Descendants of the Old Believers in the Altai region. Old Believers in Altai

The Uimon Valley in Altai is the center of settlement of Old Believers. The villages of Multa, Tikhonkaya, Verkh-Uimon, Gagarka, Berezovka and others located here became a haven for the keepers of the old faith. These are small settlements with a population of several hundred people. Special cultural center here is the village of Verkh-Uimon. You can get to the village via a new bridge over the Katun, built in 2005. The turn to the bridge is located about 10 km from Ust-Koksa along the highway to Tungur. We pass the village of Oktyabrskoye, and after the bridge we turn left. The village of Verkh-Uimon is located on the right bank of the Katun, at an altitude of 960 m. Founded in 1786, the population is just over 600 people. The village gained great fame thanks to N.K. Roerich, who was here in 1926 with his expedition.

In the village there is a museum-reserve named after N.K. Roerich - branch of the Gorno-Altai Republican local history museum and the School Ethnographic Museum dedicated to the Old Believers.

In the 1550s Patriarch Nikon carried out church reform. A significant number of people did not accept the reforms - a split occurred. The Old Believers began to exist as an independent movement of Orthodoxy, not recognized by the official Church. Persecution of adherents of the “old” faith began. Persecuted and persecuted, the Old Believers were removed from their homes and rushed to the outskirts Russian Empire- to the White Sea, to Pechora, to Siberia. The hardworking people showed their best qualities and quickly settled into new places. But after some time they had to move even further away from new persecutions, which stopped only in 1792 by order of Catherine II.

Old Believers went to the Altai mountains to look for Belovodye - the legendary land of freedom and ancient piety, the land “where milk and honey flow.” According to legend, this country is located somewhere far in the east, behind inaccessible mountains. While settling in the fertile valley, the settlers combined farming and cattle breeding with fur mining, fishing, pine nut harvesting, beekeeping, and handicrafts. They sowed rye, oats, barley, flax, and wheat. The grain stood like a wall along the left bank of the Katun, at the spurs of the Terektinsky ridge. Warm winds from the Terektinsky Gorge protected crops from winter cold. Before the revolution, bread, butter, Alpine honey, and pine nuts from the Uimon Valley were supplied to the royal table. Most wealthy farms kept deer, and in large numbers. The deer antlers were sent to Mongolia and China, receiving a lot of money from the sale.

The legend of Belovodye, which has ancient roots, acquired new colors during the resettlement of the Old Believers. Its numerous versions say that Belovodye is a holy land where Russian people live who fled religious strife. In Belovodye they have their own churches, in which worship is conducted according to old books, the sacraments of baptism and marriage are performed according to the sun, they do not pray for the king, they cross themselves with two fingers. “In those places there is no theft and theft and other things contrary to the law... And there are all sorts of earthly fruits, and gold and silver are innumerable... They have no secular court, there are no police or guards there, but they live according to Christian custom. God fills this place." However, only true zealots of ancient piety can enter Belovodye. Among the Old Believers there were numerous lists of the “Traveller” indicating the way to Belovodye. After fruitless attempts to find the Belovodsk land, the Uimonsky and Bukhtarminsky regions began to be considered Belovodye, where “the land of peasants is without officials and priests.”

Bukhtarma Old Believers. The settlements of the Bukhtarma Old Believers are one of the first Russian peasant settlements on the territory of Kazakhstan. They were founded in the 18th century. in the East Kazakhstan region by fugitive peasants from the Volga and central Russian provinces, who sought refuge here from economic and religious oppression, from conscription. These settlements are in the inaccessible mountain valleys of the river. Bukhtarmy (in local terminology, “in stone,” which is why the entire population was also called “masons”) remained unknown to the government for a long time, and only in 1791 their inhabitants were officially included in Russian citizenship. In the 1760s Russian population The population of Eastern Kazakhstan increased significantly due to Russian Old Believers who fled from religious persecution in Poland and were forcibly returned to Russia (they began to be called “Poles”). The "Poles" settled next to the Bukhtarma Old Believers - along the river. Ulba and r. Uba, the right tributaries of the Irtysh, flowing somewhat north of Bukhtarma, closer to the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk. Bukhtarma residents and "Poles" in force common origin and long-term cohabitation became closer in cultural and everyday terms.

The Bukhtarma Valley was often the final destination of many fugitives. It was known as Stone, i.e. mountainous part of the region, so its inhabitants were called masons. Later, these lands began to be called Belovodye, identifying the free land, devoid of government supervision, with the mythical country from the utopian legend extremely widespread among the Old Believers. Its numerous versions say that Belovodye is a holy land where Russian people live who fled the religious strife of the 17th century. In Belovodye they have their own churches, in which worship is conducted according to old books, the sacraments of baptism and marriage are performed according to the sun, they do not pray for the king, they cross themselves with two fingers. As E. Shmurlo notes, throughout the entire 18th and 19th centuries there is a tireless search for this fantastic Eldorado, where rivers flow with honey, where taxes are not collected, where, finally, Nikon’s church does not exist specifically for schismatics. Among the Old Believers there were numerous lists of the “Traveller” indicating the way to Belovodye. The last real geographical point of the route is the Bukhtarma valley. After fruitless attempts to find the Belovodsk land, many of its seekers began to consider the Bukhtarma region as Belovodye, where “the land of peasants is without officials and priests.” It was the latter that attracted the Old Believers there. The government has known about secret settlements deep in the Altai Mountains since the 40s. XVIII century, but they were discovered only in 1761, when ensign Zeleny, going with a mountain search party to Bukhtarma, noticed near one of its tributaries - Turgusun - a hut in which there were two men who then managed to hide. Such single houses and small villages of five or six households were scattered among the mountain gorges of the Bukhtarma Valley. Their inhabitants were engaged in fishing, hunting, and farming. However, difficult living conditions, internal strife, frequent crop failures, as well as the constant danger of discovery, since ore miners began to appear in these places, forced the Bukhtarmin residents to legalize their position. In 1786, about 60 residents of Stone went to the Chinese Bogdykhan with a request to take them under his guardianship. But, not wanting a conflict with the Russian government, the Chinese authorities, having kept the petitioners in custody in the city of Khobdo, released them with a refusal. In 1790, taking advantage of the appearance of a mining official with a party of workers, the Bukhtarma residents expressed to him their desire “to be transparent to the government.” By a rescript of Catherine II of September 15, 1791, masons were accepted into Russia as tribute-bearing foreigners. They paid the government with tribute in the form of furs and animal skins, like all other foreigners of the Russian Empire. In 1796, yasak was replaced by cash taxes, and in 1824. - quitrent as from settled foreigners. In addition, the Bukhtarma residents were exempt from subordination to the sent administration, mining work, recruitment and some other duties.

