From Minsk to the Beach — in Just 7 Minutes. How Minsk Residents Flew to Minsk Sea by Plane

Even more surprising are the intervals between flights — only 10-15 minutes. Moreover, flights were carried out all day: from 8:30 AM to 8:00 PM, writes Onliner.by.

The cost of such a short flight varied. Before the monetary reform in January 1961, an adult ticket cost 7 rubles, a child's ticket — 3 rubles 50 kopecks.

After the denomination, a seat on the plane cost 1 ruble (not 70 kopecks, into which 7 rubles would have converted), and a child's ticket — 50 kopecks (instead of the possible 35).

Thus, the flight actually became more expensive.

Was one ruble for a short flight to the suburbs a lot of money?

A ride on a city bus in Minsk then cost 5 kopecks, so the flight was 20 times more expensive. If compared to the current cost of a bus ticket in the capital (1.10 rubles), such a flight today would cost about 22 rubles.

One could also reach Minsk Sea by suburban bus. The ticket price depended on the distance and was approximately 10-20 kopecks.

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Much has changed since then. The capital's airport, from which these flights departed, has given way to a large residential complex. Only the air terminal building remains of it. But can traces of the airfield near the beaches of Zaslavskoye Reservoir be found today? And did it even exist?

Onliner journalists spoke with local historians who suggested that the former airfield was located on the site of the modern parking lot near Zaslavskoye Reservoir. It is located on Ozernaya Street between the third beach and the sailing center. On old maps, a large open area is indeed visible in this place.

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This version was supported by a post on the Onliner forum: "The landing site was next to the Zaslavl restaurant. Then there was a football field there. And now something is being built."

Many Minsk residents remember the white building of the Zaslavl restaurant, which resembled an ocean liner. It was located near the third beach. For over twenty years, the restaurant was one of the most popular recreation spots on Minsk Sea, but it closed in the 1990s. Later, the building became a famous abandoned landmark, which was demolished in 2018. Now, a village of expensive villas with a SPA complex is located on this site.

Recently, there was another aviation-related place in the vicinity of Minsk Sea. Near one of the beaches of Krynitsa Reservoir, a real An-2 stood two and a half years ago. It appeared from an unknown source in the early 2020s and quickly became a popular photo location for vacationers and aviation enthusiasts. Unfortunately, the plane was gradually plundered by vandals.

Comments on "Yandex Maps" perfectly conveyed its fate: from enthusiastic reviews about the "bird" to a sad one: "The plane has already been almost disassembled for parts." And then a short entry appeared: "The plane is gone."

Perhaps there was an airfield there once? Such a thought arose, but it seems unlikely.

Firstly, Krynitsa Reservoir appeared approximately twenty years later than Zaslavskoye. Secondly, that An-2 was very similar to a plane that stood for some time on Kastrychnitskaya Street in Minsk in 2019, where a restaurateur wanted to turn it into a food truck.

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Therefore, the version with the location near the former "Zaslavl" restaurant seemed more plausible.

In search of people who still remember the 1960s, journalists headed to the small village of Zarechcha-1, located right behind the parking lot where the existence of a "beach" airfield was assumed.

Zarechcha-1 is what remains of a once large village. The last houses here have retained their old appearance and sharply contrast with the modern luxurious cottages on the first coastline.

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— Of course, I know where the airfield was. I even flew from there myself, — the first local resident surprised the journalists.

Just like that, Vladimir Iosifovich dispelled doubts that the search might be fruitless.

The old-timer immediately dismissed the version about the parking lot.

— A little further, near the fifth beach.

The man drew an approximate scheme: a car roundabout, dachas (now this is Pervaya Dachnaya Street of the agrotown Zhdanovichi), several paths — and the place where planes once landed.

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— The strip was just grass — without asphalt or even a dirt surface. But the open space was large: approximately 350-500 meters long and 150-200 meters wide. I remember there was a windsock — a fabric sleeve for determining wind direction.

Vladimir Iosifovich no longer knows what is currently located on this site. He was last there about 25-30 years ago, when he went mushroom picking.

— By the way, in my childhood, we even herded cows to that airfield to graze. I don't remember well anymore, but it seems the plane only flew on weekends.

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Following the hints from the resident of Zarechcha-1, journalists drove to the designated spot and then walked along paths towards the forest. At first glance, there was nothing resembling a large open area — only dense thickets all around.

But as soon as the maps were switched to satellite image mode, contours became visible that indeed resembled the outlines of a former runway.

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And if you look at old NASA satellite images, an even more interesting picture emerges. In the photo from August 16, 1972, a cleared runway is clearly visible. One can also make out a small white square building — likely where the ticket office was, where Volodya, a young resident of Zarechcha-1, once came for a ticket.

Now, in the place of the former small airfield, even rows of already grown pines stretch before us. That's how imperceptibly time flies.

Let's return to the story of Vladimir Iosifovich. When he was a boy of 7-8 years old, he asked his mother for money for his first flight in his life.

— We, the local children, saw planes flying to and from Minsk at the airfield. We also wanted to take a ride.

So the boy took a flight to Minsk airport.

— Was it scary at high altitude?

— Not exactly scary. But on such planes, you fly and, you know, sometimes it feels like you're falling somewhere, — the interlocutor recalls with a laugh.

The An-2 plane was full of passengers, but Vladimir Iosifovich no longer remembers whether his parents let him fly alone or with a friend.

He returned from Minsk not by air, but on the 27th bus. The journalists were surprised: why not by plane?

— There was some strange flight schedule there, — the man recalls.

The same thing was complained about by an unlucky An-2 passenger in a 1961 newspaper article. One Minsk resident listened to the radio one morning and remembered that he wanted to visit Zaslavskoye Reservoir. But that day, there was a large influx of people at Minsk airport, and as a result, something went wrong.

