Pamatnik stratonavtam, Saransk

A monument to heroes-stratonauts Pavel Fedoseenko, Andrey Vasenko and Ilya Usyskin was erected in the city of Saransk on the square in front of the railway station on January 30, 1963.

In January 1934, Pavel Fedoseenko, Andrey Vasenko and Ilya Usyskin flew the stratostat "Osoaviakhim-1" to an altitude of 22 km. The stratostat was designed by one of the flight participants - A. Vasenko. During the descent of the stratosphere balloon an accident occurred, it collapsed near the village of Potizh-Ostrog in southern Mordovia, and the participants of the flight were killed.

Initially, the monument was planned to be erected on the site of the fall of the stratostat, but then it was decided to erect it in the capital of Mordovia - Saransk. The implementation of the first draft of the monument was prevented by the Great Patriotic War, only in 1957 was the all-union design competition announced again.

The monument is a figure of a young man in an aviation helmet, fluttering jacket, sweater and aviator's boots, set on a high cylindrical pedestal, lined with dark gray labradorite. On the pedestal there are bas-relief portraits of the three Stratonauts and the inscription: "To the heroes-stratonauts". Authors of the monument: sculptor A.A. Pismenny and architect A.N. Dushkin.

Relatives of the Stratonauts came to the opening of the monument: they visited the Republican Museum of Local Lore, shared their memories, and gave the museum personal belongings, photos and documents of the Stratonauts.