New Arkhangelsk land. Urban district “Novaya Zemlya. How to get to Novaya Zemlya
This 10-day tour on the research vessel Ivan Petrov offers an up-close look at the Arctic's most unique region, the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.
Research vessel "Ivan Petrov"- a vessel of ice class L1 of unlimited navigation area, designed for research in the field of oceanography, meteorology, hydrochemistry, biology, as well as the delivery of supplies and personnel to hydrometeorological stations.
Parameters and technical data:
Tonnage 928 t
Length 49.9 m
Width 10.02 m
Height 5.0 m
Average draft 3.6 m
Speed 12.8 knots
Sailing autonomy is 35 days. (5500 miles)
Crew: 18 crew members and 20 scientific personnel
1 day (Arkhangelsk)
2-3 day (Sea passage)
During the voyage, scientific conversations will be organized on various scientific topics, for example, the history of exploration and development of the Arctic, flora and fauna, etc. You will have the opportunity to learn about the history, characteristics of origin, nature and landscapes of these territories.
4-5 days (Barents Sea)
During the voyage you will see amazing, awe-inspiring and delightful seascapes. Under favorable weather conditions, a short-term landing in Russkaya Gavan Bay is planned.
6-8 day
Archipelago Novaya Zemlya- one of the strictly protected zones of Russia. The purpose of our trip is to visit the Russian Arctic National Park, which is located in the northern part of the archipelago.
A polar camp will be equipped at Cape Zhelaniya, and walking and motorized routes will be organized throughout the National Park.
There was no connection, other than postal, with the mainland. But even postal service was limited; items weighing more than 1 kg could not be sent either to Novaya Zemlya or from Novaya Zemlya.
Everything needed in the 50-60s was delivered almost exclusively by sea during the short northern navigation. In the early 70s, the runway of Rogachevo airport became reinforced concrete, which made it possible to significantly improve air traffic with Novaya Zemlya and organize regular flights between Arkhangelsk and Rogachevo. But since everything that existed on Novaya Zemlya was a state secret, the Rogachevo airport was absent from the schedules and was designated as “Amderma-2”. In everyday life, both the airport itself and Novaya Zemlya in general were simply called “Dvoyka”.
In general, there were many addresses and symbols for the islands at that time. The postal address of Belushya Guba was “Arkhangelsk-55”, Rogachevo - “Arkhangelsk-56”. Correspondence intended for air defense and naval points located on the Southern Island of Novaya Zemlya, communication with which was carried out through Rogachevo, was also addressed there, to “Arkhangelsk-56”. In the 80s, communication with points was maintained mainly by helicopters, but even to the closest points, helicopters flew once or twice a month, and communication with distant points was maintained once every few months.
Points located on the Northern Island and on Franz Josef Land were supplied through Dikson, and their postal address was “Krasnoyarsk Territory, Dikson Island-2”. These addresses were used exclusively for postal communications; telegraph addresses were completely different. For example, the telegraph address of Belushya Guba was “Moscow, K-704”. After indicating the locality, the number of the military unit was written with the addition of the letters “YUYA”, for example, military unit YUYA 03219 (3rd Radio Engineering Regiment). I don’t know what the letters “YuYa” mean; for fun they were deciphered as “South of Yalta.” However, the letters “YuYa” could not be indicated, the letters still arrived. There was no need to indicate any other coordinates other than the last name and initials in the address.
Telephone communication with the mainland could be carried out exclusively through military communication channels; there was no access to civilian channels at all. The state secrets surrounding the entire Novaya Zemlya were protected very strictly, but mainly from their own citizens. For example, in letters it was forbidden to provide any information that would allow one to determine the place of service, much less indicate it directly. All correspondence was checked, and the letters that were read bore the stamp “Received at the Arkhangelsk Railway Station in a contaminated form.” If it weren’t for this stamp, it would have been impossible to guess that the letter had been opened; the censors’ opening skills were well developed.
Transport communications, both air and sea, were maintained mainly with Arkhangelsk. By the 80s, sea passenger traffic between Arkhangelsk and Belushya Guba (“Portopunkt 40-40” is another designation for Belushka, as it is called on Novaya Zemlya) was completely stopped, and all transportation of people in this direction was carried out exclusively by air. The only exception is the flights of the passenger ship "Sovetskaya Tataria", which delivered scientists - participants in atomic tests from the mainland - to Novaya Zemlya. But cargo traffic was carried out mainly by sea.
There is only one more or less equipped pier on Novaya Zemlya - in Belushaya Guba. At some points there were mooring structures, mostly wooden, often preserved from the times of “civilian” development. But at most points, cargo operations could be carried out exclusively in the roadstead, and cargo was delivered to the shore on dinghies, special small vessels. The work of unloading and storing cargo was very difficult; the personnel were literally exhausted. In addition, many points were located far from the coast, and cargo received by navigation throughout the rest of the year, including in winter, was gradually delivered to their location. On the “Novaya Zemlya Forum”, www.site, one of the participants, recalling his service at the point, writes: “So we dragged it (coal - V.M.) on a homemade sled made of tin from the pier. They harnessed three people each and followed him for about ten kilometers. You’d do three or four walks in a day, and then cramps would set in at half the night. Romance, damn it." In order to ensure work during the short months of navigation, each point was forced to have two to three times more personnel than was required for combat duty.
There is only one road on Novaya Zemlya; it connects Belushya Guba and Rogachevo. Travel outside this road is carried out mainly on GTS-M all-terrain vehicles. Traveling long distances on foot is prohibited. Skis are not used at all, there are none in parts; The unpredictability of Novaya Zemlya weather and the abundance of polar bears make hiking and skiing extremely dangerous.
There was no sustainable transport connection between the South and North Islands, as well as with Franz Josef Land. There were only occasional and not always predictable flights of helicopters or airplanes. I remember well the case when at the Graham Bell point (W.F.I.) in January 1986, a pigsty burned down and the pigs died. New pigs were delivered there on a special flight on an Il-76TD from Rogachevo. It’s hard to even guess how much each such pig cost.
But the usual way of communication with distant points was the following: from Rogachevo to Arkhangelsk, from Arkhangelsk to Dikson, from Dikson to the point. How long it will take to travel - depending on your luck. If it was necessary to get from the point to Belushya Guba, the sequence was reversed. "Dembeles" with Z.F.I. and the north of Novaya Zemlya usually began to be removed two to three months before dismissal. They were transported across half of the Arctic Ocean, Dikson and Arkhangelsk to Belushya Guba or Rogachevo, given discharge documents and then sent back to Arkhangelsk. Obviously, the costs of maintaining troops on Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land were prohibitively high.
It is clear that the exact size of the “population” of the islands at that time is not known, but, based on indirect data, for the mid-80s it can be estimated at 8-10 thousand people.
The reduction in the number of military personnel and civilian personnel on Novaya Zemlya begins in the late 80s. With the cessation of nuclear weapons testing, the number of personnel servicing the test site is sharply declining. The number of military personnel at air defense points begins to be reduced.
In 1990-1993 The forces of the country's Air Defense Forces on the Arctic islands are being eliminated. The liquidation begins with the 3rd Radio Engineering Regiment, whose units, as mentioned above, were located along the entire western coast of Novaya Zemlya and on Franz Josef Land. Personnel are withdrawn to the mainland, materiel is left at distant points, and partially removed from nearby points. Some points (Cape Menshikov, Guba Chernaya) are transferred to the Federal Border Service, but then they are disbanded.
The 406th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment, whose headquarters were located in Rogachevo, is being liquidated. The 641st Fighter Aviation Regiment is transferred from Rogachevo to the Afrikanda airfield (Murmansk region, Polyarnye Zori) and at the beginning of the 21st century. disbanded. The activities of the 4th (Novaya Zemlya) air defense division are terminated.
At the same time, the naval points located on the western coast of Novaya Zemlya, as well as parts of the Strategic Missile Forces, are abolished.
The existence of the village of Rogachevo also ceases. Almost all the buildings and structures of the village are now ruins. The airfield is served by a duty shift that comes from Belushya Guba. Now, as far as can be judged from open sources, all points on Novaya Zemlya have been eliminated. The population is concentrated in the village of Belushya Guba (2.8 thousand people). In addition, the existence of the village is supported. Northern, but the number of personnel here is insignificant. In general, we can now consider that Novaya Zemlya has “shrinked” to the limits of Belushya Guba.