"The announcer patiently and politely explained that one should save time, that all conditions for this were available, namely: from the airport to Zhdanovichi, you would be delivered in just seven minutes. Someone politely pointed me to the ticket office. And now the cashier puts R-72 on the ticket, meaning flight-72. She assures me that in no more than an hour and a half, I will be at the sea," the man told the media.

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"At half past twelve I hurry to the flying sea..."

"At half past twelve I hurry to the flying sea. But what is this? Only flight 44 is allowed onto the platform. In an hour and a half, only eleven flights were made by four planes. Another hour passed, and we again surrounded the shift supervisor. An hour later and another hour and a half later, it was the same. At half past two, the ticket office generously began to refund money for sold tickets.

The clock hand relentlessly approached four, and for takeoff, the shift supervisor was preparing… only flight 59. 160 people (these were the most patient) went to the trolleybus stop."

A few years later, in December 1963, the first electric trains would start running towards Minsk Sea. On hot summer days, many vacationers and dacha owners would also struggle to get tickets for them.

Vladimir Iosifovich was born in 1951, when there was no Minsk Sea anywhere near the vicinity yet.

— My father told me. There were swamps here: lingonberries, cranberries, capercaillies, black grouse… A river flowed, called, I think, Chuchenka. And then soldiers were brought in, then firefighters — and they, as best they could, cut down bushes in winter. What was under the snow — roots, stumps — all remained. Then a dam was built, and the territory was flooded. From the fifth beach, islands are visible — houses once stood and people lived in that place. And there were those who were resettled because of the reservoir: some to our village, some to the other Zarechcha, some to Zhdanovichi.

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The first beach season on the newly built reservoir opened in 1956. The former village boy witnessed the flourishing resort life.

— There were so many people here then! Right next to the rescue station, there was a pavilion with refrigeration units where ice cream and beer were sold. You'd buy an "Eskimo" for 11 kopecks — wrapped in foil, on a stick — oh, that was ice cream! Or a drink — cream soda, oh-oh-oh! — Vladimir Iosifovich recalls.

— We were constantly at the sea. Well, not constantly… We also had to save hay. Father would go, mow, and you'd be sitting on the beach and see that it was going to rain. And from there you'd run home: you had to gather the hay so it wouldn't get wet.

"Fuel just cost less than water." What the pilot remembers about those very flights

Harry Pak is a former pilot. In Soviet times, he was the commander of one of the squadrons at Minsk-1 airport. At his respected age of 90, the man clearly remembers how he transported vacationers to the beach of Zaslavskoye Reservoir in the early 1960s.

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— Then I went to retrain for a new, larger type of aircraft — the Il-14. Before that, on the An-2, I flew routes between small towns: Glusk, Narach… There were many routes… In summer, we also flew to Zaslavskoye Reservoir.

The pilot recalls that before starting flights, the landing sites were very carefully selected.

— Our management, engineers, looked for a place — they went out, checked what the soil was like. Once chosen, they stretched restrictive tapes and placed flags. This was necessary so that cars would not drive in and animals would not enter: the "Zhdanovichi" state farm was nearby.

The pilot confirms: the mini-airfield's surface was grassy. The unpretentious An-2 was perfectly suited for this.

According to Harry Innokentyevich, the flight lasted only 15 minutes. Tickets could be purchased both at the Minsk air terminal ticket office and directly at the runway.

The crew consisted of two people: the commander and the second pilot. Harry Innokentyevich served in both roles.

— Of course, one crew didn't fly to Minsk Sea all day. For example, one flew before lunch, then another after.

12 passengers were taken on board.

People who flew on the An-2 for longer distances often recall an unpleasant moment: they were frequently nauseous and vomited into hygienic bags, which were distributed before flights. Harry Innokentyevich says that during such a short flight, like the one in question, passengers felt fine.

— There were countless people wanting to fly to the beach! They flew during daylight hours, approximately until eight in the evening. Many flights accumulated between Minsk and the reservoir in a day.

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According to Harry Innokentyevich, there was a time when, during the season, you could fly to the beach by plane every day.

To our question of whether he ever had to transport passengers in swimsuits from the shores of Zaslavskoye Reservoir to Minsk, he answers with a laugh:

— No, certainly not. Everything was decent.

Pilots did not disdain such short "beach" flights.

— Did you have to earn money? Yes. Especially since, on those same An-2s at that time, there were also flights over the city. People came to the airport, bought tickets. 12 people gathered — and flew in a circle over Minsk. There were also tour guides on board who pointed out buildings and told passengers exactly what they were seeing. Because from above, many things look completely different.

Tickets were inexpensive.

— Because fuel was cheap then, it cost almost nothing — water was more expensive, — Harry Innokentyevich summarizes.

Mentions of flights from the capital of Belarus to Minsk Sea appear in newspapers approximately from 1957 to 1965. When exactly they stopped is unknown.

Perhaps planes on such a short route could not withstand competition from electric trains, which were actively developing at that time.

A train ticket to the reservoir area cost approximately 15 kopecks, and the train schedule was clear and did not depend on the weather.

Or perhaps someone from the management still considered such flights illogical: after all, an electric train could transport about a thousand people at once, not just 12.

In those years, Belarusians flew not only to Minsk Sea: transport connections between the country's regions were generally provided… not by buses, cars, or minibuses, but specifically by planes.

Their own airfields were in all regional centers, as well as in Pinsk, Polotsk, Mozyr, Baranovichi, Bobruisk, Borisov, Braslav, Glubokoye, Glusk, and many other small towns in Belarus.

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