After receiving official status as Russian subjects, masons moved to more convenient places to live. In 1792, instead of 30 small settlements, 9 villages were formed, in which just over 300 people lived: Osochikha (Bogatyrevo), Bykovo, Sennoye, Korobikha, Pechi, Yazovaya, Belaya, Fykalka, Malonarymskaya (Ognevo).

These are brief information about the initial history of Bukhtarma masons who settled in the region as a result of spontaneous free migrations. The formation of Old Believer settlements in the western part of Altai, which occurred at the same time as in the Bukhtarma valley, was of a different nature, as it was a consequence of government orders. In connection with the expansion of the mining industry, the need arose to strengthen the Kolyvan-Voskresensk border line, which involved the construction of new redoubts and outposts. It was necessary to increase the number of miners, and consequently, peasant farmers, to provide workers and military personnel with food. In 1760, a Senate decree was issued “On occupying places in Siberia from the Ust-Kamenogorsk fortress along the Bukhtarma River and further to Lake Teletskoye, on building fortresses there in convenient places and settling that side along the Ube, Ulba, Berezovka, Glubokaya and other rivers.” rivers flowing into the Irtysh River, Russian people up to two thousand people.” In this regard, the Senate, based on the manifesto of Catherine II of December 4, 1761, invited Russian Old Believers who fled from religious persecution to Poland to return to Russia. At the same time, it was indicated that they could choose either the previous place of residence or one designated at the disposal of the empress, which included Siberia. Thus, some Old Believers settled here voluntarily, but many, especially the residents of the Vetki settlement that was part of Poland, were sent to this territory by force, especially the residents of the Vetki settlement that was part of Poland. In 1765, a special order was issued, which ordered that fugitives from Poland and Lithuania be exiled to Siberia, so in Altai they began to be called Poles. In the 1760s. all the indigenous villages of the “Poles” were founded in the Zmeinogorsk district: Ekaterininka, Alexandrovskaya volost; Shemonaikha, Losikha (Verkh-Uba), Sekisovka, Vladimir volost; Bobrovka, Bobrovskaya volost. Soon new villages appeared, where the inhabitants were only Old Believers: Malaya Ubinka, Bystrukha, Vladimir volost; Cheremshanka, Butakovo, Ridder volost and some others. On May 21, 1779, an order was issued to assign Polish peasants to factories, which obligated them to carry out not only agricultural work, but also forest cutting, export of finished ore, etc. Until 1861, the Poles were assigned to the Kolyvano-Voskresensky mining plants. Unlike masons, they had to perform all state duties and pay a double poll tax as schismatics.

