Our planet is unique. Man uses its gifts, but we should not forget that we are not the only inhabitants on Earth. There are many different animals in the world. They live in families, herds, packs. In this article we will talk about elephants, these large and good-natured animals. About how long an elephant's pregnancy lasts, and whether it is true that elephants are on the verge of extinction.
Mighty giant. What is he like?
The largest land mammal on Earth is the elephant. The giant is very handsome, friendly and sociable. The population of this animal is approximately 600 thousand individuals.
The body weight of a male can reach 5 tons, its length is approximately 7.5 m, its height reaches 3.5 m. The thickness of the skin is about 2.5 cm. The elephant has an amazing organ - the trunk, which serves as its nose, hand, and also strong weapon. Thanks to it, he drinks, breathes, with its help he can take food, and makes loud trumpet sounds. Elephants have highly developed front incisors, which protrude far forward and are called tusks. The older the animal, the larger the tusks. In males they are much larger than in females, they can reach 2.5 meters!
Despite the fact that the elephant's skin is thick, it is very sensitive to the bites of various insects. Giants do not like the sun, which is why they often take mud baths.
Elephant life
Elephants gather in herds and live in large groups of about 10-12 individuals. They are often led by females. And they are the ones who determine where and for how long to stop for rest. Their sleep lasts no more than 4 hours.
Mighty giants deftly and effortlessly pass through dense thickets and forest wilds, while moving almost silently. Elephants confidently and easily swim across wide bodies of water.
These animals feed on various vegetation and consume about 450 kg of grass and leaves per day. For a comfortable existence, an animal needs to drink at least 150-300 liters of water per day.
Now let's move on to animal reproduction. You're probably wondering how long pregnancy lasts for elephants? There is an interesting pattern in nature: this period directly depends on the weight and size of the animal. Knowing the parameters of elephants, it can be assumed that bearing offspring occurs over many months. Now a little more about how many months an elephant’s pregnancy lasts.
Scientists have studied this issue for a long time. This was done through observations of the lives of animals in the wild, in zoos and nurseries. Now biologists know not only how long pregnancy lasts in elephants, but also how mating occurs, pregnancy in elephants proceeds, about the birth itself and caring for the offspring.
Gestation of offspring occurs for approximately two years, or more precisely, for 1 year and 10 months. This means that female elephants can give birth to cubs once every 4-5 years. This is the longest pregnancy in the animal kingdom.
The fetus develops throughout pregnancy, and at 531 days the baby elephant inside the mother is fully developed, the rest of the time it only grows and gains weight.
Giving birth and caring for the baby
You already know how long pregnancy lasts for elephants. This process is long and not the easiest for expectant mother elephants. Most often only one cub is born; twins are the rarest case in this family. A newborn elephant calf weighs approximately 90 kilograms and is about 1 meter tall.
After the elephant gives birth, she does not leave her baby for a second. Elephants are born blind, so they simply need the protection and care of their mother. If the elephant is busy, looking for food or resting, then other giants will definitely help her and look after the small member of the herd.
The elephant is a very smart, majestic and kind animal. Tactile contact is very important for them. Giants touch each other with their long trunks, thus showing affection and friendship. They grow throughout their lives, in the wild they live on average up to 50-60 years, in captivity they can live up to 70-90 years.
Elephants in stressful situations
Throughout the entire period of pregnancy, all members of the herd help and take care of to the expectant mother. If the animals sense danger, they begin to run away and keep their small offspring and pregnant females in the center of the group for their safety.
Kind, mighty giants have a highly developed intellect, a very good memory and do not forgive insults. If you hit them or yell at them, then even after 10 years they will try to take revenge on their enemy when they meet.
If a person showed care and kindness towards an elephant, then the good-natured giant will respond with affection, trust and friendship.
In appearance, elephants seem clumsy, but this is a big misconception. Their running speed can reach 30 km/h. In wildlife they have no enemies - who would dare to attack a thick-skinned giant with two-meter tusks?
Elephant extinction. Truth or myth?
These powerful animals could completely disappear from the face of the earth in just 12 years. The reason for this is the hunting of them in order to obtain elephant tusks, which cost a fortune.
Elephants are listed in the Red Book, and hunting them is prohibited, but this does not stop poachers. They harvest up to 25 tons of tusks per year, despite the fact that one tusk weighs approximately 50-60 kg. This means that at least 500 elephants die at the hands of black hunters every year. Remembering how long an elephant’s pregnancy lasts and that offspring are born every 4-5 years, we can conclude that the mighty giants are gradually dying out.
