Kremer, Boris Alexandrovich

Childhood and adolescence

Boris Kremer was born in the village of Novaya Kolpna of the Tula province in a hereditary teaching family. Grandfather - Yakov Ivanovich Kremer (Jacques Jean Kremer), Ph.D. of Ghent University , an expert in ancient languages, in 1861 came to Russia from Luxembourg to teach; He had the title of State Councilor and was ranked among the nobility ^[2] . Babka - Maria Ivanovna Babikova, sister of actor M. I. Babikova and writer K. I. Babikova, was a private teacher.

Father - Alexander Y. Kremer, a teacher of mathematics in the Serpukhov Alexander gymnasium and in the Rostov men's gymnasium № 1 . Mother - Ekaterina Terentevna Koltsova, a peasant of the Volokolamsk district, was a housewife, had seven children — six sons and a daughter. Boris was the youngest in the family.

The First World War and the Revolution found grown children in different parts of the country. Parents with two teenagers, Boris and Tamara, until 1920 lived in their home in the village of Nechaevo, Tula province. Then Alexander Kremer moved with his family; worked as a teacher of physics, meteorology, grassland, horticulture and horticulture in the Kashira Agricultural College. In 1921, the mother of Boris Kremer died from an unsuccessful operation of appendicitis, in 1925 - the father.

After the death of his father, Boris Kremer had to leave school. Brother Alexander, who returned to Shchekino in 1925, got him to work as a haulage wagon. In 1926, Boris Kremer arrived in Moscow. He lived in Tula community on Bolshaya Serpukhovskaya Street, worked as a laborer, a loader, metal planer at the factory "Steklomashina". For some time he worked in the Crimea with a geological expedition. By this time, Kremer had education in seven classes of secondary school ^[3]

Hydrometeorological service

In 1932 and 1933, the second international polar year took place. New research programs have been widely reported in newspapers, with an important focus on meteorology. The chairman of the Soviet International Polar Year Committee was the famous meteorologist Professor Alexei Wangenheim . At this time, Kremer met a couple of meteorologists, Sergey Petrovich Khromov and Lidiya Ivanovna Mamontova, who worked at the Mechaeons Observatory named after Mikhelson, and received an invitation to work at the observatory as an observer-trainee, with a probation period.

Soon, Boris Kremer was appointed to the post of meteorologist-observer, then senior meteorologist, and in 1934 he was transferred to work in the Moscow department of the United Hydrometeorological Service as a meteorologist-inspector. In this capacity, he taught young meteorologists and traveled around the Moscow region , organizing the work of new meteorological points.

In the spring of 1935, as he himself later recalled "captured by the romance of the conquest of the Arctic Ocean," he went to work at Glavsevmorput as a senior meteorologist in the reserve of the Polar Control of Glavsevmorputi ^[4] .

Cape Pewter

Kremer took his first assignment to the “not very prestigious” (that is, located not at a very high latitude) polar in the Maria Pronchishcheva bay , as appropriate for a newcomer. However, Kremer was soon assigned to the polar station under the direction of Ernst Krenkel , whom Kremer himself later considered to be his “godfather in the Arctic” ^[4] .

In August 1935, the Alexander Sibiryakov icebreaking steamer delivered supplies and equipment, a group of builders and four polar explorers: Krenkel, Mehrengina, Golubev and Kremer to the Cape of Tin . The steamer remained near the future station for several days, during which the builders supplied a dwelling house and a warehouse, and later the polar workers built a bathhouse from the remaining materials ^[5] . From the autumn of 1935 to the spring of 1936, polar explorers conducted meteorological observations at Cape Olovyanny. In March 1936, the group split: Krenkel and Mehrengin moved to Domashny Island , where they re-energized the first North-Earth Ushakov - Urvantseva polar station, and Kremer and Golubev remained at the Cape Olovyanny station; Kremer was appointed senior at Krenkel station ^[5] . Two operating stations increased the quality of the district weather reports. Since July 19, the station gave the weather every three hours.

In the middle of the summer of 1936, Mehrengin, followed by Krenkel, became sick with scurvy, and in August the disease became severe in both of them. On September 1, Alexander Sibiryakov approached the Domashniy Island, who brought a shift of diseased polar explorers ^[4] . Then the icebreaker steamer moved to wintering at Cape Olovyanny, but was stuck for a month in the ice near the Shokalsky Strait . Only with the help of the icebreaker " Yermak " "Alexander Sibiryakov" could be freed from the ice captivity, but by that time it was already October and further advance to the north had become impossible. Thus, Kremer and Golubev had to spend the second, above-plan wintering.

