Map of Belebey in detail with streets, houses and districts

Sergey Sinenko

The decline in production in Belebey prompted changes in life values

Previously, as far as I remember, I heard only positive things about Belebey. Especially in the fall, in connection with the Aksakov holidays. Funny little old ladies, squinting old men, orchestras, ensembles, competitions, eminent guests... And everyone is so used to it that it’s even surprising to hear that the city of Belebey has some problems! And so it happened - holidays and ceremonial speeches overshadowed real life.

Alarming Rumors

The people here are quiet and non-protesting, so to say “the city is seething” would be wrong, but there is an underlying ferment going on.

The main topic of rumors is the liquidation of the city. That’s what they say: since industry has collapsed, Belebey will soon be turned into a village. At the same time, they are offended by Ufa, and Moscow, and Tolyatti, with which they are closely connected economically.

They write to different authorities. Right up to the President of Bashkortostan. “The people have gone crazy, just a provincial joke!” - this is how some Belebey residents comment on the situation.

Things got to the point where the authorities were forced to issue an official denial. At the end of May, the administration of Belebey and the Belebey district issued a statement in which it was officially stated that the law prohibits the transformation of administrative-territorial units without taking into account the opinion of the population, that information about changing the status of the urban settlement of Belebey to a different status does not correspond to reality.

However, questions have not disappeared, especially since there is no particular trust in official sources - the music pouring out from there is too monotonous and soothing, no matter what happens. And rumors do not arise out of nowhere; they need a certain “soil”. Which exactly? Let's try to find out.

It's hot outside, but in the administration building on Lenin Street it's pleasantly cool. But the conversation turned out, frankly speaking, not very well.

“We are interested in you writing positively about us,” said the head of the information and analytical department of the administration, Zulfiya Khaidarova.

- This is understandable, but my task is to give an objective picture. The editors of the newspaper, for example, don’t give me any instructions,” I answer her.

- Well, then, unfortunately, we won’t be able to provide you with any information! - Zulfiya Saudatovna noted and smiled a heavy state smile.

I have something to compare with: when I was recently in Birsk, the head of a similar department said: “Do you need information? We’ll provide any.” Or maybe, I thought, everything is simpler - people are dealing with glaciers of regulations, estimates, numbers and have completely stopped feeling time?!

The power of prohibitions is relative, and how can you prohibit something today? Is it possible to take a non-disclosure agreement from the residents of Belebey?!

The city and people opened up from an unexpected side.

The building of the former Kuznetsov hotel. Photo by Sergei Sinenko

Climate

• Average annual air temperature: 4.1 °C.
• Relative humidity: 67.3%.
• Average wind speed: 3.4 m/s.

At the foot of Mount Dolgoy

Belebey is an old, cozy, quiet town, with only 60 thousand inhabitants. It was founded by Chuvash settlers from the Volga region, who came escaping poverty and landlessness, attracted by rumors of a free life here. They found a convenient place, settled on the ground, and subsequently built a temple. Since 1757, the newly baptized village of Belebeyevo began to be recorded in administrative books as a city, but the founding date here is generally considered to be 1781, when, by decree of Empress Catherine II, two cities of the region, Belebey and Sterlitamak, were given the status of district ones, so they are the same age.

There are several explanations for the name. Most are legendary. They say, for example, that Empress Catherine II, passing by, asked what the name of the settlement was. They answered her “Min russa belmei,” and the empress’s secretary wrote down “Belebey.” There are other versions, but all of them are based on a documented fact - the Belebey River was known even before the founding of the city, at least since 1715. The local history museum considers this legend to be relatively reliable.

“When the Chuvash moved to these places, the Bashkirs came to their rich fellow tribesman and said about the appearance of the settlers, “Trouble, rich man,” says museum employee Nadezhda Golubkova. - It sounds like “white, beat.” The Chuvash, hearing these words, named the place Belebey. And the river too.

Belebey consists of three parts. The lower, historical one, which is located closer to Belebeyka, near Mount Dolgaya, is simply called “city”. Houses of typical Soviet-era construction on a hill are called “construction”. Finally, a new area in the western part of the city is called “cottages” or “mansions” - until the name is settled. Belebey has been developing in a western direction in recent years.

In Manhattan

If you find yourself in an unfamiliar city, it is very important to create a spatial image of it, to get your bearings - where is north, where is south, where is the park, where is the lake. But such an image never appeared. Trying to help, Oleg Danilin, head of the social development department, gave me a map of the city and reference materials. Looking ahead, I’ll say that when the townspeople scolded other “apparatchiks,” they spoke well of Danilin. For a long time he headed the department of culture, and the fact that Belebey is habitually associated with great literary names among the residents of Bashkiria is his significant merit. This is the opinion.

“We have one place called Manhattan,” Vladimir Sapozhnikov, a specialist in the department of architecture and construction, advised. — This is a platform on a hill, from there you can see the whole city. By the way, local Buddhists are going to build a temple in this place, the first Buddhist temple in Bashkiria.

What kind of Buddhists are they?! I am surprised to study the certificate with the wheel-shaped emblem. It reads: “Issued to Hakberdin Tagir Maratovich that he is indeed a full-time lama in the Ivolginsk datsan “Khambyn Suma” and a representative of the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia in the Republic of Bashkortostan.”

I'm calling Tagir Khakberdin. Let's meet. I see you are a free man. Soft, restrained, charismatic, without much panache. He’s rather strange - he’s 39 years old, but he says he’s 40, because Buddhists count age from the moment of conception. Cultural speech, broad knowledge. Does not seek to impose his beliefs. I like such people, even if I don’t share their views.

We went to local Manhattan. In front of me is a hillside with islands of feather grass, and further away are one-story buildings, a mosaic of multi-colored roofs. But even from Manhattan, the spatial image did not take shape - no churches, no mosques, no ancient houses are visible.

- What is that high-rise building looming on the horizon?!

— That same “Autonormal” is. The tallest building in the city...

