Nikolsk is a city where you want to live
These lands became widely known back in the 18th century, when the then owner of the village of Nikolskoye-Pestrovka, Alexey Bakhmetyev, decided to start producing glass and crystal products. In order for the plan to succeed, he turned to Catherine II with a request for permission to build factories on his own estate, Nikolskoye-Pestrovo. The Empress not only allowed Bakhmetyev’s idea to be brought to life, but also helped with the supply of raw materials. By the end of the 18th century, the whole country knew about Bakhmetyev’s glass factory, and the products received international recognition. By the way, there are now six private glass factories operating in Nikolsk, which produce a wide range of crystal and glass products, which allows us to be confident in the further development of glassmaking in the city and the preservation of the traditions of the oldest masters.
On July 16, 1928, the working village of Nikolo-Pestrovka was created from seven volosts, and in July 1954 it became the city of Nikolsk, which it is to this day.
“In Nikolsk, they treat the history of the city and its heritage, as well as its residents, with great trepidation,” noted Lyudmila LININA, head of the administration of the Nikolsky district. – We do everything possible to ensure that citizens have all the necessary conditions for a comfortable life and successful work.
The city gained its wide popularity not only thanks to the glass factory. Nikolsk is rich in attractions: this is the famous house of the Bakhmetyev-Obolenskys, and numerous monuments, holy springs, estates, temples, art objects, folk monuments, as well as the pride of Nikolsk - the Park of Glass Sculptures.
“The city of Nikolsk is the only city in Russia where there is an open-air glass sculpture park,” said Valentina Kemsheva, head of the department of economic development, investment and entrepreneurial activity of the Nikolsky district administration. – Currently, 10 sculptures have been installed. This prompted us to improve the surrounding areas; a tourist route was developed, which also takes place in the small towns project. In addition, the Globe art object, dedicated to the Nikolsky community, was recently installed.
Nikolsk is one of the famous small towns visited by tourists. And this is not surprising: a number of tourist routes have been organized on the territory of the Nikolsky district, varying in theme and range of interests.
– The routes “Leo Tolstoy on Nikolskaya Land”, “My City. History of Nikolsk", "Nikolsk. The history of domestic glassmaking”, “Shrines of the Nikolskaya Land”, as well as an interactive excursion to the village of Karamaly “Mordovian folk holidays and rituals”, where tourists, with the help of the local folk group “Erzyanochka”, can become participants in the matchmaking ritual, the wedding ceremony of the Mordovian Erzya, and taste the local national kitchen,” said Zoya Krasnova, deputy director of the MBUK “Inter-settlement Central District Library and Leisure Center” of the Nikolsky district of the Penza region.
Nikolsk is also famous for its festivals, which attract the attention of thousands of spectators, including both local residents and guests from other regions, cities, and even countries. These are the All-Russian Festival of Russian Romance named after People's Artist of the RSFSR Galina Kareva, the open festival of bard songs "Amulet", as well as the International Symposium of Glass and Sculpture Artists.
– In September of this year, the IX Symposium of glass and sculpture artists was successfully held, timed to coincide with such memorable dates as the 255th anniversary of the founding of glassmaking in the Nikolsky region, the 230th anniversary of the Nikolsk collection of glass and crystal and the 65th anniversary of the city of Nikolsk, – noted Svetlana Leushkina, chief bibliographer of the Inter-Settlement Central Regional Library and Leisure Center of the Nikolsky District of the Penza Region. – Today, the Museum of Glass and Crystal houses a large collection of exhibits made by participants in all symposiums held in Nikolsk.
Despite the variety of attractions, the main wealth of Nikolsk was and remains the people living in it. A lot is being done for their well-being in Nikolsk. This was discussed in the report of the chief physician of the Nikolsk regional hospital, Valery Bondar, to the population:
– Nikolskaya District Hospital provides the population of the region with round-the-clock medical care with 108 beds, of which 4 are nursing beds. Outpatient care is provided by a polyclinic, a children's clinic, an antenatal clinic, 1 medical outpatient clinic, 10 first-aid stations, 8 medical centers. There is a day hospital with 42 beds, including a home hospital with 2 beds,” Valery Bondar informed. – As part of the priority project “Creating a new model of a medical organization providing primary health care,” two directions were implemented in the clinic: an open registry and a new organization of space, as well as improving the work of the medical prevention department.
At the moment, repair and construction work has been completed, new counters have been installed, furniture in the reception area and an LCD monitor in the reception lobby, a water cooler, as well as an infomat, the work of 4 receptionist windows has been organized, waiting areas have been created for patients, the functioning of the prevention department on the first floor has been ensured. floor. In addition, the software and hardware complex “Electronic Queue Management System” was purchased and installed.
Valery Vasilyevich analyzed the progress of the implementation of the National Project “Demography”. He noted that over the eight months since the beginning of 2022, the birth rate has increased from 5.8% (117) to 6.9% (134), with the regional indicator being 8.0%. In order for this result to further increase, all necessary conditions are created.
“Since 2011, the clinic has been operating an office for medical and social assistance to pregnant women based on the relationship with the structural offices of the antenatal clinic of the Nikolsk District Hospital, social welfare institutions and other organizations,” the head physician informed. – Periodically, events are held for pregnant women and women of reproductive age: lectures, surveys, promotions, consultations, during which useful information is provided to women, booklets and brochures are distributed. Home visits are provided to disadvantaged families. Interaction with provides an opportunity to help large families. For example, assistance is provided to those in particular need with goods. Much attention is paid to women who decide to terminate their pregnancy. As a result of the work carried out with them, some women decide to continue the pregnancy.
