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The ceremony was attended by Director General of State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev, CEO of the United Shipbuilding Corporation Andrei Puchkov, Volgograd Region Governor Andrei Bocharov, Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Northwestern Federal District Igor Rudenya, and Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov.

During the ceremony, Great Patriotic War veteran and participant in the Battle of Stalingrad Pavel Vinokurov handed over to Rosatom Director General Alexei Likhachev a capsule with soil from Mamayev Kurgan, the site of the most intense and bloody fights and the city’s key defensive position during the Battle of Stalingrad. The capsule will be kept aboard the icebreaker Stalingrad.

The icebreaker Stalingrad will be the sixth serial vessel built under Project 22220. The first four, including the lead icebreaker Arktika and the three serial ships Sibir, Ural, and Yakutia, are already on duty in Arctic waters. The construction of two other vessels from this series – Chukotka and Leningrad – is underway. The Project 22220 icebreakers are equipped with state-of-the-art next-generation RITM-200 reactors. The icebreakers are 173.3 metres long, 34 metres wide, and 15.2 metres tall, boasting a capacity of 60 MW. They can travel at a speed of 22 knots in clear water and break through ice blocks up to three metres thick.

Russia is the world’s only country possessing a nuclear icebreaker fleet which consists of 34 diesel and eight nuclear-powered icebreakers.

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Excerpts from transcript of keel-laying ceremony for Stalingrad nuclear-powered icebreaker

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, friends,

I am pleased to welcome you and to congratulate you on this major, landmark event: the laying, at the Baltic Shipyard, of a new nuclear-powered icebreaker, which will bear the proud name of Stalingrad.

This is another tribute to the memory and unbending courage of the defenders and residents of this stronghold on the Volga River, to the valour and bravery of the participants of the great battle that largely determined the outcome of not only the Great Patriotic War, but the entire Second World War and, without exaggeration, influenced the fate of humanity.

Today is a special day for laying the keel of a new powerful icebreaker. These days marked the turning point in the fierce fight for Stalingrad. The Soviet army launched an offensive operation, which culminated in the encirclement and complete defeat of the enemy’s forces. From the banks of the Volga, our troops moved steadily on towards Victory.

I am confident that the new icebreaker Stalingrad will honourably bear this proud name. Working in the harsh Arctic conditions, making its way through the ice, it will become yet another symbol of the talent, strength, and creative energy of our people, of their ability to set ambitious goals and bring the boldest plans to life, and to withstand even the most difficult times.

Russia is actively and consistently developing its unique icebreaker fleet, adding modern equipment to it. Much credit for this undoubtedly goes to our remarkable shipbuilders, nuclear scientists, engineers, designers, workers and other professionals. Thank you for your hard work and your focus on achieving maximum results.

It is thanks to you that Russia is now the only country in the world capable of building a series of powerful and reliable nuclear-powered icebreakers. It is of fundamental importance that we are doing this using our own, Russian technologies.

For example, the icebreaker Stalingrad will be the sixth serial vessel under this project. The first four icebreakers – the lead icebreaker Arktika and the three serial vessels Sibir, Ural and Yakutia – are already successfully operating in the Arctic, piloting cargo vessels along the Northern Sea Route.

The construction of two more icebreakers in this series – Chukotka and Leningrad – is underway at the Baltic Shipyard.

There is a great deal to be done. I am confident that you will work methodically to meet the deadlines.

We will continue to build up the capacity of our icebreaker fleet despite the current difficulties and challenges, developing the national shipbuilding industry and laying down breakthrough scientific and technological groundwork.

The challenges we face are of truly historical significance. It is vital to consistently strengthen Russia’s positions in the Arctic, making full use of the national logistics capacity and ensuring the development of the promising Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor from St Petersburg to Vladivostok.

It goes without saying that the comprehensive development of our Arctic cities and towns depends on icebreakers, high-ice-class vessels, as well as on infrastructure of our Arctic ports. Creating new jobs and improving living standards and the quality of life for our people are among our key priorities for years ahead.

In conclusion, I would like to wish success to the tight-knit team of the Baltic Shipyard, the staff of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, Rosatom and other companies involved in this project, as well as everyone else who is contributing to Arctic development and the strengthening and further advancement of Russia.

All the best.

Mr Likhachev, please.

Director General of State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev: Thank you very much.

Mr President, colleagues, friends, veterans,

Mr President, you have already mentioned in your speech that we are laying down this nuclear-powered icebreaker at a momentous time. In these November days of 1942, the victorious offensive of Soviet troops at Stalingrad began, marking the turning point in the Great Patriotic War.

Shortly before that, on September 28, 1942, while fierce battles for the Volga stronghold were still raging, the State Defence Committee adopted a decision to organise work on uranium, effectively relaunching the atomic project in our country. Naturally, it is no coincidence that the operation for the Soviet offensive at Stalingrad was codenamed “Uranus.”

