The northern coast of Russia is a vast expanse of water, which has always been the shortest way to the western and eastern parts of the country for ships of the Russian fleet. Today, in the days of computer technology and satellite communications, this path is not difficult. But earlier to overcome these spaces, where the polar night lasts up to 100 days, it was possible only by focusing on landmarks. These landmarks were the network of atomic lighthouses built during the Soviet era. This article is about one of them.
A bit of history
Cape Aniva is a busy intersection on the way to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, surrounded by stone banks at dangerously shallow depths. After a major wreck of the German ship Cosmopolit off these coasts in 1898, proposals began to appear on the construction of a large lighthouse on Aniva Island or Cape Terpeniya that could illuminate a complex coastline.
Two periods of the history of the Aniva atomic lighthouse
Cape Aniva was chosen for the construction of the lighthouse, but the difficulty was that it was possible to deliver building materials to the cape only by ship, and the waters here are very turbulent. This mission was carried out by the only Roshu-maru ship at that time, which belonged to the Argun East-Chinese Railway Society. And from that moment, the history of the construction and life of the atomic lighthouse on Cape Aniva splits into two periods - the history before the beginning of the 90s of the 20th century and the history after.
The first period of the lighthouse
The author of the project was the experienced architect Miura Shinobu, the author of the lighthouse project on the island of Osaka (1932) and on the Kaigara rock (1936). The lighthouse on Cape Aniva became his most complex project in Sakhalin and the achievement of engineering at that time. Delivery of materials by sea, fogs, stone banks and a strong current did not prevent the completion of the lighthouse in 1939.
Diesel lighthouse
A diesel generator and backup batteries, a staff of 4 caretakers who left it at the end of navigation - this is what the atomic lighthouse at Cape Aniva was like before. The foundation for the lighthouse was the rock of Sivuchya. It housed a round concrete tower, 31 meters high with nine equipped floors. In the annex of the tower were rooms of caretakers, utility rooms, battery room, diesel, radio room. At the top of the tower was a rotational mechanism, driven by a clockwork. A weight of 300 kg served as a pendulum, and the lighting apparatus was a bowl-shaped bearing filled with mercury. The mechanism was started manually every three hours. But the lighthouse shone for 17.5 miles around around the clock and saved more than one life of sailors.
Atomic lighthouse at Cape Aniva
Such a lighthouse was until the 90s of the twentieth century. Soviet engineers proposed a project for powering a lighthouse from atomic energy, and a limited series of light small atomic reactors for lighthouses on the north coast was manufactured and delivered beyond the Arctic Circle. Such a reactor was installed on the Aniva atomic lighthouse. He worked offline for many years, calculated the time of year, turned the flashlight and sent radio signals to sea vessels. The minimum maintenance costs and the lighthouse robot should have served for many years. Should have, but ...
Looted and destroyed
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the atomic lighthouse was forgotten and abandoned. He worked until the end of the life of a nuclear reactor, and then became a ghost beacon. In 1996, media reports of abandoned isotope batteries at an atomic lighthouse stirred public uproar. They were removed, and the looters finished the looting of the lighthouse - all metal structures were cut out and taken out. Today it is a place of pilgrimage for extreme travel lovers. These tourists are escorted by rescue professionals of the Ministry of Emergencies, “packaged” in accordance with the latest technology.
Thanks to the efforts of the volunteers
The Sakhalin Regional Public Organization “Boomerang” has long taken under its guardianship the construction of a lighthouse on Aniva Island. The organization of extreme excursions, the collection of charity funds, publications in the media and an appeal to the authorities of all levels - all these actions are designed to preserve the heritage and history of this place, which has repeatedly changed its owners. Rescue from marauders and vandals, sloppy tourists and from the cruelty of local environmental conditions - these are the goals that a public organization is trying to solve.
Ghost lighthouses and lighthouses with a mystical halo always attracted the close attention of people. But looking at the atomic lighthouse at Cape Aniva becomes sad and sad. Thousands of saved lives, the work of builders and selfless caretakers, and simply the unimaginable beauty of the landscape of the Sakhalin coast could find more worthy application than becoming an extreme object for lovers of urbanism, abandoned buildings and other destroyed buildings. Today, this place belongs to only thousands of birds, and you will almost never meet people here.