In Nikolsk and Nikolsky district, special attention is paid to children and the conditions in which they find themselves. Thus, in accordance with the legislation, support is provided to families with three or more children, and a monthly cash payment is provided upon the birth of the third and subsequent children.
“From January 1, 2022, a new monthly payment in the amount of 9,470 rubles will be paid for families with children at the birth (adoption) of the first child until he reaches the age of one and a half years,” said Valentina Melnikova, head of the Department of Social Protection of the Population of the Nikolsky District Administration. – In addition, the national project “Demography” included the so-called governor’s certificate. This measure of social support in the housing sector is aimed at stimulating the birth of first children. This year, five families in the Nikolsky district have already received such a certificate, and another 55 families are waiting to receive the certificate.
A developed network of educational organizations has been created in the Nikolsky district, among which kindergartens occupy a special place.
“On the territory of the Nikolsky district there are 6 preschool educational organizations, of which 4 are in Nikolsk, and 5 branches,” informed Natalya Kutkova, acting head of the Education Department of the Nikolsky district administration. – Places in kindergartens in the Nikolsky district are provided to all children aged 3 to 7 years, registered in the electronic queue. In preschool educational organizations, the direction of inclusive education of preschoolers is developing. Children with disabilities and disabled children receive preschool education both in kindergartens and at home. As part of the national project “Support for families with children”, since March 1, 2022, consultation centers have been created in preschool educational organizations to provide psychological, pedagogical, methodological and advisory assistance to parents (legal representatives) on the organization of education and upbringing of children, primarily for children who do not attend kindergarten.
In Nikolsk, all conditions have been created to ensure that city residents have the opportunity to raise their children as worthy members of society. Thus, the city of Nikolsk can safely be called a city in which you want to enjoy life, start a family and raise children.
The road from Penza to Nikolsk always goes through beautiful forests. The few settlements that you encounter along the way are completely historical places - the former estates of the Shuvalovs, Golitsins, Oblenskys. And here is Nikolsk itself. The city is comfortably located on both banks of the river. Vyrgan (basin of the Inza and Sura rivers). It arose from two villages: Nikolskoye (Nikolo-Pestrovka), known since 1668, and Pestrovka (Malaya Pestrovka), founded in the 1680s. In 1761, both villages ended up in the hands of one owner, Alexei Ivanovich Bakhmetyev.
Alexey Ivanovich Bakhmetyev - being an energetic man, started a canvas factory and a distillery on his estate, in the village of Nikolskoye. But these productions did not satisfy him. Alexey Ivanovich decided to build a glass factory. After all, the village is surrounded on all four sides by pine forests, which was important for glass production in the 17th century. Because wood is fuel, and to melt glass you need a temperature of 1000 degrees! So the forest was treated with care here so that it would last for a long time, otherwise, why start a business? Then Bakhmetyev turned to Catherine II with a request to allow him to found such a plant. On August 3, 1763, by decree of Empress Catherine II, permission was received from the Manufacture College in his name “to establish and allow the kindest craftsmen to make crystal and glassware.” Capital A.I. Bakhmetyev, invested in the business, amounted to three thousand rubles. Alexey Ivanovich from Europe, with great care, transports French and Bohemian glass off-road. For the first time in his life, Nikolsky’s peasant was allowed to reach out and touch the outlandish items of lordly luxury. Yes, and find out that the components of glass: chalk, soda, arsenic, sand... And if you add 18 - 24% lead oxide to them, it will acquire heaviness and iridescence, transparency and sonority... Because at a temperature of 14,000 it will turn into crystal. Hundreds of samples of dishes, lamps, perfume accessories, elements of church decoration and utensils were produced here. However, after the Pugachev riot of 1775, all enterprises were destroyed and burned to the ground. Bakhmetyev turned to the state for help, which was provided to him, and over time, Alexey Ivanovich established his business. He turned out to be a very enterprising owner. A.I. died Bakhmetyev in 1779, but the order he established was preserved under the widow Agathoclea Ivanovna.
Bakhmetyev's widow, Agrafokleya Ivanovna, managed to increase production. There were already three crystal and glass factories in operation, where they produced: sheet glass, damasks, bottles and various dishes for a total amount of forty thousand rubles a year. They traded in Moscow and at the Makaryevskaya Fair. The most expensive were decanters at seventy kopecks apiece and crystal wine glasses at fifty kopecks. The factories employed 184 workers and two caretakers.
Nikolai Alekseevich Bakhmetyev, who continued his father’s work, draws attention to improving the quality of crystal products. Since the beginning of the 19th century, the plant has become one of the best in the country, fulfills prestigious orders, and repeatedly receives the right to depict the State Emblem of Russia on its products. Under Nikolai Alekseevich, large stone buildings for furnaces, a grinding and other workshops were built. Wonderful glass makers appeared. They were trained in St. Petersburg at the Imperial Glass Factory. Bakhmetyev personally experienced all the hardships of the War of 1812, when his estate was burned and glass production was temporarily stopped. For a long time, the Nikolsko-Bakhmetyevsky plant’s products featured a popular theme that reflected the events of the Napoleonic wars and its heroes.
From 1836 to 1861, his son A.N. was at the helm of the family production. Bakhmetyeva, Alexey Nikolaevich. The enterprise achieved its greatest prosperity. The products produced here were distinguished by individuality, elegance and jewelry finishing.
