The literary heritage of F.I. Soimonov is quite rich. His most significant geographical works include the first truly scientific descriptions of the Caspian Sea and some adjacent territories and the article “Ancient Proverb: Siberia is a Gold Mine,” part of which is a kind of attempt to describe Siberia, which we would now call economic-geographical.
F.I. Soimonov divides Siberia into six parts in this work; Of these, four parts cover the territory from the western border of Siberia to the Yenisei, and two parts cover the territory to the east of it. Regions are allocated by F.I. Soimonov on the basis of “abundance,” by which he means the possibility of obtaining income from fisheries (animals, fisheries), agriculture, industry and trade, or the low cost of living.
Knowing Siberia well, the author provides a lot of interesting information about it. He writes about animal and fishing industries, areas of silver and gold mining in Altai, the spread of arable farming, features of life in the northern regions, etc.
Of course, the method he proposed for describing and dividing the territory into regions according to “abundance” does not give a sufficient idea of Siberia - its nature, wealth, population and their occupations, routes of communication, etc. F. I. Soimonov, but distinguishes between “abundances”, expressed in low prices for groceries Agriculture in Siberia, sparsely populated and without markets, from the abundance natural resources countries (Lebedev, 1952, p. 71). It unites, especially in Eastern Siberia, areas with very diverse natural conditions into one region. Animal and fisheries are brought to the fore almost everywhere; other important features of the country are shown little.
Comparing the work of F.I. Soimonov with the work discussed above X. P. Laptev, containing a description northern regions Siberia, we have to admit that, despite all its brevity and sketchiness, the latter has an advantage as a source of knowledge of the regions described.
The originality of F.I. Soimonov’s article lies in the fact that he clearly understood the pattern of division of Siberia along economic lines. According to him, he did not set himself the task of giving geographical description Siberia or information about its population, since the first “is visible from the general atlas of the Russian Empire”, and about the second “from the Notes of Menstruation in different places you can see." He pursued another goal: “what belongs to abundance, about that one, dividing all Siberian places into the main 6 parts, about each in particular I find in the news for the proper presentation” (Simonov, 1761 , p. 450).
Investing in precious metals is profitable. Our country is actively mining the valuable metal; about 95% was extracted in Siberia and the Far East. Siberian gold occupies a high position in production in Russia.
Russia is almost the leader in gold mining. In 2013, the country produced 255 tons, taking third position in the list of leaders (it managed to surpass the United States). In 2014, even better results were shown - 290 tons were recovered and received second place (ahead of Australia). China firmly holds its position in first place, but has not yet been able to overtake it.
Russia extracts the maximum from alluvial deposits; in this indicator, our country surpasses all others. Such deposits are located in the following parts of the country:
- Irkutsk region;
- Altai.
A lot of effort was spent on mining the metal. The first mention of gold in Eastern Siberia appeared in 1826. At that time, many received permits for prospecting work. This activity was facilitated by a decree issued in 1812. It said that all Russian citizens can mine precious metals, they just need to pay a tax.
The merchant Andrei Popov was the first to start his activity; he took his nephew Fyodor Popov as his assistant. They received information that a certain Yegor Lesnoy was able to discover gold near the Birikul River. Later, the Yegoryevsky mines began to function in those places. A lot of gold was recovered there.
Since then it has been found great amount other gold placers:
| Place | Year | Who opened |
|---|---|---|
| Fomikha River | 1830 | Andrey Popov |
| Osa River | 1906 | Belov |
| Irkutsk province | 1834 | Tolkachev, Mosharov |
| Yenisei province | 1834 | Tolkachev, Mosharov |
| Biryusa River | 1836 | |
| Khorma River | 1836 | |
| Kara River | 1838 | Andrey Popov |
| Tributary of the Lena | 1840 | Popov |
| River Bay | 1842 | |
| Chicoy River | 1842 | |
| Vitimsky district | 1845 | |
| Big Patom River | 1853 | |
| Bodaibo River | 1863 | Ivan Novitsky |
| Vilyui River | 1916 |
This list can be continued endlessly, since gold was mined in large quantities in many parts of Siberia. During this period, most citizens headed there, so the population in the region increased.
There is a site in Russia in which 1.2 thousand tons of gold were extracted over the entire period, that is, 90% of all sources Irkutsk region. Its central location is the Bodaibinsky district.
Before the onset of the 2000s, 10 tons of precious metal were mined here annually - mostly alluvial gold. And over time, the situation has improved significantly - now about 15 tons are mined here every year, which is a high figure. Nobody plans to stop there.
Huge reserves located in this area can be found in Sukhoi Log. This is a favorable zone, as there is a lot of precious metal hidden there.
The site began to be developed in 1960, after geologists concluded that the area was rich in gold. But before gold mining began, large-scale work was carried out. A lot of money has been invested.
The investments were justified - on this moment this deposit is the largest in the world.
There are other deposits in the Irkutsk region. These are Western, Devil's Koryto and Verninskoye.
Now the leading position is occupied by the Krasnoyarsk Territory, but with a favorable forecast, in 10-20 years the Irkutsk region can take this position, subject to an annual production of 50 tons.
The Polyus Gold company is the leader in gold mining in Russia. It mines precious metals in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Irkutsk Region. This is not all the potential - active work is still underway in the Vitim River basin. Every year the company shows good results, development does not stop for a moment.
Reaction from abroad
In the 19th century, the huge amount of metal being mined could not go unnoticed. Foreign geologists showed interest in some regions of Russia, namely Siberia, trying to study it in order to look for territories with gold that would be similar in geological and geomorphological properties to the area being studied.
The search was successful. A large deposit was discovered. The center of the deposit is California, America. Deposits were discovered in the 19th century, after which the “gold rush” began there.
Decrease in production
In the 19th century, production rates in Eastern Siberia decreased, and this is easy to explain. The mined metal did not stay in the industry; they were in a hurry to sell it in order to invest it in trade or shipping.
These actions led to negative consequences- by the twenties, the mining of the precious metal in Siberia had practically stopped, and soon private enterprises were completely closed.
The decline in production can be explained by another reason - the lack of qualified specialists. To correct this, a training center was created and a competent program was formed. Then, in 1892, for students of the Industrial School they created practical course training, that is, they were sent to the territories of the Olikem and Vitim systems, where mining is carried out.
A permit was required, which was issued to Governor General A.D. Goremykin. A small group of 8th grade students was sent to the mines. This was done to become familiar with the technique and all the intricacies of the work.
The information received was useful - the students were able to write essay reports. This is how future personnel were prepared.
Methods
Gold can be mined in several ways: sand washing, metal extraction in mines. Currently popular. This means that the selected places are already known, and gold was mined in them in industrial scale, and seekers collect the remains. This is labor-intensive and difficult work.
Manual gold washing in a tray is one of the most ancient and popular ways gold mining During the rains, gold falls into the river; it is during such periods that miners tend to work.
