Barguzin is an important word for us, the inhabitants of Siberia. This is the name of one of the largest rivers feeding Baikal. Barguzin is also the northeast wind, sung in the famous song about the “glorious sea, sacred Baikal”. And Barguzin is an old merchant village, which was once the center of gold mining. Legends say that the Barguzin Valley is the ancient country of Bargudzhin-Tokum, which was inhabited many centuries ago by nomadic Bargut tribes. How life is here today - this is our story. “Who is good to live in Russia? Buryatia” The Barguzin river valley is one of the largest in Buryatia. It stretches for 230 kilometers between two ridges - Ikatsky and Barguzinsky, which separates it from the North-Eastern coast of Baikal. Numerous mountain rivers and streams fill the full-flowing Barguzin with their strength. The Gremyachaya River is one of them. Gremyachaya flows from a shady taiga gorge. The water in the river is clean and tasty. This forest generously shares its gifts with the locals. The Gremyachaya River is diverted from the main channel to the village of Barguzin, and it saturates gardens and orchards with water. From the neighboring gorge, another river flows through the village of Barguzin - Bannaya. The time for haymaking is coming to an end. Timofei Konovalov is hauling hay from his land. We move after him to the left bank of the Barguzin River and move towards the village of Shapenkovo. There are many hayfields of different owners. - Are the mowing good this year? - There was a flood in the north of the valley. In the Buryat villages, the mowing was under water. Our mowings are located higher, and they were not drowned. - What is the area of your hayfield? How many days do you usually mow? - Thirty hectares. The duration of haymaking depends on the weather. It usually takes us a month. Timofey and his neighbors the Postnikovs help each other - together the work goes faster. All the grass has already been cut, part of the hay has been raked into stacks, and part is still on the field. Cattle breeders from a neighboring village are working nearby. It seems that people are competing with gusts of wind and gloomy clouds threatening bad weather. A strong wind showers people with a rain of grass. But it disperses annoying insects. In the evening Timofey, his wife Tatyana and son Oleg returned home. The first step is to unload the hay. There are eight children in the large Konovalov family. All children from an early age are accustomed to work and mutual assistance. - Can I take a walk? - Ask your mother for permission. Maybe mom needs help. - And if my mother lets me go, can I take a walk? - Certainly. The morning begins with the milking of the cows. Tatyana, Timothy's wife, has a full day of worries. - This is Masha. Dasha is there. Two girls, our pigs. - Part of the milk goes on sale, the rest we keep for ourselves. We now have eight cows. We had chickens, but last year we had to sell them, as we do not have a winter chicken coop. The Konovalovs have a large garden. Despite the harsh climate, literally everything grows in capable hands. How old is your daughter Victoria? - One year and four months. Soon she will go to kindergarten. - How often do you bake bread? - Once every three days. In the house of the Konovalovs, order is everywhere, everything is in its place. Many things served Timothy's father and grandfather. - These are ancient elements of horse harness. - This binoculars were brought by my grandfather from the front, he served him during the Great Patriotic War. I love it very much and still use it to this day. - This is my grandfather's soldier's belt. It has been preserved since the Civil War. - This old arc is about seventy years old. Handmade. We have restored it. We picked up the bells for a long time with my father so that there was a good sound. Barguzin retains the appearance of an old Siberian village that grew up on the site of one of the first Cossack settlements in Transbaikalia. The spirit of antiquity still lives on these narrow streets. Houses with shutters, old wooden frames and carved architraves. High gate with a gable roof. Much has been lost over time, much has been consigned to oblivion, but those bits of the past that have survived are of great cultural and historical value. Barguzin was founded in 1648 by a detachment of Russian Cossacks led by ataman Ivan Galkin, the son of one of Yermak's devotees. The sovereign's people were faced with the task of "setting up a fortress, learning about local peoples, and also prospecting for gold and silver ore." In those days, these lands were inhabited by Buryat cattle breeders and Evenk hunters. In the seventeenth century, Barguzin was an important stronghold on the path of Russian explorers to the east. In 1701, the cartographer Semyon Remezov, the author of the Drawing Book of Siberia, wrote that “the Barguzin fortress was surrounded by a wooden palisade. Inside were warehouses for food and ammunition, as well as the houses of the priest and clerk. A small river flowed in the middle of the fortress. Behind its walls stood several houses of the Cossacks. At that time, about fifty people lived in Barguzin. In 1783, Barguzin received the status of a county town with its own coat of arms, symbolizing the fur wealth of the region. Barguzin gained fame as a place of political and administrative exile for people objectionable to the tsarist regime. So, in the 1830s, the Decembrist brothers Mikhail and Wilhelm Kuchelbecker were sent here. Among the exiles there was also a large group of Jews. Many of them became merchants, and the Novomeisky dynasty founded gold mining in