Bashkiria is full of romantic enthusiasts who want to find the treasure hidden by the legendary rebel Emelyan Pugachev. Some say that the fugitive Cossack hid the convoy with silver and gold at the bottom of the lake, others are sure that Pugachev’s money is kept in the mountains, in a cave. However, there are many other treasures in the republic: among the treasures found were, for example, a bronze cannon, two dishes with a thousand-year history, and a cylinder with gold chervonets.

For several generations now, brave treasure hunters have been trying to find the legendary train of Emelyan Pugachev himself, a fugitive Cossack who started an uprising throughout the country. On his way, he mercilessly plundered cities and landowners' estates. And since it was inconvenient to carry carts of silver and gold with him, he hid the loot. Pugachev hid one of these golden convoys not far from the Bashkir town of Beloretsk, in the mountainous part of the republic. A couple of centuries ago there were a lot of copper mining plants there - excellent prey for a robber.

According to local legends, Pugachev hid the loot in one of the many lakes near the city. They say that even professional divers came, but so far to no avail. Others are looking for Pugachev’s gold in a completely different part of Bashkiria - in a cave near the village of Nagaibakovo, Bakalinsky district, where the rebel was hiding from persecution.

Of course, this is the dream of any treasure hunter, but finding it is almost impossible and very expensive. The equipment is expensive, the technology is expensive, and they are hidden in lakes and dense forests, where you just can’t get to them. In total, about 200-300 people in Bashkiria are interested in treasure digging, and they have already found all the main treasures. One of the best treasure hunters, Don Alexei, once found a bronze cannon from the 16th century. To do this I had to dig one and a half meters.

But Pugachev’s gold is not the only treasure of Bashkiria.

In 1989, in the Alsheevsky district of the republic, excavation workers found a real treasure with a thousand-year history. Scientists especially highlight two dishes, one of which is decorated with an engraved image of a king on horseback, killing a boar with a spear. The second dish depicts a flying mountain goat with a flowing scarf around its neck - an image of the Iranian god of luck. According to archaeologists, the find is at least a thousand years old. Part of the treasure (after its location it was called Avryuztamak) was safely lost, the other was transferred to the fund of the Sterlitamak Museum of History and Local Lore.

Among the missing things from this treasure were figures (heads, legs) of camels; a camel was depicted on the golden kumgan. The items from the Avryuztamak treasure were of Central Asian origin. Items from this treasure are direct archaeological evidence of the existence of the camel cult in the early Middle Ages on the territory of Bashkortostan.

By the way, the first question that worries all treasure hunters is: if you are lucky and find something, will you be able to take it for yourself?

Expert opinion

Director of the legal bureau "Enikeev and Partners"

- No, it won’t work. According to the Civil Code, the treasure must be equally divided between the one who found it and the owner of the land. You will have to give the find back in any case - you will be paid part of the cost for it, and no tax will be taken from it. If the owner of the site is the state, then it will take 25 or 30%. By the way, if you searched and found a treasure without the permission of the owner of the site, then he will receive the full reward.

At the end of the 60s of the last century, finding treasure in Ufa was not uncommon - the city was being actively built up at that time, and some stashes of wealthy people were often found in the foundations of old merchant houses. But the Soviet press could not ignore one case.

Several vocational school students helped dig a trench on Kirov Street and found a large black cylinder containing many gold chervonets with a portrait of Emperor Nicholas II. So no one would have known about the find, but one of the guys accidentally let it slip or boasted to a friend. Everyone was eventually arrested, and a noisy process began in the city with the branding of “those who hid the people’s property.”

This story ended well: the treasure was taken away from the guys, and they themselves were released.