More complex method– digging. First, the metal must be dug out and then washed. Unnecessary components are crushed, washed again, and then the gold particles are independently selected.
After the desired metal has been obtained, it must be extracted from the ore. There are several ways in which this can be done.
An interesting method is mercury amalgamation. In this case, sand is amalgaated in the presence of gold particles having a size of no more than 1 mm. It is necessary to dissolve the resulting metal in a substance (mercury), as a result of which an amalgam is formed. Next, you need to strain the substance through a fine-mesh cloth. Half of the substance is gold. To obtain it, you need to evaporate the mercury.
Cyanidation and flotation involve three stages of action:
- leaching;
- concentration;
- cleaning
Cyanide and oxygen promote the leaching process. The concentrate of heavy minerals is removed through activated carbon, filtration and calcination. There is a disadvantage to this method - high level danger. It is caused by cyanide vapors.
Chlorination occurs using hydrochloric acid and chlorine. They can dissolve gold. The next step is to rid the metal of heavy minerals and form an ingot.
All these methods negatively affect environment, because there is still waste that needs to be disposed of.
How gold was mined before
But in the 19th century, more interesting methods of extracting precious metals were used. Many useful inventions were created. One of the first is a machine for golden sands. The innovative technique was invented by the merchant Pakulev. He received a good reward in the form of a mining “privilege” for 10 years from the then government, this happened on May 2, 1875.
In 1875, another interesting invention appeared - a machine for opening rock. Testing was successful in 1858. But subsequent tests were failures, the device was later forgotten, and its drawings were lost.
A grandiose invention – the “sand truck”. The machine was created by A. N. Lopatin in 1859. In 1860, the machine was modernized and successfully operated in Eastern Siberia.
Water lifting technology was created in 1860. Unfortunately, nothing is known about its creator. The machine was first used at the Olekminsky mines, and in 1914 at the Nizhny, Lenzoloto and Fedoseevsky mines.
There are special ships called “drags” that go through the bottom of the river, helping to extract gold. In the area located near Spassk and on Usa, this type activities are still practiced today.
Real situation
In countries like South America, Africa, Asia, a huge number of people are saved by extracting gold using the artisanal method. It is easier to mine in areas where the source of the precious metal is volcanic activity, because in this case the gold is located shallow from the surface of the earth.
It is possible to identify areas that relate to this:
- Far East (Khakanja);
- Aldan (Kuranahanskoe);
- Rudny Altai;
- Olkhovka;
- Chibizhek.
In these areas, more than 10 million people are engaged in this type of activity. Extraction is carried out manually, which saves on industrial-scale development.
That is why alluvial deposits were a priority, and indigenous ones were not popular.
There are countries where artisanal mining is prohibited, including Russia. Article 191 of the Criminal Code states that those who engage in this type of activity can be imprisoned for up to 7 years and receive a huge fine. Because of this, in areas of Siberia and Far East The percentage of unemployed has skyrocketed. This may have consequences – an outflow of citizens to more developed regions.
The precautions taken did not contribute to the complete disappearance of illegal immigrants. It is unknown how many of them work in various taiga mines. But there is information that the Krasnoyarsk Territory annually supplies 1-2 tons of gold mined illegally. Therefore, criminals are regularly detained. To have the right to carry out work, you need to buy a license from gold mining organizations.
There are countries where searching for valuable metal is allowed. These include America, Canada and Australia. A license for this type of activity is inexpensive, only $30. People can purchase a metal detector and calmly search for the metal of interest.
In this regard, tourism is actively developing, the purpose of which is gold mining.
Legalization
In Russia they want to legalize gold mining, because then illegal immigrants will cease to exist. Industrial mining is no longer possible in many areas, which is another reason to legalize this area of activity.
Nicholas II was loyal to gold miners - in 1902 he allowed free mining this activity. Stalin did not change anything in this order of things, which was a significant plus for the economy of the entire Soviet Union. The government provided good conditions for the activities of employees and even organized holidays for them in sanatoriums and resorts.
But not everyone could do this: those who had ever been prosecuted could not obtain permission to carry out this type of activity.
As a result, 120 thousand people became miners, they sold gold to special cash desks. Thanks to them, many deposits were discovered, which were subsequently monopolized by state-owned enterprises. Therefore, from 1932 to 1941 the volume of production increased significantly (5 times).
A ban on mining was introduced already in 1950.
Investments
Now many scientists are concerned about searching for new gold deposits. Some say that in 50 years the existing reserves will be depleted. Therefore, leaching is the way of the future.
There is one unexplored resource - the ocean. Sea deposits are a common occurrence. One can only guess what lies beneath the ocean floor. Some suggest that incredibly large reserves of gold may be found there.
Recently, the ruble exchange rate has fallen against the dollar and euro. It is for this reason that it is beneficial. Many citizens invest in the gold mining industry. Of course, the Federal District of Siberia, the territories of Altai and Kuzbass are attractive. In 2015, local authorities opened auctions for the purchase of rights to own and exploit territories with precious metals.
Many plots lie on Kuzbass land. In addition to gold, there is also coal, it is called black gold. Unconfirmed sources say that there are deposits there with 500 tons of precious metal. That is, there is a prospect.
In Altai, not only gold is mined, but also silver and copper. It has been extracted in this area since the 18th century. The potential here is good. After arrival Soviet power activity was suspended and resumed in the 80s. In 1995, about 135 kg were extracted in the region. Now the situation has improved significantly. The Topolinskoye deposit is promising. It has an area of 96 square meters, it is estimated that there are 50 tons of precious metal here. The search for new deposits is underway.
New and existing deposits in Siberia are the foundation of the gold mining industry Russian Federation. Encouraging results from research into new gold mining sites in this area regularly appear. The process will not stop as long as there is something to extract. Fortunately, resources are plentiful: there are many other minerals besides gold.
In this article:
Siberian gold is a metal that has been mined in Russia for more than four centuries. It should be noted that there is nothing special about this, except for the fact that it is in Siberia that the largest reserve of this metal in the country is hidden.
Siberian collection of Peter I
The first mention of gold mining in Siberia dates back to XVII century. It was at this time local residents for the first time they discovered burial mounds and burial grounds scattered throughout Siberia, overflowing with gold jewelry. In the second half of the 17th century, excavations of burial grounds containing items made of gold, silver and copper were carried out near Tobolsk, Verkhoturye and Tyumen. Most of what was found was sold in markets. The most valuable specimens were included in the so-called Siberian collection of Peter I.
Gold mining in Siberia at the beginning of the 20th century
The emperor's collecting activities began in 1715. This year his heir was born, and in honor of this event, the owner of the Ural factories A.N. Demidov presented the empress with several gold items found in Siberia.
In 1718, the emperor issued a decree obliging the sale of items found in burial grounds to the treasury. In 1721, the Siberian governor was involved in this matter. He, as an official, had to monitor the sale of gold items and, as far as possible, buy the rarest of them for transfer to the emperor’s collection. Five years later, 250 gold items weighing 30 kilograms were placed in the Kunstkamera. In 1859, the Siberian collection was transferred to the Hermitage, where it remains to this day.
