In the north of Primorsk, there is the village of Manola. It has the best beaches. Tall, ship-like pines stand over the bay. And on the slopes descending to the shore, there are real stone gardens—rows of boulders “thrown” thousands of years ago by a retreating glacier. In Manola, in the late 1950s, the first atomic icebreaker in the world, “Lenin,” was tested.

For the tests, a special pier was built; this unique structure is located on the territory of the modern “Admiralty Shipyards” recreation base. It was named “Stakan” (Glass) because it resembles one. The pier was equipped with special devices: a powerful bollard to which a huge chain was attached for coupling with the icebreaker. The icebreaker docked stern-first, and was “set” on the chain. Then it would develop full power, trying to move away from the pier. Testers used a huge dynamometer to measure the icebreaker’s pulling force. The recreation base itself is unremarkable, except for the narrow and winding road leading to it, but near the shore stands the very pier preserved to this day. A round concrete pedestal stands a few meters from the shore. The depth near the pier allowed the icebreaker to come right up to the shore. A chain is fastened to the pedestal. In the fall of 1959, the world’s first nuclear-powered ship “Lenin” was tied to this chain during the testing of its propulsion system’s power. Measurements showed that the icebreaker had 44,000 horsepower. The chain was neither sent to a museum nor melted down. Anyone can touch it and appreciate what held the “horse army” in place.

The chain was not sent for melting. It has not been lost but preserved to this day and looks like new. The “Stakan” pier is slightly tilted, like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but it is intact and unharmed.

The icebreaker was built in Leningrad. It could not be tested in the city on the Neva River for reasons of secrecy. The giant was cramped in the Neva’s waters. Even launching it was a problem. The depth of the Sea Canal is 9 meters, but the ship’s draft is 10. They were puzzled about how to get the icebreaker to the Baltic Sea. They considered building special pontoons or deepening the fairway. All of this would have been too expensive.

The solution was simple. In autumn, the water level in the Neva rises. They just had to wait for the maximum. When it rose by 2 meters 70 centimeters, the icebreaker was given the start. The operation was swift because the rise lasted about two hours, and if the shipbuilders hesitated, “Lenin” would have run aground.

Sources:

https://www.spb.kp.ru/daily/26586.5/3601734/

http://glebychevo.narod.ru/ledokol.html