Icebreakers of Russia

There is a disagreement as to whether the Russia first "true" icebreaker was Pilot (manufactured in Great Britain in 1862, whose ice-breaking capabilities were enhanced in Russia in 1864) or genuinely first 1898 Arctic ice-faring icebreaker Yermak.^[1]

The first Soviet nuclear-powered icebreaker, Lenin

Classification

Russian port icebreaker Tor in the ice-covered port of Sabetta

In Russia, icebreakers are classified in several ways, according to different criteria:^[2][3]

• By purpose
  • Leader icebreakers: The most powerful icebreakers that head ship caravans
  • Line icebreakers: For guiding and towing of ships on sea routes, for freeing ice-stuck ships
  • Auxiliary icebreakers: for work in ports, river mouths, and for emergency rescue operations
• By ice passability:
  • heavy icebreakers can break through ice up to 2 m thick
  • medium icebreakers, for ice from 1 to 1.5 m thick
  • light icebreakers, for ice less than 1 m thick
• By power type:
  • Steam engine; obsolete, unused
  • Diesel-electric engine; the most common type
  • Nuclear-powered icebreakers
• By operating method
  • Ice-cutting. These ships existed in 19th-20th centuries, and for them the term "icecutter" [ru] was used in Russia^[4]
  • Ice-breaking
• By operational area
  • River icebreakers
  • Marine icebreakers
  • Port icebreakers

The official classification of a particular vessel may be found in the database of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping.^[3]

The following lists include icebreakers owned and/or operated by either governmental or commercial entities. Ships known to be currently in service are presented in bold.^[5][6]

Nuclear-powered icebreakers

Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker Yamal

The following ships are nuclear-powered icebreakers;

• Lenin (1959–1989; museum ship in Murmansk)
• Arktika class
  • Arktika (1975–2008; ex-Leonid Brezhnev, ex-Arktika; decommissioned)^[7]
  • Sibir (1977–1992; decommissioned)^[7]
  • Rossiya (1985–2013; decommissioned)^[7][8]
  • Sovetskiy Soyuz (1990–2014; decommissioned)^[9][10]
  • Yamal (1992–)
  • 50 Let Pobedy (2007–)
• Taymyr class
  • Taymyr (1989–)
  • Vaygach (1990–)
• Project 22220
  • Arktika (2020–)^[11]
  • Sibir (2021–)^[12]
  • Ural (2022–)^[13]
  • Yakutiya (2024–)^[14]
  • Chukotka (2026– (planned); under construction)^[15]
  • Leningrad (2028– (planned); under construction)^[16]
  • Stalingrad (2030– (planned); under construction)^[17]
• Project 10510
  • Rossiya (2030– (planned); under construction)^[18]

Diesel-powered icebreakers

Icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov in Vladivostok

The following ships are/were fitted with diesel engines for powering their propulsion;

• Wind class
  • Severny Veter (1944–1951; ex-USCGC Staten Island; returned to the United States)
  • Severniy Polyus (1945–1951; ex-USS Westwind; returned to the United States)
  • Admiral Makarov (1945–1949; ex-USCGC Southwind; returned to the United States)
• Kapitan Belousov class
  • Kapitan Belousov (1954–1991; sold to Ukraine)^[19]
  • Kapitan Voronin (1955–1996; broken up)^[20]
  • Kapitan Melekhov (1956–1994; broken up)^[21]
• Moskva class
  • Moskva (1959–1998; broken up)^[22]
  • Leningrad (1960–1993; broken up)^[23]
  • Kiev (1965–1993; broken up)^[24]
  • Murmansk (1968–1995; broken up)^[25]
  • Vladivostok (1969–1997; broken up)^[26]
• Civilian variants of Dobrynya Nikitich class (Project 97A)
  • Vasiliy Pronchishchev (1961–1989; ex-Ledokol-1; broken up)^[27]
  • Afanasy Nikitin (1962–1992; ex-Ledokol-2; passed over to Ukraine)^[28]
  • Khariton Laptev (1962–1996; ex-Ledokol-3; broken up)^[29]
  • Vasiliy Poyarkov (1963–1988; ex-Ledokol-4; broken up)^[30]
  • Yerofey Khabarov (1963–1993; ex-Ledokol-5; broken up)^[31]
  • Ivan Kruzenstern (1964–; ex-Ledokol-6)^[32]
  • Vladimir Rusanov (1964–1988; ex-Ledokol-7; broken up)^[33]
  • Semyon Chelyuskin (1965–1988; ex-Ledokol-8; broken up)^[34]
  • Yuriy Lisyanskiy (1965–2021; ex-Ledokol-9; to be broken up)^[35]
  • Fyodor Litke (1970–2013; broken up)^[36]
  • Ivan Moskvitin (1971–1997; broken up)^[37]
  • Semyon Dezhnev (1971–)^[38]
• Ermak class
  • Ermak (1974–2021; broken up)^[39]
  • Admiral Makarov (1975–)
  • Krasin (1976–)
• Kapitan M. Izmaylov class
  • Kapitan M. Izmaylov (1976–)
  • Kapitan Kosolapov (1976–)
  • Kapitan A. Radzhabov (1976–1992; transferred to Azerbaijan)
• Kapitan Sorokin class
  • Kapitan Sorokin (1977–; fitted with Thyssen-Waas bow in 1991)
  • Kapitan Nikolaev (1978–; rebuilt in 1990)
  • Kapitan Dranitsyn (1980–)
  • Kapitan Khlebnikov (1981–)
• Kapitan Chechkin class
  • Kapitan Chechkin (1977–)
  • Kapitan Plakhin (1977–)
  • Kapitan Chadaev (1978–)
  • Kapitan Krutov (1978–)
  • Kapitan Bukaev (1978–)
  • Kapitan Zarubin (1978–)
• Mudyug class
  • Mudyug (1982–; fitted with Thyssen-Waas bow in 1986)
  • Magadan (1982–)
  • Dikson (1983–)
• Kapitan Evdokimov class
  • Kapitan Evdokimov (1983–)
  • Kapitan Babichev (1983–)
  • Kapitan Chudinov (1983–)
  • Kapitan Borodkin (1983–)
  • Avraamiy Zavenyagin (1984–)
  • Kapitan Mecaik (1984–)
  • Kapitan Deminov (1984–)
  • Kapitan Moshkin (1986–)
• Tor (2000–; purchased from Sweden)^[40]
• Karu (2002–2020; ex-Karhu, ex-Kapitan Chubakov; purchased from Estonia; broken up)
• Dudinka (2006–; ex-Apu; purchased from Finland)
• Project 21900
  • Moskva (2008–)
  • Sankt-Peterburg (2009–)
• Project 21900M
  • Vladivostok (2015–)
  • Murmansk (2015–)^[41]
  • Novorossiysk (2016–)^[42]
• Ob (2019–)^[43]
• Georgiy Sedov (2019–; ex-Antarcticaborg; purchased from Kazakhstan)
• Viktor Chernomyrdin (2020–)^[44]
• Project 21900M2
  • Unnamed Project 21900M2 icebreaker (construction stopped as of 2021)^[45]
  • Unnamed Project 21900M2 icebreaker (2028– (current estimate); under construction)^[46]
• Project 23620
  • Unnamed Project 23620 icebreaker (2024– (original plan); ordered)^[47][48]
  • Unnamed Project 23620 icebreaker (2024– (original plan); ordered)^[47]
• Project 22740M
  • Unnamed Project 22740M icebreaker (under construction)^[49]
  • Unnamed Project 22740M icebreaker (under construction)^[50]