Kremer and Golubev conducted the entire cycle of observations on a scientific program, and in addition to meteorological observations, they collected valuable collections of geological samples. Kremer’s first scientific and practical discovery dates back to this time: studying the hydrological and ice regime of the Shokalsky Strait , measuring the thickness of ice every day, punching a lane of ridges and exploding ice with ammonal , he came to the conclusion that this route could become a backup route on the Northern Sea Route . if the main route through Vilkitsky Strait is blocked by impassable ice ^[6]

In March 1937, pilot Pilot Makhotkin, who brought fresh food, landed at Cape Tin landing. Polar explorers, if desired, were allowed to leave the wintering on the plane, but they decided to stay before the start of navigation, when their shift was to come, thus ensuring the station’s uninterrupted operation. However, in the summer of 1937, no vessel was able to penetrate the Shokalsky Strait. It was impossible to leave the expedition for the third wintering - the polar explorers were tired, the stocks of food and fuel, and the station equipment needed to be replenished. It was decided to shut down the polar station; On September 13, 1937, Kremer and Golubev aborted Makhotkin's seaplane ^[6] .

Silent Cove

In the summer of 1938, Kremer was appointed head of the polar station in Tikhaya Bay on Franz Josef Land , which at that time was the largest research observatory in the Arctic for the 80th parallel. The staff of the station was more than ten people. The observatory conducted work on almost the entire spectrum of geophysical and hydrophysical studies: air navigation, navigation in high latitudes, meteorology, hydrology, the structure of the atmosphere and radio waves, radio communications, geomagnetic, atmospheric electricity; fulfilled 2456 aurora observations Kremer spent two winterings at the station.

May 3, 1940 by the decree of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR "On awarding a group of polar explorers" Kremer was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor . In September 1940, "Alexander Sibiryakov delivered a new shift with a new chief.

Cape Arctic

In early 1941, Kremer was assigned to prepare and conduct an expedition to Cape Arctic . The purpose of the expedition was to study the area and select a site for the construction of a permanent station and a landing site to support a possible alternative route of the Northern Sea Route , bypassing the Northern Earth at high latitudes. The polar pilot Boris Chukhnovsky , with whom by that time Kremer lived in one house - the so-called " House of Polar Explorers " - provided substantial assistance to Kremer.

On May 9, 1941, the plane of the polar pilot Tyagunin mounted a ski on a glacier a few kilometers from the coast of the northernmost part of the Arctic land. He delivered a group of polar explorers of three people headed by Kremer, a half-year food supply, scientific equipment, radio equipment with a large radius of operation and a plywood house measuring 4.3 × 2 m. In difficult polar conditions, the relief, soil, vegetation cover were measured, the depth was measured in rivers and the ocean. As a result of the research, Kremer concluded that, in its topographic and climatic conditions, the area of ​​the Arctic Cape is an unsuitable place for both the aerodrome and the polar station. On August 27, 1941, the icebreaker Sadko arrived behind the polar explorers. September 2, 1941 Kremer arrived in Dickson .

Island Home

Upon arrival in Dikson, Kremer was called by the head of Glavsermorputi Ivan Papanin to a radio conversation from Moscow. It was the third month of the war with Germany , the fascist troops threatened the Soviet Arctic both on land and in the Arctic seas and to provide meteorological reports of the army and navy required to immediately re-launch the polar station on Domashniy Island . It was planned that Sadko would bring the polar group of three people under the leadership of Kremer to the North Land , but Peter Shirshov , the deputy head of the Main Northern Sea Route , who was at that time, did not want to risk a ship - German submarines could penetrate the Kara Sea - they decided to send polar explorers seaplane. On board the aircraft, to the full loaded with fuel on the way back, it was allowed to take only backpacks with personal belongings; products, fuel, equipment were not taken into account on the reserves left on the mothballed station, which should have been enough until the summer of 1942.

In August 1942, the icebreaker Alexander Sibiryakov left the port of Dickson; One of the objectives of this voyage was to deliver the shift to the Kremer group and replenish the reserves of this polar station. But on August 25, the Alexander Sibiryakov was discovered by the German cruiser Admiral Scheer and was sunk near the Belukha island in the Kara Sea during an unequal battle ^[7] . Thus, the Kremer group was forced to stay for another wintering, while the stocks of products came to an end. In the late autumn of 1942, the plane of Ivan Cherevichny was sent to the island with supplies, but, unable to make a landing, the crew, having dropped, dropped products in bags and cans to the shore. At the same time, a significant part of the products was lost. To survive, polar explorers hunted in order to avoid scurvy — they drank the warm blood of animals. Severe wintering conditions led to polar diseases; on March 3, 1943, one of them died.

