It is difficult to divide the accomplishments of a great person into more or less significant. In the active, ebullient and dramatic life of the Russian Admiral Stepan Osipovich Makarov, there were enough of them. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of his contribution to national and world science, military affairs and navigation. And among many cases - the actual creation of the Russian icebreaker fleet by Makarov, since the world's first icebreaker of the Arctic class was designed and built under the leadership of the admiral-scientist.
Predecessors
The Arctic has always been and remains the most important strategic region for Russia. One has only to look at the map and estimate the length of the coastline in the polar regions. For a long time they did not quite clearly understand what the Arctic is and what it is needed for. From time to time, expeditions were sent to the north, but there was no economic need for its full-scale development. In the second half of the 19th century, the eastern regions of Russia and, first of all, Siberia, in the wake of intensive development, began to experience an urgent need to export their products to the European part of the country and further abroad. The newly built Transsib could not fully cover the ever-increasing trade turnover, especially since its capacity was still limited, and most of the capacity was taken away by military needs. In the north, there was only one port - Arkhangelsk.
While the bureaucracy in the capital was leisurely tossing and turning, as was often the case in Russia, enterprising people on the ground took matters into their hands. In 1877, the "Morning Star" ship equipped with the money of the merchant and industrialist M. Sidorov delivered goods and various products from the mouth of the Yenisei to St. Petersburg. Later, the resourceful English pushed their long nose into the Russian polar trade between the mouths of the Ob and Yenisei rivers and Arkhangelsk. By the 90s, Mr. Popham's company had concentrated in its hands the sea links with these remote areas. This business was extremely risky and highly dependent on the ice situation in the Kara Sea. It was necessary to go to the destination, unload and load the goods and return in one very short navigation. The risk of getting stuck in the ice was quite high, so the cost of transportation and the goods themselves was fabulous. In some years, due to severe ice conditions, it was generally not possible to break through the Yugorsky ball. The problem of ensuring unhindered cargo turnover in the Arctic had to be solved in a cardinal way - ships of a special construction were needed, capable of coping with the Arctic ice. The idea of building a large icebreaker had been hovering for a long time, the need for it was felt from year to year, but only such an active, energetic and, most importantly, knowledgeable person like Stepan Osipovich Makarov could implement such an idea in metal.
In the era of the sailing fleet, ice remained an insurmountable obstacle in the way of ships. All navigation in the freezing ports stopped. In the 17th-18th centuries, the fight against ice, if the vessel for some reason was overwritten in relative proximity to the destination, was reduced to the mobilization of the local population, armed with saws, crowbars and other hand tools. With great effort and effort, a channel was cut through, and the prisoner was released. And then, if the weather conditions allowed. Another method, but again situational, was firing cannons on the ice, if the caliber of the nucleus and the thickness of the ice allowed, or dropping the gun onto the ice. There is a known case when, in 1710, during the capture of Vyborg, the Russian frigate "Dumkrat" crossed the ice with the help of a small gun suspended from the bowsprit and periodically lowered and raised. Another way to deal with ice was blasting - at first gunpowder was used for these purposes, and later dynamite. In Russia, the so-called ice battering ram made of wood or metal was mounted on some ships. With it, it was possible to cope with relatively thin ice. But all of the above referred for the most part to auxiliary or forced measures.
In the 60s of the XIX century, the original project of the engineer Euler was developed in Russia, and in 1866 was tested. The ship was equipped with a metal ram and, in addition, a special crane for dropping special weights weighing 20-40 pounds onto the ice. The crane was driven by a steam engine, the weights were raised to a height of about 2.5 meters, and then thrown onto the ice. To overcome particularly strong ice floes, the vessel was equipped with a couple of pole mines. The initial tests showed quite satisfactory results, and the gunboat "Experience" was converted into a kind of weight-lifting "icebreaker". However, this was the end of the successful part of the experiment - although the kettlebells managed to break small ice, the power of the "Experience" machine was clearly not enough to move through the crushed ice. The "Experience" could not push the ice and ensure the pilotage of ships through the formed channel. Even more exotic ice-fighting projects arose: for example, equipping a ship with hammers and circular saws or washing ice with water from special pressure monitors.