After the death of Peter I, his collection was not replenished. The order, once issued by the emperor, was not canceled by anyone, but the richest burial grounds had already been plundered, and nothing valuable could be found anymore.
Gold mining in Siberia
In the pre-Petrine and Petrine eras, many residents of Russia believed that there was no such metal as gold in the country. Individual gold-bearing veins were discovered in the Urals, and the right to develop them was transferred to industrial magnates. The rest of those who wanted it had no choice but to try their luck in finding it in Siberia.
Over the years, large nuggets have been found, but a truly rich deposit has never been found. The first to take on the task was the merchant Popov. Driven by a thirst for profit, he went to Kuzbass, where he learned about a certain Yegor Lesnoy, a peasant who found several nuggets in one place. Unfortunately, the merchant was not able to talk with the lucky man; shortly before his arrival, the peasant was found dead.
The unexpected death, however, did not stop the merchant. Thanks to his efforts, metal deposits were found in Kuzbass. In addition, gold was discovered in the Novosibirsk region near the branches of the rivers flowing into the Tom, Ob, and Yenisei.
Gold mining in Kuzbass today A gold rush began in Siberia. By 1839, it was in these parts that over 1/3 of all gold entering the treasury was mined. In 1843, the Russian Empire took first place in the world in terms of. By this year, half of the metal mined came from Siberia.
Most often, gold mining was carried out on an industrial scale, all the metal went to the treasury. But there were years when residents were allowed to conduct independent mining. Such mining was carried out from 1901 to 1921. The mined gold was allowed to be exchanged, sold and resold, and used instead of money. From 1839 to 1917, over two thousand tons of metal were mined in Siberia. Today, many deposits have dried up, but new ones have been found, so production not only has not stopped, but has moved to a new, larger-scale level.
In the very core of the mountains of the Northern Urals there is mysterious place– Man-Pupu-Ner ridge. The Mansi reindeer herders who wander here call it the Mountain of Small Gods. And this name is no coincidence. Seven bizarre stone figures rise on the flat surface of the ridge. One resembles a petrified woman, the other a lion, the third a wise old man with his hand raised.
Seven Frozen Giants
Tourists from different cities of Russia are in a hurry to see the famous Pechora “blockheads” and hastily pass by the lonely high conical peak of Mount Koyp. In Vogul, Koyp is a drum. One of the legends of the Mansi people connects this peak with its famous neighbors. Once upon a time, seven Samoyed giants walked through the mountains to Siberia to destroy the Vogul people. When they climbed the Man-Pupu-Ner ridge, their leader-shaman saw in front of him sacred mountain Vogulov Yalping-ner. In horror, the shaman threw his drum, which turned into Mount Koyp, and he and his companions froze in fear and became stone blockheads.
But there is another legend that can also be heard from Mansi, but much less often. Koyp looks like a conical mountain from the side of the stone blocks. But if you look at it from a small nameless ridge located to the west, you will clearly see a woman with sharp facial features lying on her back. This is a petrified shaman, punished for trying to insult one of the most ancient idols, once revered by all the peoples of the north - the Golden Woman. When the golden idol was crossing the stone belt of the Ural Mountains, the shaman, who considered herself its owner, wanted to detain the Golden Woman. The idol screamed in a terrible voice, and every living thing for many miles around died of fear, and the arrogant shamaness fell on her back and turned to stone.
The screams that the Golden Woman makes are evidenced not only by Mansi legends, but also by the memories of foreigners who have visited Rus'. Here, for example, is what the Italian Alexander Guagnini wrote in 1578: “They even say that in the mountains next to this idol they heard a sound and a loud roar like a trumpet.”.
What is this golden idol, the appearance of which is accompanied by a terrible scream and roar? Where did he come from and where did he disappear to?
Great Biarmia
In Russia, the oldest written mention of it is the Novgorod Chronicle of 1538. The chronicle talks about the missionary activities of Stephen of Perm. Stefan walked across the Perm land, destroyed ancient sanctuaries and erected Christian churches in their place. The chronicle says that Stefan sowed the faith of Christ in the Perm land among the peoples who previously worshiped animals, trees, water, fire and the Golden Woman.
But legends about the Golden Woman, hiding somewhere in the North, appeared a long time ago. They are associated with the legendary, vast country, spread in the 9th-12th centuries in the forests covering the valleys of the Northern Dvina, Vychegda and the upper reaches of the Kama. In Rus' it was called Perm the Great, in the Scandinavian sagas the powerful state Biarmia or Biarmalandia. The peoples who inhabited it worshiped a huge golden idol - the Golden Woman. Her sanctuary, which according to the Scandinavian sagas was located somewhere near the mouth of the Northern Dvina, was guarded day and night by six shamans. Many treasures were accumulated by the servants of the idol, which bore the name Yumala in the sagas. Perm the Great was rich in skins of valuable fur-bearing animals. Merchants from Khazaria, which lies in the lower reaches of the Volga, and Vikings from distant Scandinavia paid for them generously.
On ancient maps of Muscovy, near the mouth of the Ob, the inscription “Golden Baba” is often found. Sometimes the inscription accompanies a drawing of a beautiful woman. The inhabitants of the North worshiped her. The Siberian golden idol teased the imagination, and foreigners traveling around Rus' willingly included stories about it in their books.
Russian chroniclers described the customs of ancient Perm as follows: “They worship idols, sacrifice to them... they come from afar, bringing gifts... or sables, or martens, or ermines... or foxes, or bears, or lynx, or squirrels... gold, or silver, or copper , or iron, or tin". The northern lands are rich in gold. But what about diamonds? After the recent discovery of deposits of these precious stones near Arkhangelsk, doubts disappeared.
But time passed and the stronger neighbors of Perm the Great extended their tenacious hands to this rich but sparsely populated region.
First, the Novgorod ushkuiniki, then the squads of the Moscow Grand Duke, increasingly began to make their way into the once reserved northern forests. Fleeing from Christianity, admirers of the Golden Woman hid their idol either in caves on the Ural ridge, or in the impenetrable forest-tundra of the Ob River, or in the inaccessible gorges of the Putoran Mountains in Taimyr.
Where did the Mansi come from such a strange deity? It is so uncharacteristic of the customs of this people that it seems to have fallen to them straight from the sky. Most scientists believe that the Golden Woman is the Mansi goddess Sorni-Ekva, whose name is translated into Russian as “golden woman.”
Regarding the question of where the golden statue on Perm land came from, opinions differed. Biarmia history researcher Leonid Teplov suggests that the golden statue could have been taken away from the burning sack of Rome in 410 AD during the attack of the Ugrians and Goths. Some of them returned to their homeland to the Arctic Ocean, and the antique statue, brought from a distant southern city, became an idol of the northern people.
