The Lenin icebreaker began to be assembled in 1956 at the Marti shipyard. Scientists, installers and welders worked on a unique project under the guidance of physicist Anatoly Alexandrov.
Design Features
Many technical solutions at the time the icebreaker was created were innovative.
Fuel economy
Per day, instead of tens of tons of oil, the icebreaker consumed 45 grams of nuclear fuel, which could be contained in a matchbox. The economical use of energy allowed the nuclear icebreaker to visit both the Arctic and the coast of Antarctica in one voyage.
44 thousand horsepower
Each of the three reactors was 3.5 times more powerful than the world's first nuclear power plant, the USSR. The total power of the power plant was 44 thousand horsepower.
Radiation protection
Steel plates, a thick layer of water and concrete reliably protected the crew and the environment from radiation.
Anti-ice ballast system
Designers installed on the nuclear-powered ship special systems ballast tanks so that the icebreaker does not get stuck in the ice. When water was pumped from the tank on one side to the tank on the other, the ship began to rock. Thus, the sides broke and pushed the ice apart. Scientists installed the same tank system in the bow and stern.
Icebreaker Museum
In 2009, a museum was opened on the nuclear icebreaker. Museum guests can see how sailors lived and worked on the nuclear-powered ship. The guides will take you to the cabins, crew mess and medical unit for sailors with an operating room, laboratories, X-ray and dental offices. The ship also houses a “museum within a museum,” where the former crew put together a small memorial exhibition.
The technical equipment of the icebreaker can be seen in the engine room. At the energy and survivability station, everyone will learn how the ship's power plants were controlled. Through observation windows, visitors will see top part nuclear reactors and the captain's salon, and from the captain's bridge they will look into the navigation and operating radio room.
The world's first nuclear icebreaker, named "Lenin", was launched in the Northern capital 57 years ago - on December 5, 1957.
Box with atom
The history of the unique vessel began with a decision of the USSR Council of Ministers, which was adopted on November 20, 1953. By this day, it became clear to the country's leadership that Soviet Union a powerful icebreaker is needed that will serve the Northern Sea Route, connecting the west and east of the state: the waterway was covered with heavy polar ice for many months.
In the fall of 1953, the USSR had icebreakers with a diesel power plant at its disposal. But the fuel reserves in the vehicles making their way through the ice were used up extremely quickly. In addition, caravans could be stuck on the road for many months, waiting for spring to free themselves from ice captivity. The country needed a ship capable of going on long raids in the Arctic.
The government decided to begin work on the creation of nuclear power plants for transport purposes and to build an icebreaker, on board which was to house a nuclear reactor. It was planned that the ship would travel vast distances using fuel resources that fit in a matchbox.
The ambitious task of making the world's first nuclear icebreaker was set for the Leningrad Admiralty Shipyard.
"Project-92"
By 1956, passenger icebreaking ships “Dezhnev” and “Levanevsky” had been built in Leningrad, and even the famous “Ermak” had been repaired - it was brought to the Admiralty Shipyard, then still called the Andre Marty Shipyard, in 1928. The icebreaker, made at the shipyards in Newcastle, became good for the “Admiralty” who repaired it teaching aid, which helped in implementing the order of the Soviet leadership.
"Lenin" was laid down on August 25, 1956. The rapid pace of construction of the huge icebreaker led to the fact that the ship was launched in a little more than a year.
An innovative icebreaker for its time, it involved the implementation of complex tasks in creating a power plant, an unusually strong hull and, most importantly, automation of nuclear plant control. At the stage of design, experimental studies and construction, about 30 research institutes, more than 250 industrial enterprises and 60 design bureaus of the USSR. Initially, the icebreaker had the working name “Project-92”, in honor of the source of uranium nuclear energy - it is number 92 in the periodic table.
Particular attention was paid to the shape of the Lenin's bow. The nuclear-powered ship was chosen with contours that made it possible to increase the pressure on the ice. Passability in ice when reversing and reliable protection The propellers and rudder were protected from ice impacts by the special design of the aft end.
Of course, according to the plans, the innovative nuclear-powered ship was not supposed to get stuck in the ice, either bow, stern, or sides. This problem, common to many icebreakers of that time, was solved using a special system of ballast tanks. Water was pumped from the tank on one side to the tank on the other, the ship swayed and broke the ice. This system was repeated in the bow and stern.
The nuclear-powered ship was chosen with contours that made it possible to increase the pressure on the ice. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
The engineers managed to make the ship unsinkable. The hull was divided into compartments by 11 main transverse watertight bulkheads. The icebreaker would not have sunk even if the two largest compartments were flooded.
