Description of the attraction
In the city of Naryan-Mar, on the day of the celebration of the Defender of the Fatherland, in 2012, a monument dedicated to reindeer transport battalions was opened. The monument was made according to the project of Sergei Syukhin - an artist from Arkhangelsk - and is a composition of the Nenets, tundra husky, reindeer, located in the very center of the solar disk. The creation of the monument was carried out on the initiative of the Administrative Council of Elders of the NAO, as well as the administration of the small northern peoples.
The monument tells about the legendary exploits of the peoples of the North, who contributed to the successful outcome of the Great Patriotic War. Heroic people who set off along such a long route were able to walk on deer through the territory of taiga and tundra, passing the coasts of the Barents and White Seas, famous for their harsh climate. The monumental monument forever imprinted in the memory of its fellow countrymen the heroic feat of fearless people who were not afraid of any obstacles on the way to the Great Victory.
In 1941, an order was given to form reindeer transport military battalions for the purpose of protecting the northern territories of the USSR. Local residents with their own supplies and weapons were able to get to the city of Arkhangelsk. The battalions included reindeer herders living in the Komi Republic, as well as in the Nenets Okrug, which numbered about six hundred people. In total, four battalions tried to get to the front, but only the fourth had the hardest time on this difficult path. The fourth battalion was formed from the largest number of people in the area of the NAO. The first three reindeer transport battalions included a hundred men and almost a thousand reindeer each, while the last fourth battalion consisted of 4,500 wild reindeer and more than 250 military fighters. To the west, the northern caravan followed the previously laid route, but on the way back a difficult situation arose, because there was practically no reindeer left on the territory of the tundra. Due to the acute lack of food for deer, the entire fourth battalion had to change its route several times - and that is why it came to the city of Arkhangelsk only after thirty days, far behind the first leading caravan.
Some time later, from Arkhangelsk, the reindeer transport battalion was redirected by rail directly to the front. For almost two years, the northern fighters watched the defenses of the front line vigilantly. After a certain period of time, namely in 1947, of all four battalions, the 31st reindeer-ski brigade was created, which was sent in the direction of Chukotka. Having passed in the direction of the indicated route, the brigade finished its combat path and returned home.
To date, there is information according to which, in total, 10, 140 thousand wounded soldiers were removed from the front line with the help of deer. The removal of the wounded from the deep rear was especially difficult. It is worth noting that during the Great Patriotic War, reindeer transport battalions were able to deliver about 17 thousand tons of various ammunition, necessary things and about 8 thousand officers and soldiers to the front lines.
The monument to the reindeer transport battalions was cast in bronze in the city of Arkhangelsk. After the creation of the monument, he was taken to Naryan-Mar in a few days, although the matter was especially complicated by the harsh weather. The territorial zone surrounding the monument belongs to the historical part of Naryan-Mar. It stands right on the alley between the city library and the local history museum. The decision on the location of the monument was made in 2010.
At first, the installation of the monument was planned in the fall of 2011, but after carefully considering the construction of the monument, the authorities decided to change the date to 2012. The financing of this project was fully carried out within the framework of a targeted long-term program responsible for the development and preservation of the small indigenous peoples of the northern outskirts of the Russian Federation.