If until the end of the 80s different types of armed forces “coexisted” here, now the Central Training Ground of Russia has become the sole and absolute owner of Novaya Zemlya. The test site received this name on February 27, 1992, according to presidential decree No. 194 “On the test site on Novaya Zemlya.” The decree left the Central training ground under the jurisdiction of the Navy. In 1998, the test site was transferred to the jurisdiction of the 12th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense (“Nuclear Technical Support and Security”).
At the end of the twentieth century. The restoration of civil power began on Novaya Zemlya. The municipal formation “City District Novaya Zemlya” was created. According to the charter of this district, it includes the villages of Belushya Guba and Rogachevo, but the area of the municipal formation is 79,788 km 2, i.e. almost the entire territory of Novaya Zemlya.
On some poorly compiled maps of Russia, published in both Soviet and post-Soviet times, Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land are designated as belonging to the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO). But the Novaya Zemlya municipal district does not belong to the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, although it is the closest continental neighbor. This municipality is directly included in the Arkhangelsk region as a district. (Franz Josef Land and Victoria Island have been officially included in the Primorsky district of the Arkhangelsk region since January 1, 2006.)
However, these territories are included in the Arkhangelsk region very conditionally. Most of Novaya Zemlya is the Central Test Site, reporting directly to Moscow, and any serious issues related to the islands are resolved not in Arkhangelsk, but in the capital of Russia.
Belushya Guba is now a normal village with all the attributes of civilization. Her index remained the same, 163055, but the address is now not “Arkhangelsk-55”, but “the village of Belushya Guba, Arkhangelsk region.” There is a school, a kindergarten, and a “civilian” telephone connection with the mainland (although the telephone code is 495, i.e. Moscow). A church was built. There is a school, kindergarten, swimming pool, cellular communications, shopping center, Internet. Regular air traffic with Arkhangelsk is still maintained, and the “regime service” continues to check departures and arrivals.
Entry to the islands is extremely difficult; a pass to visit Novaya Zemlya takes several months to obtain, and entry may be denied if the “competent authorities” consider the grounds for it to be insufficiently convincing. Even the procedure for obtaining such passes is classified. It is generally impossible for citizens of other states, including neighboring countries, to obtain a pass to Novaya Zemlya. The humor of the situation lies in the fact that Novaya Zemlya would be visited mainly by those citizens of the republics of the former Union, including the Baltic states, who gave a significant part of their lives to Novaya Zemlya, and the secrets of these islands are already well known to them.
You can only get to Franz Josef Land “with opportunity”, which can be waited for a very long time, since polar aviation is declining as its “clients” disappear. And you also need a pass - after all, Franz Josef Land with Victoria Island, like Novaya Zemlya, are part of the border zone.
In recent years, they have written about various “projects” for the development of Novaya Zemlya, which would be more correctly called “projects”. People who, in principle, do not know what the New Earth is, are apparently engaged in “project-making.” Thus, the magazine “Gas Industry” in the December 2008 issue published an article proposing the construction of a plant in Belushaya Guba for the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Yamal fields for its subsequent export to Europe. It is also planned to make Novaya Zemlya the support base for the development of the Shtokman gas condensate field in the Barents Sea. There are also completely crazy ideas for developing ore deposits and building metallurgical plants in the south of Novaya Zemlya with the export of products through the port of Belushya Guba, the cargo turnover of which is proposed to be increased tenfold for this occasion.
You read in seemingly reputable publications regular articles on the topic “Let’s master the New Earth at any cost!” - and I would like to ask the authors: “Have you seen Novaya Zemlya in reality, and not in project delirium, and if so, for how long?”
These are questions from a person who has experienced what the New Earth is. But you can ask more professional questions. The first is where is it supposed to get the labor force to implement geo-economic constructions that are “brilliant” on paper? Settle on the islands? Madness. Drive on a rotational basis? But you still need to settle somewhere, and the conditions should be more or less comfortable - this “labor force” will not carry coal ten kilometers in the snow. Second, how is it planned to provide new enterprises with electricity? The military requires little of it, so they make do with diesel power plants. An industrial enterprise can also be powered by a diesel power plant, but the cost of electricity will be prohibitive. Third, there is a drinking water problem on the islands. In Belushya Guba and Rogachevo, it is solved through “drinking lakes”; at most points, as already mentioned, water was extracted from snow in winter, and from ice stored in winter in summer. Fourth - how to ensure the rhythm and consistency of transport and economic ties where the sea is covered with ice for nine months of the year and air traffic may be absent for weeks?
It is obvious that in the near future all “projects” for the economic development of Novaya Zemlya will remain exclusively on paper and in the heads of their authors. This was, is and will be the “patrimony” of the military. And this is correct, since any attempts to economically develop the Arctic islands will be very expensive and will give nothing in return.
The exact date of origin of the name Novaya Zemlya is not known. Perhaps it was formed as a copy of the Nenets Edey-Ya “New Earth”. If so, then the name could have arisen during the first visits to the islands by Russians in the 11th-12th centuries. The use of the name Novaya Zemlya at the end of the 15th century is recorded by foreign sources.
The Pomors also used the name Matka, the meaning of which remains unclear. It is often understood as “nurse, rich land.”
And the land there is really rich, but not in plants, but in animals, which were hunted by commercial hunters. Here, for example, is how the artist A. Borisov wrote about the riches of the Arctic at the end of the 18th century, having visited Yugorsky Shar and Vaigach:
“Wow, how nice it would be to live here in this region rich in fisheries! In our places (Vologda province), look how a man works all year round, day after day, and only barely, with all his modesty, can feed himself and his family. Not so here! Here, sometimes one week is enough to provide for yourself for a whole year, if traders did not exploit the Samoyeds so much, if the Samoyeds were at least somewhat able to preserve and manage this rich property...”
Based on the Pomeranian uterus (compass), the name is associated with the need to use a compass for sailing to Novaya Zemlya. But, as V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko wrote, “Svenske, in his description of Novaya Zemlya, says that the name of the Matochkin Shar strait comes from the word - matochka (small compass). This is not true: Matochkin’s ball is called Matochkin’s in contrast to other small Novaya Zemlya balls, since it crosses the entire Matka, that is, the hardened land of this archipelago.”
In Finnish, Karelian, Veps matka - “path, road”, in Estonian matk “journey, wandering”. The term is widely represented in the toponymy of the North (cf. Matkoma, Matkozero, Irdomatka, etc.), it was mastered by the Pomors, and perhaps the name Matka is associated with it.
Novaya Zemlya is located on the border of two seas. In the west it is washed by the Barents Sea, and in the east by the Kara Sea.
The archipelago consists of two large islands and many small ones. In general, we can say that Novaya Zemlya is two islands: South and North, separated by the narrow Matochkin Shar Strait.
The distance from the northernmost point of Novaya Zemlya (Cape Zhelaniya) to the North Pole is only about one and a half thousand kilometers.
Cape Flissingsky of the North Island is the easternmost point of Europe.
Novaya Zemlya belongs to the Arkhangelsk region, as well as another neighboring Arctic archipelago - Franz Josef Land. That is, residents of the Arkhangelsk region, having visited Novaya Zemlya, will actually not even leave their subject, despite the fact that from Arkhangelsk to Novaya Zemlya in a straight line is about 900 kilometers, almost the same as to Moscow, Estonia or Norway.
The Barents Sea, along which Russian Pomors had been sailing for several centuries, was visited in 1594, 1595 and 1596 by expeditions led by the Dutch navigator Willem Barents and, although he was not even the first foreign traveler to visit Novaya Zemlya, the sea in 1853 was named after him. This name has been retained to this day, despite the fact that in Russia in the old days this sea was called the Northern, Siversky, Moscow, Russian, Arctic, Pechora and most often Murmansk.
