Description of the attraction
The atomic icebreaker "Lenin" is the first surface vessel on earth with a nuclear power plant. "Lenin" was designed and built in the USSR in 1957 for the needs of servicing the Northern Trade Sea Route. In 1989, the icebreaker moored to its eternal anchorage in order to fulfill its duty to the Motherland twenty years later, although in a completely different capacity.
The development of the nuclear-powered icebreaker necessary at that time was entrusted to TsKB-15, which currently bears the name "Iceberg", which happened in the period from 1953 to 1955 immediately after the approval of the decision to build a large nuclear icebreaker, namely in the fall of November 20, 1953 by the Council of Ministers Soviet Union. To carry out project # 92, V. I. Neganov was appointed as the chief designer. The atomic icebreaker "Lenin" was designed under the strict and precise guidance of Igor Ivanovich Afrikantov. To accomplish this task, specially designed steel for the AK-28 and AK-27 hulls was developed at a scientific institute called "Prometheus", which was engaged in the development of new icebreakers and their improvement.
In 1956, the ship was laid down at the famous A. Marty shipyard located in the city of Leningrad. The responsible person and the main builder in this matter was V. I. Chervyakov. Ship turbines were built at the Kirov plant; at the Kharkov electromechanical plant - the main electric generators, and specially designed rowing electric motors were developed and created at the Leningrad plant "Electrosila".
In winter, December 5, 1957, the solemn launching of the icebreaker "Lenin" took place. Almost two years later, namely on September 12, 1959, from the shipyard of the famous Admiralty plant, he was sent to the first sea trials under the command of P. A. Ponomarev. It is known that not only during the construction period, but also during the tests, a large number of delegations, as well as representatives of various countries, including Harold MacMillan, the Prime Minister of Great Britain and Richard Nixon, the Vice President of the United States, were on board. In the winter of December 3, 1959, the nuclear-powered ship was handed over to the Ministry of the Navy, and since 1960 it has been part of the Murmansk shipping company.
From the point of view of the design solution, the nuclear-powered icebreaker "Lenin" was a smooth-deck vessel with an elongated middle superstructure and two masts; in the aft part of the vessel there was a landing and take-off platform designed for takeoffs of ice control and reconnaissance helicopters. The vessel "Lenin" housed two nuclear auxiliary power plants. The process of controlling all ship devices, mechanisms and systems was carried out remotely. For the needs of the crew, good conditions were created for a sufficiently long stay in the Arctic.
The nuclear icebreaker had a high power plant capacity, as well as a very high autonomy - for these reasons, it showed excellent performance already during the first navigation.
The icebreaker "Lenin" received literally a second life in December 2009, during the period when the 50th anniversary of the exploration of the Arctic was celebrated. It was this icebreaker that became the symbol of this event, because judging by its miles traveled, we can say with confidence that it traveled the whole world, having made a round-the-world trip. Since the opening of the museum, 40 thousand people have visited it, the flow of which does not decrease from year to year. Particularly interesting were the lunch in the wardroom of the atomic icebreaker, as well as an excursion to the ship's outpatient clinic. Even today, the legendary icebreaker "Lenin" evokes a lot of emotions and admiration for museum visitors.
