A story of exploits and great discoveries without retouching

MOSCOW. In the lecture hall of the Russian Geographical Society, on the last day of summer, the premiere of the tape by Vladimir Nepevny “HESLO. Expired Expedition. ”

One of the organizers and participants (at the initial stage) of the hydrographic expedition of 1910-1915, which allowed the discovery of the Northern Earth, was Alexander V. Kolchak. Behind - brilliantly completed Marine Corps, service in the Far East, an internship with Nansen. For participation in the Toll expedition undertaken to explore the Novosibirsk Islands and search for Sannikov Land, as well as in the rescue expedition to Bennett Island, Lieutenant Kolchak was awarded the highest award of the Russian Geographical Society - the Konstantinov gold medal.

The discovery and thorough investigation of the Northern Sea Route remained the dream of a talented naval officer for many years. Active participation in the preparation of the hydrographic expedition led by Boris Vilkitsky brought its implementation closer. Only a call to work in the General Staff forced him to interrupt this campaign on the verge of a great discovery. The surname Kolchak was present in Soviet history only in an unambiguously negative context, and merits to the fatherland were completely ignored. This circumstance played a decisive role in hushing up one of the most successful trips to the Arctic Ocean. Digging it out of the history of the Russian fleet was also facilitated by the departure of many members of the expedition abroad after the October 1917 coup.

The film by the famous documentary Vladimir Nepevny is an attempt to restore historical justice, return and rehabilitate undeservedly forgotten names and exploits. The best argument against falsifications and distortions of history were thousands of priceless documents - photographs and diaries of direct participants in a forgotten expedition. And let only in the film of Nepevny the Severnaya Zemlya and Malyi Taimyr island find their historical names - the Land of Emperor Nicholas II and the island of Tsarevich Alexei - this is also an important step towards the return of a genuine, not retouched for the sake of the political conjuncture of history.

Elena Tanakova © Gallerix.ru