[2] In early 1895 the construction of a ferry across the Lake Baikal began, following the proposal of the Minister of Transport Mikhail Khilkov.

On 30 December 1895 a contract with Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd in Newcastle upon Tyne was signed for the parts of the icebreaking ferry (without woodwork and in disassembled state).

[citation needed] When the Russian Civil War broke out Baikal was equipped with machine guns and cannons by the Bolsheviks.

[citation needed] On 15 August 1918, the icebreaker was damaged by field artillery fire from the White Forces of the Czechoslovak Legion during the Battle of Lake Baikal.

There is a possibility that its lower hull, bow propeller, and part of the engines are still at the bottom of the lake at the mouth of the Angara River.