Over the abyss in Kovdor. Will ore save the Arctic?

A rising star in the brand market

A small polar mining town in the Murmansk region on the border with Finland this year burst into the media space with a new brand “Kovdor - the capital of Hyperborea”: 1.8 million views of the corresponding groups of this project on social networks.

Trails for tourists are being equipped in Kovdor

Photo: Vitaly Ichin

Hyperborea - in ancient Greek mythology and the traditions that follow it, this is a legendary northern country. Many authors localize it specifically on the Kola Peninsula. The mythical dungeons of Hyperborea are included in the fairy tales and legends of the indigenous inhabitants of the Murmansk region. So, to the already well-known places of the Kola region, attracting tens of thousands of tourists - Khibiny (Kirovsk, Apatity), Lovozero, Polyarnye Zorya and Teriberka, which has already gained popularity in the film “Leviathan”, not only a new point on the tourist map has been added, but also a new brand - Kovdor.

Kovdor is located 98 kilometers along a good road from the P-21 St. Petersburg - Murmansk highway (exit from the highway north of Polyarnye Zori). Here, away from the main transport corridor of the Russian North, lies a completely untouched and unknown region. This is a wild area that has not yet been explored by tourists. This is one of the last places in the Murmansk region where no human has often set foot, where any hike is an inevitable encounter with untouched nature, ancient artifacts, and sometimes even bears. Thanks to its remote location and the absence of a border crossing, Kovdor remained off the beaten path.

Local activists studying their native land found several dozen mysterious artifacts in impenetrable taiga places, including the unique Ruby Canyon with the “head of a warrior in a helmet,” a swinging seid, an image of a “star map” on a rock, shaman altars, and many unusual stone buildings. . This is how the movement “Kovdor - the capital of Hyperborea” was born - an association of those who want to study ancient monuments, conduct expeditions, create routes, and develop tourism. Bloggers joined them, and metropolitan journalists and scientists began to join them. At the end of the 1950s, in Kovdor there was a shocking Komsomol construction project for the construction of a mining and processing plant, and today, at the end of the 2010s, there is the same shock entry to the top of the tourism market. Then they “cut down a plant in the tundra,” now they are laying a network of “Hyperborean” tourist routes in it.

The ancient head of a warrior, found by researchers in Kovdor, is more than 20 thousand years old

Photo: Alexander Shvornev

Border is locked tight?

Today, in the Murmansk region there are two international automobile checkpoints on the border with Finland: Salla and Lotta (Raja-Joseppi). In addition, there is a checkpoint Borisoglebsk (Storskog) on the border with Norway. But this doesn’t make it any easier for Kovdor.

— A paradoxical situation arises: Finland is only 26 kilometers away, but to get there you need to make a detour of 320 kilometers. It is clear that neither we nor they will visit us again,” explains the head of the local travel agency that carries out cross-border cooperation with partners from Finland, Artur Belyanin.

Young people are slowly leaving the city, although the presence of a checkpoint and, as a consequence, the development of international tourism would help create new jobs, and therefore new prospects for Kovdor residents.

In addition, the opening of the road would increase the investment attractiveness of the area and contribute to the development of trade relations between local enterprises and Finnish partners.

And the Finns would not be averse to creating a common tourist route with Kovdor. They themselves promote “Gerda’s Path to the Snow Queen”; Rovaniemi, the residence of the Finnish Santa Claus, is located nearby. Finally, there are Sami communities on both sides of the border. Representatives of this small people would be able to communicate with their fellow tribesmen and develop cultural exchange if an international automobile checkpoint appeared.

The head of the Kovdor district imagines in detail a road that can lead the municipality out of a dead end:

— Today it is unpaved, 26 kilometers. You can leave it unpaved for the first period, but make the surface so that you can drive a car. Four kilometers will be built entirely from scratch - between Russia and Finland on neutral territory, and about 30 kilometers - on the Finnish side. Plus the checkpoint itself,” Sergei Somov enthusiastically explains.

The price of the issue is not yet known exactly: the municipality has not yet ordered an official road project. But, according to the director of the Institute of Transport Economics and Transport Policy at the Higher School of Economics, an expert in the field of transport and road infrastructure, Mikhail Blinkin, four kilometers of primer with decent coverage will cost 10 million rubles. A road category 1A (motorway) or 1B (expressway) will cost 10 times more. Completing the work, if desired, is a matter of one construction season.

Expeditionary movement

“We have been organizing expeditions around the area every year for a long time, both summer and winter,” says Nikolai Shevelev, an excavator operator at the Zhelezny mine of the Kovdorsky Mining and Processing Plant and an experienced guide to the Kovdor “places of power.” “We recently found and examined a unique object in the Ruby Canyon, 34 kilometers from the city, now we need to study it and develop trails. Of the approximately two dozen ancient artifacts identified, only a few have actually been explored. All of them are in hard-to-reach areas, the path there is extremely difficult.”

Now more and more tourists come to the area to independently make their way through impassable places and explore them. Tourists are not embarrassed by the lack of infrastructure; they know why they are coming. “More and more people are interested in these monuments and our region,” says Ilnur Safin, chairman of the council of young specialists of the Kovdor plant and head of the Hyperborea club. “We need to figure out who built all this and why, and involve scientists.” We thought we needed to move all this, promote it, and organized the Hyperborean movement in honor of the ancient northern civilization.”

Now, not only ore is mined in Kovdor - local historians and visiting tourists, the number of which is increasing, are “mining” the ancient northern culture, looking for the meaning of life, trying to feel involved in ancient energies. “Why go to Tibet for 240 thousand rubles, when you can come to Kovdor with the same energy,” says Oleg from St. Petersburg, an experienced traveler to “places of power”, one of the participants in summer expeditions. This season alone, leading Russian bloggers, journalists from Komsomolskaya Pravda and Echo of Moscow visited here. The autumn, winter and next summer expeditionary landings have already been scheduled.

