Today it is no longer a secret that in the Soviet Arctic the Germans created their own system of control over the waters of the Kara Sea and the coast of Siberia. There is information, however, which needs additional serious verification, that they tried to take control of the waters of the Laptev Sea and even the East Siberian and Chukchi Seas, as well as control over the shores washed by them. And all this was considered in the light of the notorious “Ost General Plan”, which assumed “Germanization of all territories of the USSR up to the Urals”. But, probably, these views spread even further!
Sergey Kovalev's book: Swastika over Taimyr

O. BYCHKOVA: Good evening, good afternoon, this is the program "The Price of Victory", in the studio of the RTVi television company, radio "Echo of Moscow" Olga Bychkova. Vitaly Dymarsky delegated to me the authority to start this program - he will join us in just a few minutes. Well, today we have a guest Sergey Kovalev, writer, historian, author of the book "Swastika over Taimyr". Sergey Kovalev, in addition, captain of the first rank, first deputy. editor-in-chief of the editorial office of the journal "Sea Collection". Sergey Alekseevich, good evening to you.

Sergei KOVALEV: Good evening.

O. BYCHKOVA: Well, the book is called “Swastika over Taimyr”, now I will show it. Here Vitaly Dymarsky is coming straight to us. I'll start asking right away. Vitaly, sit down here, don't leave me, please. If you'll excuse me, I'll immediately ask where the swastika over Taimyr came from and what is it doing there so far?

V. DYMARSKY: Good evening.

Sergei KOVALEV: Good evening.

V.DYMARSKY: I beg your pardon.

S.KOVALEV: The swastika over Taimyr started off in a very interesting way. I graduated from the Leningrad Higher Naval Diving School and spent my entire service in the Northern Fleet, on submarines and at the headquarters of the submarine forces. Back in school, I first heard that before the Great Patriotic War, a submarine with the entire crew, D-1 submarine, “Dekembrist” disappeared in Motovsky Bay. This is the first Soviet submarine, in 1940, on November 13, even before the start of hostilities, it disappeared with the entire crew. And in 1981, fate threw me right there, next to this Motovsky Bay, where for the first time I again, well, already came close to the mystery of this submarine.

For a long time I tried. Well, as you understand, in those days they didn’t really like it when you were interested in such secrets. Yes. Moreover, it turned out that her death, well, of course, death, when the crew went missing for 70 years, turned out to be associated with the secret existence of a secret German base, the Nord base. In the same place in Zapadnaya Litsa, where one of our bases, the Northern Fleet, is now.

When I began to work with Basis Nord, I served there for 15 years. Therefore, all the hills, of course, crawled, came in his free time from work, of course. And it turned out that there are a lot of structures, some deaf structures, as well as rocks, against which the roads paved with stone abut. That is, they directly abut.

O. BYCHKOVA: Right into the rocks?

S.KOVALEV: Straight into the rocks, yes. That is, at first it caused a long bewilderment. But in the end it became clear that these rocks were undermined from the inside and were simply collapsed. That is, this road does not just rest against the rock, especially since it is paved with stone. This, for example, if you once had to visit Lviv or Chernivtsi, there are beautiful stone-paved streets - that's about the same road.

V.DYMARSKY: It didn't work out.

S. KOVALEV: To nowhere. Well, initially it was nowhere, but I understand that in fact it turns out to be somewhere. Moreover, I was interested that these structures were located between the lines of the Soviet and German defenses of the wartime. Moreover, if anyone visits there one day, look, because the German and Soviet defenses are a very serious difference.

O. BYCHKOVA: Is it possible to repeat geographically where it is located?

S. KOVALEV: Geographically. This means that if you go west from Murmansk, there is such a lip Bolshaya Zapadnaya Litsa, there is the city of Zaozersk.

V. DYMARSKY: This is a former closed city.

S. KOVALEV: Severomorsk-7, Murmansk-150.

V.DYMARSKY: City number.

S. KOVALEV: Yes, it has a number plate, but now it is a normal, closed territorial administrative entity. Well, there, at least, live not only the military, but already civilians. This is how it appeared, which means the first attempt to understand why no one talks about this base. Then, in the same place in the House of Officers, it became possible to get to the books of the 50s, a very interesting library has always been in this Zapadnaya Litsa - this is the capital of the Soviet nuclear fleet. A very interesting library. And there I once stumbled upon Weiner’s book “The Northern Fleet of the Great Patriotic War", 1966 edition. So it was there that I first encountered the fact that, it turns out, we had secret German bases in the Arctic archipelagos. Particularly in Franz Josef Land. And, in particular, I noticed that there is such a Nagursky Bay, where our border guards are now stationed. And 2 or 3 years ago, members of the Security Council even flew there, who opened this outpost of border guards there in a new form.

O. BYCHKOVA: So there were secret German bases, you say.

S.KOVALEV: So I'm going down there, right? Ours, ours, Soviet.

O. BYCHKOVA: Were there German bases on our territory?

S.KOVALEV: There were German bases on our territory, yes. That is, if "Basis Nord" - it was in agreement with our Soviet government, then in Nagursky Bay - well, let's say so ... In principle, the Arctic - it is very peculiar. That is, on one island from one end there could be our polar explorers, at the other end German polar explorers. And they each other, well, pretended at least that they did not know about the existence of each other.

V. DYMARSKY: Sergey Alekseevich, maybe let's go back to the beginning of this story, that is, to the history of 1940, to the "Decembrist", well, it's clear that the year 1940 - we are still, as it were, friends with Germany, and, apparently, that's why that story was covered, hidden. But why did it happen anyway?

S. KOVALEV: Death?

V. DYMARSKY: Yes, death.

S. KOVALEV: The fact is that this base was established in October 1939 by agreement. Since in Murmansk... Well, with the beginning of the Second World War, we will throw it even further.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, actually, the beginning of the Second World War is September 1, 1939, and this is October. That is, almost immediately after the start.

S. KOVALEV: Yes, yes, yes. This means that in Murmansk we have gathered almost 30 German ships, which, as in a neutral port, took refuge from English ships. These 30 ships - they stood, and openly, in the roadstead near Abram-Cape. We have such a place, Abram-Cape in the Kola Bay. They stood. That is, the German sailors quite calmly went to the city, the ships were being repaired in Murmansk. We are allies.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, we are allies, we are not adversaries - why not?

S. KOVALEV: But over time, apparently, some specific problems arose between the British and Soviet governments, and therefore these ships were gradually diverted to Zapadnaya Litsa, even further west, there, closer to the Finnish border. This is if you imagine the Rybachy Peninsula, and under it is just Motovsky Bay and under it Western Faces.

V.DYMARSKY: And then it was Finland, not Norway?

S.KOVALEV: Finland, yes, yes, yes.

V. DYMARSKY: Now it's Norwegian.

S.KOVALEV: Now it is Norwegian, and then Finland, yes. And now it has been relegated even further, beyond the Pechenga Bay. And earlier on the Rybachy Peninsula it passed then. And so they took me there, where, in general, no one could get it. The Soviet fishing collective farm was removed from there, that is, they were transferred to Karelia, these fishermen - this is what we called the Comintern collective farm. It consisted of Russified Finns, Nords and, according to Article 58, comrades who helped them there.

V. DYMARSKY: The irony of fate. The Anti-Comintern Pact and the state farm of the Comintern, right?

S.KOVALEV: Yes. They were literally evicted overnight. It was allowed to pick up, well, 20 kilograms, no more. And, accordingly, they were in Karelia ... Moreover, during my service in Zapadnaya Litsa, I managed to get acquainted with a man who lived as a child in one of these villages, Malaya Litsa, and then he settled in Petrozavodsk in Karelia. Moreover, he graduated from the higher party school, so he firmly convinced everyone that they were specially evicted only in order to create a submarine base for our Northern Fleet, no more, no less.

V. DYMARSKY: Why, after all, "Decembrist"?

S. KOVALEV: “Decembrist” again, right? Excuse me, let's go back to the "Decembrist". This means that the base existed for almost a whole year and helped in August 1940 to transfer the so-called “Komet” cruiser, aka “Semyon Dezhnev”, aka “Danube”, aka “Donau”, aka again “Semyon Dezhnev” by the northern sea route in the Far East and "Tokio Maru" in the Pacific Ocean. That is, a werewolf, a real auxiliary werewolf cruiser.

V. DYMARSKY: Passing from hand to hand?

S. KOVALEV: No, no, he led the entire German crew, but the name simply changed depending on the area of ​​navigation. As a result, somewhere in late October - early November, information was leaked in English newspapers. It was a secret passage, our ships, our icebreakers carried it out on Far East, and he made a very serious massacre there. And information leaked out. But the British already had information that there was a certain base in Zapadnaya Litsa, where German ships were stationed, supply vessels were stationed. And here, most likely, an English submarine came. Maybe lay mines, maybe, I don’t know what else to do, and the “Decembrist”, who went to the exercises elementarily in the Motovsky Bay, into his waterways, went out, sank and disappeared. That is, the observation posts observed by the evening only that a certain periscope of the submarine was leaving the Motovsky Bay, and that was it.

V. DYMARSKY: Blown up?

S.KOVALEV: No, there was no explosion. Just disappeared.

O. BYCHKOVA: Where to?

S.KOVALEV: Also unknown. Because there was diesel fuel on the surface, a broken lifeline and sticking battery, which the commission ranked presumably from a submarine of the "Decembrist" type. Everything, there was nothing else.

V. DYMARSKY: And so nothing is still known?

S.KOVALEV: And it is still unknown. So, no crew - no one surfaced from the submarine, that is, no dead, no one surfaced, no boat was found, no traces.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, maybe they are just buried?

