KRASIN

The icebreaker KRASIN seen here early morning as we pass her on the 5th August 2007 moored on the Neva at St Peterburg. She was built way back in 1917 at Newcastle as the Russian SVYATOGOR. She was often in the headlines. In the 1920's she rescued the icebreaker LENIN and the passenger liner MONTE SERVANTES that had collided with an iceberg. She aslo rescued the survivors of General Umbertos Italian dirigle expedition to the North Pole. renamed KRASIN in 1929. She was a prime mover in opening up the northen sea routes. She seems to have almost cir***navigated the world during WWII. Early in the war she left her eastern base, crossed the Pacific and passed throught the Panama Canal to the US. carrried on to Great Britain where she was fitted out with surface and AA guns. She then proceeeded to Reykjavik to join convoy PQ15 which she escorted to Murmansk. At some point she was substantially rebuilt with her fummels replaced by a single one and given a much more modern appearance. She is often confused with the later Yermak Class KRASIN of 1956. Google Earth in fact labelled her as such until recently. From 1977 to 1989 she was renamed LEONID KRASIN but is now again simply KRASIN owned in the port of St Peterburg by a Cultural Committee who entend to sail her again around European ports.