Nuclear Icebreaker Lenin

The nuclear icebreaker Lenin (атомный ледокол «Ленин») is the world's first surface ship powered by a nuclear reactor, and today it is a museum. It lies in the centre of Murmansk, permanently moored at the pier of the Sea Terminal (Portovy Proyezd, 25). It is the only federal-level cultural heritage site in Murmansk and one of the most visited places in the Murmansk Region.

History

The idea of a nuclear-powered icebreaker was put to the Soviet government in 1953 by academicians Anatoly Alexandrov and Igor Kurchatov. The reactor plant was designed by a bureau led by Igor Afrikantov. Lenin was built in Leningrad at the Admiralty Shipyard: laid down on the South Slipway in July 1956, launched on 5 December 1957 and commissioned on 3 December 1959. More than 500 enterprises and institutions across the country took part in the project.

Three reactors gave the ship 44,000 horsepower. She is 134 metres long and 27.6 metres wide, with a displacement of 16,000 tonnes. The crew numbered 210, and the ship could sail autonomously for a whole year.

In spring 1960 the icebreaker arrived in Murmansk, and her first navigation season began on 19 August 1960. In her first six seasons she escorted 457 ships. For thirty years Lenin worked on the Northern Sea Route and served as a "nuclear university", where experience of year-round Arctic navigation was gained and crews for the future nuclear fleet were trained. In 1970 she first extended Arctic navigation into the winter, and in 1971 she made an extra-early high-latitude voyage along the Northern Sea Route. Over her service she covered 654,400 nautical miles.

In 1989 the icebreaker was decommissioned: the reactors were mothballed and the propellers removed. Museum work on board began in 2008, after the nuclear fleet became part of Rosatom. On 5 May 2009 Lenin was moored at the Sea Terminal in central Murmansk. In 2015 a "Maritime Heritage of Russia" memorial plaque was installed on board.

What to see on board

Only part of the ship is open to visitors. The tour covers the upper deck, the navigation bridge with instruments from the 1960s, the wood-panelled wardroom with its library and grand piano, and the medical unit with an operating theatre and an X-ray room. The engine and reactor compartments show models of the reactors, the turbines and the control panels of the power plant. The "Atom and the Arctic" museum and education centre on board tells the history of the nuclear icebreaker fleet and the nature of the North.

Opening hours and getting there

The museum is open Wednesday to Sunday and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Tours run in scheduled sessions for groups of up to 20 people and last about an hour. Tickets are issued in the visitor's name; e-tickets are sold on the Rosatomflot website, and the remaining ones at the ticket office on board. It is advisable to arrive at the pier 15–20 minutes before the session starts.

The icebreaker is moored at the Sea Terminal in central Murmansk; bus No. 19 stops at Morskoy Vokzal. The walk from Five Corners Square to the pier takes about 15 minutes. Nearby, in Portoviki Square, stand the monuments "Murmansk, the Port City" and "Sails of Dreams".