S. KOVALEV: They are still lying there, to this day. That is, 70 years they ...

V.DYMARSKY: But why did she die?..

S. KOVALEV: It is still unknown. Most likely a ram. There would be an explosion, this is a huge sultan sea ​​water and plus the flash is huge.

V.DYMARSKY: Ejection.

S. KOVALEV: Yes, an outlier. Torpedo - the same thing if a torpedo. Means, slipped the maximum depth. That is, here is the official version: it slipped through the fault of the crew - well, it was standard at that time - through the fault of the crew, it slipped through the maximum depth and crushed it there. But in fact, it turned out that, most likely, she was rammed. So he died, and after that, no matter how much they tried to look for her, this submarine, for some reason, behind the scenes they stumbled upon a misunderstanding, and in the very top ...

O. BYCHKOVA: And they closed these searches one way or another.

S. KOVALEV: They covered it, yes.

O. BYCHKOVA: Why?

S.KOVALEV: It's hard to say. Most likely, because of this "Basis Nord", so that this information does not surface.

V. DYMARSKY: Sergey Alekseevich, then this, after all, the question arises. It's 1940, right? But there were apparently many German bases of this kind in the north. That kind, anyone, huh?

S. KOVALEV: So far, 11 are known.

V.DYMARSKY: Some caches, right?

S. KOVALEV: Yes, yes, yes.

V. DYMARSKY: And there are rumors, rumors are still going around that they are almost still standing there mothballed.

S.KOVALEV: Well, there are some, there are some.

V. DYMARSKY: And now - is this still considered a secret object?

S. KOVALEV: I don't think so, but it's simply not profitable to show that we had bases so deep around the Kara Sea. That is, the mouth of the Yenisei, the Ob and even the Lena. There is an assumption that the famous Stolb Island is this one ... I’ll immediately take the opportunity that it’s a pity that the “Searchers” of Channel One, who, in my opinion, went there last year in the fall to look for this base, well, they did everything to make it can not found. Andrey I. is our famous seeker. Because it's very strange. In general, it aroused a very strange interest in me that he walked along the banks of the Lena River at the same time, as it is known that the only stone island there in the delta is Stolb Island, all the rest are formed by ice and sand that melt, and not a single sane polar explorer I wouldn't set up a base there.

V. DYMARSKY: That is, Lena is quite far to the east.

S.KOVALEV: It is very far away. This is beyond the Vilkitsky Strait, in general, the Laptev Sea.

V.DYMARSKY: This is Eastern Siberia already.

S.KOVALEV: Yes, this is Eastern Siberia. Therefore, such bases exist. But, in particular, in Lena, this 200-meter pier is very strange, which, in general, exists, and the most interesting thing is that Austrian and German tourists.

V. DYMARSKY: Now already?

S.KOVALEV: Yes, for the last 5 years.

V.DYMARSKY: So it's a well-known fact there, naturally?

S.KOVALEV: No, they are on tour.

V. DYMARSKY: A tourist object, a tourist object. So, travel agencies there sell tickets, tours.

S. KOVALEV: Yes, and, behold, it is the German and Austrian ones that have become frequent. Why is it interesting. And there is even information that they want to organize a diving center there. What for?

V.DYMARSKY: This is extreme.

Sergei KOVALEV: Extreme, extreme, yes. Cold. But why?

V. DYMARSKY: By the way, about the cold. Well, since I was really late for the broadcast, I did not have time to take questions from our listeners and viewers who came before the broadcast, but I remember one question very well, only, unfortunately, I do not remember the author, I apologize to him. The question sounds a bit naive, but normal person He, apparently, causes the right associations. He says, "We were told all the time that the Germans weren't ready for winter." Well, I mean 1941, the harsh winter of 1941, all these pictures, frostbitten, in bast shoes. - And at the same time, the Germans in the Arctic, the Germans in our north, well, they hardly went there unprepared, right?

S.KOVALEV: Of course, it is unlikely.

V. DYMARSKY: That is, after all, there was no winter, and the cold was not such a surprise for them, such a surprise that fell from the sky.

S. KOVALEV: The emphasis should be put a little differently there.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, of course, yes. Because this is a very naive and strange question, but nonetheless.

S. KOVALEV: Because winter, yes. They were ready to take Moscow within 2-3 months, Peter. And so when it turned out that, it turns out, not everything was as planned, winter came and they really were not ready. Of course, they went to the Arctic ready.

V. DYMARSKY: But did they have uniforms?

S.KOVALEV: Everything is ready. Moreover, several findings are known. Why do I say that not all of them remained mothballed, because several bases were found after the war in the 50s and 60s.

V. DYMARSKY: That is, they were not even discovered during the war?

S.KOVALEV: No, no!

O. BYCHKOVA: That is, they did not even know about their existence.

S. KOVALEV: They did not know and did not suspect. Because the Germans, unfortunately, well, or fortunately, maybe for the Germans, but unfortunately for us, they are really excellent sailors. They calmly went to the Arctic, and even now it turned out. This is the first book from the marine chronicle I have, the second one has just come out - "Mysteries of the Sixth Continent" - these are the Germans in Antarctica. Well, rather so. The name was the working title "Unknown War for Antarctica", but most of it is dedicated to the Germans there, in Antarctica. Do you understand? And they went there and got their way.

O. BYCHKOVA: So how long were they there? Until what time?

S. KOVALEV: Until 1944. That is, in particular, Berulia Bay is so interesting - it is the southeastern part of the Kara Sea, and the Germans mined some kind of ore there. Then they were brought by submarines to us in Linohamari, this is the Pechenga Bay. There they were reloaded from submarines to surface ships and taken to Germany. Naturally, a question arose. Firstly, submarines cannot take much away, this time. Secondly, what kind of ore is this, which is carried in small quantities? And third, what happened in Linohamari? Because in Linohamari there was a very interesting point, which was much better protected, even Altenfjord, where the (INAUDIBLE) famous stands. Do you understand? There is such artillery, such fortified areas, that no one suspected anything. Most likely, they mined Beryllium there in Berulia Bay, or uranium on the shores of Khariton Laptev. And in Linohamari, there may have been a uranium enrichment plant.

V. DYMARSKY: Good. But these bases - you said 11 of them in total, right?

S.KOVALEV: No, more have been found. But the thing is, I managed to find 11.

V.DYMARSKY: Well, let's operate with this number for now. They, as I understand it, are located quite far to the east in the north, right?

S. KOVALEV: Yes, yes, yes. Just a northern sea route map.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, let's at least show the audience, very roughly. Is there a map in the book?

S. KOVALEV: No, this one is not available, unfortunately – this one appeared recently, we managed to get it.

V.DYMARSKY: It's a pity. But, nevertheless, I will return to my question. 11 of these bases that you know about are quite far to the east. Tactical, strategic purpose, if you like, of these bases?

S.KOVALEV: Everything is clear. The fact is that when the infamous PQ-17 convoy was destroyed in July 1942, the Allies refused to send us cargo through Lend-Lease until the end of the polar day. And we, to be honest, near Stalingrad at that time were very strong, strong, already near Rostov, the Germans entered the Caucasus, got stuck. Therefore, the decision was made...

V. DYMARSKY: Moreover, the Northern route - it is necessary to make a reservation here - was the main, in general, the Lend-Lease supply route, right? There was also through Alaska.

S.KOVALEV: No, the Northern Sea Route is very rare.

V. DYMARSKY: Not the Northern Sea, the northern direction.

S. KOVALEV: Ah, the North Wing, yes, yes, yes. There were a few more - through the Far East.

V. DYMARSKY: There was also through Alaska.

Sergei KOVALEV: Through Iran. Well, the Northern route is the shortest.

V.DYMARSKY: The shortest and largest volume was transmitted there.

S.KOVALEV: Yes, we managed to make the biggest one. And when the transportation was stopped, then, of course, some decision had to be made. Because there is a lot of cargo accumulated in the USA, and in Iceland, and our army, in general, was already in great need. Plus, by this time the Northern Fleet had suffered quite large losses in surface ships, and help was needed. And then they remembered the Northern Sea Route, which for some reason before that - yes, there were victories, yes, flights over the Pole and so on - but what very few people remembered was that this is also the shortest route from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic and vice versa. Here it is, the share of our Siberian shores is the shortest way.

The cruiser Komet, accompanied by our icebreakers, passed it in 15 days. That is, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. And if he had gone south, through the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, around Africa, he would have had to go for more than one month. Finally remembered. Plus the safest, like, ours, the safest. But it turned out that the Germans had already penetrated there by this time.

That is, the famous "Admiral Scheer", an armadillo that Sibiryakov shot at one time, he passed around the northern tip of Novaya Zemlya and entered the Kara Sea by the Northern Route. He diverted boats from Novaya Zemlya, diverted the attention of our command, "Admiral Scheer" penetrated the Kara Sea and tried to intercept at the Vilkitsky Strait - here, Severnaya Zemlya, here Novaya Zemlya. Here at northern land, this is the Laptev Strait, the Vilkitsky Strait, he wanted to intercept 50 transports and the entire icebreaking fleet. They were accompanied by only 3 destroyers - one leader and two destroyers that were without weapons. Therefore, such an easy prey would be for an armadillo, you understand? Destroy our entire, almost entire merchant fleet, the icebreaker fleet completely, and plus this replenishment, the latest destroyers. But fortunately for us, the weather of the Arctic intervened. That is, firstly, he got into a heavy ice field, then he lost his air scout. And in the end, he heard the negotiations that were held between the transports, but the elbow was close, but it was not possible to take it. Therefore, he moved south to Dixon, where the coal depots were located, and hit, ran into Sibiryakov by chance.

