The Icebreaker Krasin can be named a symbol of the Russain arctic fleet.
The Icebreaker was built according to the drawings of the vice-admiral Makarov in Great Britain
at the shipyard «Armstrong and Witworth» in 1916.
«Svyatogor» was the first name of the icebreaker.
It is a three-deck vessel with the displacement of 10 000 tons, 99,8 meters long and 21,6 meters wide.
The maximum speed of the ship came to 15 knots.
The history of "Krasin" started on the 31st of March 1917,
when St. Andrew's flag was raised on the ship and it
became a part of the Russian fleet.
In 1918 the Icebreaker was sunk to occlude the harbour of Arkhangelsk during the Civil war.
The ship was raised by the English fleet and wore the ensign of England till 1921.
Later it was bought out with the assistance of the Soviet ambassador L. B. Krasin.
In 1928 the Icebreaker participated in a legendary internation mission to rescue the expidition of Umberto Nobile.
In June 1928 the ship started sailing towards the place where the airship of Nobile crashed.
The icebreaker saved 7 members of Nobile's crew at the beginning of July.
Later in August 1928 the Icebreaker Krasin continued sailing in the
Arctic area in search of the airplane with R.
Amudsen onboard. The plane disappeared during the Nobile rescue mission.
In October the Icebreaker returned to St. Petersburg and the
crew of the ship was met as heroes.
Within the period of 1929-1941 the Icebreaker participated in many other research and
rescue expeditions in the Arctic area.
During the WWII the Icebreaker took part in the convoy PQ-15 and safely reached Murmansk.
After the war the ship was sent to capital repairing and reconstruction.
In 1972 the Icebreaker Krasin, being the veteran of the Arctic fleet, was passed over
to the Ministry of Geology as a research vessel.
In 1992 the Government of Russia gave the Icebreaker a status of a historical monument.
Later the Icebreaker was registered as a museum-ship.
In 2007 the ship celebrated its 90th anniversary.
Nowadays the icebreaker is docked in St. Petersburg at Lt. Smidt embankment, 23rd line of Basil's Island.
Opening hours:
Open: WE-SU from 10.00 till 18.00 (except for last Wednesday of each month).
Excursions to the engine compartment take place only on Saturday and Sunday.
Closed: Monday, Tuesday
You can find a tour to the Icebreaker Krasin in our selection of
St. Petersburg tours and
St. Petersburg excursions.