Something about the geology and climate of the archipelago
Novaya Zemlya in the west is washed by the relatively warm Barents Sea (compared to the Kara Sea), and due to this the weather there can be quite warm, and even, oddly enough, sometimes warmer than on the coast. Weather forecast on Novaya Zemlya now (in Belushaya Guba), as well as for comparison on the coast (in Amderma):
The so-called “Novaya Zemlya bora” is very interesting and noteworthy - a strong, cold, gusty local wind, reaching up to 35-40 m/s, and sometimes 40-55 m/s! Such winds off the coast often reach the strength of a hurricane and weaken with distance from the coast.
The word Bora (bora, Βορέας, boreas) is translated as cold north wind.
Bora occurs when a flow of cold air encounters a hill on its way; Having overcome the obstacle, the bora hits the coast with enormous force. The vertical dimensions of the bora are several hundred meters. As a rule, it affects small areas where low mountains directly border the sea.
The Novaya Zemlya forest is caused by the presence of a mountain range stretching from south to north along the island. Therefore, it is celebrated on the western and eastern coasts of the South Island. Characteristic signs of a “bora” on the west coast are strong gusty and very cold winds from the northeast or southeast. On the east coast - winds from the west or north-west.
The greatest frequency of the Novaya Zemlya bora is observed in November - April, often lasting 10 days or more. During bora, all visible air is filled with thick snow and resembles smoking smoke. Visibility in these cases often reaches its complete absence - 0 meters. Such storms are dangerous for people and equipment and require residents to use forethought and caution when moving in case of emergency.
The Novaya Zemlya Ridge influences not only the direction, but also the speed of the wind crossing it. The mountain range contributes to increased wind speed on the leeward side. With an easterly wind, air accumulates on the windward side, which, when passing over the ridge, leads to air collapses, accompanied by strong gusty winds, the speed of which reaches 35-40 m/s, and sometimes 40-45 m/s (in the area of the village of Severny up to 45-55 m/s).
New Earth is covered with “thorns” in many places. If I'm not mistaken, this is slate and phyllite (from the Greek phýllon - leaf) - a metamorphic rock, which in structure and composition is transitional between clayey and mica slate. In general, almost everywhere in the south of New Zealand that we visited, the land is like this. That’s why the running dogs here always had wounded paws.
Previously, when Europeans had boots with leather soles, they constantly risked tearing their shoes. There is a story on this topic told by Stepan Pisakhov in his diary: “In the first days, I decided to go away from the camp. She saw Malanya, started shaking, hurried, and caught up. - Where are you going? - To Chum Mountain. Malanya looked at my feet - I was wearing boots - How are you going back? Are you going to roll yourself sideways? - Malanya explained that the shoes would soon break on sharp rocks. - I'll bring you pima. I waited.
Malanya brought new seal pimas with seal soles. - Put it on. In these pymas it’s good to walk on pebbles and you can walk on water. How much do pima cost? - One and a half rubles. It seemed cheap to me. Surprise resulted in a question: “Both?” Malanya laughed a long laugh and even sat down on the ground. Waving her hands, she swayed. And through laughter she said - No, just one! You wear one, I’ll wear one. You step your foot, and I step your foot. So let's go. Malanya laughed and told an old Nenets fairy tale about people with one leg who can only walk by hugging each other - They live there loving each other. There is no malice there. They don’t deceive there,” Malanya finished and fell silent, thought, and looked into the distance of the tale being told. Malanya was silent for a long time. The dogs have calmed down, curled up in balls, and are sleeping. Only the dogs’ ears tremble with every new sound.”
Modern life on Novaya Zemlya
First of all, many people associate Novaya Zemlya with a nuclear test site and testing of the most powerful hydrogen bomb in the history of mankind - the 58-megaton Tsar Bomba. Therefore, there is a widespread myth that after nuclear tests it is impossible to live on Novaya Zemlya due to radiation. In fact, to put it mildly, everything is completely different.
On Novaya Zemlya there are military towns - Belushya Guba and Rogachevo, as well as the village of Severny (without permanent population). In Rogachevo there is a military airfield - Amderma-2.
There is also a base for underground testing, mining and construction work. On Novaya Zemlya, the Pavlovskoye, Severnoye and Perevalnoe ore fields with deposits of polymetallic ores were discovered. The Pavlovskoye field is so far the only field on Novaya Zemlya for which balance reserves have been approved and which is planned to be developed.
2,149 people live in Belushaya Guba, 457 people live in Rogachevo. Of these, 1,694 are military personnel; civilians - 603 people; children - 302 people. Currently, personnel also live and serve in the village of Severny, at the Malye Karmakuly weather station, at the Pankovaya Zemlya and Chirakino helipads.
On Novaya Zemlya there is an Officers' House, a soldiers' club, the Arktika sports complex, a secondary school, the Punochka kindergarten, five canteens, and a military hospital. There is also a food store "Polyus", a department store "Metelitsa", a vegetable store "Spolokhi", a cafe "Fregat", a children's cafe "Skazka", a store "North". The names are just mi-mi-mi :)
Novaya Zemlya is considered a separate municipal entity with the status of an urban district. The administrative center is the village of Belushya Guba. Novaya Zemlya is a ZATO (closed administrative-territorial entity). This means that you need a pass to enter the urban district.
Website of the municipal formation “Novaya Zemlya” - http://nov-zemlya.ru.
Until the early 1990s. the very existence of settlements on Novaya Zemlya was a state secret. The postal address of the village of Belushya Guba was “Arkhangelsk-55”, the village of Rogachevo and the “points” located in the south - “Arkhangelsk-56”. The postal address of the “points” located in the north is “Krasnoyarsk Territory, Dikson Island-2”. This information has now been declassified.
There is also a weather station called Malye Karmakuly on Novaya Zemlya. And in the north of Novaya Zemlya (Cape Zhelaniya) there is a stronghold of the Russian Arctic National Park, where its employees live in the summer.
How to get to Novaya Zemlya
Regular planes fly to Novaya Zemlya. Since November 5, 2015, Aviastar Petersburg has been operating passenger and cargo flights on the route Arkhangelsk (Talagi) - Amderma-2 - Arkhangelsk (Talagi) on An-24 and An-26 aircraft.
For questions regarding purchasing tickets, booking tickets, the date and time of departure for regular civil aviation flights to Novaya Zemlya, you can contact representatives of Aviastar Petersburg LLC on weekdays from 9.30 to 19.00.
Representative of Aviastar tel. +7 812 777 06 58, Moskovskoe shosse, 25, building 1, letter B. Representative in Arkhangelsk tel. 8 921 488 00 44. Representative in Belushya Guba tel. 8 911 597 69 08.
You can also get to Novaya Zemlya by sea - by boat. Personally, we visited there exactly like that.
History of Novaya Zemlya
It is believed that Novaya Zemlya was discovered by Russians already in the 12th-15th centuries. The first written evidence of the presence and fishing activities of Russians on the archipelago dates back to the 16th century and belongs to foreigners. Indisputable material evidence of the long-standing presence of Russians on the archipelago was recorded in 1594 and 1596-1597. in the diaries of De Fer - a participant in the Dutch expeditions led by Willem Barents.
By the first arrival of Europeans to Novaya Zemlya, unique spiritual and fishing traditions of Russian Pomors had already developed here. Novaya Zemlya was visited by fishermen seasonally to hunt sea animals (walruses, seals, polar bears), fur-bearing animals, birds, as well as collect eggs and catch fish. Hunters obtained walrus tusks, arctic fox, bear, walrus, seal and deer skins, walrus, seal, beluga and bear “fat” (blub), omul and char, geese and other birds, as well as eider down.
The Pomors had fishing huts on Novaya Zemlya, but they did not dare to stay there for the winter. And not so much because of the harsh climate, but because of the terrible polar disease - scurvy.
Industrialists brought timber and bricks themselves to build huts. The houses were heated with firewood brought with them on the ship. According to surveys conducted among industrialists in 1819, “there are no natural inhabitants; nothing has been heard of since the beginning of centuries,” i.e. any indigenous inhabitants of Novaya Zemlya were unknown to the fishermen.
Discovery of Novaya Zemlya by foreign navigators
Due to the fact that Spain and Portugal dominated the southern sea routes, in the 16th century English sailors were forced to look for a northeastern passage to the countries of the East (in particular, to India). This is how they got to Novaya Zemlya.