Kovdor land contains many mysterious buildings

Photo: Mikhail Frolov, “KP” - Moscow

Win the competition for Hyperborea

However, Kovdor, like the Kola Peninsula, has great competition among contenders for the title of Hyperborea. Today, many countries and regions are trying to localize it “at home.” Disputes about the location of the mythical continent began with Greek historians and continued by medieval intellectuals. The origin of many material traces and artifacts of a certain ancient, pre-glacial civilization are scattered throughout the European north and have not been explained to this day.

The topic of Hyperborea in the strictly scientific sense as a systematic search, study and interpretation of artifacts and megalithic structures appeared at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, as a by-product of the “raw materials development” of the north. Then all powers actively divided this region, rich in resources. Numerous geological expeditions “at the same time” discovered ancient monuments. The first explanations of historians, philosophers, and anthropologists of these finds were, in today's opinion, quite crude, but, nevertheless, they gave rise to numerous today's “paranormal” literature.

Today's situation with Hyperborea is unique. Firstly, in fact, no one has really, systematically studied it yet. Several studies conducted by enthusiasts do not make a difference. Today there is not even a consolidated map of the ancient megaliths of the Kola Peninsula. Therefore, the Kovdor project is a great blessing, because it should stimulate scientific research through mass interest. Secondly, today, at the beginning of the 21st century, competition for Hyperborea itself has begun - only now, when the time has come for wars for the civilizational heritage, it has become clear that a cultural resource is much more important and more expensive than a raw material one.

Within Russia, among the contenders for the localization of Hyperborea, in addition to the Murmansk region, are Karelia and the Urals. Everyone has their own arguments, but the scale of the artifacts and the great antiquity of the territory speak in favor of the Kola Peninsula - part of the Baltic Shield, which is the oldest part of the earth's land, the geological structures here are the most ancient in Russia and Europe. The heritage of the Urals and Karelia, unlike Kovdor, has, in general, already been studied, and the artifacts there date back to later periods. But the Murmansk region still remains a tabula rasa - no one knows what else will open here and what can be found.

Kovdor youth are the main driver of the project “Kovdor - the capital of Hyperborea”

Photo: Alexander Shvornev

Recommendations

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Information about the Kovdorsky district and the Kovdorsky GOK

Intellectual battle at Kovdor

If you look at the map of ancient artifacts, Kovdor appears at the center of the broad Russian-Finnish Hyperborean cultural region. It is, according to the initiators of the project, the geographical and symbolic capital of Hyperborea.

The residents of Kovdor by posing the question in this way “cause fire upon themselves,” invite everyone to come to them: see for yourself, let’s explore the Russian North together! Join us, come and figure it out for yourself on the spot - go on an expedition with local pathfinders, look at numerous artifacts, take part in discussions, listen to lectures by learned historians and geologists, feel yourself in Hyperborea. And give your verdict!

The battle of intellectuals for Hyperborea is just beginning. The intellectual debate about Hyperborea - where it is and what it is like - which was waged by ancient and medieval authors, and then by Soviet explorers of the north, has now been transferred to the Murmansk region, to Kovdor.

For the first time in the world, the theme of Hyperborea became a large-scale practical cultural project. It is accessible to everyone and is associated with intellectual tourism. Hyperborea gave its name to several small events, recreation centers and festivals in Karelia and the Murmansk region. But there has not yet been a large-scale socio-cultural project. The active residents and administration of Kovdor had enough assertiveness to move the matter forward. Here they hope that the local team will have the skill to make Kovdor the capital of Hyperborean research.

The Russian North is back in fashion

North is cool, this is a story about real travel. After a 25-year pause, a gigantic interest in the Russian north arose, and a second wave began. In the late 1960s - 1970s, during the first wave, there was a massive boom in northern tourism in the USSR. Songs and literature appeared promoting the region. My parents were active participants in the all-Union people's movement of polar romance with kayaks, hills, and a guitar around the fire. We are still watching a film recorded on 8-mm film about a grandiose multi-day trip to Lovozero with all the adventures - mosquitoes in the porridge, repairing kayaks, meeting a mother bear with cubs, playing cards (whoever loses eats a frying pan of fish), spending the night on a desert island after storms I think many families have similar stories.

In the 1990s, something was added that Russians acquired in the wake of perestroika: freedom of the media and any statements, interpretation of everything secret and unknown. Numerous “researchers” appeared who filled the topic of northern landscape anomalies and Hyperborea with paranormal explanations. Hence all these UV rays, UFOs, karma, aura, Shambhala, space, cosmic rays, aliens, northern pyramids.

The Hyperborea festival brings together the most active

Photo: Alexander Shvornev

Now there is a new wave of interest in the north: more services, accessibility, technology, but the essence remains the same - to explore and test yourself, to open new horizons of knowledge within yourself.

The “Northern Revolution” is in full swing. It has already reformatted the markets for documentary films and magazine photographs, sports and tourism equipment, as well as products - fish, venison, and northern cuisine restaurants are now more popular than ever. There are already more than a hundred successful projects in Russia created based on interest in the north.

The “Northern Revolution” is based not only on the consumer’s craving for the unique northern nature, but also on people’s demand for places where “people are tested.” Behind every northern selfie there is essentially a message: “I passed the test,” “I was able to be there.” This is not only a request for ecology and an active, healthy lifestyle (today’s trends), but also a request for an understanding of who you are, besides the fact that you are a resident of a metropolis. The north and the history of northern civilization test people. People want to understand the mystery of the north, withstand the test of the north, touch the “places of power” in order to become stronger themselves.

The Kovdor Hyperborean project was started by strong people from the northern city - they want to understand their mysterious land, its history, to understand and find themselves - and they invite you to join them in this search.