Tagir Maratovich Khakberdin is the representative of the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia in the Republic of Bashkortostan. Photo by Sergei Sinenko

How does Belebey live?

It is necessary to explain what “Autonormal” means to Belebey. Over the course of four decades, Belebey has developed as a single-industry town - a territory where the main population works at one city-forming enterprise, on which the financial well-being of the townspeople, and the social sphere, in general, their whole life depend.

Back in 2009, analyzing the causes and possible consequences of the economic crisis, the Russian Ministry of Economic Development conditionally divided all 400 single-industry towns in the country into categories. Belebey was included in the group of 60 cities with a pre-crisis situation - where everything is stable so far, but if the economy develops according to a negative scenario, serious problems may arise. Causes? "Autonormal" is a satellite of the Volzhsky Automobile Plant in Tolyatti. This means that the city’s economy depends entirely on the situation in the domestic automobile industry. Over the past years, they have tried to treat the auto industry in every possible way, even by foreign specialists.

Hard trials came at the end of 2011. In November-December, VAZ and KamAZ stopped working. They refused to purchase Avtonormal products - bolts, nuts, springs.

There is nothing to pay the salary. Seven and a half thousand families were left without money, and if you multiply the figure by at least three (husband, wife, child), it turns out that more than twenty thousand people were left without a livelihood. In addition, half of the budget of the city and district was formed at the expense of Autonormal. A whole bunch of problems arose. Doctors and teachers were left without salaries. Money disappeared from the population - trade and public services stopped working. The entire city economy began to crackle...

The situation has been partially corrected, but many problems have gone deeper, giving rise to social tension, which manifests itself in a variety of forms, which are still relatively calm. Eccentricities have taken on bizarre forms, including with the use of new technologies.

Mass media

A television

Radio

• 70.61 MHz – Radio Russia
• 91.3 MHz - DFM;
• 98.9 MHz - Radio Dacha;
• 99.3 MHz - plan
• 100.5 MHz - Russian Radio;
• 101.5 MHz - Plan
• 102.4 MHz - Plan
• 104.2 MHz - Radio Vanya plan;
• 104.7 MHz - Radio Yuldash;
• 106.6 MHz - Plan
• 107.2 MHz - Satellite FM.

On the World Wide Web

This year, Belebey residents even seem to have become stars in posting advertisements online; newspapers wrote about it. So, at the end of March, a resident of Belebey tried to sell Russia at the famous online auction e-bay. According to the lot description, “the country has been used for a thousand years and is in good condition,” Forbes writes. The link included photographs of the Kremlin, a sports team fan, a Topol-M missile launcher, and a political map of the state.

The ad was deleted by the site administration, but after a couple of weeks the joker gained a follower. If it didn’t work out with the country, then at least the city! — thought an Internet user and posted information about the sale of Belebey on the website of a reputable advertisement newspaper. For the entire city, the seller asked for only 999 rubles, but promised to give the buyer Ufa as a bonus.

Perhaps behind this eccentricity is the most common boredom (“Oh, it’s boring, if only the guy died or the house caught fire diagonally!”), but it is possible that general irritation spills out in this form. Be that as it may, this eccentricity is unlikely to serve the city well. The image of the city, which has been formed over the years and has become culturally rich, loses a lot from this.

Belebey on the map of Russia, geography, nature and climate

On the map of Russia, Belebey is adjacent to small towns such as Priyutovo, Bavly, Buguruslan, Oktyabrsky, Chishmy. It is located 180 km from Ufa (southwest of the district) on the territory of the Bugulminsko-Belebeevsky elevation , stands on the Usen River , 12 km from the Aksakovo railway station.

In the south-east of the city, 10 km away, there is the climatic village of Glukhovskaya and the climatic-kumis-therapeutic sanatorium Aksakovo.

A satellite map of Belebey reveals natural places - coniferous forests in the north of the region, oak groves and birch forests in the south. Spreading meadows stretch along the rivers.

What did the province do wrong?

— What did the province do wrong? - asks newspaper editor Lyubov Ivanova on the pages of Belebeevskie Izvestia. Commenting on the recently issued decree on restoring the title of Hero of Labor, she asks: who will become an expert in identifying new heroes - the owner of an oil well or a privatized plant? And he talks about an alarming call from a reader from the village of Znamenka, where the distillery that produces Belebey vodka is located. “Trouble has come to Znamenka,” reported village resident Nikolai Tarasenko. — Distillery workers have received notices of dismissal, and the company is closing. This is what Bashspirt OJSC decided. Another enterprise, the breeding farm, is undergoing a multi-year bankruptcy procedure. This is a social disaster."

“So where,” asks Lyubov Ivanova, “will heroes of labor come from in the new Russia, if the province is condemned to a shameful, impoverished existence?” What if people are put out of work? What was wrong with the Russian outback? Collectivization and perestroika didn’t break it, optimization will finish it off...

It’s worth listening to the editor’s words; she knows the topic. Such an editor commands respect. After all, a journalist today can have only one moral position - to stand on the side of civil society. Not on the side of local authorities, not on the side of individual social groups and financial clans, but on the side of ordinary people, humiliated and muzzled.

Before the revolution of 1917, these walls housed the city government, and since 1941, the departments and classrooms of the V.I. Lenin Military-Political Academy, evacuated to Belebey from Moscow. The only thing that reminds us of the purpose of the former assembly hall is the painting above the stage - a huge coat of arms of the Soviet Union and flying airplanes. Photo by Sergei Sinenko

Driving along the Belebey streets is slow and bumpy. “Have you seen what kind of roads we have? Somersault." The streets are empty, almost no one. The weather turned upside down: no, it’s not cold, on the contrary, it’s hot, the first of June. We go into the courtyards. People are smiling. Goodwill is the best motivator of impudence. I climb into the soul. A former employee of Avtonormal, sixty-year-old Misha, describes the situation colorfully.

