The Chelyabinsk region recently celebrated another birthday, but not only for residents of other regions, but also for the South Urals themselves, it remains a poorly explored land.
But not for the local historian Anton PERVUKHIN, who republished his book "100 interesting facts about the Chelyabinsk region." The book is based on the author's blog, which a couple of years ago was recognized as the best on the Runet.
From Ostap Bender to Hitler's sister
Eldar Gizzatullin, AiF-Chelyabinsk: How did you get the idea to write a book? Out of a desire to change the perception of the region both in Russia and abroad?
Anton Pervukhin: Right. My work in the government was connected with changing the image of the region. A huge amount of information has accumulated, which could not always be used in some official projects and presentations. So I started a blog first. Immediately I set a goal not to write in general about the Southern Urals, since this information is already enough, but to collect precisely little-known facts.
For example, the modern generation has already forgotten about the fact that Yaroslav Hasek lived in Chelyabinsk. It is a pity that his house has not survived. I began to use archives, information that I obtained during business trips, from communication with people.
Promotional video:
Thousands of responses began to come to the blog, including from other regions and countries. One guy even wrote from the DPR - his girlfriend was from Chelyabinsk, and he wanted to know more about her native land. An idea arose to publish a book. All facts were checked by specialists from the Russian Academy of Sciences. The book got into the gift fund, and then it was handed over to many of our famous fellow countrymen and politicians.
Was it that the readers sent really amazing facts?
- Yes, for example, the story of the prototype of Ostap Bender, who lived at one time in Chelyabinsk. His name was Osip Shor, and he worked for ChTZ. It was a harsh time then - they could remove all the shavings from the director of the plant for not completing such and such a task on time, and there were not enough materials. Shor was famous for his abilities as a supplier - as they say, he could get a penknife in the desert. He worked at a factory, at one point they came to arrest him, but thanks to his abilities he managed to escape earlier. He was never caught.
It happened that interesting facts emerged completely unexpected. Once I was in the Verkhneuralsk prison, I asked the chief: "Do you have any interesting stories?" And in response to me: "Yes, we have nothing like that." I do not let up: “How is that? You have one of the oldest prisons in the Urals. " And finally they give me: "Well, here, Hitler's sister was with us …" Can you imagine? That's how I found out about Maria Kopensteiner, really Hitler's cousin. And this is not uncommon. Many people have blurry eyes and memory. It's like some Muscovites who have never been to Red Square in their entire lives.
Key to the past
- I noticed that you have a lot of facts related not only to history, but also to nature
- There is no less amazing in our nature than in history! So, we managed to find a tree that is the same age as Ivan the Terrible. Its age is close to 500 years! Scientists have already confirmed. This tree grows in the Karagai pine forest. Imagine, when Ivan the Terrible ruled, and Nostradamus made his predictions, the tree was already growing.
Are there any other natural "old-timers" in the South Urals?
- You can't list everything. You can tell about one of the seven most ancient springs in the world. This is the White Key, which is located on the southeastern slope of the Two-headed Volcano in the Taganay National Park. The water in this spring has not stopped flowing for millions of years. In 1990, MSU specialists analyzed the spring water, and it turned out that its softness is much higher than that of melted snow. That is, there are practically no mineral salts in it.
Or about the oldest mountain in the world. This is Mount Pencil in the Kusinsky district. According to preliminary estimates, its age is 4.2 billion years. For comparison: the age of the earth is approximately 4.6 billion. Naturally, earlier this mountain was much higher than it is now. Today its height is 600 meters. The mountain consists of the oldest and rarest stone, izrandite. It is almost impossible to meet him on the planet. It is an almost black rock, which is closer in composition to the earth's mantle than to the earth's crust.
Is it true that some mysterious mechanisms were found in one of the South Ural caves?
- We are talking about Averkina's cave on the Ay river. Inside it is an underground lake. In 1924, a dilapidated stone staircase, a wooden door and a machine of unknown purpose were found there. There is a version that counterfeit money was printed on it.
We had our own Schindler
Were there among the facts stories about our fellow countrymen, whom we can rightfully be proud of, but, unfortunately, little known?
- Sure. I was struck by the story of the surgeon Georgy Sinyakov. He ended up in a Nazi concentration camp, managed to organize an underground there, published a newspaper, and even performed operations! He saved hundreds of people, including the famous pilot Anna Egorova-Timofeev. The Germans allowed him to work, since by the end of the war they needed working hands. After the war, Sinyakov talked about the pilot Dmitry. This fighter tried to escape but was caught. Realizing that after he brought the pilot to his senses, he would immediately be tortured, Georgy Fyodorovich invited him to play death. He explained in detail the symptoms and how to behave. At night, in heavy pain, pilot Dmitry "died", as Sinyakov loudly announced to the overseers. And in the morning Dmitry was free.
When the Soviet troops were very close, Sinyakov managed to dissuade the Germans from shooting the prisoners. This is an amazing story! Our real Schindler! You can shoot a movie that rivals Hollywood.
“And this is not our only renowned physician
- You should remember, say, about Dr. Semyon Andrievsky. He is from St. Petersburg, in 1786 he was sent to Chelyabinsk. Then the real scourge was anthrax. Andrievsky not only discovered the cause of the infection, but also developed a method of treatment. He tested the vaccine on himself. And Chelyabinsk became the first city where anthrax was defeated. By the way, Andrievsky introduced this name of the disease. He was assisted by his colleague Vasily Zhukovsky, who decided to stay in Chelyabinsk. Zhukovsky's son became a mayor, and their house has survived to this day. It is located at Truda Street, 88.
The work to popularize Chelyabinsk was probably greatly facilitated by a meteorite?
- Oh, with a meteorite it turned out unusually! When the book was already being prepared for publication, a fireball exploded over Chelyabinsk. I had to urgently make changes to the text, but my book was the first where the Chelyabinsk car was mentioned.
I am, of course, pleased that many little-known facts are already heard. It happened that I was later told about something from my own blog as about some kind of discovery. But I am glad that more and more people learn about the region. You know, when I was in school, we had local history, but in these lessons they told the same type of legends about lakes and mountains. And it’s interesting to learn about something real! I hope that my research will help to make South Ural regional studies more exciting. And most importantly, many will then want to see with their own eyes all those places with which such unusual stories are associated.
Did bloggers from other regions follow your example?
- Yes, there were such attempts. Especially after my blog was recognized as the best on the Runet. But, to be honest, I would like to myself, when the time comes, to create a project "100 little-known facts" about each region of Russia.
D axis
Was born in Emanzhelinsk in 1987. Graduated from the Faculty of Journalism of ChelSU. He worked in a number of media outlets. Since 2012 he has been working in the government apparatus of the Chelyabinsk region.
E is interesting
On the shore of Lake Bolshie Allaki, near the town of Kasli, there is one of the most mysterious sights of the region. At 50 meters from the water, on a small hill, there are 14 huge stone blocks-outliers, which are called "stone tents". It is especially surprising that there is not a single rock or mountain within a radius of several kilometers from this place. Moreover, each stone has a unique bizarre shape. More than others, attention is drawn to a lump, which at a certain angle resembles the face of the Egyptian Sphinx. According to scientists, in later times, "stone tents" were used by ancient people as targets of a prehistoric shooting range. Young warriors honed their skills in archery on huge blocks. That is why a huge number of arrowheads are found in the ground next to the outliers.