Ancient copper mines are located on the territory of Bashkiria in the valleys of the Dema, Tyater, Kidash rivers, between the settlements of Sterlibashevo and Kirgiz-Miyaki, in the vicinity of the village of Voznesenskoye and in some other places. Cuprous sandstones are common in all these areas, differing in the depth of occurrence and associated rocks. As you can see, these areas are much closer to the factories than the Kargaly mines, which means that transporting ore from these deposits was cheaper. Some mines in Bashkiria, as well as in the Kargalinsky deposit, were founded in the footsteps of the ancient "Chud works". The fact that this region is part of the forest-steppe zone creates more opportunities for ancient metallurgy than in the Kargaly steppes. If we accept the version about the trade of the inhabitants of the Kargaly steppes with ore, and not metal, then the indicated regions of Bashkiria seem preferable in this sense, since they have timber reserves, are nearby and the population had an idea of ​​mining and metallurgy.

During expeditions in 1991-1992, we examined several mine fields on the territory of Bashkiria, namely in the area of ​​the villages of Gulyumovo and Aydarali (Sterlibashevsky district) and the village of Dedovo, Fedorovsky district.

The workings in the area of ​​the village of Gulyumovo are located in a large forest clearing 1.5 km west of the village. The entrance to the mine is a funnel in the place of a collapsed adit. The length of the underground part is 205 m ( Fig 3.1). The development consists of two parts. The earlier part was mined through shaft 3, and the later part through an adit, the entrance to which is currently blocked. At the junction of drifts of different times, there is a difference in the levels of the excavation base of ~1 meter. In the preserved part of the adit you can see the remains of wooden supports. The mine area does not exceed 4 hectares. Not far from the indicated place in the area of ​​the village of Bol. Karkaly on the map of V. Kvalen the Klyuchevsky mines are marked, however, according to the description, their field is much larger.

We examined a large field of mines 5 km south of the village of Aidarali. The dumps and craters are currently overgrown with forest, making it difficult to find entrances and estimate the size of the ore field. Its size is ~750x350 meters. We discovered only small fragments of vertical mine shafts and sections of horizontal workings. Perhaps it is these mines that are referred to as Durasovskie.

A significant field of mines with an area of ​​~20 hectares is located in the vicinity of the village of Dedovo, in the Fedorovsky district, on a hill, on the banks of the Ashkadar River. We discovered the entrance - a triangular pit no more than two meters deep. Apparently, the pit was used for ventilation. The main entrance - the adit - is currently almost completely washed away by soil from the surface. The length of the mine is 155 meters ( Fig 3.2).

conclusions

On the territory of Bashkiria there are significant fields of old copper mines. Here, just as in the Kargaly steppe, development was carried out in the footsteps of the "Chud works." In terms of forest resources, this zone is much more suitable for ancient metallurgy. It is possible that this area played a significant role as a zone of independent metallurgical and mining centers, and in the exchange of raw materials with the inhabitants of the Kargaly steppe.

The places where the ancient treasures are hidden were indicated to Komsomolskaya Pravda by Yuri Suprunenko, Candidate of Geographical Sciences, researcher at the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, one of the authors of the world’s first encyclopedia “Secrets of the Underground World” [video]

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There are legendary treasures that are sometimes searched for hundreds of years and cannot be found. Although the places where they were kept seem to be well known. They are mentioned in ancient chronicles, their existence is confirmed by legends that people pass on from generation to generation. Kings, princes, and robbers hid their treasures in underground tunnels, caves, quarries, along river banks and on mountain tops. Legends are legends, but it seems that all ancient treasures are “charmed” or as if guarded by evil spirits. At least this is the only way to explain why many of the underground secrets still remain unsolved. Or are there no brave souls? So, the treasures may still be waiting to be discovered...