N. Bakhmetyev's son, Alexey, studied glass production technology in Leipzig and worked as an artisan in glass factories. During the reign of Nicholas I, Alexey continued the family business. The factories also carried out orders for the treasury and the Imperial Court. The net income from each plant reached eighteen thousand rubles a year. In 1829, at the first exhibition of manufactured goods in Russia in St. Petersburg, the Bakhmetyevs' products were awarded a large gold medal. Samples of the work were taken to the museum of the Department of Manufactures. At the next five all-Russian exhibitions, until 1896, the Bakhmetyevs’ products were awarded the highest prizes - the right to depict the State Emblem.
As a sign of special trust, Bakhmetyev was instructed to organize the production of items “that could be sold in Persia and Turkey.” With great diligence, Alexey Nikolaevich takes on the task of fulfilling the order. Studying glass production technology in the city of Leipzig gave him vast experience and helped him in such a complex matter.
A.N. Bakhmetyev was married to the daughter of Count Tolstoy, Anna Petrovna. Alexey owned the plant for 25 years. The factory storeroom was replenished with samples, including many wonderful gifts from Prince Pyotr Mikhailovich Volkonsky and Countess Orlova-Denisova. By order of Count Panin, door handles with balls made of pure crystal were made. Interesting overlays for the university church in Moscow. The special order of the Persian Karimov - milk jugs - elegant and delicate work deserved great attention.
Alexey Nikolaevich, while on his Penza estate, personally announced to the peasants and artisans the abolition of serfdom. Died suddenly. He was then 63 years old. After the sudden death of A.N. Bakhmetyev, the matter has become more complicated. Bakhmetyev had no children. Alexei's family estate was divided among his princess sisters Trubetskaya, Gorchakova and Volkonskaya. However, fearing that the plant in the village of Nikolskoye would perish, the owner left a will, which stated that the enterprise would become the full property of Alexander Dmitrievich Obolensky, who was the son of his own niece Princess Daria Petrovna Obolenskaya, née Trubetskoy.
Before Alexander Dmitrievich entered into inheritance, all matters fell on the shoulders of the widow A.P. Bakhmeteva. But she couldn't cope with running the plant. However, she decided to save the production at all costs - her husband’s life’s work.
The plant continued to operate, but the quality of the products deteriorated, and markets in Moscow were lost.
In 1884, after the death of the widow, the last owner, Obolensky, took over the business.
He felt obliged to the memory and trust of his great-uncle. Three circumstances helped increase production: firstly, the prince’s personal funds allowed him to spend all the income from the plant on technical re-equipment, secondly, a competent selection of senior technical personnel was carried out, and thirdly, a number of favorable circumstances. One such reason was the new railway line of the Moscow-Kazan road, which passed not far from the enterprise. This has greatly improved the situation with raw materials and sales markets. In 1896, the plant participated in the Nizhny Novgorod Fair, where its products took a worthy place. In 1900, at the World Exhibition in Paris, Obolensky's crystal received the Big Gold Medal. Having managed to increase production, Alexey Dmitrievich began to monitor consumer demand. He soon realized that miniature dishes—bottles for medicines, perfumes, lotions, and liquid soap—can bring big profits. Very quickly we started producing tableware for pharmacies and perfumes. In 1913, goods were produced for almost eight hundred thousand rubles.
In 1917, Prince Obolensky was elected head of the Union of Glass Factories of Russia.
The private manufactory of the Bakhmetyevs was famous for its highly qualified craftsmen: A. Vershinin, K. Seliverstov, I. Golovachev, PYa. Kulikov and many others. In 1779 A.I. Bakhmetyev arranged a special storeroom at the factory, in which the best examples of Bakhmetyev's dishes were set aside and accumulated for future generations. Thus, since 1789, the gold fund of the glass and crystal museum was formed.
During the difficult years of the revolution and civil war, the workers were able, with the help of the heirs, the sons of the prince. Obolensky (died in November 1917) - to preserve the plant and save the museum fund. From 1918 to 1924 the plant had collegial management. The enterprise became state-owned. Gradually, having survived difficult
20-30s, the plant became one of the largest in the country. In 1945 he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. He was the only one who supplied blanks of all brands of optical glass for the needs of the country's defense throughout the war. Since the middle of the 20th century, it occupied a leading position in the quality and export of crystal; factory craftsmen continued the tradition of manufacturing complex handmade products.
In Soviet, and especially in post-Soviet, times, working dynasties at the Nikolsky plant began to disappear. Production began to become simpler, threatening to disappear altogether. Unfortunately, the plant is currently not operational.
Factory administration building. Construction of the Obolenskys.
Silent furnaces and broken glass on factory floors.
On its territory, in one of the workshops of the former plant, there is a small glass enterprise “Bakhmetyevskaya Artel”, which is trying to revive the former glory of the Nikolsky glassblowers.
House of Princes Obolensky.
The building that the Obolenskys built for their folk choir. Of course, in Soviet times it was rebuilt, columns were added along the facade, but the base remained the same.
The tradition of collecting the best specimens of glass and crystal, which was laid by the Bakhmetyevs and Obolenskys, continues to this day. All these extraordinary items can be seen in the factory museum, to which we will now go.
Penza region Nikolsk, st. Komsomolskaya, 21, (841-65) 4-55-24
I apologize in advance for the quality of the photos. It is very difficult to remove crystal in mirrored cabinets and through glass. But I really wanted you to also see the extraordinary beauty that our masters created.
