The Nikolai Kuznetsov Museum features a copy of the forest management plan for the Kudymkar forest districts, personally compiled by Nikolai Ivanovich Kuznetsov in 1930. In the lower right corner of the document is his handwritten signature: N. Kuznetsov. From 1930 to 1934, the future Hero of the Soviet Union and legendary intelligence officer lived in the city of Kudymkar, located in the Komi-Permyak National Okrug, where he worked as a forest inventory specialist in the forestry department of the land administration.
A forest inventory specialist is an expert — often with an engineering background — who evaluates timber resources, conducts inventories of tree species, and determines the volume and quality of forest stands in a given area. The specialist’s role is to account for forest resources and organize the activities of enterprises engaged in industrial timber harvesting.
It is a demanding profession: forest inventory specialists spend the summer and autumn months on field expeditions, and the winter and early spring preparing reports and completing documentation. Despite its challenges, this work is indispensable — forestry enterprises rely on such assessments to operate efficiently, implement forest restoration measures, and manage forest resources sustainably.
One of the most formative periods of Nikolai Ivanovich Kuznetsov’s life in Kudymkar was his time working with a forestry survey party from April 20, 1930, to November 1932. On May 12, 1930, as a member of this team, the future hero ventured into the forest to establish the Zyulganovsky and Saninsky sections of the Kudymkar forest district. There, for the first time, he applied the knowledge he had gained at the Talitsa Forestry School, encountered real-world challenges, received practical training, and took his first independent professional steps — experiences that remained vivid in his memory for the rest of his life.
In just three weeks, Nikolai Kuznetsov single-handedly surveyed and mapped approximately two thousand hectares of forest. His perseverance and determination enabled the young surveyor to overcome significant obstacles and to help successfully complete the 1930 forest management plan.
After the field season ended, Komsomol member Kuznetsov returned to office work: he compiled detailed descriptions of sections, plots, and forest districts, and drew up charts, plans, and maps. In addition to his technical duties, he devoted considerable time to further studies, Komsomol activities, and public assignments.
