#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. There are memories of the first Norilsk pilots’ work. Here, for example, is Vladimir Lebedinsky’s essay about Stepan Verebryusov.
“…1942. Builders quickly installed thermal power plant units and complex communications of steam, water and gas pipelines, high-voltage workers completed the construction of the transmission line, and Norilsk residents were preparing to launch the first turbine. The unexpected happened: the navigation was closed, and there was no time to bring wedges for the turbine installation. This was a heavy blow – the start of the turbine could have been disrupted. Aviation came to help. The Norilsk combine had its own small group of several old aircraft. But the flight from Norilsk to Krasnoyarsk in the absence of intermediate airfields on bad autumn days turned into a feat.
Pilot Stepan Verebryusov, a tall, stocky, blond man with blue eyes, volunteered to bring the wedges. But the weather was so bad that the combine’s managers did not dare to agree. Verebryusov insisted. Aviation engineer N.A. Berezhetsky supported the pilot. He was sure that the engines would not fail. Verebryusov was allowed to fly when the weather improved a little. It was a heroic flight. In a snowstorm, with primitive navigation aids, Berebryusov flew to Krasnoyarsk and returned.
Verebryusov landed on the Norilka river, near the village of Valyok. The task seemed to be completed. But, as they say, the elbow is close, but you won’t bite! The joy turned out to be premature. There are only 13 kilometers between Norilsk and Valyok along a narrow-gauge road, but it was not possible to deliver the wedges from Valyok to the thermal power plant – no trains were running. During the blizzard, the road was covered with snow so heavily that it would have taken at least a month to clear the tracks. They harnessed the horses, but in a kilometer, they got stuck. The deputy head of the construction plant, Volohov, rode on horseback himself, but his attempt also ended in failure. The skiers were also unable to help – the wedges weighed 80 kilograms each…
Verebryusov again decided to use his plane. Rising from the ice of the river, he flew these difficult 13 kilometers and landed on the ice of lake Dolgoye within the city. The weather was bad. Verebryusov got off relatively well: only one ski on the plane broke… Many times this man showed miracles of courage and resourcefulness. Verebryusov was at the front and remained unharmed. He died in 1945 – he crashed on a motorcycle… One of the Yenisey fleet steamships was named in honor of Stepan Verebryusov”.
In the History Spot photo project’s previous publication, we told how the Norilsk residents met Gorbachev.
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Text: Svetlana Ferapontova, Photo: Nornickel Polar Branch archive