Thus, the history of the Altai Old Believers of the 18th century. is divided into two stages: the first half of the century, when only a few fugitive Old Believers entered the region, and the second half - the time of the formation of settled settlements in this territory (in the 1750s - 1790s - masons, in the 1760s - 1800s. - Poles). XIX century characterized by a general stabilization of the life of the Altai Old Believers. This is evidenced by the active process of formation of new villages (6), the establishment of connections between various Old Believer sects, due to their religious community. In the 19th century representatives of both priestly and non-priestly consents lived in Altai (8). Old Believers-priests came to Altai in Aleiskaya, Aleksandrovskaya, Bobrovskaya, Vladimirskaya, Ridderskaya volosts after “forcing out” the settlements on Vetka. Later, as a result of escapes to the free lands of masons, priests appeared in Bukhtarminsky district. Beglopopov communities were concentrated in Bystrukha, Malaya Ubinka, and Cheremshanka. Since the 1850s the spread of the Belokrinitsky priesthood is noted among the Altai Poles, and since 1908 - among the masons, whose Belokrinitsky church was first located in Bogatyrevo, and from 1917 in Korobikha. Since 1800, the Edinoverie Church began to exist, which is transitional between the Old Believers and the Synodal. It was subordinate to the bishops of the New Believer Church, but services there were performed according to old books in accordance with Old Believer guidelines. In Altai, the most numerous Edinoverie parishes were in Orlovka, Poperechnaya, Ekaterininka of the Alexander volost, Verkh-Uba, Shemonaikha of the Vladimir volost, as well as some villages of masons (Topolnoye, Kamyshenka). In the second half of the 19th century. The cathedral of Edinoverie functioned in Barnaul (priest Father Mikhail Kandaurov). The role of intermediate between the priestly and non-priestly agreements is the chapel, old man's and deacon's talk. The Ural and Siberian chapels actively assimilated with the Altai Beglopopovites in the 1780s. In the valleys of Bukhtarma and Koksa, on the shores of Lake Teletskoye, the old man's talk is most common. In the indigenous settlements of the Poles - the suburbs of Ust-Kamenogorsk, the villages of the Ridder volost - there were Dyakonovsky ones. One of the most numerous bespopovsky talk in Altai is Pomeranian. Pomeranian communities are spread throughout the region. The Bespopovites-Fedoseevites came to Altai due to the massive resettlement of Vetkovites here. Their indigenous villages were Verkh-Uba, Butakovo, Vydrikha, Bobrovka, Tarkhanka. In Butakovo, Cheremshanka, Bystrukha, Malaya Ubinka lived Bespopovtsy tyrants. In the Uba valley there lived representatives of such non-popovist sects as the Spasovtsy (Netovtsy), Okhovtsy (non-Molyaks), who came to Altai from the Volga region, in the villages along the Uba and Anuy rivers - self-crosses, in Yazovaya and Pechi Bukhtarma volosts - fellow worshipers (dyrniks), along the river. Bukhtarma and in the Zmeinogorsk district - runners (wanderers), which increased the diversity of the ritual-dogmatic picture of the Altai Old Believers of the 19th century. At this time, the main spiritual centers of the region stand out. The prayer houses in Kondratyevo, Turgusun, Vydrikha, Sekisovka, Verkh-Uba, Cheremshanka, and Belaya were famous for their decoration and competent conduct of services. History has preserved the names of the most authoritative Old Believer mentors of the 19th century. Among the priests in 1800 - 1820s. Egor Alekseev (Krutoberezovka), Trofim Sokolov (Malaya Ubinka), Platon Guslyakov (Verkh-Uba) were highly respected; in the 30s - 40s. - Nikita Zelenkov (Turgusun), Ivan Panteleev (Snegirevo), Ekaterina Karelskikh (Bukhtarma villages); in the 50s - 60s. - Ivan Golovanov (Bistrukha); in the 70s - 80s. - Fedor Eremeev (Tarkhanka); among the Bespopovites - Ivan Krivonogov (Vydrikha), Karp Rachenkov (Butakovo), Fyodor Sheshunnikov (Tarkhanka), Guriy Kostin (Bobrovka), Yasson Zyryanov (Belaya). IN late XIX- early 20th century The number of Old Believer monasteries is growing. The monasteries functioned near Ridder, Verkh-Uba, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Zmeinogorsk, on the river. Bashelak, near the villages of Ponomari and Kordon, Charysh volost, in the area of the volost center of Srednekrasilovo, not far from Zalesovo (in the town of Mikulushkino swamp), in Chulyshman in the Altai Mountains. During this period, a fairly large group of Old Believers - immigrants from Russia - came to Altai. As shown by expeditionary research by employees of the Novosibirsk Conservatory to the areas where Old Believers lived in 1993 - 1997. (22), current state Old Believer settlements in Altai underwent certain changes. In the region there are popovtsy-Belokrinichniki, Beglopopovtsy and representatives of eight non-popovsky denominations: Pomeranians, Fedoseevtsy, Filippovtsy, chasvennyy, Starikovtsy, Dyakonovtsy, Melchizedeks, runners (presumably). The main centers of the Belokrinitsky Old Believers are located in Barnaul (priest Fr. Nikola), Biysk (priest Fr. Mikhail), Ust-Kamenogorsk (priest Fr. Gleb). Thanks to the missionary activities of clergy, there is an active growth of Belokrinitsky communities in the regional centers of Krasnogorskoye, Zalesovo, Blagoveshchenka, Gorno-Altaisk, villages of the Ust-Koksinsky district of the Altai Republic, Glubokovsky and Shemonaikha districts of the East Kazakhstan region. In some settlements (Barnaul, Biysk, Zalesovo, the village of Multa, Ust-Koksinsky district), temples are being built. The Beglopopovskaya community, numbering up to 100 people, which has its own church, has survived in the village. Cheremshanka, Glubokovsky district, East Kazakhstan region. Old Believers-Beglopopovtsy also live in the villages of Kordon and Peshcherka in the Zalesovsky district and in the city of Zarinsk. Some of the Beglopopovites came to Peshcherka from Kamenka, which ceased to exist in 1957 due to the merger of collective farms, where there once was a church. According to the testimony of local residents, until recently there was a large community in Zarinsk, but after the death of the mentor, community (cathedral) services stopped and the house of worship was sold. Currently, priest Fr. Andrey from the village. Barite (Ursk) Kemerovo region. The numerically predominant non-priest sense of Altai remains Pomeranian. Pomeranian communities are concentrated in Barnaul (mentors A.V. Gutov, A.V. Mozoleva), Biysk (mentor F.F. Serebrennikov), Ust-Kamenogorsk (mentor M.K. Farafonova), Leninogorsk (mentors I.K. Gruzinov , A.Ya. Nemtsev), Serebryansk (mentor E.Ya. Neustroev). Places of compact residence of Pomeranians are the Aleysky, Altaisky, Biysky, Charyshsky districts of the Altai Territory, as well as the Glubokovsky district of the East Kazakhstan region. In Leninogorsk back in the early 1990s. There was a Pomeranian women's monastery in which there were two nuns and a novice. Most Pomeranians are natives of Altai, but there are also migrants from the Tomsk region, Tobolsk, and the Urals. In some villages (Verkh-Uba, Butakovo, Malaya Uba) Pomeranians are called tyrants. As before, the most common sense in the south of Altai remains old man's. There are known elderly communities in Gorno-Altaisk (mentor V.I. Filippova), Mayma (mentor N.S. Sukhoplyuev), Zyryanovsk (mentors M.S. Rakhmanov, L.A. Vykhodtsev), the villages of Bogatyrevo, Snegirevo, Parygino (mentor T.I. Loschilov), Putintsevo (mentor T. Shitsyna) Zyryanovsky district, r.p. Ust-Koksa and the villages of Verkhny and Nizhny Uimon, Tikhonkaya, Chendek, Multa (mentor F.E. Ivanov) of the Ust-Koksinsky district, Yailyu of the Turochaksky district. The old people of the Altai Mountains are distinguished by the originality of their ideas, as well as the severity of their morals (the self-name of the sense is old man). Many of them have given up state pensions and are trying to live subsistence farming, buying necessary products in stores as little as possible. Old people have separate dishes so as not to become defiled by sharing a meal with worldly people. They do not accept the tape recorder, radio, television, telephone, considering them “demonic.” Altai elders are characterized by ritual features. In particular, when receiving communion, they do not use prosphora, but Epiphany water(village of Multa, Ust-Koksinsky district), on Easter - an egg that had lain for a year in front of the icons since last Easter (village of Yailyu, Turochaksky district). When transitioning to old age, Nikonians must be baptized again, while Belokrinichniks are baptized with “renunciation” (denial of heresy). According to F.O. Bochkareva from the village of Tikhonkaya, “to accept our faith, before being baptized, it is necessary to study the charter for three years. We will find an interpretation of this in the Gospel parable about the owner and the gardener, who took care of a tree for three years, which bloomed only in the fourth year.” The spiritual leader of the old people’s community is the abbot. According to V.I. Filippova from Gorno-Altaisk, “the rector is almost a priest. He has the right to remove people from the cathedral and bring the newlyweds together.” In Multa, the abbot retains the title “priest”; all problems are resolved by the council (i.e., the community) in a spiritual conversation. The most controversial dogmatic issues include the funeral of the deceased without repentance. The Old People deliberately do not spread their faith.

It should be noted that in some Bukhtarma villages (Bykovo, Bogatyrevo, Zyryanovsky district, Soldatovo, Bolshenarymsky district), local residents single out the Polak Old Believers. Apparently, these are the descendants of Poles who moved to live in Kamen, but at the same time retained their distinctive features in everyday life and church practice. The Polyakovsky Old Believers formed a unique independent interpretation of local significance. Resident of the village Bogatyrevo U.O. Biryukova reported that the Polyakovskys fled from Soviet power to China and then returned to Bukhtarma in the 1950s-1960s. Previously, they had their own prayer house, which differed from the old man’s in the absence of bells. In worship they have more singing, and their chants are more chanting and extended.

