Moored alongside the Marine Station in central Murmansk, the Lenin was the world's first nuclear-powered surface vessel and led the way for the entire Soviet (now Russian) Arctic icebreaker fleet. Built in Leningrad and launched in 1957, she spent thirty years smashing through Arctic ice to keep the Northern Sea Route open in winter.
Today she is a floating museum, and the tour is unexpectedly absorbing. You walk through the wood-panelled wardroom, the captain's quarters, the chart room with its original instruments, and — the highlight — the control room of the original reactor compartment. English-speaking guides can usually be arranged in advance. Allow ninety minutes.