The exhibition dedicated to the 50th anniversary of BAM opened at the Russian Railway Museum in St. Petersburg

Today in St. Petersburg, the Russian Railway Museum presented a new exhibition "Between the past and the Future. To the 50th anniversary of BAM", which was organized with the participation of JSC Russian Railways and the Triumph Gallery.

The central part of the exposition is devoted to the main stage of the construction of the Baikal-Amur mainline, starting in 1974, from the moment BAM was declared an All-Union Komsomol shock construction site at the XVII Congress of the Komsomol, to 1984, when the "golden link" was laid, closing the mainline.

The opening ceremony was attended by Director of Russian Railways for Communications – Head of the Department for Interaction with Federal and Regional Authorities Yuri Nagornykh, Head of the Oktyabrskaya Railway-branch of Russian Railways Viktor Golomolzin, Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg Kirill Polyakov, Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg Pavel Itkin, railway participants construction of BAM, as well as students and pupils of the children's railway.

In his speech, Vice-Governor Kirill Polyakov noted that the Baikal-Amur Mainline is one of the most ambitious engineering structures of the 20th century. These 47 different railway stations, built over 3,000 kilometers, represent a unique unified ensemble of late Soviet architecture.

"It is through the prism of these architectural images – railway stations and adjacent villages – that the organizers of the exhibition offer a new look at the history of BAM. It shows a huge period of development in our history, and most importantly, it continues today. On behalf of the President, the next, already the third stage of the development of the BAM and Transsib is being launched this year, thereby increasing the capacity of the Eastern Railway Landfill," the Vice–governor added.

Every visitor to the exhibition will be able to learn about the significant contribution of Leningraders to the construction of the Baikal-Amur mainline. In 1974, the first young volunteers from Leningrad and the Leningrad region left for the construction of the BAM as part of the detachment named after the XVII Congress of the Komsomol. A large detachment of the Komsomolets of Leningrad went to BAM in April 1975.

"Without the legendary past, without the creative work of the first builders of the highway, the present and future of BAM would have been impossible. The main characters are people who dedicated their lives to the construction of BAM. In total, more than 2 million people participated in the "construction of the century". Among them were residents of Leningrad. By the mid-1980s, about three thousand Leningraders went to BAM. I am sure that the exhibition will be of interest to visitors of our museum," Viktor Golomolzin stressed.

The exhibition "Between the past and the future. For the 50th anniversary of BAM" is open to the public until January 12, 2025. Here are interesting facts about the most difficult natural conditions of the Baikal-Amur mainline, engineering achievements and labor exploits of the construction of the century and its distinctive culture. Over the years of construction, a unique community has developed around BAM with its own traditions, festivals and folklore. The exhibits – letters, clothes and personal belongings of the builders – tell about many thousands of people who connected their life path with BAM.

A separate place at the exhibition is occupied by an exposition dedicated to the present and future of BAM. Interactive panels show the stages of modern modernization of the Eastern Training Ground, and in a series of video interviews, the Bamovians talk about the importance of the railway for the country.

In particular, models of bridges and tunnels demonstrate the innovation of engineering solutions that were used on BAM, and models of railway stations show how diverse the architecture of the highway is. Among them is a model of the Severobaikalsk railway station, the "Leningrad city on the BAM".