The Russian ice-breaker, the Krasin, was built in Newcastle in 1916-17 and went on to play an important role in the Arctic Convoys of World War Two. It is one of the most famous ships in Russia and is today a floating museum on the River Neva in St Petersburg. In partnership with Newcastle University and Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums, we secured the agreement of the Discovery Museum in Newcastle to host an exhibition about the unique history of the Krasin. The exhibition opened to the public on 28 September following a private opening event the previous evening. This is the story of the Krasin and how we brought the exhibition to Newcastle.
The Krasin was designed by the famous Russian seaman, Admiral Stepan Makarov, was originally named after the Russian mythological warrior, ‘Sviatogor’, and was built at Armstrong’s shipyard in Newcastle. The Sviatogor sailed from Newcastle to Arkhangelsk on its maiden voyage in 1917 and was soon involved in the civil war hostilities following the October 1917 Revolution. The ice-breaker was scuttled in the Dvina River. During the allied intervention in northern Russia (1918–19), the Royal Navy raised her for use in the White Sea and later brought her back to the UK for minesweeping in Scapa Flow. She was returned to the USSR under the Krasin trade agreement in 1921. In 1927 the ice-breaker was renamed by the Soviet government in honour of the recently deceased Bolshevik leader and Soviet diplomat Leonid Krasin.
The Krasin played an important role in the Arctic Convoys. In February 1942, the Krasin crossed the Atlantic (from the US) and reached Glasgow in early April. On 26 April 1942, she joined convoy PQ-15 and left Reykjavik for Murmansk. During the convoy Krasin shot down two German planes. Between 1942-1944 the ice-breaker continued to lead cargo convoys through ice in the Arctic despite heavy bombardment and the constant threat of submarine attacks. Many Allied ships and cargo vessels failed to reach their destination, but the Krasin was lucky enough to survive. In October 1945, the Krasin was disarmed. In addition to the convoys, the ship also participated in rescue expeditions in the Arctic in the 1920-30s, including one led by Umberto Nobile.
The Krasin has become an important meeting point for our veterans when they visit Russian for commemorative events. Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal met veterans on the Krasin during her visit in February 2014. Given the ship’s importance to shared British/Russian history, I decided to explore the possibility of holding a small exhibition in Newcastle to mark the 100th anniversary, linking this anniversary with plans for the 75th anniversary of the first of the Arctic Convoys in 2016. I read from an article about the ship that there was a model at Newcastle University, so thought this would be a good place to start. I duly visited Newcastle in May 2015 and found the original architect’s scale model of the Krasin in the School of Marine Science and Technology. The plate on the case holding the model reads: ‘Triple screw icebreaking steamer ‘Sviatogor’ built by Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth & Co. (Shipbuilders) Ltd. Newcastle-On-Tyne for the Imperial Russian Government.
Following subsequent discussions with the Krasin ship museum in St Petersburg, the supervisory Museum of World Ocean’s in Kaliningrad and enthusiastic colleagues at Newcastle University, we secured the agreement of the Discovery Museum in Newcastle to hold the exhibition in the autumn of 2016. The Krasin ship museum produced exhibit stands especially for the exhibition. These were sent to Newcastle with the help of a British/Russian logistics company. The School of Marine Science and Technology kindly agreed to loan the Krasin model for the exhibition and I added some personal Krasin artefacts for display.
The formal opening of the exhibition took place on 27 September. The Director of Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums, Iain Watson, welcomed guests and said how pleased they were to host the exhibition. The Chairman of Tyne and Wear Archives and Museum Joint Committee, Councillor Ged Bell, was also present. We were particularly pleased to welcome two veterans of the Arctic Convoys, Fred Jewett (HMS Ashanti) and Rolphe Monteith (HMS Hardy). I spoke about the importance of the Krasin in terms of our shared history and its heroic role during the Arctic Convoys. Professor David Saunders from Newcastle University gave an excellent presentation on the Krasin and the history of Russian ice-breakers manufactured in Newcastle in the late 19th and early 20th century. The Press and Information Counsellor from the Russian Embassy in London, Konstantin Shlykov, spoke about the presentation of the Ushakov medal to British veterans. In a touching moment at the end, Fred Jewett took to the stage and thanked everyone involved in creating the exhibition and for everything they continued to do to honour and remember those who participated in the Arctic Convoys. The exhibition will run until 13 November: https://discoverymuseum.org.uk/whats-on/armstrongs-to-the-arctic-the-100th-anniversary-of-the-icebreaker-krasin
On the back of recent events in Arkhangelsk and St Petersburg to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the first of the Arctic Convoys (https://blogs.fcdo.gov.uk/keithallan/2016/09/16/commemorating-the-75th-anniversary-of-the-arrival-of-the-first-of-the-arctic-convoys-in-russia/), this was another very special and important event to honour the veterans. Newcastle University and Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums were also delighted to have this unique opportunity to host an event which highlighted the important global role of this famous ship-building city in the north east of England.
The series of events to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the first of the Arctic Convoys continues with an event in Liverpool on 31 October and another planned for Loch Ewe in Scotland in May 2017. We look forward to these events and to continuing to do all we can to remember and honour those who took part in what remains a very important period of shared UK/Russian history. I encourage everyone to visit the exhibition at the wonderful Discovery Museum in Newcastle.