- Belebey is not heading towards the abyss, don’t listen to scares. Moreover, the performance is not over yet. Changes? They are noticeable. Previously, in response to a worker’s words “I’ll complain,” the manager would say: “I’ll mix you up with crap.” Now he says: “It’s your right.” Respectfully. No work? So what should we do now, send SOS and convey an appeal to the leading people of the entire globe?!

I continue to study ancient monuments. I see two ancient buildings combined into one. Broken windows, traces of fire and desolation. Before the revolution of 1917, these walls housed the city government, and since 1941, the departments and classrooms of the V.I. Lenin Military-Political Academy, evacuated to Belebey from Moscow.

I go into the former assembly hall. Only the painting above the stage reminds of its purpose - a huge coat of arms of the Soviet Union and flying airplanes. More than seventy years ago, here, for the first time, the famous brass orchestra of I. V. Petrov performed such works arranged for wind players as the Seventh Symphony of D. D. Shostakovich, the Nineteenth Symphony of N. Ya. Myaskovsky and the overture “1812” by P. I. Tchaikovsky, in which heroic and patriotic themes were leading. Shostakovich, who was evacuated in Kuibyshev, came here to listen to a version of the Seventh Symphony for wind instruments. Thanks to this, author’s evenings of the great composer took place in Belebey and Ufa.

After the war, the building belonged to a military unit; the House of Officers was located here. The boys are sitting near the neighboring house - a camp pose, knees to their chins, cigarettes in their mouths. They say that until recently all the buildings were in good condition.

Residents of neighboring houses have the following opinion:

“This is the most economical way to demolish cultural monuments - wait until they fall apart on their own and free up space that is attractive to construction companies. They will set up a supermarket there, but after the European-quality renovation the building will definitely not be a monument.

Here, along Krasnoarmeyskaya Street, the former Bolshaya Ufimskaya, from the city bathhouse to Internatsionalnaya Street and up the hill, the oldest part of Belebey is located. Next to the women's gymnasium there used to be the first Orthodox cemetery and a wooden church, and nearby there was a transit prison.

Today the main building of the 1st school is in the former gymnasium building. Immediately at the entrance there is a stand “Heroes of our school”, there are portraits of graduates, Heroes of the Soviet Union Vladimir Ferapontov and Alexander Glukhikh, Hero of Socialist Labor Dzhikhislam Mamleev. Here is a photograph of the Hero of Russia, Colonel General Anatoly Romanov - a face honed by intellect. I remember how worried my wife and I were when we heard about the tragedy in Chechnya... I didn’t know that Romanov was from our area - he was born near Belebey, he studied at the local school.

“The school is compact, for 400 people, and has its own museum,” says Rimma Maratovna, an English teacher. - And the city is compact, green - a landscaped place. There is a “health path”; it has become fashionable to go for a morning jog. Great park and pond. Only the rides are not very good, there are no sponsors. The children have nowhere to go.

Next to the school is an elegant octagonal chapel, freshly whitewashed. It was built at the end of the 19th century in the Russian brick style that was dominant at that time. They say that it was erected in honor of the first Belebey church, which was burned during the Peasant War and was located on the site now occupied by the school.

The elegant octagonal chapel was built at the end of the 19th century in honor of the first Belebey church, which was burned during the Peasant War. Photo by Sergei Sinenko

Michael the Archangel Cathedral with a low, squat bell tower was built in the Russian-Byzantine style in the 1820s. Photo by Sergei Sinenko

Nun Filothea, guardian of local antiquity. Photo by Sergei Sinenko

Belebey

Where did the city of Belebey come from (History) Belebey is such a melodious, viscous, like amber honey that has long glorified these places, an amazing name. Where does it “come from”? Most researchers of this issue come to the same conclusion: Belebey is a hydronym, that is, a name borrowed from the river. This version is also confirmed by surviving archival materials dating back to the 18th century. They mention the small river Belebey, which is classified as toponyms, such as Agyryazi-river, Seyush-swamp, Kydash. Other written sources (1715) tell us that the Yasash Tatars Tybaev Kelmest, Azikov Yanklych, as well as their fellow tribesmen undertake not to disturb the peace and not to walk on the territory of the Bashkirs of the Ilan volost. In records dating back to 1715, it is reported that the Bashkirs of the Kyr-Elan (Kyr-Ilan) volost of Urazaev Syyunduk with his fellow tribesmen (which were discussed in the above document) allowed the Tatar Kadyr Togashev onto their lands so that he and his tribe founded a settlement, “ploughed the land, killed every animal and bird in the forests, removed bast, chopped wood, and made beards.” There was only one condition set for Kadyr Togashev - not to let anyone else into these lands, to protect them as his own property. The settlement formed on the river adopted its name - Belebeevo.

Historical settlement (History) Belebey had the status of a historical settlement until the year 2000. It was founded by Chuvash settlers. They chose to live on a small plot of land that belonged to the Dem Bashkirs. Having agreed with the owners of the lands, the Chuvash leased them. This is how the Chuvash settlement arose on Bashkir land, the mention of which was first found in documents dating back to 1757. This settlement bore the name Belebeyevo. The village grew quickly, crafts and trade flourished in it, and in 1781 (at the time of large-scale reforms to improve the infrastructure of state lands and their subordination) Belebeyevo received the new status of a county town. The city entered the Ufa province, becoming the industrial, administrative and cultural center of the Belebeevsky district. In 1796, it was decided to transfer Belebey to the subordination of the Orenburg province. So Belebey changed its status to a lower one, turning into a provincial town. But in 1802 Belebey again regained “its greatness”, becoming again a district center within the Orenburg province. But not even a hundred years had passed since Belebey re-entered the Ufa province. This happened in 1865, the year the Orenburg province was divided into two components: Orenburg and Ufa. As documents from those times tell us, the majority of the population of Belebey was engaged in small trade, agriculture and beekeeping.

