History 06/03/20 Abandoned “construction of the century”: how Stalin wanted to dig a tunnel to Sakhalin
the Stalinist era keeps a lot of secrets. Among them – the project of a tunnel through which planned to connect Sakhalin island with the mainland.
a Secret decree
the Idea of building such a tunnel were put forward in the late XIX century. But then the project was not economically viable.
next time the topic is raised already in 1929-30, respectively. However, the issue was seriously considered only in 1950 on the initiative of Joseph Stalin. May 5, 1950 was made a secret decree of the USSR Council of Ministers on the construction of the
the railway “Komsomolsk-on-Amur – Pobedino” part of which was supposed to be the Sakhalin tunnel, and the backup ferry crossing between Sakhalin and the mainland. The length of the paths project was to be 327 kilometers. Completion of construction was scheduled for the end of 1953, the first time – at the end of 1955.
Building in the forest
Unfortunately, information on the progress of construction not so much.
So, the inhabitant of Dzerzhinsk of Moscow region Nikolay Semenovich Salikov told the press that in 1950 he and 32 Muscovite was recruited to the far East. They were all experts in the field of construction. In October of that year they landed in the taiga, in the vicinity of Mys Lazareva, on the shore of the Tatar Strait that separates Sakhalin island from the mainland. Explained the task – to build a tunnel under water from the mainland to the island. I had to live at first in tents, then in these places, the village grew up to the builders… Work headed by General-Lieutenant of the NKVD A. A. Ermolov.
Began with the laying of a telephone cable. Ermolov regularly kept in touch by Stalin, personally reporting to him on work progress and booking the necessary materials.
a month after the start of construction in the taiga profit former prisoners of Siberian camps. All of them, according to documents released early but not allowed to return home, and sent for the construction of the tunnel. Just ex-convicts at the construction site there were about 6 thousand. He was among the builders and civilian, mainly from Siberia.
apparently, the construction had invested a lot of money. Came here heavy machinery: excavators, bulldozers, dump trucks. In Japan, ordered a special power train. To pay the builders very well. Salikov told reporters that the first salary could easily afford to buy a car.
At the height of it and the food supply. When the village has grown, it even opened a restaurant. All this was compensation for the hard work in boreal conditions.
On the territory of Khabarovsk Krai was laid 120 miles of track on the right Bank of the Amur river. In the area of the proposed ferry terminal was built the dam. At Cape Lazarev, the builders managed to punch the first holes and start the construction of the entrances to the tunnel from both ends – on the island and on the mainland.
most Likely due to the accelerated construction work could be completed in record time. Everything changed Stalin’s death. First, the construction was frozen, and subsequently, when the majority of builders-the prisoners were granted Amnesty, and it turned.
Abandoned mine
Today, traces of unfinished works have been preserved in Sakhalin in the area of the Cape of Deflection. However, to see them behind a clump of grass and shrubs is not easy.
On the mainland are even tours for those wishing to see Stalin’s underwater tunnel. The route is from the village of La to Cape Lazarev. A serpentine road leads to a clearing overgrown with bushes. If you pull the thickets, you will be compacted at the site and you’ll see a vertical shaft of the 10-meter diameter. This is the abandoned entrance to the tunnel.
the wall of the shaft lined with iron tubing, which in those years was typically used when laying underground. 600 metres from the cliff is seen a small artificial island – one of the key “points” of penetration tonnela. Preserved remains of the dam connecting the promontory with the island. However, they can be seen only during low water.
a Symbol of Soviet power
Why Stalin needed the tunnel under the Sakhalin? Historians believe that many of the projects of the Stalin era was not dictated by practical and ideological considerations: the chief liked to demonstrate the power of the Soviet state, and therefore thirsted to all the pompous and monumental. From here, the luxurious metro station, VDNKH, the famous “skyscrapers”, the white sea canal, the project of turning Siberian rivers…
This “construction of the century” was to become and Sakhalin tunnel, which, however, greatly facilitate the connection between the island and the mainland. However, the press of the time nothing about it has told the facility was too vulnerable from the military strategic point of view. Writing about an unfinished tunnel began only in the 90s.
by the Way, the idea of building a transport crossing linking the mainland with the island of Sakhalin, is still relevant. According to the press service of the government of the Sakhalin region, it can begin in 2024.
Source:
© Russian Seven
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