Other scholars trace the path of a mysterious goddess from China, believing that this is a statue of Buddha, which in Chinese Buddhism merges with the image of the goddess Guanyi. There are also defenders of the “Christian” origin of the Golden Woman. They suggest that this statue of the Madonna was stolen during a raid on one of the Christian churches.
Hunt for the Golden Woman
They tried to take possession of the Golden Woman for a long time.
In search of treasures, the Vikings scoured the most remote corners of Eastern Europe. Usually they acted under the guise of merchants. One day, the Vikings managed to attack the trail of the Biarm sanctuary and rob it. There was a wooden copy of the Golden Woman in it. The original remained inaccessible to the Scandinavians. In the 11th century Biarmia was conquered by the Rus. The Russians, unlike the Germans, did not destroy other people's sanctuaries. They were satisfied with the usual tribute. The Golden Baba continued to be the main protector of the Biarms. The more Christianity grew stronger, the more intolerant it became towards foreign gods and customs. At the end of the 14th century, Bishop Stefan Khrap, the future Saint Stephen of Great Perm, arrived in the Kama region. He was a person of outstanding intelligence and education. At the same time, the bishop was stern and adamant and was eager to eradicate paganism in the lands entrusted to him. The chronicler dispassionately reports: “Vladyka Stefan was furious with the Perm idols, their filthy, idolized, sculptured, hollowed-out gods. In the end he crushed, dug up, burned with fire, chopped with an ax, crushed with a butt, incinerated without a trace, in forests, and in graveyards, and at boundaries, and at crossroads.”.
From the life of St. Stephen, we know that the missionary preached among the admirers of the Golden Baba. Of course, he would give a lot for the possession of the main shrine of the pagan Permians. But the idol disappeared. Only later did it become clear that he had been taken beyond the Ural Mountains. In the middle of the 15th century, Moscow governors began to conquer the Northern Trans-Urals. They made their most outstanding campaign in 1499-1501. A large army of 4 thousand people at that time, led by Semyon Kurbsky and Pyotr Ushaty, crossed the Subpolar Urals in winter. The skiers went out into the Northern Sosva basin and fought all over the Ugra land. They captured 42 fortresses and colonized 58 local princes. But main value Ostyaks, the idol of the Golden Baba with temple treasures, could not be found.
The borders of Muscovite Rus' moved further and further to the east and southeast. The Golden Woman had the same path. The later the message about it, the further from ancient Biarmia we find it. Later, the trace of the idol was lost. Explorers in the 17th century traveled all over Siberia far and wide, but the mysterious idol is not mentioned in Russian documents of that era. At the same time when foreigners placed the Golden Woman on the shores of the Arctic Ocean, she was known much further south.
At the end of the 16th century, Volga robbers plundered the sovereign's ship sailing to Astrakhan with “treasury and gunpowder.” The royal ambassador was killed in the battle. Ivan the Terrible's patience has come to an end. The Cossacks, saving their lives, fled to the Ural outskirts of the state. They were readily accepted by the Kama merchants and salt industrialists the Stroganovs. Beyond the Stone Belt lay the Siberian kingdom of Khan Kuchum. This descendant of Genghis Khan continually ravaged Kama villages and took the inhabitants into slavery. The arriving Cossacks were given the task of discouraging Kuchum from attacking.
The campaign for the Stone was led by Ermak Timofeevich Alenin. Maxim Stroganov added 300 of his warriors to his Cossack detachment of 540 warriors. The army of the Siberian Khan was many times larger than the aliens and even had guns brought from Kazan. But nothing saved her from destruction. After several victories in the fall of 1582, the Russians settled in the capital city of Siberia. North of the city they encountered Ostyak idols. Ermak dispatched Captain Bogdan Bryazga to capture the Demyansk and Nazym towns. These towns lay in the lower reaches of the Irtysh and near its confluence with the Ob. The defenders of one of the fortresses put up fierce resistance. For three days the Cossacks stormed its walls and were about to turn back. But then they heard a story about the siege from a local Chuvash, who had once been brought by Kuchum’s warriors from Rus': “They pray to the Russian God, and that Russian God made of cast gold sits in a thicket”.
The news about the Russian golden idol struck the Cossacks so much that they forgot about the retreat. The Chuvash volunteered to steal the statue and entered the fortress. We were looking forward to his return. But the spy returned empty-handed. Strong security prevented the plan from being carried out. When the town was captured, the idol disappeared. Having reached the Ob, Bogdan and his comrades approached Belogorye, sacred to the Ostyaks. Here was the “great prayer place of the ancient goddess.” Several years before the conquest of Siberia, Poland already knew that the Golden Baba was a woman with a child in her arms. The Belogorsk idol looked the same: “naked, sitting on a chair with her son.” Later sources call him the Golden Baba.
The Belogorsk goddess was terrible. Here's what the hikers said about it: “And they give her a share of every industry. And if anyone breaks this law, he will be tormented and tormented. And whoever brings it not from the heart and with pity will fall before it and die. It has many priests and a great community.". Bogdan was not afraid to disturb the sacred peace and entered Belogorye. Then the mistress of the Ugrians ordered to hide her idol, and hid the huge place of prayer so that the strangers could not find it. Soon after returning from the campaign, the Cossacks, along with Bryazga, were ambushed and exterminated.
A year later, a well-armed detachment of Ivan Mansurov approached Belogorye. At the mouth of the Irtysh, the soldiers cut down a fortress and spent the winter. A large Ostyak army surrounded the fortification and launched an attack all day. The next day the besiegers brought the goddess, placed her under a tree and began a prayer service for victory. The Russians did not wait for the end of the prayer service, after which the Golden Woman was supposed to show her power. In order not to tempt fate, they hit the crowd with cannons. One of the cores reached the target. From the chronicles we learn: “The tree, under which stood the Besurmen idol, was broken into many parts, and the idol was crushed.”.
Despite the assurances of the chroniclers about the destruction of the idol, reports about the Golden Baba appeared later. At the beginning of the 18th century, Philotheus and Grigory Novitsky unsuccessfully chased after her, exterminating the remnants of paganism among the Trans-Ural Ugrians.
In the 20th century, the fight against paganism continued. The year was 1933. The competent authorities received a signal. It turned out that the Khanty, who lived along the Kazym River (the right tributary of the Lower Ob), hide the Golden Baba and worship her. The battle with the “religious dope” was in full swing. The Kazym shaman was captured and thrown into a dungeon. After some time, the specialists obtained the necessary information. It was necessary to kill two birds with one stone - to strike at religious remnants and replenish the country's budget with a product made of precious metal. A group of security officers went to the secret temple. But then the taiga hunters rebelled and shot the uninvited guests. The reprisal was swift. A new detachment of atheists destroyed almost all the men of the taiga tribe. The guns of those who remained were taken away, dooming them to starvation. The sanctuary was destroyed. What happened to the Kazym idol of the Golden Baba still remains a mystery.