The article told a lot of interesting things about the wonderful giant animal. Now you know how he lives, what he eats, how long pregnancy lasts for elephants, how a mother elephant takes care of her offspring.
It is logical to assume that every Living being on Earth has different period bearing their cubs: for a human it is 9 months, for a giraffe it is as much as 15 months, and for a rabbit it is enough only 20 days. What can be said about the largest mammal living on land - the elephant? An elephant's pregnancy is the longest, not only on earth, but in the entire animal kingdom - it lasts neither more nor less - 680 days, that is, approximately 22 months.
Elephants are characterized by high reproductive flexibility: in the presence of unfavorable conditions, such as lack of food due to drought, food competition and crowding, sexual maturity in both females and males occurs later, and the interval between births may increase.
It is also important to note that elephants are known for the greatest diversity in timing of maturity among mammals. Eg, minimum age The onset of readiness for reproduction in female elephants is 7 years, while in unfavorable conditions cases of reaching sexual maturity at 18 or even 22 years have been noted. Besides, great importance also has the habitat of animals: the time of peak fertility of females largely depends on it.
The gestation period of an elephant is the longest among mammals - almost two years, or to be more precise - 20-22 months. A female elephant brings one already fully developed calf, while cases of twins are extremely rare (only 1-2% of births). The baby weighs approximately 90-120 kg, is about one meter tall, and has a short trunk without tusks. Childbirth traditionally takes place away from the herd, often accompanied by a “midwife.” Amazingly, already half an hour after birth the cub is able to rise to its feet and can follow its mother. However, it cannot be said that he immediately becomes independent - up to the age of four he needs maternal care, in addition, young sexually mature female elephants (from 2 to 11 years old) look after the baby, thus undergoing a kind of practice in preparation for the role of mother. According to research conducted in Kenya in 1992, there is a direct relationship between the number of "nannies" caring for the offspring and the survival rate of the cubs. Newborn elephant calves begin to absorb solid food already at 6 months, however milk feeding mother can last up to 5 years. Childbirth usually occurs once every 2.5 - 9 years; the baby is traditionally kept with the mother until the next birth. As a study conducted in national park Addo, which is located in South Africa, 95% of mature females under 49 years of age are either already pregnant or already nursing cubs.
Scientists once wondered how long pregnancy lasts in elephants, but now they are more interested in why these animals are characterized by such a long period of gestation. Thanks to modern methods Ultrasound, veterinarians thoroughly studied embryos at all stages of elephant pregnancy in order to improve the program for breeding animals in captivity, including, very importantly, artificial insemination.
Scientists have noted an extraordinary property of animals - a unique ovulation cycle. Such a long gestation period is associated, first of all, with a distinctive hormonal mechanism, one of a kind, since it has not been seen before in any other animal. The results of the scientists' research are of great importance. Not only will they help ensure the conservation of elephant populations in wildlife, but also to increase the number of mammals of this species living in captivity, and, in addition, to develop special contraceptives for those species that grow too quickly.
It is no coincidence that the baby elephant stays in the womb for such a long period of time - it is born practically prepared for an active physical and social life. Thanks to this it is possible to Once again to see how perfect and ideal the nature around us is.
Instructions
Elephants reach sexual maturity by 10-12 years; in unfavorable conditions, sexual maturity occurs later - at 18-20 years. Females acquire the ability to fully bear offspring at 15-16 years of age. Males become sexually mature at 10-15 years, but competition with adult elephants rarely allows them to begin breeding before 25-30 years - stronger and more experienced males usually win in mating fights.
From about the age of 20, every year young elephants experience a condition known in India as "must" for several weeks and sometimes months. During this period, males show particular aggressiveness and become more excitable than usual. During must, testosterone levels rise sharply, and a special secretion is released from the glands located between the ear and eye. In females, must rarely appears and aggressiveness is less pronounced.
During the musth period, elephants look for females ready to mate and approach herds, although the rest of the time they are solitary or gather in small groups consisting only of young males. Elephants engage in mating fights and court females. Formed pairs are separated from the herd for several days; after mating, the female elephant returns to the general herd, the male goes to a group of young elephants or remains alone.
The estrous cycle in female elephants lasts about 4 months, and the female is ready for reproduction only during estrus - for two days. During drought, the sexual activity of animals decreases - female elephants do not ovulate, males do not demonstrate mating behavior.