V.DYMARSKY: Thank you for the answers to our questions so far, and there will certainly be more. Let me remind you that our guest is Sergey Alekseevich Kovalev, writer-historian, author of the book “Swastika over Taimyr”. And we will continue this conversation in a few minutes in the presence for the first time at the "Price of Victory" we have a woman as a host, Olga Bychkova.

O. BYCHKOVA: Yes, yes. Well, somehow I tried to reassure our guest, to say that I also had sailors among my ancestors. I'm almost mine.

S.KOVALEV: I have calmed down.

V. DYMARSKY: Yes. Well, we say goodbye for a few minutes and continue our conversation with Sergey Kovalev.

V. DYMARSKY: Once again, I welcome the audience of the Ekho Moskvy radio station and the RTVi TV channel, this is the Price of Victory program. Well, I was left alone as the host, Vitaly Dymarsky. Olga Bychkova left us, preparing for the next program. We saw her off with tears in our eyes. And we are the host of the program and our today's guest Sergey Alekseevich Kovalev, captain of the 1st rank, historian, writer, captain of the 1st rank and 1st deputy chief editor of the Marine Collection magazine. Incidentally, the world's oldest magazine. How old is he? Over 150 years old?

S. KOVALEV: 162.

V. DYMARSKY: 162 years old - this is the magazine, the leadership of which magazine includes our today's guest.

S. KOVALEV: Moreover, I would like to note right away that he did not stop publishing for a single month. Even during the civil war, there were 2 of them - one in Petrograd, and the second in Tunisia, in Bizerte.

V. DYMARSKY: Seriously? Our emigration?

Sergei KOVALEV: Emigrants, yes. Our commander of the submarine "Duck" Nestor Monastyrev, captain of the 2nd rank, produced the "Sea Collection" there.

V. DYMARSKY: Sergey Alekseevich, let's get back to our topic - this is how we called it, you called your book like this, “Swastika over Taimyr”. Here we have a lot of questions, including before the broadcast, and during the broadcast they already come. Anyway, here is the question we asked you before our short break. All the same, I would like, perhaps, more clearly, in a military way, so to speak: what interest did the Germans have in the Russian north, let's say? Let's call it that.

S.KOVALEV: Well, first of all, these are the riches of the Russian north. First of all, this is Siberia, Chukotka, you know, these precious metals, precious metals, ores, furs. Including…

V. DYMARSKY: And did they manage to take it all out?

S. KOVALEV: Yes, yes, yes. It was taken out. There is information about this in previously closed archives, then the NKVD was. But in 1999, in my opinion, the archives of the NKVD were published for the first time in the Naval Collection, which revealed that German submarines even came to the camps of local residents and received something there. Well, furs for sure, but ore, as I said, they dug themselves, on their own. And the second. The Northern Sea Route is the shortest route between the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. And firstly, the north has always been for us - this is the ocean that no enemy has ever been able to close to us. If the Baltic or Black Sea straits, the Turks and Germans have always calmly closed, and the Far East has always been exactly the far. The only road that was very difficult for all materials and cargo to pass through was an open gate for us, which, unfortunately, we always used as a stepson for some reason.

V. DYMARSKY: Sergey Alekseevich, such a question. Well, the German bases, as we said, are there along virtually the entire North.

Sergei KOVALEV: Northern Sea Route, yes.

V. DYMARSKY: Yes. Were there any naval battles? Were there any clashes? Or, as it were, the Germans lived on their own, we on our own?

S. KOVALEV: No. The fact is that the Germans - they used the Northern Sea Route and these bases only in order to cut off our communications from the United States. Because along the Northern Sea Route, as the most protected, we have always carried the most important strategic cargo.

V.DYMARSKY: Was it successful?

S.KOVALEV: Yes, they succeeded.

V. DYMARSKY: That is, it was not a secret for us that the Germans were there?

S. KOVALEV: No, it was a secret for us, and no one understood why they knew almost exactly where the transports carrying these goods were. Only after the war, in particular, on Franz Josef Land, which I called Alexander Land, there is such an island, and there is Nagursky Bay. There, the Germans had the 24th direction-finding base of the Kriegsmarine, from which they took direction-finding all conversations, at least along the western sector of the Northern Sea Route. And any careless exit of our captain of our transport was immediately taken direction, and submarines in the Kara Sea were near Novaya Zemlya, and in ambushes near the Gulf of Ob and the Yenisei Gulf.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, all right. Look, they're in ambush, right? They're attacking our convoy, aren't they? But this is no longer a secret. So, it is clear that the Germans are there, since someone attacked, right?

S.KOVALEV: Yes. But the thing is, they found out when the torpedoes exploded already.

V.DYMARSKY: Well, it's clear, yes.

S. KOVALEV: And under whom they exploded - this, you understand. The Kara Sea - they live there for a very short time, who got into the water. Plus 4 - plus 8 degrees even in summer. That is, the ships disappeared. For example, the following is known. In 1943, out of 4 transports, the Germans destroyed 2 transports that were carrying goods for Norilsk Nickel and, in my opinion ... In general, for the Norilsk, for sure, the mining and smelting plant carried cargo and some cargo to the Yenisei and Ob, to Dudinka there. And out of 4 transports, 2 were destroyed. But unfortunately, the team thought that it was on the mines that they were blown up, because the Germans used electric torpedoes, which are outwardly traceless.

V. DYMARSKY: Arthur asks: "Did the Germans try to use the Northern Sea Route to communicate with Japan?"

S. KOVALEV: They tried. Tried. In particular, the mentioned cruiser "Komet" - he went to the Far East, and from the Bering Strait he went to "Tokio Maru" and landed his own in Japan ... Well, there was a very interesting translator, he was called the German naval attache translator Kurt Krepsch so famous. Which was immediately organized according to our railway, through Vladivostok, he quickly got to Moscow to Norbert von Baumbach - this is the German naval attaché in Moscow.

V. DYMARSKY: Who was in the embassy.

S. KOVALEV: Yes, he was in the embassy. Why it was organized so quickly, no one knows. But especially for him, a supply ship was brought from the Pacific Ocean.

V. DYMARSKY: So, something here... Alishka from Kazan: “I read that the Germans landed troops on Matochkin Shar and the Kara Bay. Is it true? What did they do, how did it end?

S.KOVALEV: They landed. Moreover, in the first world war there is a 99% chance that there was a German base there, on Matochkin Shar, which our military personnel discovered in the 60s. And the dynamo that stood there, it even started up and started working.

V.DYMARSKY: How did the Germans supply their bases? Here, they ask you.

S. KOVALEV: Winter delivery. There were supply ships that went... Look at the map - it's not that far. If you go there from Franz Josef Land, for example, it is much closer than, say, from Norway or, moreover, from Germany.

***
My comment: Taking into account the fact that the Germans did not impersonate themselves in the Arctic, did not attack the caravans of ships coming from Murmansk from the rear, I will conclude that they did not plan to use these bases as military ones. At least in the immediate time scale of the war. They were looking for something in these areas along the Ahnenerbe line. Interesting, did you find it?
And so, directly the continuation of the film "

O. BYCHKOVA: Good evening, good afternoon, this is the program "The Price of Victory", in the studio of the RTVi television company, radio "Echo of Moscow" Olga Bychkova. Vitaly Dymarsky delegated to me the authority to start this program - he will join us in just a few minutes. Well, today we have a guest Sergey Kovalev, writer, historian, author of the book "Swastika over Taimyr". Sergey Kovalev, in addition, captain of the first rank, first deputy. editor-in-chief of the editorial office of the journal "Sea Collection". Sergey Alekseevich, good evening to you.

Sergei KOVALEV: Good evening.

O. BYCHKOVA: Well, the book is called “Swastika over Taimyr”, now I will show it. Here Vitaly Dymarsky is coming straight to us. I'll start asking right away. Vitaly, sit down here, don't leave me, please. If you'll excuse me, I'll immediately ask where the swastika over Taimyr came from and what is it doing there so far?

V. DYMARSKY: Good evening.

Sergei KOVALEV: Good evening.

V.DYMARSKY: I beg your pardon.

S.KOVALEV: The swastika over Taimyr started off in a very interesting way. I graduated from the Leningrad Higher Naval Diving School and spent my entire service in the Northern Fleet, on submarines and at the headquarters of the submarine forces. Back in school, I first heard that before the Great Patriotic War, a submarine with the entire crew, D-1 submarine, “Dekembrist” disappeared in Motovsky Bay. This is the first Soviet submarine, in 1940, on November 13, even before the start of hostilities, it disappeared with the entire crew. And in 1981, fate threw me right there, next to this Motovsky Bay, where for the first time I again, well, already came close to the mystery of this submarine.

For a long time I tried. Well, as you understand, in those days they didn’t really like it when you were interested in such secrets. Yes. Moreover, it turned out that her death, well, of course, death, when the crew went missing for 70 years, turned out to be associated with the secret existence of a secret German base, the Nord base. In the same place in Zapadnaya Litsa, where one of our bases, the Northern Fleet, is now.

When I began to work with Basis Nord, I served there for 15 years. Therefore, all the hills, of course, crawled, came in his free time from work, of course. And it turned out that there are a lot of structures, some deaf structures, as well as rocks, against which the roads paved with stone abut. That is, they directly abut.

O. BYCHKOVA: Right into the rocks?

S.KOVALEV: Straight into the rocks, yes. That is, at first it caused a long bewilderment. But in the end it became clear that these rocks were undermined from the inside and were simply collapsed. That is, this road does not just rest against the rock, especially since it is paved with stone. This, for example, if you once had to visit Lviv or Chernivtsi, there are beautiful stone-paved streets - that's about the same road.

V.DYMARSKY: It didn't work out.

