The Northern Fleet (, Severnyy flot) is the fleet of the Russian Navy in the Arctic. According to the Russian ministry of defence: "The Northern Fleet dates its history back to a squadron created in 1733 to protect the territories of the Russian Empire, sea trade routes and fisheries in the White Sea near the coast of the Kola Peninsula. The order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy of 25 May 2014 determined 1733 as the year of foundation of the Northern Fleet, and June 1 as its annual holiday". In its modern iteration, the Arctic Ocean Flotilla of the former Imperial Navy evolved into a full fleet of the Soviet Navy in 1933 as the Northern Flotilla. After being awarded the Order of the Red Banner in 1965, it was officially known as the Red Banner Northern Fleet. During the Soviet era the Northern Fleet operated more than 200 submarines, ranging from diesel-electric to nuclear-powered ballistic missile classes. On 1 December 2014 the fleet became the core element of the newly established Northern Fleet Joint Strategic Command, including all Russian armed forces located in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk Oblasts and on Russia's offshore islands along its Arctic coast. It is co-equal in status with Russia's Military Districts. The Northern Fleet is tasked with responsibility for operations and defense in the Arctic seas along Northern Russia, including the Barents Sea and Kara Sea, as well as the northwestern maritime approaches to Russia including the Norwegian Sea and Atlantic Ocean. The Northern Fleet's headquarters and main base are located in Severomorsk, Murmansk Oblast, with secondary bases elsewhere in the greater Kola Bay area. The current commander is Admiral Aleksandr Moiseyev, who has held the position since May 2019. In June 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an executive order making the Northern Fleet an independent military-administrative entity, effective January 1, 2021. History Arctic Sea Flotilla and White Sea Flotilla On June 19, 1916, the Imperial Russian Navy formed the Arctic Ocean Flotilla (Флотилия Северного Ледовитого океана, or Flotiliya Severnogo Ledovitogo okeana) during World War I to safeguard transportation routes of Allied ships through the Barents Sea from the Kaiserliche Marine of the German Empire. After the October Revolution and the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, the Soviet Navy replaced the Imperial Russian Navy and formed the White Sea Flotilla (Беломорская флотилия, Belomorskaya flotiliya) in March 1920, based in Arkhangelsk.