Leningrad Naval Base
Overview
Leningrad Naval Base (Russian: Leningradskaya Voyenno-Morskaya Baza) is a major formation of the Russian Navy’s Baltic Fleet tasked with the defense of the eastern Gulf of Finland and the maritime approaches to St Petersburg. Its mission set includes protection of sea lines of communication, port and sea-canal security, coastal defense, and fleet support within the Gulf of Finland and adjacent waters. The base provides infrastructure and command for submarine, coastal missile, rescue, and a range of auxiliary units operating in a constrained, shallow, and busy maritime area.
Command and Organizational Structure
Headquarters are located in Kronstadt on Kotlin Island. The reported commander is Rear Admiral Andrey Saloshin. Subordinate elements identified at the base include the 3rd Separate Submarine Squadron operating Project 877 diesel-electric submarines, the 55th Separate Coastal Missile Battalion equipped with the 3K60 Bal coastal anti-ship missile system, and the 501st Rescue Team providing emergency response and salvage support. The base functions within the Baltic Fleet command structure and supports both permanent and rotational units dedicated to local maritime security and coastal defense.
Location Analysis
Kronstadt is situated on Kotlin Island in the eastern Gulf of Finland at approximately 59.99°N 29.77°E, controlling the approaches to St Petersburg through the St Petersburg Sea Canal. The location is strategically significant for monitoring and defending critical Russian ports in the region, including the Big Port of St Petersburg, Primorsk, and Ust-Luga, and for overseeing traffic in the Gulf of Finland adjacent to NATO-member coastlines. The base benefits from sheltered waters behind historical fortifications and the modern flood-protection barrier, enabling mooring, repair, and staging in proximity to major maritime infrastructure.
Infrastructure Capabilities
The base area includes protected moorings, berthing for submarines and support vessels, and access to repair and maintenance facilities in Kronstadt and the wider St Petersburg area. The Kronstadt Marine Plant provides dock and repair capabilities, while Admiralty Shipyards in St Petersburg constitute a major industrial support hub for diesel-electric submarine construction and overhaul. The St Petersburg Flood Prevention Facility Complex incorporates navigational gates that secure the sea canal and roadstead, and the shipping channel into the Neva Bay is dredged to approximately 11 meters to accommodate commercial and naval traffic. Fueling, logistics, and technical support assets are present to sustain routine operations, training, and limited surge activity.
3rd Separate Submarine Squadron
The 3rd Separate Submarine Squadron is reported to comprise Project 877 (EKM) Paltus diesel-electric attack submarines B-227 Vyborg and B-806 Dmitrov. These boats are optimized for littoral operations typical of the Baltic theater, with roles spanning anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, minelaying, and reconnaissance. The shallow, brackish, and acoustically complex environment of the Gulf of Finland favors quiet diesel-electric platforms for short-duration patrols and training missions; the squadron provides a localized undersea capability for the Baltic Fleet in the eastern gulf and adjacent waters.
Project 877 Paltus Technical Summary
Project 877 (NATO Kilo class) submarines are diesel-electric attack boats of approximately 2,300 tons surfaced and about 3,000–3,100 tons submerged displacement, about 72–73 meters in length, with a beam near 9.9 meters and a draft around 6.2 meters. Propulsion is via diesel-generators and a single-shaft electric drive, giving a submerged speed around 17 knots and an endurance on the order of 45 days. Armament includes six 533 mm torpedo tubes with a typical load of up to 18 torpedoes or 24 mines; some variants of the class have been integrated with Kalibr cruise missiles, but there is no public confirmation that the Baltic Fleet’s Project 877 boats carry that capability. Sensors on baseline boats include the MGK-400 Rubikon sonar suite. Test depth is commonly cited around 240–300 meters, and crew size is approximately 50–60 personnel.