S. KOVALEV: To nowhere. Well, initially it was nowhere, but I understand that in fact it turns out to be somewhere. Moreover, I was interested that these structures were located between the lines of the Soviet and German defenses of the wartime. Moreover, if anyone visits there one day, look, because the German and Soviet defenses are a very serious difference.

O. BYCHKOVA: Is it possible to repeat geographically where it is located?

S. KOVALEV: Geographically. This means that if you go west from Murmansk, there is such a lip Bolshaya Zapadnaya Litsa, there is the city of Zaozersk.

V. DYMARSKY: This is a former closed city.

S. KOVALEV: Severomorsk-7, Murmansk-150.

V.DYMARSKY: City number.

S. KOVALEV: Yes, it has a number plate, but now it is a normal, closed territorial administrative entity. Well, there, at least, live not only the military, but already civilians. This is how it appeared, which means the first attempt to understand why no one talks about this base. Then, in the same place in the House of Officers, it became possible to get to the books of the 50s, a very interesting library has always been in this Zapadnaya Litsa - this is the capital of the Soviet nuclear fleet. A very interesting library. And there I once stumbled upon Weiner's book "The Northern Fleet of the Great Patriotic War", a 1966 edition. So it was there that I first encountered the fact that, it turns out, we had secret German bases in the Arctic archipelagos. Particularly in Franz Josef Land. And, in particular, I noticed that there is such a Nagursky Bay, where our border guards are now stationed. And 2 or 3 years ago, members of the Security Council even flew there, who opened this outpost of border guards there in a new form.

O. BYCHKOVA: So there were secret German bases, you say.

S.KOVALEV: So I'm going down there, right? Ours, ours, Soviet.

O. BYCHKOVA: Were there German bases on our territory?

S.KOVALEV: There were German bases on our territory, yes. That is, if "Basis Nord" - it was in agreement with our Soviet government, then in Nagursky Bay - well, let's say so ... In principle, the Arctic - it is very peculiar. That is, on one island from one end there could be our polar explorers, at the other end German polar explorers. And they each other, well, pretended at least that they did not know about the existence of each other.

V. DYMARSKY: Sergey Alekseevich, maybe let's go back to the beginning of this story, that is, to the history of 1940, to the "Decembrist", well, it's clear that the year 1940 - we are still, as it were, friends with Germany, and, apparently, that's why that story was covered, hidden. But why did it happen anyway?

S. KOVALEV: Death?

V. DYMARSKY: Yes, death.

S. KOVALEV: The fact is that this base was established in October 1939 by agreement. Since in Murmansk... Well, with the beginning of the Second World War, we will throw it even further.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, actually, the beginning of the Second World War is September 1, 1939, and this is October. That is, almost immediately after the start.

S. KOVALEV: Yes, yes, yes. This means that in Murmansk we have gathered almost 30 German ships, which, as in a neutral port, took refuge from English ships. These 30 ships - they stood, and openly, in the roadstead near Abram-Cape. We have such a place, Abram-Cape in the Kola Bay. They stood. That is, the German sailors quite calmly went to the city, the ships were being repaired in Murmansk. We are allies.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, we are allies, we are not adversaries - why not?

S. KOVALEV: But over time, apparently, some specific problems arose between the British and Soviet governments, and therefore these ships were gradually diverted to Zapadnaya Litsa, even further west, there, closer to the Finnish border. This is if you imagine the Rybachy Peninsula, and under it is just Motovsky Bay and under it Western Faces.

V.DYMARSKY: And then it was Finland, not Norway?

S.KOVALEV: Finland, yes, yes, yes.

V. DYMARSKY: Now it's Norwegian.

S.KOVALEV: Now it is Norwegian, and then Finland, yes. And now it has been relegated even further, beyond the Pechenga Bay. And earlier on the Rybachy Peninsula it passed then. And so they took me there, where, in general, no one could get it. The Soviet fishing collective farm was removed from there, that is, they were transferred to Karelia, these fishermen - this is what we called the Comintern collective farm. It consisted of Russified Finns, Nords and, according to Article 58, comrades who helped them there.

V. DYMARSKY: The irony of fate. The Anti-Comintern Pact and the state farm of the Comintern, right?

S.KOVALEV: Yes. They were literally evicted overnight. It was allowed to pick up, well, 20 kilograms, no more. And, accordingly, they were in Karelia ... Moreover, during my service in Zapadnaya Litsa, I managed to get acquainted with a man who lived as a child in one of these villages, Malaya Litsa, and then he settled in Petrozavodsk in Karelia. Moreover, he graduated from the higher party school, so he firmly convinced everyone that they were specially evicted only in order to create a submarine base for our Northern Fleet, no more, no less.

V. DYMARSKY: Why, after all, "Decembrist"?

S. KOVALEV: “Decembrist” again, right? Excuse me, let's go back to the "Decembrist". This means that the base existed for almost a whole year and helped in August 1940 to transfer the so-called “Komet” cruiser, aka “Semyon Dezhnev”, aka “Danube”, aka “Donau”, aka again “Semyon Dezhnev” by the northern sea route in the Far East and "Tokio Maru" in the Pacific Ocean. That is, a werewolf, a real auxiliary werewolf cruiser.

V. DYMARSKY: Passing from hand to hand?

S. KOVALEV: No, no, he led the entire German crew, but the name simply changed depending on the area of ​​navigation. As a result, somewhere in late October - early November, information was leaked in English newspapers. It was a secret passage, our ships, our icebreakers escorted him to the Far East, and he staged a very serious massacre there. And information leaked out. But the British already had information that there was a certain base in Zapadnaya Litsa, where German ships were stationed, supply vessels were stationed. And here, most likely, an English submarine came. Maybe lay mines, maybe, I don’t know what else to do, and the “Decembrist”, who went to the exercises elementarily in the Motovsky Bay, into his waterways, went out, sank and disappeared. That is, the observation posts observed by the evening only that a certain periscope of the submarine was leaving the Motovsky Bay, and that was it.

V. DYMARSKY: Blown up?

S.KOVALEV: No, there was no explosion. Just disappeared.

O. BYCHKOVA: Where to?

S.KOVALEV: Also unknown. Because there was diesel fuel on the surface, a broken lifeline and sticking up the battery, which the commission supposedly attributed to the submarine of the "Decembrist" type. Everything, there was nothing else.

V. DYMARSKY: And so nothing is still known?

S.KOVALEV: And it is still unknown. So, no crew - no one surfaced from the submarine, that is, no dead, no one surfaced, no boat was found, no traces.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, maybe they are just buried?

S. KOVALEV: They are still lying there, to this day. That is, 70 years they ...

V.DYMARSKY: But why did she die?..

S. KOVALEV: It is still unknown. Most likely a ram. There would be an explosion, this is a huge sultan of sea water and plus a huge flash.

V.DYMARSKY: Ejection.

S. KOVALEV: Yes, an outlier. Torpedo - the same thing if a torpedo. Means, slipped the maximum depth. That is, here is the official version: it slipped through the fault of the crew - well, it was standard at that time - through the fault of the crew, it slipped through the maximum depth and crushed it there. But in fact, it turned out that, most likely, she was rammed. So he died, and after that, no matter how much they tried to look for her, this submarine, for some reason, behind the scenes they stumbled upon a misunderstanding, and in the very top ...

O. BYCHKOVA: And they closed these searches one way or another.

S. KOVALEV: They covered it, yes.

O. BYCHKOVA: Why?

S.KOVALEV: It's hard to say. Most likely, because of this "Basis Nord", so that this information does not surface.

V. DYMARSKY: Sergey Alekseevich, then this, after all, the question arises. It's 1940, right? But there were apparently many German bases of this kind in the north. That kind, anyone, huh?

S. KOVALEV: So far, 11 are known.

V.DYMARSKY: Some caches, right?

S. KOVALEV: Yes, yes, yes.

V. DYMARSKY: And there are rumors, rumors are still going around that they are almost still standing there mothballed.

S.KOVALEV: Well, there are some, there are some.

V. DYMARSKY: And now - is this still considered a secret object?

S. KOVALEV: I don't think so, but it's simply not profitable to show that we had bases so deep around the Kara Sea. That is, the mouth of the Yenisei, the Ob and even the Lena. There is an assumption that the famous Stolb Island is this one ... I’ll immediately take the opportunity that it’s a pity that the “Searchers” of Channel One, who, in my opinion, went there last year in the fall to look for this base, well, they did everything to make it can not found. Andrey I. is our famous seeker. Because it's very strange. In general, it aroused a very strange interest in me that he walked along the banks of the Lena River at the same time, as it is known that the only stone island there in the delta is Stolb Island, all the rest are formed by ice and sand that melt, and not a single sane polar explorer I wouldn't set up a base there.

V. DYMARSKY: That is, Lena is quite far to the east.

S.KOVALEV: It is very far away. This is beyond the Vilkitsky Strait, in general, the Laptev Sea.

V.DYMARSKY: This is Eastern Siberia already.

S.KOVALEV: Yes, this is Eastern Siberia. Therefore, such bases exist. But, in particular, in Lena, this 200-meter pier is very strange, which, in general, exists, and the most interesting thing is that Austrian and German tourists frequented it.

V. DYMARSKY: Now already?

S.KOVALEV: Yes, for the last 5 years.

V.DYMARSKY: So it's a well-known fact there, naturally?

S.KOVALEV: No, they are on tour.

V. DYMARSKY: A tourist object, a tourist object. So, travel agencies there sell tickets, tours.

S. KOVALEV: Yes, and, behold, it is the German and Austrian ones that have become frequent. Why is it interesting. And there is even information that they want to organize a diving center there. What for?

V.DYMARSKY: This is extreme.

Sergei KOVALEV: Extreme, extreme, yes. Cold. But why?

