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Crews of more than 10 ships of Russia’s North Fleet meeting New Year away from homeland

Apart from New Year dinners, the crews will attend New Year concerts with the participation of traditional characters of Russian winter fairytales

Missile-carrying cruiser Pyotr Veliky ITAR-TASS Archive

Missile-carrying cruiser Pyotr Veliky

© ITAR-TASS Archive

MOSCOW, December 31. /ITAR-TASS/. Crews of more than ten ships and auxiliary seacraft of Russia’s North Fleet are meeting the New Year on missions far away from the shores of their homeland.

The crews of several nuclear and diesel-powered submarines are celebrating the holiday, which most Russians believe to be one of the main annual family events, as they are performing various duties out in the sea, Captain First Rank Vadim Serga, the North Fleet’s official spokesman told Itar-Tass.

“The biggest grouping of ships and seacraft of the North Fleet — an aircraft carrying group with the aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov in the lead — will celebrate the New Year in the Atlantic Ocean,” he said.

“Crews of the missile-carrying cruiser Pyotr Veliky, the big antisubmarine ship Georgy Pobedonosets and the rescue towboat Altai are currently in the Mediterranean,” Capt. Serga said.

Crews of the ships performing combat and support missions in various parts of the world ocean have put up more than seventy New Year/Christmas trees in the saloons and mess rooms of their ships. The holiday will be quite genuine aboard every ship, including the handing-in of presents, which the seamen’s families and friends prepared before the ships’ departure from the North Fleet bases.

Apart from New Year dinners, the crews will attend New Year concerts with the participation of traditional characters of Russian winter fairytales — Granny Frost and his granddaughter, the Snow Maid.

The seamen will also show their talents in amateur performances.

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