501st Rescue Team
The 501st Rescue Team provides emergency response, towing, firefighting at sea, diving operations, search and salvage, and submarine rescue support for units operating from Kronstadt and the eastern Gulf of Finland. Such formations typically employ rescue tugs, diving support craft, decompression and life-support systems, and remotely operated or manned submersible capabilities suited to the Baltic Sea’s shallow depths. The team underpins safety of navigation and training, and supports recovery operations in a region with significant legacy ordnance and dense commercial traffic.
55th Separate Coastal Missile Battalion (3K60 Bal)
The 55th Separate Coastal Missile Battalion fields the 3K60 Bal coastal defense system, which in Russian service employs Kh-35 family subsonic anti-ship missiles. A typical Bal battalion configuration includes multiple transporter-erector-launchers, each carrying eight ready-to-fire missiles, associated reload vehicles, and a command and target-acquisition element often paired with the Monolit-B coastal radar and external targeting sources. The Kh-35 has a range commonly cited around 130 km, while the Kh-35U variant extends this to roughly 260–300 km, carrying a warhead of about 145 kg at sea-skimming altitudes. Bal-E is the export designation; Russian units are generally referred to as 3K60 Bal. From positions along the eastern Gulf of Finland, this battalion can cover key approaches, sea lanes, and chokepoints leading to St Petersburg, Primorsk, and Ust-Luga.
Logistics and Industrial Support
The base benefits from proximity to major Russian maritime industry in St Petersburg, including Admiralty Shipyards, Severnaya Verf, and associated design and repair enterprises, which collectively support submarine and surface vessel maintenance and modernization. Nearby commercial ports and terminals provide robust transport links, while the Kronstadt Marine Plant offers local docking and repair. This concentration of industrial capacity enables maintenance cycles for diesel-electric submarines and coastal forces and facilitates rapid repair of fleet auxiliaries and rescue assets engaged in regional operations.
Environmental and Navigational Constraints
Operations in the Gulf of Finland are shaped by seasonal ice, typically from late autumn to spring, requiring icebreaker support and imposing constraints on underway activity and port access. The area features shallow depths, narrow dredged channels, variable salinity, and heavy commercial traffic, all of which complicate submarine maneuvering and anti-submarine warfare. Long-standing mine contamination from past conflicts persists in parts of the Baltic Sea, necessitating ongoing mine countermeasures. The flood barrier’s navigation gates and the sea canal’s depth and width govern the movement of larger vessels into and out of the Kronstadt and St Petersburg harbor complex.
Operational Coverage Considerations
With Bal system ranges extending beyond 100 km and up to roughly 260–300 km depending on missile variant, coastal missile units positioned in Leningrad Oblast can hold at risk surface targets across much of the eastern Gulf of Finland and along major maritime approaches. Diesel-electric submarines offer covert presence in the shoal waters of the gulf and central Baltic, enabling short endurance patrols, training, and localized deterrence. The combination of coastal missiles, submarines, and rescue-support elements provides layered defense of the St Petersburg maritime area and the critical shipping corridors serving Russian ports.
Unit Designations and Numbering
Military unit 20862 is identified in association with the Leningrad Naval Base. Russian military unit numbers are administrative identifiers; detailed internal structures, staffing, and exact facility locations corresponding to specific unit numbers are generally not disclosed publicly. Where such details are classified or otherwise withheld, they cannot be supplied.
Data Confidence and Gaps
Key base attributes such as the headquarters location at Kronstadt and the presence of coastal missile, submarine, and rescue elements are well established in public sources. Precise current personnel rosters, detailed readiness levels, and exact basing or storage locations for specific subunits and equipment are not publicly available and are typically classified. Specifications for Project 877 submarines and the 3K60 Bal system are widely published; however, system variants and integration specifics for individual units can differ, and there is no public confirmation that Baltic Fleet Project 877 boats are equipped for Kalibr. Where current appointment data or unit compositions are not officially confirmed, only verifiable and commonly reported details are provided without inference.