Mistress of Copper Mountain
The supreme goddess of the Ugrians was known as different names: Golden Baba, Sorni-Ekva (literally “golden woman”), Kaltash-Ekva, Yoli and others. The Supreme God Numi-Torum was her brother and husband. This progenitor of the human race endowed newborns with souls. The Ugrians believed that souls sometimes take the form of a beetle or lizard. Their divine mistress herself could turn into a lizard-like creature.
Bazhov's wonderful tales describe the Mistress Copper Mountain. The folklore of Ural miners knows another name for her, Golden Baba. The mistress of the underground storerooms of the Urals often appeared before people's eyes in the form of a huge lizard with a retinue of colorful lizards. The Miner's Golden Woman, like the Belogorsk goddess, did not like the greedy and crooked.
The hostess appears before us primarily as the owner of copper ores and malachite. She herself wore a malachite dress and her name was Malachite. But all this means that the idol of the Golden Woman, from whom the fabulous Mistress of the Copper Mountain originated, was copper. The green dress appeared because over time copper becomes covered with a green oxide film.
The ancient goddess of Belogorye was a copper statue turned green by time. It becomes clear why the chronicler kept silent about the material of the idol and did not call it the Golden Woman. In fairy tales we also find memories of the golden Russian God. In the Urals they knew the golden Great Snake, that is, the Great Snake. He already lived underground and could take the form of both a snake and a human. This creature had power over gold.
Among Ugric antiquities there are many copper items. Traces of ancient mining and metallurgical production are often found in the Urals. For example, they dotted the Gumeshevskoe copper deposit. Gumeshki are located near the sources of the Chusovaya River. The first miners appeared here 35 centuries ago. It was in the Gumeshki area that the main events of Bazhov’s tales took place.
Russian miners associated their underground patrons with the era of the “old people,” among whom were the same Ugrians. Therefore, there is nothing surprising in the identity of the underground lords of the tales and the Ugric gods.
The testimony of Yulia Leta shows that we are on the right path. This 15th-century Italian historian knew about the copper statues of the Ugrians who lived near the Arctic Ocean. Leth believed that the Ugrians were part of Alaric's barbarian army and captured the sculptures during the sack of Rome. Russian tales have given us a guiding thread that leads to another mistress of the copper mountains. Strange as it may seem, at the same time we find ourselves in places thousands of kilometers away from the Urals.
The Yakuts living on the Lena have myths - olonkho. They talk about many gods. But Dies Emeget (“copper woman”) is endowed with special power. The copper idol was the goddess of the Adyarai tribe. The epic Yakuts either fought with the Adyarais or conducted peaceful trade with them.
The country of the Adyarais lay on the shores of the Arctic Ocean on the extreme western limits of the world known to the Yakuts. It was ruled by Dies Emegat and the blacksmith Kuettenny. Geographical landmarks and the name of the blacksmith lead us to the Kets. The Kets were famous for their blacksmithing skills, rare in the North. Blacksmiths in ancient times were both ore miners and metallurgists. Now there are very few Kets left. They live in the lower reaches of the Yenisei. Previously, Keto-speaking tribes were known over vast areas.
Of all the groups of Yakuts, only one lives off the coast of the Arctic Ocean. These are the so-called Dolgans, occupying a significant part of the Taimyr Peninsula. In the past, the Dolgans and the Kets lived side by side. It was from the Dolgans that information about the tribe of the copper idol came to the rest of the Yakuts. The Kets speak a language that is not similar to Ugric. But before the revolution they were called Ostyaks, like the Ugrians. Consequently, despite the linguistic differences, there was much in common in the culture of both.
Judging by the names of the Norilsk rivers and lakes, both Kets and Khanty lived on their banks. The Yakuts called them all Adyarai. The interest of Adyarai blacksmiths in this area is not accidental. The richest copper-nickel deposits are concentrated here, and next to them are reserves of coal necessary for smelting the ore. Moreover, in some places ores and coal come to the surface.
The cult of the Golden Woman was accompanied by musical instruments. The Ural Mansi Sambindalov conveyed local legends as follows: “It was scary close to the mountain. Baba screamed loudly". I haven't read Mansi historical works. Meanwhile, long before him, Alexander Guagnini (1578) wrote: “They even say that in the mountains, next to this golden image, they heard some sound and a loud roar, like a trumpet.”.
Sigismund Herberstein, who visited Muscovy twice at the beginning of the 16th century, knew about these same trumpet sounds. In the Yakut olonkho the copper idol looks like this:
Spinning on my back,
Spinning obsessively
Screaming
Bouncing up and down
Like a cricket, it began to ring.
Olonkho researchers noted that the ringing of bells can be clearly heard in the songs of the idol. They even identified it with a bell.
Travelers in the early 17th century saw lights in the Norilsk area and smelled the sulfur smell that usually accompanies the smelting of sulfide ores. At the same time they heard a bell ringing. Consequently, in the kingdom of the copper idol there really were bells, and the olonkho data are accurate. In the Urals, the Golden Baba was accompanied by horn music, and on the Yenisei - by bells and the sound of rattles.
The Kets were aliens in the North. Their ancestral home lay in Southern Siberia. But the Ugrians also moved to the Ob region and Eastern Europe from Southern Siberia. Once upon a time, both peoples were neighbors, which explains their common features. The main center of copper production in Southern Siberia lay in the Minusinsk Basin. From here the Mistress of the Copper Mountain was supposed to begin her journey to the North.
Egyptian
Herberstein's story about the Golden Woman has long puzzled scientists. Here it is: “The idol of the Golden Woman is a statue representing an old woman holding her son in the womb, and that another child is already visible there, who, they say, is her grandson.”
It turns out that there is another child inside the unborn child. Such an unlikely situation was clarified after the discovery of a bronze figurine of the Ugric goddess in the Urals. An image of a man appears from the body of the goddess, and another face looks out from his womb. Before us is a mythological image.
It seems that the secrets of the Golden Woman have been exhausted. Ancient metallurgists did not have to special labor make a copper idol. Locally produced figurines of the Golden Woman, of course, existed. But the famous idol itself was made in completely different times, far from Russia.
Several drawings and verbal portraits of the Golden Woman have survived. She either stands, holding a spear in her hand, or sits in a chair with a staff or a child in her arms. Sometimes, along with the baby, an older child appears next to the chair. The goddess appears sometimes in clothes, sometimes without them.
The Golden Baba is the supreme Ugric deity. But historians suggest that the statue originally depicted some other goddess. There are very different opinions on this matter: the Mother of God, the Slavic Golden Maya, Buddha, Guanyin, etc.
The key to unraveling the mysterious appearance is given by Bazhov's tales. In them, the Golden Snake is a golden man with a beard twisted into such tight rings that “you can’t straighten it out.” He has green eyes and a hat with “red gaps” on his head. But this is an image of green-eyed Osiris.
The beard of the Egyptian god was pulled back into a narrow, tight bun. The pharaohs who imitated him had the same beard. It is enough to recall the famous masks of Tutankhamun from his golden sarcophagi to understand what the rings on the beard of the golden man looked like. A hat with “red gaps” “pschent” is the white and red crown of a united Egypt.
