The Varyag was about 2/3 complete when the USSR fell apart and Ukraine took control of it.Lacking the need or ability to run an aircraft carrier, Ukraine went looking for buyers but couldn’t find one.
The hulk was left to rot until 1998, when it was finally auctioned off.The aircraft carrier formerly known as Varyag under tow near Istanbul. Getting it through the straits was not an easy task.
The hulk of the Varyag was bought by a company from Macau, under the understanding that it would be towed there and then converted into a floating casino. This company proved to be a front for the Chinese Navy.
The front-man in this deal, Xu Zengping, seems to have purchased the carrier using his own funds and does not seem to have been reimbursed by the Chinese Navy.
In a later interview, Xu stated that he had been asked to purchase the carrier but had been warned that the navy could not afford to pay him back and that the government did not support the venture.
Varyag was in such bad condition that it took China until 2012 to get it into a usable state.
