Russia’s Only 115-Year-Old Paddle Steamer Returns to Service

The Nikolai Gogol, Russia’s last remaining wheeled steamship and a relic of a bygone era, has chugged back to life in Arkhangelsk. After a major overhaul, the 115-year-old vessel recently completed its first voyage on the Northern Dvina River, marking its 115th navigation season. The milestone was celebrated by 100 members of the Russian Military Historical Society, who traveled from across the country to witness the event.

“It’s incredible—every mechanism still works after 115 years,” one attendee remarked. “I wish we could all run that long, and then some.”

Built at the Krasnoye Sormovo shipyard in early 1911, the paddle steamer originally plied the route between Vologda and Arkhangelsk. It quickly earned a reputation as one of the most luxurious vessels in the Russian Empire, serving passengers dishes like hazel grouse and black grouse. During the Civil War and World War II, the ship shifted to wartime duty, ferrying wounded soldiers, ammunition, and food supplies. In the 1960s, it was converted for tourism.

The steamer nearly met its end in the 1970s, when it was slated for scrapping. But Soviet preservationists stepped in, saving the vessel. They gave it a fresh coat of white paint and a new lease on life, turning it into a floating monument to shipbuilding history. Today, the Nikolai Gogol remains a proud, working piece of the past—still “standing on its own legs,” as locals say. Meanwhile, another historic steamer, the Prince Gorchakov, was recently discovered in Peter the Great Bay, where it struck a naval mine in 1906.