1. ...on Vagankovsky Hill (Moscow) On Vagankovsky Hill rises the Pashkov House, on the territory of which the oprichnina court of Ivan the Terrible was once located. According to some researchers, not only were secret underground shelters built here, in which the treasury of the Moscow Grand Dukes was kept in case of fires and where the Tsar’s opponents were tortured and killed, but there was also an entrance to the legendary underground Moscow. The first time we came across these galleries was during the construction of the Biblioteka metro station. V. I. Lenin ". The builders opened up a passage lined with ancient bricks. Unfortunately, archaeologists were not allowed to excavate it and the entrance was hastily cemented. Only in the 1980s, at the request of the Moscow Center for Archaeological Research, detailed geophysical research was carried out. And under the building, instruments revealed a strange anomaly. The pits made above it revealed a unique archaeological site - a huge well lined with white stone with a diameter of 8 meters and a depth of about 15 meters. According to geophysical instruments, the total depth of the strange well, along the walls of which the remains of a spiral staircase could be seen, was 25 - 30 meters. It is assumed that, most likely, this is the entrance to the underground systems of ancient Moscow. It seemed that a little more - and the researchers would reach the bottom of the mysterious well, from which underground galleries diverge in all directions, one of which could be the beginning of new discoveries. But... the clearing work was interrupted, and the secret of the well was never revealed. 2. ...in Staritsky quarries (Tver region) The ancient Holy Dormition Monastery is located on the Starchenka River. Local speleologists claim that the quarries located underneath stretch for more than 35 kilometers. And once they were so wide that a team of horses could drive into them, but today they have turned into narrow cracks.

Judging by historical documents, many treasures can be found in these catacombs. The fact is that in the “troubled” XV-XVI centuries, local princes hid their treasury there whenever danger arose. And when Staritsa was surrounded by stone walls, some quarries were connected to the underground hiding places of princely houses. So, for example, according to some information, a fortress cache 53 meters long went from under the Tainitskaya tower to the Volga. And passing under the river, he led to the other bank to the Assumption Monastery. There, according to legend, the valuables of Prince Andrei Ivanovich may be kept, who hid them in 1537 before traveling to Moscow, from where he did not return. In the capital, Ivan the Terrible's mother Elena Glinskaya starved him to death in prison. There may also be the treasury of Prince Vladimir, which he hid in 1569, also before his trip to Moscow, from where he also did not return - Ivan the Terrible poisoned him. Some seekers suggest that Staritsy may also contain part of the library of Ivan the Terrible himself, who often visited these parts. In addition, church treasures may be hidden in the catacombs, hidden from the looting of the monastery after the 1917 revolution. 3. ...on the Khvorostyanka River (near Mozhaisk)“I sent 923 carts from Moscow with various goods to the Kaluga Gate to Mozhaisk...” - this is how the text of the “treasury record” begins, compiled, according to legend, in the Time of Troubles (early 1600s) by the Polish king Sigismund.

The original of this recording, executed on a "copper board" in Latin and Polish, is located in Warsaw. A secretly made list from it, translated into Russian, is distributed among Russian treasure hunters. The fact is that in 1611 the Poles sacked Moscow. And, according to Karamzin, “they robbed the royal treasury, took all the utensils of our ancient crown-bearers, their crowns, wands, vessels, rich clothes, to send to Sigismund... they tore off the frames from the icons, divided the gold, silver, pearls, stones and fabrics precious." It was these “trophies” that made up 923 carts of goods that were buried near Mozhaisk. But, despite the fact that the letter of the Polish king indicates quite clear signs of the buried treasure - “the treasures are hidden 650 meters from the churchyard of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Lapotny, which stands on the Khvorostyanka River at the junction of Mozhaisk and Medyn districts” - they have not yet been found .

4. ...in the estate of Count Rostopchin (Podolsk region) In 1800, Count Governor-General of Moscow Fyodor Rostopchin lived in the Voronovo estate, which was nicknamed “little Versailles” for its wealth.

Marble statues for the park were brought here from Italy. Furniture, antique vases, porcelain, silver, and paintings were brought from Paris, Rome, and London. During the war with Napoleon on September 19, 1812, the Russian army, whose headquarters was located near Voronovo, in the village of Krasnaya Pakhra, retreated. And Rostopchin demonstratively set fire to his palace so as not to leave anything for the French. But after the war, rumors spread that the count’s treasures were safely hidden in the underground labyrinths of the estate. In the 1980s, during renovations at the Voronovo estate, builders actually came across the remains of an underground passage. They tried to walk along them, but the vaults seemed unreliable, and the entrance to the dungeon was blocked with earth. 5. ...in Kudeyarova Gora (Saratov region) Until now, in the Saratov region there are many legends, epics and songs about the dashing robber Kudeyar, who “pampered” in these places. They say that he shed a lot of blood, collected considerable booty and buried it in a treasured place.