Pregnancy in elephants lasts 22 months. Before giving birth, the female leaves the herd, but does not go far from it. When a baby is born, the woman in labor is not left alone - she is accompanied by one or more female elephants to protect her from predators, help the baby elephant get to its feet, and sometimes even provide some kind of assistance during childbirth, carefully pulling the baby out with the trunk. As a rule, a female elephant gives birth to one baby, and extremely rarely – two. The weight of a newborn ranges from 60 to 115 kilograms for Indian elephants and from 90 to 130 kilograms for African elephants.
Despite their impressive size, elephant calves remain dependent on their mother for a very long time. For two years or more, the female feeds the calf with milk, although the baby elephant is able to eat solid food already 6 months after birth. In the herd, immature young female elephants look after the babies for several years - for them this is a kind of preparation for motherhood. “Nannies” return the cubs to the herd if they happen to stray from the group, and protect them from predatory animals. In the future, such care not only increases the survival rate of the young, but also ensures that future mothers take care of their own offspring.
The elephant is one of the largest mammals inhabiting our planet. Body length adult can reach 7.5 meters, and a height of almost 4 meters. Average weight females weigh 5 tons, while larger males weigh an average of 7 tons. Elephants are predominantly dark gray in color. Young elephant calves are covered with fur, which is wiped off as the animal grows older. The remains of this fur in an adult animal can be seen only on the tail in the form of a tassel.
Despite its impressive thickness (2–4 centimeters), the skin of elephants is very sensitive to various injuries and insect bites. To protect it, animals often bathe or take mud baths.
The ears, which reach a length of up to one and a half meters, deserve special attention. They are the result of evolution. In hot climates due to large area this organ serves to remove excess heat, and elephants can also fan themselves with them.
Absolutely all types of elephants have a long flexible organ - the trunk. It consists of the nose and upper lip fused together. As a rule, the length of this organ reaches one and a half meters, and the weight is more than a ton. The trunk has enormous mobility and strength. It can easily hold up to 7 liters of water, and the load capacity reaches 2.5 centners.
Elephants and female elephants differ not only in body weight, but also in the size of their tusks. Males have longer and heavier tusks. Elephants' tusks grow throughout their lives. These animals are also right-handed and left-handed. Different individuals use either the right or left tusk more often. This is reflected in the wear and tear of the tusks.
Elephants also have from 4 to 6 molars, in addition to their tusks. It should be noted that as the teeth of this animal wear out, they change. What's interesting is that, unlike a person, Elephants grow new teeth not under worn ones, but next to them. As they grow, new ones displace the old ones. Molars have a very impressive size: with a length of 30 cm, the weight of such a tooth can reach almost 4 kilograms. Unlike humans, elephants change teeth 3 times throughout their life.
Features of reproduction
Elephant reproduction is not very dependent on seasonality, but in most cases births occur during the rainy season. Usually adults males lead a solitary lifestyle, while females form herds. When reaching sexual maturity, males become aggressive and very dangerous. They approach the herd of females if at least one of the females has reached a rare time suitable for pregnancy and bearing a calf. Often during this period one can observe brutal fights between males.
When does an elephant reach puberty?
Only adults and the strongest individuals who have reached sexual maturity participate in procreation, however, elephants are amazing animals. They are characterized by reproductive flexibility, which is expressed in the fact that, depending on environment the timing of puberty and the interval between births may increase. Minimum reproductive age in females - 7 years. However, in case of unfavorable conditions, this age can double or even triple.
How long does an elephant's pregnancy last?
The duration of pregnancy for an elephant is the longest on the planet. How much is it? The female carries the baby elephant for 20–22 months. Exact date pregnancy depends on factors such as:
- season,
- age of the elephant,
- how much feed does the animal receive,
- other factors.
Latest Research allowed us to establish that this duration of pregnancy is due to a unique ovulation cycle and hormonal mechanism.
Wherein the fetus is fully formed already at 19 months, but continues to remain inside the mother. During the remaining time, the baby grows in size, his bones become stronger, and the baby elephant grows skin. This is a kind of defense mechanism.
Elephants give birth very rarely, approximately once every three to nine years. This is also due to a special hormonal mechanism.
Growing up of baby elephants and life expectancy
In almost 100% of cases, only one cub is born. Childbirth different types elephants occur in different ways:
- A pregnant elephant leaves the herd to give birth, sometimes accompanied by another female from the herd.