The first more or less technically advanced ship for fighting ice was created again in Russia. For a long time, communication between the Kronstadt fortress and St. Petersburg in the autumn-spring period was practically impossible - the strength of the ice was insufficient for sled transport. Mikhail Osipovich Britnev, a Kronstadt entrepreneur and ship owner, decided to find a way to extend the navigation between Oranienbaum and Kronstadt for several weeks. For this purpose, he converted one of his steamers - a small screw tug. On his instructions, the bow was cut at an angle of 20 degrees to the keel line, following the model of Pomor hummock boats. The Pilot icebreaker was small, only 26 meters long, and equipped with a 60-horsepower steam engine. Later, two more icebreakers were built to help him - "Boy" and "Bui". While the Russian bureaucracy was trying to understand the enormous significance of this invention, foreigners flew to Kronstadt to Britnev, like sparrows on the not yet threshed stacks. In the winter of 1871, when severe frosts tightly bound the most important navigable artery for Germany, the Elbe River, German specialists from Hamburg bought the Pilot blueprints from Britnev for 300 rubles. Then there were guests from Sweden, Denmark and even the United States. All over the world, icebreakers began to be built, the progenitor of which was the brainchild of a self-taught Kronstadt inventor. At the end of the 19th century, icebreaking ships and ferries finally appeared in Russia - on the Volga and on the Baikal island. But all these were ships of a relatively small size to ensure coastal navigation. The country needed a large icebreaker to provide Arctic cargo transportation. Any idea or project simply turns into a heap of dusty papers, if there is no person who, like an icebreaker, pushes its way through the ice of skepticism. And he was such a tireless person - his name was Stepan Osipovich Makarov.
The icebreaking plan of S. O. Makarov and the information struggle in his defense
The future admiral, scientist, inventor and researcher was born on January 8, 1849 in the city of Nikolaev in the family of a naval officer. Already in 1870, his name became famous thanks to articles on the theory of the unsinkability of a ship. During the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, Makarov carried out successful combat use of mine and torpedo weapons. Then there was the command of the steamship "Taman", research, including for military purposes, currents between the Black and Marmara seas, a round-the-world voyage on the corvette "Vityaz". In 1891-1894, Makarov served as inspector of the Naval Artillery. At the end of the 19th century, already being a vice admiral, he was in command of the Baltic Sea Practical Squadron.
For the first time, Makarov expressed the idea of building a large Arctic icebreaker to his friend, professor of the Maritime Academy, F. F. Wrangel in 1892. At this time, the Norwegian explorer and polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen was preparing for his voyage on the Fram. Makarov, as a person with a deep dynamic mind, well understood the importance of the Northern Sea Route, which connects the western and eastern regions of Russia and is also located in its territorial waters. Its development will significantly expand the trade and economic opportunities of the country. Gradually, the idea from purely theoretical calculations began to take on clearer forms. Makarov suggested building a large ship from good steel at once. The engine was supposed to be a steam engine of enormous power at that time - 10 thousand hp. In a special explanatory note to the Maritime Ministry on the advisability of building a large icebreaker, the scientist emphasized not only the scientific and research significance of such a ship, but also the military one, in particular, the possibility of quickly redeploying warships to the Far East. Thus, long before the use of the Northern Sea Route, Makarov already clearly understood its significance for Russia.
Traditionally conservative, the military leadership responded in the negative with a great deal of skepticism. Another, in the place of Makarov, would have declined the myopia and shortsightedness of those in power in all cases and calmed down. But Makarov was molded from a different dough. On March 12, 1897, the indefatigable admiral delivered an extensive lecture at the Academy of Sciences, where he proved in detail and reasonably the prospects for the presence of a large icebreaker in the fleet, and preferably several. This would contribute, according to the lecturer, not only to unimpeded navigation in the Gulf of Finland in winter conditions, but also to establish regular communication between the mouths of the Ob and Yenisei rivers and foreign ports, which entailed significant economic benefits. The next step in the information struggle for the icebreaker was organized with the help of Professor F. F. Wrangel and the hugely successful lecture "To the North Pole through!". The idea of building an icebreaker has ceased to be behind the scenes and discussed in a narrow circle of scientists and technical specialists. The public and the press started talking about her. But the domestic bureaucracy has traditionally been strong in defense against bold ideas and projects. And, quite likely, the disputes about the need to build an icebreaker in Russia would not have subsided until some enterprising foreigners, using Makarov's ideas, would have created a similar ship at home. Then the bureaucratic army would unanimously exclaim: "Ah, the advanced West has surprised us again, let's now build something like this at home!"
