2024
From November 11 to 22, 2024, Krasnoyarsk honored the memory of the pilots of the Krasnoyarsk Air Route, also known as the Alaska-Siberia Air Route.
The Krasnoyarsk Air Route Heroes Remembrance Week began on November 11 at 11:00 - public figures, historians, representatives of the youth movement "Post No. 1" and Krasnoyarsk residents laid flowers at the mass grave of military pilots - participants in the Great Patriotic War.
On the same day, participants of patriotic youth movements in the Cinema House were shown the documentary film "ALSIB. Chronicles of the Air Route".
Flights in severe weather conditions in polar latitudes were very dangerous. During the operation of the route, several dozen planes crashed, 114 people died. In the summer of 2022, in Chukotka, the Ministry of Defense of Russia and the Russian Geographical Society searched for the remains of crashed planes. The crash sites of 7 of them were found. The film tells about the search expedition and the history of the ALSIB Air Route itself, how it was created and operated, what contribution to the common Victory was made by the pilots who delivered planes from the USA to the front.
Vyacheslav Filippov, a historian, author of articles and books about the Krasnoyarsk Air Route, a member of the Russian Geographical Society, spoke to the audience about the history and role of the route.
On Tuesday, November 12, a mini-quiz on the topic of "Krasnoyarsk Air Route" and a tournament in the board game "Alaska-Siberia. Secret Airfield" among schools of the Central District of Krasnoyarsk were held in the Gorky Library.
On November 14, students of Secondary School No. 150, named after the Soviet polar pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union Vasily Molokov, conducted an excursion "Airplanes Flew Here" and an intellectual thematic game "Homeland Skies" for schoolchildren of the Sovetsky District and children from the Youth Club of the Russian Geographical Society "Star of Salvation". Young local historians from Zheleznogorsk, in turn, presented the results of their search activities.
In 2024, the traditional week-long format was expanded to cover more schools in Krasnoyarsk. From November 11 to 22, exhibitions and thematic events organized by the Victory Memorial Museum and dedicated to the heroes of the Krasnoyarsk Air Route were held in various schools in Krasnoyarsk.
The Heroes Remembrance Week ended on November 22 with a bright sporting event - the GTO Festival dedicated to the heroes of the Krasnoyarsk Air Route was held at School No. 93. Teams from city schools that hold the names of the Heroes of the Soviet Union took part in the Festival.
2023
In 2023, the traditional Krasnoyarsk Air Route Heroes Remembrance Week was held in Krasnoyarsk. As part of the Week, ceremonial events, museum lessons, interactive lectures and other events were held in city schools.
Lyceum No. 11 is located next to the "Aviadom". This is what local residents call the building at 35 Akademika Vavilova Street. Pilots and technical personnel of the Krasnoyarsk Air Route lived in this house from 1942 to 1945. Today, this is recalled by a memorial plaque, to which, during the Heroes Remembrance Week, young lyceum students laid red carnations in memory of Soviet pilots who perished during the Great Patriotic War. An open lesson was also held for the children, where they got to know the history of the "Aviadom" and the personality of the Hero of the Soviet Union Ilya Mazuruk, the first head of the Krasnoyarsk Air Route. "The history of the route is closely connected with our lyceum - during the Great Patriotic War, one of its buildings housed the route headquarters, and pilots lived in the house next door. We, Krasnoyarsk residents, can be proud of our history! And events such as the Krasnoyarsk Air Route Heroes Remembrance Week help preserve the memory of the feats of our great-grandfathers," said 9th-grade student of Lyceum No. 11 Sofia Pchelintseva. In the educational institution itself, middle and high school students held interactive lectures for younger students. The children were told about the importance of the air route for the development of air communication in Siberia, the Far North and the Far East, about the invaluable experience of flights in extremely difficult climatic conditions, about the courage and bravery of Soviet pilots.
Pupils of School No. 149 in Sovetsky District attended a lesson at the school museum, where they learned interesting facts about the Krasnoyarsk Air Route, and also took part in a ceremonial assembly dedicated to the Soviet pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union Mark Shevelev. “Back in 1940s, aviation life was in full swing here. During the Great Patriotic War, an airport was located near our school. It became the final destination of the Krasnoyarsk Air Route. Since 1944, the route was managed by Lieutenant General of Aviation Mark Shevelev. Here, where our school is now located, thousands of planes came in for landing and took off towards the front line. In the late 80s, the airport was “moved” outside the city, and a new microdistrict, “Vzlyotka” ("Take off place"), began to be built on the vacated territory of the runways. The history of ALSIB is closely connected with the history of our school and district, and it is important to remember this,” shares her knowledge of historical facts, 11th grade “D” student of school No. 149 Elizaveta Turova.
