April 21, 2021

Centenarian Ship Weathers Every Storm


Centenarian Ship Weathers Every Storm
The stalwart Magdalene Vinnen, now Sedov, in 1933. Australian National Maritime Museum, Flickr

Wooden sailing ship Sedov turns 100 years this year, a remarkable achievement since not too many wooden ships survive in the water without rotting. The Sedov is 385 feet (117.5 meters) long and 7,320 tons.

It began its life as a German boat in 1921, in the Kiel shipyard. It was called the Magdalene Vinnen then and carried cargo in the Baltic for the German navy during World War II.

When the Allies won, the Soviets took the ship as a spoil of victory, turning it into Soviet polar explorer Georgy Yakovlevich Sedov. Though it has been a peaceful ship for decades, once a warship, always a warship. To enter foreign waters now, the Sedov has to get special permission from the local ministry of foreign affairs.

The Sedov started rotting in the 1960s, as wooden ships are wont to do, and the idea was floated to turn it into a restaurant "for foreigners." It was Soviet times, after all, and Soviets could not afford to go to restaurants. By the way, St. Petersburg has an awesome floating restaurant today, The Flying DutchmanBut The Stationery Sedov didn't take.

A Moscow film student made a documentary, Who Needs Sails? in 1966 to argue that the Age of Sail was dead and the Sedov should be scrapped.

It kept on ticking, though, and was rebuilt in 1975 at the Kronstadt Marine Plant. The post-Soviet transition was rough financially. Nevertheless, ship and crew persisted.

Sedov became a movie star in 2005, playing the Pamir in German film The Tragedy of the Pamir.

The ship just celebrated its 100th birthday in Kaliningrad, where sailor vacancies are posted for 2021 expeditions. Check out beautiful photographs of the ship here. And get your wooden ship fix at a place like Mystic Seaport Museum while you wait to travel to Russia again.

You Might Also Like

Dawn of the Russian Navy
  • October 01, 1996

Dawn of the Russian Navy

On October 20, 1696, a now legendary resolution, "Let there be sea ships," was passed by the Boyar Duma, heralding the beginning of the Russian navy. Lev Pushkaryov examines how this event came to change the Russian mentality.
All Hands on Deck
  • May 01, 1996

All Hands on Deck

Life on a Russian tall ship is explored in this article about a journey on the Ukrainian ship Tovarishch.
Making Waves
  • March 01, 2019

Making Waves

One hundred and sixty years ago, the inventor Alexander Popov was born. In 1895, he created the first radio receiver. Or did he?
An Ode to the Hovercraft
  • February 14, 2021

An Ode to the Hovercraft

Russia is a land of many mysteries. The greatest of all, of course, is this: What's the deal with Russians and their hovercraft?
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955