Arktika (1972 icebreaker)
Arktika is a retired nuclear-powered icebreaker of the Soviet Arktika class. In service from 1975 to 2008, she was the first surface ship to reach the North Pole, a feat achieved on August 17, 1977, during an expedition dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution.
Arktika in 1980
1977 Soviet miniature sheet dedicated to the expedition
Memorial in honor of icebreaker Arktika's conquest of the North Pole in 1977, in hall of museum of local lore of the Murmansk region
Arktika on a Soviet stamp
Nuclear-powered icebreaker
A nuclear-powered icebreaker is an icebreaker with an onboard nuclear power plant that produces power for the vessel's propulsion system. Although more expensive to operate, nuclear-powered icebreakers provide a number of advantages over their diesel-powered counterparts, especially along the Northern Sea Route where heavy power demand associated with icebreaking, limited refueling infrastructure along the Siberian coast, and endurance required make diesel-powered icebreaker operations challenging. As of 2023, Russia is the only country that builds and operates nuclear-powered icebreakers, having built a number of such vessels to aid shipping along the Northern Sea Route and Russian arctic outposts since the Soviet era.
Nuclear icebreaker Yamal, 2015
Nuclear-powered icebreaker Lenin
Project 22220 icebreaker, Ural, under construction
The 1975-built Arktika, the first surface ship to reach the North Pole, in 2006