Fortunately, a prominent Russian scientist, academician D. I. Mendeleev. Having connections at the very top of the empire, Mendeleev went directly to the Minister of Finance S. Yu. Witte. The tenacious mind of the minister immediately saw economic benefits in Makarov's concept. Later, Makarov organized a meeting with him, at which the admiral finally convinced Witte, who had a huge influence in the state machine, of the need to build an icebreaker. The admiral is promised support, and while hidden flywheels are spinning and secret levers of power are pressed, Makarov was offered to make a large study tour of the North in order to find out more clearly on the spot in what operating conditions the new ship will work.
Makarov first leaves for Sweden, where he meets the famous polar explorer Professor Nordenskjold. It was he who in 1878-1879 on the ship "Vega" for the first time passed the Northern Sea Route. The professor spoke with approval about Makarov's ideas. After Sweden, Norway and the island of Svalbard were visited. Having finished with Europe, Makarov went to the Russian North. He visited different cities: Tyumen, Tobolsk, Tomsk. I talked with local merchants and industrialists - everyone understood him, everyone nodded their heads approvingly, but no one gave money for the construction of a ship that was so necessary for them. Returning from the trip, Makarov draws up a detailed memorandum, where he describes in detail the technical requirements for a promising icebreaker. The admiral insisted on the construction of two icebreakers, but the cautious Witte, on reflection, gave the go-ahead for only one ship.
Negotiating with the manufacturer and building the ship
In October 1897, a special commission was created under the chairmanship of Makarov himself, which also included Mendeleev, Professor Wrangel and other prominent specialists. The initial task of the commission was a detailed description of all the requirements for the future icebreaker - its technical characteristics, dimensions, requirements for strength and unsinkability were described in detail. A necessary list of equipment mandatory for installation has been compiled. Thus, the terms of reference were ready. Since the new ship was difficult to execute, it was decided to turn to the services of foreign shipbuilding firms. Three firms that already have experience in building icebreakers were allowed to compete for the right to build an icebreaker. These were Burmeister and Vine in Copenhagen, Armstrong and Whitworth in Newcastle, and the German Sheehau in Elbing. All three participants proposed their projects. According to the preliminary opinion of the commission, the Danish project turned out to be the best, Armstrong took the second place, and serious flaws were found in the German one. True, Makarov disputed this opinion and believed that the ideas proposed by Shikhau had their advantages. When agreements were reached with the representatives of the factories, they were asked to indicate their prices in sealed envelopes. With the decision of the commission and with sealed envelopes, Makarov went to Witte, where they were opened. The Germans asked for 2 million 200 thousand rubles and guaranteed construction in 12 months, the Danes - 2 million rubles and 16 months, Armstrong - 1, 5 million and 10 months. Since the British gave the least construction time at the lowest price, Witte chose the English project. In addition, an important factor was that the British offered a ship capable of taking 3 thousand tons of coal instead of the required 1800, thereby increasing the autonomy of the icebreaker almost to the widow.
On November 14, 1897, Witte handed a memorandum to Emperor Nicholas II, which he signed with his signature. The first stage of the battle for the icebreaker was won - all that remained was to build and test it.
A month later, Makarov leaves for Newcastle to conclude an agreement on the construction of the ship. During negotiations with representatives of the manufacturer, the admiral was tough with his usual persistence and perseverance. We should give him his due - in order to defend your demands against such hard-core businessmen as the sons of Foggy Albion, you need to have a stranglehold. The admiral insisted on the specifications of the Russian Volunteer Fleet when equipping the future icebreaker, which differed from the British. Makarov also achieved control over the construction of the ship at all stages of construction with the obligatory check of all compartments for unsinkability by filling them with water. The final financial calculation was to be carried out only after the completion of a full cycle of tests in the Gulf of Finland and then in polar ice. If the icebreaker under test received any damage in the hull, the manufacturer had to fix them at his own expense. In addition, if the tests reveal a technical imperfection of the adopted design solutions, the firm had to eliminate them under the same conditions. The negotiations were difficult, the British resisted, but did not want to lose the order. In December 1897, the new ship was finally laid down at the Armstrong and Wittworth shipyards.
