World’s Largest Nuclear Submarine “Dmitry Donskoy” of Project 941 “Shark” to Become a Museum in Saint Petersburg

The heavy nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine (SSBN) “Dmitry Donskoy” of Project 941 “Shark” is set to become a museum. This information emerged recently in industry-related Telegram channels.

Several sources familiar with the situation confirmed this news” stating that the museum based on the submarine “Dmitry Donskoy” will be located in Saint Petersburg, although “this will not happen very soon.”

Before the submarine can be converted into a museum, it is necessary to remove the reactor compartment and prepare a reconstruction project for the vessel’s future use.

The SSBNs of Project 941 “Shark” were developed in response to the American Ohio-class submarines. The lead ship of the series, “Dmitry Donskoy,” was laid down at the Northern Machine-Building Enterprise (now known as Sevmash) in June 1976. It was launched in September 1980 and joined the Navy in December 1981. The submarine underwent repairs and modernization in 2002 and 2008.

In 2017, the cruiser made history by performing a surface transit from the Kola Bay to the Gulf of Finland through the Baltic Sea straits to participate in the main naval parade at the Kronstadt raid.

In early February 2023, Vladimir Maltsev, head of the All-Russian Movement for the Support of the Navy, announced the withdrawal of the submarine from the fleet. As of today, “Dmitry Donskoy” is effectively the only representative of Project “Shark” that does not have the status of “decommissioned.”