First unsuccessful expedition:
In 1533, H. Willoughby left England and apparently reached the southern coast of Novaya Zemlya. Turning back, the two ships of the expedition were forced to winter at the mouth of the Varsina River in eastern Murman. The following year, the Pomors accidentally stumbled upon these ships with the corpses of 63 English winter participants.
The following unfinished expeditions, but without casualties:
In 1556, an English ship under the command of S. Borro reached the shores of Novaya Zemlya, where it met the crew of a Russian boat. Ice accumulation in the Yugorsky Shar Strait forced the expedition to return to England. In 1580, the English expedition of A. Pete and C. Jackman on two ships reached Novaya Zemlya, but solid ice in the Kara Sea also forced them to sail to their homeland.
Expeditions with casualties, but also achieved goals:
In 1594, 1595 and 1596, three trade sea expeditions headed from Holland to India and China through the northeast passage. One of the leaders of all three expeditions was the Dutch navigator Willem Barents. In 1594, he passed along the northwestern coast of Novaya Zemlya and reached its northern tip. Along the way, the Dutch repeatedly encountered material evidence of the Russians’ presence on Novaya Zemlya.
On August 26, 1596, Barents' ship was sunk off the northeastern coast of the archipelago, in Ice Harbor. The Dutch had to build a dwelling on the shore from driftwood and ship planks. During the winter, two crew members died. On June 14, 1597, abandoning the ship, the Dutch sailed in two boats from Ice Harbor. Near the northwestern coast of Novaya Zemlya, in the area of Ivanova Bay, V. Barents and his servant died, and a little later another member of the expedition died.
On the southern coast of the archipelago, in the area of the Costin Shar Strait, the Dutch met two Russian boats and received rye bread and smoked birds from them. By boat, the surviving 12 Dutchmen reached Kola, where they accidentally met the second ship of the expedition and arrived in Holland on October 30, 1597.
Subsequent expeditions:
Then the English navigator G. Hudson visited Novaya Zemlya in 1608 (during landing on the archipelago, he discovered a Pomeranian cross and the remains of a fire); in 1653, three Danish ships reached Novaya Zemlya.
Further, until 1725-1730, Novaya Zemlya was visited by the Danes, Dutch, and English, and at this point the voyages of foreign ships to the archipelago ceased until the 19th century. The most outstanding of the expeditions were the two Dutch expeditions of V. Barents. The main merit of Barents and De-Fer was the compilation of the first map of the western and northern coasts of Novaya Zemlya.
Study of Novaya Zemlya by Russians
It all started with two unsuccessful expeditions:
In 1652, by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the expedition of Roman Neplyuev set off to Novaya Zemlya to search for silver and copper ores, precious stones and pearls. Most of the 83 participants and Neplyuev himself died during the winter south of Dolgiy Island.
In 1671, an expedition led by Ivan Neklyudov was sent to Novaya Zemlya to search for silver ore and to build a wooden fortress on the archipelago. In 1672, all members of the expedition died.
Finally, relative luck:
In 1760-1761 Savva Loshkin first sailed on a boat from south to north along the eastern shore of Novaya Zemlya, spending two years on it. One of his winter quarters was apparently built at the mouth of the Savina River. Loshkin circled the northern coast and descended to the south along the western coast.
In 1766, the helmsman Yakov Chirakin sailed on the ship of the Arkhangelsk merchant A. Barmin from the Barents Sea to the Kara Strait through the Matochkin Shar Strait. Having learned about this, Arkhangelsk Governor A.E. Golovtsyn agreed with Barmin to send the ship with the expedition.
In July 1768, an expedition led by F.F. Rozmyslova went on a three-masted kochmara to the western mouth of the Matochkin Shar Strait to map the strait and measure its depth. The objectives of the expedition were: to pass, if possible, through Matochkin Shar and the Kara Sea to the mouth of the Ob River and to study the possibility of opening a route from the Kara Sea to North America. From August 15, 1768, the expedition carried out measurements and studies of Matochkina Shar. At the eastern mouth of the strait - Tyulenyaya Bay and on Cape Drovyanoy, two huts were built, where, dividing into two groups, the expedition spent the winter. Yakov Chirakin died during the winter. Of the 14 expedition members, 7 died.
Returning to the western mouth of the Matochkin Shar, the expedition met a Pomeranian fishing vessel. The rotten kochmara had to be left at the mouth of the Chirakina River and returned to Arkhangelsk on September 9, 1769 on a Pomor ship.
Of course, the name of Rozmyslov should take one of the first places among the outstanding Russian sailors and Arctic explorers. He not only measured and mapped the semi-legendary Matochkin Shar Strait for the first time. Rozmyslov gave the first description of the natural environment of the strait: the surrounding mountains, lakes, and some representatives of the flora and fauna. Moreover, he carried out regular weather observations and recorded the time of freezing and breaking up of ice in the strait. Fulfilling the assignment given to him, Rozmyslov built the first winter hut in the eastern part of the Matochkin Shar Strait. This winter hut was later used by industrialists and researchers of the archipelago.
In 1806, Chancellor N.P. Rumyantsev allocated funds to search for silver ore on Novaya Zemlya. Under the leadership of the mining official V. Ludlov, in June 1807, two mining masters and eleven members of the ship’s crew set off for the archipelago on the single-masted sloop “Pchela”. The expedition visited the island of Mezhdusharsky, visiting the famous Pomeranian settlement of Valkovo. While studying the islands in the Costin Shar Strait, Ludlov discovered deposits of gypsum.
In 1821-1824. Lieutenant F.P. Litke led four expeditions on the military brig Novaya Zemlya. Expeditions led by Litke made an inventory of the western coast of Novaya Zemlya from the Kara Gate Strait to Cape Nassau. The consolidated ice did not allow us to break further to the North. For the first time, a whole range of scientific observations was carried out: meteorological, geomagnetic and astronomical.
In 1832, difficult ice conditions in the Kara Gates forced the expedition of P.K. Pakhtusov to put the single-masted, deckless large carbass “Novaya Zemlya” for the winter off the southern coast of the archipelago, in Kamenka Bay. The remains of a Pomeranian hut and driftwood found here were used to build housing. As soon as all the expedition members moved to the rebuilt winter hut, from the second ten days of September they began to keep a meteorological journal, entering into it the readings of the barometer, thermometer and the state of the atmosphere every two hours. With the end of winter, multi-day walking routes began with the aim of inventorying and filming the southern shores of the archipelago. The results of the expedition are the drawing up of the first map of the entire eastern coast of the South Island of the archipelago. Thanks to his subsequent expeditions, outstanding results were achieved. Pakhtusov described the southern coast of Matochkina Shar, the eastern coast of the archipelago from the Kara Gate to Cape Dalniy.
Then in 1837 we were on the schooner “Krotov” and the small boat “St. Elisha” expedition of the Imperial Academy of Sciences under the leadership of Academician K. Baer. The ship was commanded by warrant officer A.K. Tsivodka.
In 1838, under the command of warrant officer A.K. Tsivolka, an expedition was sent to Novaya Zemlya on the schooners “Novaya Zemlya” and “Spitsbergen”. The second schooner was commanded by warrant officer S.A. Moiseev. As a result, a number of important studies were carried out; famous domestic and Western European scientists repeatedly addressed the various scientific results of the Tsivolki-Moiseev expedition.
In subsequent years, the Pomors, who continued to fish on Novaya Zemlya, at the request of the famous Siberian industrialist M.K. Sidorov, landed in the places indicated by him, collected rock samples and erected claim posts. In 1870, Sidorov published the project “On the benefits of settlement on Novaya Zemlya for the development of marine and other industries.”
Commercial development of Novaya Zemlya
The history of the creation of fishing settlements on Novaya Zemlya has purely “political roots.” This region has long been “Russian”, but unfortunately there was not a single permanent settlement here. The first Russian settlers in the North and their descendants, the Pomors, came here to fish. But for some reason the “simple Rusaks” believed that their Arctic paradise would always be inaccessible to the “nemchura”, “Germans” - foreigners (“Germans”, i.e. dumb, not speaking Russian, the Pomors called all foreigners). And they were clearly wrong.