The searchers for the robbers' treasures along the Alatyr River raised the whole earth on end. However, most often treasure hunters turn their attention to the cave of Kudeyarova Mountain, not far from the village of Lokh. It is believed that it was in it that the robber hid his treasures. According to another version, to the east of Shatura (Moscow region), in the area of ​​lakes Karasovo, Dolgoye and Velikoye, there is a mysterious place called Voruy-gorodok, where the legendary chieftain could also once hide his treasures.

6. ...at the bottom of Lake Baikal Admiral Alexander Kolchak was one of the leaders of the White movement during the Civil War. “Kolchak’s Gold” - part of the gold reserves of the Russian Empire, which ended up in Baikal as a result of a train crash in 1919 - the road was blown up. In 2009, they tried to find 200 tons of gold bars using the Mir deep-sea submersibles. But to no avail.

7. ...in Mount Shapka (Far East) At the confluence of the Zavitaya River with the Amur there is a mountain, which the local population called Shapka. Previously, at the confluence of these rivers, there was the capital of the ancient state of the Jurgens. In the 12th century, the Jurgen tribes conquered all the northern and northeastern provinces of China. They robbed and killed everyone indiscriminately. In Beijing they ran the market, trading pearls and gold. But under the pressure of Genghis Khan's troops, the Jurgens joined the hordes of the Mongols and went to Central Asia and Europe. And, according to legend, they hid their countless treasures in Mount Shapka.

8. ...Rastorguev House (Ekaterinburg) In the center of the city on Voznesenskaya Hill stands the Palace of Children and Youth Creativity. Previously, this was the estate of the famous gold miner Lev Rastorguev. In the mid-19th century, deep dungeons were dug under the house. At first they served as chapels for Old Believers, and then Rastorguev began to store gold there, brought from the mines that belonged to him. He mercilessly killed all the uninitiated who were able to find out where the treasures were kept, and the corpses were walled up in underground labyrinths. In the 1960s, several kids climbed into an old woodshed near the palace and dug up a metal ring in the floor. They pulled it - and a hatch leading to the dungeon opened. When they went down, they saw human skeletons chained to the wall, wrapped in chains. Panic arose, and by decision of the authorities, the entrance to the tunnel was blocked with stones. But Rastorguev’s gold has still not been found.

And near Yekaterinburg, in a cave on the Chusovaya River, Emelyan Pugachev hid the chests in which his personal treasury was located.

9. ...on the island of Matua (Sakhalin) During World War II, Allied aircraft, which bombed everything that belonged to Japan in the Pacific Ocean, bypassed uninhabited Matua. And when the war ended, President Truman turned to Stalin with an unexpected request - to provide the United States with Matua.

Why was America so attracted to this island located in the center of the Kuril ridge? During the war, the Japanese turned it into an impregnable fortress. And in 1945 it went to the USSR. It was riddled length and breadth with artificial caves. In one of them - the largest - a submarine could easily hide. Numerous pillboxes, hangars, and an airfield were built. But, according to experts, all these striking grandiose structures are only the visible part of the Japanese secret underground fortress. Some researchers suggest that there are secret laboratories there that developed secret weapons that were never used during the war. Others believe that Japan's gold reserves are hidden there. 10. ...in Kladovaya Mountain (Penza region) Near the town Bednodemyanovsk(founded in 1779) there is a low mountain Kladovaya. Inside it, according to rumors from the local population, there are many caves in which robbers at the end of the 18th century hid looted gold. That’s why the mountain was named Kladovaya.

