Ice-breaker "Krassin"

Built in Great Britain in 1917, the icebreaker Krasin has had an eventful, but difficult career. Originally named Svyatogor, after a mythical Russian warrior, the ship has lived up to this name, in terms of her power and heroic deeds.

During the Allied Intervention in the White Sea in 1918, she was captured by the British Navy, and was returned to Russian (i.e. Soviet) control only two years later. Then, having been renamed Krasin, as the most powerful icebreaker in the world, she rescued the Italian expedition led by Umberto Nobile, whose airship, Italia, had crashed on the ice while returning from the North Pole in 1928. Krasin also rescued many other ships and expeditions during her career.

During the Second World War the icebreaker Krasin provided part of the escort of convoy PQ-15, and today is the only survivor of the ships that participated in those tragic wartime convoys. She had played an important role in delivering war-mat?riel to the Soviet Union through ice-infested waters.

In the mid-20th century Krasin was modernized and was made more powerful and her accommodations improved. Until 1971 she served in the Arctic, escorting freighters on the Northern Sea Route. She also served as a research vessel, pursuing research on Svalbard, Novaya Zemlya and elsewhere.

Today the legendary icebreaker Krasin is a floating museum and visitors are warmly welcomed on board.