It is known that back in the 16th century, soon after the Dutchman Willem Barents and his associates visited the region, Europe became interested in this particular “corner of the Russian Arctic.” And to confirm this, “in 1611 a society was formed in Amsterdam that established hunting in the seas near Spitsbergen and Novaya Zemlya,” and in 1701 the Dutch equipped up to 2,000 ships to Spitsbergen and Novaya Zemlya to “beat whales.” According to the information of the famous Siberian merchant and philanthropist M.K. Sidorov, who spent his entire life and fortune just to prove that Russia’s strength lies in the development of Siberia and the North, “before Peter the Great, the Dutch freely hunted whales in Russian territory.”
At the end of the 18th - first third of the 19th century, when the North Atlantic whale and fish stocks had already dried up, and the beaches and shallows of Jan Mayen and Bear, Spitsbergen and other islands lost their once familiar appearance - walruses and seals, polar bears, our eternal competitors in the development of the North, the Norwegians, turned their attention to the undeveloped eastern expanses of the Barents Sea - the islands of Kolguev, Vaygach and Novaya Zemlya, the icy Kara Sea, still “teeming” with Arctic life. The main period of their exploitation of the Novaya Zemlya fields covers approximately a 60-year period - from the end of the second third of the 19th century to the end of the 1920s.
Although Norwegian industrialists appeared in the Novaya Zemlya fisheries several centuries later than Russian sea game hunters and Nenets, the presence of the Scandinavians in the region was very large-scale, and the nature of the exploitation of natural resources was predatory and poaching. In just a few years, they mastered the entire range of Russian fisheries on the Barents Sea side of both islands of Novaya Zemlya, penetrated into the Kara Sea through Cape Zhelaniya, the Yugorsky Shar and Kara Gate straits and onto the eastern coast of the archipelago. Well-equipped and financially secure Norwegian sea game industrialists, who have long hunted whales and seals in the North Atlantic and off Spitsbergen, skillfully took advantage of the experience of the Arkhangelsk Pomors.
When sailing along the coast of the archipelago, the Norwegians relied on navigational and noticeable signs (gurias, crosses) set by the Pomors, and used old Russian camps or their remains as strong points. These camps also served as a signal to the Norwegians that the fisheries were somewhere nearby, since the Pomors usually built camps and huts near them. By the beginning of the 20th century. they even organized several winter quarters on the archipelago.
An entire branch of the Norwegian economy quickly matured in Russian fisheries, and small villages in the northern region of our Scandinavian neighbor, from where fishing expeditions were sent to the Arctic, turned into prosperous cities in a matter of years, creating a good financial foundation for the entire twentieth century.
“The development of fisheries by the Norwegians in the Barents and Kara Seas, on Vaigach and Kolguev contributed to the development of the outlying cities of Norway. Thus, the small town of Hammerfest, one of the northernmost cities in the world in the mid-19th century, had no more than 100 inhabitants in 1820. After 40 years, 1,750 people already lived there. Hammerfest developed its fisheries on Spitsbergen and Novaya Zemlya, and in 1869 sent 27 ships with a displacement of 814 tons and 268 crew for the fisheries.”
Knowing about the existence in Russia of laws of “coastal law that prohibit foreigners from settling the shores of the islands without the permission of the government,” the Norwegians quite cleverly avoided this legal obstacle. In particular, according to the famous Arkhangelsk Pomor F.I. Voronin, who had been trading on Novaya Zemlya for 30 years, knew of cases when “agents of Norwegian merchants, having their relatives as colonists on the Murmansk coast, extended their plans not only to the island of Novaya Zemlya, but also to Kolguev and Vaygach.
And so, in order to somehow protect themselves from Norwegian expansion in the Russian North, in the 1870s, a plan matured in the bowels of the Arkhangelsk provincial administration - to create settlements on Novaya Zemlya, denoting national interest in this region of the Arctic. Naturally, the good idea was supported in the capital. The go-ahead is coming from St. Petersburg to Arkhangelsk to begin the colonization of the Arctic island. The beginning of the existence of the Novaya Zemlya island hunting industry should be considered the second half of the 1870s, when the Arkhangelsk provincial administration, with state support, founded the first permanent settlement on the archipelago - the Malye Karmakuly camp.
From the very beginning of the creation of settlements on the Arctic archipelago, both the state and the provincial authorities believed that the main occupation of the Nenets on Novaya Zemlya would be fishing activities. The provincial administration even developed and implemented a number of measures to stimulate the involvement of the Nenets in relocating to Novaya Zemlya and supporting their fishing activities.
In the initial period of colonization of Novaya Zemlya, according to the highest royal decree, each pioneer male industrialist was entitled to 350 rubles from the state treasury as “lift” or compensation. At the same time, the settlers were exempt from all government and zemstvo fees for 10 years, and those who wished to move back to the mainland after five years could return to their previous place of residence without prior permission.
In 1892, by order of the Minister of the Interior, 10% of the gross proceeds from the sale of craft products were to be “credited to a special reserve colonization capital, and the net profit of individual colonists was to be deposited in a savings bank in special personal books.” Each Samoyed hunter was entitled to a special book signed by the governor, in which “the amount belonging to the owner of the book is indicated.” The spare capital was used to provide assistance to the first settlers - to deliver them from the tundra to Arkhangelsk, live there for several months, provide clothing and fishing tools, deliver them to Novaya Zemlya, issue gratuitous cash benefits, etc.
Settlement of Novaya Zemlya (its inhabitants)
The residence of indigenous Samoyeds on Novaya Zemlya before the 19th century, unlike Vaigach (an island located between Novaya Zemlya and the mainland), has not been confirmed.
However, when in 1653 (after Barents and other foreign predecessors) three Danish ships reached Novaya Zemlya, the ship’s doctor of this expedition, De Lamartiniere, in his description of the voyage to the archipelago, pointed to a meeting with local residents - “New Zealanders”. Like the Samoyeds (Nenets), they worshiped the sun and wooden idols, but differed from the Samoyeds in clothing, jewelry and face paint. Lamartiniere points out that they used boats that resembled light canoes, and the tips of their spears and arrows, like their other tools, were made of fish bones.
In the literature there are also references to attempts by Russian families to settle on the archipelago in the 16th-18th centuries. There is a legend that Stroganov Bay, located in the southwestern part of Novaya Zemlya, is named after the Stroganov family, who fled Novgorod during the persecution of Ivan the Terrible. Two hundred years later, in 1763, 12 members of the Old Believer Paikachev family settled on the coast of Chernaya Bay (southern part of the archipelago). They were forced to flee from Kem, refusing to renounce their faith. Both families died, apparently from scurvy.
However, it is reliably known that Novaya Zemlya became inhabited only at the end of the 19th century. In 1867, on two boats, the Nenets Foma Vylka sailed to the southern coast of Novaya Zemlya with his wife Arina and children. The Nenets who accompanied them went back in the fall, and Vylka with her family and the Nenets Samdey remained for the winter. At the end of winter Samdey died. Vylka became the first known permanent resident of the archipelago. He lived on Goose Land, in Malye Karmakuly and on the coast of Matochkina Shar.
In 1869 or 1870, an industrialist brought several Nenets (Samoyeds) for the winter and they lived on Novaya Zemlya for several years. In 1872, the second Nenets family arrived in Novaya Zemlya - the Pyrerki of Maxim Danilovich. The Nenets proved that man can live on Novaya Zemlya.
“In 1877, a rescue station was set up in the settlement of Malye Karmakuly with the aim of providing industrialists with a reliable shelter both during fishing and in case of an unexpected winter, and at the same time to provide assistance to the crews of ships in the event of their wreck near this island.
In addition, to protect the erected buildings and to engage in trades there, five Samoyed families from the Mezen district, numbering 24 people, were then brought to Novaya Zemlya and settled in the Malokarmakul encampment; They were provided with warm clothing, shoes, guns, gunpowder, lead, food supplies and other tools for hunting and crafts.
Sent to Novaya Zemlya to set up a rescue station, Lieutenant Tyagin of the corps of naval navigators met there the same two Samoyed families, consisting of 11 people, who had been wandering around Mollera Bay for eight years.