The Old Believers of Eastern Kazakhstan mastered the main natural resources of the region and were engaged in agriculture (with a predominance of the fallow-fallow system), cattle breeding (including the breeding of deer), beekeeping, hunting (hunted sables, squirrels, bears, mountain goats, poultry) and fishing catching Many elements of the material and spiritual culture of the Bukhtarma people were distinguished by the preservation of a number of archaic features, which is a consequence of their living in inaccessible mountain valleys, isolated from the main body of settlement of the Russian people and a secluded way of life. The Bukhtarma people adopted some cultural features from neighboring peoples - the Kazakhs and Altaians. Thus, individual elements of clothing were borrowed - trousers from women, ornaments, etc. The borrowing of cultural elements from the Kazakhs can be explained, in particular, by the fact that men predominated among the first settlers, Old Believers. Due to the shortage of women, some of the settlers took Kazakh women as wives, having previously baptized them. A comprehensive ethnographic survey of the Bukhtarma people was carried out in 1927 by famous ethnographers E.E. Blomkvist and N.P. Grinkova within the framework of the work of the Kazakhstan expedition of the Academy of Sciences (leader - S.I. Rudenko). The survey results are reflected in the collection prepared by E.E. Blomkvist and N.P. Grinkova

The route to places associated with the Old Believers is being developed at the Altai State Academy of Culture and Arts. It is known that many Orthodox Christians from Russia found shelter in the Altai Kara after the schism of the church under Patriarch Nikon in the 17th century. It is not without reason that during the population census in the second half of the 19th century, 45% of the residents of Biysk Uyezd wrote in the column “Religious Beliefs” the descendants of Old Believers.

In the Altai Territory there are already tourist sites associated with the life of the Old Believers: Museum "Gornitsa" in the village of Topolnoye, Soloneshensky district, project of the ecological Old Believer village of Anamas in the Eltsovsky district. Of course, the most lively interest is caused by the settlements where the Kerzhaks still live their isolated lives. And there are such people in the Altai Territory. During the autumn and spring thaws, it is impossible to reach them by transport, only in the summer or winter after snowstorms. And so it’s only a dozen kilometers on foot through the mountain taiga.

“But it’s not so much the transport difficulties (this won’t stop a real tourist who wants to see something unusual), but the other side of the matter that makes us not rush into the desire to organize excursions to Old Believers’ settlements. A recent trip to visit them once again convinced me of this. Despite the fact that even outwardly they do not look like us - unshaven men with large beards, modest women trying not to show themselves to the eyes of visitors, a peculiar leisurely conversation - but they are dressed in clothes familiar to us, there is a tractor with a knife for clearing the road, snowmobiles and even solar panels, as well as a small school for primary education, - said Sergei Kharlamov, head of the department of socio-cultural service and tourism of the Altai State Academy of Culture and Arts. - The way of life of these people developed over three and a half centuries after the Schism in constant work in a place remote from the rest of human society in compliance with the canons of the old Orthodox faith- very different from our way of life. You cannot harm their lives with your aspirations. One of the objectives of the department’s research is to offer options for introducing into tourism circulation such an attractive topic as acquaintance with the heritage of the Old Believers.”

The topic of Old Believers is interesting in tourism, not only for residents of Russia, but also for travelers from abroad. Eat good example in Buryatia in the Tarbagatai region, where the family community of Old Believers constantly hosts excursion groups; in the Republic of Tyva, travelers along the rivers in the upper reaches of the Yenisei linger for a long time at parking lots specially equipped by Old Believers to receive tourists; In the Altai Republic, the Old Believer village of Verkhniy Uimon is very popular.

Information provided by the Department of Social and Cultural Service and Tourism of the Altai State Academy of Culture and Arts.

Altai region

Officially. Altai Territory is located in the southeast of Western Siberia, 3419 km from Moscow. Territory 168,000 square km.

Informally. The Altai region is very large and diverse. The topography changes as you move through the area. He seems to be a growing bear, at first quiet and calm, then huge and majestic. This is how steppes and plains grow into foothills and mountains.

Officially. The climate is temperate continental, formed as a result of frequent changes in air masses.

Unofficially. The four seasons have many variations and come back every year to see them with different sides. You can come in the hot summer, or you can come in the cool and rainy weather. Give me variety! - this is the main rule of Altai weather.

Summer and Altai Mountains

Officially: The Altai Mountains are a complex system of the highest ridges in Siberia, which are separated by deep valleys of mountain rivers and vast basins located inside the mountains.

Informally: The nature of Altai is amazing. Tourists from all over globe They rush to these places to enjoy the beautiful views of high mountains, mountain rivers, mysterious caves and deserted spaces. Immerse yourself in the tranquility and beauty of these places.

The settlement of the Altai Territory has begun
in the 18th century

Young Russia needed metal to produce weapons and coins. The Ural factory owner Akinfiy Demidov founded the first metallurgical plant in 1729 - Kolyvano-Voskresensky. The depths of Altai were also rich in silver. In 1744, Demidov began producing silver. The result of Akinfiy Demidov’s activities in the Altai region was the establishment of a feudal mining industry based on the serf labor of assigned peasants and artisans.

Event tourism in the Altai region

Creation and development of bright, interesting events in business, cultural, sports life The Altai Territory has become the basis for the development of event tourism in the region. The region annually hosts more than a dozen festivals, forums, and holidays that can attract thousands of tourists from various regions of Russia and from abroad. These are the International Tourism Forum “VISIT ALTAI”, the festival “Blossoming of the Maralnik”, the drinks festival “Altaifest”, the Day of Russia at the “Turquoise Katun”, the festival “Shukshin Days in Altai”, the International Youth Forum of the Asia-Pacific Region, the SCO Forum, the Siberian International Forum on Health and medical tourism, the Altai Wintering holiday and many others.

Next to the Kazakh border, in the Uimon Valley, there is a well-known enclave of Old Believers, or “old people”, as they are called here. They came here a very long time ago - either in search of Belovodye - the legendary country of freedom and justice, refuge from the Antichrist who reigned in the world, or persecuted by the church.