Excerpt characterizing Kovdor

Having uttered these words, she approached the doctor. “Cher docteur,” she told him, “ce jeune homme est le fils du comte... yat il de l'espoir?” [this young man is the son of a count... Is there hope?] The doctor silently, with a quick movement, raised his eyes and shoulders upward. Anna Mikhailovna raised her shoulders and eyes with exactly the same movement, almost closing them, sighed and walked away from the doctor to Pierre. She turned especially respectfully and tenderly sadly to Pierre. “Ayez confiance en Sa misericorde, [Trust in His mercy,”] she told him, showing him a sofa to sit down to wait for her, she silently walked towards the door that everyone was looking at, and following the barely audible sound of this door, disappeared behind it. Pierre, having decided to obey his leader in everything, went to the sofa that she showed him. As soon as Anna Mikhailovna disappeared, he noticed that the glances of everyone in the room turned to him with more than curiosity and sympathy. He noticed that everyone was whispering, pointing at him with their eyes, as if with fear and even servility. He was shown respect that had never been shown before: a lady unknown to him, who was speaking with the clergy, stood up from her seat and invited him to sit down, the adjutant picked up the glove that Pierre had dropped and handed it to him; the doctors fell silent respectfully as he passed them, and stood aside to give him room. Pierre wanted to sit in another place first, so as not to embarrass the lady; he wanted to lift his glove himself and go around the doctors, who were not standing in the road at all; but he suddenly felt that this would be indecent, he felt that this night he was a person who was obliged to perform some terrible ritual expected by everyone, and that therefore he had to accept services from everyone. He silently accepted the glove from the adjutant, sat down in the lady’s place, placing his large hands on his symmetrically extended knees, in the naive pose of an Egyptian statue, and decided to himself that all this should be exactly like this and that he should do it this evening, so as not to to get lost and not do anything stupid, one should not act according to one’s own considerations, but one must submit oneself completely to the will of those who guided him. Less than two minutes had passed when Prince Vasily, in his caftan with three stars, majestically, holding his head high, entered the room. He seemed thinner since the morning; his eyes were larger than usual when he looked around the room and saw Pierre. He walked up to him, took his hand (which he had never done before) and pulled it down, as if he wanted to test whether it was holding tightly. - Courage, courage, mon ami. Il a demande a vous voir. C'est bien... [Don't lose heart, don't lose heart, my friend. He wanted to see you. This is good...] - and he wanted to go. But Pierre considered it necessary to ask: “How is your health?” He hesitated, not knowing whether it was proper to call a dying man a count; He was ashamed to call him father. – Il a eu encore un coup, il ya une demi heure. There was another blow. Courage, mon ami... [Half an hour ago he had another stroke. Don’t lose heart, my friend...] Pierre was in such a state of confusion of thought that when he heard the word “blow,” he imagined the blow of some body. He looked at Prince Vasily, perplexed, and only then realized that a blow was a disease. Prince Vasily said a few words to Lorren as he walked and walked through the door on tiptoe. He could not walk on tiptoes and awkwardly bounced his whole body. The eldest princess followed him, then the clergy and clerks passed, and people (servants) also walked through the door. Movement was heard behind this door, and finally, with the same pale face, but firm in the performance of duty, Anna Mikhailovna ran out and, touching Pierre’s hand, said: “La bonte divine est inepuisable.” C'est la ceremonie de l'extreme onction qui va commencer. Venez. [God's mercy is inexhaustible. The unction will begin now. Let's go.] Pierre walked through the door, stepping on the soft carpet, and noticed that the adjutant, and the unfamiliar lady, and some of the other servants all followed him, as if now there was no need to ask permission to enter this room. Pierre knew well this large room, divided by columns and an arch, all upholstered in Persian carpets. The part of the room behind the columns, where on one side stood a high mahogany bed under silk curtains, and on the other a huge icon case with images, was red and brightly lit, as churches are lit during evening services. Under the illuminated vestments of the icon case stood a long Voltairean armchair, and on the armchair, covered at the top with snow-white, apparently uncrumpled, pillows, covered to the waist with a bright green blanket, lay the majestic figure of his father, Count Bezukhy, familiar to Pierre, with the same a gray mane of hair, reminiscent of a lion, above a wide forehead and with the same characteristically noble large wrinkles on a beautiful red-yellow face. He lay directly under the images; both of his thick, large hands were pulled out from under the blanket and lay on him. In the right hand, which lay palm down, between the thumb and forefinger, a wax candle was inserted, which, bending over from behind the chair, was held in it by an old servant. Above the chair stood the clergy in their majestic shiny robes, with their long hair hanging out, with lighted candles in their hands, and slowly solemnly served. A little behind them stood two younger princesses, with a scarf in their hands and near their eyes, and in front of them was the eldest, Katish, with an angry and decisive look, never taking her eyes off the icons for a moment, as if she was telling everyone that she was not responsible for herself if looks back. Anna Mikhailovna, with meek sadness and forgiveness on her face, and the unknown lady stood at the door. Prince Vasily stood on the other side of the door, close to the chair, behind a carved velvet chair, which he turned back to himself, and, leaning his left hand with a candle on it, crossed himself with his right, each time raising his eyes upward when he put his fingers to his forehead. His face expressed calm piety and devotion to the will of God. “If you don’t understand these feelings, then so much the worse for you,” his face seemed to say.

Cognition and Posting

The new generation is choosing a new type of tourism product - individual, local, educational, “Instagrammable”. Today's active tourist is focused on a completely independent search; he wants an individualized product. The tourist seems to be saying: I don’t need a standard tour, just give me the infrastructure - transport, a hotel, camping sites - and I’ll decide everything myself, where and how I should go, I’ll see everything myself. He wants exactly his journey, his Hyperborea.

The modern tourist no longer travels only “for the fog and the smell of the taiga,” but also for the spirit, strength and atmosphere of the place. He needs to feel a real connection with him. The spirit of a place cannot be bought, it must be known, it must be touched, encountered. Hyperborea is the experience of contact with the ancient, with nature, with history, with Time. New “places of power” of the Kola Peninsula have been discovered in Kovdor, and the modern tourist wants to see these portals to another dimension, to feel the energies emanating from the local objects of Hyperborea - unusual stone buildings on the Topor River, shaman altars, a swinging seid, a pearl waterfall, a map of the starry sky , Ruby Canyon.