the Barguzin taiga. The Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior is a witness to many events that have befallen several generations. This monument of stone architecture was built in 1834 by a local merchant Ivan Chernykh. The cathedral played a big role in people's lives, but in the thirties of the last century it was closed. For a long time it housed repair shops. Only in 1993 the temple was returned to the Orthodox Church and in the new millennium it reopened its doors to all believers. During the Soviet Union, Barguzin was one of the richest villages in Buryatia. In the harsh nineties and two thousandths, many enterprises closed. Today Barguzin is the administrative center of the Barguzinsky district. We are sure that the golden time of Barguzin is still ahead, because all the necessary resources are available here. Five kilometers northeast of Barguzin lies the village of Nesterikha. Opposite it, the mountains are cut through by a picturesque rocky gorge, from which the Nesterikha river flows. - We have a forest near the village, a bear with cubs walks here. There are wolves too. - Have you seen them yourself? No, we didn't see, people saw. We do not go to the forest, we are afraid. On the other hand, the swamp. The bear goes to the swamp to collect cranberries. There was a strong fire in the forest, and the bear went out into the valley. - A lot of mushrooms have grown in the forest. - Hello! - Hi guys! From the foot of the Barguzin Ridge we set off to the opposite side of the valley to the Ikat Ridge. Over the bridge we met a white-tailed eagle. The bird is rare and beautiful. This is one of the largest feathered predators. Its wingspan reaches two and a half meters! The white-tailed eagle is included in the International List of Nature Conservation, as well as the Red Books of Russia, Buryatia and other regions. The white-tailed eagle is a natural orderly. It feeds primarily on weak and sick animals, as well as carrion. This bird is of great benefit to reservoirs, clearing them of sick fish. The eagle does not dive for prey like an osprey, but grabs it at the surface of the water and in shallow waters. Welcome to the village of Uro! This is the most original settlement in the south of the Barguzin valley. Mikhail Terentyev is a local self-taught musician. - I grow these flowers for beauty, for the soul: marigolds, dahlias and asters. Mikhail sings the patriotic song "Two Eagles". There are no large industrial enterprises in the Barguzin Valley, which means that the air, water and soil are much cleaner than in industrialized areas. This land gives life to many types of medicinal plants. Alexander Popov has been harvesting medicinal herbs since the late nineties. The properties of many of them are familiar to him from childhood. - The inhabitants of the valley have long used medicinal herbs for health maintenance and treatment. Each family harvested wild herbs, berries, and mushrooms. Among the finished products produced by Alexander Popov, herbal teas are in the first place. They have a declaration of conformity and a registered trademark with the Power of Barguzin Herbs logo. Raw materials for the production of teas are collected not only by themselves, but also purchased from the local population. Two types of tea are made here - rolled and granulated. - This is a roller - a device designed to create twisted tea. Here in this container we load slightly dried leaves. We squeeze them with this press, and the leaves move along these grooves, and twisted tea is obtained. Various homemade devices are used for sifting. Raw materials are dried in several ways. Several of his fellow villagers work with Popov. The Popov House is one hundred and forty years old. Without a doubt, it will serve people for many more decades. Galina Petrovna, Alexander's wife, invited us to tea. - Try our homemade salads and jams. This is our kitchen, where we cook and eat. - My parents lived here, their parents, my childhood passed here. Our house is bright, warm and cozy. Alexander Popov supplies herbal teas to the cities of Ulan-Ude, Irkutsk and even Moscow. Medicinal herbs became his life's work. The village of Uro has all the necessary vehicles for various needs. However, the loud clatter of hooves is always heard on the streets of the village. However, the loud clatter of hooves is always heard on the streets of the village. Meet Vladimir Gorodetsky, a horse rider. Vladimir loves these animals and has perfectly studied their habits. First, you tie a wild horse to the side near the working horse and lead it so that it gets used to the road. You drive for two or three days, then you harness it to a sled. In winter, you ride a sleigh into the field - and let him run. If you go around a horse on horseback, then you drive it along a special platform. The horse can throw the rider. If you can stay in the saddle - good, if not - you will fly to the ground. You need to wear special shoes so that your feet do not get stuck in the stirrups. - Have you been involved in horses since childhood? - From early childhood, I began to walk with my father with horses. All my life, every day I work with horses. - Can you ride any horse? - Yes, I can ride and harness any horse in a couple of days, sometimes on the first day. Vladimir trains horses the way his ancestors did, as his father taught. It is clear that a person who does not have special training and experience will not be able to ride a horse on his own. This animal is very strong and can cause serious injury, and even kill. - Working with horses is very risky. You don't know what to expect from a horse. - Today the