The history of Russian Old Believers peasants is one of the most interesting pages of Altai’s past. The settlement of Altai by Russians began in the pre-Petrine era. In the mid-17th century, when the church split in Rus', supporters of the old principles began to be brutally persecuted, as a result of which they, too, were forced to leave for the Altai mountains. But even here they did not find peace. Church and secular authorities continued to persecute them for their faith and for their illegal, unauthorized resettlement. Only in 1792, Catherine the Great issued an order to forgive the Old Believers for escaping and granting them the right to residence subject to the payment of a tax - yasak. Since then, the Old Believers were equated with the local Altai population and exempted from conscription. IN Soviet years many of the Old Believers were repressed as middle peasants and enemies of the people.
In Altai, the Old Believers developed large territories and formed entire villages. The mountain villages of the Raskolniks with arable farming, maral fields, mountain apiaries, hayfields and forest lands were flourishing oases. In almost two generations, they managed to adapt to large temperature changes, fleeting summers and long winters, seasonal floods of the Katun and other rivers. Gradually, the most reliable ways of managing the world around us were selected.
Uimon Old Believers-farmers in the Altai Mountains turned into excellent hunters, sharp shooters, and excellent fishermen. Residents of Belovodye exchanged the harvested furs and skins for grain, livestock, and clothing with the Chinese and Russian Cossacks in villages located near the border zone. They also developed Russian crafts: carpentry, weaving, leather weaving, fur coats, etc. The Kerzhaks of the Uimon Basin spun flax, made linen, clothes, rugs, beautiful belts and girdles.
The Old Believers lived in good-quality, warm, well-lit houses with glazed windows. The inside of the house was clean and tidy. The walls were painted with intricate patterns and bright colors. Paints - red lead, ocher, cormorant - were prepared by folk craftsmen from natural raw materials. In wall painting, common motifs were images of strange animals, birds, lush and big flowers, intricate floral ornament. The floors were covered with woven rugs and felt. There were forged chests along the walls, and beautiful embroidered bedspreads lay on the beds. But the most comfortable and warmest place in the house was, of course, the stove. Above its canopy were installed beds on which the children slept. The place opposite the mouth of the stove was occupied by the hostess. There were convenient cupboards and kitchen utensils located here.
The Old Believers kept their houses amazingly clean. The house was swept several times a day, the stove was whitewashed. Unpainted floors, benches, and shelves were scrubbed with brooms, knives, and sanded every Saturday.

The ancient clothes of Uimon old-timers are now worn only during holidays and prayers; in addition, they are used by folklore groups. The traditional Old Believer costume was distinguished by its brightness and variety of colors, bright trim. The summer men's suit included a white shirt decorated with a red pattern on the collar and sleeves, and canvas trousers. Festive costume consisted of wide trousers made of pleat or suede and a plain or variegated shell. Outerwear: zipuns, azyams, sheepskin coats were made from warm cloth, fur, sheepskin, leather, and purchased camel hair.
The traditional women's Old Believer costume included headdress, sundress, shirt, belt, apron (apron). Short shirts, colloquially called sleeves, were sewn from white canvas and decorated with rich embroidery; the neckline was thickly ruffled over a narrow stand-up collar. The main type of sundress for Uimon women was first oblique, then round strap. Many gathers made the round sundress lush and beautiful. An important element of the traditional Old Believer costume were belts and girdles. From the moment of baptism, the belt was obligatory for the Old Believer throughout his life. The shoes of the Uimon residents were also unique. Short and high boots were made from prepared rough and thick leather for men, and women wore shoes. From the local peoples, the Old Believers borrowed comfortable and warm fur shoes: high boots made of goat fur inside and short pussycats. They themselves made winter shoes from felted wool - felt boots (felt boots).

The pottery craft of the Uimon Old Believers is of great historical interest. On Uimon, women were engaged in pottery making. The dishes were made not from one lump on a potter's wheel, but by placing rollers (in Uimon they were called karalichki) on top of each other. This technique of making pottery is called molding. The process consisted of several stages. It all started with clay mining. Pure fine Katunsky sand was added to the clay and crushed on a rough canvas until there were no lumps left. Rolls were made from the resulting clay dough, which were laid out in 3-5 rows on a prepared flat bottom. The rollers were rubbed and smoothed with water to level the side surfaces. The prepared products were fired in Russian kilns on burning birch wood. For strength and beauty, the technology of scalding was used: products removed from the oven were immersed in warm decoctions of buttermilk and whey so that they boiled. After scalding, the dishes acquired a beautiful black color. Uncooked items remained the color of red terracotta.
Of course, today the life of the Old Believers of the Uimon Valley has changed, modern life leaves its mark on it. To centuries-old traditions have not disappeared forever, Uimon residents are creating museums. It is interesting that children become the initiators, as, for example, in the village of Verkh-Uimon. The history of the museum in this village began with an ordinary linen towel brought to a history lesson. Then the children began to bring to school everything that had long since fallen out of use in everyday life. With the help of all these things, it was possible to recreate the atmosphere of a typical Old Believer family. In addition, schoolchildren, interviewing old-timers, collected many proverbs and sayings, conspiracies and signs of the Uimon Valley. Interesting material was collected about the Great Patriotic War, because the descendants of the harsh Old Believers also, not sparing their lives, fought for their Motherland.

The testament of the Old Believers, stated by Raisa Kuchuganova in the Uimon Valley of Altai at the end of September 2011.

Grandmothers in Old Believers families speak like this: in proverbs, sayings. Of course, they don't tell us anything new; Even if we didn’t formulate something, we guessed about it. Of course, what was transferred to paper cannot be compared with the melodious speech of Raisa Pavlovna, which knocks tears out of someone’s eyes and drives others into a trance. Of course, all the love and severity of the Old Believers, superstitions and instructions are explainable from a purely materialistic point of view, socio-economic reasons, remoteness, harsh climate, etc., but, in my opinion, one cannot help but see something else in this. Something more.

“Everything I tell you was told to me by amazingly kind, bright, smart people who lived and live in the Uimon Valley.

<…>There is no feather bed, no bed, but our beds are soft. And there, in the bunk, there are a lot of kids. God gives a lot of children, but does not send extra ones. If there is a place for a baby in the mother’s belly, then there will certainly be a place for him in this world. The baby is born - he will not freeze, everything in this world is ready for him: what to drink, what to feed. The Lord God gives a child a living. The child gives and gives him a share.