Having signed the agreement, Makarov left for the Great Lakes in America to observe the work of icebreakers. Returning, he spent some time at the shipyard, after which he left for the Baltic - the summer of 1898 was spent in exercises at the squadron. In his absence, the future first captain of the icebreaker M. P. Vasiliev. We must admit the merits of the English builders - they built really quickly. Already on October 17, 1898, the ship, named "Ermak" by the order of Emperor Nicholas II, was launched. The ship was 93 meters long, then after re-equipment it reached 97 meters. The standard displacement was 8 thousand tons, the ship was equipped with four steam engines with a capacity of 2500 hp each. - three in the stern, one in the bow. The fact is that initially "Ermak" was equipped with one additional bow propeller of the American type - this propeller was supposed to pump out water from under the ice floe in order to facilitate its crushing later. The unsinkability of "Ermak" was achieved by the presence of 44 watertight compartments, into which the hull was divided. The icebreaker was equipped with special trim and roll tanks, which was a technical innovation at that time. The survivability of the ship was ensured by a special rescue line, served by a pump with a capacity of 600 tons per hour. All living quarters had winter vestibules and double windows for thermal insulation. On February 19, the commercial flag was raised on the Yermak - it was adopted on the balance sheet of the Ministry of Finance, not the Navy. On February 21, 1899, the ship sailed to Kronstadt.
March 4, 1899 in Kronstadt. From the book by S. O. Makarov "" Ermak "in the ice"
The first contact with the Baltic ice occurred on March 1, with the most positive results. The new icebreaker easily crushed its main enemy. On March 4, with a large crowd of people, "Yermak" arrived in Kronstadt. When the first enthusiasm subsided, the new icebreaker immediately began its direct work - it freed ships from ice, first in Kronstadt, and then in Revel port. At the beginning of April "Ermak" easily opened the mouth of the Neva - navigation in 1899 began unusually early. Makarov became the hero of the day and a welcome guest at receptions and dinner parties. However, these early successes did not turn the head of the indefatigable admiral. He was well aware that the Baltic ice was just a warm-up before storming the real Arctic bastions. Preparations began for the march to the North. During the organizational meeting, there was a falling out between Makarov and Mendeleev. Two such bright personalities did not agree in the process of the final choice of the route, tactics of fighting the ice and, finally, one-man command. The disputes became more and more fierce, and, in the end, Mendeleev and his scientific group refused to participate in the first Arctic campaign.
First Arctic voyage and icebreaker development
"Ermak" with a dismantled bow
On May 8, 1899 "Ermak" set off on her first Arctic voyage. Exactly one month later, on June 8, he met real northern ice in the Svalbard region. At first, the icebreaker easily dealt with the vanguard of white silence, but then problems began: the skin began to leak, the hull experienced vibration. Makarov decided to return to England. In Newcastle on June 14, the ship was docked. Upon examination, it turned out that the nose rotor blade was lost, which, being acceptable for the realities of the Great Lakes, turned out to be useless for the Arctic. It has been dismantled. The repairs lasted for a month, after which Ermak again went to the North. And again difficulties arose. On July 25, when it hit the hummock, the icebreaker got a leak. It turned out that in practice the given hull strength was not enough for such a difficult situation. The ship returned to England again. The domestic press happily pounced on "Ermak" and its creator. All the same, the liberal smell of our newspaper people did not appear after 1991 - it existed before, just after the revolution this virus was in deep dormancy. Ermak was compared to a useless icicle, the world's first Arctic icebreaker was accused of weakness and weakness, and its creator was accused of adventurism. Newspaper harassment reached such a level that the most authoritative polar explorer Nansen could not resist and expressed his word in defense of the icebreaker.
Makarov, not paying attention to the newspaper hacks, developed a work plan for the modernization of the icebreaker. In Newcastle, the bow of the Ermak was to be completely replaced. While it was being manufactured, the icebreaker was working hard in the Baltic. Among his many deeds, it is especially possible to highlight the rescue of the coastal defense battleship General-Admiral Apraksin from the stones and the rescue of fishermen who were on the severed ice floe - during this rescue operation, for the first time in the history of the fleet and navigation, a wireless telegraph (radio) was used, invented by the Russian engineer A.. WITH. Popov. In the spring, "Yermak" returned to Newcastle, where it underwent a thorough alteration - the bow was replaced, the already useless bow was dismantled, and the sides were strengthened. The design of the icebreaker stem, in the calculations of which, by the way, the young shipbuilder and future academician A. N. Krylov, became typical for all icebreakers for many decades.
