Russian battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy

On 8 September 2008, it was announced that Pyotr Velikiy would sail to the Caribbean Sea to participate in naval exercises with the Venezuelan Navy, along with the destroyer Admiral Chabanenko and other support ships. This action would represent the first major Russian show of force in the Caribbean since the end of the Cold War.[4] On 22 September Pyotr Velikiy and Admiral Chabanenko left their homeport of Severomorsk.[5]

On 22 October 2008 Pyotr Velikiy made a port visit to Aksaz Karagac, Turkey[6] and on 6–9 November the cruiser and Admiral Chabanenko made a port visit to Toulon, France,[7] before departing the Mediterranean on 10 November, passing through the Strait of Gibraltar.[8]

Pyotr Velikiy arrived in La Guaira, Venezuela on 25 November 2008[9] coinciding with a visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. A combined exercise, VENRUS-200, with the Venezuelan Navy took place on 1–2 December 2008.[10] After finishing the exercises, Admiral Chabanenko made a short visit to Panama 5–10 December, then to Bluefields, Nicaragua from 13 to 15 December[11] and sailed into Havana, Cuba on 19 December.[12]

Pyotr Velikiy continued alone to Cape Town, South Africa. On 11 January 2009, the chief of the Russian General Staff announced that Pyotr Velikiy and six other Russian warships would participate in a joint naval exercise with the Indian Navy later the same month.[13] The Kirov-class cruiser paused for three days to visit Cape Town before continuing on to India.[14]

On 31 January Pyotr Velikiy left the port of Mormugao in the Indian state of Goa. After a two-day visit that included a naval exercise with the Indian guided-missile destroyer INS Delhi the cruiser left for African waters where the vessel joined other warships from the Russian navy and conduct the INDRA-2009 exercise.[15][16]

On 12 February, the ship captured 10 pirates in three boats off the coast of Somalia.[17]

On 10 March Pyotr Velikiy returned to its homeport of Severomorsk, ending a six-month deployment.[18]

Pyotr Velikiy (background) escorted by HMS Dragon (foreground) off the coast of the United Kingdom in May 2014

On 30 March 2010 Pyotr Velikiy left the Northern Fleet for a new six-month deployment. During its six-month tour of duty, the warship passed through the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea before entering the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal. In the Indian Ocean the cruiser conducted maneuvers with other Russian warships from the Black Sea Fleet.[19]

On 14 April the missile cruiser visited the Mediterranean port of Tartus in Syria. In September 2008, Russia was reported to be in talks with Syria about turning Tartus into a permanent base for Russian warships in the Middle East.[20]

In early May 2010 Pyotr Velikiy met up with the cruiser Moskva in the South China Sea. There they conducted joint exercises and held a traditional farewell ceremony on 5 May. The two vessels were due to arrive in Russia's Far Eastern port of Vladivostok to take part in the Vostok-2010 large-scale strategic exercise.[21]

On 29 September Pyotr Velikiy returned to its home base in the Northern Fleet after six months at sea. The flagship of the Northern Fleet had covered about 28,000 nautical miles (52,000 km; 32,000 mi) since the beginning of the mission on 30 March.[22]

During early September 2013 Pyotr Velikiy led a flotilla of Russian Navy ships through the Russian portion of the Northern Sea Route in preparation for establishment of regular patrols.[23]

Pyotr Velikiy along with the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and the tankers Sergey Osipov, Kama and Dubna; the tugboat Altay, and the Ropucha-class landing ship Minsk (122) entered the English Channel to sail north.[24] The British destroyer HMS Dragon monitored the Russian task group as it neared the United Kingdom. Once the ships spotted each other they sailed briefly close by as a standard 'meet and greet'.

In May 2016 Pyotr Velikiy put to sea for the first time in two years for drills off the coast of Northern Russia.[25] On October the 15th Pyotr Velikiy left Severomorsk to escort Admiral Kuznetsov to the Mediterranean along with supply ships and two Udaloy class destroyers, Severomorsk and Vice-Admiral Kulakov. They were heading to the Eastern Mediterranean to support Syrian government forces battling rebel troops in Aleppo. Pyotr Velikiy passed through the English Channel, along with the rest of the Russian Northern Fleet on 21 October, shadowed by the British destroyer HMS Dragon.[26]

On 6 April 2019 the ship entered Barents Sea with cruiser Marshal Ustinov and several nuclear submarines. [27]

On 10 October 2019 she went into Barents Sea with some 15 other warships, submarines, and auxiliary ships to conduct large-scale drills.[28]