As part of the Krasnoyarsk Air Route Heroes Remembrance Week, specialists from the Krasnoyarsk Victory Memorial Museum held “museum lessons” in several schools in Krasnoyarsk. Students from school No. 150 named after the Soviet polar pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union Vasily Molokov took part in an excursion and a quiz, learned new facts about ALSIB and the history of their district. “In three years from 1942 to 1945, our pilots ferried 8,094 aircraft for the needs of the front. In addition to the aircraft themselves, they delivered military cargo, food, equipment for hospitals. A little more than 30 years ago, in the area of Vzletnaya Street, there was a runway, hence the name of the street. It ended at the exit to the current Shakhtyorov Street. And before that the runway was located on the site of Partizana Zheleznyaka Street, the airport terminal was wooden then, and the runway was circular," shares Polina Onishchuk, 10th grade “D” student of school No. 150.
At school No. 93 of the Sverdlovsky District, about 100 students and teachers from 13 schools of Krasnoyarsk took part in the festival of the All-Russian physical education and sports complex "Ready for Labor and Defense" (GTO), dedicated to the Krasnoyarsk Air Route Heroes Remembrance Week. "The introduction of the GTO complex is a story that began in 1931 of the last century and its main "driver" were activists of the Society for Assistance to Defense, Aviation and Chemical Construction (OSOAVIAKHIM). Then they understood how important it is to always be ready to work for the good of the Motherland and, if necessary, its defense. We understand this today too!," notes Innokenty Pikarsky, an 11th-grader at School No. 93.
"It is important to know your history; lessons from the past allow you to sensibly assess the present and make plans for the future. In addition, knowing your own history helps you understand events happening in the world, and instills in us love and respect for our homeland and family," noted Marina Aksenova, head of the Main Department of Education.
The Krasnoyarsk Air Route Heroes Remembrance Week was held with the support of the Krasnoyarsk Regional Branch of the Russian Geographical Society.
2022
2022 was the year of the 80th Anniversary of the Krasnoyarsk Air Route (wider known as the Alaska-Siberia Air Route) organized for the transfer of military aircraft from the United States to the USSR under the Lend-Lease program during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. The first planes to cover the air route created practically from scratch in sparsely populated areas of the north-east of the country with difficult geographic, economic, meteorological conditions during a very hard period of the first year of the Great Patriotic War, landed at the Krasnoyarsk airfield on November 11th 1942. Starting from that moment, the supply of military aircraft to the front through Krasnoyarsk continued until October 1945 - the end of the Second World War. More than 8,000 aircraft were timely delivered to the front and made a significant contribution to the great Victory over the mutual enemy.
Krasnoyarsk was chosen as the final and most important point for the ferrying pilots due to the most developed by 1941 transport and especially aviation infrastructure. It was in Krasnoyarsk, the center of creation and development of polar aviation, that all conditions had been created for training personnel, receiving, servicing, repairing and forwarding to the front of such a huge number of various aircraft.
In this regard, the Krasnoyarsk City Administration, in partnership with the Krasnoyarsk regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society and the city's patriotic public organizations, held in Krasnoyarsk in 2022 a series of events dedicated to the 80th Anniversary of the Krasnoyarsk Air Route "Alaska-Siberia".
On November 11, the grand opening of the Krasnoyarsk Air Route Heroes Remembrance Week took place in the Officers' House.
The ceremony included the presentation of letters of thanks to participants in expeditions organized by the Regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society, as well as the awarding of winners and prize winners of the Interregional Competition and Exhibition of Children's Art "Alaska-Siberia", dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Krasnoyarsk Air Route. 49 works from various cities and regions of Russia were submitted to the competition - Krasnoyarsk, Minusinsk, Sukhobuzimsky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Magadan Region, the Sakha Republic (Yakutia). Three works were awarded special prizes - from the Krasnoyarsk City Administration, the Krasnoyarsk Public Chamber and the Krasnoyarsk regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society. After the ceremony, a presentation of the expeditions of the Youth Club of the Russian Geographical Society "Star of Salvation", created on the basis of the Siberian Fire and Rescue Academy of the GPS EMERCOM of Russia (Zheleznogorsk), took place.
