A meeting with Mikhail Malakhov, Hero of Russia, honorary polar explorer, vice president of the Russian Association of Travelers, and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, was held at Derzhavin University.
The event was organized with the support of the Tambov Regional Government and Tambov State University named after G.R. Derzhavin under the auspices of the regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society. Participants in the dialogue included students of Derzhavin University, teachers and schoolchildren from the region, and representatives of youth organizations.
The hero of the educational project was introduced by Alexei Kondratyev, member of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation from the Tambov Region and recipient of four Orders of Courage. In his opening remarks, the senator noted Mikhail Malakhov's outstanding contribution to the exploration of the North Pole.
Mikhail Malakhov, a surgeon and graduate of the Ryazan Medical Institute, has dedicated over 40 years to studying the human body's adaptive reserves in the extreme cold of the Arctic and Antarctic.
"Travel is the best form of knowledge," Mikhail Malakhov remarked, addressing the Tambov youth.
In his speech, the explorer detailed his participation in the 28th Soviet Antarctic Expedition, his trek to the Pole of Relative Inaccessibility during the polar night, and the international ski expedition "Polar Bridge."
In 1994, Mikhail Malakhov became the first in the country's history to carry the Russian tricolor and plant it at the top of the planet—the North Pole. A year later, the Russian polar explorer and his Canadian colleague, Richard Weber, completed a unique autonomous trek from the shores of Canada to the North Pole and back. This achievement, for which the polar explorer was awarded the title Hero of Russia, remains unrivaled to this day. “I had an idea: to reach the pole and return without external assistance. At the beginning of the 20th century, humanity lacked the technical capabilities to undertake such long journeys in extreme cold. My research interest was piqued, and we conducted our first experiment. For four months, seven days a week, we carried a 230-kilogram load. On each of the 123 days, we covered 20 kilometers in the polar night. The main motivation was to discover the limits of our physical capabilities,” said Mikhail Malakhov. “Humanity is designed to gradually fill in the gaps. The Arctic Ocean is the world’s largest storehouse of hydrocarbons. People will inevitably reach there and find themselves alone against the ice. They must know how to survive and endure in these conditions.”
In addition to participating in polar expeditions, Mikhail Malakhov initiated expeditions to Alaska and the Hawaiian Islands, following in the footsteps of Russian pioneers. He is the author of four books and six documentaries, an educator, a man in love with the sky, and a champion of aeronautics in Russia.
Students and schoolchildren asked the Hero of Russia questions about organizing polar expeditions and inquired about new projects of the Russian Geographical Society.
