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The monument to the heroes-stratonauts Pavel Fedoseenko, Andrei 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, Andrei Vasenko and Ilya Usyskin climbed on the Osoaviakhim-1 stratospheric balloon to a height of 22 km. The stratostat was developed by one of the participants in the flight - A. Vasenko. During the descent of the stratospheric balloon, an accident occurred, it collapsed near the village of Potizh-Ostrog in the south of Mordovia, and the flight participants died.Portraits of stratonauts on the pedestal of the monument. From left to right - P. Fedoseenko, I. Usyskin, A. VasenkoInitially, the monument was planned to be erected at the site of the fall of the stratospheric balloon, then it was decided to install it in the capital of Mordovia - Saransk. The Great Patriotic War prevented the implementation of the first project of the monument, and only in 1957 was the all-Union competition of projects announced again.
The monument is a figure of a young man in an aviation helmet, fluttering jacket, sweater and aviator high boots, mounted on a high cylindrical pedestal lined with dark gray labradorite. On the pedestal, portraits-bas-reliefs of three stratonauts and the inscription: \"To the Heroes-stratonauts\" are engraved. The 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, donated personal belongings, photos and documents of the stratonauts to the museum.
