ST.PETERSBURG THE SHORTEST WAY TO THE ARCTIC

What is the Sould of St.Petersburg Like

"It possesses a powerful magnetic force", believes Viktor Boyarsky.

Larissa Sheffer

      Very few people have ever visited the places my interlocutor has been to many times - the Arctic and Antarctic regions. It is with them that Viktor Boyarsky, our well-known fellow citizen, an arctic explorer, a scientist and the Director of the State Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic Regions of Russia, deals in his everyday, scientific and professional affairs. He is an active participant of many international expeditions on the exploration and exploitation of the northern and southern extremes of the Earth. His book "Seven Months of Infinity" describes one of these expeditions called Transarctica.

      When talking with Viktor Ilyuich Boyarsky, I realized that, contrary to the laws of physics, there is a third pole, not less magnetic than the North and the South Poles, and that is the place where one always returns after all travels and expeditions. For him, his home, his family and the city of St.Petersburg constitute such a pole, where everything began and joined together in his life.

      --Do you think it will be appropriate if I ask you this question: "What is the soul of St.Petersburg, which Dostoyevsky defined as "a most deliberate city", like?

      --I do not consider St.Petersburg a deliberate or artificial city, -- flatly declares my interlocutor. - I find that it is a place quite suitable for the life of the people, though the climate could be better. But, together with singer Rozenbaum, "I like its dampness". Therefore, I don't agree with Dostoyevsky, although I like him very much and although the image of the city is inseparably connected with him.
      I first came to Leningrad when I was 16 to enter the Institute of Electrical Engineering and, of course, I was fascinated with the city right away. There is a powerful magnetic force about it - it may be its White Nights or its beautiful architecture, or, most probably, the combination of nature and art. I can still remember very clearly how excited I was when wandering along the streets in the White Nights.
      As for the soul… It seems that there is a certain mystic hue in the subject, which is alien to me. I am not inclined to anthropomorphosise cities, not even St.Petersburg, despite its aura and its destiny. I believe that the city's soul is its people-St.Petersburgers or Leningraders. And because the people are different - kind and evil-minded, talented and mediocre,-- so is St.Petersburg, both enticing and exquisitely unbearable. And such is its soul. Naturally, the true nature of it's soul is in its better and lighter side, but it would be folly not to notice its dark side, too.

      --You have visited all capital cities of the world. How does St.Petersburg compare with them?

      -- St.Petersburg is very beautiful. Although there are cities more beautiful and happier, it is my hometown and the only one in the world. What does it lack? It lacks clever and strong authorities, which are able to adopt decisions and be responsible for their actions. This city is worthy of a better destiny.

      -- Viktor Ilyich, do you consider St.Petersburg a museum-city?

      --Of course, not! St.Petersburg is the city of people, they are its destiny and its soul. They bring both good and evil. And our museum is not a museum inside a museum, it is a museum inside the city, and the city's problems are also the museum's problems.

      --Are there similar museums anywhere in the world? If there are, then what makes your museum special?

      --Our museum, founded in the 1930-ies, is the largest in the world and the only one in Russia specializing in the Arctic Region research. It was absolutely logical that such museum appeared in our city, because it is a northern, polar, sea city and, finally, because it is a major arctic research centre. Polar expeditions are formed here. Their theoretic and practical preparations take place here. And our museum doesn't stay aside from all of that. We possess a unique collection which numbers 70 000 exhibits. Its specificity lies in the encyclopaedic coverage of the subject and in its scientific depth.

      --Do you, as the director of the museum, which is a rather troublesome business, find time to take part in expeditions?

      --Yes, I do. It is also necessary both for the scientific and museum activity and for the financial support of the museum staff. When I am away, there is a note stuck on the door of my study: "The director is gone to the North Pole". Just like on the door of a shop director who has gone to the vegetable warehouse. Only, I leave for several months and I always return to my city where I have everything: my work, my mother and my family.

      Well, the museum, like the city, is living a difficult life today. Viktor Ilyich Boyarsky, a strong cheerful redheaded man, has to solve and-- I do hope-- will be able to solve all vital problems.