Viking Rurik

Viking Rurik is one of the Viking Cruises Russia ships. Other vessels in the line's Europe-Asia fleet include Akun, Helgi, Ingvar, Truvor, and in Ukraine – Sineus. You can also compare Russian river cruises by price with Uniworld River Victoria and Scenic Tours Scenic Tsar, which sail the same route between Moscow and St Petersburg.

The Viking Rurik ship was built in East Germany during the USSR era under the name "MS Mariya Ulyanova". Viking River Cruises acquired the vessel in 1990 and renamed her "Viking Peterhof". In 2012, following an extensive refit and refurbishment, she was renamed again to her current name, "Viking Rurik". MS Peterhof was one of 22 Russian river cruise vessels constructed between 1974 and 1983 (Project 301 / first series, "Vladimir Ilyich" class). Due to her V-shaped hull, Rurik can also operate in the Baltic Sea. The ship was originally ordered by the USSR's North-Western Shipping Company (now Vodohod).

Note: You can see CruiseMapper's list of all river cruise ships and riverboats in the "itinerary" section of our River Cruises hub. All companies and their fleets are listed there. For other Russia-based ships, you can visit our dedicated Russian River Cruises hub.

Built as "Mariya Ulyanova", MS Viking Rurik is one of Russia's signature "Project 301" river cruise ships.

Vladimir Ilyich-class Russian river ships

"Vladimir Ilyich class" (also known as "Project 301") consists of three series of Russian river cruise ships built in the GDR (Germany) for the USSR (Soviet Union) between 1974 and 1983. The vessel class is named in honor of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (1870–1924), considered the founder of the USSR.

These river cruise ships (22 units in total) were built by VEB Elbewerft Boizenburg and represent one of the industry's most successful riverboat designs. They were used for passenger (cruise) operations across Northwestern USSR, including the Volga River, Belomorkanal, Lake Onega, Volga–Don Canal, Kama and Amur rivers, as well as the Dnieper River (Ukraine) and the Black Sea. Following the collapse of the USSR (1991), all vessels were acquired by private companies (both Russian and international).

"Project 301" ship technology

All "Project 301" ships share the following specifications:

• LOA length 125 m (410 ft)
• Width 17 m (55 ft)
• DWT tonnage 3063 tons
• V-shaped hulls (series-specific differences include exterior elements, window shapes—rectangular or rounded—and wheelhouse lighting)
• 5 decks
• Passenger capacity 240 and crew 110, with 102 cabins (all outside), 2 restaurants, 2 bar lounges, sauna room, souvenir shop, and lobby (reception desk with safe), plus a 360-degree Promenade Deck with outdoor seating
• Powerplant: three marine diesel engines (Viertakt-Dieselmotor, 4-stroke, model 6ЧРН 36/45 / aka ЭГ70-5), each with a turbocharger
• The third (final) series features enhanced propulsion, including bow thrusters
• Staterooms are single and double (originally configured as 1-, 2-, and 3-bed cabins), all with en-suite bathrooms
• Post-reconstruction upgrades introduced larger cabins, including suites

Depending on the series, vessels differ in size, equipment, and engine configurations. Many of these ships were extensively refurbished and rebuilt for international river cruise companies (such as Viking, AMA Waterways, and Grand Circle). During these multi-million-dollar drydock refits, passenger capacity was significantly reduced to enhance comfort and safety.

Project 301 ships

From Project 301's first series are the following vessels:

• Vladimir Ilyich (1975, now Sankt Peterburg / Санкт-Петербург)
• Mariya Ulyanova (1975, now Viking Rurik)
• Yevgeniy Vuchetich (1976, now Dnieper Princess)
• Sovetskaya Ukraina (1976, now Konstantin Korotkov)
• Tikhiy Don (1977, Тихий Дон)
• XXV Syezd KPSS (1977, now Petr Chaykovskiy)

From Project 301's second series are the following vessels:

• Sovetskaya Rossiya (1977, now Nizhny Novgorod / Нижний Новгород)
• 60 let Oktyabrya (1978, scrapped as Avicena)
• Rossiya (1978, Россия)
• Vladimir Mayakovskiy (1978, Владимир Маяковский)
• Lenin (1979, now Mikhail Bulgakov / Михаил Булгаков)
• Aleksandr Ulyanov (1979, now Kronstadt / Кронштадт)
• Mikhail Lomonosov (1979, now Viking Sineus)
• Konstantin Fedin (1980, Константин Федин)
• 30 let GDR (1980, scrapped as Ferris Flotel)
• Vissarion Belinskiy (1980, Виссарион Белинский)

From Project 301's third (final) series are the following vessels:

• Sovetskaya Konstitutsiya (1981, now Nikolay Karamzin / Николай Карамзин)
• Nikolay Chernyshevsky (1981, Николай Чернышевский)
• Nikolay Dobrolyubov (1981, now Andrey Rublev / Андрей Рублев)
• Aleksandr Radishchev (1982, Александр Радищев)
• Aleksandr Griboyedov (1982, now Knyazhna Viktoria / Княжна Виктория)
• Fedor Dostoevskiy (1983, Федор Достоевский)