Korund (Project 1258 (Yevgenya))

The Project 1258 Yevgenya-class is a small, coastal mine countermeasures vessel designed for searching, sweeping, and destroying naval mines. These vessels were primarily used in coastal waters, harbors, and river estuaries to ensure safe navigation.

Developed in the late 1960s by the Western Design Bureau, the Project 1258 "Korund" was designed with a low-magnetic glass-reinforced plastic hull to counter increasingly sophisticated magnetic and acoustic sea mines. The class entered service with the Soviet Navy in 1967, serving as a vital component of harbor defense and shallow-water mine clearance operations. Beyond Soviet service, dozens of these vessels were exported to allied nations, seeing active deployment in regional conflicts such as the Iran-Iraq War and various Middle Eastern maritime security operations. While the Russian Navy has decommissioned the majority of its fleet, a small number of units remain operational with foreign navies, cementing the class's legacy as a highly successful and prolific Cold War-era export design.