The Russian aircraft carrier Minsk was laid down in 1972, launched on 30 September 1975, completed on 27 September 1978, and decommissioned on 30 June 1993. Minsk operated in the Pacific Fleet and was a Kiev capital ship. She had to be retired as a result of a major accident which could only be repaired at Chernomorksi's facility, located in the newly-independent Ukraine. In 1995 she was sold to a South Korean businessman, and later resold to Shenzhen Minsk Aircraft Carrier Industry Co Ltd, China. Until 2006, when the company went bankrupt, Minsk was part of a military theme park in Shatoujiao, Shenzhen called "Minsk World". I can imagine retired Russian soldiers looking on in horror as their pride and joy was turned into a fucking theme park for the Chinese. Sigh, it almost seems a shame we're going to have to sink it and the Admiral Kuznetsov when China decides to make them both operational. You can see the Minsk in its new berth via Google Earth here.

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