Viktor Boyarsky

Viktor Boyarsky – First recipient of the Prakhin Literary Award.

Established in honor of renowned yachtsman Lazar Prakhin
A recent gathering to mark the publication of another issue of the journal Nevsky Almanac in the Smolny Exhibition Hall was somewhat out of the ordinary, as it started with the presentation of the literary prize The Truth is in the Sea. The award was established in honor of the renowned yachtsman, Lazar Prakhin.

The first recipient of the award was the well-known explorer and member of the Russian Writers Union, Viktor Boyarsky.

The annual literary award The Truth is in the Sea was established in 2005 by the Prakhin International Literary Foundation (Lyudmila Prakhina and her sons Boris and Mikhail, who live in the United States) and the St. Petersburg branch of the Russian Writers Union in memory of the renowned yachtsman Lazar Prakhin, who took part in many sailing regattas in the Baltic, Black and Azov Seas, the Gulf of Finland and Chudskoe Lake and led a transcontinental river expedition across the entire breadth of Russia from east to west (Tetyukhe-Leningrad) in 1971. Prakhin died on his yacht Fairy in 1971 in the Gulf of Finland near Kurgolovo on 13 October 1993 under mysterious circumstances. He is buried in Kingisepp beneath a tombstone that reads, The Truth is in the Sea.

In 1996 the first book about Lazar Prakhin, entitled Razorvanny parus [Torn Sail] was published in Kingisepp. In 2000 the magazine Katera i yakhty [Power Boats and Yachts, issue No. 171] published an article about his transcontinental journey entitled "Across the Entire Country from East to West," and in 2004 the St. Petersburg branch of the Russian Writers Union published the Russian-language edition of the book 14,000 Kilometers Across the Rivers of Russia from East to West, edited by Anatoly Belinsky. In 2006, an English-language edition was published in St. Petersburg by Duma Press. The English edition is translated by Nora Seligman Favorov, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, who contributed a translator's preface to the work.

The Truth is in the Sea Literary Award was established to recognized the finest works of prose and poetry about the sea – novels, short stories, lyrics, poems – that vividly reflect the spiritual world of the sailor. It also endeavors to support the further development of maritime traditions in contemporary Russian literature, to promote the seafaring professions, and to recognize honor and merit and instill a love of the sea and naval service.
During the period when works by potential recipients of the Truth is in the Sea award were being evaluated, Viktor Boyarsky was leading an expedition of tourists to the North Pole...

In 1989-90 a major trans-Arctic expedition was completed in which representatives of six countries took part – the United States, France, Great Britain, Japan, China, and the Soviet Union. Members of the expedition traversed over 6000 kilometers on skis and dog sleds and passed through the South Pole, covering the longest route across Antarctica ever traversed without the aid of mechanized vehicles. The USSR was represented on the expedition by Viktor Boyarsky, who at the time was a senior researcher at the Arctic and the Antarctic Research Institute and is the holder of advanced degrees in physics and mathematics, with a specialization in radio glaciology.

After the successful completion of the expedition, its members were invited by President Francois Mitterrand of France to the Elysee Palace on 23 March 1990. Two of the expedition's dogs – Pand and Sam – even participated in the visit.

On March 27th members of the expedition were received by US President George Bush and his wife Barbara in the White House Rose Garden. This time, Sam was the only canine in attendance, making him the only dog in the world that has not only been to both of the planet's poles, but has been received by two presidents.

In 1992 Viktor Boyarsky published a book entitled Sem mesiatsev beskonechnosti [Seven Months of Endlessness], in which the author describes his time spent in the US and France preparing for the expedition and tells of its true heroes – the dogs – and describes their relationships with the expedition participants, as well as the relationships that developed between the participants themselves. As Viktor Boyarsky explained,

"Seven Months of Endlessness is about the endlessness of the tracks of our skis, extending beyond the horizon, the endlessness of the wind blowing in our faces, the endlessness of the days and the endlessness of each day..."

The award certificate was presented to Viktor Boyarsky by chairman of the St. Petersburg branch of the Russian Writers Union, Boris Orlov, and the prize itself was presented by Prakhin Literary Foundation President Lyudmila Prakhina. The ceremony featured speeches by the chairman of the prose division of the Writers Union, Alexander Skokov, and editor-in-chief of the Nevsky Almanac journal, Vladimir Skvortsov, and Lyudmila Prakhina, whose remarks included the following:

"Today is one of the happiest days of my life. In this wonderful hall for the first time ever we are presenting the award for the best literary work written about the sea and sailors – The Truth is in the Sea – established in honor of yacht's captain Lazar Prakhin. Think about the meaning of these words, "the truth is in the sea." They are so rich in hidden significance and refer not only to what has happened and what is preserved on the ocean floor and under the sea, but what is in the depths of the human soul and in human relations. The truth of the soul. The truth of the heart... This is so important."

"Dear Viktor Boyarsky, thank you for submitting your book for consideration. I have read a great deal about your expeditions in the Arctic and about your work as director of the Museum of the Arctic and Antarctica. I fully support the jury's decision. The Museum of the Arctic and Antarctica has always been a favorite both for my family and for me personally. I congratulate you with all my heart. I also want to express my gratitude to the journal Nevsky Almanac and its editor-in-chief Vladimir Skvortsov, who has been tremendously helpful in organizing this gathering. Thanks, as well, to everyone joining us here today."

Georgy Chepik
Photography by Yury Klyus and Yevgeny Girshev