The Russian Navy hosted its biennial naval show in St. Petersburg in August 2009. Usually it showcases Russian naval technology while announcing plans to regain or exceed its Cold War strength. However, this time, the naval commander-in-chief Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky made a startling admission: the Russian shipbuilding industry had so declined that he was interested in foreign-built warships, including French carriers and amphibious ships and even German-built diesel submarines.