These Samoyeds were sent here by a Pechora industrialist, and they were supplied with good means for fishing, but they squandered them and, without risking returning to their homeland, completely got used to the New Land. Finding themselves in complete economic dependence on one of the Pomor industrialists, who supplied them with the necessary supplies, in return - of course, at incredibly cheap prices - taking away their craft items, the Samoyeds asked Tyagin to include them in the Samoyed artel brought with the funds of the Water Rescue Society.” . A. P. Engelhardt. Russian North: Travel notes. St. Petersburg, published by A.S. Suvorin, 1897
Expedition of E.A. Tyagin. built a rescue station in Malye Karmakuly and carried out hydrometeorological observations during wintering. Tyagin’s wife gave birth to a child, who became one of the first children born on Novaya Zemlya.
The families of Nenets colonists who settled in Malye Karmakuly elected Foma Vylka as the first inhabitant of the island, headman. He was entrusted with taking care of the human colonists, maintaining order, as well as organizing the unloading and loading of sea vessels. When performing his official duties, Foma wore a white round tin badge over his patched and blubber-salted malitsa, which meant he was a foreman. After Tyatin’s departure, all management of the rescue station passed into the hands of Foma. He fulfilled this duty conscientiously for many years.
The first known inhabitant of Novaya Zemlya - Foma Vylka
Foma Vylka is an interesting person. He was born on the banks of Golodnaya Bay at the mouth of the Pechora River, in a very poor family. At the age of seven, left an orphan, he became a farm laborer for a rich reindeer herder and worked only to be fed.
The owner had a son who was taught to read and write, forced to read and write. Foma saw all this. He asked the young owner - they were the same age - to teach him how to read and write. They went further into the tundra or into the forest, where no one could see them, there they drew letters in the snow or sand, put words together, and read them syllable by syllable. This is how Thomas learned Russian literacy. And one day, when the owner severely beat Thomas, he ran away from the house, taking with him the owner’s psalter...
Moving from pasture to pasture, where many reindeer herders gathered, Foma looked for a beautiful girl and decided to get married. Violating the ancient rituals of matchmaking, he himself asked the girl if she wanted to become his wife. And only when he received her consent, he sent matchmakers. Several years have passed. Thomas came to the ancient capital of the European Nenets, Pustozersk, for a fair. Here he was persuaded to accept Christianity, marry his wife according to Christian rites, and baptize his daughter. Thomas himself had to confess in church. This is where something unexpected happened. The priest asked the confessor, “Didn’t you steal?” Thomas became worried, upset, and even wanted to run away, but finally admitted that in childhood he took the psalter from the owner...
The new owner, to whom Foma hired himself for this work, invited him to go to Vaygach Island at the head of the owner’s fishing team to hunt for sea animals. So for three years Thomas sailed on carbass across the sea to Vaygach and always brought good booty to the owner. Foma's reputation as a successful hunter, a skilled pilot and a good leader of a fishing artel was strengthened. After some time, he began to ask the owner to send him with an artel to fish for sea animals on Novaya Zemlya. The owner approved this plan, assembled an artel, and equipped two sailing boats. On the way to Novaya Zemlya they were met by a strong storm, the rudder of one carbass was torn off, and Foma was washed out to sea. Miraculously, the assistant pulled him on board by his hair. One carbass turned back, the second, driven by Foma Vylka, safely reached the shores of Novaya Zemlya. This is how Foma Vylka and his wife and daughter first came to Novaya Zemlya. A year later their second daughter was born there.
One day, Thomas was returning from fishing and saw a large polar bear near the hut-hill, where his wife and children were. The polar bear was considered a sacred animal among the Nenets. Hunting for it was not prohibited, but the hunter, before killing this animal, must mentally advise the bear to leave in good health. If the bear does not leave, it means that he himself wants to die. Thomas killed the polar bear, approached him, apologized, and bowed to him as the owner of Novaya Zemlya and the sea. According to ancient Nenets customs, only men were allowed to eat bear meat. The carcass of the sacred beast could be brought into the tent not through the door, which was considered an unclean place, but only from the front side of the tent, by lifting its cover. Women could eat bear meat if they drew a mustache and beard on themselves with charcoal. Such a “cunning move” with a deviation from ancient rituals apparently helped many Nenets women escape from starvation.Foma Vylka’s family had to endure many difficulties on Novaya Zemlya. Harsh, endlessly long winters, loneliness. Food was obtained with great difficulty, clothes and shoes were made from animal skins. There was not enough firewood to warm and light the tent a little; they burned blubber - the fat of sea animals.
One day, when the family of another Nenets, Pyrerka Maxim Danilovich, was already living on the island next to Vylka’s family, such an event happened. In late autumn, Norwegian sailors from a broken ship came to the Nenets tents. Their appearance was terrible: exhausted to the point of death, in tattered clothes and shoes. Foma and Pyrerka gladly accepted them into their tents, fed them, warmed them, and provided them with the best places in the tent. The wives sewed them warm fur clothes and shoes. The Norwegians did not eat seal meat, and the Nenets had to specially go hunting in the mountains, kill wild deer there and feed the guest fresh boiled meat. When one of the Norwegians fell ill with scurvy, Foma and Pyrerka forcibly forced him to drink the warm blood of animals and eat raw deer meat, rubbed his legs and body, forced him to walk, did not allow him to sleep much, and thus saved him from death.
In the spring, the Nenets gave the Norwegian sailors a boat, and they left for their homeland. The parting was very touching: they cried, kissed, hugged, the sailors thanked the Nenets for saving them from inevitable death. Gifts were exchanged. They gave Foma a pipe, and he gave them a walrus tusk.
Several years have passed since the sailors left. One day a sea steamer came to Malye Karmakuly. All Nenets colonists were invited to it. The Swedish envoy read and presented a letter of gratitude signed by the Swedish king. Then they began to distribute gifts. The first gift to Foma Vylka was a shotgun and cartridges. They showed how to use it. Foma, with joy, could not resist and immediately hit the head of a floating loon with a shot from his hand, thereby disrupting the order of the solemn ceremony...
Development of Novaya Zemlya
In 1880, M.K. Sidorov, together with shipowners Kononov, Voronov and Sudovikov, submitted a report to the Minister of Internal Affairs on improving the situation in the Northern Territory. It proves the need for proper organization of the resettlement of Russian industrialists to Novaya Zemlya. By the summer of 1880, the armed sailing schooner “Bakan” was transferred from the Baltic to guard the northern lands of Russia. Starting this year, regular steamship flights from Arkhangelsk to Malye Karmakuly are being established.
In 1881, the regulations on the colonization of Novaya Zemlya were approved. From September 1, 1882 to September 3, 1883, under the program of the First International Polar Year, continuous observations of meteorology and terrestrial magnetism were carried out in Malye Karmakuly.
The work of the polar station was supervised by the hydrographer, Lieutenant K.P. Andreev. At the end of April - beginning of May 1882, station employee doctor L.F. Grinevitsky, accompanied by the Nenets Khanets Vylka and Prokopiy Vylka, made the first research crossing of the Southern Island of Novaya Zemlya from Malye Karmakul to the eastern shore in 14 days (round trip).
In 1887, a new camp was founded in Pomorskaya Bay, Matochkin Shar Strait. A member of the Russian Geographical Society, K.D. Nosilov, stayed here for the winter and carried out regular meteorological observations. Hieromonk Father Jonah arrived in Malye Karmakuly with a psalm-reader. Before this, the diocesan spiritual authorities annually sent a priest to Novaya Zemlya in the summer to perform religious services and worship in a small chapel.
In 1888, Arkhangelsk Governor Prince N.D. Golitsyn arrived in Novaya Zemlya. In Arkhangelsk, a wooden church was built especially for Novaya Zemlya, which the governor delivered along with the iconostasis to Malye Karmakuly. That same year, Father Jonah made two trips. One in Matochkin Shar for the baptism of two residents. The second - to the eastern coast of the South Island, to the Kara Sea. Here he found and destroyed a Nenets wooden idol, personifying the patron god of deer hunting. Idols were discovered and destroyed by Father Jonah in other places in the South Island. Father Jonah began teaching Nenets children to read and write and their parents to teach prayers.
