STALIN PRIZES TO GEOLOGISTS. PART II. DISCOVERIES IN SIBERIAN EARTH. PRIME GOLD

V. F. Svinyin

The article of a series about the Stalin Prize for geological exploration in Siberia is dedicated to history of «The gold Kolyma» discovery and development in 1928–1946. The events of those years, along with the romanticism of the first Kolyma expeditions of Yu. A. Bilibin, V.A. Tsaregradskiy, include the creation both the peculiar Gulag «monster» – «Dalstroy» trust in the south-east of the country, and establishing of gold placers geology, and the sharp changes in fates of people, devoted their lives to the exploration of this harsh land. There are also thoughts about the question of why the discovery of minerals did not become immediately the object of regard of the relevant Stalin Prizes Committee.

Key words: Stalin Prizes for outstanding inventions and radical improvements of production job methods, Yana-Kolymskaya gold-bearing province, first Kolyma expeditions, A. Bilibin, placer and stream gold, ‘Dalstroy’ trust, E.P. Berzin, minable exploration of the USSR south-east.

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