Due to a fire on board the vessel in November 2018 and a disagreement over the increased cost of the icebreaker, the delivery of Viktor Chernomyrdin was postponed to late 2020.

[15][16] On 2 December 2011, Rosmorport and St. Petersburg-based Baltic Shipyard signed a contract, worth RUB 7.94 billion of which 30% was paid in advance, for the construction of the new line icebreaker.

[6] The ship was initially expected to enter service in the Gulf of Finland in December 2015[6] and replace two older icebreakers, the 1974-built Ermak and the 1977-built Kapitan Sorokin.

[18][20][21] On 26 January 2016, it was reported that an additional RUB 1 billion of funding would be required to complete the icebreaker due to the decline of the Russian ruble following the financial crisis.

[22] In addition, the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) was reportedly concerned about the shipyard's ability to deliver the icebreaker in 2017 due to the international sanctions against Russia.

[26] On 16 June, the president of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, Aleksey Rakhmanov, said that the vessel would be delivered in late 2017 or early 2018, and that the cost had increased by RUB 1.5 billion.

[28] Due to extensive delays, the Federal Agency of Sea and River Transport of Russia (Rosmorrechflot) considered a lawsuit against the United Shipbuilding Corporation and demanded a penalty of RUB 667 million through the Moscow Arbitration Court in June 2016.

[35] On 27 November 2018, a fire broke out on board the vessel, injuring two workers and damaging about 300 square metres (3,229 sq ft) of technical spaces on the third and fourth decks containing electrical equipment and wiring.

[37] At the time, USC President Aleksey Rakhmanov estimated that the accident could delay the delivery of the vessel as the fire damaged some imported equipment such as an American-sourced waste water filtration system that may be replaced by a European or South Korean unit due to the sanctions.

[7] The flag raising ceremony, attended by President Vladimir Putin, was held on 3 November 2020,[8] the tenth anniversary of the death of Viktor Chernomyrdin after whom the icebreaker is named.

[11] In November 2019, the Russian newspaper Kommersant wrote that during the eight years that Viktor Chernomyrdin has been under construction, both the idea of what kind of icebreakers are needed in the Arctic as well as the organizations responsible for the infrastructure of the region have changed.

[45] The icebreaker left its moorings in Saint Petersburg and headed out to the Gulf of Finland to escort merchant ships to Vyborg, Vysotsk and Primorsk on 28 January 2021.

[48] After concluding the 2021–2022 icebreaking season in the Gulf of Finland in April, Viktor Chernomyrdin began its first voyage to the Arctic to conduct ice trials in the Kara Sea.

[49] The icebreaker's capability was tested in the area between Kamennye Islands and the Russian mainland where ice was measured to be 1.5 to 2 metres (4.9 to 6.6 ft) thick with a 40 to 70 centimetres (16 to 28 in) snow cover.

[50][51] Viktor Chernomyrdin was supposed take part in the Arctic Ocean Paleoceanography (ArcOP) expedition in August–September 2022 together with the Swedish icebreaker Oden and the drilling vessel Dina Polaris.

In addition to normal icebreaking and escorting tasks, Viktor Chernomyrdin is equipped for emergency towing and rescue operations in open water, oil spill response, offshore and underwater construction projects, and fire fighting.

Built according to the power plant principle, the four medium-speed diesel generating sets with an output of 8,700 kW (11,700 hp) each produce electricity for all shipboard consumers from propulsion motors to hotel functions such as lighting and air conditioning.

Designed according to the double acting ship principle, Viktor Chernomyrdin is capable of moving continuously in compact ice field up to 2 metres (7 ft) thick with a 20-centimetre (8 in) snow cover at 2 knots (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph) in both ahead and astern directions.