February 3, 1942. The first train with gifts from Primorsky arrived on the Leningrad front

In the autumn of 1941, workers and employees of the Vladivostok seaport, miners of Suchan, fishermen of Popov Island and other enterprises of the region decided to organize the collection of individual and collective gifts for the new year for the soldiers of the Red Army and appealed to all residents of Primorye to begin collecting gifts for the front. In a short time Primorye collected about 40 cars of gifts and products. One of the headquarters for collecting gifts and forming a train was organized in the Primorsky Regional Museum.

Today, our funds store photos and documents related to the preparation and dispatch of the train, as well as trophies handed over in response by the defenders of the Fatherland. Primorye carried to the collection points everything that they considered necessary. If the townspeople brought mainly warm things, tobacco, stationery and bedding, then the residents of the districts of the region shared mainly products. For example, the workers of the 20th mine Suchana gave 3 bags of potatoes, 5 kg of meat, 1 pood of beets. In total, the miners sent 31 tons of potatoes, 76 kg of wheat, 300 kg of various vegetables, 1189 kg of corn, 113 kg of soybeans, 55 kg of beans, 226 kg of honey, 24 pieces of poultry. Few people knew about the horrors of the beginning of the first blockade winter, but the Primorsky Regional Committee of the CPSU (b) decided to send gifts accompanied by a delegation of employees of various organizations of Vladivostok defenders and residents of the city of Leningrad. On December 25, the train departed from Vladivostok. Throughout the train on Primorye, additional cars were attached to it.

On February 3, 1942, the first train from Primorye with gifts arrived at the Leningrad Front. The escorts met with the soldiers of the 54th Army, visited Leningrad and Kronstadt. At one of the rallies, the commander of the 54th Army, General Ivan Fedyuninsky, on behalf of the army soldiers, handed the Primorsky Red Banner to the Primorsky Red Banner, which the bureau of the Primorsky Krai Committee of the party decided to award as a passing banner to an enterprise, state farm or collective farm that achieved the highest performance in work. It is known that on February 8, 1942, a delegation of Primorsky Krai workers visited the Pulkovo Heights. She met with soldiers of the 189th Infantry Division. Not far from the front edge was the presentation of gifts to soldiers. The most unexpected gift was received by Tamara Balabonina, who carried 60 wounded with their weapons from the battlefield. The girl was happy and confused: where does she now silk dress? Crawling on the front edge is more convenient in a balcony and quilted cotton pants. And yet Tamara liked the gift. On this harsh February day, the girl probably imagined the time when in honor of the Victory she will wear a precious renewal brought to her near Pulkovo from the Far East. Unfortunately, we do not know anything more about the fate of the brave nurse, but I really want to believe that her dream came true on Victory Day.

Materials and photos provided by the press service of the State United Museum-Reserve of the History of the Far East named after V.K. Arsenyev