On September 18, 1888, the new church was consecrated. The church was equipped with magnificent icons, valuable church utensils and bells. In 1889, a monastic monastery was established by the Nikolo-Karelian Monastery in Malye Karmakuly, with the permission of the Holy Synod. The task of the monks was not only to preach among the Nenets, but also to help change the existing way of life during the transition from nomadic to sedentary life. Jonah's father's many years of work bore fruit. The German colonists willingly visited the temple, and their children read and sang in the church during services.
In 1893, Russian industrialists Yakov Zapasov and Vasily Kirillov and their families moved from the mouth of the Pechora to Novaya Zemlya for permanent residence.
By 1894, the permanent population of Novaya Zemlya consisted of 10 Nenets families of 50 people. This year, Arkhangelsk Governor A.P. visited Novaya Zemlya. Engelhard, who on the Lomonosov steamer brought 8 more families among 37 people who expressed a desire to settle on the archipelago.
A disassembled six-room house was delivered on the ship for the school and residence of Jonah's father and the psalm-reader. This house was built in Malye Karmakuly. Another house was brought for the camp in Matochkin Shar. So, in Malye Karmakuly in 1894 there was a church building, a school, two houses in which the Nenets lived, a building in which a paramedic lived and a supply warehouse, a barn where spare building materials were stored, and in winter - a rescue boat. In Matochkino Shar there were three small houses in which the Nenets lived.
.Journey to Novaya Zemlya
The idea of traveling to Novaya Zemlya came to us a long time ago. Probably many fans travels, looking at the map, we dreamed of visiting there, but in the minds of most of our fellow citizens this archipelago is associated with a top-secret military facility, tightly closed to ordinary people. However, a training ground is a training ground, but maybe it’s still possible? Moreover, nuclear weapons tests have not been carried out there for a long time. And so in the fall we decided to act. We began immediate preparations for the sea voyage.
Why sea? Firstly, the backbone of the future team included water tourists; secondly, for travelers like us, the path through the airport of the village of Belushya Guba (a military village on Novaya Zemlya) was closed, and the only way left available to us was by sea. The initial idea of sailing on three small sailing catamarans disappeared when in early spring our team of five people was joined by Muscovite Ilya with a large motor-sailing catamaran “Kotojärvi”, built according to his own design.
Briefly about the catamaran. Its frame is made of aluminum alloy, the body is made of PVC fabric. Volume there are 6.1 cubic meters of them. m. The length of the vessel is 8.5 m, width - 4.75 m, and, naturally, its seaworthiness is significantly higher than that of small catamarans of the Albatross type, on which it was originally planned to sail. The weight of “Kotojärvi”, however, is impressive - more than 900 kg. Sailing rig - three sails: mainsail 20 sq. m, jib 17 sq. m and jib 6 sq. m. A 4-stroke “Mercury” 9.9 liter is used as an auxiliary engine. With. “Kotojärvi” has everything you need to live on it: a cabin for 6 people, a mess room, a galley.
Food and equipment are stored in lockers located in the wardroom and used as seats. Things were going well: a team was assembled, which is not an easy task - finding experienced people with almost two months of free time; there was a ship that could meet the harsh conditions of the northern seas; Finally, positive responses were received to our requests to the authorities (see p. 1) regarding a visit to Novaya Zemlya. Spring and early summer were spent preparing equipment and finalizing the route. It was decided to go around the South Island from west to east, passing between it and the North Island through the Matochkin Shar Strait.
Having traveled from Moscow by train to the city of Pechora, located on the banks of the river of the same name, we began assembling the catamaran, which took two days. For us, Pechora is an ideal option for an inexpensive and convenient way to reach the Barents Sea. The disassembled catamaran and other equipment traveled in the baggage car of our own train, and a half-hour stop in Pechora allowed us to unload all the property, of which we had more than a ton. The time is early July, the nights in Pechora and to the north are light, and therefore we decided to go without long stops, replacing each other on watches with 2 people: one on watch, the other on the watch. The watchman leads the catamaran, guided by Pechora's sailing directions and the ship's conditions, while the watchman helps.
The shift and the shift are two hours long. The watchman replaces the watchman, and after the watch he goes to rest. Sailing along the Pechora to the Barents Sea took us a little more than two days. Having passed the seaport of Naryan-Mar, we entered the sea... But the sea let us in only after a tiring 3-day stay (due to unfavorable weather) in Pechora Bay - a very unattractive place in terms of beauty and climatic conditions. Its banks are low-lying, its depths are very small, often less than a meter, and even on a catamaran with its shallow draft it was impossible to approach and land on shore. Pechora Bay is separated from the open water area by islands and shoals, which constantly change their position.
There are more than a dozen of them, and on the map they are indicated as “Gulyaevskaya Cat No. 1”, “Gulyaevskaya Cat No. 2” and so on. But “patience is the main virtue of a polar explorer,” as Fridtjof Nansen said, and, having patiently waited for a fair wind, we nevertheless headed for Novaya Zemlya. True, before that we had to find the fairway between the Gulyaevskie Koshki. Here we were helped by the waves breaking in the shallow water. So, guided by the surf, we entered the expanses of the Barents Sea. Already in the lower reaches of Pechora we felt the cold breath of the Arctic Ocean, while in the open sea the Arctic climate made itself felt fully.
At a time when Central Russia was sweltering from abnormal heat, we were sometimes chilled to the bone under the damp and piercing winds that dominated the Barents Sea. The air temperature rarely rose above +5°C, there was almost always fog and 100% humidity, and often rain. In such conditions, everyone appreciated the level of comfort of “Kotojärvi”, without which our trip would have become a constant struggle with dampness and cold. In addition, there was no need to stop for sleeping and cooking.
Although, of course, fatigue gradually accumulated, because living with seven of us (together with the dog Grant) in an area of several square meters was very cramped. By the way, it was Grant who suffered most from this and at the next mooring, without waiting for reliable contact with the shore, he jumped headlong from the catamaran and ran away into the tundra. The voyage from Gulyaevskie Kosheki to Novaya Zemlya took a little more than a day, covering about a hundred miles (1 nautical mile = 1852 m) on the open sea. For the captain of the “Kotojärvi” I. Lukomsky, this was also the first passage associated with such a great distance from the coast. Most of the time we walked in the fog that stood over the sea and in clear weather.
Almost the entire journey (as well as subsequent sea crossings) we sailed, using the motor mainly when maneuvering in the bays and on Pechora. The watch schedule at sea has changed compared to what it was on the river. Now the watch was kept by 3 people for 4 hours. It was much easier for the three of us to control the catamaran, especially in variable winds, when we often had to raise or retract the sails. A big plus when walking in high latitudes in summer is the absence of actual darkness. In July, the sun shines here even at night, and this is a great help during long treks. During the polar day, the circadian rhythm of sleep and food intake is disrupted, but this is not at all burdensome.
By the gradual increase in the number of gulls and little auks - typical inhabitants of the summer Arctic - we realized that the long-awaited New Earth was close. Of course, the GPS sensor already told us about this, but it’s much more pleasant to see not the device’s readings, but real harbingers of the goal of the voyage. The New Earth appeared to us not as a narrow strip of land on the horizon, but as rocky shores gradually emerging in the fog. Entering the convenient Sakhanikha Bay in the very south of Novaya Zemlya, we began our first acquaintance with the long-awaited islands. The dream has become reality. The climate and vegetation in the south of Novaya Zemlya were strikingly different from the Bolshezemelskaya tundra near the mouth of the Pechora.
Here it’s already a real Arctic with snow that doesn’t melt all year round, stormy winds and knee-deep trees - and these were only in one place. The very next day after our arrival, a storm began, the temperature dropped to almost 0°C, and we had to wait three days for the sea to calm down. As a result, it turned out that only every third day we had a working day due to weather and wind conditions. Here was one of the miscalculations: with one and a half times more gasoline, we could have gone much further north in the same time. And the further north you go to Novaya Zemlya, the more interesting it becomes.
We used forced stops to get to know the archipelago: we made radial trips along the coast and into the interior of the islands, supplementing our modest diet with red fish. There's not even fishing there, but rather just pulling out fish. We were especially pleased with cod and Arctic char - noble red fish. As soon as the weather permitted, we moved further north. During another storm, we successfully took refuge in Mollera Bay, in the “oasis of human life” - the Malye Karmakuly polar station. The station has three residential buildings, warehouses, a power plant and other outbuildings and, of course, a site for weather observations.