Steam-powered icebreakers

Steam-powered icebreaker Yermak

The following icebreakers were powered by steam;

• Pilot (built in 1862; modified and operated as an icebreaker: 1864–1890; broken up?)
• Ledokol 1 (1890–1915; later converted to a gunboat)^[51][52][53]
• Ledokol 2 (1895–1923; handed over to Latvia)^[51]
• Saratovskiy Ledokol (1895–1968; sunk)^[54]
• Nadeshnyy (1897–1924; later converted to a gunboat)^[51]
• Yermak (1899–1963; scrapped, despite efforts to preserve it as a museum piece^[55])
• Gaydamak (1898–1930; broken up)^[51]
• Ledokol 3 (1899–1923; broken up)^[51][56]
• Ledokol IV (1907–1942; sunk by Germans)^[51]
• A. Sibiryakov (1909–1942; sunk by Germans)
• Vaygach (1909–1918; sank in 1918)
• Taymyr (1909–1950s?; broken up)
• Silatch (1910–1918, 1922–late 1950s; broken up)
• Malygin (1912–1940; sunk in 1940)
• Volynets (1914–1918, 1940–1985; ex-Tsar' Mikhail Fyodorovich, ex-Wäinämöinen, ex-Suur Tõll; sold to Estonia in 1987)
• Fyodor Litke (1914–1958; ex-CGC Earl Grey; broken up)
• Georgiy Sedov (1915–1967; ex-Beothic (1909–1915); broken up)
• Sadko (1915–1941; ex-Lintrose (1912–1915); sank in 1941)
• Mikula Seleaninovich (1916–1918)^[51]
• Ledokol V (1916–1941; sank in 1941)^[57]
• Ledokol VI (1916–1961; broken up)^[58]
• Ledokol VII (1916–1954; broken up)^[59]
• Ledokol VIII (1917–1961; broken up)^[60]
• Ledokol IX (1917–1932; sank in White Sea)^[61]
• Krasin (1917–1971; extensively rebuilt in 1953–1960, now a museum ship in St. Petersburg)
• Lenin (1917–1968; broken up)
• Stepan Makarov (1917–1941; sunk)
• Toros (1929–1964)^[51]
• Sibir (1938–1973; ex-I. Stalin (−1961); broken up)
• Admiral Lazarev (1938–1967; ex-L. Kaganovich (−1951); broken up)
• Admiral Makarov (1941–1967; ex-V. Molotov (−1956); broken up)
• A. Mikoyan (1941–1968; broken up)
• Malygin (1945–1970; ex-Voima; broken up)
• Sibiryakov (1945–1972; ex-Jääkarhu; broken up)
• Alyosha Popovich (1945–1970; ex-Eisvogel; decommissioned and abandoned off Russky Island)
• Ilya Muromets (1946–1979; ex-Eisbär; broken up in 1981)^[62]
• Peresvet (1951–1980; ex-Castor; decommissioned and abandoned off Reyneke Island)