A sculpture by master Vershinia, whose work cannot be repeated by any modern glass blower.
Glassblowing tools. And then came the museum’s exposition, see it for yourself by going to the museum’s page .
The Church of the Resurrection of Christ, which was built by the Bakhmetyevs
and visited some other sights of the city.
One of the earliest monuments to V.I. in Russia. Lenin (1926). Vladimir Ilyich is depicted here in his real height. And since he was not tall, the impression from the monument, frankly, is strange. It seems that there is a child standing on the pedestal.
And of course, we did not ignore the wholesale glass and crystal market, which is located on the outskirts of the city. No one left there without gifts for themselves or loved ones, because... prices there are several times lower than store prices. As the Muscovites said, they’re just funny.
Happy and contented, we set off for Penza.
Truth and myths of the Nikolsky peat bog
Author: Marina Vostrova
A kilometer north of the city of Nikolsk, Penza region, on a watershed plateau with a height of 290 meters above sea level and an area of just over 10 hectares, according to official sources, there is a unique reservoir, correctly called the Pestrovskoe peat bog. It is unique in that this reservoir is considered a natural monument of regional importance: here is the habitat of rare plants - round-leaved sundew and broad-leaved cotton grass, listed in the Red Book of the Penza region, and a rare endangered mushroom - purple cobweb, which was noted in the Red Book of the Russian Federation. There is another uniqueness: when studying aerial photographs of this area, the unnaturally regular round shape of the Peat Bog catches the eye.
You can get to the Peat Bog quite quickly: the folk path to it is not overgrown, but has turned into a forest road well-trodden by cars. A few minutes drive from the dusty city - and you find yourself in a thicket of forest, ringing with the voices of birds and people who prefer amateur recreation on the shores of a strange lake. And it seemed to be hidden in the “backyards” of Nikolsk, secluded in a forest thicket with fluffy birch trees, willow trees and trembling aspen trees. The chocolate-colored water of the reservoir is transparent: fibrous algae and bladderwort are visible inside it, which, by the way, is also listed in the Red Book; A water lily that has not yet opened its color floats on top. The reservoir, by the way, does not freeze even in “notorious” frosts and therefore is so popular with “walruses” - lovers of ice bathing.
One of these lovers of swimming and sunbathing seemed to be expecting uninvited guests that early morning. He refused to introduce himself: “Just call me man. I come to Peat Lake for many years in a row, every day, at any time of the year. I swim, sunbathe, listen to nature, my heart and soul. And I’m also listening to the lake - well, I can’t call it a swamp! Look at this grace! The lake is not angry today: you see, the water is playing with the sun, the birch islands are talking to the birds; dragonflies fly and fish splash. How can you call such beauty a swamp!”
Seeing that a fire was “smoking” near the walkway, the old man reassured me: “I burn the garbage that Nikol residents leave here after every picnic. There's a sign hanging over there, it's a natural monument. But no, they’ll do so much shit that it makes your soul feel disgusting. But you can’t do that with a lake! The lake is alive, and lives longer than all of us put together. You can’t offend him, otherwise he might get angry!”
I smiled incredulously, listening to the reasoning of this interesting old man. Although it is very difficult to call him an old man: they say that he is already well over 80 years old, and he looks, as they say, like a boletus fungus - strong, already tanned to “bronze” in the spring, so positively smiling. And at the same time, with such a melodious voice that I couldn’t help but think: is this the “master” of the Peat Bog in human form?!
“I’m telling you, the lake is alive, like a creature: it feels everything, understands and thanks when people are kind to it,” the man laughed, as if he sensed my distrust. – There was such a case once, listen. Our Nikolsk, as if in a bowl, is located much lower than this reservoir. And the lake, as if on a mountain, is why it is called horse lake. It’s hard to remember now what came to mind for the city’s leadership in those days. But they just decided to lower the lake a little and dug up its shore, which connected with a huge ravine. Then the peat water “rushed” straight to our crystal “Red Giant” plant. It would probably be flooded up to the tallest pipes. And then the Nikolsky springs began to disappear. We came to our senses in time and concreted the shore once and for all and didn’t experiment like that after.”
Our conversation took place on a makeshift platform, although already shabby from time to time, but, apparently, it was done with feeling, sense, arrangement - even a cozy bench with a back came in handy here.
“It’s good to rest here at night: such peace in the soul, silence and grace! These platforms, bridges to those islands, benches have been made for a long time: apparently, at that time, more attention was paid to the lake by people who believed in its healing properties. Previously, a lot of people came here, but mostly to get treatment, not to get drunk,” the old man continues in a sing-song voice. – And it’s good to swim here: it’s not too deep at the edges, the water is always warm, even in winter. And further, in the center of the lake,” he forestalled my question about the depth, “it’s better not to try.” I once tried to dive to at least feel what it was like down there. I dived about two or three times my height, and I felt something solid appear under my feet. And then it was as if something grabbed me by both legs and dragged me down. Moreover, it “swallowed” me instantly. Well, I caught myself in time and broke out of this bottom captivity. Then he swore off swimming further than the beach and did not advise others. So, who knows what the depth is: apparently, under the water there is either peat in layers or a real swamp. By the way, those islands overgrown with birch trees in the middle of the lake are floating. They move, although this is not very noticeable to vacationers. Even fishermen try not to swim there: who knows how strong and reliable they are. Another thing I noticed: at depth the water is generally icy. Probably the springs come from the bottom, otherwise what does it, the lake, feed on? And peat gives this brown color to the water and nourishes it with health.