Grandmothers near Zybka talked to children from their very birth, sang lullabies or spiritual poems. The child got used to affectionate speech. And a little later he settled into the song and lulled himself to sleep. A child grows not from food, but from affection. The shanyuzhka loves smearing, and the little head loves ironing. They stroked the head and said: the boy is very small, / the boy is very nice, / dear child, / golden twig, / tremulous little hands / thrown to the head, / in two wide directions / like wings raised, / dear child, / golden twig.

I was very interested in the question of why the Old Believers lived so long. I think because they lived with the young, took care of the old, looked after them, fed them well, treated them, and most importantly, they were taken into account, they felt needed and involved. Everyone in the family needed them individually. For grandmother, only grandfather is not a grandson.

There were women who, being left alone after the death of their husband, stopped taking care of themselves. You come to them and they ask: is it lunch, my dear, or dinner? And those grandmothers, even if they are lonely, who prepare the first, second, third for themselves, live to the end.

The child was raised by the whole family and community. If you want to know about children, ask people. If suddenly a child does not behave very well in the village, then the parents will immediately be told: “Marya, your Vanyatka does not greet people.” And Marya will speak sternly to Vanyatka.

If the old man was left alone, the whole community would work for the old man. They will say: “Ivanovna, you’ve been following Ananyevna this week.” And Ivanovna will run around, keep everything clean, feed, drink, look after, persuade, calm; help, bring, serve, feel sorry for, Ivanovna will do everything for Ananyevna. Cook homemade food and then give it to the beggar. She was like, there will be another, a third, another turn good Ivanovna will come up, and she will say to her husband: “Vansha, Vansha, let’s take Ananyevna, why is she hanging around alone?” And they will take it. And with such a large family, they will provide additional food and water. Believe me, it happened. If a child was left an orphan, be it Russian or Altai, the community would gather and decide who to give it to. He may have a family full of people, but he will take and feed and educate, and they will take care of step-children more than their relatives. An orphan in a home means happiness in a home. What has become of us now? Why are we so callous?! We have plenty of everything, both food and clothes. And we live well. We don’t even need old people, they even give me their portraits - they know that I will keep them.

Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of old age. Old age will come, and weakness will come. Old and small - twice stupid. That's what they'll say. If an old man is picky, you have to think that it’s not easy for him. He wasn't always like this. The more sin, the more difficult it is to die.

Don’t offend the old, this is your old age too. We will not be in your place, but you will be in ours. That's what they said. Yes, we will be even worse! If there is nothing you can do to help, at least say a kind word. And if the old man is rude to you, then forgive that too. It’s not because of the mind, it’s because of old age and illness.

Respect for mother and father was immeasurable. The father sat under the icons, and they said about him in the house: “As God is for people, so is a father for children.” The father was revered, but: you will pray for your father, but you will pay for your mother. If you offended your father, you can come to an agreement with God, but if you offended your mother, you can’t come to an agreement with God. They say: we didn’t even speak loudly in front of our mother. And if someone says the wrong thing, she will cry all day, shed tears all over her, and we all go around asking her for forgiveness.

There are many tears in the world: widow's, orphan's, but there are none dearer than mother's tears. Everything that you did badly for your mother does not come to you right away, but first goes through life. But the same grievances will return to you.

The mother's palm rises high, but it doesn't hurt. Mother's prayer it will come from the bottom of the sea. A mother's anger is like spring snow: it falls a lot, but soon melts. It won't take long for you to be angry with bread and children. A wife for advice, a mother-in-law for greetings, but no dearer mother.

The wife cries - the dew will fall, the sister cries - the stream flows, and the mother cries - the river flows. The holiest, the hottest are maternal tears. Varvara Ignatievna said this: whoever does not honor his parents and will not look after them, later, at God’s court, they won’t even judge.

My dears, even if your parents are not very right, you will remain silent, grieve, but do not offend them. Never. I recently wrote this down: the son kept his mother for thirty years. He walked after her, looked after her, and just thought that now, mother, he had settled with you, when an angel appeared behind his shoulders. And he says: “You haven’t paid off any debts. That’s how you fell off the bench, and your mother picked you up and sat you back down, and you didn’t fall, you weren’t injured, that’s all you paid for.”

They respected not only their mothers, but also their husband’s and wife’s parents. I’m sitting with an old grandmother - Maria Ivanovna Tyuleneva, she’s 92 years old, and I ask: “Baba Manya, is it true that the night cuckoo will still have a bite?” She replies: “He’ll have a bite, he’ll have a bite, but it’s fair to have a bite. Today you unfairly cuckooed, tomorrow. My husband will understand. The mother-in-law was called mummy, the father-in-law was called aunty. It was impossible to offend them. And when I asked the old people why they treated my husband’s parents with such respect, they looked at me with bewilderment: what are you talking about, dear, it’s clear that my husband will love me more.”

Before going on the water, the young daughter-in-law had to go up to her mother-in-law: “Mommy, bless me to go on the water.” She will say: “Go, daughter, I bless you.” And if without a blessing, he will sternly ask: “Have you walked far?” We cannot say “where”. If you go hunting or fishing and they ask you that, it’s better to come back, you won’t get anything anyway. Have you walked far? By water? Go ahead and pour it out.

The warmest relationships were established between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, they communicated with each other, loved each other, and respected each other.

I talk to people a lot. One day a young man came to me, and when I was talking about my mother, he interrupted me with tears: “What should I do, my mother and stepfather kicked me out of the house when I was only 15 years old, I achieved everything on my own (and I worked he is an engineer at a large plant in Novokuznetsk), my mother is now sick with oncology, she asks me for forgiveness, I said that I forgave, but how hard it is for me!” I said: “So, my dear, run quickly. Fall at her feet and ask her for forgiveness. How are you going to live?” He quickly stood up, either pushed me away or hugged me, and as he ran, he hit his head hard. “Lord,” I say, “now I’ve also broken my head.” And he turned around and said: “I should have been hit on the head a long time ago. At least I’ll have time.”

If only we had time to say kind words. They cost you nothing, but give a lot to others. And if old parents do something wrong, think wrong, say wrong, keep silent, help, don’t judge.

My dears, my aunt said: “If children cared for their parents as much as parents care for their children, the end of the world would never happen.”