horse is calm, but tomorrow it will start kicking. We say: “Do not rely on a horse, or a boat, or a young wife!” Whatever you say, these places are blessed. No wonder they were chosen at the end of the seventeenth century by the first Russian settlers. The indigenous Tungus people told them that the area is called Uro, or "a camp in the mountain taiga." There are also grazing lands, and mowing, and sown lands. You look around, and the soul sings. Nearby is abundant taiga. In September, it looks especially picturesque. After rain, the air in the forest is filled with moisture and mushroom smells. On the slope of the mountain along the forest road there are groups of rocks - local natural monuments. Let's go back to the village. Here, modernity everywhere coexists with the past, which is firmly rooted in everyday life and family traditions. Furniture and other antiques are passed down from generation to generation and are used in everyday life. This is the ancestral estate of the Tolstikhin family. The oldest building is over 300 years old. Sisters Tatyana, Elena and Natalya often get together in their parents' house. The Russian stove is the soul of the house. It is used not only for heating the home. These are waffle makers. Once upon a time, every housewife had them. Do you remember the taste of homemade waffles from your distant childhood, baked by the caring hands of our grandmothers? Cooking bread in the oven is like a magical ritual that takes us back in time. - Now I will rake in the coals in the oven to keep the heat for baking bread. - We sweep all the coals so that it is clean, so that the coals do not fall on the bread. - Now we close the oven so that the heat is even, and we will bake bread. While the bread is sitting in the oven, we were invited to one interesting place. - Now I will show you our family museum. Here are collected things that our ancestors used. - We harness these wooden sleighs for Christmas and ride them with our families. - And our children enjoy riding these small sleighs from the mountain. We have fun in winter. - In this cradle my parents rocked me as a child. - This is an electrophone and a music player. Tatyana created an exposition reflecting the life of several generations of their family in order to preserve their memory for children and grandchildren. Our father wove such baskets. We kept potatoes and onions in them. Now we use them too. The museum carefully and lovingly collected things that served people from the middle of the 18th century to the present day. - We will now take out the bread. We remove the damper, take a shovel and take out the bread. Look how delicious he is! Fedosya Alexandrovna is the head of a large Tolstikhin family. She has seven children, 15 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren and one great-great-granddaughter. Fedosya Alexandrovna recites the poem "Winter Morning" by Alexander Pushkin. - Girls, let's drink tea with waffles! Elena, one of the daughters of Fedosya Alexandrovna, is a farmer. This is a peasant farm of the Razuvaevs. They have over a hundred heads of cattle. Their enterprise receives support within the framework of the state program for the development of family livestock farms. - In this stall we bring cows for milking, three cows at a time. Here they do not interfere with each other. We milked the cows, we remove the apparatus and let them out. - After milking the cows, we bring the machines for washing. Milk enters this container, then goes to the pasteurizer. The farm is equipped with modern equipment for pasteurization, milk separation and cooling. - These are our finished products. We pack milk, sour cream and cottage cheese and deliver them for sale. The farm also grows cabbages, beets, carrots, potatoes and onions. Meat, dairy and vegetable products of the Razuvaevs are in good demand. The quality of life of people largely depends on how the rural administration performs its duties. It is good when the settlement is headed by such an experienced and hardworking person as Anatoly Yolshin, the head of the village of Uro. It seems that Anatoly Alexandrovich lives for days at work and is in ten different places at the same time. He is always at the forefront - whether it is a major overhaul of the village club, the improvement of the central square or the laying of a sea buckthorn garden. - The people entrusted me with the work of the head, and I set a goal for the village to develop better. We have a lot of plans. At first, the people did not take them seriously, and when it began to turn out well, people themselves offer: "Let's do this, let's do that." For example, we all built a rural stadium together. Anatoly Elshin supports people who want to work on the land, develop their production. He had long dreamed of growing sea buckthorn berries and making healthy products from them. Elshin's idea is being implemented at Alexander Novokreshchenykh's farm. - Three years ago we took a plot of land for rent. Now we are engaged in cattle breeding here. Last year we planted one hectare of sea buckthorn, and this year we have planted an additional three hectares. We plan to build a mini-factory and make jams, juices, sea buckthorn oil. - The state returned to me 80% of the cost of my expenses. We are waiting for the harvest next year. Sea buckthorn berries of the Buryat selection have high winter hardiness and drought resistance, as well as valuable nutritional and healing properties. No wonder it is called the "Siberian pineapple". Starting a new business is never easy. It will take several years for the orchard to produce stable yields. - The earth has always been