Ruslan (ship)

Ruslan (in archaic Russian spelling: Русланъ; in today's accepted spelling: Руслан) which bore the name of the Russian hero Ruslan from Pushkin's poem Ruslan and Ludmila was the first officially organized ship, and in fact the last, that sailed from the former Russian Empire to Israel in 1919, after the end of the First World War. On board were 671 passengers, many of whom would become pioneers in Israeli culture, which is why the Ruslan is nicknamed the "Mayflower" of Israel.

Ruslan is considered the first ship to open the Third Aliya period, even though she was actually one of the last ships to arrive at the shores of Jaffa that year.