Maria Vyatcheslavovna Mishetchkina
Director of permanent frost Museum
Krasnoyarsk region, Igarka
The theme of reprisals in Igarsk museum has received a development in the beginning of 90th years. The matter is that the museum was open only in 1991. By this time the huge material has already been collected by people, which were engaged in study of local lore and rehabilitation of the persons banished to Igarka in different years. Many townspeople especially honour, for example, memory of Baranovsky, the banished Latvian becoming tireless chronicler of the city. He was the first chairman of the commission on rehabilitation subjected to repression, helped to restore the reputation to many hundreds of Germans, Lithuanians, Latvians, Greeks. Leopold Antonovich has transferred to a museum collected materials, has left some own manuscripts. He also has helped with creation of the first constant exposition on a theme of reprisals in a local lore complex «the Museum of a permafrost».
This theme at once began to develop on two directions: one of them is connected to a renewal of a construction history of the railway Salekhard - Igarka (Object ¹ 503 of GULAG), the second - with a history of mass dispatches of people in area of Igarka and the machine tools located in subordinated territory.
In 1997 in a separate building the department «Object ¹ 503» was open. At once I shall note that it was rather difficult to do it. The old wooden building of 1934 of construction has been used. Means for it have been allocated only on repair of the base. And further searches of charitable means for repair, making of an exposition, gathering of museum subjects have begun. Only due to donations in front of the building has appeared a small memorial where the boards devoted to memory subjected to repression were placed. The destiny of a department is still uneasy. They tried to close it, for example. The chapter of the city (he is not from Igarka by birth and by his spirit) in 2000 has declared to director that «the maintenance of a department which as a matter of fact is political», cannot be included into the city budget. Only due to references of the former prisoner of Construction of 503 Irina Alferova and Walter Ruge to the governor of Krasnoyarsk region A.I. Lebed have helped to keep a department. There was a lot of similar critical situations.
Some words about a history of construction of road Salekhard - Igarka. In January, 29, 1949 there was accepted a decision of Council of Ministers of the USSR about necessity of construction of the railway Salekhard - Igarka extent of 1200 kms. It was supposed to begin an operation of a new road in 1955. The idea on construction of a polar transsiberian highway has come to Stalin right after the terminations of Great Domestic war. The leader has been frightened that North of the country during war appeared completely unprotected. Besides for the industrial giant complex of Norilsk was required a track which would allow to take out its production to the European part in cheaper way. The road Salekhard - Igarka should have continuation up to Norilsk. There are also statements of researchers, which consider that Stalin also planned one more strategic project - to continue a highway across Siberia up to Bering passage and to connect thus Soviet Union through a tunnel under a passage to America.
Already in 1949 prisoners began to arrive to Igarka which forces conducted construction. There were two prisons in the city - for men and women. And between them there was so-called Mamochkina prison where lived women with children. In Igarka has been constructed a special small town - apartment houses for security, for administrative board of GULAG, club, and also a cottage for the chief of construction. Besides in the city one more zone settled down for prisoners who built the road. They managed even to lay 60 kilometers of the railway from Igarka up to small river Chernaya. In area of old city, near to a museum complex, there even has been made a dump for railway station of gravel which, by the way, carried from small river Chernaya by railway.
From Igarka up to Salekhard during all route through everyone of 5-10 kms settled down camps which represented platforms in the size 500õ500 meters, enclosed by a wire with watchtowers on corners. Inside were barracks, economic constructions and a dining room. Construction of road was conducted practically manually, technics has been delivered very little. Many researchers mark that to build road during the post-war period was political adventure because the country was in a full exhaustion and there were no material resources. But the aplomb of the leader was too great. Besides GULAG has seriously replenished with enemies of people who used to be prisoner of the war. All of them have been sent to camps. And this physical strength, as a rule, erected in Soviet Union all building giants.
The road should pass trough a permafrost. And it has considerably complicated work of builders. Besides the contract design has been submitted for approval with big delay, only in 1952 when there was made more than half of highway. Construction was conducted by fast rates. There were a lot of defects in work. Water has quickly appeared in many sites, the road began to bend.
When in March, 1953 Stalin has died, 911 kilometers of road have been constructed and these were two thirds of all route. The destiny of construction has sharply changed after Stalin's death. In October, 1953 its liquidation began. When began the liquidating period, material assets began to destroy. And a lot of things has simply been thrown - rails, steam locomotives. Till now in these severe edges dumb witnesses of construction remind of road construction which have deserted and name now «Dead road».