You cannot quarrel in front of people, and especially in front of children. Sweep the trash out of the house. If they find out something in the village, they will say: “Oh, there’s a lot of crap in their house.” Diarrhea is worse than a gossip. Everything in the house was decided under one roof, and between husband and wife under one fur coat. If a husband and wife fight, they lie under the same coat. Families consisted of 18-20 people, 5-6 daughters-in-law in the house, it was impossible to quarrel, they said: don’t start the fire, put out the fire before it flares up. If one daughter-in-law is offended, she will never tell the other, she will never let anyone in on it. If you don't cry at the table, you'll cry behind the pillar. She will tell her husband quietly. And a wise husband will not run to find out who offended his little one. Imagine: how many people there are, you can’t find anyone right or wrong. He will say: “Well, okay, be patient, everything will get worse” 1 . What words did they say to me: “If it pinches you, it doesn’t kill you, don’t answer, don’t upset yourself, time will tell who is who, let them bark and shake themselves. Say like this: “Just as King David was meek and wise, give me, Lord, meekness.”

They say: a young daughter-in-law came to the house, and the older young women did not like her. When she gets the chance to cook, they throw a pinch of salt into the brew, and then everyone grumbles about the young woman. She gets upset: how can this be? And then they sat down at the table and grumbled again: it’s too salty. The girl is already in tears. Then the old, old grandfather groaned and groaned on the stove and couldn’t stand it, he got down from there. He went up to the pole and poured the entire salt shaker into the cast iron pot and said: “They all added salt, but I didn’t!” - And all the grievances ended at once.

When my son was getting married, the whole family was very worried. We looked at our relatives. They said this: “If you take a daughter, look at the mother.” Looked through to the seventh generation. The mentor brought it together. It was impossible to get a divorce. If the husband insisted on it, his entire family was excommunicated from the community, and if the wife, her family was excommunicated. The mentor said: “I don’t play with God, it wasn’t I who brought you together, but the Lord.” Well, God forbid, he got caught with a stubborn 2nd wife, they said: how will he deal with her, you’ll boil iron, but you won’t be able to persuade an evil wife. It is better to eat bread with water than to live with an evil wife. That's what they'll say. Or: you can’t re-bake a bad kvass; you can’t remake a bad woman. And Zinaida Efremovna, who is also 90 years old, told me: “The first husband is from God, you can’t even scold him. You can’t hide from him, it’s black and white - everything needs to be discussed with your husband. Take care of your own husband; no matter how you place it, both in the house and in the village they will take it into account.”

Nothing helps, so they will tell a parable. Once upon a time there lived a husband and wife. And they would have lived well, but the wife got the better of her. Everything is contrary. To spite my husband I will sit in a puddle. The man was tortured. He will say: shaved. And the wife: she has her hair cut. He: cut. She: shaved. Neither persuade nor lull. Somehow they had to cross groove 3. Don't jump over, don't cross. The man threw a perch over the ditch. He crossed over and punishes his wife: don’t move around, don’t stare, walk quietly! You will fall and drown! But she's too much. How can she spin, how can she spin! Plunged into the water... and drowned.

The man cried, he felt sorry for his wife. I went up the river to look for her. People ask: why are you crying? Answer: the wife drowned. So, they say, you go up, go down the ditch, but it was carried away by the current. No, the man replies, you don’t know my wife. She is cross. She will certainly float upward.

And the daughter-in-law, who values her authority, will definitely think about it.

One grandmother told me. Grandfather Anfilofy told my brother: if the bride doesn’t suit you in at least one way, don’t take her. And so he came to match the match, the bride really liked her, everyone liked her. I didn’t like the way I plucked the wood chips. And he did not take it and never regretted it.

All the proverbs, sayings, fairy tales, legends that I write down are mainly about women and for them. There is something about men, but not much. Because peace in the family is maintained by the wife.

They say: teach children without people. They won't make comments when people are around. If they see that the son is not treating his wife very kindly, they will press him near the barn - daddy, grandpa, grandma immediately comes with a loaf: he says, I’ll help you. And they will ask: why did Aksinya cry? Look, Vansha, what a bad husband's wife is always a fool! That's what they'll say. The wife is not a servant to her husband, but a friend; parents protect their daughter until the crown, and the husband - until the end. It’s not the happy one that’s with her father, but the one that’s happy with her husband. Grandma will say: look at me! And not because he is afraid of his grandmother’s crutch, but because he respects her and his authority is dear to the guy, he will think about whether it is worth behaving this way.

In general, it’s better to stumble with your foot than with your tongue. Keep your tongue in conversation and your heart in anger. It’s not what’s negotiated that’s tricky, but what’s not agreed upon. This is how you should live. Everything I know, my dears, is not me, it is they who told me. When I come to them, sometimes the hut is completely collapsed. I think: Lord, if only my grandmother wasn’t run over, and she: “My dear, I live well, although the hut is thin, it’s my own. It doesn’t wet me with rain, it doesn’t burn me with fire.” I say: “How is your health?” Today, he answers, is worse than it was yesterday, but it’s better than it will be tomorrow. I say: “You live alone, it’s hard.” She: “I’m not alone, I live with God.”

I never tire of being amazed at the wisdom and poetry of this people. I come to see my grandmother, who is quite old and gray-haired. He says: “Look, I have neighbors, I argued with them, scolded them, they offended me, I complained about them. And now I understand, I remember what my mother told me: “Don’t fight with your neighbor, you won’t go to him for flour, but for ash.” And I began to greet them: I’ll give them a pie, then I’ll talk. Look, my dear, how good people are! They fixed my fence over there, they stacked my woodpile, they split my wood.”

They are kind, simple-minded people, and know how to make fun of each other. If you make a bad joke, they will say: go to the barn and joke there alone. Here’s another way they say: they drank at Filya’s, but Filya was beaten. And she sewed, and washed, knitted and rolled, all with her tongue. I know that I’m lying, but I can’t calm down. If you don't have a clue, you'd buy it; if you have a clue, you'd kill it. To the question: why didn’t you recognize me? - she will shake her head and say: why didn’t I recognize you? I wouldn’t have recognized you if I barked like that.

<…>Humble your pride, pacify, do not be higher than others, respect people, respect yourself, and people will respect you. There is nothing to be proud of. He did good and became proud - and there is no good. When you give, you have to serve in such a way that you can’t see in your hands what you’re serving, and so that your left hand doesn’t know what your right hand gave.

If someone has a fight with someone, the sin is on the one who did not forgive.

Where a person is being judged, get up and leave. And don't listen to anyone. Judging and slandering is a sin. You have to be careful with people. God is the main judge. They offend you, but you do good. Mom kept saying: “They offended you - they are evil to you, and you are good to them.” While I was young, I thought: but why is this? But as she grew up, she realized: he offends you, and then he’s drawn to you.