If you don’t believe me, I’ll tell you a very recent incident. I noticed one guy here. He came almost every day, his legs dangled in the water and sat for hours. I look and his knees are swollen. We talked about his ailments, so I advised him that it was better to smear peat mud on his knees and tie them up. That’s how the “drug” of the Peat Bog helped him, like a tumor was removed by hand.
And the water of the Peat Bog is not simple, but golden. Not in color, of course, but in quality, believe me, she has cured so many people,” the old man got dressed and walked busily along the forest road.
For thousands of years, “in the depths of the abyssal waters,” the remains of plants “ripened,” accumulating not only fuel qualities, but also nutrients and minerals, natural trace elements and enzymes. “These natural organic components have a strong antioxidant effect, reduce the impact of harmful free radicals, accelerate cell regeneration, restore metabolism in the skin, and generally harmonize the biochemistry of the whole body,” says medical research on this treasure called peat. And also, according to medical facts: the thermal effect of peat effectively relieves pain and problems associated with arthritis, rheumatic diseases, and other diseases of the back, bones, and supports muscles and joints. It has a beneficial effect on nervous diseases, urological and gynecological diseases. The healing substance of peat improves the functioning of the digestive tract. Due to the presence of tannins, waxes, and enzymes, it helps treat skin diseases, including acne, psoriasis, and eczema. In general, its use has a positive effect on the immune system. In addition to healing effects, peat water also has excellent cosmetic properties. It has a regenerating, moisturizing effect on the skin, promotes its regeneration and general rejuvenation.
What is not the advertising aspect of the Nikolsky reservoir?! It is no coincidence that not only local residents, but also fans of a healthy lifestyle from other regions come to get treatment with chocolate water: you can rarely find such storage facilities for natural medicines practically within the city limits.
Of course, you can't argue with medical claims. Moreover, there are many witnesses to this: the Peat Bog is especially loved by older Nikol residents, who are the first to open and the last to close its swimming season. And, as they say, the peat effect is successful and positive: it heals ailments and gives energy for many months.
But I was still intrigued not only by the medical aspect of the Peat Bog, but also by its almost perfect circumference. So is it a natural effect or a human creation, right or wrong? What is the truth and what is the myth of the Peat Bog?
Its past is far from unknown: since the founding of the Nikolsko-Bakhmetevsky Crystal Factory in 1764, peat for crystal furnaces has been mined from here. Peat mining was also carried out during the Great Patriotic War and came to an end during the Soviet period, when coal and then gas replaced peat fuel. The official document also speaks about this: “The object is a peat excavation with regenerating vegetation of a sphagnum sphagnum bog.”
However, it is unlikely that the owners of the crystal factory gave instructions to extract peat in a clearly defined circle - in fact, in those distant times they had no idea about this at all. Most likely, peat was mined precisely in those places of the Peat Bog, where it was more realistic to drive up on horse-drawn carts. Accordingly, this reservoir already existed more than two centuries ago and had this very rounded shape.
But, you must admit, the lakes, ponds and swamps that looked like even circles from above, from space, evoke some thoughts about their man-made nature. Well, or... “The strangest thing is that there are several unnaturally round reservoirs in Russia,” S.N. Volkov, professor of philosophy and researcher of paranormal phenomena in the Penza region, shared his reasoning with us. – In the Kostroma and Kirov regions, in Bashkiria and the Urals. By the way, not far from Penza, near Leonidovka, there is the so-called Dead Lake, which also has an ideal roundness. But it is really dead, since there are no fish or other living creatures there, and the place there is not good. There is a version that Dead Lake appeared as a result of peat mining.
If this is so, then the peat miners turned out to be not only wonderful designers who managed to turn a banal quarry into a geometrically correct basin, but also carefully fenced the lake with a high rampart. This embankment supposedly protects the reservoir from peat erosion, but in reality it resembles the release of soil from a nuclear explosion crater. It is believed that the reservoir was turned into a chemical waste disposal site. According to stories, dangerous cargo was transported on rafts to the center of the lake, then the containers were shot with rifles, after which the toxic liquid flowed by gravity into the water. But these are just modern assumptions.
In other regions, similar reservoirs have specific names: Lake of Death, Chertovo, Shaitan. But people don’t just give names like that! According to Mongolian-Buryat mythology, the owner of the planet Venus - the heavenly deity Tsolmon - in anger bombed the Earth with a certain weapon like an air shock wave. And that’s why some bodies of water have the shape of a perfect circle. And, indeed, many scientists are inclined to think that the Earth has already been subjected to a nuclear explosion, which resulted in the death of all living things, including humans. It took the planet several million years to recover from this shock. It is believed that the ancient Sumerian civilization died because nuclear bombs fell on Sumerian cities. This is how this catastrophe is described on ancient clay tablets: “Sumer suffered a severe catastrophe, a huge hurricane, coming from nowhere, swept away the cities, after which a fiery wind arose. Ancient Indian scriptures mention more than 94 types of nuclear weapons called brahmahstra. But this is just unsubstantiated mythology.”