The wife and sister of Osiris was the green-eyed Isis - the goddess of fertility, water, magic, marital fidelity and love. She patronized lovers. In the same way, the Ural goddess is the goddess of waters, closely associated with the theme of love and marital fidelity.
The image of the green-eyed Mistress of the Copper Mountain goes back to Isis. Today we can tell what the copper statue of an Egyptian woman looked like. Let us remember that the Golden Woman was depicted as a Madonna. The image of the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus arose under the influence of the sculptures of Isis with the baby Horus. One of these idols is kept in the Hermitage. Naked Isis sits and breastfeeds her son. On the goddess's head is a crown of snakes, a solar disk and cow horns.
Egyptian myths help us understand a lot in our tales. Here, for example, is a magic green button. It was given to Gornozavodskaya Tanyusha by the Mistress of the Copper Mountain, and through the gift the girl communicated with her patroness. The Egyptian gods had the wonderful eye of Wadjet (“green eye”). It also provided the owner with protection and patronage. Isis-Hathor was the guardian of the Eye and its embodiment.
Isis was known as the goddess of music. Because of this, her cult in the North was so loud. At one time, the goddess invented the sistrum rattle, with which she was often depicted. The base of the sistrum was usually the figure of a cat with a human head.
Talking earthen cats were in the retinue of the Mistress of the Copper Mountain. In Ural tales, Isis’s cat appears either as the cat Fiery Ears, who protected the brave Dunyasha, or as the domestic Murenka, who persuaded the goat Silver Hoof to amuse the girl Darenka with gems.
In one of the tales we meet ants running along a treasured path. They have golden little shoes on their feet. The paws increased in size as their owners moved. We see echoes of the Egyptian myth about the scarab beetle rolling the sun across the sky.
The Egyptians themselves called Isis Iset. Near Gumeshki the source of the Iset – “the river of Isis” – originates. Through this river, Ural copper entered the forest Trans-Urals. The earthen cat was known in Sysert, whose name comes from sistrum. Once upon a time there was a temple in which the musical animal of the goddess was kept.
Osiris, aka the Golden Man, in the stories of Western Europeans looks like a child standing next to the Golden Woman. Consequently, his golden idol was miniature. Bazhov's tales feature another miniature golden character - a female one. The Golden Goddess takes on the form of Ognevushka-Jumping, a red-haired factory girl, a blue snake, and old lady Sinyushka. This mistress of gold veins lived in the water, protected girls and pure-hearted miners.
Before us is Isis again, but now golden. This means that the name Golden Baba was not born out of nowhere. At first this was the name of the golden figurine, and later the copper statue of Isis and all her other images.
Petria knew that the Golden Baba was Isis (1620). But no one believed him. The appearance of Egyptian sculptures in Siberia seemed too surprising.
Siberian Slavs
The most burning secret of the Golden Woman turned out to be her in Russian sounding name. The Ob Ugrians had one more thing, and again Slavic - the Old Woman. The Belogorsk Golden Baba was called Slovutes by the Ostyaks, that is, “Slavic woman”. Her Irtysh husband, Golden Osiris, was directly called the Russian God. In addition, the country of worshipers of Russian gods was called Siberia. Medieval authors associated this name with the Slavic word “north”. But then this correct explanation was considered incredible and others were invented.
The clue to the appearance of Slavic names is contained in the news of Muslim writers of the early Middle Ages. Al-Masudi (10th century) describes three temples of the Slavs. The transcript of his story shows that one temple with the idol of “Saturn” stood in the Minusinsk Basin. The second, with a gold idol and a statue of a girl, is in the Taimyr region, the third is in the Urals.
Abu Dulef (10th century), who visited here, wrote about the veneration of “Saturn and Venus” in the Minusinsk Basin. Ibn Muqaffa (8th century) called the inhabitants of this place Slavs. Under Saturn of Eastern authors hides the god of the underworld Veles - Osiris, and under Venus - the goddess of love Morena - Isis.
The Slavs have lived in the Minusinsk Basin since the Cimmerian era. They belonged to the so-called Tagar archaeological culture. The Tagarians were talented miners, metallurgists and blacksmiths. Under the pressure of the nomadic hordes, mixed streams of Slavs, Ugrians and Kets left the area of the upper Yenisei to the east and north. The divided people also divided the shrines. Golden Osiris and Copper Isis ended up in Taimyr, from there they went to the Kama region, then to Western Siberia. The Golden Isis was transferred to the Urals. Copper Osiris remained in place.
The Minusinsk Slavs settled in the Irtysh basin and in the southern part of the Urals, which at that time were called the Slavic Mountains. Over time, brutal wars and mixed marriages led to the fact that Slavic speech ceased to be heard in these places. Only the Golden Woman kept the secret of the disappeared people.
Traces of the presence of the Slavs on Siberian soil were felt for a very long time. Back in the 14th century, Elomari knew fair-haired and blue-eyed Siberians. He wrote: “Their figures are a perfect creation in beauty, whiteness and amazing charm; their eyes are blue."
Ermak's Cossacks, who broke through the Stone Belt, among the short and Mongoloid aborigines, to their surprise, sometimes met genuine giants, and among the aborigines - indescribable beauties.
Legacy of the Mother of the Gods
Travelers of the 19th century noted that in their time the Ob Ugrians no longer had ancient idols, and later copies were kept in the temples. They were made very simply. The idol was buried in a mixture of sand and clay and molten metal was poured into the resulting mold. One such Silver Woman was allegedly acquired by the Finnish scientist Karjalainen and taken to his homeland. Apparently, another similar idol fell into the hands of Soviet security officers and died. Are the chroniclers really right, and a cannonball destroyed Copper Isis back in the 16th century? No. The core did not harm her.
Only later sources report the destruction of the idol. From earlier and more reliable sources it is known that the core was crushed only by a nearby tree. Later this story was somewhat embellished.
After the fall of the kingdom of Kuchum, Copper Isis and Golden Osiris were transferred to an ancient temple near modern Norilsk. Somewhere in the Taimyr mountains of Putorana they are hidden to this day. The trace of the Golden Isis is lost near the sources of Chusovaya and Iset. Tales point to Azov Mountain near the modern city of Polevsky. Copper Osiris never left the Yenisei. Someday, an archaeologist's spade will stumble upon sculptures made in Egypt almost 30 centuries ago.
The Golden Woman sits among her priceless treasury. Over the centuries, expensive sables and overseas fabrics turned to dust. But the main thing has survived - the memory of the Great Slav, who gave life to the race of people and gods. In her renewed appearance of the Mother of God, she looks tenderly at us from the walls of Orthodox churches.
Alien trace
Ufologists did not pass by the amazing Golden Woman, completely different from the other idols crudely carved out of wood by shamans. They knew that the amazing idol was worshiped, and is still worshiped, by the Khanty and Mansi peoples. The metal Golden Woman seemed to have fallen from the sky. Or maybe she really fell?
