Badigin, Konstantin Sergeevich (1910–1984)

Badigin, Konstantin Sergeevich (1910–1984) – an Arctic explorer, sea captain, Candidate of Geographic Sciences, writer, and Hero of the Soviet Union (awarded in 1940). In 1929 began his naval career as a sailor on merchant ships in the Far East. In 1932, he graduated from the Marine Technical School in Vladivostok. As a navigation officer, he served on the icebreaker “Krasin” in 1935–1936 and afterward on the icebreaker “Sadko” which in October 1937 got trapped in fast ice in the Laptev Sea together with the icebreakers “Malygin” and “G. Sedov.” In March 1938, he was appointed captain of “G. Sedov” and continued drifting with a crew of 14 members up to January 1940. The drift lasted for 812 days. All the crew were bestowed the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union. At the beginning of the World War II, B. was the chief of the Soviet icebreaker fleet in the White Sea. In 1942, he was transferred to the Northern Sea Route Authority and appointed chief of the staff of the Arctic Sea...