Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Iosif Stalin-class passenger ship was a two-strong class of large turbo-electric powered passenger ships, operated by the Soviet Baltic State Shipping Company (BGMP). The ships were taken over by the Soviet Navy during World War II and used as transport vessels. The class was named after Joseph Stalin.The two Soviet ships Iosif Stalin and Vyacheslav Molotov (after Vyacheslav Molotov) were constructed in 1939 by the Dutch company N.V. Nederlandsche Dok & Scheepsbouw Maats., in Amsterdam. The ships were intended for the Soviet Far East waters, but due to the outbreak of World War II, they were taken over by the BGMP. The ships were ready and left Amsterdam on 1 May 1940, only nine days prior the German occupation of the Netherlands.