The spirit of knowledge, research and search is the new tourism trend. Today we see a huge demand for expeditions. Before our eyes, the entire tourism market is turning into educational tourism. Hyperborea is an eternal mystery, a mystery interesting for any age. This is also a good basis for family and children’s tourism, experts say. “Attitudes towards science and the public’s demands are changing for the better, I see great interest,” says Murmansk archaeologist Viktor Ivanov. — Previously, no one was particularly interested in our excavations, they dug and dug, but now summer children’s archaeological camps and family local history hikes are gaining popularity. In general, you now have to sign up for any children’s educational camps a year in advance.” On the Kola Peninsula, through the efforts of many enthusiastic scientists (a good example is in Kirovsk), geological and mineralogical tourism is gaining momentum. Groups from Murmansk, St. Petersburg, Moscow go on hikes and study the most ancient and geologically interesting region of Russia. This is mainly the Khibiny Mountains, but the organizers of the project “Kovdor - the capital of Hyperborea” also plan to conduct mineralogical tours, since the area has unique geology - mica, rubies, iron ores. Next year it is planned to hold a summer children's mining school and create educational mineralogical kits.

Kovdor Hyperborea, say bloggers who have been there, is one of the best locations for selfies. The proof is the boom of photographs on social networks, there are already thousands of them. For the millennial generation, social networks, selfies and travel are in the first place, they are the ones that determine behavior - people travel, constantly photograph the places they have visited, and post it all online. Everything now exists through continuous posting. That's why Hyperborea has become so popular on social networks.

Kovdor in the history of the country Pages of the history of Kovdor.

Transcript

1 MBUC Central Library of Kovdor District * Central District Library Information and Bibliographic Department Kovdor in the history of the country Pages of the history of Kovdor. Virtual local history biblio*tour through time / according to documents of the Bibliographical Chronicle “Kovdor - 60” Official website of the MBUK Central Library “Kovdor reading!”

2 HISTORY AND BACKGROUND OF KOVDOR. KOVDOR IN THE HISTORY OF THE COUNTRY. Documents included: 275 in total, incl. 3 books, 2 scientific works, 3 legal acts, 267 articles. I. Pages of the history of Kovdor: 1. Terra incognito of the Kovdor region (ancient history); 2. prehistory of Kovdor (Soviet period: 1930s-1953; 3. history of the village of Kovdor (since 1953) and the Kovdor district (since 1979); II. Our memory lives on (Victory War): Monuments and memorable places of the Kovdor region; Search work continues III. Famous people of Kovdor are our fellow countrymen. Veterans. Personalities; Name in the history of Kovdor: - the streets of the city are named after them; - honorary citizens of Kovdor and the Kovdor region.

3 2. Background of Kovdor (years) 2.1. Geological surveys and field development (30s); 2.2. Years of the Great Patriotic War (years); 2.3. Post-war period (1945 - early 1950s) Special settlers and repressed people: a tribute to historical memory. 2.1: gg. more than 2.2; 2.3: Beginning 1941 These 12 years fall out of the official history of the area; information about them is extremely scarce. covered than the subsequent ones: this is the exploration of the Kovdor iron ore deposit, preparation for its development and the beginning of the development of mica deposits. At the end of 1940, on the site of Kovdor (it was then called Kovdorgrad) there was a geological exploration party, a border commandant's office and a prison camp. map of the Kola Peninsula the earliest history of Kovdor. This is the pre-war period, the years of war and post-war hard times until the official appearance of the village. Kovdor on Pioneer geologists (2.1) and prisoners (2.4.) are the first people (though temporary) with whom the countdown of time began. Kovdor village.

4 War - Victory

5 2.2. Years of the Great Patriotic War. By June 1941, the construction of the railway line from Pinozero to Kovdor was hastily completed (with the help of a contingent of prisoners). On June 22, the work was accepted by an authoritative government commission. The announcement of the outbreak of war interrupted preparation plans for the deployment of the construction of the future mining complex. The work was stopped, the equipment was buried in pits and pits, the laid railway tracks were dismantled for the needs of the front and rear. During the war, the Kovdor iron ore deposit was located in the combat zone of the Northern Fleet, but work on the geological assessment of the prospects of the deposit continued. During the war years, military units, a system of outposts along the state border, a system of air surveillance and warning service posts, and permanent and temporary bases of partisan detachments were stationed in the region during the war years. During the war, Yonsky was controlled by border guards and partisans. From October 1942 to February 1943, the village was even a base for partisans, from where later, after the bombing, they retreated to Shumi-gorodok. Mica remained a stronghold on the routes to the enemy's rear. During the war, the border post/chief A.I. Tikhomirov, who later became a living legend of Kovdor, was stationed within the current city of Kovdor. In the fall of 1943, the outpost withstood a battle with a German reconnaissance company trying to recapture a captured German pilot. The border guards and partisans who died in this battle are laid to rest in Kovdor, in the mass grave of the “Defenders of the Soviet Arctic” memorial. One of the Kovdor heroes (heroines!) of the war, Shura Popova, is “our little Maresyeva.” She was a medical instructor in the detachment, and to save him, she walked 25 km off-road in severe frost, in the end she already crawled and lost her frostbitten legs, but she went through the entire war and returned to Yona as a winner. The camp in the area of the Eno-Kovdor deposit was closed: the prisoners were partly mobilized into the army, partly for logging, construction of defense lines in the Kandalaksha direction and other rear facilities. The 19th Army of the Karelian Front defended itself in the Kandalaksha direction: its line of defense ran from Lake. Leiskoye to lake Kulos, Kovdor district. There were no large-scale military operations in our area, but there was a reserve line of defense with a system of roads and equipped firing lines. The history of the area was not interrupted during the war years

