MS Mikhail Lermontov - MS Mikhail Lermontov

MS Mikhail Lermontov

MS Mikhail Lermontov, launched in 1972, was the last of the five "poet" ships: Ivan Franko, Taras Shevchenko, Alexandr Pushkin (now Marco Polo), Shota Rustaveli and Mikhail Lermontov, named after famous Ukrainian, Georgian and Russian writers (Ivan Franko and Taras Shevchenko being Ukrainian, and Shota Rustaveli being Georgian), built to the same design at V.E.B. Mathias-Thesen Werft, Wismar, East Germany. Mikhail Lermontov, born 1814 and died 1841, was known as the "poet of Caucasus."

MS Mikhail Lermontov was originally used as an ocean liner on the Leningrad—New York run. However, the Soviet government realised that there was more money to be made by converting her to a cruise ship, and the accommodation and facilities on board were significantly improved during the 1970s.