About the book: 2014 / He who owns the Crimea owns the Black Sea. The Byzantines, Genoese, and Turks, who successively owned the peninsula, understood this very well. In 1783, Empress Catherine II ordered the annexation of Crimea to Russia. Crimea became both a citadel of Russia and a resort area. Almost all the bases of the Black Sea Fleet and naval aviation were located there. Almost half of the USSR aviation and missile regiments were also located in Crimea. What was military Crimea like in the 70-80s of the twentieth century? How was the division of the fleet, aviation, bases and training grounds between the Russian Federation and Ukraine in the mid-1990s? How did the 23-year Ukrainian rule affect the military infrastructure of the peninsula? Why did Russia have no other choice than to help the population of Crimea in the spring of 2014? ?This and much more is described in the book by Alexander Shirokorad “Unsinkable Aircraft Carrier” Crimea. 1945–2014».