V. DYMARSKY: By the way, about the cold. Well, since I was really late for the broadcast, I did not have time to take questions from our listeners and viewers who came before the broadcast, but I remember one question very well, only, unfortunately, I do not remember the author, I apologize to him. The question sounds a bit naive, but in a normal person, it apparently evokes the right associations. He says, "We were told all the time that the Germans weren't ready for winter." Well, I mean 1941, the harsh winter of 1941, all these pictures, frostbitten, in bast shoes. - And at the same time, the Germans in the Arctic, the Germans in our north, well, they hardly went there unprepared, right?

S.KOVALEV: Of course, it is unlikely.

V. DYMARSKY: That is, after all, there was no winter, and the cold was not such a surprise for them, such a surprise that fell from the sky.

S. KOVALEV: The emphasis should be put a little differently there.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, of course, yes. Because this is a very naive and strange question, but nonetheless.

S. KOVALEV: Because winter, yes. They were ready to take Moscow within 2-3 months, Peter. And so when it turned out that, it turns out, not everything was as planned, winter came and they really were not ready. Of course, they went to the Arctic ready.

V. DYMARSKY: But did they have uniforms?

S.KOVALEV: Everything is ready. Moreover, several findings are known. Why do I say that not all of them remained mothballed, because several bases were found after the war in the 50s and 60s.

V. DYMARSKY: That is, they were not even discovered during the war?

S.KOVALEV: No, no!

O. BYCHKOVA: That is, they did not even know about their existence.

S. KOVALEV: They did not know and did not suspect. Because the Germans, unfortunately, well, or fortunately, maybe for the Germans, but unfortunately for us, they are really excellent sailors. They calmly went to the Arctic, and even now it turned out. This is the first book from the marine chronicle I have, the second one has just come out - "Mysteries of the Sixth Continent" - these are the Germans in Antarctica. Well, rather so. The name was the working title "Unknown War for Antarctica", but most of it is dedicated to the Germans there, in Antarctica. Do you understand? And they went there and got their way.

O. BYCHKOVA: So how long were they there? Until what time?

S. KOVALEV: Until 1944. That is, in particular, Berulia Bay is so interesting - it is the southeastern part of the Kara Sea, and the Germans mined some kind of ore there. Then they were brought by submarines to us in Linohamari, this is the Pechenga Bay. There they were reloaded from submarines to surface ships and taken to Germany. Naturally, a question arose. Firstly, submarines cannot take much away, this time. Secondly, what kind of ore is this, which is carried in small quantities? And third, what happened in Linohamari? Because in Linohamari there was a very interesting point, which was much better protected, even Altenfjord, where the (INAUDIBLE) famous stands. Do you understand? There is such artillery, such fortified areas, that no one suspected anything. Most likely, they mined Beryllium there in Berulia Bay, or uranium on the shores of Khariton Laptev. And in Linohamari, there may have been a uranium enrichment plant.

V. DYMARSKY: Good. But these bases - you said 11 of them in total, right?

S.KOVALEV: No, more have been found. But the thing is, I managed to find 11.

V.DYMARSKY: Well, let's operate with this number for now. They, as I understand it, are located quite far to the east in the north, right?

S. KOVALEV: Yes, yes, yes. Just a northern sea route map.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, let's at least show the audience, very roughly. Is there a map in the book?

S. KOVALEV: No, this one is not available, unfortunately – this one appeared recently, we managed to get it.

V.DYMARSKY: It's a pity. But, nevertheless, I will return to my question. 11 of these bases that you know about are quite far to the east. Tactical, strategic purpose, if you like, of these bases?

S.KOVALEV: Everything is clear. The fact is that when the infamous PQ-17 convoy was destroyed in July 1942, the Allies refused to send us cargo through Lend-Lease until the end of the polar day. And we, to be honest, near Stalingrad at that time were very strong, strong, already near Rostov, the Germans entered the Caucasus, got stuck. Therefore, the decision was made...

V. DYMARSKY: Moreover, the Northern route - it is necessary to make a reservation here - was the main, in general, the Lend-Lease supply route, right? There was also through Alaska.

S.KOVALEV: No, the Northern Sea Route is very rare.

V. DYMARSKY: Not the Northern Sea, the northern direction.

S. KOVALEV: Ah, the North Wing, yes, yes, yes. There were a few more - through the Far East.

V. DYMARSKY: There was also through Alaska.

Sergei KOVALEV: Through Iran. Well, the Northern route is the shortest.

V.DYMARSKY: The shortest and largest volume was transmitted there.

S.KOVALEV: Yes, we managed to make the biggest one. And when the transportation was stopped, then, of course, some decision had to be made. Because there is a lot of cargo accumulated in the USA, and in Iceland, and our army, in general, was already in great need. Plus, by this time the Northern Fleet had suffered quite large losses in surface ships, and help was needed. And then they remembered the Northern Sea Route, which for some reason before that - yes, there were victories, yes, flights over the Pole and so on - but what very few people remembered was that this is also the shortest route from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic and vice versa. Here it is, the share of our Siberian shores is the shortest way.

The cruiser Komet, accompanied by our icebreakers, passed it in 15 days. That is, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. And if he had gone south, through the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, around Africa, he would have had to go for more than one month. Finally remembered. Plus the safest, like, ours, the safest. But it turned out that the Germans had already penetrated there by this time.

That is, the famous "Admiral Scheer", an armadillo that Sibiryakov shot at one time, he passed around the northern tip of Novaya Zemlya and entered the Kara Sea by the Northern Route. He diverted boats from Novaya Zemlya, diverted the attention of our command, "Admiral Scheer" penetrated the Kara Sea and tried to intercept at the Vilkitsky Strait - here, Severnaya Zemlya, here Novaya Zemlya. Here at Severnaya Zemlya, this is the Laptev Strait, the Vilkitsky Strait, he wanted to intercept 50 transports and the entire icebreaking fleet. They were accompanied by only 3 destroyers - one leader and two destroyers that were without weapons. Therefore, such an easy prey would be for an armadillo, you understand? Destroy our entire, almost entire merchant fleet, the icebreaker fleet completely, and plus this replenishment, the latest destroyers. But fortunately for us, the weather of the Arctic intervened. That is, firstly, he got into a heavy ice field, then he lost his air scout. And in the end, he heard the negotiations that were held between the transports, but the elbow was close, but it was not possible to take it. Therefore, he moved south to Dixon, where the coal depots were located, and hit, ran into Sibiryakov by chance.

V.DYMARSKY: Thank you for the answers to our questions so far, and there will certainly be more. Let me remind you that our guest is Sergey Alekseevich Kovalev, writer-historian, author of the book “Swastika over Taimyr”. And we will continue this conversation in a few minutes in the presence for the first time at the "Price of Victory" we have a woman as a host, Olga Bychkova.

O. BYCHKOVA: Yes, yes. Well, somehow I tried to reassure our guest, to say that I also had sailors among my ancestors. I'm almost mine.

S.KOVALEV: I have calmed down.

V. DYMARSKY: Yes. Well, we say goodbye for a few minutes and continue our conversation with Sergey Kovalev.

V. DYMARSKY: Once again, I welcome the audience of the Ekho Moskvy radio station and the RTVi TV channel, this is the Price of Victory program. Well, I was left alone as the host, Vitaly Dymarsky. Olga Bychkova left us, preparing for the next program. We saw her off with tears in our eyes. And we are the host of the program and our today's guest Sergey Alekseevich Kovalev, captain of the 1st rank, historian, writer, captain of the 1st rank and 1st deputy chief editor of the Marine Collection magazine. Incidentally, the world's oldest magazine. How old is he? Over 150 years old?

S. KOVALEV: 162.

V. DYMARSKY: 162 years old - this is the magazine, the leadership of which magazine includes our today's guest.

S. KOVALEV: Moreover, I would like to note right away that he did not stop publishing for a single month. Even during the civil war, there were 2 of them - one in Petrograd, and the second in Tunisia, in Bizerte.

V. DYMARSKY: Seriously? Our emigration?

Sergei KOVALEV: Emigrants, yes. Our commander of the submarine "Duck" Nestor Monastyrev, captain of the 2nd rank, produced the "Sea Collection" there.

V. DYMARSKY: Sergey Alekseevich, let's get back to our topic - this is how we called it, you called your book like this, “Swastika over Taimyr”. Here we have a lot of questions, including before the broadcast, and during the broadcast they already come. Anyway, here is the question we asked you before our short break. All the same, I would like, perhaps, more clearly, in a military way, so to speak: what interest did the Germans have in the Russian north, let's say? Let's call it that.

S.KOVALEV: Well, first of all, these are the riches of the Russian north. First of all, this is Siberia, Chukotka, you know, these precious metals, precious metals, ores, furs. Including…

V. DYMARSKY: And did they manage to take it all out?

S. KOVALEV: Yes, yes, yes. It was taken out. There is information about this in previously closed archives, then the NKVD was. But in 1999, in my opinion, the archives of the NKVD were published for the first time in the Naval Collection, which revealed that German submarines even came to the camps of local residents and received something there. Well, furs for sure, but ore, as I said, they dug themselves, on their own. And the second. The Northern Sea Route is the shortest route between the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. And firstly, the north has always been for us - this is the ocean that no enemy has ever been able to close to us. If the Baltic or Black Sea straits, the Turks and Germans have always calmly closed, and the Far East has always been exactly the far. The only road that was very difficult for all materials and cargo to pass through was an open gate for us, which, unfortunately, we always used as a stepson for some reason.

V. DYMARSKY: Sergey Alekseevich, such a question. Well, the German bases, as we said, are there along virtually the entire North.

Sergei KOVALEV: Northern Sea Route, yes.