Canton Administration (History) Mention of Belebey is first found in documents dating back to 1757. It was a Chuvash settlement bearing the name Belebeyevo. The village grew quickly, crafts and trade flourished in it, and in 1781 Belebeyevo received the new status of a county town. In 1796, it was decided to transfer Belebey to the subordination of the Orenburg province. It is worth noting that since 1798, the so-called canton administration was introduced in this region. And until 1865 the population of Bashkortostan was not under the authority of civil institutions. The Bashkirs, Mishchars, Teptyars were in the “military class”. Each canton was obliged to field an armed army at the first request of the tsarist government. In 1812, Napoleon’s soldiers nicknamed the Bashkir troops “northern cupids” for their weapons, which mainly consisted of bows and arrows. The revolutionary events of 1917 again revived the cantons, and Validi became their leader. The city of Belebey was chosen as the central canton city in 1922. In this “hypostasis” Belebey continued to exist until 1930. At this time, it was decided to transform the cantons into districts. In 1953, Belebey began to develop intensively, which was primarily due to the discovery of an oil field called “Shkapovskoye”. In 1957 the city acquired republican subordination.

When the city of Belebey was founded (History) In 1781 (at the time of large-scale reforms to improve the infrastructure of state lands and their subordination) Belebeyvo received a new status as a county town. The city entered the Ufa province, becoming the industrial, administrative and cultural center of the Belebeevsky district. What can you tell about the city of Belebey at that time? Some historical information was preserved in a reference book compiled for the Ufa province. It says that Belebey was settled by baptized Chuvash in 1757. If you look at another document - “Address-calendar of the Ufa province”, containing information for 1917, you can find out that Belebey celebrated its 160th anniversary this year, which means that it was founded in 1757. If you study the historical documents related to the construction of the Samara-Zlatoust railway, you can come to the same conclusion regarding the founding date of the city of Belebey. 1757 is also indicated as the year of birth of the new city of Belebey in the monumental work - the historical and geographical multi-volume book “Russia. Complete geographical description...", 1914. All these sources lead us to a certain conclusion that the city of Belebey appeared later than the name of the Bashkir river of the same name, which means it borrowed the name from it. As can be judged from surviving sources, the Belebey River was known at least 42 years earlier than the city standing on it.

Legends about the origin of the name Belebey (History) Today there are several opinions on this issue. The Bashkir people have a legend that explains the origin of this melodious, soft word. The settlement of Belebey was founded by Chuvash settlers. They chose to live on a small plot of land that belonged to the Dem Bashkirs. Having agreed with the owners of the lands, the Chuvash leased them. This is how the Chuvash settlement arose on Bashkir land. The first settlers called their leader, the owner of these Bashkir lands, “belebey,” which meant a very evil bai or master, a ruler who brings misfortune. There is another Bashkir legend about the origin of this name. As if Empress Catherine the Great passed through these wild places during her trip to Kazan, and decided to find out from the local population what the name of their village was. She heard: “Min in Russian belmei,” which obviously meant “We do not understand Russian,” and the empress decided that “belmei” (that is, “neither Be nor Me”) was the name of the settlement - “Belebey” . However, this version is considered more of a funny anecdote than a compelling explanation. Moreover, those who came up with this story did not know geography well, since it is unlikely that the empress would have chosen such a roundabout and inconvenient route to Kazan.

What does the name Belebey mean from a scientific point of view (History) The Bashkir people have several legends that explain the name of the settlement Belebey, but let’s turn to science for a reliable answer. It is worth noting that there are several opinions on this matter. From the point of view of toponymy, Belebey has several versions of its origin. G. Sattarov, a linguist with a professorial degree, attributes the name Belebey to the names - anthropotoponyms, which arose from the proper names, as a rule, of the founding people. G. Sattarov suggested that the founder of Belebey, who was quite likely the owner of these lands, was called none other than Balabey, which can be explained as a little bey. And over time, a phonetic process of influence of the vowel e occurred, which spread to other vowel words. So Balabey turned into Belebey. A. Sharafutdinova, a candidate of pedagogical sciences, expresses a slightly different version. In her opinion, the name of the Bashkir city has an ancient Persian meaning, since “boloobi” among the ancient Persians meant the source of the river, its beginning. And, therefore, Belebey is nothing more than the beginning of the river.

The Belebeevsky distillery is the oldest enterprise in the city. (History) Belebeevsky distillery has a long history. He began his activities in 1895. At that time it was just a wine warehouse owned by the treasury. 45 people worked at the warehouse. The warehouse's productivity per year was about 150 thousand buckets of alcoholic beverages. It was sold through a network of shops, of which, according to surviving records, there were 95. In 1904, a large building was built in Belebey on Chapaev Street (and in those days Skladskaya), where a distillery plant was subsequently located. In 1925 the warehouse was transformed into “Belebeevsky Distillery No. 4”. In 1952, distillery No. 4 was modernized, becoming a distillery. In 1985, in accordance with the Prohibition policy, it was temporarily closed. It resumed its activities in 1988, when it was merged with the Krasnoznamensky distillery. This is how the Belebeyevsky Distillery Factory appeared, which in 1994 launched its own development on the market - Belebeyevskaya vodka. It was from this moment that the plant began to actively develop. In Bashkortostan today, 30% of the volume of alcoholic beverages is produced at this oldest production facility. The quality of SVK Belebey's products has always been excellent, since water for production is extracted from hundred-meter wells. To keep up with all orders, SVK works in 2 shifts. The most popular are: “Belebeevskaya”, “Clink of Glasses”, “Deevskaya”, “Aksakovskaya”, “In the Family Circle”, “Tantana”. In addition to vodka, a special place in the plant’s production is the production of herbal balm “Belebey”. It is worth noting that today “extra-class” vodka is produced here. Numerous awards confirm this.

