Lenin entered operation in 1959 and worked clearing sea routes for cargo ships along Russia's northern coast.

From 1960 to 1965 the ship covered over 157,000 kilometres (85,000 nautical miles) during the Arctic navigation season, of which almost 120,000 km (65,000 nmi) was through ice.

[2] Nuclear power proved to be an ideal technology for a vessel working in such a remote area as it removed the need for regular replenishment of fuel.

When the spent elements were being unloaded for storage and disposal, it was found that 124 fuel assemblies (about 60% of the total) were stuck in the reactor core.

She was laid up at Atomflot, a base for nuclear icebreakers in Murmansk, and repair and conversion into a museum ship was completed in 2005.