On 5 June 1983 Aleksandr Suvorov crashed into a girder of the Ulyanovsk railway bridge.

The ship was built at Slovenské Lodenice in Komárno, Czechoslovakia in 1981 and was named after the 18th century Russian generalissimo Alexander Suvorov.

At approximately 22:00, an auction was advertised as taking place in the cinema hall on the upper deck.

The chief mate Vladimir Mitenkov and helmsman Uvarov operated the ship from the wheelhouse, which was also on the upper deck.

Most of the injured survivors had avulsed wounds as a result of being hit by grain and coal from the train cars.

Immediately after the catastrophe, different versions of events circulated amongst the population, varying from the drunkenness of the crew to criminal activity.

Railwaymen and sailors had previously argued about the illumination of the bridge, but there was speculation that Aliyev protected the Soviet Railways minister Boris Beshchev and the crew of the Suvorov were accused.