Lake Aslykul is the largest lake in Bashkortostan. (Attraction) Just 42 km from Belebey is the most beautiful pearl of Bashkortostan - Lake Asylykul (Aslykul or Asyulykul). Its name can be translated as “bitter lake” or “bright lake”, and sometimes it is called “collapsed lake”. The meanings of “light” and “loose” are not difficult to explain. But why “bitter”? Most likely, this is explained by the mineralization of Aslykul water, since the lake has no drainage, and the water in it gets a salty taste. We can say that this is a small sea that spills out in the middle of the Bashkir lands. The length of the lake is quite large, about 8 km. The width of Asyulykul varies from 5 to 6 km. Thus, Asyulykul resembles a huge bowl. The area of ​​the lake is about 23.5 km2. However, with such a huge size, Aslykul is a very shallow lake. On average, its depth is about 5.5 meters, and the deepest places do not exceed 8 meters. The lake has a pronounced collapse-karst origin. Located in a bowl, Lake Aslykul is distinguished by picturesque surroundings: steep cliffs, sharp cliffs, sandy slopes. Surrounded by the mountains Ulutau, Tabulak, Nuratau Ulu-Karagach, the lake seems to be a mysterious, legendary place. It is not for nothing that many legends were composed in them, including the famous fairy tales of the Bashkir people “Zayatulyak and Zyukhylu” and “Aslykul”.

Kandrykul is the second largest lake in Bashkortostan (Attraction) 54 km from Belebey is the second largest lake in Bashkortostan - Kandrykul. The lake has long attracted the attention of vacationers with its clear water and amazingly beautiful scenery, as well as the opportunity to go fishing and take a walk on the waves. Its name can be translated as “Beaver Lake,” since a huge number of these animals lived on the banks of Kandrykul, which organized their kingdom on the lake. It’s a pity that today it is no longer possible to meet beavers on “Beaver Lake”. The lake has a pronounced collapse-karst origin. The bottom of Kandykul is flat, sandy and rocky. Along the banks of Kandykul you can see two huge terraces that were formed thousands of years ago from sand and loam. From a height, Lake Kandykul looks like a tilted bowl, since the shores on the northeast and eastern sides are low, and on other sides are quite high. The area of ​​Kandrykul is about 15.6 km2, and the deepest places reach 15.6 meters, with an average depth of 7.2 meters. Of great interest is the fact that until the 1980s Kandrykul was decreasing, but according to recent studies, the level of the lake began to constantly increase. In 1995, it was decided to create a national park on the lake.

Natural Wonders (Attraction) Amazing places can be visited near Yangi-Turmush. There is a healing spring here, recognized as a natural monument. The Alga spring is a mineral spring with a pronounced sulfate-calcium composition. This natural wonder is surrounded by picturesque rocks made of sandstone. The Alga spring is located near the famous Lake Aslykul, along the shores of which plants that are quite rare for these places can be found. There is another interesting place located near Lake Aslykul - Sharlama waterfall. “Sharlama” in the Bashkir language means a mountain stream or waterfall. Charlame's cold shower falls from a 12-meter height. The landscapes of the Bugulma-Belebeevskaya Upland, along which several talkative streams flow and pour down streams of cool Charlam water, impress with their unique colorful beauty. That is why these territories became part of the natural park.

Sanctuaries and natural monuments (Attraction) On the territory belonging to the city of Belebey and the region, there are two reserves with state status. This is the famous Buninsky forest and the Usenivansky reserve. The surroundings of Belebey are famous for their rare and medicinal plants, which is why there are three reserves here, the main function of which is the protection and reproduction of medicinal plants. On the territory of these reserves there are also some unique places recognized as natural monuments. There are 10 of them. One of them is the famous Michurin spruce trees, growing right in the city on Chapaev Street. The spruce trees were planted by I.V. Michurin, an outstanding Soviet breeder, in 1907. Next to the mosque there is another natural monument - the Belebeevskaya birch tree, planted by Konstantin Ivanovich Kobernik, a war hero. In addition to these natural attractions, in the city of Belebey and its surroundings there are 3 more micro-reserves. This is the Belebeyevsky forestry enterprise, where a rare plant, the May lily of the valley, is under special protection; “Malobelebeevsky forest”, “Lobshinsky forest”, where the European swimsuit blooms in the spring - a plant listed in the Red Book of Russia. The forest zone 10 km from Belebey, where the forest anemone is under special protection, can also be classified as micro-reserves.

Usen-Ivanovsky State Nature Reserve (Attraction) The Usen-Ivanovsky State Nature Reserve was created in 1991. The main purpose of its formation was to preserve the environmental reproductive properties of the forest, as well as improve the ecology of the entire area. The Usen-Ivanovsky reserve has a total area of ​​about 12 thousand hectares, and is located on the territories of two forest districts: Usen-Ivanovsky and Metevbashevsky. Today, the predominant vegetation in the reserve is broad-leaved tree species. These are maple, linden, oak and elm. Birch and aspen trees also grow in abundance in the reserve, which were mainly planted after logging. Two rivers flow through the Usen-Ivanovsky reserve: Ilen and Usen; along their banks, along with broad-leaved plant species, coniferous trees are found, among which pine predominates. Relict pine forests have been preserved on the steep southern slopes of the Ilen and Usen rivers, striking with their pristine beauty. Bird cherry, different types of willow, and gray alder grow in abundance in the floodplains of Ilen and Usen. On the territory of the Usen-Ivanovsky state reserve, work is actively underway to restore forest areas; larch, pine, and birch are being planted here. Special natural monuments in the reserve are considered to be pine trees planted in 1897 and 1899, several larches planted in 1914, and a pine forest that appeared in 1902–1903.