V. DYMARSKY: Yes. Were there any naval battles? Were there any clashes? Or, as it were, the Germans lived on their own, we on our own?

S. KOVALEV: No. The fact is that the Germans - they used the Northern Sea Route and these bases only in order to cut off our communications from the United States. Because along the Northern Sea Route, as the most protected, we have always carried the most important strategic cargo.

V.DYMARSKY: Was it successful?

S.KOVALEV: Yes, they succeeded.

V. DYMARSKY: That is, it was not a secret for us that the Germans were there?

S. KOVALEV: No, it was a secret for us, and no one understood why they knew almost exactly where the transports carrying these goods were. Only after the war, in particular, on Franz Josef Land, which I called Alexander Land, there is such an island, and there is Nagursky Bay. There, the Germans had the 24th direction-finding base of the Kriegsmarine, from which they took direction-finding all conversations, at least along the western sector of the Northern Sea Route. And any careless exit of our captain of our transport was immediately taken direction, and submarines in the Kara Sea were near Novaya Zemlya, and in ambushes near the Gulf of Ob and the Yenisei Gulf.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, all right. Look, they're in ambush, right? They're attacking our convoy, aren't they? But this is no longer a secret. So, it is clear that the Germans are there, since someone attacked, right?

S.KOVALEV: Yes. But the thing is, they found out when the torpedoes exploded already.

V.DYMARSKY: Well, it's clear, yes.

S. KOVALEV: And under whom they exploded - this, you understand. The Kara Sea - they live there for a very short time, who got into the water. Plus 4 - plus 8 degrees even in summer. That is, the ships disappeared. For example, the following is known. In 1943, out of 4 transports, the Germans destroyed 2 transports that were carrying goods for Norilsk Nickel and, in my opinion ... In general, for the Norilsk, for sure, the mining and smelting plant carried cargo and some cargo to the Yenisei and Ob, to Dudinka there. And out of 4 transports, 2 were destroyed. But unfortunately, the team thought that it was on the mines that they were blown up, because the Germans used electric torpedoes, which are outwardly traceless.

V. DYMARSKY: Arthur asks: "Did the Germans try to use the Northern Sea Route to communicate with Japan?"

S. KOVALEV: They tried. Tried. In particular, the mentioned cruiser "Komet" - he went to the Far East, and from the Bering Strait he went to "Tokio Maru" and landed his own in Japan ... Well, there was a very interesting translator, he was called the German naval attache translator Kurt Krepsch so famous. Which was immediately organized by our railroad, through Vladivostok, he quickly got to Moscow to Norbert von Baumbach - this is the German naval attaché in Moscow.

V. DYMARSKY: Who was in the embassy.

S. KOVALEV: Yes, he was in the embassy. Why it was organized so quickly, no one knows. But especially for him, a supply ship was brought from the Pacific Ocean.

V. DYMARSKY: So, something here... Alishka from Kazan: “I read that the Germans landed troops on Matochkin Shar and the Kara Bay. Is it true? What did they do, how did it end?

S.KOVALEV: They landed. Moreover, during the First World War there is a 99% chance that there was a German base there, on Matochkin Shar, which our military personnel discovered in the 60s. And the dynamo that stood there, it even started up and started working.

V.DYMARSKY: How did the Germans supply their bases? Here, they ask you.

S. KOVALEV: Winter delivery. There were supply ships that went... Look at the map - it's not that far. If you go there from Franz Josef Land, for example, it is much closer than, say, from Norway or, moreover, from Germany.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, we also need to bring more to Franz Josef Land.

S.KOVALEV: Yes. So they imported across the Atlantic, normally.

V.DYMARSKY: That is, in addition to the fact that they existed there, they were regularly supplied?

S. KOVALEV: Warehouses, huge warehouses, yes. There is an interesting Rudolf Island there, and warehouses there, at least in the 60s, our sailors observed the Nazi warehouses with interest. Well, of course, apparently, now they are gone, but, nevertheless.

V. DYMARSKY: All right, Sergey Alekseevich. Yet another question. So you say that now they don’t exist, but until recently - at least, I didn’t know all this in such detail as you write in your book, of course, but some rumors reached me. That there were some kind of caches, that they found stew, sweets, chocolate, which was not there. That is, all this is actually until recently?

S.KOVALEV: It existed until the end, yes.

V.DYMARSKY: Maybe it still exists?

S.KOVALEV: Perhaps even now. Why this is now a very interesting question - here, in the light of the fight against terrorism, the famous, international terrorism, after all, such bases exist. Yes, there are technical means from the 30s and 40s. But the fact is that these are normal bases that have been mothballed and that can be used, at least for the preparation and installation of some weapons, for example.

V. DYMARSKY: So. Here is the question. This is before our program yet came. Yes, well, this is the question. Yuran from Vladivostok, he writes about your book: “The author of the book touched on a rather interesting little-known topic, for which I thank him. But judging by the references to the sources with which he worked - and these are mainly newspaper and magazine articles, monographs and memoirs of the nameless ... ”I saw here that you don’t name, right?

S.KOVALEV: Yes, I don't name them on purpose.

V. DYMARSKY: People are still hiding.

S.KOVALEV: People still want to remain incognito, yes.

S. KOVALEV: So, I worked with the archives, and in particular with the archives of the Northern Fleet and the Murmansk archives. But you're right: it's very hard to find in the archives. Because, firstly, this material was classified at one time, and it could well have been under a double stamp, not only secret, but also Soviet secret. And so far, unfortunately, it has not been declassified. That is, unfortunately, we will not find direct confirmation yet, while we find indirect ones.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, a Muscovite nitsahon also praises your book, which he read, as he even writes, with great interest. However, he has questions. "The first. How did our valiant agencies, first of all, military counterintelligence, generally thwart the construction and active use by the Germans of bases in these regions of the Soviet North?

S. KOVALEV: This is easy to explain. In particular, the crew of the Komet cruiser apparently did a lot in 1940, when we together guided it along the Northern Sea Route. But at the same time, for at least a month near Novaya Zemlya, we lost him from attention.

V. DYMARSKY: When did they do it?

S. KOVALEV: When they did. That is, for almost the whole of July 1940, he wandered somewhere in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe western shores of Novaya Zemlya. And no one knows what he was doing there, because he was waiting for our caravans to cross. And we, including our own organs, did not want to fully disclose ourselves, and therefore, naturally ...

V. DYMARSKY: That is, is it still a secret?

S.KOVALEV: Yes, still.

V. DYMARSKY: And now what is there to keep secret?

S.KOVALEV: Yes, it's hard to say. But many are still secret. Although, there is hope that, after all, now 70 years have passed - well, probably, it will slowly open up.

V. DYMARSKY: Do you suspect or assume, maybe you know that, after all, some archival documents exist?

S. KOVALEV: Unfortunately, they were sent to Germany only at the end of the 1990s. But in Germany they can be found. We have them, we know that.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, did we just give it to the Germans or what?

S. KOVALEV: They gave it back, yes. Made a gift. This is the gift we made.

V. DYMARSKY: That is, in the German archives you can talk about this topic…

S.KOVALEV: You can find it. You can, you can, you can find it. Necessarily. And in ours, perhaps we will find something. But, unfortunately, we have a lot, and good purges have been carried out in the archives.

V. DYMARSKY: So. Here's another question. These bases are German. That is, these are not only islands, they entered the mainland?

S.KOVALEV: On the mainland they could, yes.

V. DYMARSKY: Since you have the book "Swastika over Taimyr", that is, the Germans were in Taimyr?

S.KOVALEV: Yes, they were in Taimyr. Here, in particular, let us once again return to the Berulia Bay, where until 1944, listen carefully! Until the autumn of 1944, when we had already driven the Germans abroad, German submarines went there to Berulia Bay, north of Novaya Zemlya. Look who sees the map now, they went and there was, well, you can call it a concentration camp. Naturally, this beryllium was mined by our prisoners of war.

V. DYMARSKY: By the way, who worked there?

S.KOVALEV: Yes. Here are the prisoners of war.

V. DYMARSKY: That is, prisoners of war from Germany have already been brought there, right? Through Germany back?

S.KOVALEV: No, no, no, everything is by sea.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, I understand. Through Germany, prisoners of war were returned to their homeland as prisoners of war, of course, forced laborers.

S.KOVALEV: Most likely, through Norway.

V. DYMARSKY: Did our prisoners of war end up in Germany, and then they were taken to work?

S. KOVALEV: They were taken to work through Norway, yes, yes, yes.

V.DYMARSKY: Well, that's what I'm talking about. It turns out that the irony of fate, our prisoners of war came to their homeland already as prisoners of war.

S.KOVALEV: Yes. After the end of the war, our Gulag camp was there until 1953. Those who have visited those areas can still observe crosses with Gothic inscriptions.

V.DYMARSKY: Here, like some, a veteran submariner - you see, he also does not write his name, does not reveal it - he writes that before the war the Germans went into the Gulf of Ob and stockpiled weapons.

S. KOVALEV: They could.

V.DYMARSKY: But before the war, I mean, before June 1941.

S. KOVALEV: Yes, yes, yes. Cruiser "Komet", most likely at this time. I agree.

V.DYMARSKY: So, what else? Did our residency abroad tell us about the bases?

S. KOVALEV: It is unlikely, unlikely - they were minding their own business.

V. DYMARSKY: How did the Germans supply? They supplied themselves.

S. KOVALEV: Supply ships. Here, by the way, interesting point I remember. There was a Körntern, such an interesting supply ship that sailed along the Svalbard triangle - New Earth— Hammerfest. Our sailors, when it was captured in 1945, when the fleet was divided, all the documentation was destroyed. But quite by accident, these laboratory journals were found in the hold of laboratories for determining the salinity of water, where one could easily find out which triangle he walked on. All 3 years. And the ship provided submarine operations in the Kara Sea.