Therefore, the name of the nuclear icebreaker – Stalingrad – is by no means accidental. It is a profound tribute to the memory of our heroic predecessors. In this year, the 80^th anniversary of the Great Victory and the 80^th anniversary of the atomic industry, we feel this particularly acutely, particularly strongly. Of course, we are determined to steadfastly continue their work, strengthening the power and might of Russia, ensuring its security, and developing peaceful nuclear technologies that guarantee our leadership in the Arctic region.

We are already passing on this experience to the younger generation. Today, here on the stocks, we have students from the Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping, the Shipbuilding College, participants of the Icebreaker of Knowledge expedition to the North Pole, and, of course, children – the children of employees of the Baltic Shipyard and Atomflot. These young people will carry on the immense work of developing Arctic shipping, consolidating our country’s position as a great maritime power. In this anniversary year of the Great Victory, this link of times is especially symbolic.

Mr President, allow me to inform you that the current volume of traffic along the Northern Sea Route this year matches the record levels of 2024, while activity on the route is increasing, and there are many new achievements. Foremost among these is the record for transit shipments, which have reached 3.2 million tonnes.

We are seeing particularly strong growth in transit container cargo, with 23 international voyages already completed – 50 percent more than in the whole of 2024. The tonnage of container cargo has increased by 160 percent, reaching a record 400,000 tonnes.

It is very important to underscore that the first-ever regular international container transit service along the Northern Sea Route has been launched. In September of this year, a container voyage departed from the Chinese port of Ningbo through the Arctic, calling at ports in European countries.

Mr President, on behalf of all sailors of the Arctic Atomflot, I would like to thank you for the construction and modernisation of our country’s nuclear icebreaker fleet, which is rightly a source of pride for Russia.

Today, as you mentioned, eight nuclear-powered icebreakers are in service in the Arctic, half of which – four – are new-generation vessels. Another four are under construction as per your instruction. This embodies our complete technological sovereignty in the creation and operation of advanced reactor systems for the fleet, which are crucial for the exploration of the Arctic. It is important to note that never before have so many icebreakers been built simultaneously, not even during the most prosperous Soviet times.

Mr President, you are now setting a new goal for us – to establish a trans-Arctic transport corridor based on the Northern Sea Route. This is a task of immense, even planetary, scale. Its solution will consolidate Russia’s leadership in the Arctic, ensure the implementation of national projects in the high-latitude zone, and lay the foundation for the logistical sovereignty of the Russian Federation.

Thank you for your trust, Mr President. We will do everything to justify it.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

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Speaker: Let us remember those to whom we owe the very opportunity to build the future. Pavel Vinokurov, a Great Patriotic War veteran and participant in the Battle of Stalingrad, is present at today’s ceremony.

Mr Vinokurov, you have the floor.

Pavel Vinokurov: Mr President, distinguished guests,

As a participant of the defensive battles of Stalingrad, it is a great honour for me to take part in this significant event for our country. We fought for you, your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to always live under peaceful, cloudless skies. And today, looking at the powerful equipment and at the service personnel engaged in the special military operation, I see that the spirit of our people remains unbroken.

On behalf of the participants of the great Battle of Stalingrad, I would like to thank you for preserving the memory of the Great Patriotic War, of those who still live and those who died in it.

May this nuclear icebreaker, the Stalingrad, continue to steadfastly and courageously forge its path through the Arctic Ocean. Stay the course and remember: Russia is with you.

I present a capsule for eternal preservation; it contains sacred soil from Mamayev Kurgan, soaked with the blood of the defenders of the Fatherland.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much. Mr Vinokurov, thank you very much for your words.

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude not only to you but to all your fellow soldiers who defended our Motherland and also did everything possible to rebuild it in the post-war years.

Thank you for mentioning the participants in the special military operation. They – and all of us – will always remember, just as you do, that Russia stands with us.

Thank you.

Alexei Likhachev: Of course, we will treasure this sacred relic. It will bless our future icebreaker and will be kept aboard.

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Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, friends,

Once again, I would like to congratulate you on today’s event.

It is symbolic that in the year of the 80^th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, we are laying down a new mighty nuclear-powered icebreaker – one that will undoubtedly make a significant contribution to the development of the Northern Sea Route and to shipbuilding – and that we are giving it the name Stalingrad.

I am very pleased, and I would like to once again thank Pavel Vinokurov, a Great Patriotic War veteran and a participant in that battle, for taking part in today’s event, in this ceremony. This demonstrates that the generation of the victors always remains in the ranks. And today, Pavel Vinokurov is here with us, fulfilling an important mission.

This vessel, this ship will proudly bear the name Stalingrad, the city which you defended, Mr Vinokurov, as well as our entire great Fatherland. It will carry out its noble tasks in a new, peaceful field, but, I am confident, it will do so with the same dedication and results as you and all frontline soldiers showed when defending our country and later, as I have already said, when rebuilding its economy in the post-war years.

I would like to thank all the participants in today’s ceremony, and express hope that all our plans will definitely be fulfilled.

Thank you.