6 Our memory lives on (Victory War) To remember the fallen - not to forget the living This section of the Kovdor chronicle presents publications on perpetuating memory of the Great Patriotic War in the hearts and deeds of Kovdor residents. These are materials dedicated to the celebration of Victory Day in Kovdor: preparation and some program holiday and ceremonial events in different years (charity events, gifts and congratulations to veterans, cultural programs, etc.). So, in 2013, for the first time in our region, during the Victory Day, an exhibition of military equipment was demonstrated. (025.1) In 2010, Kovdor residents were awarded the Great Patriotic War commemorative medal “65 years of victory in the Great Patriotic War.” ( 2533) These are stories about the Kovdor residents of a difficult military fate: “War is walking across Russia, and we are so young”: our fellow countrymen, war participants, talk about the war ( ) Prisoner of Stalag (from the memoirs of I. Ya. Gureev - a Kovdor veteran, a prisoner of a concentration camp) 2530 Through the millstones of death (about Nikiforova M.K., a military nurse who visited a death camp) 1zo Military youth of Maria (About Salatskaya M.I., a veteran, home front worker during the war) 1783 Fate, scorched by the war (Agapova E.M., about her) 1285 The difficult fate of a veteran: an interview with Serova L.G., a participant in the war (1307) and many others. others (personalities: veterans) as well as: Mini-essays by Kovdor children about their relatives veterans and participants of the Great Patriotic War: the “Bird of Memory” campaign / 2009 ( ) “They brought our victory closer”: veterans living in the Kovdor pre-boarding school (2011 8 people) 2532 These are also personal impressions/memories of famous current Kovdor residents: S. Sukharev visited the grave of his grandfather (“Somewhere near Krakow”); 2523 “A 7-year war”: A. Sovetny talks about his father, a war soldier; (2524) Family heirloom of L. I. Tishchenko letter from the front; (2526) “The Bitter Memory of War” (1832): O. V. Mogurenko shares his memories. Following the military past, our Kovdor guys from the “Granitsa” / CDT club also went: so, in 2012, they became participants in the traditional campaign of youth, army and navy soldiers “Boundaries of Glory”, and also made a hike dedicated to 70th anniversary of the feat of the 82nd border detachment /1941 (2522)

7 OUR W INDERS Soldiers of Victory. In 2 volumes: A memorial book about the participants of the Great Patriotic War who lived in the Murmansk region in the year of the 60th anniversary of the Victory. - Murmansk, 2007. Vol.2. : War participants, residents of cities and towns of the Murmansk region (without Murmansk), including Kovdor district C: 33 Kovdor veterans of the Great Patriotic War. “Soldiers of Victory” is an appendix to the multi-volume book in Memory of the Murmansk Region, which tells about the participants in the war who lived to see the 60th anniversary of the Victory, our veterans. The purpose of the book is to perpetuate the names of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War living near us, whose military and labor feats forged our Victory. Read their biographies. This is the living history of our country, and our Kovdor region too.

8 P. D. Varlamov, a participant in the Great Patriotic War, chairman of the Kovdor district Council of War and Labor Veterans. Reader: Russkikh M. The Man Whom Fate Loves. (1287) Bystrova I. 90 years in service! (1756) S. A. Kochin is a veteran of the Great Patriotic War with a long service record. A life well lived. (1205) D. M. Zabelin, veteran of the Great Patriotic War, combat reconnaissance officer. Varlamov P. D. In memory of a veteran. (1295) A. N. Efimov is a veteran of the Great Patriotic War. [In memory of a veteran] (1294) You can read about the fate of other Kovdor veterans in the section Name in the history of Kovdor: Famous people of Kovdor are our fellow countrymen. Veterans. (in alphabet of personalities)

9 Our memory lives on: Monuments, obelisks and military graves. Search work continues (Victory War). The search movement in the area began in the 70s, but public information about this appeared already in the 80s. - with the formation of a regional printed organ (“Five-Year Plan Banner”). In March 1981, the Museum of Military Glory was inaugurated at school 3 Kovdor. What was preceded by the search work of the guys under the leadership of N. S. Nagovitsyna to establish the names of the nameless heroes of the crew of the Douglas Boston reconnaissance aircraft (Kirkenes reconnaissance air regiment), who died, as it was established later, two days before the Victory, i.e. on May 7 1945 At the burial of the pilots in the Kovdor memorial complex “Defenders of the Soviet Arctic” a large stone was installed, on which, thanks to the search for the guys, a plaque appeared with the names of the heroes: V. N. Yakunichev, A. A. Shabanov, V. L. Dzyuba , B.V. Salna. Despite the fact that there were no large-scale military operations in the territory of our region, there was a reserve line of defense here, there was a partisan base during the war years, hundreds and hundreds of people passed through here, many remained in unmarked graves, the search continues. In the summer of 1985, the military patriotic group “Search” trust "Kovdorstroy" discovered in the area of the river. Ragutchanki remains of a combat aircraft, which, after restoration in the fall of 1986, ascended to the pedestal: this is the winged monument “Yak 9D Aircraft” at the entrance to Kovdor, a monument to the pilots who defended the Soviet Arctic during the Great Patriotic War. (According to archival information, the Soviet Yak-9D fighter of the 97th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 7th Air Army of the Karelian Front was shot down in an air battle east of Lake Repojärvi in September 1944. In the sun, its sides sparkling, the Green Guardian soars above the city . During the war he fought with enemies, Now he carefully preserves the peace of Kovdor. (from the project “My City”, grade 2 B, school 1)

10 Our memory lives on: Monuments, obelisks and military graves. The search work continues. Memorial complex “Defenders of the Soviet Arctic” - mass grave in the city of Kovdor. The city was opened with the burial of the ashes of the crew of the 118th Kirkenes reconnaissance air regiment, who died on May 7, 1945 while performing a combat mission. The remains of soldiers discovered by Kovdor search engines on the city of Bratsk (80 km southwest of Kovdor), where in 1941, were buried here. there were fierce battles. Six urns with the ashes of the heroes were carefully lowered into a mass grave, a gabbronorite slab and a monument were installed on which was engraved: “To the defenders of the Soviet Arctic, 52 soldiers of the 122nd Infantry Division, who gave their lives in the summer of 1941 at the height of Yungoyvanselka” (Bratskaya) The memorial complex was reconstructed: The grand opening of a new Monument with a metal figure of a Warrior took place. Subsequent expeditions of Kovdor search engines to the town of Bratskaya later replenished the mass grave in Kovdor: the ceremonial burial took place in 1993. Another episode worthy of attention: 60 km from Kovdor, on the southern slope of the town of Suroyv back in the 80s. The wreckage of a Soviet aircraft (SB type, series 307) and the remains of crew members were discovered, which were transported to Kovdor and buried at a military burial ground. A small obelisk on the right, with the inscription “To the nameless pilots, defenders of the North.” And only in the fall of 2004, with an additional examination of the crash site and a request to the archive, it was established that in the harsh December of 1942, this bomber did not return from a combat mission, the crew was listed as missing. The memory of the heroic pilots was immortalized on a memorial plaque at the place of their burial: pilot, Art. Lieutenant M. A. Troshin, navigator, Lieutenant K. P. Svashchenko, gunner-radio operator, sergeant A. M. Rokar. And at the site of the crashed plane, on the slope of Suroyva at an altitude of 566 m above sea level, right among the wreckage, a memorial sign was installed (a metal structure with a red star on the top and a granite slab with the names of the victims). A new milestone in the history of the Memorial was opened, where 20 years no burials took place. Here, in the Kovdor land, 18 defenders of the Arctic found peace, 3 of them managed to establish the names: Alexey Malinin, Yakov Vishnyakov, Semyon Spiridonov, soldiers of the 122nd and 104th rifle divisions of the Karelian Front. Kovdor search engines came up with a proposal and developed a project for the reconstruction of the military memorial and the creation of an Alley of Glory, where military equipment will be installed. The district administration promised assistance.