A water-pressurized nuclear installation was installed in the central part of the icebreaker. It produced steam for four main turbogenerators. They fed three electric propulsion motors with direct current, which drove three huge propellers. The nuclear steam generating plant was constructed and placed on the icebreaker in such a way that the crew and population were protected from radiation, and the environment from contamination by radioactive substances. For this purpose, four special protective barriers were created on possible exit routes for radioactive substances.
The power of the Lenin power plant was 44 thousand horsepower. At the same time, the nuclear-powered ship spent only 45 grams of nuclear fuel per day on the way - an amount that just fits in a matchbox. A small amount of fuel allowed the icebreaker to reach the shores of Antarctica in one voyage.
The designers and builders of the legendary ship also took care of the crew members who had to carry out long watches on the Lenin. The ship had a cinema hall, a smoking lounge, a library and even a piano.
The ship, ready almost a year after the start of construction, was very heavy. "Lenin" weighed 11 thousand tons. Launching it into the water seemed problematic. However, the engineers were able to make the correct wooden structures that released the nuclear-powered ship from the shipyards.
The length of the ship was 134 meters, width - 27.6 meters, and side height - 16.1 meters. The nuclear-powered ship had a displacement of 16 thousand tons and could reach a speed of 18 knots.
The moment the icebreaker "Lenin" was launched Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
We were waiting for war
After the icebreaker was launched, installation and testing of the nuclear reactor continued for another two years. The Lenin left for sea trials in September 1959 under the command of the captain of the icebreaker Ermak, Pavel Ponomarev.
The progress of testing of the nuclear-powered submarine was monitored by the leaders of the world's leading states. Fidel Castro, Harold Macmillan and Richard Nixon managed to visit Lenin. There is an opinion that it was thanks to “Lenin” that the expression “peaceful atom” was established. The icebreaker was built at the height of the Cold War and the race for technological superiority, but for peaceful purposes. However, NATO did not fully consider the ship to be peaceful, so they closely monitored its tests, just in case.
In December 1959, the icebreaker was handed over to the Ministry navy, and in 1960 it became part of the Murmansk Shipping Company. The innovative power plant allowed the Lenin to cross ice with ease. The nuclear-powered ship was able to extend the navigation period.
Postage stamp of Russia. 2009 Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
A year later, Boris Sokolov, who had been Ponomarev’s backup on the captain’s bridge since 1959, became the captain of the Lenin. He had practice on the icebreakers Ilya Muromets and Vyacheslav Molotov, as well as participation in the fourth Soviet Antarctic expedition.
Under the leadership of Boris Sokolov in 1961, the crew of the nuclear-powered ship was able to reach the area heavy ice in the Chukchi Sea. Photo: “Heroes of the Country”
Under his leadership, in 1961, the crew of the nuclear-powered ship was able to go to the heavy ice area in the Chukchi Sea, delivering an expedition to the ice floe that built the drifting polar station “North Pole-10”. Also, thanks to the icebreaker, it was possible to place 16 drifting automatic radio stations. In 1970, Sokolov and his team completed an experimental voyage and the first extended Arctic navigation to remove Norilsk ore from the port of Dudinka. A year later, Lenin was the first of the surface ships to pass north of Severnaya Zemlya. After another five years, Lenin will conduct the diesel-electric ship Pavel Ponomarev to the Yamal Peninsula, after which flights there will become regular.
During its entire operation, Lenin covered 654 thousand nautical miles, of which 563.6 thousand miles were in ice. The nuclear-powered ship, according to the most widespread data, carried 3,741 ships through the ice.
Became a museum
The icebreaker "Lenin" was decommissioned in 1989, after 30 years of service. However, we had to fight for the ship. The nuclear-powered submarine could have been destroyed, but they decided to make a museum on it. “Lenin” was permanently parked in Murmansk, becoming a real symbol of the city.
The captain of the icebreaker, Boris Sokolov, who made a lot of efforts to ensure that the nuclear-powered ship was not destroyed, lived in Murmansk until the end of his life. After his death, a memorial plaque was hung on the house where he lived. Sokolov was buried at the Serafimovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg - the city where the icebreaker was born, which he controlled for almost 30 years.
In November, I went on an excursion on the nuclear icebreaker "Lenin", which is permanently moored in Murmansk.
As befits "Lenin", this is the grandfather among icebreakers (he recently turned 61 years old) and the world's first surface ship with a nuclear power plant - before it there were only submarines.
