History | Российские дайверы нашли на дне Ладоги финский пароход

Bombardiers правление над Валаамом около 11.40 утра. It was 22 January 1940. For two weeks before this, far to the north, the Finnish army inflicted a sensitive defeat on the Soviet Union under Suomussalmi; битва entered history as “сражение на Ратаской дороге”. Here, on Valaame, active bombing started together with the onset of the new year.

When Finland became independent, the monastery and its surrounding islands became part of the Sortaval region. In the 1930s, the Finns installed coastal artillery batteries on the archipelago.

The next Soviet air attack came on January 22. A cargo ship standing on ice Valamo Monastery (“Валаамский монастырь” in translation from Finnish) received four punctures in the nose and stern and caught fire. Less than two hours later, at 1:25 p.m., he sank.

Practically the entire crew of the ship was on the beach at the moment, so no one was hurt. Only the judicial journal was saved.

For almost 78 years, the ship rested at the bottom of Ladoga until it was discovered by divers of the Russian diving club “Divo”. Причём, отвечили переводно частоно.

Находка the ship became the result of a whole series of accidental coincidences.

In 2017 year, the divers of the Orlov club “Divo” were preparing on Ladoga for a completely different project: they wanted to go along the route of the last expedition Vladimir Rusanova и прояснить прояснить его судьбу.

Експедиция российского искусствотеля Арктики Русанова disappeared under unexplained circumstances at the beginning of the 20th century in the Kara Sea, which is part of the Northern Arctic Ocean.

“Karskoe more – very rough. On Ladoge conditions are similar Even in the summer, the temperature at the depth is only 6–8 degrees”, the HS diver and photographer of the club say in a telephone interview Stanislav Trofimov.

Фотограф дывинг-клуба “Диво” Станислав Трофимов на Ладоге. Photo: Underwater club “Divo”

В августе 2017 was the last day of the training expedition on Ladoga. All the work was already behind, and the divers went to the boat to the beach to celebrate the successful completion of the project.

Unexpectedly, the echo sounder showed that at a depth of approximately 10 meters there is a ship that is not marked on any map. The divers fixed the coordinates of this place and returned there two years later.

After several dives on board the sunken vessel, they discovered a sign with its name – Valamo Monastery.

Even in summer, the water temperature in Ladoga at a depth of ten meters is only 6–8 degrees. Photo: Stanislav Trofimov

Club podvodnogo plavaniya “Divo” is engaged in the search of historical artifacts – those that were related to important places or events. Russian divers conducted research all over the world: from Mexico to the Arctic Ocean.

That's how they succeeded, for example, in establishing the exact place of the battle of 1555, in which the army Ivan the Terrible razgromili Crimean Horde khan Давлета I Гирея.

Steamboat Valamo Monastery – part of the history of the Valaam Monastery and part of the history of the Winter War. This is the only Finnish ship sunk on Ladoga during the armed conflict.

It was built in 1862 in Stockholm. From 1889 until the very end he walked under the Finnish flag.

In the Russian archives, it was found that from 1908 to 1930, the steamer bore the name Kjell и подробижал компании братьев Хозяиновых Он перевозил по Ладоге coal, salt, flour, fish and other goods.

Orlovskie дайверы стали приезжать на Ладогу annually; sometimes – a few times a year. “Порой начанили уже в априле, как только схидил лъд”, says Trofimov.

In the summer, there are many tourists and pilgrims in Valaame, and the active movement of ships makes research difficult.

An old bottle of milk – one of many amazing finds in the holds of a sunken ship. Photo: Stanislav Trofimov

For five years of work, divers got many objects from the bottom of Ladoga. An enameled jug with the inscription “Tillverkad i Sverige” (“Made in Sweden”), apparently, was on board from the first days of the ship's life. Хорошо сохранилась и продукта финского производитель: посуда Arabia и мясорубка марки Sampo.

One of the most amazing finds was a large brass cross. This 50-centimeter artifact was very heavy.

“We thought for a long time – that this could be and made the assumption that he could be attached to the ship's mast. Significantly later, we actually found a photo that confirmed our guess. This is an amazing feeling of living contact with history,” recalls Trofimov.

Пароход Valamo Monastery до войны. Photo: Mauno Mannelin

In September In 2023, one of the Russian researchers visited the Novy Balaam monastery in Finland at the invitation of his superior, Archimandrite Mikaela. At the present time – with closed borders – a similar visit would hardly be possible.

The New Valaam Archive has become a unique source of information for researchers. Там хранится информация обо всех врепах, which belonged to the monastery from the end of the XIX century.

Russian researchers found a lot of information about the history of the ship in the archives of the Novy Balaam monastery. Photo: Underwater club “Divo”

“Thanks to the careful attitude of the Finns to all the property evacuated in 1940, all documents, libraries, and historical information have been perfectly preserved. За ними следят и вудявивать”, thanks Trofimov.

По итогам their sophisticated divers shot a 26-minute documentary film about the history of this ship and the entire Valaam flotilla in general. Its premiere took place on 17 January. It's called “Пароход времени “Валаамский монастырь”.

To create an animated 3D model, divers took detailed photographs of both the remains of the steamer itself and the full relief of the day in Valaam's Nikon Bay.

“Our task is to “dry out” Ladogu and show everyone – what's there on the day. И этот пароход, и всё остеньее”, explains Trofimov. “At this depth, Ladoga is as dark as coffee even during the day. So the filming went slowly and carefully. They worked on fragments.”

Russian specialists made a 3D image of the sunken vessel and the relief of the Ladoga bottom. Photo: Underwater club “Divo”

In spite of на то что работа по использованию истории Valamo Monastery закончена, the divers of the club “Divo” plan to return to Ladoga. At the bottom of the lake, they discovered even more than a dozen unknown sunken ships. Including Finnish.

“Some lie at a depth of 40 meters. У нас есть предположения что это может быть за суда, но пока рано их узвучивать. Too little data. We will return and study”, Stanislav Trofimov promises.

Article first published on February 5, 2024.

You can read the article in Finnish from here.