In 1910, Volga river delta was completely frozen. The ice destroyed so many vessels or made them stuck, impossible to manuever. Other ships tried to help but could not manage. There was no icebreaker and so many people died because of this when the supplies couldn’t be distributed.
After this disaster, ministry of transport ordered an icebreaker to be built for Volga and she was named Kaspiy (Caspian) . She started her service in 1914. She was durable, highly manueverable and strong enough to break half meter of ice.
The ship had some important roles in the civil war. In 1920 the ship sunk by a heavy storm while going for a mission. The first attempt to raise her up was in 1921 but failed. Years after, in 1935 the ship was raised and worked in a tug fleet. In 1949, her steam engine was changed with a diesel one. In 1960, she became a training ship.