This version of the origin of the golden idol was put forward several years ago by ufologist Stanislav Ermakov. He believes that the Golden Woman is an alien robot, for some reason, perhaps due to a partial malfunction, left on Earth by its owners. For some time, the Golden Woman could move, and it is with this property that the Mansi legends about the “living” golden idol are associated. Then, it seems, the robot began to gradually fail. At first he could still make sounds, and then he finally turned into a golden statue.
Several stories from Mansi reindeer herders unknown to S. Ermakov confirm his hypothesis.
In the Northern Urals stands the dome-shaped mountain Manya-Tump, covered with dense forest. Until very recently, reindeer herders, driving their herds along the Ural ridge in the summer, did not even come close to the mountain. This is what Mansi guide Peter told about it to cameraman M. Zaplatkin, who was filming a film about the stone idols of Man-Pupu-Nera: “A long time ago it was impossible to walk the mountain. Whoever walks will get sick for a long time and die. Old people say - there stood the navels, Sonya Equa, the Golden Woman. It was scary close to the mountain. Baba screamed loudly. People speak in a scary voice".
A little north of Mount Manya-Tump rises another mountain, with which the legends about the terrible cry of the Golden Woman - Koyp - are also associated. I already talked about it at the beginning of the article. The surroundings of this mountain are surprisingly suitable for the birth of the legend about the temple of the Golden Woman. At the foot of the mountain lies a completely round lake. This is no longer the case in the Northern Urals. On its shore you can see blocks covered with lichens, in which, with a little imagination, you can guess the remains of a sanctuary.
Mansi reindeer herders driving their herds in the summer always stop by this sanctuary to leave their gifts on the quadrangular granite block, as if carved out by human hands.
Between the Manya-Tump and Koyp mountains, near which, according to Mansi legends, the cry of the Golden Woman was heard, there is another place, also, perhaps, connected with scary screams. This latest event just happened in our time. This place is Mount Otorten, the highest point of the Northern Urals. In the winter of 1959, an experienced, well-trained group of skiers from the Ural Polytechnic Institute died here. Rescuers who went in search of tourists found a tent with a cut-up back wall and the bodies of 9 hikers lying in deep snow. The expression of mortal horror was frozen on the faces of all the dead. According to the commission that investigated this tragedy, one of the reasons that led to such terrible death, there could be exposure to high-intensity infrasound.
Stanislav Ermakov made the assumption that the Golden Robot Woman, abandoned by aliens, could not only speak, but also move. What and when made the robot motionless? This question can be answered by one curious episode contained in the description of the Viking Thorir Hund’s campaign in Biarmia: “The Vikings happily sailed to the mouth of the Dvina to the trading city of Biarmia. Everyone who had gold and goods for exchange received a good profit. At the end of the bargaining with a full load of expensive fur goods, the Vikings went down the Dvina and, going out into the open sea, began to hold council.
The temple of the highest deity of the Biarms, as the Vikings knew for sure, was located in a dense forest, not far from the mouth of the Vin (Dvina) River. It was there that they planned to get through and, if they were lucky, take possession of the treasures collected there. Thorir Hund, thrusting his ax into the gate, climbed over it with his help. Carly did the same, and they let their comrades inside the fenced-in space. Approaching the mound, the Vikings collected as much money as they could carry. They folded them into their dress.
They reached the very image of Yumala, which towered among the sacred fence. A precious golden chain hung on the neck of the Biarmian god. Carly was seduced by the chain and cut the idol’s neck so hard with an ax that the head rolled off his shoulders with a terrifying crack.”
A Viking probably would not have been able to cut off the head of a cast statue. It’s another matter if in front of him stood a robot consisting of metal frame, covered with a thin layer of metal. The guards of the sanctuary arrived in time and drove the Vikings away. They miraculously managed to make their way to the ships, abandoning the treasures collected near the Golden Woman.
Where is the idol or broken robot now? Three remote, hard-to-reach corners of Russia are traditionally named as the final refuge of the Golden Woman: the lower reaches of the Ob River and the upper reaches of the Irtysh in the region. Kalbinsky ridge and impassable gorges of the Putoran mountains on the Taimyr Peninsula. But perhaps the idol with the terrible, deadly voice is much closer. And it hides somewhere in the triangle between the mountains Koyp, Otorten and Manya-Tump. This assumption is more logical if we assume that the Golden Woman “screamed” at Otorten. The hunt for it continues: some are looking for a priceless historical relic, others are looking for gold, and others are looking for a treasure trove of alien technology.
Siberia... A stunningly beautiful region in the northeastern part of Eurasia, the keeper of many secrets and stereotypes. The vast land of bitter cold is far in the east, where people were sent into exile; an oil-rich region that stores natural resources in its depths; edge strong in spirit of people. Siberia is harsh and beautiful at the same time. There is not a single corner on the planet that is at least a little similar to the Siberian region. She is so original.
Country within a country
In the west, Siberia borders the Ural Mountains; in the east - with watershed ridges near Pacific Ocean; in the north – with the Arctic Ocean; in the south - with the borders of neighboring states of Russia. Siberia became part of Russia in the 16th-17th centuries. Her total area huge – 12.6 million km² (which is about 73.6% of the territory of Russia). The entire territory of Siberia alone more than the second The largest country (after Russia) is Canada. It’s like a separate “country within a country.” Population within the borders of Siberian federal district– more than nineteen million people. Twenty-nine Siberian cities have a population of more than 100 thousand people. Most big cities– Novosibirsk, Omsk, Krasnoyarsk, Barnaul, Tyumen, Irkutsk, Tomsk.
There are several versions of the origin of the word “Siberia”. But it has not yet been established which of them is true. According to one version, the name comes from the Mongolian “shibir”, meaning a swampy area covered with birches, a forest thicket. It is assumed that this is what the Mongols called the part of the taiga bordering the forest-steppe during the time of Genghis Khan. The second popular version is the Turkic word “siber/chiber”, literally meaning “beautiful”. For example, Lake Chebarkul translated from Tatar language means "beautiful lake". It seems that both versions are quite justified. Siberia is very different.
Hunters and poachers
The region is favorable for the breeding of many species of animals, including those listed in the Red Book. It’s not for nothing that hunting enthusiasts from all over Russia (and not only) come to these regions: “the game flies through the streets and bumps into the hunter itself.” Of course, poaching is also quite common here...
Of the large animals of the Eastern Siberian taiga, the most characteristic are Brown bear, wolverine, lynx, elk (whose weight sometimes reaches 500 kg). There are also foxes here - red, cross and gray foxes. Small predators include the weasel weasel and ferret, and in the south the badger, ermine and weasel. Musk deer and bighorn sheep, which are absent to the west, live here, and sable and reindeer become more numerous. But there are especially many different rodents here. Of these, the most commercially important is the squirrel, which in many areas serves as the main object of hunting; besides it, the mobile chipmunk, the mountain hare, the flying squirrel, and mouse-like rodents are found everywhere. Among the rare animals and birds listed in the Red Book, the black crane, imperial eagle, Amur tiger, pointed-eared bat and many others are found in Siberia.