and will be a breadwinner. But on the ground you need to work, you need to love it. And then everything will work out. In the forest upstream of the Uro River, there is the main water intake facility for the irrigation system. The construction was made in order to raise water from the river into canals for irrigating the land. The length of the canal is twelve kilometers. In 2019, we carried out a reconstruction. Everything here was primitive, we did it in a modern way. In the recent past, villagers used water from wells for daily needs. Now such a well is hard to find, but one of them has been preserved in the courtyard of Zverkova Galina and her daughter Tatyana. - The well was dug by my husband's great-grandfather. It began to collapse from old age, and in 1984 my husband completely repaired it. The well was dug in the 19th century by the ancestors of the Zverkovs. The total depth of the well is fifteen meters, and the height of the water column is three meters. This ancient monument has been preserved thanks to the caring and thrifty owners of the estate. They sing the Russian romance "Khasbulat daring." Communication with people of the older generation is always priceless. Their life is a whole era in the history of our country. - Galina, what kind of work did you do on the collective farm? “Mostly I worked as a milkmaid. I also worked as a nurse in a hospital. - How old are you? - I am 86 years old and I have four children, 11 grandchildren, 9 great-grandchildren. They sing the song "The reeds rustled, the trees bent." These women are children of the Great Patriotic War. They lived a life full of hardships and hard work. - My name is Ulyana, I am ninety-one years old. I have five children and eighteen great-grandchildren. - Putin gives money for the birth of children, why not give birth to them? It's good, let them give birth. - Have you been singing songs all your life? Have you performed at concerts? We have been singing since childhood. Our parents sang old songs, we learned from them. We didn’t perform at concerts, we sing for ourselves, at home. Russian folk ditties sing. Anna Kolmakova was born at the Troitsky gold mine in the Bauntovsky district in the north of Buryatia. “I have three sons now. One son died. I have eight grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Did you work on a collective farm? “I worked as a milkmaid for forty years. And what will our singers say about the village head Yolshin? - He is well done, lives, works. In our village, everything is in order, everything is fine. Potato digging is in full swing in the village, and Anatoly Elshin and I are going to a distant farm on the Ina River. The weather is clear and warm, like in summer. The wind routinely walks along the valley, playing with the leaves of the trees. This is the lower reaches of the Ina River, one of the tributaries of the Barguzin River, rich in fish. Spurs of the Barguzin Ridge rise on the horizon. Spurs of the Barguzin Ridge rise on the horizon. The Barguzin valley is an incredible sight: it is dotted with winding riverbeds and streams, sparkling mirrors of thousands of lakes and floods, reflecting the blue of the sky. It is easy to get lost in these water labyrinths. In the midst of this cosmic landscape, here and there you can see small huts of fishermen and farms of cattle breeders from the surrounding villages. One of them is the farm of Vladimir and Nina Zubkov. They chose a small corner of the land on the banks of the Ina River. The Zubkovs live on the farm all year round. Firewood, like hay, is brought from the village. Electricity is provided by solar panels, and an additional source of energy has recently been installed - a wind generator. - Where do you ride on your motorcycle? – I ride it for my cows that graze in the vicinity. On these mounds on a motorcycle to go faster than on a horse. I ride horses in winter. Vladimir has two motorcycles, a Niva car, a tractor and several boats on the farm. For each task - its own transport. - Where did your cows go? - I didn't find them. They're around here somewhere, sleeping in tussocks. They will come in the evening. The farm raises cattle and pigs. There are almost no mowing nearby - the meadows are flooded with water. Forage for livestock is harvested on hayfields in the vicinity of the village of Uro. Svetlana, a farm worker, will find an approach to any animal. This is her favorite - Vasya. - Go home, Vasya, go. If you live on the river, you will never be hungry. Here, in the flat part of the Ina, there are catfish, burbot, ide, bream, pike, carp, crucian carp and perch. And in the upper reaches of this river, which is born in the mountains of the Ikat Range, rare species of fish live - lenok and taimen. They are listed in the Red Book of Buryatia. Fish in the valley is consumed in many ways: salted, dried and smoked. A variety of dishes are prepared from freshly caught fish. - Various animals live in the vicinity, for example, wild goats. It happens that bears pass in the spring. - How about wolves? - There are wolves too. They are big pests. In previous years there were many wolves. - Those who love their land live well in the village. In any society there have always been poor and rich. Today, many people in the village live well. If you want to work, you will always be fed, dressed and shod. And I always think: while the village lives, our country lives. Happy people live in the expanses of the Barguzin Valley. Is it possible not to be happy in such an amazing place? We talked about the oldest Russian settlements, and next time we will go north, to the Buryat and Evenk ancestral lands.