"Ermak" after modernization with a new bow section
While "Ermak" was being modernized, taking into account the first voyages in the ice, Makarov waged a protracted battle with the domestic bureaucracy, preventing the next dispatch of the icebreaker to the Arctic. In the end, it was forced to yield to the pressure of the admiral. In the summer of 1901 "Ermak" leaves for the Arctic. On June 21, he left the Norwegian Tromsø, and on the 25th entered the solid ice. Makarov's calculations were confirmed. The icebreaker confidently withstood the elements, the strength of the hull was excellent - no leaks were observed. The alteration of the stem was not in vain. However, at the beginning of July, "Ermak" faced such a difficult ice situation that it was able to break through to clean water only a month later. The Pole remained an unconquered border, navigation in the Arctic ice is still dangerous. This was largely due to non-constructive solutions incorporated into the icebreaker - they were then fully justified by the time and experience of long-term operation. "Ermak" simply lacked the power of the power plant - after dismantling the bow steam engine, it did not exceed 7,500 hp. Despite the fact that the extreme cruise of the icebreaker was more successful - there were no breakdowns and leaks - on his return Makarov was relieved of his responsibilities for organizing experimental voyages in the ice. The place of activity of "Ermak" was limited to the Baltic. Stepan Osipovich hatched plans for new expeditions, he believed in his brainchild, but while these issues were being worked out, the Russo-Japanese War began, and the life of Admiral Stepan Osipovich Makarov was cut short on April 13, 1904 with the death of the battleship Petropavlovsk.
Long service of the icebreaker "Ermak"
In the ice
"Ermak" also had to take part in this war, tragic for Russia. At the insistence of the governor in the Far East, Adjutant General E. I. Alekseev, the icebreaker was included in the 2nd Pacific Squadron. The fact is that Vladivostok was a freezing port, and the capacity of the small icebreaker Nadezhny located there would not have been enough to ensure the basing of the entire squadron upon arrival. As part of the squadron, "Ermak" left Libava, but, fortunately for him, one of the steam engines went out of order in the area of Cape Skagen. The icebreaker was sent to Kronstadt together with the "Prosorny" destroyer, which had faulty refrigerators. In January 1905, he provided the exit of the 3rd Pacific Squadron of Rear Admiral Nebogatov. In the summer of the same year, he leads a large caravan of merchant ships to the mouth of the Yenisei with cargo for the Siberian railway.
Throughout the decade preceding the First World War, Ermak worked in the Baltic, fighting ice and from time to time providing assistance to ships in difficulty. So in 1908 he removed the cruiser "Oleg" from the stones. In 1909, a radio station was installed on it. With the outbreak of war on November 14, 1914, the icebreaker was mobilized and enlisted in the Baltic Fleet. Despite the need for repairs - the boilers were already old - the icebreaker was actively used. It was planned to use it to remove the German light cruiser Magdeburg from the stones, but due to the strong destruction of the latter, this idea was abandoned.
The events of 1917 "Ermak" met in Kronstadt. Revolution is a revolution, but nobody canceled the ice. And throughout the winter and spring, he provided communication between Kronstadt, Helsingfors and Revel. On February 22, 1918, in connection with the approach of German troops to Revel, the icebreaker provided the escort of two submarines and two transports to Kronstadt. From March 12 to April 22, the famous Ice Passage of the Baltic Fleet from Finnish bases to Kronstadt took place. The icebreaker "Ermak" sailed over 200 ships and vessels among the ice. The Baltic Fleet made the transition in detachments, and, escorting another of them, the icebreaker had to return to Helsingfors again. For the ice campaign, the Ermak team was awarded the Honorary Red Banner.
More or less regular work resumed in 1921, when the Baltic shipyard finally managed to repair the icebreaker. Until 1934 "Ermak" continued to work in the Baltic. Great importance was attached to his activities - after all, he created the conditions for the work of the Petrograd port. For example, in 1921 the port provided 80% of the foreign trade of Soviet Russia. Finally, after an almost 30-year hiatus, the icebreaker returns to the Arctic to escort ice convoys. In 1935, he was even equipped with an onboard seaplane Sh-2. In 1938, Ermak took part in the evacuation of the first Soviet polar station, North Pole - 1. The intense navigation of 1938 (as many as five convoys of ships were wintering in Artik at that time, which needed help) affected the technical condition of the ship - a long-awaited repair was required. A larger amount of work, including improving the living conditions of the crew (a new canteen, radio-equipped cabins, a movie booth and a laundry), was planned to be carried out in Leningrad. "Ermak" in the fall of 1939 already through the combat zone comes to the Baltic. But the outbreak of war with Finland, and then the Great Patriotic War, interfered with these plans.