Harsh climate
At the same time, the Siberian climate is especially harsh for human habitation. Almost throughout the entire territory of Siberia it is continental and sharply continental. It’s not for nothing that legends are made about him. During most of the year in all regions of Siberia there is a significant lack of heat for comfortable stay people and growing crops. Therefore, the population of Siberia is concentrated mainly in its southern part. The cold period and extremely low winter temperatures last here for more than six months. The harshest winter is in Eastern Siberia: in Yakutia, temperatures remain below minus forty degrees for a long time and there are almost no thaws. Therefore, in winter, local residents sell milk in bags, rather than in cans or glassware. And of course, the climate largely explains the special mentality of Siberians. But not only to them.
“Not the same Rus'”
Huge, almost uninhabited spaces of Siberia, harsh natural conditions, forced colonization by political and criminal exiles, the merging of the newcomer population with the indigenous peoples, the absence of the nobility and serfdom - all this shaped the Siberian character. They even said that “Siberia is not the same Rus',” since earlier government policies simply doomed Siberia to be the colonial outskirts of the empire. Indigenous Siberians are distinguished by special impressionability, special nervous system, the habit of restraining emotional moods. Mikhail Bakunin also wrote: “With all the shortcomings rooted in Siberia from the constant influx of various, often unclean elements, such as dishonesty, selfishness, secrecy, mutual distrust, it is distinguished by some special breadth of heart and thought, true generosity.” . Tyutchev’s famous phrase “Russia cannot be understood with the mind” belongs especially to the Siberian mentality. But Chekhov did not like Siberia. In his travel impressions on the way to Sakhalin, he wrote about flagrant drunkenness among Siberian intellectuals, and also about the fact that it is not the exiles who demoralize the population, but vice versa. At the same time, the writer clearly understood that “if it weren’t for the cold that robs Siberia of summer, and if it weren’t for officials corrupting peasants and exiles, then Siberia would be the richest and happiest land.” For us, the Siberian character is invariably associated with strength, iron stamina, and hospitality.
Golden Altai
In the southwest of Siberia there is one of most beautiful places all over the Earth. Of course it's amazing Altai region. The whole mountainous country, where the great rivers Ob, Irtysh and Yenisei begin their flow, is not without reason called Siberian Switzerland. This is one of the must-see places on the planet. To say that the nature here is unique is to say nothing. There are more than three thousand five hundred lakes in Altai! And each of them is a unique pearl in the mountains. Since ancient times, Altai has been called the Golden Mountain, standing equidistant from four oceans, in the very center of Eurasia, at the junction of two worlds - Mongolian and Turkic. Everywhere in Altai you can see traces of centuries-old history: overgrown stone fences and mounds, drawings and writings on weather-beaten rocks, stone sculptures. Here, in one place, it seems that all the most fabulous and stunning imagination is collected: transparent rivers, dense taiga, high-mountain meadows, sparkling glaciers.
Places of power
Another of the most famous tourist routes in Siberia is the Sayan Ring, which covers Tyva, Khakassia and the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Khakassia is called a museum under open air. Tourists are especially attracted by the healing mineral lakes - salty and fresh. These waters can literally work miracles and cure any disease. There is a mysterious mountain range here - Chests, consisting of nine mountains that look like lying suitcases. Scientists believe that this is the oldest observatory in the world, and shamans consider this a place of power and come here for energy recharging. There are even rumors that if you spend the night on the mysterious Chests, you can soon feel some kind of superpowers, extrasensory sense and the gift of foresight.
There are many sacred stones in Khakassia. One of the most famous is Ulug Khurtuyakh Tas, “the great stone goddess.” For five thousand years now, women from all over the world have been coming to this place to beg the “stone goddess” for children and family happiness.
Nourishing means warm
I would also like to note the peculiarities of Siberian cuisine. After all, it is as original as Siberia itself. At first, Siberian cuisine was formed under the influence of ancient Russian culture. But since the 17th century, the regional cuisines of the peoples of Russia begin to differ. And the rapid development of railway construction in the 70s of the 19th century brought the distant outskirts closer to the center of the country. This led to the “discovery” of many regional ancient Russian dishes and products, which were quickly recognized as national and. These were Ural and Siberian dumplings, Far Eastern salmon fish and red caviar.
The main products that made up the diet of the Siberians were, of course, those produced on their farm. First of all - milk, meat, vegetables, eggs. Products from cereal crops made up the majority of it. Eating food was associated with the need to observe fasts. Four fasts were observed annually, lasting a total of one hundred and thirty days. All Wednesdays and Fridays were fast days, with the exception of holidays, when it was allowed to eat meat and dairy foods. True, they say that it was the Siberians who did not observe the fasts particularly carefully. Bread occupied and continues to occupy an important place on the table of Siberians; Russia has always ranked first in the world in per capita consumption. It’s not for nothing that the Russian language has such a rich variety of proverbs and sayings about bread!
During the long Siberian winter, the main thing is not to freeze. To do this, you need to dress warmly and eat a hearty meal. This is what explains the great passion of Siberians for meat dishes... They are filling. In the diet of the old-time Siberians, who kept a lot of livestock, meat was the most important place. Usually it was boiled. The favorite dish of Siberians was (and remains) dumplings. It is believed that the most delicious are “a mixture of three types of meat,” that is, the minced meat had to be made from beef, pork and lamb. Meat food is immeasurably more important for Siberia than for European Russia. This is due not only to the widespread development of livestock farming, but also to the vital need for meat food in harsh climates. Another proof of the phrase “Not the same Russia.”
Siberians eat fresh meat – “svezhina”, salted meat – “corned beef”, and dried meat – “saggy”. Meat dishes varied: cold from tongues, ears and lips, pork butts, stews with meat, meat cabbage soup, roast meat, meat and vegetable dishes, “kurnik”. Siberians love jelly, which is made from heads and legs. And of course, all these snacks go well with vodka, without which a real Siberian feast is rarely complete - varied and hospitable.
Generous region
Nowadays, Siberia also attracts many tourists with its ski resorts, which are developing at a rapid pace. This popularity is also facilitated by the fact that the slopes of Sobolina Mountain are a favorite skiing spot for Russian President Vladimir Putin. In addition, so-called agritourism is also in demand. Foreigners come to Siberia to fully immerse themselves in the peculiarities of local life, to experience all the specifics of living in these places. They learn to independently take care of the household, learn to cook Siberian dishes and try to answer the exciting question - “What is life like in Rus'?” Over many centuries, Siberia has not lost its fabulous beauty, generosity of mineral resources and grandeur. It’s not for nothing that people come here for inspiration, health and energy recharging. Siberia is so generous that it is ready to give everyone exactly what they are looking for in these parts.