Since 1959, the icebreaker was assigned to the Murmansk Shipping Company and served the Northern Sea Route, guiding other ships along it.
"Lenin" served for 30 years, and in 1989 it was taken out of service and turned into a museum. Now the nuclear-powered ship is moored at the Murmansk Marine Station, and you can go there on an excursion. Entrance ticket costs 500 rubles, you can order excursion service in Russian (1000 rubles) or in English (1500 rubles).
This is the wardroom. If you didn't know, this is a room on a ship where the whole crew can gather for lunch, get-togethers, etc. And in the case of the icebreaker "Lenin", apparently, there was also political information for two minutes of hatred. 
The interior of the icebreaker is distinguished by an abundance of wood. As the guide said, this is an unprecedented case in the navy, and expensive types of wood were used - mahogany, bird's eye maple, ash and walnut. 
The world's first nuclear icebreaker was supposed to become a new symbol of the Soviet state, and its creators also took care of the interior. On an icebreaker in Soviet era Yuri Gagarin, Fidel Castro and other honored guests visited. 
By the way, for 60 years there has not been a single reconstruction or restoration on the icebreaker; almost everything has been preserved in its original form. Only in some places they installed modern screens. 
Modern icebreakers go to the North Pole quite often. It was first reached by the Soviet nuclear icebreaker Arktika on August 17, 1977. Since then, Russian icebreakers have visited the Pole 117 times, while icebreakers from all other countries have visited the North Pole only 11 times. 
Why do our icebreakers go to the North Pole so often? It turns out that these are mainly tourist cruises that have been operating since 1990. Ice swimming costs approximately $30,000 (2.08 million rubles).
By the way, renting an icebreaker costs approximately 65-70 thousand dollars per day. That is, in theory, if you are a millionaire, you can rent an entire icebreaker to, for example, arrange a wedding at the North Pole. There are two travel agencies operating the flights, Russian and American. From each cruise they receive approximately $9 million in income (before deducting rental costs and other components).
On the right in the corner you can see the Olympic torch, which was presented to the sailors by the Olympic Committee. 
View of nuclear reactors (there are two of them on the icebreaker) 
One of the turbines 
If the officers usually dined in the wardroom, then the rest of the sailors and various seconded people - in the dining room. 
There are 85 seats, but in the first years of operation there were so many people on board that food had to be organized in three streams. And in the navy they feed you 4 times a day! That is, the canteen was used 12 shifts per day. 
And in the evening the dining room turned into a cinema hall. On the sides of the screen you can see windows from where ready-made meals were served on trays, and waitresses (!) carried them around the hall. Women also served on the icebreaker - according to the guide, up to 1/5 of the crew. 
This room is called PEZh - energy and vitality post. This is the control center for all icebreaker movement systems and monitoring them. 
Two nuclear reactor operators were constantly on duty here. 
In addition, the operator responsible for the electric propulsion systems, the radiation safety control operator (there are 300 control points on the ship) and the shift supervisor worked in this room. These 5 people ensured the operation of the icebreaker around the clock. 
At the end of the 50s, the Americans, in parallel with the USSR, built their first civilian nuclear-powered icebreaker, the Savannah. To save time and overtake the United States, Soviet designers used on the icebreaker Lenin solutions used on the nuclear submarine Leninsky Komsomol (K-3). For example, the entire control module was taken from there. 
Deck view 
The glass on the icebreaker is very heavy and durable; they had to withstand the shock wave from nuclear explosion. By the way, once an icebreaker got into such a wave when in 1961 the USSR tested the thermonuclear “Tsar Bomb” on Novaya Zemlya.
Navigation bridge 
There is a wheelhouse, a chart room, and a radio room. 
On modern icebreakers, radio communications are no longer used; everything has been replaced by a computer. And now amateurs come to Lenin, using its equipment to organize radio communication sessions with the whole world. 
The icebreaker was controlled using a real steering wheel! 
The helmsman had to be able to dampen the inertia of 20,000 tons of metal and maintain a given course, which is quite difficult.
Well, these three levers are needed for maneuvers. If you maneuver incorrectly in the Arctic, you can even lose a ship, which will simply be crushed by ice. As sailors say, “the straightest road in the Arctic is a crooked one.” 
Captain's cabin 
Here the captain held meetings on voyages. 
The second half of the twentieth century in the world was marked by a scientific and technological revolution, which also affected shipbuilding. Steam power was replaced by diesel power, and then scientists and engineers started thinking about using nuclear energy. One of the promising areas of its application was the construction of icebreakers - nuclear energy made it possible to achieve unlimited autonomy with ultra-low fuel consumption.