And in the Volga and Moksha rivers (Penza region) and on their banks Stepan Razin hid treasures. FROM THE KP DOSSIER Where else are the treasures hidden? BELARUS. The residence of the Radziwill magnates in Nesvizh was a real fortress with many underground secret passages leading from the palace. In one of the underground vaults, “there was hundreds of pounds worth of gold, a lot of gold jewelry,” as one of her ambassadors reported in a letter to Empress Catherine II. There were even human-sized figures of the twelve apostles, cast in gold and silver. All this disappeared at the beginning of the 19th century during the Napoleonic wars. The Radziwills' treasures are still being sought to this day without success. According to one legend, the princely treasure is located in a huge tunnel more than 35 kilometers long, which in the 17th century connected two Radziwill castles - Nesvizh and Mir. According to another version, the repository is located in Nesvizh under the palace itself or the galleries adjacent to it. UKRAINE . Ukrainian tycoon Prince Jeremiah Vishnevetsky hid his treasures in the city of Lubny (present-day Poltava region in Ukraine) in underground tunnels that lie at a depth of 3 to 7 meters. In addition, at the bottom of the Black Sea, not far from Balaklava Bay, since the Crimean War there has been a ship, the Black Prince, stuffed, according to various sources, with from 500 thousand to 5 million pounds sterling. GEORGIA. On the slopes of Mount Kazbek at an altitude of 4100 meters there is a hard-to-reach Betlani cave. According to legend, Georgian kings hid their treasures in it. KYRGYZSTAN. The treasures of Genghis Khan are kept at the bottom of Lake Issyk-Kul or in the Kurmentinskaya cave. CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA. Treasure chests are hidden on islands in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and Skeleton Island near Spyglass Hill. There is information that on the shores of Cuba and the Dominican Republic the treasures of such famous sea robbers as Francis Drake, Henry Morgan, Thomas Baskerville, and Francois Lecrerque are still kept.

FRANCE. The Templars hid gold in secret cellars of their castles. There were 9 thousand of them in 1327. JORDAN. On the coast of the Dead Sea on the Jordanian side, in one of the hills there is a cave where, according to legend, a treasure with 20 tons of gold and silver is kept. SEYCHELLES ISLANDS. The famous “gentlemen of fortune” - Captain Kidd and the pirate La Buse - hid the looted jewelry there.

ACTION "KP" And "Komsomolskaya Pravda" took on the search for Napoleon's treasure! In the fall of 1812, when Napoleon's army left sacked Moscow, it took with it 200 carts of gold. But along the way, the convoy mysteriously disappeared. It was hard to escape from Russian soldiers with 80 tons of treasure. And it was decided to hide the convoy. Where is unknown. Today, historians point to five supposed places for the treasure: near Orsha, Vilnius, in the Berezina River, on Lake Semlyovskoe. Or about 300 kilometers from Moscow, away from the Smolensk road, in the triangle between Yelnya, Kaluga and Smolensk. Soon “Komsomolskaya Pravda” will go to those places on an expedition (see “KP” “It became known where Napoleon’s treasure is buried” and Napoleon’s treasure is hidden in five places?).

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Napoleon's treasure is hidden in five places. Historians confirm: a convoy with gold existed. And he really disappeared. Svetlana KUZINA

These days, not only the Colombians and Scots were lucky; valuable finds were discovered with a metal detector in the city of Yekaterinburg. So, here are the top 5 treasures found this week, or those about which information was made public during this period.

1. Mysterious finds near the Eternal Flame

In Yekaterinburg, workers dug trenches near the Eternal Flame. One of the treasure hunters, Oleg Matveev, could not resist and went there with his son and a metal detector. Since Oleg is also interested in the history of his native city, he was able to make several finds and even guess what it was.

