Foundation stone laid for North Exploration Museum in Krasnoyarsk
© RIA Novosti. Sergey Chernykh

Foundation stone laid for North Exploration Museum in Krasnoyarsk

A foundation stone laying ceremony for the future Museum of North Exploration took place on Molokov Island in Krasnoyarsk, according to a statement on the official website of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

"The Russian Geographical Society's Expedition Center in the Siberian Federal District proposed an initiative to create a museum of North exploration in Krasnoyarsk. I believe that this is a very timely idea. The Krasnoyarsk Territory, half of which belongs to the Russian Arctic, has a lot to offer to the world. It is not just our heroic past but also the intensive exploration of the North today, its wonderful wildlife and the people who devoted themselves to developing this amazing land," Viktor Tomenko, head of the local government, said at the ceremony.

A location of special significance was chosen for the museum. Telyachy Island, later named after Hero of the Soviet Union and pilot Vasily Molokov, used to be the site of the Krasnoyarsk Air Squadron's base on the Main Northern Sea Route and aviation repair shops. It was the island where air exploration of the Arctic began in Krasnoyarsk.

One of the exhibits is a Douglas C-47 Skytrain that made an emergency landing in the Taymyr Peninsula in 1947. The aircraft remained in the tundra for many years but stayed in good condition and was eventually moved to Krasnoyarsk in 2016.

Igor Spiridenko, director of the Russian Geographical Society's Expedition Center, said that the museum creators are working on its concept right now. In addition to the permanent exhibition of archive materials, the museum will include an interactive exhibit and a park.