The world's first nuclear icebreaker was created in the USSR. The project was developed in 1953-1955 at the Central Design Bureau. The chief designer was the shipbuilder Vasily Neganov, who also participated in the construction of the icebreakers I. Stalin" and supervised the testing of the icebreaker "Ilya Muromets".
The construction of the ship was entrusted to the Admiralty Shipyard in Leningrad, the development of the nuclear power plant project was entrusted to the Design Bureau of the Gorky Plant No. 92. In total, more than 500 enterprises across the country were involved in the creation of the nuclear-powered vessel.
According to the project, the ship was planned to be equipped with a water-water type nuclear steam generating plant located in the central part of the icebreaker.
The installation was supposed to provide steam to four main turbogenerators, which fed three electric propulsion motors, which, in turn, drove three propellers - two onboard and one middle.
The length of the vessel was 134 m, width - 27.6 m, side height - 16 m, displacement - 16,800 tons. The crew number was 210 people. The icebreaker was equipped with OK-150 reactors (later OK-900), the fuel for which was uranium dioxide. Several tens of grams of nuclear fuel replaced thousands of tons of fuel oil or coal.
Photo report: Atomic Lenin
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During construction and testing, dozens of delegations and representatives visited the nuclear-powered ship different countries world, including British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, US Vice President Richard Nixon and ministers from China.
The British got to know the nuclear-powered ship for a long time and carefully. “We are very grateful to you for this interesting day spent at your large shipyard,” they wrote in the factory’s book of honored guests on May 21, 1957. “We are taking away a lot of things that belong to the future.”
The delegation of the GDR, led by the President of the People's Chamber Johannes Dieckmann, who arrived on November 12, 1957, also left their feedback.
“We are very impressed by everything we have seen and admire the tremendous success of the workers and engineers of this oldest shipyard. May all ships serve for the benefit of humanity, for the world,”
They wrote.
“In the field of shipbuilding, your plant has mastered the most advanced technology...,” wrote representatives of the delegation from China. - You are at the forefront of science and technology throughout the world. We are pleased with your great success. We will always be your close brothers, we will adopt and study your experience in the field of shipbuilding.”
On December 5, 1957, the ship was launched. The completion of the icebreaker's construction in September 1959 coincided with Nikita Khrushchev's first visit to the United States. On September 14, a message appeared in Soviet newspapers in which he responded to letters and telegrams sent to him in connection with the trip.
“Our trip to the USA,” Khrushchev wrote, “coincided with two great events: for the first time in history, a successful flight space rocket to the Moon sent from Earth Soviet people, and the world’s first nuclear-powered icebreaker “Lenin” set sail...
Our nuclear icebreaker "Lenin" will break not only the ice of the oceans, but also the ice of the Cold War.
He will pave the way to the minds and hearts of peoples, calling on them to make a turn from the competition of states in the arms race to the competition in the use of atomic energy for the benefit of man, to warm his soul and body, to create everything that people need..." .
In the fall of 1959, the ship underwent sea trials in the Gulf of Finland, and on December 3, the government commission signed an act on acceptance of the icebreaker into operation. On April 29, 1960, after completing sea trials, the Lenin, accompanied by the icebreaker Captain Voronin, set off for Murmansk, where it arrived on May 6. Ice tests carried out in June showed that the nuclear-powered ship is capable of crossing ice up to 2 m thick at a speed of 2 knots (about 7.5 km/h). After them, the work of the icebreaker in the Arctic began.
On October 17, 1961, equipment for a drifting research station was lowered from the ship onto the ice floe for the first time and members of the expedition were disembarked. Previously, this was carried out only with the help of aviation, which was much more expensive.
In 1970, navigation in the Arctic was extended into the winter for the first time.
There were some accidents on the icebreaker. The first occurred in February 1965 during a scheduled repair and recharging of the icebreaker's nuclear reactors. The second - in 1967. The reactor circuit pipelines leaked. It was decided to liquidate the entire reactor compartment. It was packed in a special capsule and sunk in the area of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.
The icebreaker's first nuclear installation operated for six years. Then, after replacing the reactor compartment, the three-reactor installation was replaced with a two-reactor one, with which Lenin operated until 1989.
“Unfortunately, our first icebreaker did not operate for long after recharging. In 1966, the icebreaker was taken out of service to replace the entire steam-producing installation with a more reliable and advanced one... All installation and testing work was completed in 1970 and the icebreaker received a more powerful “heart” - a new type of two-reactor installation, which was equipped with all subsequent nuclear power plants. icebreakers,” recalled one of the reactor developers, engineer Valery Ivanov, in the multi-volume book “Memoirs of OKBM Veterans.”