But, it seems, the Nikolsk outback was never threatened by a celestial being or a nuclear attack: the mass settlement of the region’s territory began in the second 17th century by the Mordovians of the Zasursky camp of the Penza district, who were attracted by the comparative safety and protection of the forests from the raids of the steppe tribes. The first acts on land ownership of the Mordovians within the Nikolsky district, which was called the “sub-district land”, occurred in the 1680s. Consequently, people came to such a wilderness where all nature had already “ripened” in its original form and then did not change from human touch: the first settlers had no time to think about the geometric ideality of reservoirs and their true significance.
There are also suggestions by scientists that round reservoirs could have been formed due to purely climatic conditions: from the melting of glaciers: The peat bog was formed during the Ice Age. Typically, the soils in this zone are rather loose formations. Subsidences often occur in them, lakes are formed, such as steppe saucers, just round or rounded in shape.
One can only doubt that meteorites are involved in the formation of lakes in the region, and this is one of the scientific theories. Of course, there are such reservoirs in the country, about ten and even quite large, like in Chukotka. But if their “cosmic” origin has been proven, then in our region no one has deliberately studied the question of where this or that lake or swamp came from. Such research requires not only painstaking work - studying soils, rocks, bottom sediments, but also serious funding.
However, as for the financial side of the topic, the purpose of my material is not just to describe the beauty and benefits of the Peat Bog, but also to call for the fact that its unique medical, environmental, and simply physiological influence on the residents of the Nikolsky district is not only undoubted and proven by time, but also requiring indispensable human intervention in terms of its ennoblement. It’s not for nothing that in Soviet times they planned to build a health complex here. It is necessary to somehow pay attention not only to the proximity of the Peat Bog-Lake to the city, but also to the opportunity to introduce this natural monument of nature into the unique sphere of health improvement and natural tourism of Nikolsk and the Nikolsky region. This probably sounds loud and clear, however, our region, once “covered” by the Chernobyl cloud, fully deserves it. Why not, given such a unique natural opportunity, create an oasis of health by investing only small funds to create a recreation area near a unique natural monument called Peat bog or lake. In the meantime, it, looking like a sad smiley face from space, looks at the world with its blue eye sockets and seems to be calling people: I am so old - be kinder and cleaner to me! And for this I will give you health!”
Nikolsk
NIKOLSK (Nikolo-Pestrovka), a city, regional center of the Penza region, 27 km south of the Nochka railway station on the Ruzaevka - Samara line, 120 km northeast of Penza, on the river. Vyrgan (basin of the Inza and Sura rivers). As of January 1, 2006 – 24,272 inhabitants. It arose from two villages: Nikolskoye (Nikolo-Pestrovka), known since 1668, and Pestrovka (Malaya Pestrovka), founded in the 1680s. In 1761, both villages were in the hands of one owner and formed a single economy with an industrial bias. This was facilitated by the abundance of energy resources - forests, good quality sand and the ability to float products in the spring along the Mais - Inza - Sura rivers.
In 1764, the owner of the village of Nikolskaya Pestrovka A.I. Bakhmetev founded a crystal factory here (since 1920), whose products received international recognition. Crystal was made for the royal court; masterpieces of the Nikolsky masters are kept in the Hermitage, the Russian Museum, Pavlovsk Palace, the State Historical Museum and the Nikolsky Museum of Art Glass. The last owner of the Nikolsky glass factory was Prince Obolensky.
Since 1928 - the working village of Nikolskaya Pestrovka and a regional center as part of the Middle Volga Territory, Kuibyshev Region, since 1939 - the Penza Region. In 1954 it received city status and the name Nikolsk.
The city has a hemp factory, a dairy and bakery factory, a lumber mill, 4 secondary schools, a vocational school, 5 libraries, an art school, a children's sports school, a folk instrument orchestra (established in 1904), 2 clinics, and a hospital. The street layout is rectilinear, modern buildings have maintained continuity and are tied to the main enterprise of the city - with cascades of ponds on the river. Vyrgan and the main street connecting the two historical centers of the city.
The factory administration building is an architectural monument (1792), the factory owner's mansion is a historical and architectural monument (1862). One of the earliest monuments to V.I. in Russia. Lenin (1926), a memorial to Nikolsk residents who died during the Great Patriotic War, busts of 11 Heroes of the Soviet Union, natives of the city and region, a mass grave of soldiers who died in 1941–45 in a local hospital. Monument to Soviet soldiers who performed international duty in Afghanistan.
Nikolsk is the birthplace of a number of outstanding masters of artistic crystal, figures of science, technology, and culture.
On Sept. 1869 in the village. Ilmino Gorodishche. u. Penz. gub., now Nikolsk. district, Lev Nikolaevich TOLSTOY came, several times. lived for days in Nikolo-Pestrovka (now Nikolsk). A memorial was erected in memory of this. board.
The musician and composer V.V. was here. Andreev, the creator of the famous academic orchestra of folk instruments named after Osipov in Moscow (In Nikolo-Pestrovka he personally studied with the orchestra of folk instruments), there was also the sculptor V.I. Mukhina. V. Sadovsky’s novel “The Diamond Edge” was written about the city.
Population: in 1920 – 4037, 1926 – 4226, 1930 – 4649, 1933 – 4900, 1939 – 10119, 1.1.1946 – 8148, 1959 – 16800, 1991 – 27000, 1998 – 26200, 2005 – 24,756 inhabitants.