All objects submitted in a department exposition «Object 503» are brought from various sites of construction. In one of halls there even are fragments of conditions of a barrack in which prisoners lived. They sewed clothes and footwear. They also did furniture by their hands. The general number of prisoners, which contained on Igarsk direction in different years reached 30-40 thousand person. Such number of prisoners - on Obskom direction. All prisoners - criminals, recidivists and political - contained together. But criminals entered into self-protection, as a rule. They bossed in GULAG, with their help protection arranged punishment of political prisoners.
Among prisoners in GULAG even a theatre has been created. Former actors, directors, writers in it were condemned for political views. They managed to carry out serious stagings because in the number of actors included talented people. And spectators were both militarians (protection) and many inhabitants of Igarka.
Due to educational and publishing activity in which the museum is engaged, interest to this historical department is always great. So, within the framework of the All-Russia competition on the best programs in the field of culture and arts (the grant of the President of 1998) the program "History of Dead road" has been realized. In particular, the book «Construction ¹ 503» has been issued where archival documents are collected, stories of eyewitnesses, catalogue of museum subjects about this theme. Now the museum collective has started realization of the project «In memory of road, in memory of builders» on the means received from fund of M.Prokhorov. For the museum it is very important project.
The main goal is to make a new step in a renewal of an objective history of construction in 1948-1953 of the railway Salekhard - Igarka (Object ¹ 503 of GULAG). The further everything is immersed in the past that is connected to the road, the more alarm accrues how its history will be stated in the future. It acquires legends and conjectures. Unfortunately, there are so few of truthful publications devoted to this theme. Basically, these are clauses and books prepared by former political prisoners. They are issued, as a rule, in small circulation, therefore not always render essential influence on formation of public opinion. We become much more often witnesses of that foreign journalists tell about route to us, confidently declaring that they know practically all. The emphasis is in the fact that the road was built only by political prisoners. There also were a lot of lost victims at construction on road - many millions prisoners, but actually nobody knows how many. A lot of times employees of Igarsk museum together with former prisoners of construction had to write about it to authors of the various foreign films. So was after an output of film of the English cinematographers «the Train of death» (director Roberts, film has been shown in Igarka in 1997), after showing of German authors film in Germany about trip to Siberia in 2000 (film was seen by former prisoners V.Ruge and I.Alfyorov). In the named films there was no only real documentary basis, but also the information from foreign sources was completely unfairly used. It is still not possible to break this myth. Most likely, the main reason is that the truthful information does not find an output and it is issued by imperceptible circulations and only in Russian. It is no wonder, that researchers who practically annually come on «Dead road» and try to comprehend everything that happened there, still feel deficiency of the information. And in the most unprofitable position appear foreigners as the museum issues the collection «Construction ¹ 503» only in Russian. In September, 2005 on "Dead" road the next group of foreigners has passed on foot. Their impressions have found reflection on the web-site www.friendsontour.de. There was no limit of surprise when in section about a history of construction of the railway we again have seen ordinary formulations from the West «construction of political prisoners», «millions of victims has died on construction». The tasks of the project are to turn researchers of "mysterious" object GULAG to the truth, to generalize the collected documentary material, to expand it due to meetings with new eyewitnesses, to give these materials to publicity, to issue 2-nd release of the book «Construction 503» in Russian, and also with chapters in English and German languages. The task of the project consist also in making real steps for perpetuating memory of reprisals victims - to base an open-air museum in Igarka. To attract attention to one of the most tragical pages in a history of our country, our city during the period of stalinizm will help carrying out of an exhibition in Moscow, organization of a campaign for schoolboys to the locations of Construction 503 objects, gathering by teenagers of subjects, a spelling of the report.
The second direction in development of a theme of reprisals is connected to the fact that Igarka inherently from 30th to 50th years of the last century was city of exiled. The analysis of archival materials shows, that the civilians who have arrived to construction of the city - port in 1929, began very soon to refuse from work and to leave from the North. Conditions were so hard, especially during winter and spring time that only the most hardy men could stand. Therefore for development of northern territory and construction of port delivery has been very soon adjusted practically free-of-charge physical strength of immigrants.
