The Nina who surprised Putin may get a new position

The second mate of the icebreaker "Arktika" Nina Vdovina, who surprised Russian President Vladimir Putin with her youthful appearance and high rank, shared details of her career path, reports RIA "Novosti".

She reported that in two days she will take an exam in Murmansk, after which, if successful, she may be appointed as the chief mate with Rostechnadzor's permission to operate a nuclear facility.

According to Vdovina, her interest in the maritime profession came from her family: her grandfather was a deep-sea captain, and her mother and brother also tied their lives to the fleet. The young woman noted that at the beginning of her career, she faced difficulties due to her education and gender, but decided to get a higher specialized education and enrolled in the S.O. Makarov University of Maritime and River Fleet.

Vdovina clarified: "Actually, it's not uncommon for young women to hold positions in the fleet nowadays. There are quite young chief mates in the nuclear icebreaker fleet – both 27 and 28 years old. And we have another girl who became a chief mate at 28. And he (Putin) was surprised because he didn't know how old I was. I look younger than my age. Genetics, probably. After the meeting, I was asked why the president thought I was a schoolgirl, although I'm 31. I always joke that the Arctic preserves people's youth, people don't age there because of the low temperatures."

She also noted that there are more women in the nuclear fleet not only among service personnel but also among engineers, although in the "Arktika" crew there are only five women out of 54 people. Currently, Vdovina is on vacation, and the icebreaker will depart for a new voyage in December to the Gulf of Ob area, where the crew will celebrate the New Year.

As the newspaper VZGLYAD wrote, at a concert in Nizhny Novgorod dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Russia's nuclear industry, it was announced that a woman had been appointed captain of the nuclear icebreaker "Yamal." Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Rosatom holds leading positions in the global nuclear energy industry and no company in the world builds as many facilities.