#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. The monument by Krasnoyarsk sculptor Adel Abdrahimov was erected in the village of Dikson in the year of the famous polar explorer’s birth 90th anniversary.
In February 2024, Nikifor Begichev turns 150 and the concrete monument erected in Dikson turns 60. The islands in the Hatanga bay, a lake and a river are named after this polar explorer. There are Begichev streets in Dikson, Krasnoyarsk, Yeniseisk, Dudinka, Norilsk, Vologda and Astrahan. To celebrate the anniversary of a participant in the baron Toll’s polar expedition, who saved the future admiral Kolchak’s life, a St. George Order holder for the Port Arthur defense, who connected his life with the North at the age of 28, preparations are being made in his first homeland, in the Volgograd region, and in Taimyr, where he lived for two decades.
Having settled in Dudinka, Ulahan Antsifor, Big Nikifor, as Begichev was called by local residents, was engaged in fur trading and took part in various rescue operations. During his first travels around Taimyr, the pioneer discovered two islands in the Hatanga bay, now bearing his name. And in 1912, he managed to rescue on reindeer the crews of the Vaigach, Taimyr and Eclipse icebreakers from the ice captivity. Ten years later, for his participation in the search for Norwegian sailors Tessem and Knutsen, Nikifor Begichev was awarded a large cash prize by the Norwegian government and, like Nikolay Urvantsev, he was presented a gold watch with a thank-you inscription.
Begichev died in May 1927. He died of scurvy while wintering at cape Vhodnoy, where he organized a fur cooperative team. In the summer of 1955, the ashes of Nikifor Begichev were transferred to Dikson, and in 1964, a monument by Krasnoyarsk sculptor Adel Abdrahimov was erected at the burial site.
It is known that on the eve of the anniversary, Yury Zaharinsky, deputy of the Krasnoyarsk region’s Legislative Assembly, became concerned about the fate of the crumbling monument in Dikson. He suggested restoring the monument using modern materials.
Earlier, This Is Taimyr reported that a Bear Patrol can appear in the village of Dikson.
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Text: Varvara Sosnovskaya, Photo: Severny Gorod MC’s archive