Literature: 1. 150 years of the Nikolsko-Bakhmetyevsky Crystal Factory. St. Petersburg, 1914. 2. Shevchenko S.M.. Cities of the Penza region. Nikolsk. – Saratov, 1979. 3. Shevchenko S.M. Nikolsk / Penza Encyclopedia. M.: Scientific publishing house "Big Russian Encyclopedia", 2001, p. 397-398. 4. Poluboyarov M.S. - https://suslony.ru, 2007. 5. O. M. Savin. TOLSTOY Lev Nikolaevich / Penza Encyclopedia. M.: Scientific publishing house "Big Russian Encyclopedia", 2001, p. 617. 6. Count L.N. Tolstoy. Memoirs of S. P. Arbuzov, former servant of L. N. Tolstoy. M., 1904. 7. Voronin I. D. Literary figures and literary places in Mordovia. Saransk, 1976.
Factory administration building. 1792.
Walk down the streets of history!
Walk down the streets of history!
What was our city like in the 19th century? The best way to tell this is through documents. One of them is the plan of Nikolsk, drawn up in 1850. It lists all the names of the homeowners of that time. It turns out that at that time the population of Nikolo-Pestrovka was 913 men and 959 women. In total, 1872 people lived.
The largest street was Rzhavets (now K. Marx) - 55 houses. This street is also the oldest in the city. The next largest were Sidorovka (Lenin street from the pond to Pugachevka) - 44 houses, Kashtanka (Lenin street) - 37 houses, Slobodka - 37 houses, Karamalsky order (L. Tolstoy street) - 29 houses, Burov order - 26 houses, Gorka (Mopra) - 25 houses, Vshivaya Gorka (Komsomolskaya St.) - 12 houses, Pochtovy Lane - 12 houses, Varvarovka (Kirova St.) - 17 houses. In total there were 294 houses.
The same plan includes all the buildings of the plant owners: the manor house, the plant administration building, a store for selling crystal, carpentry workshops, a bread store, a warehouse for finished products. There is also a stone hospital, a forge and a metalworker, a dirt barn, an artificial fish pond, a greenhouse with a garden, an outbuilding for four families, an icehouse, baths, a fire barn, a stable with a stone barn and other buildings. Where the Workers' Village is now, there were warehouses for firewood.
In 1668, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich granted the village of Nikolskoye, located in Zasurye, to Ivan Yuryevich Bakhmetyev for “commendable service and courage.” At that time it consisted of five streets: Rzhavets, Slobodka, Kashtanka, Varvarovka, Vshivaya Gorka. Thirteen years later, another nobleman Pestrov received lands here, located along the left bank of the Vyrgan River. Soon, opposite the village of Nikolskoye, a village called Pestrovo appeared. There were three streets in it: Sidorovka, Karamalsky and Burov.
In 1761, the inheritance of Bakhmetyev and Pestrovo ended up with Alexei Bakhmetyev, and was named Nikolskoye, Pestrovo, and so on. Of the above, only Rzhavtsy Street has retained its name. Almost no one remembers the origin of the name of Kashtanka Street (now Lenin Street). According to one version, it came from the name of a sexton, one of the first ministers of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, who lived on this street. The surname Kashtanov is quite rare for Nikolo-Pestrovka; chestnuts have never grown here.
The name of Varvarovka street comes from the Varvarovskoye cemetery, which is located next to it.
The name Vshivaya (Ishivaya) hill is named after the place where the baths were previously located. According to old-timers of the city of Nikolsk, a disease such as pediculosis was quite common. And a particularly effective and efficient treatment for it was the bathhouse.
Slobodka is a street that now bears the name of the hero of the Afghan war Alexei Krutilin, and before that Pochtovaya. A settlement was a village of free people, a suburban village, a suburban settlement, outside the city, i.e. behind the wall, a kind of settlement.
The next name “Rzhavets, or Rzhavets” has been preserved to this day. Rust reflects one of the common hydronymic bases. Rzhavets - “a stagnant swamp with stagnant and rusty water; a stream from such a swamp, a source providing water with iron oxides; low swampy floodplains or lake shores with red-brown water (Murzaev, 1984). This street is more than 300 years old, and the name is still alive today.
Of the three names of the streets of the former village of Pestrovo - Sidorovka, Karamalsky and Burov orders - only the first lives. Sidorovka is the name given to part of Lenin, Mayakovsky, and Engels streets. Once upon a time there was a deep ravine, and next to it there were buildings. Most likely, the name of the street is associated with the name of one of the residents whose house was built not far from this ravine.
The origin of the name of the street Burov Order is also considered quite obscure. It is assumed that the Burovs once lived here, but no one remembers what and why they were famous.
Karamalsky (Frog) order is the bygone name of Leo Tolstoy Street, located on the banks of the Vyrgan. Previously, when the pond was not yet drained, walking here, one could hear frogs croaking. This is probably why this street was named so. And another name - Karamal order - an earlier one, most likely, is associated with the village of Karamaly. Natives of the village explain the name with the roots “karamo” - digging and “alo” - below; lower ravine or just a ravine. Considering where the street is located, the explanation seems not unreasonable.
Everyone knows about the meaning of the phrase “Workers’ Village”. This microdistrict began to be built after the opening of a crystal and glass factory in Nikolo-Pestrovka. Landowner Bakhmetyev obliged all residents of the village of Nikolskoye to work at these enterprises. Each head of the family had to master a new business and instill such skills in his children. In all likelihood, the developments in the microdistrict next to the factories began to be called the Workers' Village.
Another interesting place for Nikol residents is Koldunovka. The name can easily be associated with the word “sorcerer”. Of course, everyone knows that there are no magicians and wizards on our land, but there are versions that in this place lived people who had the gift of healers, fortune tellers, healers, and fortune tellers.