On October 4, 1941, the honored ship was mobilized again. Armament was installed on it: two 102-mm guns, four 76-mm guns, six 45-mm guns and four DShK machine guns. "Ermak" takes part in the evacuation of the garrison of the Hanko naval base, escorts ships to positions for shelling the enemy, conducts submarines. After the blockade of Leningrad was lifted, the ship provided navigation between Leningrad and the ports of Sweden.
After the war, "Ermak" needed a major overhaul - domestic shipyards were loaded and the "old man" was sent to Antwerp (Belgium). Here in 1948-1950 it was overhauled. On April 1, 1949, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of service, the ship was awarded the Order of Lenin. After the completion of the repair, the icebreaker returned to Murmansk, to which it was now assigned. In the spring of 1953, "Ermak" received the latest radio equipment and an onboard radar "Neptune". The following year, one of the first Mi-1 helicopters was launched.
In 1956, together with another icebreaker, Kapitan Belousov, a veteran of the Arctic lines sets a record - he is escorting a convoy of 67 ships. Also "Ermak" participated in the tests of the first Soviet nuclear submarines (projects 627a "Kit" and 658).
Is Aurora enough for us?
Technological progress did not stand still. On December 3, 1959, the first nuclear-powered icebreaker "Lenin" entered service in the Soviet fleet. New diesel-electric icebreakers also appeared. The archaic steam engine was becoming a relic of the past. At the end of 1962, the "grandfather" of the Russian icebreaker fleet made his last trip to the Arctic. He returned to Murmansk accompanied by an honorary escort of the Lenin nuclear-powered ship. The lined battleships greeted the veteran with crossed beams of searchlights. The honored ship was at a crossroads - the repair it needed was no longer expedient. There were only two ways left: a museum or dismantling for scrap. In September 1963, "Ermak" was examined by an authoritative commission, which recognized the impossibility of its further exploitation. But if the icebreaker was already too old for the ice of the Arctic, then the condition of the hull was quite suitable for installation on an eternal stop.
For "Ermak" a real struggle unfolded. The outstanding Soviet polar explorer I. D. Papanin. The government and the Ministry of the Navy received a stream of letters from sailors, scientists, polar explorers with requests to keep the Ermak for posterity. But the old icebreaker had enough opponents, and, unfortunately, they held high positions. Deputy Minister of the Navy A. S. Kolesnichenko seriously said that, they say, "Ermak" does not have any (!) Special merits: "We have enough of" Aurora "." In the spring of 1964, after Kolesnichenko's meeting with Khrushchev, the idea of preserving the ship as a monument was finally buried. The then Secretary-General, in general, treated the Navy with a feeling similar to irritation. In the cold summer of 1964, a farewell to the veteran took place in Murmansk - he was towed to a ship cemetery in anticipation of being cut into metal. In December of the same year, "Ermak" was gone. The cost of recycling it almost doubled the cost of converting it into a museum.
All that remains of Ermak. Contemporary photo
You can philosophize for a long time on the topic of preserving maritime traditions and respect for history. Here are examples much more worthy than the massacre of the world's first Arctic icebreaker. The British carefully preserve Nelson's flagship, the battleship Victory, in comparison with which the Ermak was not so old. Until now, the world's first iron battleship "Wariror" is afloat, having spent all its service in the metropolis. When in 1962 the question arose about the disposal of the decommissioned American battleship "Alabama", residents of the state of the same name created a public commission to raise funds to buy the ship and turn it into a museum. Part of the required amount (100 thousand dollars) was collected by schoolchildren in 10 and 5 cents, saving on lunches and breakfasts. Alabama is now one of the largest US naval museums. Would Soviet schoolchildren have been less conscious? For the sake of fairness, it should be noted that the icebreaker "Lenin" was put to eternal mooring in 1989. It's good that they managed to do this before the country he served disappeared. The installation of the cruiser Mikhail Kutuzov as a museum ship seems to confirm the course towards preserving historical memory. Otherwise, our ships will become adornments of foreign ports, such as the TAKR "Kiev" and "Minsk".