Here is what the local historian wrote on his blog:

“In the area where the old VIZ theater was located, construction workers dug trenches. It was possible to discover something similar to the remains of a theater foundation: characteristic stone fractional “inserts” are visible on a section of the soil. Further finds are even more interesting. In another trench they found a medicine bottle, a coin, clay shards, ancient bricks everywhere and some strange minerals with a glassy sheen. On the northern side of the Eternal Flame, about twenty meters away, just where a new road is being laid, they discovered an interesting mini-masonry in one row of ancient bricks on lime mortar. There are stones under the masonry. The masonry is one and a half meters long. What could it be? Doesn't look like a foundation. Why only masonry on this site in the area of ​​​​the graves of the communards?

Oleg also suggested that he may have found the remains of the Verkh-Isetsky Theater, which was demolished long ago. He expressed regret that archaeologists could not work on site.

2. Scottish chairs “with a surprise”.

An elderly Scottish couple decided to buy furniture for themselves at a flea market in New Lanark. Well, we bought it, whatever. Among the purchases was a chair for £5. Since the couple were not going to be consoled by the unsightly and shabby appearance of the upholstery, they decided to restore the seat and back of the purchase. My husband took off the upholstery and there it was! ...Of course, not a diamond tiara with ruby ​​pendants, as in “The Twelve Chairs,” but quite precious jewelry worth 5,000 pounds sterling (about half a million rubles).

Such things were hidden under the upholstery.

At the same time, the cunning husband did not admit to his wife about the find. He decided to give the jewelry little by little. And he pleased his missus for six months with such gifts. So happiness and romance reigned in the family of Angus and Angela Milner-Brown.

When it became clear where this jewelry came from, specialists descended on that flea market and bought all the furniture. But so far nothing has been heard about other finds.

3. Gold of a Scythian nobleman.

In Ukraine, of course, you can walk around with metal detectors, but be careful. True, everything is fine if you are an archaeologist or at least an ethnographer. Then all the ancient settlements and tracts open up before you. So, the other day a search for relics and artifacts was carried out in the Bedbsk nature reserve. It turned out to be successful. The burial of a Scythian nobleman was discovered, and in it - 30 gold items.

A bronze arrowhead of the Peloponnesian type and complete pottery were also found. All of the above dates back to the 7th century BC. By the way, next to the mound there is a trench from the Second World War. And there are heaps of ammunition in it. They will definitely be transferred to the museum. Where does the gold go? The Ukrainian media did not write about this.

4. Heroic galleon "San Jose".

Colombia is not named so for nothing. The restless Portuguese and Spaniards swam there all the time. And many ships sank off the coast of this marvelous Central American country. Just recently, divers discovered the remains of the Spanish galleon San Jose. Soon it will be raised from the bottom of the sea to be examined in more detail. This was stated by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos at the opening ceremony of the new building of the Institute of Marine Research in the city of Santa Marta, which took place the other day.

According to scientists and experts, the galleon may contain gold and silver coins, as well as emeralds and other jewelry intended for the Spanish King Philip V. The treasures it was supposed to carry, according to estimates in the mid-1980s, could cost between 10 billion dollars

A little about the history of the glorious warship. During the War of the Spanish Succession, the San José, under the command of General José Fernandez Santillian, was part of the Golden Fleet. On June 8, 1708, this same flotilla collided with an English squadron near the island of Baru. For an hour and a half, fierce firefights took place between the ships, as a result of which the gunpowder stored in the holds of the San Jose exploded. It exploded violently, so that only 11 people out of a team of 600 survived. And the galleon’s precious cargo gurgled and sank to the bottom.

Now they will get it.

5. The flagship of the Swedish fleet.

Another similar news comes from the Baltic. True, the Swedes, not spoiled by shipwrecks in their own waters, did not find any new remains of sea vessels. They simply took up the ship Kronan again, which sank in the Baltic Sea in 1676 during the Swedish-Danish War and was found in 1980.

In August 2016, treasure hunters discovered ancient coins and jewelry near the flagship. And a pot of cheese similar to Roquefort. Here are Lars Einarsson's findings. They were sent to the Kalmar Museum. A total of 14 coins, a gold ring with a diamond and a 340-year-old well-preserved cheese were discovered. Scientists will analyze the product to find out what it is and whether it will give them new information about life in the 17th century.