Pugachevka is a common name associated with the official name of Pugachevskaya Street. The leader of the popular uprising and his army marched through Nikolskaya land.
Until 1986, in the area of the city that Nikol residents now call the Quarters, there was a small Green Street. Now it bears the name of Sergeant Seknin, who died in 1983 in Afghanistan. In the late 80s, this part of the city began to be actively developed, plots were allocated to various organizations in the neighborhoods, Nikol residents retained the incorrect accent in their colloquial speech and still pronounce this word with an error. But every resident knows about the location of the Quarters.
There is also a street (more precisely, a microdistrict) called Malaya Pestrovka. This is a former village that joined Nikolo-Pestrovka and retained its former name.
The older generation will easily show you the location of the Chicken Market. Once upon a time, on the site of the Breeze bar there was a market where they sold mainly agricultural products, including chickens and chickens. The generation of the 70s will point to the “musical” house on Ulyanovskaya, 22, from the windows of which music could be heard day and night, because this small-family hostel was occupied by newlyweds.
Nikolsky district
NIKOLSKY DISTRICT is located in the northeastern part of the Penza region. Area – 251190 hectares. Population: 41,078 people. Russians - 84.3%, Mordovians - 13.1%, Tatars - 1.1%. The administrative center is Nikolsk. The district is located in the northeastern part of the Penza region.
By the decision of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the USSR dated July 16, 1928, the Nikolo-Pestrovsky district was organized. In July 1954, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, the working village of Nikolo-Pestrovka was transformed into the city of Nikolsk, and the name of the district changed accordingly - Nikolsky.
The area of agricultural land is 110,168 hectares. Including 63,505 hectares of arable land, 38,349 hectares of hayfields and pastures. The soils are mostly dark gray and forest gray. 131,082 hectares (52.2%) are forest lands that are in federal ownership. Forestry management is carried out by 4 forestry enterprises and the Penza State Forestry and Hunting Estate. Lands of settlements, enterprises and organizations, water fund, reserve lands amount to 9940.4 hectares, or 4%.
There are 14 industrial enterprises of all forms of ownership in the region. The leading and city-forming enterprise is the Federal State Unitary Enterprise ". The main types of products are glass and crystal products, lighting equipment, glass containers, spectacle blanks, baked goods, soft drinks, confectionery, pasta, animal butter, whole milk and fermented milk products, skimmed milk powder, hemp fiber, flour, alcohol, sausages products, lumber. There are 13 agricultural enterprises. The predominant activity remains the production of grain, feed and meat and dairy cattle breeding.
The main natural resources of the area are lime, chalk, clay, sand, tripoli, peat.
The healthcare system includes a central district hospital, a polyclinic, three district hospitals, 4 outpatient clinics and 20 medical and obstetric stations. The network of educational institutions consists of 14 preschool institutions, 5 primary schools, 11 basic educational schools, 13 secondary schools and one gymnasium; a vocational school that trains glass blowers, pressers, glass makers, blown product finishers, turners, electricians, embossers of artistic products, accountants, cooks, and tax inspectors. The educational space of the district includes early development schools, a training and consultation center, a children's and youth sports school, a children's and youth creativity center, and distance learning courses at Penza universities.
There are 33 club institutions (of which 22 are cultural centers), 30 libraries. At the district cultural center there is a brass band, founded in 1900, and an orchestra of Russian folk instruments, founded in 1904. There is a unique museum of glass and crystal, created in 1789. 3 art schools with departments of music, choreography, fine arts, decorative and applied arts, pop art, and art. Historical monuments are the Bakhmetyev-Obolensky house, built in 1862, the plant management building, built in 1792, and the Stolypin estate.
Population (excluding the city of Nikolsk and the town of Sura): in 1926 - 43838, 1939 - 43658, 1.1.1946 - 39053, 1959 - 51625, 1970 - 35875, 1979 - 24210, 1989 - 17291, 1996 - 15 443, 2004 – 12508 residents.
Religion
The city was founded in the century at the St. Nicholas Church, on the site of the discovery of the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, which gave it its name. When transformed into a city, when Nikolsk received the first urban plan, the church was determined to be the center of the street grid. In place of the burnt wooden church, the impressive Sretensky Cathedral was erected in 1788-1833. Since 1886, the Kazan Church was erected in the southern part of the city, which became the second dominant feature in the city’s silhouette. By 1894, there were already three stone churches in Nikolsk, a theological school and a parochial school were operating.
Since 1921, the Nikolsk diocese operated as a vicariate of Veliky Ustyug. However, during the period of atheistic persecution, churches were taken away from believers, the vicariate was stopped, and open church life was stopped for decades. But the church buildings were used and preserved.
In 1990, the Kazan Church was returned to believers, becoming the first revived temple for many tens of kilometers in the area. Now church life was being revived here under the omophorion of the Vologda ruler. Meanwhile, the Sretensky Cathedral was not returned to the Church, although it ceased to be used for other purposes, and after the fire of 2005 it was severely damaged and began to quickly deteriorate. In 2014, the city was reassigned to the revived Veliky Ustyug diocese.
Temples
- Kazan Icon of the Mother of God
- Nicholas the Wonderworker (burnt down, replaced by Sretensky Cathedral)
- St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, chapel
- Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary (lost)
- Presentation of the Lord, cathedral (closed ca. 1929)
Educational establishments
- Nikolskoye Theological School (inactive)
