The cargo-passenger river steamboat was built in 1886 in Tyumen at the factory of the partnership 'Kurbatov and Ignatov' on the order of the Siberian industrialist A. M. Sibiryakov. The crew consisted of 12 people, and from 1907 to 1927, the captain was Nikolai Fedorovich Sivkov.

The steamboat 'St. Nicholas' belonged to merchant A. M. Sibiryakov and was considered the fastest vessel on the Yenisei at its time. It sailed between Yeniseisk, Krasnoyarsk, and Minusinsk.

On July 1, 1891, the heir to the throne, Nikolai Alexandrovich, future Emperor Nicholas II, arrived in Krasnoyarsk from the village of Beryozovsky on this steamboat.

On April 30, 1897, V. I. Ulyanov Lenin, along with V. V. Starkov and G. M. Krzhizhanovsky, departed from Krasnoyarsk to Novosyelovo on the steamboat 'St. Nicholas' to his place of exile.

After the October Revolution of 1917, the steamboat was renamed 'Nikolai'. In 1927, it was converted into a non-self-propelled oil barge, and in 1960, it was sent to the ship graveyard.

In 1970, the steamboat was restored, and an exhibition dedicated to the life of V. I. Lenin during his exile and his stay on the vessel was set up.

It is now used as a museum ship with an exhibition area of 300 m² and is located on the banks of the Yenisei in the center of Krasnoyarsk. It is often referred to as 'St. Nicholas'.

In addition to the permanent exhibition dedicated to the history of the steamboat, temporary exhibitions are also held here.