Multimedia exhibition "320 anniversary. Ships and years" presented in Presidential Library

On October 21, 2024, the Presidential Library celebrated the grand opening of the multimedia exhibition 320 Anniversary. Ships and Years. This is a joint project between the Presidential Library and Admiralty Shipyards to commemorate the 320th anniversary of the enterprise's founding.

Yuri Nosov, the Director General of the Presidential Library, said, "Our organizations have been actively developing cooperation. We signed a cooperation agreement in January of this year. One of the important areas of cooperation between us is holding joint events. The exhibition today is one such project."

Andrey Bystrov, the Acting General Director of the Admiralty Shipyards joint-stock company, also attended the event. He emphasized: "The exhibition, dedicated to the anniversary of our company, will tell residents of the city about the shipyards that were founded by Peter the Great in 1704, a year after he established St. Petersburg. For 320 years, the Northern Capital and one of the largest shipyards in the country have walked hand in hand, growing and developing together. We have much to show visitors of the exhibition, as over its rich history, our company has contributed significantly to the development of shipbuilding, urban architecture, and strengthening of urban industry. The museum's staff regularly conducts group tours at our facility, and thanks to cooperation with the Presidential Library, we are able to reach a wider audience today."

The exhibition features photographs and drawings of notable ships and vessels built at shipyards over time. The largest shipbuilding company has its roots in the founding of the Admiralty House on November 5, 1704, under the leadership of Peter I.

With the personal involvement of Peter the Great, the battleship Poltava was built here in 1712. In 1724, Efim Nikonov created the "Hidden Vessel", the prototype of the first Russian submarine. During the 19th century, the Charles Byrd Factory, which later became a part of the Admiralty Shipyards, built Russia's first steamship, Elizabeth (1815). At the beginning of the 20th century, one of the most significant symbols of St. Petersburg, the cruiser Aurora, was built at the shipyards (1903)

During World War II, the company organized mass production of self-propelled tenders for Lake Ladoga, which evacuated people from the besieged city of Leningrad and transported food and supplies.

In 1957, the Admiralty Shipyards built the nuclear-powered icebreaker Lenin, which was the first civilian vessel in the world with a nuclear power plant. The shipyards also built vessels for the fishing industry. As a result, in 1971, the Vostok floating fish-processing base, which could produce up to 250,000 canned food cans per day, was launched. In addition to surface ships and vessels, the shipyards also produce submarines.

During the 1930s and 1950s, the company produced submarines of types "Щ" (Shch), "K", "M" and "C". In the 1960s and 1980s, it produced nuclear submarines of project 671 and 705, which were capable of operating in any area of the world ocean, including under the ice in the Northern Arctic Basin. In the 1990s and 2020s, diesel-electric submarines of 636 and 677 projects were produced at the shipyards.

In recent years, the Admiralty Shipyards have been building sophisticated science-intensive vessels for scientific research. At the exhibition, visitors can learn about the North Pole ice-resistant self-propelled platform, a scientific expedition vessel built in 2022 and designed for year-round operations in the Arctic Ocean's high latitudes. The company also continues to produce fishing vessels, such as large freezing trawlers based on the ST-192 design. All these projects are showcased at the multimedia exhibition, which will last until the end of the year.

The Presidential Library is a national library under the jurisdiction of the Administrative Directorate of the President of Russia and is the first digital library in the country.

It is located in St. Petersburg, in a historic building that was built in the second quarter of the 19th century by the renowned architect Karl Rossi. The library is a large multifunctional center for information, science, education, culture, and learning.

The Presidential Library's digital collection, along with materials on the history of Russian statehood, includes the most significant evidence of the establishment and development of the Russian Navy: rare book publications, archival records, maps and charts, photographs, and more. The library frequently hosts exhibitions, lectures, and conferences on the history of naval development, sea voyages, discoveries, notable navigators, and naval commanders, as well as prominent domestic shipbuilding companies and shipyards.