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30 Jun 2021, 10:18

Russian traveler devotes North Pole voyage to 80th anniversary of Arctic Convoys

The special expedition will have two stages

MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/. An Arctic expedition to the North pole, due in July 2021, during which Russia’s traveler Fedor Konyukhov will make a sole voyage on a drifting polar station, will be devoted to Admiral Nikolai Kharlamov and to the 80th anniversary of the WWII Arctic Convoys, the expedition’s leader and founder of the Poseidon Expeditions Polar Travel Club Nikolai Savelyev said on Tuesday.

"Not so long ago I saw a documentary about Admiral Kharlamov and learned a lot about that person, about his huge input in the victory over fascist Germany. I realized - nobody can say when that war could have been over, what other victims it could have claimed without those Northern Convoys," he told a news conference at TASS. "We want to tell more about it. <…> We wanted to reiterate the topic of Arctic Convoys, and we have devoted this expedition to Admiral Kharlamov".

Aboard the 50 Let Pobedy (50 Years of Victory) nuclear-powered icebreaker, the expedition will organize an exhibition, devoted to Admiral Kharlamov, he added.

The special expedition will have two stages. "This year, we will have two expeditions to the North Pole. The first one departs on July 11 - it will take Fedor Konyukhov to the geographical North Pole. We will come to 90 degrees northern latitude. <…> We will put together a mini polar station, which has been prepared already. Fedor [Konyukhov] will remain on the ice, at that polar station, and the icebreaker on the return route to Murmansk will pass the Franz Josef [Land] Archipelago. In about another two weeks, we will again sail to the North Pole, will locate Fedor Konuykhov’s station, using satellite communication, and will remove the station," the expedition leader said.

Konuyhov stressed it is a great honor for him to be a member of the expedition, devoted to Admiral Kharlamov and to the 80th anniversary of the Arctic Convoys. "I am happy to participate in it. Nikolai Kharlamov served on the Baltic Fleet, and I used to be a petty officer first class at the Baltic Fleet. I served at the Baltic Fleet for three years, and back then we did hear the name, knew it. <…> It is a big honor for me," the traveler said.

About the expedition

The plan is that Konyukhov will spend 10 days at a drifting polar station, set on ice. During the North Pole expedition in July he will study the intensity of polar ice melting and its drift routes, and will paint a few pictures.

On July 11, the Poseidon Expeditions Polar Travel Club’s first expedition of 124 participants, including Konuykhov, will leave Murmansk onboard the 50 Let Pobedy nuclear icebreaker. The expedition’s details will be available online.

Arctic Convoys

During World War II the Arctic Convoys delivered lend-lease cargoes to the USSR. The convoys were sent from British and Scottish ports to sail across the Atlantic and across the Arctic Ocean’s seas towards Arkhangelsk and Murmansk.

The Arctic Convoys delivered to the USSR about a half of all lend-lease cargoes.