Monument to Creators of Electrical Barriers Has Been Unveiled in Moscow Area on MOESK’s Initiative

The Monument to the Electrical Barriers Creators, unveiled on Day of Memory and Grief, has become the part of the memorial complex “Moscow Defensive Line” in the village of Nefed’evo located near Moscow. On severe days of battle for Moscow just at that spot the electrical obstacle tactical employment constructed by the engineer troop specialists and the capital’s power engineers took place.

The solemn ceremony of the Monument unveiling was held with participation of Director General of JSC “MOESK” Pyotr Sinyutin, Minister of Energy of the Moscow Area Mikhail Kruchinin, Head of Krasnogorsk Municipal District Boris Rasskazov, Command and Veterans of the Engineering Corps, habitants of a municipal entity “Nakhabino”.

The participation in the unveiling ceremony of descendants of those, who erected electrical obstacles blocking the enemy’s intervention, created a remarkable atmosphere for the event.

In particular, daughters and a great-grandson of a military engineer of the 2nd rank M.F. Ioffe arrived in Nefed’evo. In 1941 Mikhail Fadeevich not only gave scientific credence and possibility of the capital’s electrical defense creation, but also headed the Western Front Command of special works, established for coordination of works on electrical barriers erection. Within a short time, in conditions of the acute shortage of labor and recourses, more than two hundred kilometers of electrical barriers were built.

A military engineer of the 3rd rank V.K. Kharchenko, at a later date - Marshal of Engineer Corps, became a faithful comrade of M.F. Ioffe in the idea materialization related to construction of an electrified obstacles belt. His daughter Nelli Viktorovna also participated in the ceremony and made a speech at the Monument unveiling.

Numerous group of JSC “MOESK” and JSC “Russian Grids” veterans arrived in Nefed’evo. Among them were Valery Sergeev and Vasily Safrazbekyan, whose fathers jointly with other power engineers built an electrical barrier line and supplied it with electrical power from “Mosenergo” substations. For that purpose, an electrical grid infrastructure was created, including about forty transformer substations, 287 km of high-voltage cable lines and 189 km of overhead high-voltage lines.

Making speech at the Monument unveiling, Pyotr Sinyutin noted that a power engineer’s profession has been always deemed as a peaceful one. “We give light and heat to people, create comfortable living conditions, provide the economy with required capacities for dynamic development. But during those hard times, when the Great Patriotic War began, the power engineers pulled combat missions as well”. In 1941 in the shortest possible time, practically within two months, more than two hundred kilometers of electrified barriers were constructed and were ready for efficient operation at close approaches to the capital. Chief Executive of “MOESK” underlined that it became possible due to high mobilization of competence and production resources. “The Memorial, which we unveil in Nefed’evo, will immortalize both feat of arms and labor deed of the capital’s power engineers”.

Chairman of Veteran Council of the Engineering Corps, a retired Lieutenant General Nikolay Topilin assessed “MOESK” attention to the company’s history, thanks to which a heroic, but, unfortunately, a little-known page of military history was opened. He expressed confidence that Council of Veterans of “MOESK” headed by Yury Vavilov and Council of Veterans of Engineering Corps will proceed with search activity aimed at establishing new circumstances, documents and names of those who participated in electrical obstacles construction at the border-line located near Moscow.

The red ribbon-cutting ceremony was followed by signal mine salute arranged by the Engineers Corps’ military personnel.

After the monument’s consecration the flowers were laid to its pedestal as a tribute of human gratefulness to those who in the war troubled years made a stand for the capital, our country against fascist troops and secured peaceful sky over our heads.