Icebreaker "Krasin" in the ports of the United States of America (based on ship’s logbooks for 1941–1942)

The article attempts to show the information possibilities of the ship’s logbooks of Soviet civilian vessels as a historical source using the example of the icebreaker "Krasin" of 1941–1942. The author analyzes the degree of study of the problem of using ship’s logbooks as a historical source. The paper presents a general description of the ship’s logbooks of Soviet civil vessels of the second quarter of the 20th century and suggests the author’s classification of the information contained in them, divided into thematic subgroups. Conclusions are formulated about the peculiarities of using the source and the difficulties that arise when analyzing its content. The prospects of using ship’s logbooks in historical research on various problems of the history of science and technology, climatic history and issues of naval everyday life are outlined.