11 years Our memory lives on: Monuments, obelisks and military graves. The search work continues. The main military page in the history of the Kovdor region is represented by the memorial complex “Shumi Gorodok” War Year. To carry out sabotage behind enemy lines, three partisan detachments were formed in the Arctic. One of the partisan bases was originally located in the village of Mica, where it was discovered and bombed by the enemy. After which the partisan base was transferred to the Yona region, to a forest zone, to a logging village and given the expressive name “Shumi-town.” In July 1980, on the territory of the former partisan base, a memorial sign was erected in honor of the memory of the partisans who died defending the Arctic. dugouts. The names of the dead and missing partisans who fought in the Arctic are immortalized on the memorial plaque of the monument (at the opening there were 120 names, now there are 223). Location: Pirenga Kovdor highway, 33 km from Kovdor, 7 km before the village. Yonsky. Wedding corteges come here, flowers are laid. In October, ceremonial events are held annually at the memorial in honor of the memory of the heroes of the partisans of the Arctic. “Silence, silence even in the blue air, The sensitive forest is quiet, warily strict. But it was not without reason that the Guerrilla Base Shumi Gorodok was poetically and beautifully called” (From the book “Partisan Bonfires”) 1987 Memorial in memory of the fallen soldiers in and around the world. in the village of Yona In 1999, on the eve of a memorable meeting on Kovdor land with the partisans who fought in our area, “the whole world” with the help of the village administration, Gabbro OJSC and the funds of the philanthropist O. V. Belyaev, the destroyed burial grounds were reconstructed and restored memorials in the village Yona and Shumi-town.

12 Partisans of the Polar Region “An obelisk will be erected here in honor of the defenders of the Arctic” On a military campaign, p. Ena, Partisans at the monument in Shumi-gorodok, 1987. Opening of the memorial. Kalashnikov G. A., head headquarters of the p/o "Polyarnik", later became the commander of the p/o "Bolshevik" Podoplekin D. A., since 1943, commander of the formation of the p/o "Polyarnik", "Stalinets", "Bolshevik" at the partisan base "Shumi-gorodok" » Alexander Smirnov, commander of the Bolshevik Polar Region p/o Modern memorial

13 The partisan movement in the Arctic is special “Are there really so few martyrs in the world to still create polar partisans?...” (From the diary of P. A. Evseev, political instructor of the platoon of the “Soviet Murman” detachment) Eliseev G. V. Front-line Kandalaksha: (memories of the secretary city party committee). Murmansk, s. By partisan paths: since June the Day of Partisans and Underground Workers in the Russian calendar Oreshet M. G. By partisan paths of the Arctic. Murmansk, s. Sergey Kuroyedov, commander of the p/o "Sovetsky Murman" Alexander Smirnov, commander of the p/o "Bolshevik Zapolyarya"

14 The author of the book, Alexander Kryachkov, captured for posterity the heroic defense of Kandalaksha, spoke in detail about the military operations and bloody battles in the Kandalaksha direction of the troops of the Karelian Front during the war. The book reflects successively all three stages of the war in the Arctic: the heavy summer battles of 1941; positional battles on the “Verman line” (September August 1944); offensive actions of the 19th Army of the Karelian Front in the fall of 1944. Actions of the partisans: C The partisans provided significant assistance to the 19th Army. To conduct combat operations behind enemy lines on the Karelian Front in the winter of 1942, the Polarnik partisan detachment (120 people) was created / commander D. A. Podoplekin. They acted in sabotage groups of people and destroyed a lot of military equipment through subversive actions. In the fall, almost the entire personnel of the detachment were awarded orders and medals (91 people). In November 1942, two more partisan detachments “Bolshevik” and “Stalinist” arrived in the Kandalaksha direction. In 1943, D. A. Podoplekin led the formation of three detachments at the Shumi-Gorodok partisan base. The glorious epic of guerrilla warfare continued in the forests of the Arctic for about 3 years. On October 14, 1944, partisan detachments, by order of the command, joined the regular units of the Red Army and continued the fight against the enemy Kryachkov, A. L. In the Kandalaksha forests: a military-historical essay on the military operations in the Kandalaksha direction of the troops of the Karelian Front during the Great Patriotic War / Alexander Kryachkov. Kandalaksha, s.

15 Oresheta, M. G. The Path of Partisan Memory: (a book about the partisans who fought during the Great Patriotic War on the territory of the Murmansk region) / Mikhail Grigorievich Oresheta; International public fund "Russian Peace Foundation", Murmansk branch; Regional target program of the Murmansk region “People's Memory”. Murmansk: North, 2008. 303 pp. Circulation 1500 copies. The idea of creating a book goes back many years. The first conversations about its possible content took place at the end of the 20th century around the fires of former partisans of the Arctic during rallies. This book is a fundamental work covering almost all known facts about the partisans of the Arctic, which became possible thanks to the enormous research work of the author-compiler, famous in our region local historian. The publication contains a lot of information (including historical documents) about how the partisan movement was created in the Kola Arctic. It turns out that during the war, 9 of the 18 partisan detachments operating in the defense zone of the Karelian Front (and another 6 sabotage groups), which included more than 1000 fighters, operated in the region. The most valuable things in the book are the documents, many of which are published for the first time, as well as, if possible, complete lists of partisan detachments. The names of 933 Polar partisans are given (if possible, with biographical information about them). The book is well illustrated. It tells not only about the years of the war, but also about how the memory of the Arctic partisans was and is being preserved