Architectural monuments of the city of Belebey. (Attractions) The city of Belebey, as well as its surroundings, is rich in amazing places representing monuments of culture, nature, and history. 38 of them have the status of monuments of national significance. Museum workers continue to identify new objects of the historical past, now there are 15 such objects, they will soon receive the status of specially protected cultural and historical monuments, but for now they are at the stage of collecting and processing the relevant documentation. Let's talk about some architectural and historical monuments of Belebey. The city school, built in 1886, the building of the Kuznetsov G. G. hotel, also dating from the 19th century (1890). It is a fine example of the Baroque style, with a huge amount of ornate decoration, flowing, rounded lines, arched windows and ornate superstructure decoration. It is worth noting the oldest building in Belebey - the Prison Castle, erected in 1775. This is a strict structure of a classical form, characteristic of institutions built in the 18-19 centuries. There are also several beautiful private houses in Belebey, built in the 19th century: the house of P. E. Kozhevnikov, a merchant of the first guild, the house that once belonged to F. I. Novikov, the houses of famous residents of the city - V. G. Khramov and E. D. Lysenkova. The historically valuable buildings of the Zemstvo Pharmacy (1896) and the Real School (1912) are well preserved. The real school is a two-story building made of red brick with white trim on window openings, cornices and elements of the building’s external decorations.

St. Nicholas Cathedral (Attractions) As the city of Belebey grew, the need for the construction of a large Orthodox church very quickly arose. Construction of the six-domed three-altar cathedral began in 1893. The temple was built of brick, using voluntary donations. It is known that Belebey merchants made large contributions to the construction of the new temple: Rogov donated 1000 rubles for the temple, Kozhevnikov and Pravotorov contributed 750 rubles each. The construction of the St. Nicholas Church took 4 years and was completed only in 1897. In 1899, the temple acquired three iconostasis and church utensils were purchased. Eclecticism became the architectural style that was chosen to create the St. Nicholas Cathedral of Belebey. The temple was built with three aisles, with an additional extension - a refectory, which was, as it were, recessed into the main volume of St. Nicholas Cathedral. The light drum is built on a system of arched vaults, which, in turn, rest on four symmetrically installed high pillars. The dome of the cathedral is classic - helmet-shaped. Around the light drum superstructure there are decorative domes, which make it possible to classify St. Nicholas Cathedral as a 6-domed temple structure. Adjacent to the temple is a 4-tier expressive slender bell tower, completed with a pyramidal tent in the Moscow-Yaroslavl style. The arched windows of the St. Nicholas Church of Belebey are tall and narrow.

Michael the Archangel Church and chapel in Belebey. (Attraction) Belebey was founded in 1757 during the reign of the great Elizabeth Petrovna. The first settlers were baptized Chuvash. To maintain the Orthodox faith, it was decided to build a temple in Belebey. Initially it was the Michael-Arkhangelsk wooden church, but during the Pugachev rebellion the newly baptized Chuvash themselves burned the church, joining the rebels (1773-1774). A few years after these events, Belebey received the status of a district town, and then in 1781, new construction began on the site of the church burned by the rebel Chuvash. This is how the second St. Michael the Archangel Church appeared in Belebey, also built of wood. 35 years passed, the city grew and expanded, the small church could no longer accommodate everyone, and they began to build a cathedral church in Belebey. The construction of the stone temple was completed in 1828. Classicism became the architectural style that was chosen to create the new temple. The facades had practically no processing; the basis was a two-story standard quadrangle with small windows. The church had a four-tray closed vault-dome. Adjoining the church was a small, simple, squat bell tower. On the site of the old church, the elegant octagonal St. Michael the Archangel Chapel was built of brick. This building from the end of the 19th century was miraculously preserved, and now it can be seen next to the restored Church of St. Michael the Archangel.

Economy of Belebey (Economy) The city's economy largely depends on several significant industries, the basis of which are enterprises operating in the field of mechanical engineering. This area of ​​industrial production is represented in the urban economy of Belebey by BelZAN and BMZ. BelZAN appeared in Belebey in 1967, when it was decided to build a specialized enterprise for the production of components for the needs of the Volzhsky Automobile Plant. Today BelZAN specializes in the production of springs for the automotive industry and fasteners that meet high ISO 9001:2000 standards. The Belebeevsky Machine-Building Plant also operates in the field of mechanical engineering, as does BelZAN, another large industrial enterprise in the city operating in this field of labor. This production was founded in 1942. Among the main types of products of BMZ are sand pumps of the PB type, slurry pumps (6sh8-2, 6sh8), highly efficient vacuum and mud pumps, fecal pumps of the ANS, NZhN, UNCE, NCI, UNN and UNCD models. Another oldest production in the city of Belebey is the distillery, which began its activities in 1895 as a wine warehouse, a hundred years later it developed into a large-scale production. In Bashkortostan today, 30% of the volume of alcoholic beverages is produced at this oldest production facility. The Belebey food industry is represented by a dairy plant founded in 1932. Today, about 3,800 tons of high-quality rennet cheeses of popular brands are produced here: “Gouda”, “Kostromskoy”, “Gollandsky”, “Russian”, “Edam”, “Poshekhonsky”. In addition to cheeses, about 50 types of a wide variety of dairy products are produced here. Thus, we can conclude that the basis of Belebey’s economy is 97% made up of the activities of large industries in the city.

LLC "Keramika" (Economy) In 1990, according to the project of "Keller" - a German company, he decided to begin construction of a brick factory. In 1995, the Belebeevsky brick factory produced its first products. Today, Keramika is a modern high-tech production with full automation of all labor processes. "Keramika" produces ceramic single building hollow bricks that comply with GOST 530-95. In the process of its manufacture, the plastic molding method is used, for which a modern vacuum press is used. For additional guarantee against breakage and other damage that may occur during transportation, the brick is not packaged in a specialized, especially durable shrink film. "Ceramics" is constantly developing, mastering new techniques and producing new products. So today, in addition to the production of ceramic single building hollow bricks, several types of thickened and shaped bricks are produced here. The production of glazed bricks with the possibility of giving them different color shades will soon begin. Keramika has its own raw material base - a quarry where iron-rich clay is extracted. This feature of local clay gives not only a bright color to the bricks produced by Keramika, but also special strength, which allows them to be used in the construction of high-rise structures.