V.DYMARSKY: Boris also asks: "After the war, the Soviet naval forces partially used the bases and ships of the German fleet."

S. KOVALEV: Used, used.

V. DYMARSKY: “Did they use the equipment of the German Navy there, in the Arctic?”

S. KOVALEV: They used it, they used it, yes. In particular, sonar beacons, which we first encountered in 1943, when they managed to sink U639 off the northern tip of the Earth. The S-101 of Lieutenant Commander Yegorov sank her submarine. And the same "eska" worked nearby, S-54 captain of the 3rd rank Bratishko. So, she was repeatedly called by an unknown vessel with light and hydroacoustic beacons. Moreover, if we remember, "eski" - their prototype is "seven", German submarines. They looked like them. Therefore, most likely, the captain of this ship was mistaken and he simply believed that this was a German woman, that is, he was waiting for U639. It so happened that our two Soviet submarines ended up between this unknown transport and U639 Oberleutnant Wichmann, which was sunk. Here are some interesting things.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, here all kinds of confirmation come to us. Alex writes to us: “Grandfather served in Taimyr and saw the German base. There were still food and stew. Edible."

S. KOVALEV: Edible - well, permafrost, so why not edible?

V. DYMARSKY: Well, in general, yes. The stew generally keeps well.

S. KOVALEV: Moreover, I have good friends who told me about when they found this base in Matochkin Shar, where the dynamo was made in Germany since the First World War, with a German stamp. There were also candies, which were enough, one candy was enough for three days - the person did not sleep. I ate this lollipop, and for three days you can not sleep.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, yes. That is, supportive.

S.KOVALEV: Yes, something tonic, yes.

V. DYMARSKY: Like we have lemongrass bushes in the Far East.

S.KOVALEV: Schisandra, yes.

V. DYMARSKY: But look, is this a legend or not? Is it true - here, truth without a name - is it true that one of the purposes of "Sheer" was to raise an uprising in the Gulag?

S. KOVALEV: Hardly, hardly. He really ... I heard the opinion that he was carrying weapons for the rebels, because this was the plan - to raise an uprising in the Gulag. And for this there was such a unit Brandenburg-800 - they prepared people to throw and, accordingly, raise an uprising. And you understand that if it were possible to raise an uprising along the Northern Sea Route, it would not only be that so many troops were pulled away from the front, but also the transports along the Northern Sea Route would be stopped in addition. That is, he could carry a weapon, but to raise it is unlikely. No, it's not serious.

V. DYMARSKY: Alexander asks: “Did the passage of the German airship Zeppelin help in determining the base construction area?”

S.KOVALEV: Still how, still how. That is, if we now impose these well-known bases on the Zeppelin route, then they will coincide, completely. That is, then, in principle ... Well, let's say so. It is unpleasant to say there that we were taken advantage of - our curiosity. Graf Zeppelin was the German Aeroarctic Society. That is, the conversation about flying to the Soviet Arctic was back in 1928, the first one took place. But the flight took place in 1931. So, on the German side there was a German crew, there were many German scientists, Dr. Eckener, on our side - Professor Rudolf Samoylovich. Rudolf Samoilovich - he, in principle, took control from the northern tip of Novaya Zemlya. And due to the fact that it became possible to study the Arctic very well, in detail, where no human foot had set foot before, of course, the airship flew at a very low altitude and, accordingly, photographed everything. But the most offensive later turned out that instead of unloading these photo and film materials, the Germans calmly took them to Berlin, and then said that they were exposed. Well, they took advantage of us, they used us in this matter. And then they surfaced. They then surfaced when detailed maps the Germans had ones that we never dreamed of, even arctic ones.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, you know, since you have intrigued many people today… Here, however, is the question: “He served in Nerpichye Bay. What do you know about her? - asks Michael.

S.KOVALEV: Oh, this is an interesting lip. It is precisely there under these rocks that one should look for some structures. Maybe warehouses. Well, in general, it’s better to look in Andreeva Bay.

V. DYMARSKY: Listen, here is an absolutely amazing message. We will check it, of course, if it is true. “I am ready to finance an expedition to abandoned bases. Quite seriously, ”the man says his phone number.

S.KOVALEV: Fine, let's meet.

V. DYMARSKY: But, in my opinion, he does not live in Russia, judging by the address. But it doesn't matter, he left the phone, so, suddenly, it will work out.

Sergei KOVALEV: Thank you.

V. DYMARSKY: And the last question. You have intrigued all listeners today with your new book about Antarctica. Were there Germans?

S. KOVALEV: There were.

V. DYMARSKY: Yes? And there too?

S.KOVALEV: And there too.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, then, Sergey Alekseevich, I want to take your word of honor that you will come to us again, already with that book about Antarctica. Because I also confess to one thing - a lot of messages came in, I didn’t read them, which thought that today you are telling, as they write, unscientific fiction, that this is something like a UFO series and so on.

S.KOVALEV: But confirmed by facts, right?

V. DYMARSKY: But I think that today you have dissuaded even all the doubters. Thank you for this conversation. At the end we have, as always, a portrait of Tikhon Dzyadko, Pavel Ivanovich Batov. Well, Sergey Alekseevich Kovalev and I say goodbye, I hope not for a long time. All the best.

S. KOVALEV: Goodbye.

PORTRAIT BY TIKHON DZYADKO

T. DZYADKO: Pavel Ivanovich Batov is one of the most notable commanders of the Great Patriotic War. The publication "Independent Military Review" puts him in 2nd place among the commanders of combined arms armies. It looks like he went through all the wars of the 20th century in which he had the opportunity to participate. In November 1915, he was drafted into the army and went to the front, was the commander of the intelligence department, and was seriously wounded. For personal heroism, non-commissioned officer Batov was awarded 2 soldier's St. George's crosses and 2 combat medals.

With the outbreak of the Civil War, he joined the Red Army, fought against Wrangel and participated in the liberation of Crimea. He took an active part in civil war in Spain and in the Soviet-Finnish war. After her, he was appointed deputy commander of the Transcaucasian Military District.

Batov enters the Great Patriotic War at its very beginning, fights on different fronts, and in 1942 takes command of the 65th Army, and until the end of the war he was its commander. The 65th Army under his leadership participated in the final stage of the Battle of Stalingrad, in Operation Ring to destroy the encircled German group of Field Marshal Paulus. Batov, together with the 65th Army, participates in the operations of the Don and Central Fronts, and on the Second Belorussian, participates in Operation Bagration.

After the war, he was in the leadership of the group of Soviet troops in Germany. After returning to the Union, and then is a senior military specialist in the People's Liberation Army of China. In total, for his life in the Tsarskaya, Red and Soviet armies Pavel Batov served 70 years.

S. A. Kovalev

Swastika over Taimyr

To readers

Before you is a book about the arctic secrets of fascist Germany, which we inherited in a kind of inheritance.

It would seem that a great many books, magazine and newspaper articles of various genres have been written about the Second World War: from serious scientific research to the simplest fiction. But, with rare exceptions, this "multi-ton block" was entirely devoted to our participation in the most terrible of the world wars. But any information about those who came to our land with a sword, to the shores of Murman and Siberia, in particular, was scarce and fragmentary for many years. Only today we have come to understand a paradoxical, but at the same time completely obvious thought: without personally understanding and thoroughly showing the new generations of Russians the place and role of the enemy in that war, we thereby simply belittle the role of everyone who gave their lives for Russia, but yet - the victorious fascism! After all, what you, dear reader, are now holding in

hands, is the fruit of work that lasted ... several decades. Painstaking and, in the main, for obvious reasons - a completely thankless job. There is nothing surprising!

After all, in front of you is not a famously twisted historical detective story, but a selection of facts and events that were previously most often kept under various secrecy stamps. To exclude possible "misunderstanding" of individual readers, as the author, I would like to emphasize that the main information sources of the day of this book were domestic and foreign publications unfamiliar to the mass reader, as well as personal memories of direct participants in the events described.

Unfortunately, most of the eyewitnesses of the mysterious finds in the Soviet Arctic categorically refused to have their names or positions mentioned on the pages of this book. And the main argument here was one: "We gave a non-disclosure agreement." To the greatest regret, most of them with the same conviction they left us forever. It would seem that a decade and a half have passed since the death of Soviet Union, more than half a century, since those who unleashed World War II went to another world, we live in a completely different state and in time, but the well-established Soviet “system” of secrecy continues to work without failure today. Nevertheless, as an author, I am sincerely grateful to all the courageous people who nevertheless dared to tell about that "something" that they saw during wintering on remote Arctic islands or Siberian winterings, which was systematized by me, and today - fell on pages of this book. At the same time, I leave the hope that this version of the book is not yet the final truth. Perhaps it will help to find new witnesses to the long-standing events of the Second World War and the first post-war years, both on the territory of Russia and abroad. And maybe it will also allow you to learn at least from relatives the new names of heroes who have forever remained somewhere in the icy deserts and on the shores of remote Arctic archipelagos (especially under unclear circumstances), which is extremely important for young Russians to study our non-fictional history.

