Olenya Bay Naval Base (Olenya Guba)

Olenya Bay (Olenya Guba) is a Russian Navy submarine base on the shores of an inlet of the same name off the Kola Inlet, an arm of the Barents Sea on the Kola Peninsula, Murmansk Oblast. It lies northwest of Shipyard No. 10 at Polyarny and forms part of the wider naval complex centred on Gadzhievo (Skalisty). The base is subordinate to the Northern Fleet and functions as the operating base of GUGI, the Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research, whose remit covers deep-diving submarines used for intelligence collection, work on seabed installations and sabotage.

The resident formation is the 29th Submarine Division (Military Unit 13090). Its order of battle has comprised Project 1910 (Kashalot) nuclear deep-diving submarines, including AS-13, AS-15 and AS-33; Project 1851/18510 (Nelma) small nuclear special-purpose submarines AS-21, AS-23 and AS-35; the Project 10831 deep-diving nuclear submarine AS-12 (Losharik); and the Project 09786 converted Delta-class carrier submarine KS-129 Orenburg, which serves as a mother ship for the smaller craft. In July 2022 the Project 09852 special-purpose submarine Belgorod, a converted Oscar II hull, joined the division. The oceanographic research ship Yantar is frequently moored at the base.

Facilities support the mooring and servicing of nuclear-powered special-purpose submarines and their carrier boats, together with associated GUGI research and survey vessels. Satellite imagery of the base has shown enclosed sea pens consistent with a marine mammal programme.

The site was established as a submarine base during the Soviet period, when it was identified as the Olenya Guba Submarine Base. Its resident special-purpose formation was raised in 1979 as the 29th Separate Special-Purpose Submarine Brigade and was redesignated the 29th Submarine Division in January 2018.