Belebeyevsky branch of OJSC "Bashspirt" (Economy) "Bashspirt" today is one of the largest producers, not only in Bashkortostan, of alcoholic beverages and alcohol, but also in Russia, this production ranks fourth in terms of volume of alcoholic products produced. The Bashspirt shareholders society was formed in 2000 by merging seven factories operating in this area. The distillery plant of the city of Belebey also became part of the general structure. The Belebeevsky distillery has a long history. He began his activities in 1895. At that time it was just a wine warehouse owned by the treasury. 45 people worked at the warehouse. The warehouse's productivity per year was about 150 thousand buckets of alcoholic beverages. It was sold through a network of shops, of which, according to surviving records, there were 95. In 1904, a large building was built in Belebey on Chapaev Street (and in those days Skladskaya), where a distillery plant was subsequently located. In 1925 the warehouse was transformed into “Belebeevsky Distillery No. 4”. In 1952, distillery No. 4 was modernized, becoming the Belebeevsky distillery. In 1985, in accordance with the Prohibition policy, it was temporarily closed. It resumed its activities in 1988, when it was merged with the Krasnoznamensky distillery. This is how the Belebeyevsky Distillery Factory appeared, which in 1994 launched its own development on the market - Belebeyevskaya vodka. It was from this moment that the plant began to actively develop. In 2012, the process of producing vodka from the Nemiroff company began in Belebey.

BelZAN - Belebeyevsky Avtonormal plant. (Economy) The mechanical engineering sector of industrial production is represented in the urban economy of Belebey by the company BelZAN. This production appeared in Belebey in 1967, when it was decided to build a specialized enterprise for the production of components for the needs of the Volzhsky Automobile Plant. The Belebeyevsky Autonormal plant began producing autonormals specialized for domestic vehicle manufacturers. Thus, already in 1970 BelZAN sent the first batch of products to the Volzhsky Automobile Plant, which consisted of 500 specialized vehicle kits and several hundred sets of 10 items of parts. In 1971, BelZAN began supplying another automobile plant, Kama, with its unique products. In 1992, the plant became the Avtonormal shareholder company. And in 2002, the enterprise “Belebeevsky plant “Avtonormal”” was separated from this joint-stock company through reorganization. Today BelZAN specializes in the production of springs for the automotive industry and fasteners that meet high ISO 9001:2000 standards. Among the regular customers of BelZAN production are UAZ, KAMAZ, ZIL, AVTOVAZ, IzhAvto, GAZ, AMO, and GM-AvtoVAZ.

Belebeevsky Machine-Building Plant (Economy) Belebeevsky Machine-Building Plant also operates in the field of mechanical engineering, as does BelZAN - another large industrial enterprise of the city operating in this field of labor. This production was founded in 1942. Today, BMZ is not only a manufacturer of high-quality pumping equipment, but also a contractor of design orders. Among the main types of BMZ products are sand pumps of the PB type, slurry pumps (6sh8-2, 6sh8), highly efficient vacuum and sludge pumps, fecal pumps of the ANS, NZHN, UNCE, NCI, UNN and UNCD models, mixers, and vibrating sieves. It is worth noting that the modern equipment installed at BMZ allows us to fulfill any orders. It is worth noting that the BMZ company specializes in the production of non-standard equipment, as well as a variety of products made from aluminum, cast iron, and metal powder.

Image of the city

Heat. The street is empty. I go deeper into the next block. Here stands the white-stone, blue-roofed St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral with a low, squat bell tower. It is made in an elegant Russian-Byzantine style. For some unknown reason, the temple was built in the 1820s not on the site of the old church, but at a considerable distance from the street line. During the first five-year plans, the building was used as a warehouse, but was disfigured - the upper part of the bell tower, the dome and the drum were demolished. The church was returned to believers in 1988 in connection with the celebration of the millennium of the Baptism of Rus'. The premises were quickly restored for worship, but restoration work continued for several more years until the church acquired its former appearance. A convent building was built nearby.

“The place has long been prayed for, and this is important for the monastery,” says nun Filothea. — We have a Sunday school for children and adults, a large library.

Where can I take a photo to capture everything at once?

Finding myself on the roof of a nearby psychiatric hospital, I take out a map and a list of historical and cultural monuments. So, here is Mount Long. It is precisely named - it stretches from west to east for five or six kilometers. Here, respectively, are Rechnaya, Naberezhnaya, Krasnogvardeyskaya streets - a museum street. Historical buildings - city government, chapel, mosque, St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral, women's gymnasium and pharmacy buildings, stone merchant mansions.

A little further south is Kommunisticheskaya Street, where the most striking buildings are the Kuznetsov and Moskvin hotels and the prison, built back in 1775! Sovetskaya Street stretches towards the center. Expressive buildings - Trading rows and the zemstvo government, the house of the mayor of Napalkov, the building of a real school, the Illusion cinema and the church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

Yes, the area is architecturally rich. Well, thank God, finally the image of the city began to take shape. The logic by which the city lives in history and today becomes clearer.

If in Ufa the urban landscape is “layered”, deposits from different eras seem to be pressed against each other, then in Belebey this is not the case. Temporary layers coexist here independently, like liquids of different densities: the “city”, the old lower part of Belebey - on its own, the upper "construction site" - also independently.

Until 2010, Belebey was included in the list of historical cities of Russia, but when the list was revised and shortened, it fell out of it - the new criteria are very strict. But history has not gone away - buildings, despite the modest city budget, are being restored, the old quarters of the lower part of the city retain their historical appearance.

They managed to save the shopping arcades in Belebey. To recreate the historical complex, several buildings remain to be restored. Photo by Sergei Sinenko

From the Zemstvo Council to the St. Nicholas Church

This street was formerly called Torgovaya. It goes uphill from the old quarters towards the “construction site”. Around there are stone storage sheds and shops built in 1901 - 1904. Today they house private shops.

Here, apparently, a money man is coming towards you. The soul is wide, the hand is strong, the wallet is thick, everything is clear to him. Maybe he was a little tired from his hectic life. It seems that his worldly sea has opened up, there are no shores in sight, sail to all ends.

