USSR

With over half her massive landmass bordered by water, Russia's navy^[1] was (and still is today) divided into four major fleets: the Pacific, Northern, Baltic and Black Sea Fleets; at the height of the Russian Empire, the Imperial Russian Navy^[2] was the fourth most powerful fleet in the world after Great Britain, Spain and France. Lagging technological advancement and disastrous wars greatly dented her power, resulting in mixed performance in World War I; the Northern Fleet was created during the War to protect shipping in the Barents Sea, the Baltic Fleet played a largely defensive role, the Black Sea Fleet distinguished herself against the Ottoman Navy and the Pacific Fleet had faded into insignificance following the Russo-Japanese War and the Battle of Tsushima in 1905. The Imperial Russian Navy suffered a near-complete collapse in the Russian Revolution and the resulting Civil War during the closing years of World War I, and was eventually succeeded by the Soviet Union's Red Fleet.

In the years between the World Wars, the rapidly-industrializing Soviet Union (or U.S.S.R.) planned to rebuild the navy, but the Great Purge prevented any meaningful progress, and the Red Fleet would only have a handful of cruisers, obsolete battleships and a reasonable number of destroyers when the U.S.S.R. entered World War II in June 1941 with Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa. However, this did not stop the Red Fleet from performing with distinction: the Baltic Fleet used its sizable submarine fleet to great effect against the Kriegsmarine and the Finnish Navy despite suffering terrible losses themselves; the Naval Aviation service, while not having a single aircraft carrier, sank more ships and crew than any other unit; Russian resourcefulness and tenacity was exemplified by naval guns still being put to use even after extensive damage to individual ships (such as battleship Marat). Thousands of sailors and naval equipment were drafted to reinforce the Red Army as needed, fighting with incredible valor in many significant engagements, including the Battles of Odessa, Sevastopol, Stalingrad, Novorossiysk, and Leningrad. After World War II, the Red Fleet was renamed the Soviet Navy^[3], and went on to play a major role in the Cold War with the United States.

Destroyers

Gnevny, Tier V destroyer

Gameplay

Russian destroyers^[4] are an oddity; they frequently feel as if they have the powerful, fast-firing guns of their American counterparts mounted in the arduously slow-turning turrets of the Japanese destroyer line. However, that is where the similarities end; Russian destroyers excel at long- to mid-range gunnery where they can keep their enemies at an arms' length. Their guns often fire out at similar or longer ranges than their American counterparts, but have flatter firing arcs and faster shell velocities, allowing them to snipe distant targets and even citadel lightly armored cruisers (since players can reliably fire at their broadsides at medium ranges, something that American destroyers struggle with). Most of the ships in this class will reach speeds of up to 43 knots, making many of them the fastest ships in their tiers, but their maneuverability and concealment values are lackluster in comparison. Coupled with their slow turret turning speeds, Russian destroyers will struggle against the American destroyers in a close-range gunnery knife fight. Their torpedoes also leave much to be desired; the miserable effective range of 6.0 km persists until Tier VII, and they will never exceed 8.0 km range even at top-tier; on the bright side, with fast speeds of 65-70 knots and a good number of 9 or 10 torpedo tubes on most destroyers, audacious captains can pull off spectacular ambushes or shotgun engagements (just don't forget about the minimum arming distance).

Cruisers

Chapayev, Tier VII cruiser

Gameplay

Russian cruisers^[5] are similar to their American and German counterparts — focusing on gunnery — but are more or less the eponymous "jack of all trades" cruisers. From from Tier VI onwards, they mount largely 6-inch (152mm) guns that behave much like the fast-firing guns of the American light cruiser branch, but they have more of the Kriegsmarine's flat firing arcs and high shell velocities. Overall their anti-aircraft armament is middle-of-the road, and sufficient primarily for self-defense (with a few notable exceptions such as Tier VII premium Mikhail Kutuzov). The turning radius and rudder shift of the entire line leaves much to be desired, but they do have excellent speed. With this deadly combination of speed and quick-firing, highly accurate guns, they can repeatedly pound enemies at long ranges with impunity while having the flexibility to adapt to changing conditions on the battlefield when required. However, they are generally among the largest cruisers in the game, with proportionately large citadels and lousy concealment values as a result. They typically have rather thin armor that sometimes even destroyer guns can put a round into and penetrate. Their torpedoes are as pitiful as their destroyer counterparts, with only Dmitri Donskoi at Tier VIII having a reasonable range of 8km and the rest of the line stuck at 4-5 km, despite sharing the same 65-knot speeds.

Battleships

Vladivostok, Tier VII battleship

Gameplay

Russian battleships^[6] are most effective at mid to close range fights as their guns become inaccurate beyond 12km. As designed to push flanks or enemy lines, the entire line boasts good health pool and turret traverse. From Tier VIII, they enjoy thickly armored decks that make most HE shells shatter. They have one of the fastest traverse speed compared to the same gun caliber, making brawling easier. The guns of this line are atypical as they get accurate at close~12km ranges but become inaccurate when shooting anything further than that, almost comparable to German battleships. Overall, the ships of this line have high citadel, making angling imperative in battleship duels. Handling of these ships may be cumbersome as they are long and from Tier VII and above, they have a huge turning radius. However, they have very good rudder-shift time that will help you avoid many obstacles if driven wisely. Russian battleships have a very peculiar consumable as they are equipped with limited Damage Control Party but with a shorter cooldown. This will help you tank more damage and survive under heavy fire.