“In all my life, I suppose I have never met a person who would, like Chkalov, be so attached to the place where they grew up. The place he cherished the most was his Vasilyovo, and the best river for him was the Volga. And the sunsets there were extraordinary, and the fishing was the best, and nowhere else could he breathe so easily as there. He vacationed only in Vasilyovo.” This is what Georgy Filippovich Baydukov — Chkalov’s colleague, co-pilot and partner during the historic flights to Kamchatka and America — wrote about him.
And his words are true: Chkalov was very attached to his homeland. He went there every chance he got. One of his visits was especially triumphant: in the summer of 1937, Valery Chkalov arrived after a flight to the United States, and the village of Vasilyovo was renamed Chkalovsk at the request of the residents. The celebrity was then followed everywhere by press photographers. A great part of the photographs taken back then is housed in the memorial museum, dedicated to the heroic pilot.
Vasilyovo was a favorite vacation spot for Chkalov: he enjoyed going hunting, fishing, and arranging meetings with childhood friends. He also actively participated in the social and economic life of the district.
Once, when he was hunting in one of the far corners of the district, he learned from a huntsman that a collective farm was not yet organized there. The test pilot, who was a convinced communist and Bolshevik, asked all the peasants to gather and began to try and convince them to establish a collective farm. Subsequently, the local collective farm was called in his honor — “In Memory of Chkalov”.
Valery Chkalov was interested in all details of the life of the district. During his every visit, he investigated what was being done at the enterprises and collective farms. He checked in with the district committee and the district executive committee, inquiring about the implementation of economic plans. He paid visits to local shops, a hairdressing salon, an artel cooperative association, a collective farm, a workshop, a hospital, a school, a reading room, a club, a library, a radio center, and so on. He also met with residents, took an interest in their needs, and helped to resolve issues.
Chkalov also repeatedly visited schools in Vasilyovo, shared stories of his amazing adventures, and showed his orders to students. Once he gave the children a big model of one of the planes that he had tested. This model is also kept in the museum named after the heroic pilot.
And his words are true: Chkalov was very attached to his homeland. He went there every chance he got. One of his visits was especially triumphant: in the summer of 1937, Valery Chkalov arrived after a flight to the United States, and the village of Vasilyovo was renamed Chkalovsk at the request of the residents. The celebrity was then followed everywhere by press photographers. A great part of the photographs taken back then is housed in the memorial museum, dedicated to the heroic pilot.
Vasilyovo was a favorite vacation spot for Chkalov: he enjoyed going hunting, fishing, and arranging meetings with childhood friends. He also actively participated in the social and economic life of the district.
Once, when he was hunting in one of the far corners of the district, he learned from a huntsman that a collective farm was not yet organized there. The test pilot, who was a convinced communist and Bolshevik, asked all the peasants to gather and began to try and convince them to establish a collective farm. Subsequently, the local collective farm was called in his honor — “In Memory of Chkalov”.
Valery Chkalov was interested in all details of the life of the district. During his every visit, he investigated what was being done at the enterprises and collective farms. He checked in with the district committee and the district executive committee, inquiring about the implementation of economic plans. He paid visits to local shops, a hairdressing salon, an artel cooperative association, a collective farm, a workshop, a hospital, a school, a reading room, a club, a library, a radio center, and so on. He also met with residents, took an interest in their needs, and helped to resolve issues.
Chkalov also repeatedly visited schools in Vasilyovo, shared stories of his amazing adventures, and showed his orders to students. Once he gave the children a big model of one of the planes that he had tested. This model is also kept in the museum named after the heroic pilot.