- The entire herd surrounds the female with a dense wall, which is about to give birth, protecting her and the child from enemies until the moment the elephant calf is able to stand on its feet.
At birth baby elephant weighs approximately 100 kilograms. The height of newborns reaches one meter. Newborns have small tusks that fall out at about 2 years of age.
The baby elephant is born almost independently. He can stand on his feet within half an hour after birth. While the calf is still on its feet, the mother sprinkles dust and soil on it, hiding the baby's scent and thus protecting it from predators. After that he closely follows the mother, clinging to her tail with his trunk. An elephant becomes independent only at the age of 4 years. Until this time, the babies are protected by the mother and other young females from the herd.
The mother feeds the baby with milk. Surprisingly, all the females of the herd who have milk feed the baby elephant. This period can last from six months to five years. However, From the age of 6 months, elephant calves begin to eat solid food. Wide known fact that baby elephants eat feces from adults.
At the age of about 10 years, a mature elephant leaves the herd, and young females remain in the herd until the end of their lives. The lifespan of elephants reaches approximately 70 years.
Previously, there was a brick and pumice plant No. 1, on the basis of which a crematorium was organized in the spring of 1942 due to a sharp increase in mortality in besieged Leningrad.
In 2004, a stele with a memorial plaque appeared in the park (see photo), on which there is an image of the document that was the direct basis for the cremation of the bodies of deceased Leningraders. This secret Decision No. 157c of the Executive Committee of the Leningrad City Council of Working People's Deputies of March 7, 1942. Below is the text according to the image on the memorial plaque.
SECRET
SOLUTION No. 157с
NARROWED SESSION
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
LENINGRAD CITY COUNCIL OF WORKERS' DEPUTIES
======================================================ON THE ISSUE:
On the organization of burning corpses at the 1st brick factory "Lengorpromstrom".1. Oblige the head of the Industry Department building materials The Executive Committee of the Leningrad City Council of Working People's Deputies, Comrade Vasilyev, organized the burning of corpses at the 1st brick-pumice plant, putting into operation one of the plant's tunnel kilns by March 10, 1942 and the second by March 20, 1942, with the appropriate adaptation of trolleys.
2. Allow 160,000 rubles to the Gorpromstrom Administration for work on re-equipment of furnaces. from funds allocated by the government from the local budget for the 1st quarter for anti-epidemic and sanitary measures in the mountains. Leningrad.
Payment for the costs of burning corpses should be made in the amount of actual costs upon submission of a report by the head of the Gorpromstrom Department.3. To propose to the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Moscow District Council of Workers' Deputies, Comrade Tikhonov, to provide the 1st Brick Factory with fuel at the rate of 50 cubic meters of firewood per day from the wooden structures dismantled in the area, allocating 30 people daily. workers to procure the specified fuel.
4. To ask the Food Commission of the Lenfront Military Council to equate the workers involved in burning corpses, in the amount of 84 people, in terms of food supplies to the workers of the hot shops, with the issuance of an additional 100 grams of vodka to them daily.
5. Propose to the head of the Supply Department of the Executive Committee of the Leningrad City Council of Workers' Deputies, Comrade Byaloy, to supply the 1st brick factory with 60 pairs of rubber boots, 150 overalls, 300 pairs of canvas mittens and 50 waterproof aprons for workers involved in burning corpses.
6. To oblige the head of the Motor Transport Department of the Executive Committee of the Leningrad City Council, Comrade Klimenko, until the completion of work on equipping furnaces for burning corpses, to daily allocate at the disposal of the 1st brick factory one three-ton truck for the delivery of building materials.
7. To allocate the Deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Leningrad City Council, Comrade RESHKIN, for the month of March of this year. for the plant and block station vehicles two tons of gasoline.
8. Oblige the Management of Public Utilities Enterprises of the Executive Committee of the Leningrad City Council / Comrade Karpushenko / and Gorpromstrom / Comrade Vasilyev / with the participation of the State Sanitary Inspectorate, within 5 days, to develop temporary rules for the operation of all premises related to the process of cremation of corpses.
9. For the purpose of continuous provision sanitary requirements, propose to the Directorate of Gorpromstrom to introduce one sanitary doctor, with its payment from the funds specified in paragraph 2 of this decision.
