The first drifting expedition called "North Pole" began its work on May 21, 1937. It was led by the hero of the civil war Ivan Papanin. Then there was a break in polar research, caused by internal problems and the war. The station "North Pole – 2" was established on an ice floe only in 1950. But since then, polar drifts were organized annually.
If the main goal of the first stations was peaceful development of science and raising the prestige of the USSR, then with the beginning of the Cold War they became defense objects of strategic importance: their activities helped refine the routes of nuclear submarines, polar explorers controlled hydroacoustic installations responsible for detecting enemy submarines, and participated in preparing possible raids of Soviet strategic bombers on the United States via the North Pole.
For the second time, the history of Russian drifting stations was interrupted in 1991. After the station "North Pole – 31" finished its work in July of that year, the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet) decided to suspend regular Arctic research using drifting stations. According to the official version, this was due to the adoption of a doctrine according to which research of the North without human participation is more effective. In reality, scientists simply did not have money for further drifting expeditions.
The opportunity to once again raise the Russian flag over the Arctic appeared only in 2003. The Center for Propaganda, Development and Exploration of the Arctic and Antarctic Territories "Pole" agreed to finance the new expedition. To make the project pay off, "Pole" even began cooperating with the travel company "Tour Land", which took up organizing expensive Arctic tours. True, in 2003 they failed to organize a tourist trip to the pole, so the polar explorers even had to turn to the state for additional help.
The drifting station "North Pole – 32" was personally supervised by the vice speaker of the State Duma from the United Russia faction, the president of the Russian Association of Polar Explorers Artur Chilingarov. On April 26, 2003, 12 project participants (mostly employees of the St. Petersburg Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute) landed on a pre-selected ice floe that was 2.5 meters thick and 0.5 by 9 kilometers in size. Before the start of the drift, Chilingarov himself, as well as then Vice Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov, the mayor of Vorkuta Igor Shpektor, and one of the leaders of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Valentin Kuptsov, flew to the station. At the start of the expedition, Vladimir Putin personally congratulated the polar explorers by phone.
Over 10 months, the station "North Pole - 32" traveled 2,750 kilometers in its drift. The polar explorers had already completed their scientific tasks, one of which was studying climate change in the region. The evacuation of the expedition was planned for March 20, and the nuclear-powered icebreaker "Yamal" was to head towards the ice floe for that purpose. It was known back in January that the ice floe could split. Then the station was first subjected to ice pressure ridging, as a result of which the landing strip was destroyed, and the polar explorers could no longer receive airplanes that had previously brought them food and other necessary things.
There was still hope that "North Pole - 32" would hold out until evacuation. However, on March 3 at 17:15, a huge ridge of hummocks moved onto the drifting ice floe. The polar explorers, who were at that time busy packing equipment, managed to jump out of the huts and take the essentials with them. Therefore, none of the expedition participants were injured. Moreover, they still had several bags of food, a diesel power station, spare clothing, and two huts. However, 90% of the station's area, along with living quarters and expensive equipment, went under water. Then the station chief Vladimir Koshelev sent an SOS signal to the Arctic Regional Directorate of Border Troops.
It became clear that the station had to be evacuated urgently. Such rescue operations are always difficult to carry out. For example, all Thursday a cyclone raged in the area of the ice floe, making it impossible for rescuers to appear there. Now good weather has returned in the area of the station's drift, but this does not make the task much easier. Landing an airplane on the ice floe is impossible due to the lack of a runway. As for helicopters, they need a certain amount of time to find the polar explorers.
Artur Chilingarov personally took command of the rescue operation. In general, the action plan looks as follows: a headquarters was organized on the island of Svalbard, where all participants of the operation and all necessary equipment will arrive by Friday evening. At 8 a.m. Friday, a Mi-26 helicopter belonging to the Second Arkhangelsk Joint Aviation Squadron took off from Arkhangelsk. This helicopter will land for refueling in Murmansk, then arrive at Svalbard, and on Saturday morning it will fly out to search for the polar explorers, who are currently drifting 700 kilometers from the coast of Greenland.
The Mi-26 is the most powerful helicopter in the world. It can make a non-stop flight over a distance of up to one thousand kilometers, and also lift cargo weighing up to 20 tons. However, the flight that the Mi-26 is to make now will be the first such undertaking in history. This is due to the flight range and the lack of ground landmarks. Experts say that the helicopter will most likely not be able to land on the ice, and the expedition members will be taken on board using special devices.
The operation will involve two teams of polar explorers, an emergency rescue group from the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and representatives of Roshydromet. They flew to Spitsbergen on an An-47 aircraft. This aircraft will be used to deliver food and additional warm clothing to the polar explorers. One team, consisting of rescuers, doctors, and helicopter pilots, will leave for the station on Saturday morning; the second will wait at another deployment point to come to the aid of the first if necessary.
The expedition members themselves are feeling fine so far and are preparing for evacuation. They are in contact with the "mainland" via satellite and have even been given the opportunity to call their families. In principle, as the director of the Arctic and Antarctic Museum, Viktor Boyarsky, told the newspaper "Gazeta", the situation with the ice floe splitting is ordinary, and any polar explorer is initially prepared for it.
Indeed, of the 32 "North Pole" expeditions, ten ended in rescue operations. Even the very first drifting station - the Papanin station - was destroyed by hummocks in February 1938. Four winterers were evacuated by icebreakers. In January 1966, "North Pole - 14" collided with Jeannette Island and began to crumble, and in early February it completely fell apart after hitting Henrietta Island. On that occasion, the polar explorers were evacuated by helicopters. In 1986, participants of the scientific-sports expedition of "Komsomolskaya Pravda" were airlifted from a station that had lost its airfield by pilot Sergei Gorbik, who managed to land an airplane on a fragment of ice floe only 350 meters long. Finally, the last Soviet station, "SP-31", ended its work after it got caught in warm currents and the ice floe began to melt rapidly.
So the destruction of the "SP-32" station should not hinder further Arctic research. And it will not: the "Polyus" Center has already announced that "SP-33" will set off on its drift in 2004.
Elena LYUBARSKAYA.
Based on materials from Lenta.ru