16 Oresheta M.G. The Path of Partisan Memory: (a book about the partisans who fought during the Great Patriotic War on the territory of the Murmansk region). Murmansk, s. Popova (Druzhinskaya) Alexandra Mikhailovna

17 Military historian, writer, local historian, search engine, good storyteller, traveler, director of the regional Center for Patriotic and Civic Education of Youth. Oresheta M.G. “What our soldiers, sailors and officers who fought in the Arctic hills did was incomprehensible! However, this was the potential of our fathers and grandfathers. And you and I: do we have such a high potential?...” For Oresheta, the war continues to this day in archives, stories and essays, his tundra campaigns. He took upon himself the high mission of returning from oblivion names and events worthy of our grateful memory. “Oresheta Center” today is a youth organization united by a living and important idea of preserving and transmitting historical memory from the past to the future. Oresheta’s message to young people: to help people gain a sense of their own need.

18 Our memory lives on: Monuments, obelisks and military graves. The search work continues. Obelisk at the military burial ground of border guards. Did you know that Victory Alley In September 1985, Victory Alley was founded in the city (along Pobeda Street near school 1). Veterans of war and labor L.D. Kameneva, P.D. Varlamov, G.I. Karvasovsky, F.A. Babikov, Students of school 1, Komsomol members of the Mining and Processing Plant planted 40 rowan trees as a symbol of memory of the fallen heroes during the Great Patriotic War. village of Mica In the Mica area, a border detachment was stationed before the war. On June 22, the very first day of the war, the village was bombed and the barracks were destroyed by a direct hit from a German shell. Three border guards died; their specific burial place is unknown. Later, the names of two of them, Yalmanov and Almakov, were established, the third remained unknown. In 1978, after the formation of the Slyudyansky village council, a decision was made to perpetuate the memory of these and other soldiers who died near Slyuda. And already on May 9, 1980, the grand opening of the Monument to the Dead Border Guards took place - on the site of the bombed barracks, according to the project of the workers of the Yona mine. A few years later, the remains of two more border guards from the detachment of Sobolev and Mezentsev were found and buried here. This small village memorial became the main shrine of the Slyudyanites. After abolition. village in 1994, the monument destroyed by time was saved by enthusiasts from the search teams “Klen” and “Kovdor”, who began organizing the restoration of the memorial and its restoration. The grand opening of the updated monument took place on Border Guard Day, May 28, 2009. Obelisk in honor of Victory Day from the grateful residents of the village of Rikolatva Built at the expense of the village residents. Opened May 9, 1985

19 Our memory is alive (Victory War) gg. BOOKS OF MEMORY OF THE KOVDOR DISTRICT Volume III Book of Memory. T.3. / edit. T. P. Tolstova, L. M. Noniashvili. - Kovdor, 2000. The 3rd District Book of Memory is dedicated to our fellow countrymen, defenders of the Fatherland, who died during the war. Includes 208 names of residents of the Kovdor region. There are among those who have gained military glory Among equals, the first In a bloody battle Having managed to cross the line of the impossible, They remain to live in immortality. Yes, even having died in a fierce battle, They remain in service forever. The people of Kovdor remember you. Eternal memory to you! Book of memory. T.4. / edit. T.P. Tolstova, L.M. Noniashvili, T.F. Mansurova. Kovdor, May 2005, at the regional museum of local lore, a presentation of the 4th regional Book of Memory took place, dedicated to all those who lived and worked in Yon during the hard times of war, who went through the difficult roads of war. (The life of military Yona: archival photographs, memories of witnesses of those years, 35 names of Yongchan who fell on the battlefields and returned from the war). “We must not forget the contribution that the residents of Yona made to the common cause of Victory” (T.P. Tolstova)

20 War Victory The search work continues. The living need it. Back in the 80s. In Kovdor, a search association was actually created - the Kovdor detachment, which is looking for traces of the past war on our land. In 2005, Kovdor received documents from the Council of Search Teams of the Echo of War region. Today, the commander of the “Kovdor” detachment, S. Popov, is also the coordinator in joint search work with the “Klen” detachment / commander A. Kuznetsov. These guys are engaged in search work practically at their own expense, voluntarily fulfilling the civilian mission of searching for and laying to rest the soldiers who defended our freedom, and are also engaged in the patriotic education of youth. From time to time, search engines publish information about their finds, seasonal and annual reports in the local press. Read: Popov S. What happened to the country to remember: conversation with the commander of the “Kovdor” detachment/conversations. I. Kopteva ( ) Appendix. On July 31, 1943, the 3rd Infantry Battalion of the 273rd Infantry Regiment of the 104th Infantry Division of the 19th Army of the Karelian Front, with incomplete strength, covered the raid of the 2nd Infantry Battalion on the town of Repotunturi. During 10 hours of battle, the enemy lost about 300 people, our losses were 65 people. In the archival data, we were able to find a list of names of fallen soldiers. [See: Let's remember everyone by name] ( ) Popov S. The fallen acquire names. (2553) Bystrova I. Fallen heroes find peace. (2547) The living need this: the search party “Kovdor - 5 years (2550). Soldiers of Victory of our days / S. Androsova (2549) The traditional All-Russian action “Memory Watch” is dozens of returned names and burials, endless gratitude to the members of the search teams from relatives and friends, who after many years have found their relatives again. In 2010, the action took place as part of the international project “Soldiers of Victory”. For the first time, Kovdor residents were invited from the Murmansk region. The search movement in the area is represented by two detachments: “Kovdor” / commander S. Popov and “Klen” / commander A. Kuznetsov. Our search engines and their students received high praise and gratitude from the organizers of the event. Alexander Kuznetsov was awarded the “Soldier of Victory” medal of the same name. Thanks to our search engines, Soldiers and Winners of the Great Patriotic War are still returning home