10. Responsibility for the exact implementation of this decision rests with the head of Gorpromstrom, comrade Vasilyev.
Chairman of the S.Z. Executive Committee
Leningrad City Council
of Working People's Deputies (SIGNATURE) /Popkov/Secretary of the S.Z.Executive Committee
Leningrad City Council
deputies of workers - (SIGNATURE) /Mosolov/
Based on a photograph of the memorial plaque electronic variant document (handwritten graphic elements are partially reproduced, hyphens, spelling and punctuation are preserved):
Let me clarify that the image of the document was not verified with the archival original, so complete authenticity is not guaranteed. In particular, the image on the plaque has a length to width ratio greater than 2:1, which may indicate that the images of two sheets were glued together to give artistic integrity to the composition.
In addition to Decision No. 157c I present a valuable study by an unknown author. Unfortunately, the only source I found for this post already produces a 404 error, so here I am providing the text saved on January 15, 2008.
Cremation during the siege
60 years ago - in March 1942 - in besieged Leningrad, a besieged crematorium began operating at the 1st brick factory. Documentary history of this enterprise, unfortunately, has not yet been written, which leads to the emergence of various kinds of legends about the supposed “second Piskarevka on Moskovsky Prospekt”, actively circulated by some means mass media. Meanwhile, materials stored in the Central State Archives of St. Petersburg make it possible to trace the history of the plant and quite accurately establish the number of Leningraders whose ashes were scattered here.
The organization of a crematorium in a besieged city was caused by practical necessity - the Funeral Business trust, whose production capabilities are Peaceful time did not exceed 4 - 5 thousand burials per month, already in the late autumn of 1941 it ceased to cope with its responsibilities. Very coldy, freezing of the soil, lack of equipment, extreme exhaustion of the people working in the cemeteries prevented burials from being carried out in compliance with the necessary sanitary standards.
A particularly tense situation developed in Kolpino, which was located in close proximity to the front. On January 14, 1942, the chief engineer of the Izhora plant ordered to determine the possibility of adapting the furnaces of one of the workshops for burning corpses. By February 5, furnaces were selected for the experiment thermal section machine shop, and late in the evening of February 10, a trial cremation of seven corpses took place, which lasted 2.5 hours at a temperature of 725 degrees.
The special commission, “from a hygienic point of view,” considered it “necessary to recommend and develop combustion as a real and necessary means in this situation.” The protocol on the trial cremation was sent to the Leningrad City Executive Committee, and on February 27 its narrowed meeting decided: “To allow the executive committee of the Kolpinsky District Council of Workers' Deputies and the directorate of the Order of Lenin of the Izhora plant to burn corpses in the thermal furnaces of the plant.” The crematorium in Kolpino operated for 4 months (from February to May), and, as is clear from the plant’s report, in total the remains of 5,524 people were cremated, including fallen soldiers of the Leningrad Front.
The experience of the Izhora plant was used to organize a crematorium at brick factory No. 1.
This small enterprise, located on the outskirts of the city (its pre-war address was Moskovskoe Shosse, 62), was put into operation in 1931. Initially, the plant had one workshop with two brick kilns, and in 1938 a second workshop, a pumice one, began operating. By 1941, the plant's equipment was badly worn out and required overhaul. The reconstruction that had begun was interrupted by the war. As a result of the bombing in September-October 1941, the workshops were severely damaged - walls were partially destroyed, roofs were torn off, windows and doors were broken, and electrical wiring was damaged. But the work continued, and in January 1942 successful completion During military orders, several plant workers were awarded medals “For Labor Valor.”
On March 7, 1942, a narrowed meeting of the Leningrad City Executive Committee adopted secret solution No. 157-s “On the organization of burning corpses at the 1st brick factory of Lengorpromstrom.”
Consisting of 10 points, it ordered “to organize the burning of corpses at the 1st brick-pumice plant, putting into operation one of the plant’s tunnel kilns by March 10, 1942 and the second by March 20, 1942, with the corresponding adaptation of trolleys.” 160 thousand rubles were allocated for the re-equipment of the furnaces, the plant was supposed to receive 50 cubic meters of firewood per day, and a three-ton truck was allocated to transport construction materials.
Workers (there were 84 of them at the time) involved in burning corpses were treated in terms of food supply as workers in hot shops; they were given an additional 100 grams of vodka every day, and were ordered to be provided with rubber boots, overalls, canvas mittens, and waterproof aprons. The position of a sanitary doctor was added to the plant's staff; within five days, rules for the operation of all premises associated with cremation were to be developed.The re-equipment of the furnaces proceeded at a rapid pace, a mobile block station was installed to supply the plant with electricity, and a hearse trolley was constructed according to the design of the chief engineer V.D. Mazokhin (an ordinary trolley was lined fire brick). Oil shale and wood were used as fuel. Initially, firewood was split manually, but later engineer A. A. Tsyganov designed a mechanical splitter.