For many years, we knew everything that happened in our Arctic, at best, from victorious reports about the next achievement of Russian and Soviet scientists, polar explorers, pilots or sailors. And only thanks to the well-known Soviet polar historians and devotees - Sergei Smirnov and Mikhail Belov - did they learn about the heroic battle of the crew of the simple icebreaking steamer "A Sibiryakov" with the fascist battleship "Admiral Scheer". Any other information about Soviet activities in the Arctic seas and archipelagos did not reach a simple layman, and sometimes even individual statesmen. Therefore, it should not be surprising that even a full representative Soviet Russia in Norway, Alexandra Kollontai, before entering the diplomatic service in 1923, knew very little about the Arctic and did not even suspect where the Svalbard archipelago was located

True, later in state and bureaucratic "ignorance" she was outstripped by the acting head Russian government Yegor Gaidar, who in January 1992 even declared from a high rostrum that the day new Russia: "The North is unprofitable!". Meanwhile, Yegor Timurovich, both during the period of his duties, acting. the head of government, and as an economist, could not help but know that almost 100% of the explored national reserves of nickel, cobalt, tantalum, tin, niobium and rare earth elements are concentrated in our Arctic. And also - that the potential gas potential of the continental shelf of the Barents and Kara Seas today is estimated at 50-60 billion US dollars and makes up almost 80% of all reserves in our country.

I would like to consider such a statement by one of the recent so-called reformers of the new Russia as an "accidental slip of the tongue." However, an official of this rank has no right to make such mistakes. And even more so - to forget the words of the great Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov, who, unlike other sovereign husbands, sincerely cared for Russia and firmly believed in Russian power, growing precisely in Siberia and the Arctic Ocean. Fortunately for Russia, Mr. Gaidar's official statement did not have time to become a direct indication to all interested parties that Russia's unique polar regions are no longer needed.

In previous years, no less serious prohibition was also imposed on the history of military operations in the Kara Sea during the last world war. Even the honored submarine commanders, who on their ships repeatedly passed to the Far East along the seas of the Northern Sea Route or wintered near Biruli Bay on Taimyr, as well as near Tiksi, did not suspect what events had taken place here just twenty years before they arrived here. And the ruins, whose structures, the entrances to whose mines they accidentally noticed through the eyepieces of boat periscopes on the prehistoric shores of Taimyr or on the desert coast of the Laptev Sea. But often they saw evidence of the Nazi bases that once existed here, which, by the will of fate, we inherited. And yet, they didn't guess. And quietly passed by. Only when they retired did they share an amazing observation about a strange cemetery near the ruins of barracks on the shore of Biruli Bay, where crosses with half-erased inscriptions, made ... in the Gothic style, stood above the swollen mounds.

All of the above, as well as a number of other problems that visibly or invisibly accompanied the processing of the information received and its transposition into an acceptable form, for a long time did not make it possible to start publishing chapters from the already clearly looming book. And even - to find a suitable title for this book, thanks to which it would not immediately receive a negative "assessment", and especially from Russian people, but "Soviet hardening". And suddenly - "Eureka!". Once, back in my cadet years, I managed to read an extremely fascinating book "Shadows in the Ocean", which introduced Soviet readers to previously unknown known facts, most often deadly encounters of humans with sharks. One day, memories of this once read book “raised” its title from my subconscious. Quite unexpectedly, I remembered that the German submariners, lovingly calling their ships "polar wolves", always remembered that they were serving on "steel sharks". Yes, yes, on those “sharks”, whose shadows during the Second World War appeared not only in the Baltic, Northern, Black and mediterranean seas, but also in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans and even off the coast of Antarctica and the Arctic. And the sailors who ran them, already after the second military campaign, proudly received the Military badge of a submariner with an invariable eagle holding a fascist swastika in its paws. German sailors laid future fuel and food bases on the remote islands of the Soviet Arctic, and after our Victory they were forced to leave them deep in the rear of the Soviet Union. But maybe there are still forgotten Nazi bases, abandoned factories or caches in the Russian North?

I tried to answer this difficult question in my book.

Before you is a book about the arctic secrets of fascist Germany, which we inherited in a kind of inheritance.

It would seem that a great many books, magazine and newspaper articles of various genres have been written about the Second World War: from serious scientific research to the simplest fiction. But, with rare exceptions, this "multi-ton block" was entirely devoted to our participation in the most terrible of the world wars. But any information about those who came to our land with a sword, to the shores of Murman and Siberia, in particular, was scarce and fragmentary for many years. Only today we have come to understand a paradoxical, but at the same time completely obvious thought: without personally understanding and thoroughly showing the new generations of Russians the place and role of the enemy in that war, we thereby simply belittle the role of everyone who gave their lives for Russia, but yet - the victorious fascism! After all, what you, dear reader, are now holding in

hands, is the fruit of work that lasted ... several decades. Painstaking and, in the main, for obvious reasons - a completely thankless job. There is nothing surprising!

After all, in front of you is not a famously twisted historical detective story, but a selection of facts and events that were previously most often kept under various secrecy stamps. To exclude possible "misunderstanding" of individual readers, as the author, I would like to emphasize that the main information sources of the day of this book were domestic and foreign publications unfamiliar to the mass reader, as well as personal memories of direct participants in the events described.

Unfortunately, most of the eyewitnesses of the mysterious finds in the Soviet Arctic categorically refused to have their names or positions mentioned on the pages of this book. And the main argument here was one: "We gave a non-disclosure agreement." To the greatest regret, most of them with the same conviction they left us forever. It would seem that a decade and a half has passed since the end of the Soviet Union, more than half a century, since those who unleashed the Second World War left for another world, we live in a completely different state and in time, but the well-developed Soviet "system » secrecy continues to work without a hitch today. Nevertheless, as an author, I am sincerely grateful to all the courageous people who nevertheless dared to tell about that "something" that they saw during wintering on remote Arctic islands or Siberian winterings, which was systematized by me, and today - fell on pages of this book. At the same time, I leave the hope that this version of the book is not yet the final truth. Perhaps it will help to find new witnesses to the long-standing events of the Second World War and the first post-war years, both on the territory of Russia and abroad. And maybe it will also allow you to learn at least from relatives the new names of heroes who have forever remained somewhere in the icy deserts and on the shores of remote Arctic archipelagos (especially under unclear circumstances), which is extremely important for young Russians to study our non-fictional history.

For many years, we knew everything that happened in our Arctic, at best, from victorious reports about the next achievement of Russian and Soviet scientists, polar explorers, pilots or sailors. And only thanks to the well-known Soviet polar historians and devotees - Sergei Smirnov and Mikhail Belov - did they learn about the heroic battle of the crew of the simple icebreaking steamer "A Sibiryakov" with the fascist battleship "Admiral Scheer". Any other information about Soviet activities in the Arctic seas and archipelagos did not reach a simple layman, and sometimes even individual statesmen. Therefore, one should not be surprised that even the full representative of Soviet Russia in Norway, Alexandra Kollontai, before entering the diplomatic service in 1923, knew very little about the Arctic and did not even suspect where the Svalbard archipelago was located.

True, later, in state and bureaucratic "ignorance", she was outstripped by the acting head of the Russian government, Yegor Gaidar, who in January 1992 even said from a high rostrum, they say, the day of the new Russia: "The North is unprofitable!". Meanwhile, Yegor Timurovich, both during the period of his duties, acting. the head of government, and as an economist, could not help but know that almost 100% of the explored national reserves of nickel, cobalt, tantalum, tin, niobium and rare earth elements are concentrated in our Arctic. And also - that the potential gas potential of the continental shelf of the Barents and Kara Seas today is estimated at 50-60 billion US dollars and makes up almost 80% of all reserves in our country.

I would like to consider such a statement by one of the recent so-called reformers of the new Russia as an "accidental slip of the tongue." However, an official of this rank has no right to make such mistakes. And even more so - to forget the words of the great Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov, who, unlike other sovereign husbands, sincerely cared for Russia and firmly believed in Russian power, growing precisely in Siberia and the Arctic Ocean. Fortunately for Russia, Mr. Gaidar's official statement did not have time to become a direct indication to all interested parties that Russia's unique polar regions are no longer needed.

In previous years, no less serious prohibition was also imposed on the history of military operations in the Kara Sea during the last world war. Even the honored submarine commanders, who on their ships repeatedly passed to the Far East along the seas of the Northern Sea Route or wintered near Biruli Bay on Taimyr, as well as near Tiksi, did not suspect what events had taken place here just twenty years before they arrived here. And the ruins, whose structures, the entrances to whose mines they accidentally noticed through the eyepieces of boat periscopes on the prehistoric shores of Taimyr or on the desert coast of the Laptev Sea. But often they saw evidence of the Nazi bases that once existed here, which, by the will of fate, we inherited. And yet, they didn't guess. And quietly passed by. Only when they retired did they share an amazing observation about a strange cemetery near the ruins of barracks on the shore of Biruli Bay, where crosses with half-erased inscriptions, made ... in the Gothic style, stood above the swollen mounds.

All of the above, as well as a number of other problems that visibly or invisibly accompanied the processing of the information received and its transposition into an acceptable form, for a long time did not make it possible to start publishing chapters from the already clearly looming book. And even - to find a suitable title for this book, thanks to which it would not immediately receive a negative "assessment", and especially from Russian people, but "Soviet hardening". And suddenly - "Eureka!". Once upon a time, back in my cadet years, I managed to read an extremely fascinating book “Shadows in the Ocean”, which introduced Soviet readers to previously unknown facts, most often deadly encounters between people and sharks. One day, memories of this once read book “raised” its title from my subconscious. Quite unexpectedly, I remembered that the German submariners, lovingly calling their ships "polar wolves", always remembered that they were serving on "steel sharks". Yes, yes, on those "sharks" whose shadows during the Second World War appeared not only in the Baltic, North, Black and Mediterranean seas, but also in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans and even off the coast of Antarctica and the Arctic. And the sailors who ran them, already after the second military campaign, proudly received the Military badge of a submariner with an invariable eagle holding a fascist swastika in its paws. German sailors laid future fuel and food bases on the remote islands of the Soviet Arctic, and after our Victory they were forced to leave them deep in the rear of the Soviet Union. But maybe there are still forgotten Nazi bases, abandoned factories or caches in the Russian North?