They are held every three hours every day, all year round and in any weather. But it doesn’t particularly pamper you here in the summer, but in the winter, according to the stories of polar explorers and station workers, during a snowstorm the wind speed reaches 50 m/s. The polar explorers greeted us very cordially, gave us a tour of the weather station, took us on an all-terrain vehicle to mountain lakes, invited us to a bathhouse... But the main thing that we remember at the station was pleasant and interesting communication, cordiality and sincerity - something that is so lacking in big cities. We were greeted as if we were old friends, although we were seeing each other for the first time. The further north you go, the higher the mountains become, and the closer they come to the coast.
The Novaya Zemlya Mountains are a kind of Polar or Arctic Urals, a continuation of the Ural Mountains. Interestingly, Cape Flissingsky in the northeast of Novaya Zemlya is the easternmost point of Europe. True, it is not so often possible to contemplate the beauty of the Arctic continuation of the Urals. Having entered Gribovaya Bay in the north of the South Island in complete fog, only a few hours later, when the visibility cleared up a little, we saw mountains coming close to the coast. Unfortunately, the management of the landfill did not allow us to pass through the beautiful Matochkin Shar Strait - the pearl of the archipelago. Then they decided to go along the western coast of Novaya Zemlya to the north, beyond Matochkin Shar, to the Northern Island.
The culmination of the trip after almost a day's passage from Gribovaya Bay was a stop in South Sulmeneva Bay on the Northern Island. Here the tongue of the Shumny glacier reaches out to the sea, forming an ice barrier. Northern Island is the largest in the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, the mountains on it reach the greatest heights (1547 m near Nordenskiöld Bay), glaciation is highly developed - the area of glaciers is more than 25 thousand square meters. km, and on an area of 20 thousand square meters. km - a continuous glacier, the largest in Russia. We climbed the mountains along the tongue of one of the glaciers, making a small radial. But the sun, having winked joyfully on the first day of the stay in the bay, disappeared into the milk, which enveloped the mountains.
Glaciers on Novaya Zemlya have retreated noticeably compared to what maps show they were in the mid-20th century. In our case - at 500 m. The glacier leaves behind moraine hills, representing a pile of stones and clay... Winters on Novaya Zemlya are not very frosty, but are characterized by strong winds and snowstorms. Hurricane winds, carrying ice crystals, destroy the vegetation cover on the hills, forming a lifeless landscape. In the gullies of streams and in river valleys protected by mountains, they create snowdrifts several meters thick, which do not have time to melt during the short summer.
Sometimes in the mountains - in small valleys protected from the wind - there are original oases, the vegetation in which is much richer and typical of more southern regions. In summer, glaciers and snowfields melt intensively, giving rise to short but deep rivers. The rivers of Novaya Zemlya are mountainous and semi-mountainous in nature, abound in rapids and waterfalls and are still waiting for their pioneers - “watermen”. Walking along the coast of the archipelago, you need to plan in advance likely places for parking and shelters, since a storm can begin quite quickly, and the coasts are mostly rocky and inaccessible.
In parking lots you have to constantly be on alert and on duty, since polar bears are a common sight in the Arctic and can be quite dangerous. We were convinced of this ourselves when we almost ran into serious repairs to the catamaran because of a bear, which, taking advantage of the bad weather and our loss of vigilance, had already begun to climb onto the ship. In addition to bears, Novaya Zemlya is home to reindeer, arctic foxes, and millions of birds. The bird colonies here are among the largest in the Arctic. There was also an interesting case when semi-wild dogs came to us at one of the sites near an abandoned geologists’ base.
The shaggy black dog guarded our camp all day (for a “reward,” of course), and this caused great mental discomfort to our Grant. In one of the fights, the dogs overturned the dining table and got food from it, leaving us without lunch. The return route also ran along the western coast of Novaya Zemlya. But each time we stopped in a new place, in a new bay, and there was no feeling that we were walking through already familiar places. Each site was unusual and beautiful in its own way.
When the voyage was over, all participants admitted that this trip was the most memorable of their lives. Novaya Zemlya is huge, its length from south to north is almost a thousand kilometers. This is a kind of “Russian Spitsbergen”, actually completely unknown to travelers. A large number of fjords, sky-blue tongues of glaciers descending to the sea and giving birth to icebergs, tundra expanses and much more - all this is very attractive for people who value northern nature. The New Earth is so distant and at the same time completely within reach, as we have seen from our own experience.
Novaya Zemlya is an archipelago of several large islands in the Arctic Ocean. In the minds of many, this is a kingdom of unbearable cold, eternal polar night and, in general, a snowy desert where all living things freeze in flight. In fact, this is not entirely true: the climate, of course, is harsh, there are glaciers all around, but the Arctic is far from the North Pole, and in the summer there is quite active life here.
The archipelago stretches for 925 km and is washed by the relatively warm Barents and frozen Kara seas. Two large islands - North and South - are separated by the deep Matochkin Shar Strait. This strange name is explained by the Pomeranian dialect - “shar” means “strait”, and “Matka” means “compass” (apparently, because without this device it is problematic to get to these places). Administratively, Novaya Zemlya is classified as part of the Arkhangelsk region, despite the fact that the distance between them is more than 900 km.
Development of Novaya Zemlya
Novgorod merchants were the first to learn about the islands in the 12th-13th centuries. Having reached the Yugorsky Peninsula, they saw new lands in the distance - the name stuck. Europeans reached the archipelago only in the 16th century - and even then the expeditions ended tragically for the participants. In the 19th century, a campaign took place that demonstrated to the world the rights of the Russian Empire to the Arctic paradise - its result was the settlement of the territory by Nenets and Pomeranians, who were transported to the mainland after World War II.
12 months – winter, the rest – summer
The climate on the archipelago is very unique: constantly gloomy skies and precipitation provoke high air humidity. There are often blizzards and blizzards, during which it is easy to get lost and remain in the snowy desert. Along with winter, a long, hopeless polar night sets in, and in May the sun stops setting altogether. In summer, the vegetation comes to life, and by the way, it is quite diverse: there are 197 species of herbs alone, many of which have healing properties. The fauna is represented mainly by birds. Charming little white buntings - relatives of the sparrow, skuas, polar owls and waterfowl fly away for the winter, and return to New Earth to hatch the chicks. Mammals are less common. Polar bears walk on the coast and, accordingly, there are seals, walruses, and seals. The most famous animal in these parts is, of course, the reindeer. Arctic foxes are widespread, the population of which is directly opposite to the population of lemmings. Predators, by the way, can easily visit the village in the hope of getting something to eat or out of curiosity - in any case, this dangerous meeting is undesirable for humans.
Well, what would it be like in Artik without man’s faithful friend – dogs? Working hard workers - descendants of Nenets Laikas - faithfully pull sledges, protect and warm their owners, and warn about blizzards.
Northern lights
The most amazing and beautiful thing that can be seen on Novaya Zemlya is the northern lights. Here they are called pasori or flashes. Bright flashes of light move like a kaleidoscope across the sky, causing rare witnesses to literally freeze with delight.
New Earth does not at all resemble the earth in the literal sense of the word - rather, like the Moon or icy Mars. For Soviet people, Novaya Zemlya is associated with the events of the Cold War, or more precisely, with the testing of the largest “Tsar Bomba”. Many events that took place on the archipelago at that time are still classified. But the level of radiation makes it possible to live here - a couple of military towns with their own shops, kindergartens and hospitals are located in Belushya Guba and Rogachev. And may nuclear tests never disturb local residents again.
ETNOMIR, Kaluga region, Borovsky district, Petrovo village
Located along the northern facade of the 7th pavilion of the Street of the World, “Around the World” in the ethnographic park-museum “ETNOMIR” introduces each region of the beautiful, diverse, vast country of Russia. All 85 subjects of the federation are presented informatively and colorfully.
Get acquainted with the information board dedicated to the Arkhangelsk region, having examined all the attractions, iconic places, monuments and phenomena indicated on it. Come for a walk through the ethnographic park, broaden your horizons, and fill in the gaps in your knowledge of your own and other countries!