“I work in the north, Mikhail,” he introduced himself, but at the end of the conversation he admitted that his name was Vladislav. — He left the factory on time, when “Autonormal” had not yet laid down on its side and many were hoping for something. Now those who worked in the plant management are no longer looking for a prestigious job, but are looking for at least some kind of work. For many, their only hope is in the garden - they dig into the soil little by little. Intellectual people often come to us for the autumn holidays and read poetry with excitement. But an elevated life still needs some grounding...

Thin man. I touched on an interesting topic.

Directly opposite the shopping arcades is a beautiful building of the zemstvo government. It houses a branch of the University of Architecture and Civil Engineering.

Before the revolution, the cinematograph “Illusion” was located in the neighboring house. A little higher up the street are the brick houses of the mayor Alexander Lavrovich Napalkov, erected in 1865. The semi-basement of the mansion is known for the fact that it housed a printing house, and in 1919 the famous Czech satirist Jaroslav Hasek worked here. He served as head of the mobile printing house of the political department of the 5th Army.

A branch of the University of Architecture and Civil Engineering is located in the former building of the Zemstvo Government. Photo by Sergei Sinenko

The St. Nicholas Church, built in the 1890s, housed industrial workshops in the post-revolutionary period. There was a project for the reconstruction of the building, but it was planned to build a concert hall in it. After the return of the temple to believers, no funds were found for restoration. Construction began relatively recently, but the reconstruction is already ending, all that remains is to restore the bell tower.

Coming towards me is a young woman. Her lips are so brightly painted that it looks like she’s holding a radish in her lips. I try to take a photo, but she waves her arms.

- Just not against the backdrop of the church! I belong to Jehovah's Witnesses.

Let's get acquainted. Lilya used to work at a distillery, now she takes care of the elderly and sick people.

“No, I’m very squeamish and do everything with gloves,” she explains. “People should just help others and live, if possible, a spiritual life.” I think the situation can be changed by the creation of a world government that will reconcile everyone and resolve disputes between people...

The St. Nicholas Church, built in the 1890s, housed industrial workshops in the post-revolutionary period. The restoration began relatively recently, but the reconstruction is already ending, all that remains is to restore the bell tower. Photo by Sergei Sinenko

Education

Higher education institutions

• Branch of Samara State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering.

Secondary and primary vocational education institutions

• Belebeyevsky Medical College,
• Belebeevsky Humanitarian and Technical College,
• Belebeevsky College of Mechanization and Electrification of Agriculture,
• Professional Lyceum No. 40,
• Belebeyevsky Pedagogical School.

Secondary schools and gymnasiums

• Gymnasium No. 1;
• Tatar gymnasium;
• Chuvash gymnasium;
• Bashkir boarding school;
• Secondary School No. 1;
• Secondary School No. 2;
• Secondary School No. 8;
• Secondary school No. 15;
• Secondary school No. 17;
• Secondary school No. 18;
• Boarding school.

Where can I find support?

When I left Belebey, the city was already falling asleep, but there was a golden, curly cloud high in the sky, and it seemed that it was illuminating the earth in place of the solar disk that had long disappeared behind the horizon.

General impression? Complex. But the situation in the city is not easy. A society without a backbone of authority is somewhat like a sponge, capable of absorbing everything.

When everything is shaky and unstable, people look for some kind of reliable support. They turn to religion, beliefs flourish, including such uncharacteristic ones for our region as Buddhism. The greater the tension of passions, the stronger the desire for inner silence. Old Believers are planning to build a church in Usen-Ivanovsky. Jehovah's Witnesses have revived.

There are two mosques in Belebey: old people go to the old one, and young people go to the new one. They say they have been arguing a lot lately. There are very disturbing facts. Among the most famous is the arrest by special forces of Belebey resident Vladimir Turaev, who headed the military wing of a religious extremist group subordinate to a native of Ingushetia, Bashir Pliev, known in the North Caucasus as the “Bashkir emir.”

Distrust of official information leads to the fact that rumors occupy an increasing place in the mass consciousness. They can also be mistaken for eccentricities, but they are rather an alarming symptom. What exactly? It's too early to say. The situation does not need to be dramatized, it needs to be understood.

The illusions are long gone; everything is filled with fatigue from long expectations. We need real, tangible success, but so far there is no reason for optimism.

Now, in the summer, there is a natural decline in activity. “Only the very lazy cannot find a job at this time of year,” says Magdan Sadrtdinov, director of the Belebey and Belebeysky District Employment Center. But in the fall, after elections and festivals, deep monitoring is needed, preferably with the participation of psychologists and specialists on religious issues. Things cannot be left to chance, especially since the Ministry of Economic Development officially warns of an impending economic recession. The situation is saved by the natural gentleness of the local people, their habitual submission to fate.

New Belebey Mosque. Photo by Sergei Sinenko

The “idea of ​​an agro-city”—let’s call it that way—hovering in the air and not yet fully formed seemed very important to me. It seemed that the very logic of events was pushing for this. The nature of the region is highly environmentally friendly, and the beginning has already been made by the organizational moment - the unification of the city and district administrations into a single whole. The result was not just general management, but the integration of two types of farms.

Already in the first year after such a merger, the city stopped purchasing meat, flour, potatoes and other vegetables “outside” and switched to self-sufficiency, and with environmentally friendly products. Benefit for the village? It's tangible. The grown crop still needs to be sold - this problem has disappeared. The city took upon itself the issue of supplying the village with equipment and fuels and lubricants, and helped maintain the roads. I thought - maybe the integration of the city and the region is the most important thing, because reorientation from industrial production to agricultural production will be a solution for many. The Belebeyites, of course, know better. Especially for those for whom the main question is how to survive.

As for rumors about the status of the city...

Belebey is one of the historical cities of Bashkiria, such as Ufa, Birsk and Sterlitamak. It became a district town by decree of Empress Catherine II, and no one at any level not only planned, but did not even discuss the possibility of turning it into a village!