As part of the XI International Siberian Historical Forum dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the WWII, local school No. 150 held a round table on the legendary Krasnoyarsk air bridge also known as ALSIB.
The place for the event was chosen specifically because in 2017 the educational institution was named after the creator of the Alaska-Siberia air route, Hero of the Soviet Union Vasily Molokov. Students and teachers have been keeping the ALSIB memory alive for 5 years, and the school museum is dedicated to the history of polar aviation and the heroic feat of the Krasnoyarsk pilots.
During the round table, the participants shared the information they had collected about the route and its importance. For example, a student of the Lyceum No. 11 spoke about Ilya Mazuruk, the head of the Krasnoyarsk air route:
— People of that era were characterised by their valour and spirit. Ilya Pavlovich personally mastered the entire route of the route, starting from Alaska, ferried 36 aircraft on a section of 1,300 kilometers and led 142 aircraft. In a short time, he managed to organize flight work on the route, put hundreds of pilots into service and ensured normal ferrying of aircraft.
A student of the School No. 149 shared some interesting facts about the work of polar pilots:
— Under Lend-Lease, our pilots ferried American Airacobra, Douglas, Boston and Boeing planes using the route from Alaska to Krasnoyarsk, but the units of measurement in our countries differed from each other. The pilots had to relearn a lot in a very short time.
A student at the Krasnoyarsk branch of St. Petersburg State University of Civil Aviation n.a. V.S. Molokov, spoke of the operation of the Alaska-Siberia air route as one of the heroic pages in the military history of the Krasnoyarsk Region:
— This route not only changed the course of the war, but also left a deep mark on aviation, a prime example of the courage and professionalism of people who risked their lives for the Victory of humanity.
A student of the school n.a. the Hero of the Soviet Union Sergei Portnyagin continued the theme of perpetuating the memory of the Great Patriotic War, speaking about the work of the "Buzim" search team and the excavation of the plane that crashed near the Zeledeevo station in the Yemelyanovsky district of our Region:
— In total, 279 flight incidents occurred during the route's operation, some pilots even marked MIA. In 2023, schoolchildren of Sukhobuzimo were lucky in their first search expedition, as the young trackers found parts of a Boston aircraft, a nameplate with the serial and production numbers, and the date of manufacture.
Closing the event, the representative of the Krasnoyarsk regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society Alexander Matveyev noted the importance of organizing such forums for communication and strengthening ties between the scientific and humanitarian community, preserving the historical and cultural heritage of our country and region:
— To write a report and read it well is commendable, but to conduct research and do scouting work is truly honorable. Preserving the memory of the fallen pilots and the heroic deeds of our shared history is the historical heritage of Krasnoyarsk and Krasnoyarsk residents, which must be carefully preserved, added on and protected from falsification.