They spit at you, but you smile, know your enemies by sight, and repay them with kindness. Pray to the east and wish them good health, gold and silver. When their boxes are full, they will forget about you, and you will live in peace and health. The Lord God and the apostles are walking across the earth. They have a lot of work to do: who to help, who to advise. The man feels sorry for them: you are dear, you have no rest, no holiday. Apostles: no, we have a holiday. When the innocent one asks the guilty for forgiveness, that is the apostolic holiday.

Varvara Gerasimovna Chernova said: the proud will not be saved. Even if you have not acquired wealth through your own labor, do good to others, and the Lord will save your soul. After all, wealth comes from God, and if people don’t get any help from you, God will give up on you. Liars and false oaths will not be saved. Lying to a person is a great sin. And against whom the false accusations are made, we must bear it with dignity. A person sins, you see, and the next day you forget his sins. Your sins, think about them. If there is an insult, you need to abbreviate 4 and remember: an extra word brings annoyance. The more angry you are, the more you want.

You need to pray for people and for yourself. I want to do good to everyone, and being young was also not a gift. Good. What is it? Yes, Victor made a bridge across the river for people, this is good.

The time will come when neither mother, nor father, nor brother, nor sister will intercede for you, only good deeds will intercede.

We must work ourselves, and our children must work. She’s still holding on to her mother’s hem, but now she’s trying to pull the cow’s tit. A boy should be able to ride a horse from a young age and not be afraid that he will kill him. To feel like a man.

How good it is to live when you have something to give to someone. Here, my good ones.

* * *

Instead of an afterword, ordinary incidents of today's Russia. The prosecutor's office of the Krasnoyarsk Territory sent to court the criminal case of 33-year-old Alena S., a resident of the village of Tinskaya, Nizhneingashsky district: drunk, after a quarrel with her mother-in-law, she burned her seven-month-old daughter Sophia in the oven - she annoyed her mother with her crying. Similar incidents - mothers burning their children in ovens - occurred in the Tver, Amur, Kemerovo regions, and Komi. In Yakutia, a grandmother was irritated by the crying of her seven-month-old granddaughter, and she burned her in the oven. In Buryatia, a father burned his one-year-old son; his mother managed to pull his second son out of the oven. In Khakassia, a father tried to burn his five-month-old son, the child was taken out of the oven and miraculously came out. In the village of Katunskoye, Smolensk district, Altai Territory, women burned a one-year-old child alive in an oven: he was preventing five village women from drinking. In the Altai Republic, near Lake Teletskoye, a two-week-old girl was burned in a stove by her uncle, a resident of the village of Koo, Ulagansky district.

1 Calm down.
2 Harmful.
3 Small river.
4 Humble yourself.

In Altai, the Old Believers developed large territories and formed entire villages. The mountain villages of the Raskolniks with arable farming, maral fields, mountain apiaries, hayfields and forest lands were flourishing oases. In almost two generations, they managed to adapt to large temperature changes, fleeting summers and long winters, seasonal floods of the Katun and other rivers. Gradually, the most reliable ways of managing the world around us were selected.

Uimon Old Believers-farmers in the Altai Mountains turned into excellent hunters, sharp shooters, and excellent fishermen. Residents of Belovodye exchanged the harvested furs and skins for grain, livestock, and clothing with the Chinese and Russian Cossacks in villages located near the border zone. They also developed Russian crafts: carpentry, weaving, leather weaving, fur coats, etc. The Kerzhaks of the Uimon Basin spun flax, made linen, clothes, rugs, beautiful belts and girdles.

The Old Believers lived in good-quality, warm, well-lit houses with glazed windows. The inside of the house was clean and tidy. The walls were painted with intricate patterns and bright colors. Paints - red lead, ocher, cormorant - were prepared by folk craftsmen from natural raw materials. Common motifs in wall painting were images of strange animals, birds, lush and large flowers, and intricate floral patterns. The floors were covered with woven rugs and felt. There were forged chests along the walls, and beautiful embroidered bedspreads lay on the beds. But the most comfortable and warmest place in the house was, of course, the stove. Above its canopy were installed beds on which the children slept. The place opposite the mouth of the stove was occupied by the hostess. There were convenient cupboards and kitchen utensils located here.

The Old Believers kept their houses amazingly clean. The house was swept several times a day, the stove was whitewashed. Unpainted floors, benches, and shelves were scrubbed with brooms, knives, and sanded every Saturday.

The ancient clothes of Uimon old-timers are now worn only during holidays and prayers; in addition, they are used by folklore groups. The traditional Old Believer costume was distinguished by its brightness and variety of colors, bright trim. The summer men's suit included a white shirt decorated with a red pattern on the collar and sleeves, and canvas trousers. The festive costume consisted of wide trousers made of pleat or suede and a plain or variegated sheath. Outerwear: zipuns, azyams, sheepskin coats were made from warm cloth, fur, sheepskin, leather, and purchased camel hair.

The traditional women's Old Believer costume included a headdress, a sundress, a shirt, a belt, and an apron (apron). Short shirts, colloquially called sleeves, were sewn from white canvas and decorated with rich embroidery; the neckline was thickly ruffled over a narrow stand-up collar. The main type of sundress for Uimon women was first oblique, then round strap. Many gathers made the round sundress lush and beautiful. An important element of the traditional Old Believer costume were belts and girdles. From the moment of baptism, the belt was obligatory for the Old Believer throughout his life. The shoes of the Uimon residents were also unique. Short and high boots were made from prepared rough and thick leather for men, and women wore shoes. From the local peoples, the Old Believers borrowed comfortable and warm fur shoes: high boots made from goat fur inside and short pussycats. They themselves made winter shoes from felted wool - felt boots (felt boots).

Of course, today the life of the Old Believers of the Uimon Valley has changed, modern life leaves its mark on it. To prevent age-old traditions from disappearing forever, Uimon residents create museums. It is interesting that children become the initiators, as, for example, in the village of Verkh-Uimon. The history of the museum in this village began with an ordinary linen towel brought to a history lesson. Then the children began to bring to school everything that had long since fallen out of use in everyday life. With the help of all these things, it was possible to recreate the atmosphere of a typical Old Believer family. In addition, schoolchildren, interviewing old-timers, collected many proverbs and sayings, conspiracies and signs of the Uimon Valley. Interesting material was collected about the Great Patriotic War, because the descendants of the harsh Old Believers also fought for their Motherland without sparing their lives.