21 K eepers Regional Museum of Local Lore Only here! Books of memory of the Kovdor region: Book 1. Kovdor is dedicated to the living and fallen heroes. Book 2. Dedicated to fellow defenders of the Arctic / editorial. T.P. Tolstova, L.M. Noniashvili, E. M. Vorobyova, G. L. Naimushina. (55 years of the defeat of Nazi troops in the Arctic). Kovdor, 1999 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Arctic Veterans of the Great Patriotic War: (photo album). Inclusion: Agapova E. M. Yazykov A. G. The main one in the museum is a permanent exhibition on the history of the Kovdor region, reflected in numerous documents, photographs, exhibits, incl. about the fighting during the Great Patriotic War, about the partisan movement, about the participants, heroes and veterans of the war, our fellow countrymen. In honor of memorable (military) historical dates, museum staff conduct excursions for residents and guests of the city. m a m e t School Local History Museum / rural school 4 of the Yonsky village The museum was founded in 1974, certified in 1993. The museum has 340 exhibits, authentic sources. The memories of the partisans are carefully preserved here; lessons of courage and excursions are held on them. The museum assisted in the compilation of Volume IV of the regional Book of Memory. Educational research work is carried out on the basis of museum materials. The goal of the museum is to form the educational, cultural and spiritual level of students through in-depth acquaintance with the history of their country and small homeland, with the life and activities of remarkable people of the region.

22 Dear fellow countrymen! Let us preserve the memory of the Great Patriotic War in the hearts and deeds of the current and subsequent generations of Kovdor residents! “War in the fate of my family”: from the memories of Kovdor residents

Guides to Hyperborea

In the new tourist trend, the role of the guide is important - he is now not only an instructor, but also in some way a stalker, feeling exactly how to navigate through energy fields and secret paths so that the place will “let you in” and open up to you. He is also a storyteller, sharing experiences, showing what cannot be seen on one's own.

The Komsomolskaya Pravda expedition is studying ancient stone blocks of ideal shape

Photo: Mikhail Frolov, “KP” - Moscow

Kovdor residents are guides to Hyperborea, stalkers, trackers... A Kovdor man can tell a lot, he has a unique long-term experience of interacting with nature, a sense of place.

For a small town, more than 150 people—professional participants in the tourism movement—is a big number. The local tourist club "Horizon" annually conducts all-season hikes in the Kola Arctic, Kamchatka, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, rafting on the Kola Peninsula, master classes on tourism, and participates in international tourist rallies. Here this is a way of life, everyday life, normal abilities for every resident, because the impenetrable taiga, hills and swamps begin immediately outside the city border.

Today Kovdor is a center for guides to the secret world of the Kola landscapes, a treasure trove of instructors, kayakers, and specialists in minerals and mountain hikes. This is the birthplace of unique competencies. Not only do 200-ton truck drivers, mining engineers, blasters, technologists and geologists live here, but also more than a hundred professional instructors. Every Kovdor resident goes camping at least once a year; everyone knows how to hike in the mountains and kayak. And next year, a unique All-Russian youth school of tourist instructors will be held here with the participation of youth teams from 29 regions.

Coat of arms

City coat of arms

Date of adoption: 10.1980

Description: The shape of the coat of arms is based on a French shield crossed by a gold belt with a jagged protrusion at the bottom. The belt represents a stylized image of an iron ore quarry with its sides depicted. On the tip of the black color is the gold symbol for the chemical symbol of iron, Fe. In the upper silver field there is a gold “compass rose” superimposed on a black ball. The diagonal elements of the “wind rose” symbolize magnetite crystals, which are shaped like octahedrons. The contrast of the silver and black colors of the coat of arms means: the decisive intervention of a person who wants to have black metal in the virgin snow-covered nature of the North.

The author of the coat of arms is the architect Mikhail Ivanovich Yakovlev.

Hyperborean tourism cluster

In just a year, Kovdor managed the unthinkable - to form and prepare routes, begin construction of a park and reconstruction of a tourist center, and involve external players in the project: bloggers, journalists, officials, and tourism specialists.

Today, six routes have already been tested, there are guides and instructors. Starting from the next season, Kovdor is a supporting tourist center, from which radial short introductory trips and long expeditions around the area to the artifacts of ancient Hyperborea are carried out.

The residents themselves began to build a park with Hyperborean artifacts, update the geological exhibition telling about amazing minerals, and held the first international Hyperborean ethno-historical festival.

“We want Kovdor to become a point of growth, the capital of the research movement, a tourist center,” says the head of the Kovdor district, Sergei Somov. “That’s why we attract scientists here who, unlike us, know how to read the landscape. They see what we don't notice. There are vast expanses here, where not only a researcher, but also an ordinary person has never set foot. At the same time, we are already “raising” the infrastructure - expanding accommodation options, equipping trails, and reviving the tourist center.”

Yes, the infrastructure here is not yet developed compared to Finland and, for example, the Khibiny Mountains, but the territory itself is much more interesting. Over time, the tourist who is now traveling to Finland and the Khibiny Mountains will “taste” Kovdor. The presence of a hotel and camp site, ski and sports complexes, a well-thought-out route scheme, professional support, an interesting tourist product based on smart educational tourism and family educational programs, ethnic festivals, children's Hyperborean camps, and, in the future, the opening of a border crossing with Finland - will create a multiplier effect .

Warrior's Head in Ruby Canyon

It seems that Kovdor has found its unique niche - unexplored landscapes, off-the-beaten paths, ancient heritage, mineralogy, exciting expeditions. If in other places - Petrozavodsk, Kirovsk - everything is more or less clear and standard, then here the story is just beginning.

Tens of kilometers along a dirt road, kilometers of walking uphill through a scattering of northern berries, a dangerous path among stone crevices densely overgrown with moss and ferns - and you are in Ruby Canyon. The remains of an ancient city were discovered here - a stone wall made of giant stones and overgrown with centuries-old pine trees. The entrance to the canyon is guarded by a huge warrior’s head - a rock on which a human face clearly appears.

Not far away, near a mountain river, they began to restore a camp site; next year it will be ready for the arrival of researchers.

The stone warrior, which, according to historians, is more than 20 thousand years old, looks from above at a new interesting history being born in Kovdor.