British Public Given First Chance to Visit Russian Battleship

PLYMOUTH (UK) (RIA Novosti, by Alexander Smotrov) - For the first time in history British public will be able to visit a Russian battleship during the Royal Navy Days in the United Kingdom.

Among other things, on August 28-30, Britons will be able to set foot on the large assault landing ship Minsk of the Russian Navy's Baltic Fleet. Minsk is currently on a visit to the British naval base Davenport near the city of Plymouth in southwestern England.

"We would like to get something good out of the vast British naval experience and, maybe, bring in something of our own that could be beneficial in terms of maintaining naval traditions," Rear Admiral Igor Beloglazov, commander of the Baltic Fleet's group of surface ships, pointed out.

During the Royal Navy Days a photo exhibition prepared and organized by the Russian News Agency Novosti will set up on board of Minsk. The exhibition will feature materials illustrating the history of the Russian Navy as well as the cooperation between Russia and the United Kingdom during World War II.

Russian sailors will take part in sports and cultural events, with the Baltic Fleet's orchestra giving performances for the public aboard the battleship in the evenings.

According to the Rear Admiral, Minsk assigned to the Baltic Fleet's amphibious forces in the 1980s "has a vast experience of performing combat duty service in South Atlantic and the Mediterranean functioning as part of a special task force".

In 2004, Minsk participated in events organized to mark the 300th anniversary of Russia's oldest naval base in Kronstadt as well as in major summer exercises of the Baltic Fleet.

According to the Royal Navy's press service, it is expected that more than 20,000 people will daily visit the events to be held during the Royal Navy Days in the United Kingdom.

"The unique biannual event held at the largest naval base in Western Europe offers the public an opportunity to get aboard battleships and meet the crews of surface vessels and submarines of both the Royal Navy and foreign craft currently on a visit to Plymouth," the Royal Navy's press release reads.

The Royal Navy Days' program features a demonstration of the aircraft carrier Ocean, one of the Royal Navy's largest battleships, as well as the latest models of naval helicopters.

In 2003, Ocean took part in the operation undertaken by the coalition forces in Iraq.

During the Royal Navy Days, the Davenport naval base will host lots of other surface ships and submarines from Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands. One of the highlights of the event will be the LR-5 submersible deep-water module which went down to the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk in the first days following the tragedy in an effort to rescue the sailors entrapped in the sunk vessel.