, the Russian engineers created a ship whose lengthy and fruitful career no one could have foreseen.
In 1915, Kommuna began her service with the Russian Empire. She then became part of the Soviet Navy and continued her service with the Russian Federation over a century after her commission.
From the biting waters of the Baltic during the Siege of Leningrad to modern-day rescue operations in the Atlantic, Kommuna is the oldest ship in service with the Russian Navy, but that hasn’t stopped her from carrying out some of the most challenging assignments in the Black Sea, including the secretive recovery of highly delicate materials from the sunken guided missile cruiser Moskva...