The Museum of Contemporary Russian History displayed letters from Nikolai Kamanin, the legendary Soviet pilot and military leader, one of the first seven heroes of the Soviet Union.
Vladimir-Suzdal Museum-Reserve
Hero of the Soviet Union Nikolai Kamanin, 1934
As the museum explained, rare relics are being displayed as part of the Russian Ministry of Culture’s “From Generation to Generation Family Stories” campaign. It is celebrated within the framework of the Year of the Family, announced in 2024 in Russia.
In 2021, 133 Kamanin letters appeared in the museum’s collection thanks to collector Viktor Taran, an employee of the Museum of Cosmonautics. And Kamanina’s daughter-in-law, Margarita Iosifovna, gave them to him.
“The letters contain clues about the course of hostilities: “You will soon read more cheerful reports”, “Attention, victory loves the strong and it will be ours!”, “We hit the Germans in the tail and in the mane”, for the 25th anniversary of October “we will please you with good news”, “We hit the Germans quite a lot, although we also got something from them”, “the old Dnieper will see its liberators”, “My little eagles make noise in the area of our country house,” the museum reported.
Most of the letters are dedicated to the lives of family members, relatives and friends who live apart. They contain words of love; passages that give insight into the character and moral values of the author and his family. Kamanin’s letters are a valuable historical source: for example, the letters of his son give insight into the life and mood of adolescents and young people during the war.
Kamanin’s letter to his wife telling her to rest in peace and that he will go west for educational purposes. Kharkov, 1939. Photo: Museum of Contemporary Russian History
Here, for example, is what Kamanin wrote to his wife in September 1939 from Kharkov: “For now everything is fine, I advise you to rest as best you can and not to worry about trifles.
It is possible that in the next few days he will leave Kharkov for the west, but not very far and only for educational purposes. I will inform you about the departure day if I have the opportunity. Don’t interrupt your rest, otherwise I will be very angry.”
Nikolai Kamanin was born on October 18, 1908 in the family of a shoemaker in the village of Melenki, now the Vladimir region. Although some sources, citing Kamanin’s own biographical notes, suggest that he was actually born a year later, that is, in 1909. He himself secretly corrected the date on the documents in order to be accepted into the flight school.
However, the official date of his birth is still considered to be 1908. In 1928 he graduated from the Leningrad Military Theoretical Flying School, after which he volunteered for the Red Army.
Kamanin became widely known in 1934, when the entire country closely followed the operation to rescue the crew and passengers of the steamship Chelyuskin trapped in the ice.
To rescue the polar explorers, a mixed aircraft detachment was created in February 1934, of which Kamanin was appointed commander. The flights were carried out in very difficult weather conditions. The squadron carried out the flight along the Olyutorka – Vankarem route with a length of approximately 1,500 km.
Kamanin, in his R-5 two-seat plane, personally took 34 polar explorers from the ice camp, a third of those held captive in the ice. He made nine flights over the ice floe.
The feat of the pilots was so heroic that the country’s authorities decided to establish the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Kamanin received it on April 20, 1934 for courage and heroism shown in saving the Chelyuskinites. Along with the title, he received the Order of Lenin. And in 1939, after the establishment of a special insignia, he received the Gold Star medal.