The icebreaker "Lenin" operated for 30 years. During this time, he covered 654.4 thousand nautical miles, of which 560.6 were in ice. He carried 3,741 ships behind him. In 1989, it was decommissioned and permanently parked in Murmansk. Now the icebreaker has been turned into a museum.
"Lenin" connected the west and east of the country: even heavy Arctic ice could not prevent the ship from following the shortest sea route from the European part to the Far East.
The high power of the power plant made it possible to overcome ice up to 2.5 meters thick from June to October. The event, which occurred on December 5, 1957, was preceded by 4 years of hard work the best specialists countries.
A team of scientists led by physicist Anatoly Petrovich Alexandrov worked on a unique project, and the ship was built at the Admiralty Shipyard shipyard in Leningrad.
Hundreds of assemblers and welders from different enterprises across the country worked on the icebreaker within a short period of time.
The builders were faced with several tasks: firstly, the production of unique energy equipment, secondly, the creation of a body of unprecedented strength and, thirdly, the complete automation of energy system management processes.
Nuclear icebreaker"Lenin", the world's first civilian ship with a nuclear power plant, plied the Arctic ice for 30 years. During this time, the nuclear-powered ship covered 654.4 thousand nautical miles and carried 3,741 ships through the ice. In 1989, the icebreaker "Lenin" moored to Murmansk, where it was permanently moored. At the time the icebreaker was created, many of its technical solutions were absolutely innovative.
1. Nuclear installation
In the central part of the vessel is a water-cooled nuclear plant that generates steam for four main turbogenerators. The generators supplied direct current to three electric propulsion motors, which, in turn, drove three propellers of a specially robust design.
2. Fuel economy
According to scientists, instead of tens of tons of oil, the icebreaker consumed 45 grams of nuclear fuel per day - i.e. as much as fits in a matchbox.
A new solution to the energy problem allowed the nuclear-powered ship to visit both the Arctic and the coast of Antarctica in one voyage. For a nuclear-powered ship, the distance is not an obstacle.
3. 44 thousand horsepower
The power of each of the three reactors was almost 3.5 times greater than the reactor of the world's first nuclear power plant of the USSR Academy of Sciences. The total power of the power plant is 32.4 megawatts. This is 44 thousand horsepower.
Maximum speed at clean water- 18.0 knots (33.3 kilometers per hour).
4. Radiation protection
The presence of a nuclear installation on the ship should not have posed a threat to environment and ship personnel. For this reason, the icebreaker was designed in such a way that a thick layer of water, steel plates and concrete reliably protected service personnel from radiation.
5. Automatic operation
The power plant is comprehensively automated, as are the auxiliary mechanisms on the ship.
6. Feed
Special contours for the bow allowed the icebreaker to more easily move apart the ice fields in the Arctic Ocean, thanks to the pressure on the ice. At the same time, the aft end was designed in such a way that cross-country ability in ice was ensured when moving in reverse. At the same time, the propellers and rudder received reliable protection from ice impacts.
7. Anti-ice ballast system
In some cases, the sides of the ship get stuck in the ice. The designers of the nuclear-powered icebreaker "Lenin" foresaw this too: special ballast tank systems were installed on the icebreaker.
The systems operated as follows: when water was pumped from one tank on one side to the tank on the other side, the ship, swaying from side to side, broke and pushed the ice apart with its sides.
The same tank system was installed in the bow and stern. If the bow of the icebreaker does get stuck, you can pump water from the aft tank to the bow. In this case, the pressure on the ice will increase and it will break.
8. 75 kilometers of pipes
It’s hard to imagine, but the nuclear-powered ship required several thousand pipes of various lengths and diameters. If they could be stretched in one line, their total length would be 75 kilometers.
9. Rudder of a nuclear-powered ship
Installing the heavy rudder blade was extremely challenging task for builders. All because of the complex design of the stern end of the nuclear-powered icebreaker.
In order not to take risks in the conditions of the already closed upper deck, the builders decided to first try to install a lighter wooden model of the same dimensions. After the calculations were confirmed, the multi-ton part was hoisted into its place.
10. Airstrip
The nuclear icebreaker ship "Lenin" was designed in such a way that on an area of 134 meters long and 27.6 meters wide there was also room for a landing pad for ice reconnaissance helicopters. There is a platform in the aft part.