Finally, as usual, a couple of interesting news from the world of treasure hunters.

We could not pass by the treasure of Admiral Kolchak.

These treasures were lost almost a hundred years ago, and they were looked for everywhere. Now they will look in Kazakhstan. There, in the North Kazakhstan region, a tourist route “Kolchak’s Gold” is being developed. To put it simply, it seems that tourists will be given metal detectors and sent to look for this gold. Well, what if? After all, local treasure hunters claim that the Aiyrtau region hides many secrets!

In particular, the Kolchak army, retreating under the onslaught of the Reds, was in Petropavlovsk until the end of October 1919. And at this time, for an incomprehensible purpose, Kolchak went deep into the steppes, to the village of Aiyrtau. Historical fact! Maybe he hid something valuable there.

Another case happened this week in Bashkiria, in the Burzyansky district, near the village of Timirevo.

A local resident was walking through the forest with a metal detector, looking for antiquities, as usual. And found a shell from the Civil War! At the same time, the shell turned out to be a combat shell, not damaged. The search engine immediately took him to the police, but got scared and unloaded him halfway. Finally, he properly called the 02 specialists, and the sappers who arrived soon detonated the shell on the spot. Because he could rush at any moment!

Good luck searching. Take care of yourself.

Each region, like a person, is unique and inimitable. I was born and raised in Bashkiria and I want to talk about my land, which has a special attractive force, a unique, fascinating nature and still conceals many mysteries. And I hope that once you get to know this land, you will love these places and want to come here again and again.
One of the most beautiful corners of the republic is the northeastern part of the Trans-Urals - Uchalinsky and Abzelilovsky districts. The map shows that this territory lies in the east and the sun begins its daily journey across Bashkiria from here

The region of Bashkortostan is named after the people living on this territory. The word Bashkir comes from the ethnonym Bashkort in the meaning bash - “main, main” and kor (t) - “clan, tribe” (R. G. Kuzeeva). According to 18th-century researchers V.N. Tatishchev, P.I. Rychkov, I.G. Georgi, the word Bashkort means “main wolf.” In 1847, local historian V.S. Yumatov wrote that Bashkort means “beekeeper, owner of bees.” This interpretation of the meaning of the word “Bashkort” is associated with beekeeping (beekeeping) developed in this territory.
Here, every piece of land has its own history, and the nature is pure and pristine. And every person who finds himself in these parts has the opportunity to feel its true spirit, to “hear” first-hand the legends of the old-timers - the larches, whose age reaches 800 years.

"Golden Rivers" and Mirror Lakes

Back in the 19th century, placer (mine) gold was mined in the Trans-Ural region. Mining was carried out along the valleys of the rivers Daryuly, Yrgaida, Orsk, Iremel, Ural and many others. According to an expert in these regions, geologist Basyr Magadeev, grains of the precious metal can be found in almost any mountain river. Gold is everywhere, just be able to see it

D custom of gold by miners (Chalino Museum of History and Local Lore)

There are many legends associated with this natural wealth that exist among the local population. Many people wonder how gold was found here before? It is not given to everyone. Legends tell of a golden mare.
“There lived in a village a young guy - an orphan shepherd. And one day he saw a golden mare at the well. He went out to gather the herd and looked - she was standing there, raising her head. It was just dawn and everything was clearly visible. The shepherd is watching, but is afraid to come closer. She was pure gold, neighed quietly and disappeared. And it was so outlandish that the guy wondered if he had imagined it. I walked around the pasture all day, and the terrain in the Trans-Urals is mountainous. And on the same day, a shepherd found a nugget in a ravine - the size of a fist.

View of the Belaya River from the mountain, Bashkiria

People said that he was not the only one who saw this mare. And always the one who saw it either found the nugget or hit the vein.

