A collective grave of the time of the Great Patriotic War was found on Beliy Island

On Beliy Island within the project "Kara Sea Expeditions 2015" the volunteers-researchers found the collective grave of the participants of the soviet military marine arctic convoy "White Sea – Dikson 5" of the time of the Great Patriotic War. The collective grave on Beliy Island is the only burial place of participants of the war, who died during military operations in Yamal.

As we should remind, from archive resources it is known that in 1944 the kungas from the ship "Marina Raskova" with the participants of the convoy "White Sea – Dikson 5", who died of awful death from cold, hunger and thirst, was washed ashore to Beliy Island after a week of wandering in waters of the Kara Sea. The search and rescue operation was organized in the same year by forces of the Northern Fleet and the Chief Directorate of the Northern Sea Route. The people, who had died, were buried with honor. In 1947 employees of the polar station on Beliy Island conducted reburial. Till the present day the precise location of the burial place was not known. The volunteers found it on the territory of Cape Rogozin. It is supposed that there are from 12 to 25 participants of the convoy in the collective grave. Now excavations are postponed till arrival of specialists from Moscow. They will conduct work on identification of the found remains. The memorial sign will be set on the burial place after all kinds of work are completed. The data about the researches will be sent to the Ministry for defense of the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, the volunteers started fulfilling another set of tasks, which is not less important – taking out the kungas from the ground. During 70 years the kungas went under the sand almost completely. Its precise size is not defined. The specialists suppose that its length makes not less than 20 meters. After extraction of the kungas from the ground it is planned to research it and to make a 3D-model. The work of the expedition will be completed with making of a documentary film about history of arctic convoys. The sculptural composition dedicated to the memory of people, who had died in northern seas, will be set on the territory of the memorial complex "The Victory Park" in Salekhard. Also books based on the materials received during the project "Kara Sea Expeditions" will be published. As we should note, "Kara Sea Expeditions" are the unique project that has no analogues in Russia and abroad. The complex of computerized printed information, starting from the pre-war time till the present time, will be created next year. It will give the fuller view of people and events of the Great Patriotic War connected with Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The project "Kara Sea Expeditions" is fulfilled by the Russian center for exploration of the Arctic at support of the departments on science and innovations, international and external economic relations of Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.