The conquerors of the famous Ukok plateau in Gorny Altai stopped littering in nature, fearing to anger the spirit of the “progenitor of the Altai people”.
Environmentalists and social activists found that tourists began to pick up their own trash after resting in the Ukok Quiet Zone Nature Park.
The Ukok plateau gained worldwide fame thanks to the discovery of the mummy of an ancient woman of the Pazyryk archaeological culture, named "Princess Ukok". Every week, this amazing place, located at an altitude of about 2.5 thousand meters above sea level in the south of Altai, is visited by hundreds of tourists. Employees of the Ukok Peace Zone nature park together with representatives of the creative studio Altyn Zhas and Bis Birlik decided to hold a traditional clean-up of the Ukok plateau from garbage.
“However, having climbed the Dzhumalinskie teplovye keys, the protesters were pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness of the area,” the press service of the Ministry of Nature of the Altai Republic told RG. - Still, the world is not without kind and responsible people who fulfill the requirements of the park employees and take away all the garbage after themselves. Many tourists say that they clean up everything after themselves, as they are afraid of the wrath of the spirits of the Ukok plateau.
Disputes about the mystical power of the "princess" mummy found on the plateau have been going on for several decades. The indigenous Altaians are sure that the “progenitor of the Altai people,” disturbed in the grave, has ceased to defend these lands. As a result, the republic was shaken by earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters. According to public figures, all the troubles in the region are due to the fact that the mummy has not yet been buried.
As already reported by "RG", the spiritual leader of the Altai people, together with the elders and representatives of the indigenous population of the republic, has been seeking the return of the "princess" to the bosom of his native land for twenty years. However, scientists consider the mummy to be a unique historical and cultural monument of world importance, which must be preserved and studied. In January, public figures appealed to the Gorno-Altai City Court with a demand to return the "sacred object" back to the mound on the Ukok plateau. But the court decided to leave the princess in the museum. The mummy is recognized as an object of cultural heritage, therefore any manipulations that lead to its destruction are unacceptable. Residents of Gorny Altai will appeal this decision to the Supreme Court.
Natalia Graf