In addition to the “golden” rivers, the treasury of the northeastern Trans-Urals contains many lakes, more than sixty of them. Most of them contain healing mud-sapropel in their silt. It is used in medicine for mud therapy, as soil fertilizer and as mineral additives in livestock feed.

Between the village of Mikhailovskoye and the state farm “Red Bashkiria”, in a small depression lies Lake Muldakkul (Muldak; Bashk. Muldak kul, salt lake). There is practically nothing in it, but its water has a healing effect on the human body.

Lake Kuldybai (at the northern foot of the Kutantau ridge)

The most famous lake of this land is Yaktykul (Yaktykul, Yaktykul, Mauyzzi, Bashk. Yaҡty kul - “bright lake”), also known as “Bannoe”. According to legend, Emelyan Pugachev ordered his troops to “bath” before the battle, that is, to wash themselves in the alkaline water of Yaktykul. Today this lake and its surroundings are a favorite vacation spot. There are sanatoriums and recreation centers here, and there is also a ski center on Mount Bashmak.

Mountain riches of Trans-Urals

One of the main natural attractions of these places is the Iremel mountain complex, where the second largest peak of the Southern Urals is located. Iremel - “Sacred (mountain)” from the Bashkir-Tatar words yrym - “spell”, “witchcraft”, yrymly - “bewitched”, “bewitched”.

View of Big Iremel from the Avalyak ridge

It is believed that Iremel has unique energy. And the water in the rivers and streams that originate on the mountain gives energy and strength to a person. Local residents believe that the mountain helps achieve their cherished goals.
Every year a huge number of tourists come here with the cherished goal of climbing the mountain, recharging their energy and dreaming what they want.

The land of the northeast of the Trans-Urals is rich in manganese, jasper and marble. One could only guess about these riches until deposits of marbled limestone were discovered in the vicinity of the villages of Ryskuzhino, Amangildino and Utyaganovo. There is so much marble here, experts say, that it will last for decades, and its color is completely unique - its analogues can only be found in the depths of the Republic of South Africa.

Bakty Ridge (adjacent to the Iremel mountain range in the east)

Origin of the Bashkirs in the Trans-Urals

The question of the origin of the Bashkirs in the Trans-Urals has long been of interest to scientists. The accumulated archaeological material suggests that the penetration of Bashkir tribes into this land occurred long before our era. In the Uchalinsky region alone, 44 ancient human sites were discovered.

At the beginning of our era, early Bashkirs lived here, about whom legends said that they were immigrants from the Syr Darya, from the ancient homeland of the Bashkirs - the Aral Sea region, Kazakhstan.

In the 13th century AD. e. These lands were conquered by the Mongol-Tatar troops. At the same time, Genghis Khan lost too much “manpower” here and refused to go deeper into the territory.

The main part of Bashkiria joined the Russian state in 1557. But representatives of the Tabyn tribe remained loyal to the Siberian Khan Kusem, refusing to obey the Russian Tsar. Only after half a century of bloody wars, the Bashkirs of Trans-Urals joined the Russian state.

The future of Trans-Urals

Every year interest in these places only increases. This is due both to the development of mining and the natural beauty of the area.

But tourism in these parts is not yet very widely developed, and many people have yet to get acquainted with this wonderful corner of the planet: meet a picturesque sunrise, swim in the cleanest lakes, feast on fresh fish and feel the energy of these places. And these regions have something to surprise and delight guests!

In the Bashkir steppe

What a distance! What space!
In the steppe, as in the sky, the gaze drowns,
And the thought flies after him,
And there is no barrier around her.

There is a green ocean all around.
On it, like a wave, a mound froze,
And everywhere, with the foam of stormy waters,
Silver feather grass blooms.

Sometimes, like the wind,
Bashkir will ride on a horse...
A flock of sheep... A chain of wagon trains...
Aul... And there is still the same steppe,
Still the same breadth, still the same distance,
All the same rivers are living steel...
Here is the kingdom of clear silence,
Here is the bed of northern spring.
(Fedorov A.M.)