Because of the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the three "Kuznetsov"-class ships were built over a protracted construction period of almost four decades. Two ships were originally laid down at the Nikolayev South Shipyard in the Ukrainian SSR, to be followed by the first of the "Ulyanovsk"-class nuclear-powered supercarriers. Only the lead ship had been commissioned when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, and the ship now serves in the Russian Navy. Construction of her sister ship "Varyag" was abandoned until 1998, when an independent Ukraine sold the uncompleted ship to China for use as a floating casino, along with a complete set of blueprints. "Varyag" was eventually completed and commissioned in 2012 as China's first aircraft carrier, the Type 001 aircraft carrier . China subsequently constructed a third ship to a modified Type 002 design, commissioning in 2019.