On May 4 and 5, one of the main spring city events took place – the 6th Festival of Icebreakers. The festival is designed to demonstrate the achievements of Russian shipbuilding and the power of the icebreaking fleet.
The festival was attended by icebreakers “Mudyug”, “Ivan Kruzenshtern”, “St. Petersburg”, “Captain Sorokin”. Participation of the legendary icebreaker “Krasin”, a branch of the Museum of the World ocean in St. Petersburg, was a special gift for the guests of the festival.
This powerful icebreaker took part in the rescue operation to save the Italian polar expedition led by Umberto Nobile in 1928, and during WWII the “Krasin” led Allied convoys, which brought strategic supplies, arms and ammunition to the Soviet Union. Now the icebreaker “Krasin” is a museum ship and moored to the embankment of the Neva river. Tourists from cruise liners who book shore excursions in St. Petersburg always visit it with great interest.
During the festival there were free excursions on all icebreakers. In addition, for guests of the festival a rich program was prepared, including cultural and interactive events, exhibitions and expositions, as well as lectures and film screenings, master classes, contests and quizzes. There were performances of street artists, animators and much more.
The festival ended with the traditional “waltz of tugboats” – the most spectacular performance on the water. Four small but powerful ships performed an elegant dance in the waters of the Neva River to the sounds of classical music.
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2 comments
Sad the US never remembered its proud icebreaking heritage in any meaningful way. One sizable icebreaker is a museumship on the Great Lakes, and the buoy tender Bramble which transited the NW passage is also a museum ship. Sad not one of the wind class icebreakers (the Westwind helped with the Murmansk Run ) survived as a museum ship nor was the scrapped USCGC Glacier saved. Even the USCGC Storis, slated to become a museum ship, Alaska’s first floating museum ship, was scrapped in Mexico. There is little interest in American polar exploration at this time.
Interesting perspective thank you