The main problem was that the oven temperature increased unevenly. Had to manually high temperature clean underfloor channels and push trolleys.
It was this terrible cleaning of the furnace tunnels that was remembered by those plant workers who lived to see the publication of information about the besieged crematorium in the early 1990s. At first, the unburned remains had to be returned for re-burning, but by April a high temperature was reached - 1100 - 1200 degrees, which practically ensured complete combustion. By this time, the second furnace had been converted and put into operation. Along the quarry where the ashes were poured, a narrow-gauge track for trolleys was laid.Trial cremations began on March 10, and the crematorium began operating regularly on March 16, when 150 corpses were burned. In April, its capacity increased 10 times. The dead were brought from morgues (district and at medical institutions), and after the snow had melted, from cemeteries, where there were many unburied or barely covered with earth corpses (“snowdrops,” in the bitter terminology of the siege years).
The question arises: did the plant keep a name record of those whose remains were cremated in the plant’s ovens? We can confidently answer - no, it was assumed that their death had already been registered, and often they were considered buried in cemeteries. Only a general record of the number of cremated corpses was organized.
The reduction in mortality made it possible to completely abandon mass graves from June 1, 1942. Deceased citizens whom relatives or friends could not bury individually in cemeteries were usually cremated.In September 1942, the Leningrad City Executive Committee initiated a petition to award the 17 most distinguished factory workers with orders and medals, emphasizing that the results “were achieved as a result of the colossal dedicated and heroic work of the team of workers of the 1st brick factory, done in difficult, incredible, sometimes inhuman conditions. People worked without leaving the factory for whole days, living at the factory, forgetting their personal hardships, losing people close to them, not taking into account time, difficulties, or types of work...”
The plant carried out a special task during 1942 and at the beginning of 1943. According to the plant’s own report, 109,925 corpses were cremated in 1942 (according to the Lengorpromstrom administration, which was in charge of the plant, 117,863), and in 1943, another 12,122. Consequently, the total number of cremated people did not exceed 130,000. This is a huge figure, but it is far from what some journalists call, based on the imperfect memory of eyewitnesses.Preserved in the archive unique document- “A certificate of services provided by the brick factory for 1942 for cremation for the Funeral Business trust” - a kind of invoice signed by a senior accountant, which states the “cost” of cremation of the remains of 109,925 people - 9,234,789 rubles. 24 kopecks After all, it was, albeit “special” work. The certificate shows that until June 62,461 corpses were cremated, i.e., on average up to 800 corpses daily, but gradually this figure fell and since August did not exceed 150 - 200, and in the fall the plant cremated on average just over 100 corpses.
Summer 1943 large group plant workers were awarded the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad”. Their award descriptions sparingly stated: “performed work special purpose" An analysis of the award documents casts doubt on the reliability of some memoirs that talk about the involvement of teenagers in unloading trolleys - the lists contain only one young man born in 1927 (an electrician).
The legends about the work of the crematorium throughout 1943 also do not correspond to reality. Already at the end of 1942, the head of Lengorpromstrom ordered to begin developing a restoration project brick production. In 1943, the rails and narrow gauge tracks were dismantled, and on November 15, the plant began producing its regular products.
Archival documents, classified as “secret” for fifty years, preserved the names of many crematorium workers. These are the forty-year-old director P. I. Ivanov, who organized the work of the plant and was nominated for the Order of the Red Star, the chief engineer V. D. Mazokhin, who solved the thermal technical issues of cremation, D. A. Abramova, who was involved in cleaning the trolleys and returning the “unburnt parts again” for re-burning,” S. A. Dubrovin, who “heroically climbed into the tunnel and cleaned the underground channels,” A. T. Efimova, who repeatedly eliminated accidents in furnaces “at high temperatures, among the remains,” and others.
The names of those whose ashes found eternal rest in a corner of modern Moscow Victory Park will remain unknown, but their memory should not be insulted by lies and whipping up passions.
http://butcher.newmail.ru/blokada.htm
(status as of January 15, 2008)
I hope that the presented materials will help the reader to form a more holistic and reliable picture of the events of 1942 in besieged Leningrad.