Despite the difficult conditions, the Kremer polar group continued to perform the task of meteorological observation and radio transmission of reports. In the daytime, the reports were required hourly - in the Barents and Kara Sea, Soviet aviation and the fleet were engaged in a tense struggle with the German fleet, primarily with submarines. In addition, frequent weather reports were also required for enemy disinformation — so that the Germans listening to radio communications had the impression that Soviet aircraft were constantly in the air, in search of enemy ships ^[7] .

By the autumn of 1943, the polar explorers, weakened by the harsh conditions and exhausting work, were again affected by the disease: Kremer again began scurvy, radio operator Skvortsov had frequent appendicitis. The island was almost completely blocked by ice; it was not possible to evacuate the station with the help of a ship. On September 12, 1943, a seaplane under the control of a pilot Streltsov unsuccessfully tried to get into a narrow polynya off the coast of the island. The next day, with great risk, he managed to still make a splash and Kremer's group was evacuated to Dickson ^[7] .

1944-1950

In the fall of 1944, Kremer was appointed head of the polar station at Cape Uelen ( Chukotka Peninsula ). The small staff consisted of six people, of whom four were girls ^[3] . Kremer led this station until the summer of 1945.

In 1946, Kremer was appointed head of the radio meteorological center at Chelyuskin Cape , which provided communication with smaller polar stations and neighboring Arctic centers. The staff of the radio meteorological center consisted of 49 people: meteorologists, hydrologists, aerologists, magnetologists, actinometrists ; a significant proportion were women ^[3]

From 1947 to 1950 he worked as head of the Providensky Arctic region. The district included a radio meteorological center with dozens of employees and a rich scientific program, and separate island winterings ^[3] .

Glavsevmorput

From December 1950, Boris Kremer worked in the Glavsevmorput office in Moscow. By this time, despite the fact that he headed research teams in the Arctic, Kremer did not have a certificate of graduation from the school or university. Therefore, he immediately entered the evening school at Krasnaya Presnya, where he completed three missing classes for secondary education as an external student, and in the fall of 1951 he became a student at Moscow State University . In 1958 he defended his thesis on the topic “Franz Josef Land. History of research and modern understanding of nature. ”

He worked as an engineer, senior engineer, acting head of the department of scientific institutions of the polar station management. Subsequently, he was head of the department of polar stations at Glavsevmorput, and then, in connection with the reorganization, at the Main Directorate of the USSR Hydrometeorological Service, where the polar stations of the Arctic and Antarctic were transferred.

Recent years

In 1968 he retired, where he actively participated in social activities. He died in January 1976. In August 1976, according to the will, an urn with ashes was buried on the island of Domashnyi archipelago Severnaya Zemlya, where in the spring of 1965 Kremer himself installed an urn with the ashes of polar explorer Geogrgy Ushakov . Two years later, in 1978, the temporary monument was replaced by a granite one. The inscription on the board is engraved: “Arctic explorer. Honorary polar explorer. Kremer Boris Alexandrovich. 18-III-1908 - 13-I-1976. Northern Earth 1935-1937 1941-1943 Fight and search! ” ^[6]

• His wife, Natalya Valentinovna Pyatysheva (1907–1984), was born at Astapovo railway station in the family of a railway engineer. She graduated from the Faculty of History and Philosophy of Moscow State University . She worked as a senior researcher at the State Historical Museum in Moscow and the Chersonesus Museum in the Crimea . Candidate of Historical Sciences. Author of articles and monographs on the history of the ancient and medieval Crimea.
• Daughter Elvira (1932-1977). She graduated from the Faculty of Geography of Moscow State University , worked as a senior researcher at the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Natural Gases .

At the suggestion of the Hydrographic Enterprise MMF USSR, a cape was named in honor of Boris Alexandrovich Kremer on the southeastern coast of the island of the October Revolution in the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago ^[8] .

• D. M. Romanov, Z. M. Kanevsky, Arctic Columbus, Polarnik Kremer. - Tula: Priok. Prince publishing house, 1982. - 232 p.
• Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of a polar explorer and native of the Tula region, Boris Kremer (Neopr.) . Komsomolskaya Pravda (March 18, 2008). The appeal date is July 21, 2018.
• Article about the researcher