And again we will address to a history. Already in 1930 to Igarka began to arrive transports with so-called "dispossess" peasants. The first years of immigrants stay in «kulak reference» were the heaviest. Because of famine desease and death rate has sharply increased. There was a number of suicides, the criminality has increased. 1937 was year of mass terror also in Igarka. Former immigrants have been subjected to arrest first of all. Many were shot or completely disappeared. Only after decades relatives managed to learn the truth. At the end of 1942 with last steamships the significant amount of people of various nationalities has been delivered to Igarsk area from a front. They were those whom Stalin has declared enemies of people. They were expected with severe destiny. Many Latvians, Germans, Jews, etc. have thrown out to uninhabited coast to machine tool in Agapitovo. Almost half from arrived could not survive there and were lost. In 1944 immigrants arrived to Igarka from Kalmykia. The last in 1948 to Igarka have banished more than 5000 person from Lithuania. Under certificates of eyewitnesses, the system of violent export from inhabitant places has been developed perfectly. They were carried by rail in the commodity cars completely closed. Immigrants alloyed in holds of barges or cargo holds of steam-ships across Yenisei. After Stalin's death rehabilitation of immigrants has began. Rehabilitated political prisoners who were here in the termless reference began to leave the city. Many of them managed to leave on the native land - to Germany, Lithuania, Latvia. The Lithuanian citizens even carried out export of remains of their relatives who have been buried in Igarka. And Lithuanians have put a monument on the Lithuanian cemetery in memory of people whose ashes is based upon our northern ground. The board in memory about innocent victims within reprisals is established from Igarsk people on territories of a museum. Not far from there is a board which was brought by Lithuanians.
Annually in the Day of political reprisals memory Igarsk art dealers carry out the various actions, meetings. Everytime it is something new. In 2005, for example, 16 collectives of the city participated in creation of MEMORIAL CLOTH (it is basically made in scrappy technics). The huge cloth has been rolled on one of buildings in last dates of October. And there was meeting devoted to Day of political reprisals victims memory.
I can not say that the theme of reprisals is given easily to me and to my colleagues. Not all visitors unequivocally react to the expositions connected to tragical pages of a history. Someone at once isolated and does not enter into halls where we tell about it: «The life is full of problems even without it». Someone still remains the adherent of the Stalin policy. Probably, it would be easier to live for museum workers if they close a department and to be engaged with something quieter and more attractive. But for us this question never rose this way. Probably because everyone of us understands it well (and lives with it, works, communicates), that then very fast and inevitably will come time of oblivion in which we are involved more and more with a masscult, inspirituality.
A lot are forgotten, tightened, but people constantly go to the museum. For them the destiny of relatives, places where they lived in the conclusion or the reference is very interesting. They write, come, direct memoirs, photos, ask for help in the organization of their trip to Igarka. Annually former prisoners, their relatives, researchers, writers, journalists come to the city.
In 2006 in Igarka and Ermakovo (the location of civil settlement and a zone for prisoners) was visited by the former political prisoner Walter Ruge who lives now in Germany. Students of film-academy in Ludvigsburg made a film about him. At the end of June arrival of Latvian journalist I.Knagisa is expected. He is former immigrant, participant of installation of a cross in memory of victims in machine tool Agapitovo. Museum support close communications with a society of former banished in Lithuania, which heads Rimvidas Racenas. He has been many times to Igarka, he was engaged in installation of a monument on the Lithuanian cemetery in Igarka.
In educational activity of the museum the theme of reprisals is on the first place. During the last 7 years in educational program is this theme. This is realized with Igarsk school ¹1 of V.P.Astafiev. Pupils become participants of memory actions, which are carried out on a place of a former route Salekhard - Igarka, various expeditions. On the basis of the collected materials they write own research works which have repeatedly been marked by Diplomas at the All-Russia competitions «the Person in a history. 21 century».
Often enough Igarsk art dealers should be involved in actions, which are beyond primary activity. The attitude to monuments, memorable places, history cannot make indifferent one who gives many years to preservation of culture. We cannot easy react that equipment, rails are taken out on scrap metal thrown after liquidation from former camps, settlements of Construction 503. In August, 2005 as a result of invasion of the expedition of Svetlogorsk vandals, 2 steam locomotives (the type "lamb" which was issued in the beginning of the last century and was used on Construction 503) have been taken out from Ermakovo. They are now in one of moorings of Svetlogorsk. A lot of metal subjects which have been taken out from Ermakovo roll here as well. Igarsk Office of Public Prosecutor repeatedly investigates cases about export of steam locomotives which were in a historic-architectural local zone, whence export of subjects has been forbidden. Employees of the museum not only left together for carrying out of survey, but also have been compelled to be engaged independently in search of documents, photographic materials, eyewitnesses, advisers. Law enforcement bodies are declined in such questions that as a matter of fact there are no owners of steam locomotives at all, there is no examination is it a historical value or not. Isn't it an example of how it is possible during modern time to take away things unpunishedly from a cemetery? In this cemetery hundred of burial places have remained without gravestones. Is the monument to "dead" route builders will never rise above Ermakovo as well as above construction 503?
Igarsk museum develops the program of using of steam locomotives, perpetuating of memory of road Salekhard - Igarka builders. It has been submitted in Igarsk town soviet and also in Turukhansk regional advice. There was no answer. On a background of this silence you start to feel sick when you read in Krasnoyarsk press that Stalin's statue in the near future will be established again in village Kurejka. Is the memory of the tyrant will be immortalized earlier than memory of his reprisals victims?