On November 14, the Cinema House hosted a screening of the film by Krasnoyarsk director Elina Astrakhanskaya "Wings. Gates of the Far North" with the participation of the film's screenwriter Timur Sokolov. The screening was attended by participants of the "Post No. 1" project, participants of the All-Russian Children's and Youth Movement "Yunarmiya" and students of the Krasnoyarsk branch of the St. Petersburg State University of Civil Aviation named after Hero of the Soviet Union V.S. Molokov.
On November 15, the Victory Memorial Museum hosted a ceremony of canceling postcards in honor of the 80th anniversary of the Krasnoyarsk Air Route. The ceremony was attended by participants of the "Post No. 1" project.
On November 16, a lecture on the history of ALSIB was held at the Victory Memorial Museum as part of the patriotic education program. The head of the commission of the Krasnoyarsk regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society for the preservation of historical memory, A.V. Matveyev, told the participants of the Post No. 1 project in detail about the prerequisites for the creation of the Krasnoyarsk Air Route and its significance for the Krasnoyarsk Region and for the country.
On November 17, a solemn ceremony of laying flowers at the mass grave of military pilots - participants in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, who died in the crash of the Li-2 transport aircraft with PAP-5 pilots on board, was held at the Troitskoye Cemetery. The memory of the heroes was honored by the Head of the Public Relations Department of the Governor of Krasnoyarsk Krai Barinov R.G., Deputy Mayor of Krasnoyarsk for social and political work - head of the Department of Social Development Antonov D.A., reserve lieutenant colonel, historian, one of the initiators of the All-Russian program to perpetuate the memory of pilots who died in the line of duty in the rear districts during the Great Patriotic War Filippov V.V., head of the commission of the Krasnoyarsk regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society for the preservation of historical memory Matveyev A.V., Chairman of the Krasnoyarsk Public Chamber Tkachev L.V., representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the diplomatic corps of foreign states, scientific staff of the Victory Memorial Museum, members of the search teams of the city of Krasnoyarsk and the All-Russian children's and youth movement "Yunarmiya", pupils of the youth military-sports center "Patriot", representatives of the public.
On November 18, a conference was held at the Cinema House, which became the final event of the program dedicated to the anniversary of the Alaska-Siberia Air Route. The conference participants included representatives of the Regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society, the Krasnoyarsk City Administration, the Krasnoyarsk Public Chamber, patriotic organizations, schoolchildren and students who gathered to discuss the role of the air route in the history of the country and the Krasnoyarsk Region.
The conference was held at three venues. The plenary session was held at the Cinema House, at which welcoming remarks were made by: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the USA Antonov A.I., Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Canada Stepanov O.V. (via video message), Representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Krasnoyarsk Zakharov A.A., Mayor of Krasnoyarsk.
Works by participants of the Interregional Competition and Exhibition of Children's Art "Alaska-Siberia", dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Krasnoyarsk Air Route:
Krasnoyarsk Air Route (ALSIB) memory preservation in the news:
Archive information
Organizations and individuals that took an active part in the organization and holding of the events in 2017:
The International Scientific and Practical Conference "Lend-Lease. Routes of cooperation against the mutual enemy. 75th Anniversary of Krasnoyarsk Air Route (Alaska-Siberia)."
On November 10th-11th 2017 the International Scientific and Practical Conference "Lend-Lease. Routes of cooperation against the mutual enemy. 75th Anniversary of Krasnoyarsk Air Route (Alaska-Siberia)." was held in Krasnoyarsk by the Siberian Federal University.
The main goal of the anniversary conference is to establish and strengthen the contacts within the scientific community in the study of the history of the interaction of the Allied countries of the anti-Hitler coalition in the fight against the German fascist invaders during the Second World War, on the example of the history of the Krasnoyarsk Air Route (Alaska-Siberia).
American documentary filmed during Second World War about the Krasnoyarsk Air Route and an interview with an American pilot, Mike Hunt, who actually ferried the Lend-Lease planes on the USA-Canadian part of the air route:
