Peninsula fisherman and middle history. Rybachy Peninsula: Journey to the End of the Earth
I am sure that all of you, well, or almost all of you, have heard about this place at least once, but perhaps did not attach any importance to this. Remember the line from the song "Rybachy melted in the distant fog ..."? So this is what they say about him - about the Rybachy peninsula, covered with eternal glory, located in the very north of the European part of Russia
I have been to the Kola Peninsula many times. But all these trips were in autumn, winter or spring. It was impossible to go there in the summer. But - I wanted to. And not just in summer, but always on a polar day, when the sun does not go down below the horizon. And now the trip planned a few months ago seems to be taking shape - and proven friends are ready to keep company, and there is a suitable car, and the boss does not mind. Let's go! Our goal is the Rybachy Peninsula.
The Rybachy Peninsula is the northernmost part of European Russia. This is a border area, so to visit it you need to issue passes at the Murmansk border detachment or at the FSB Directorate for the Murmansk region - the procedure is simple, but can take up to a month to wait.
TITOVKA
We got out of Murmansk only in the late afternoon - the purchase of food, fuel, packing of luggage and canisters took almost half a day. We flew about a hundred kilometers along the asphalt and behind the border control post, crossed the Titovka river over the bridge, turned right off the road - the journey began! There are four of us - Vladimir Kondratiev from Murmansk, Alexander and Evgeny Zarodov (father and son), as well as the author of these notes. Transport units - prepared for the trophy "UAZ" on the "collective farm" bridges and 500 cc ATV Polaris.
We move along Titovka. The history of the name of this river and the bay of the same name in the Motovsky Bay goes back to the 16th century, however, then it was called Kitovka because of the mass release of whales onto land. In ancient times, Sredny and Rybachy were islands and there was a “whale crossing” between them and the mainland. Over time, the land rose, but the age-old instincts of the animals remained.
The exact purpose of these seid stones in the Saami culture is still not clear. Whether they served as landmarks in the desert tundra, or were used as religious attributes
Soon we stopped on the shore to the parking lot. We had a bite to eat, admired the completely shameless ducks stealing our bread, and drove on - there is nothing to waste precious time sleeping. Light after all, a polar day!
PASS
The only road from the mainland to Rybachy was built by the monks of the Pechenga monastery for their horse carts. Then, after the Soviet sappers, in 1940, the first tank passed through it. During the war, it was occupied by the Germans - until now, fortifications and barbed wire are everywhere around. And left and right, under the slopes, the remains of equipment are lying around, serving as a sobering factor for any driver. The road is tricky - winding turns, then rises, then descends from hill to hill. I can imagine how hard it is here in winter in ice or blizzard. It’s not for nothing, probably, that since the war times, the stream before the ascent is called Drunk - here it was supposed to pass a glass for good luck, and on the descent Sober - in order to drink cold water and rest, wiping sweat from the forehead ... Around the amazing beauty of northern landscapes with saucers of lakes looking into the sky between the hills covered with soft moss and reflected in the water with some unreal green color. True, having barely descended from the pass, we found ourselves under low dense clouds and a fine, sluggish rain, which later accompanied us throughout the trip.
HISTORY LESSONS
We go around the Motovsky Bay. To the east goes the legendary Musta-Tunturi - a four-kilometer ridge, the only section where German troops could not cross our land border. From June 29, 1941 until the end of the war, the front line here remained unchanged! But the names of all the dead defenders of Musta-Tunturi are still unknown. Every year, searchers pick up and rebury their remains. But to the right of the road is the camp of one of these teams. Despite the early morning, the attendants are on their feet, water in the cauldron gurgles on the fire. They invite you to sit down, treat you to tea, show you what you found yesterday - a military-style flask with the name of a soldier scrawled on it. We get acquainted with the leaders of the group - Alexander and Ksenia. They are from Nikel, they have been working with schoolchildren here for more than a year. The city administration supports - allocates tents, equipment. Yes, such history lessons will be remembered by the guys for a lifetime!
STRICTLY NORTH
We skip Big Lake - the former garrison of anti-aircraft gunners, almost a city. In 1959, an air defense regiment with a missile system was transferred here from Tallinn, the same one from which a U-2 spy plane was shot down near Sverdlovsk a year later. And in the fall of 1994, the last residents left the village.
The vector of our further route points strictly to the north along the Bolshaya Volokovaya Bay. We drive along the coast, breathing in the real Arctic wind at the stops. Even inclement weather does not spoil the joyful mood from the anticipation of a meeting with the peak point of the trip. And that's all, they've arrived! Vaidaguba, German Cape - only the Arctic Ocean and the North Pole are farther! Historians believe that people have lived here since the Stone Age. In the 16th century, merchant ships moored on Vaida (translated from Finnish as “change”), trade was carried out. German is usually interpreted as "foreign". It seems that everything is mixed up on this small piece: the ruins of an old pier and a monument to the defenders of the Fatherland, a Sami well and a completely modern weather station, stones with mysterious signs and ... a solar-powered payphone.
DESERT COASTS
We collect water from an ancient well in an eggplant and head to Cape Skorbeevsky. Another legacy cold war, another abandoned garrison. An eerie sight...
We spend the night near the waterfall on Zubovka. It’s hard to believe that earlier these lands were so populated that the Dutch traveler, who was going around Rybachy by the sea in 1594, seemed to be one big city - there were so many buildings on the coast.
SECRET PLANS
It's time to reveal a little secret here. In addition to the usual desire to visit Rybachy, I had one more goal. Now that the “secrecy stamp has been lifted” and the system for issuing passes to the border zone has been worked out, it is a real pilgrimage here in the summer. Jeepers, motorcyclists, cyclists, walkers... But almost everyone travels along the same route in the central and northwestern parts of the peninsula. There are even firms that specialize in off-road tourism, taking clients to predetermined points, almost like along the Golden Ring, only with planned adventures in the form of fords and destroyed bridges. But nowhere did I find any mention of their visit to the eastern part of Rybachy. Even in Google Earth this area is hidden for some reason by a veil of "unreadability". So let it be "our little edge of the Earth"!
Roads in the tundra are unpredictable. It is unlikely that this vehicle will ever drive - its destiny is to become the prey of "metal hunters"
BPM
Leaving the Zubov Bay, we rush to the east, towards Tsyp-Navolok, along the rocky coast of the sea. After a couple of kilometers we see smooth sandy surfaces and the remains of many fortifications - during the war there was an alternate airfield. And soon we find ourselves on the VRM. This abbreviation is deciphered both as “Let's drink, guys,“ Moskovskaya ”, and as“ The patrimony of meteorological fishermen ”, and as“ Here are the ruins of the lighthouse. The latest version is now the most correct - since 1953 there was a fan radio beacon (BRM). According to the signals sent by him, warships and cargo ships were guided. Some analogue of the modern GPS system. In 1979, the outdated design of the lighthouse was replaced by a new one, but soon no one needed it. From the former genius of human thought, in addition to the ruins of a two-story building, auxiliary and outbuildings, there are several 75-meter towers, placed for almost five kilometers along the sea.
CHICK-PILLOW
We entered Tsyp-Navolok after midnight. As expected at this time of day, normal people were already asleep. We stopped in the center of the village near the lighthouse, looked around. Nobody. Only a couple of dogs run around the car and beg, barking softly. We notice that a door opens in a house nearby and a figure of a young guy in a shirt and camouflage pants appears on the threshold. The building is located behind a low fence and a gate with a star. Let's go and say hello. It is difficult to talk, because the cold, almost icy wind almost knocks you down. Visiting guests are rare here, so the conversation is quite official: “Who are they, where from, why, do you have passes to the closed zone?” We are at a military facility where civilians are not supposed to be. Zhenya is jokingly interested in the presence of a shop or stall in the village, which immediately defuses the tense atmosphere - we are invited to the house to drink tea. I have never eaten such delicious bread that sailors bake in Tsyp-Navolok! Better than any croissants! Andrei is a midshipman-contractor and has been serving here for several years. He grumbles that they pay little, but is not going to leave yet: “I feel at home here, and who will teach these young people? All the same, it rests on the midshipmen. ” Although most of the strength of 27 years, no more. And the philosopher: “What is there to do in winter besides work? I’m writing poetry out of boredom - last year I wrote the whole notebook!” And after tea, he gives us a real apartment for the night with six almost closely standing soldiers' beds and a stove.
VISIT MIHALYCH
The usual drizzle is pouring from the sky, and sleeping under a warm roof, and not in a wet tent, is the height of bliss. Therefore, the morning begins closer to dinner and ... with one more check - this midshipman dropped in and said that we should show up with documents at the outpost. The border guards in these parts own all the functions of power - from the priority for the protection of borders to the police and "fish surveillance". While we were washing and getting ready, the head of the garrison himself visited us. The serious mustachioed officer meticulously studied the papers, but after looking business card”- a magazine with material about our March trip to Cape Svyatoy Nos, his eyes softened and the tips of his mustache crawled up - everything is fine, his own! It's time to sit down at the table together, because besides getting to know each other, there is another reason - the most important, perhaps, in this situation - today is Navy Day! After a small buffet, Andrey Mikhailovich proudly showed his farm. Behind the shabby facade of an outwardly unsightly barracks, it turns out that there is a completely modern building with all the amenities and with a European-style renovation. There is a sauna and a la swimming pool on the street. It is difficult to imagine with what difficulty all this was built and delivered along the “roads” on which the military “Ural” “takes off” three wheels per trip, and the same VRM masts serve as landmarks in winter. But nevertheless people live and work. On the territory of the village there is a weather station, founded already in 1921, an operating lighthouse, from which we have an amazing view of the stormy Barents Sea, Anikievsky Island (oh, the weather would be better!) And the deserted coast for many, many kilometers around. But even at the beginning of the last century, there was a fishing post of the Savin brothers, the largest buyers of fish in Murman, there were colonists' houses, a church and even a Red Cross hospital.
STONE CHRONICLE
Weather conditions did not allow us to get to Anikievsky Island. Here is what is written about him in the Guide to the Russian North, published in 1898: “During the stop of the steamer in Tsyp-Navolok, it is curious to visit the island of Anikeev lying near it, one of the plates of which is a stone chronicle of Murman. It is all carefully and beautifully covered… with carved names of Danish, German and Dutch skippers who came to Murman for fish in the 16th, 17th and XVIII centuries. The inscriptions are especially beautiful: Berent Gundersen 1595, 1596, 1597, 1610, 1611, 1615 blef jeg frataget skif (“they took away my ship”). Below, under the inscription, a warrior is depicted ... "And even further:" The Russian inscription carved in a curly letter is beautiful and interesting: Summer 7158 (according to the new chronology it is 1650. - Approx. ed.) Grishka Dudin grieved. And the expedition of M. Oreshty in 1995 discovered even an earlier Pomeranian autograph: “Shurechanin Vasily Malashov was standing in 1630.”
ON THE BACK WAY
Almost a day spent in Tsyp-Navolok flew by unnoticed. In two days we definitely had to return to Murmansk. We say goodbye to the hospitable hosts and, as usual at night, we start. Although what kind of night it is, rather a light twilight.
If you look at the map, then there are several roads leading to Ozerok - the nodal "crossroad" of Rybachy. We choose the shortest, but, as it turns out later, the most difficult - "Zubovsky tract". He goes through the mountains among the tundra swamps flooded with multi-day rains. Puddles, often as deep as the hood of a lifted UAZ on 35 wheels, come across every 50-100 meters. And stones, stones, stones! The speed of advance is about 3-5 km / h. It is sometimes even easier to ride a quadric, as you can go around obstacles along the edge, but the wind and rain make it a very difficult walk.
STONE GIANTS
After 12 hours of non-stop travel, the loop along Rybachy closed, and we went down to Sredny. Now the direction of movement is counterclockwise. From Cape Zemlyanoy we drive along the western coast along a long 30-meter cliff, made of the thinnest slate plates, through which many small springs make their way. The famous "Two Brothers" are gigantic remnants. Some kind of mysticism is blowing here - it is not without reason that the Sami have since ancient times considered Mount Pummanki to be the habitat of sorcerers (noids). According to legend, two of them - the brothers Noid-Ukko and Noid-Akka - were punished for their atrocities and turned into these stone statues.
38 STARS
A little further on the high bank we meet a practically untouched coastal battery of the 1950s (judging by the nameplate on the gun, it was made in 1946). Multi-level system of moves, mechanisms in lubrication. During the war, the 221st battery was also based here, which destroyed a German minesweeper on June 22, 1941 and thereby opened the combat account of the USSR Navy. The barrel from one of her guns with 38 stars (according to the number of enemy ships sunk) now lies in a ship cemetery about four kilometers from this place.
GLORY TO THE HEROES!
We spend the last night on this trip at the exit from Sredny, on the bank of the river under the Musta-Tunturi ridge. Sanya Zarodov tells how, while still a schoolboy, he participated in the installation of the first obelisk on it. Carried sand upstairs in a backpack for the foundation of the monument. Suddenly, our camp is illuminated by the sun peeping out of the clouds - in a week we have already weaned from it. We look at the brightened mountains and somehow automatically begin to discuss the route of the next trip to the North. Severe beauty, the attraction of the North, the end of the Earth - seemingly banal phrases, but ... oddly enough, very honest and appropriate here.
"Two brothers", who were worshiped and feared by the Saami, considering them to be petrified evil sorcerers. Now, at the base of the northern remnant, a geocache cache is hidden
To see Rybachy and not die... with delight, well, at least try. These words very accurately reflect the emotions from visiting the northernmost European part of Russia. It seems that moving around the territory of the peninsula, you pass through several countries: there are mountains, and the sea, and waterfalls, and lakes, and even different seasons.
As one member of the "Discovering the Silver Necklace" expedition said: "This is the coolest thing I've seen in my life!"
Until recently, the peninsula was a closed territory, so you can only get here by car.
The Rybachy Peninsula is located on the Lapland coast of the Arctic Ocean. Between the mainland and the Rybachy Peninsula lies the Sredny Peninsula. Many consider these peninsulas to be a single peninsula and call them by the same name - Rybachy. In all this vast territory there are only four bases where a traveler can stop.
We got acquainted with Rybachy with the help of mega hospitable guys from the base "Cool North". We were late for a trip around the peninsula on ATVs - the weather no longer allowed, so we explored the territory on a GAZ-66, popularly known as shishiga.
Here it is a fire-machine - Shishiga, which passes such roads, mountains and fords that one can only be surprised.
After the Second World War, mainly military and geologists lived on the peninsula. In the 90s, Rybachy was practically deserted, so roads and bridges in many places are in such a state that overcoming them becomes a quest. But Shishiga coped with everything and the expedition members are now safely sitting in their homes on the mainland.
For two days of traveling around the peninsula, we saw 2 people and one car.
Barents Sea. After 2200 km from here is the North Pole.
Despite its northern position, the Rybachy Peninsula is the warmest place in the Murmansk region and the entire Russian north. Off the coast of the peninsula, the sea does not freeze all year round.
The white lambs of the waves of the Barents Sea do not let go, you do not want to leave. The sea, although cold, is so attractive in the sun. But our guide urges us on: “You haven’t seen so much yet!!!”
After the lowland waterfalls of Karelia and the mainland Murmansk region, the Rybachy waterfalls amaze with their height and power.
One coast, and the weather changes with cosmic speed.
At the entrance to Cape Kekursky, the clouds scattered and the sun came out.
On the cape there are probably the most picturesque cliffs of the peninsula. Bagpipes immediately sounded in my ears, and a Scottish cage flashed in my eyes, as in the series “Highlander”, which I looked into holes in my adolescence :)
Guba-Vaida is located near Cape Kekursky, as guides and books say, there was a Kegor trade where the British, Danes, and Dutch sailed to sell their goods. From here, these goods were already going to Arkhangelsk and Moscow.
Mount Motka met with snow and fog, because of which we could not see anything. Although we were told that the views here are more beautiful than from Cape Kekursky.
During the war, a divisional command post was located on this mountain. In general, we were warned that we must definitely look under our feet, because on Rybachy you can still find "echoes of the war."
Bloggers are bloggers. There are no views, but there is Internet from Megafon. I had to stay here and break the peninsular Internet detox program.
If you like abandoned places, then you have something to see here. The Bolshoe Ozerko garrison was disbanded in 1987, and by the 1990s everyone had left the village.
The village had a hospital, a school, a canteen, a diesel station and even a museum.
In the 60-70s, the first five-story house on the peninsulas with all amenities appeared.
When you walk around someone else's apartment, you see that there is a stove in every kitchen, you realize what incredible work it took to build all this on the peninsula and how hard it was for people to arrange their life.
It is unfortunate that all efforts went to waste and no one needs it anymore.
Let's go to the next waterfall.
Photos do not convey all the beauty and power of Rybachy's nature. You look at the camera screen and everything seems flat, small. I want to ask for a camera and just absorb everything that you see around.
Want to see mushrooms that are taller than trees? Here they are - boletus.
And you can’t stop the desire to tell about what you saw to the world, and right away. All the same Megafon periodically gave us such an opportunity.
He must be listening to something on Storytel about the birth of the Northern Sea Route :)
On the roads there are barrels filled with stones with a sticking out pole - milestones. We were told that this was also left over from the military.
German Cape, next to it is the village of Vaida-Guba, in which there is a weather station and a lighthouse. As the northernmost point of the European part of Russia, the cape attracts thousands of tourists.
Alas, there was quite a lot of plastic on the shore (Greta, you were right) and the remains of a whale that had thrown itself 3 years ago. There are also many pyramids of stones. It is believed that during the construction of the pyramid, they make a wish, and the stronger and larger the structure, the more likely dreams come true.
Well, here we are at the End of the Earth!
MMP-1966 - 2008 Heroic Fisherman. (Part 1).
Most of my life has connected me with the Rybachy Peninsula. I first came to Rybachy in July 1966 on the steamship Ilya Repin, when I arrived in Murmansk as a cadet of LMU for a year of practice. Later, I went to the Rybachy Peninsula already in navigator and captain positions on MMP passenger ships: Ilya Repin, Petrodvorets, Hakob Akopyan, Vologda, Klavdiya Elanskaya, Kanin and mx "Polaris". My last visit to Rybachy was on mv "Polaris" in the summer of 2007, when Rybachy was being mastered by specialists from the Murmansk Shipping Company, who were looking for oil on the peninsula. I then told Kulikov N.V. that he would not produce oil in these places. And so it happened...
I have the best memories of this sacred land for all Murmansk residents. Many of my years were devoted to the peninsula, when the ships of the shipping company were on the regular passenger line Murmansk - Ozerko, providing residents living throughout the peninsula with everything they needed. Communication with the mainland was carried out in those days mainly through passenger ships MMP. Another year I visited Ozerko up to a hundred times a year, went around and traveled the peninsula far and wide. I have special and best memories for the period 1988-2003, when Colonel Viktor Viktorovich Kudelya, my good comrade and the last commander of the entire peninsula, commanded a brigade in Ozerko. Despite the fact that a lot has been written about the Rybachy Peninsula in the literature, and especially about its heroic pages during the Great Patriotic War, I want to pay my attention to my beloved land in terms of my memories. I also want to make a short historical digression into the past of the Rybachy Peninsula.
The Rybachy Peninsula (Sami Giehkirnjrga, Finnish Kalastajasaarento, Norwegian Fiskerhalvya) is a peninsula in the north of the Kola Peninsula. Administratively, Rybachy is part of the Pechenga district of the Murmansk region. It is washed by the Barents Sea and Motovsky Bay. It is a plateau, abruptly breaking off to the sea. The plateau is composed of shales, sandstones and limestones. Altitude up to 300 m. Tundra vegetation. Off the coast of the peninsula, the sea, thanks to the warm North Cape current, does not freeze all year round. Coastal waters are rich in fish (herring, cod, capelin, etc.). To the south of the peninsula is the Sredny Peninsula. From the north, a relatively large bay, the Zubov Bay, protrudes into the peninsula for 3.5 kilometers.
From ancient times in the coastal waters of the Rybachy Pomors fished. In the 17th century there were 16 fishing camps with 109 fishing huts. Since the 16th century, the name has already been mentioned Fishing Peninsula. The Dutch traveler Guyen van Linschoten (English), a member of the expedition of 1594, mentions that he saw "the land of Kegot, called the Fisherman's Peninsula." Stephen Barrow (English) On June 23, 1576, after traveling to the northern shores of Russia, he claims during interrogation that he was in the village of Kigor, and in his diaries for 1555 he mentions Cape Kegor (now German). At this place there was a lively bargaining, through which the Russian state traded with Europe. In 1826, when drawing the border between Russian Empire and Norway assigned the peninsula to Russia, despite the fact that Norwegian settlers lived on the peninsula. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were 9 colonies of Norwegians and Finns on the peninsula, in which 500 people lived. After Finland gained independence, the western part of the peninsula was ceded to the Finns, which was returned to the Soviet Union after the Soviet-Finnish war.
During the Great Patriotic War, fierce battles between Soviet and German troops took place on the peninsula and coastal waters. In Murmansk, a street was named after the soldiers who defended the strategic peninsula. After the end of the war, the peninsula was heavily militarized, as it was located in close proximity to the NATO member country Norway. Currently, most of the military garrisons here are completely closed. More recently, the territory of the Rybachy Peninsula was finally open to the public. And immediately dozens of jeeps, all-terrain vehicles and hundreds of northern extreme lovers poured here ...
The Rybachy Peninsula is truly the end of the earth. The northernmost point of the European part of Russia is located here. You feel it especially sharply, standing on a rocky cliff, at the edge of the ocean, squinting from a strong north wind. Behind the back are the "space balls" of the radar station and the pointing finger of the lighthouse, and in front, as far as the eye can see, is the expanse of water. Naturally, Rybachy is a closed area. But here, it was possible to get absolutely legally, having requested the appropriate permission from the border guards in advance. The only ones who are still closed here are foreigners. Previously, this small bare piece of land, surrounded on all sides by water, was literally stuffed with military units. Norway, a NATO member, is within easy reach, and all waterways in our northern ports are passing by. Now everything has changed.
The troops were withdrawn, the remaining small units look frightening: gloomy shabby barracks, the remains of equipment scattered everywhere, dirty conscripts looking like a wolf from under their brows. I really don't want to look at all this.
From Murmansk to Rybachy, if you go by car, it's only a few hours' journey. But this path is extremely interesting. The landscape changes literally every ten kilometers. Dense still forests give way to light forests, they are replaced by "northern dwarfs", and further north - and they disappear from view. Thin shrubs can only be found in the lowlands between the rocks, and everywhere dominated by mosses, lichens and some strangely established grasses that still manage to bloom here. This is the real tundra. Only the tundra is not low and swampy, but rocky. small mountain ranges go through the entire peninsula, forming a fantastic unique relief. In the valleys, if you can call them that, there are a great many transparent lakes, swamps, streams and streams. All this, following the usual cliche, I would like to call a cosmic landscape, but in fact, of course, the landscape is the most earthly, it is simply difficult to find the appropriate epithets to describe it. It is much easier to talk about the tropics, where there is a riot of colors and a constant celebration of life. And here there seems to be nothing but wind, rocks, stones, water and moss, but all this fascinates so that sometimes you want to look at this picture without stopping for hours.
But back in the thirties it was crowded here, Russians, Finns, Sami lived here, there was even a whole Norwegian village with the "bird" name Tsyp-Navolok. Here is what is written about the former population of Rybachy in the Guide to the North of Russia (St. Petersburg, 1898, p. 78):
- “On the eastern coast of the Rybachy Peninsula, near Tsip Navolok, there is Korabelnaya Bay, which for a long time was revived by the activity of the trading post founded here by the St. Petersburg merchant Pallizen, which then passed to the merchant Zebek and from him to the Rybak society. The ship trading post left a noticeable trace of its activity in our Murmansk and White Sea fisheries by using the American purse seine to catch herring and capelin and introducing hellebore to save bait. I borrowed this quote from the book of my friend, a great connoisseur of the Kola land, the Murmansk writer Mikhail. Oreshets "Orphaned Shores", published online on his own website. The photograph posted there shows Mikhail Oreshet with a beard and a megaphone in his hands, along with an unnamed border guard, as well as our former enemy, and now a German friend, Gerhard Dagh, and the leader of the North Sea schoolchildren, Galina Penkova. Misha is a local historian and historian who devoted his life to our northern region.
Walking on the tundra is a pleasure - everything is visible for many kilometers ahead and at almost every step you meet something unusual and different, either an exotic beast, or an unexploded mine that has lain since the war. Here, literally, a motley partridge hen jumps out from under your feet and, diligently pretending that everything is not all right with her health, begins to take you away from her brood. Usually, pretending to believe, I follow her, keeping a distance, not moving away, but not letting her close either. Then I turn around and see how she, having made sure that I am at a safe distance for her family, squeaking loudly, hurries back to the children with both her paws.
Fish here, too, of course, is found - where would the name come from then - the Fishing Peninsula? And this fish is truly royal: brown trout, trout, delicacy salmon.
Throughout Rybachye there are hundreds of streams, rivers and lakes with this beautiful fish. I constantly fished on Rybachy in all seasons and with great success.
And once, in the middle of the 19th century, on Rybachy and on the whales they “swung” not without success. The last time, in my memory, a real whale threw itself onto a sandbank near Zubovka in 1993. I saw this whale to the east of Kildin Island when I was going on the Kanin to Gremikha, and even approached it at a very close quarters to film it, popping up and fantasizing, on a video camera.
In the 80s and 90s, you didn’t have to go far for fish. I caught it in the Korabelny stream, and in Poltyn, and in Ein with their crystal and cold waters. The fish could be seen directly from the shore. If a tropical islands called a coconut or banana-lemon paradise, then Rybachy is undoubtedly a cloudberry-blueberry-mushroom paradise. To collect mushrooms for roast or berries for jam, we did not need to go further than 200-250 meters from the pier where the ship was moored - there were a great many mushrooms and berries. And if Viktor Viktorovich gave me a car, then there were so many mushrooms that you simply couldn’t carry them away on yourself. They paid attention to russula only at the very beginning of the mushroom season, until the boletus boletus went, but they also ceased to be interested when they crawled out into the light of day and immediately in such quantity that “at least their oblique mow”, strong red-headed boletus.
I knew places where white mushrooms grew in abundance, but, of course, I tried not to give them out to anyone. And who knows northern ginseng? Along stream valleys, among stones, sometimes right on sheer cliffs and our northern "ginseng" grows - pink radiola, or, in a simple way - "golden root". I had to meet him more than once - it was a quarter of an hour's leisurely walk from the pier to my nearest plantations. At the golden root, rhizomes and roots harvested in the second half of July-first half of August are used for medicinal purposes only from large specimens with at least 2 stems. The rhizomes and roots of the plant contain tyrosol, radioloside glycoside, essential oils, tannins, anthraglycosides, malic, gallic, citric, succinic, oxalic acids, lactones, sterols, flavonols (hyperazid, quercetin, isoquercetin, kaempferol), sugars (mainly glucose and sucrose), lipids.
Pharmacological studies have established that an extract from rhizomes in 40% alcohol not only has a stimulating and adaptogenic effect, similar to ginseng and eleutherococcus preparations, but also increases blood pressure.
Autumn on Rybachy comes quickly, hastily, not fussily, but in a businesslike way. The tundra becomes somehow dark and inhospitable, as it was in summer, and I didn’t have time to look back, and the sun is almost gone. Darkness comes quickly. It is clear that there will be no return: it is said, and that's it, that's serious. She will not, as in St. Petersburg, rush back and forth, but will do her autumn work and immediately hand over the work to winter. Gloomy and unfriendly, it reminds of seriousness with its winds, bringing down its power on Rybachy. In 1968, I saw when a hurricane demolished and destroyed half of the buildings along the coast of Ozerko Bay.
All seasons in the North are fairly well defined. Do not rush and do not shy away from one to another. Winter immediately grabs a stranglehold and will not let go until the end. Here winter does not rush anywhere. Claim and get it right away. Severe frosts, dense and some kind of hard blizzards immediately show who is the boss here. If not in the spirit, he can spin his devilish dance so that you involuntarily start to respect him.
The forest on Rybachy and Sredny - alder and birch - grows only along the valleys of streams, where the winds are not so strong, but even here they make the trees bend intricately. In August, the slopes are covered with lilac-purple willow-tea. Autumn begins in September, the tundra turns burgundy red, lingonberries ripen, replacing blueberries and blueberries, cloudberries leave even earlier, in mid-August. In October, the lingonberries will go under the snow, so that the partridges have something to profit from in the spring - the almighty Nature has everything thought out in this regard.
Ein Bay is a kind of oasis on Rybachy. In contrast to the central and northern regions of the peninsula, even lush grass is found here, where cattle were even grazed before. Guba is surrounded by high hills with steep cliffs, which are worth standing here overnight. During the war, the bay was the main source of supply for the garrison on Rybachy - for this, a pier was built, the remains of which are still visible. Another attraction of the bay is the sunken research vessel Perseus. A two-masted sail-steam schooner with ice contours was built in the city of Onega in 1918 as a hunting ship, but in 1922 in Arkhangelsk the unfinished ship was modernized and became a research ship. For its intended purpose, the vessel operated in the seas of the Arctic Ocean from 1923 to 1941. It was a real floating marine scientific institute. I even managed to find some technical data of the ship: displacement - 550 tons, length - 41.5 meters, width - 8 meters, draft - 3.2 meters. There were 7 laboratories on this ship, including 1 meteorological one. It was on this ship that echo sounders were first used to detect schools of fish (1939)! From the beginning of the war (since 1941), the Perseus was handed over to the military, and in the same year it was sunk by German aircraft. So the ship and the scientific laboratory became the basis for the pier mentioned above. At low tide, his remains are still visible ...
"Big Lake" - ... arose as a colony in 1860 on the southwestern coast of Rybachy ... In the 1920s it was the center of the Novoozerkovskaya volost. The population in 1926 was 247 people, in 1938 - 127 people. In 1930, the collective farm "Border Fisherman" was organized ... In 1960, the village of Ozerko was marked by a row of prefabricated panel houses, popularly called "Finnish" ... Over the years of existence, anti-aircraft missile systems located on Sredny and Rybachy have become morally and tactically outdated. In the late eighties - early nineties, they began to reduce them ... In the fall of 1994, the last group of soldiers and officers left the village of Ozerko. There came a period of pogrom of everything that had been created with such difficulty for years. At this time, the worst features of our national character appeared - to take everything that is badly lying, to beat what cannot be carried away.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, we inherited a dubious legacy: missile silos scattered here and there, barracks, submarine bases. The construction of these sensitive facilities cost the state many billions, and now they are being destroyed under the prickly winds of the Arctic. It hurts that incredibly complex, expensive mechanisms that could still be restored were completely abandoned, as if it were a barn no one needed. But I myself took part in the Soviet era in the construction of many military facilities on Rybachy, transporting thousands of tons of building materials on mv "Hakop Hakobyan", as well as on other cargo-passenger ships of the shipping company. Therefore, it was doubly painful for me to look at what had become of the peninsula after 1995.
I want to walk along Rybachy in 2007 when I was there in last time, having traveled more than a hundred kilometers on an ATV, through his native places.
On the abandoned buildings of the Sredny and Rybachy peninsulas, you can study the history of the rise and fall Soviet Union, a story of unfulfilled hopes and unfulfilled plans. An abandoned village is like a lonely sick person: it seems to live, but there is no joy. We have always been extravagant. It is especially acute here, on the Rybachy and Sredny peninsulas, on our strategic maritime border. This is a frozen museum of the Soviet era. Abandoned garrisons and defensive fortifications are like scars on the body of the tundra. Alien. There are many of them, but each of them is lonely in his own way and each has his own story of escape.
Garrisons in which, at first glance, there is everything necessary for life - high-rise buildings, clubs, gyms, but there is not a single living soul. Ghost villages, lost on the map, orphaned overnight, which are only occasionally visited by lone travelers. Yes, even monuments - with the drooping head of the heroes-fishermen. They are the shadows of the past, militant, saturated with glory, which has become useless to anyone. Nothing to say. Now the village looks like an abandoned military field. And it will collapse and deteriorate as long as there is at least one more gram of metal that can be handed over, or one more brick that you can take with you. The plundering process is put on a grand scale ... But, even if there were no plunderers, I do not believe that life could ever return to these houses. Our reality is that even good house losing one owner does not always find a new one. This applies in particular to structures owned by the armed forces.
Rybachy is very favorably located, alas, not only in terms of fishing: the peninsula overlooking Norway is an excellent springboard for our troops. It is unlikely that in the near future he or at least part of him will become civilian.
Villages on the Rybachy Peninsula, almost all destroyed. Several metalworkers now live in Bolshoy Ozerko, who collect the remains of metal. It's beautiful and creepy, like a graveyard.
Here I started my last journey along Rybachy in the summer of 2007 on a quad bike, reaching the camp of geologists and back. Practically, starting from Big Ozerko, there is a road built during the Second World War, and it is radically different from all other "roads" on the peninsula. Compared to them, this is a full-fledged dirt highway; it is through it that cars get to the peninsula (well, of course, only those that could pass through the pass)!
The village of Zemlyanoye (Pummanki), located in the very center of Sredny, was generally surrounded by something that remotely resembled a real forest. Somewhere I heard that Zemlyanoye is still a residential village ... but as soon as I entered the outskirts, there was no doubt left: there had been no one there for a long time. Abandoned houses, equipment left right in the middle of the road ... If I didn’t know the history of these places, I would assume that a war broke out here 15-20 years ago and the inhabitants fled, leaving everything they had. But the reality is sadder - such a well-located village with capital buildings was simply abandoned due to the redeployment of military units. But here I have been so many times with my friends of the border guards. Here we bathed in a wonderful sauna, fished, hunted, picked mushrooms and berries. There was an excellent shooting range here, where I fired at almost all types of weapons, from TT to machine guns and grenade launchers. On the Vykat stream, I set up nets and caught salmon. Naturally, now the bridge over the Vykat has been destroyed, but nearby cars have already “trampled” a quite acceptable ford and I was able to drive further ...
A few hours later, I reached former camp geologists, turned back to Sredny to return to Ozerko again.
But for now, from Cape Zemlyanoy, I am going along the western coast along a long 30-meter cliff, made of the thinnest shale plates, through which many small springs make their way. The famous "Two Brothers". Some kind of mysticism is blowing here - it is not without reason that the Sami have since ancient times considered Mount Pummanki to be the habitat of sorcerers (noids). According to legend, two of them - the brothers Noid-Ukko and Noid-Akka - were punished for their atrocities and turned into these stone statues. The most beautiful places! Declaring the Rybachy Peninsula a national park with its mandatory transfer from the Department of the Ministry of Defense, as a mismanaged and inept owner, to the relevant structures involved in the conservation of natural and other heritage, could contribute to the development of tourism on the coast of the Barents Sea, which in turn would have a positive effect on preservation and military heritage sites. Tourists still visit these places with pleasure, but only in a wild way.
Traces of the presence of hydrocarbons, characteristic of gas and oil fields, were discovered on Sredny several decades ago. In the 70s, the USSR Ministry of Geology recommended that drilling be started there, but even sufficient geophysical studies were not carried out on the peninsula.
In 1994, the regional administration registered, with the support of several oil companies, the Severshelf company, which conducted seismic surveys on Rybachy. They gave hopeful results for the oilmen. Apparently, the oil field stretches from the peninsula into the sea - to the Rybachinskoye oil field. According to experts, in principle, subject to all the rules, drilling and oil production on land is much safer than offshore drilling.
In 2002, one of the co-owners of the Murmansk shipping company Nikolai Kulikov, the former general director of Lukoil-Arctic-Tanker, founded a new company, Murmanskneftegaz, which received licenses to operate on the peninsula a year later. The company was even registered and located in a building owned by the shipping company. Having issued only a license (MUR series number 11451 NP) in March 2003 to start activities and organize work on the profile, in the fall of the same year, Murmanskneftegaz began prospecting on the Sredny Peninsula, actually on the isthmus between Sredny and Rybachy. Equipment began to be imported to the peninsula - a disassembled drilling rig, tractors and other equipment. At the same time, the project of work and Required documents, determined by the terms of the license for exploration drilling, has not been developed. The administration of the Pechenga district of the Murmansk region was not informed of the timing of the start of work, which did not prevent the death of part of the tundra and conflict situation concerning. The opinions of local reindeer herders were not taken into account either.
And all this - despite the fact that, for example, the following clause was included in the terms of the license: “3.1.4. Start field geophysical work and well construction only after the development of ... projects of the relevant types of work. Organize and conduct a procedure for assessing the impact of the planned activities on environment(EIA). Include EIA materials in the composition of the object of state environmental expertise. “Apparently, the leaders of the limited liability company did not even look at the document,” comments Sergey Zhavoronkin, head of the environmental organization Bellona-Murmansk.
As it turned out, the land on which Murmanskneftegaz began to develop vigorous activity has been leased from the Rangifer reindeer farm, which has more than 500 deer, since 1991. Having learned about the expansion of the oil workers, the reindeer herders turned to the regional land committee. “The reindeer herders could not have done otherwise, since they, the tenants, are primarily responsible for the outrages on the territory they rent,” says Sergey Zhavoronkin. In December 2003, the land committee of the Murmansk region found that the oilmen had seized the land illegally and brought Murmanskneftegaz to a fine with the obligation to eliminate the discovered deficiencies within three months. In addition, as established by the inspectors of the regional administration natural resources, as a result of the activities of Murmanskneftegaz on the peninsula, about 4 hectares of soil cover with reindeer moss, which is the main food of reindeer, were destroyed. The Department of Natural Resources issued an order to suspend the preparatory work, and provide the department with all the necessary documents.
However, work, as I know, is being carried out on the Middle, to this day. There are no guns and tanks against the new capitalists, and those that are have not fired for a long time.
I still have a map of the places where, over the many years of visiting Rybachy, I have passed and examined almost every square, every stream, every swamp with berries and every lake with fish. All these are native places. All this is the heroic Rybachy. All this is our common memory - for those who want to remember and to whom it is all dear. I hope that Rybachy will someday be reborn. But that will be later.
And where is it happy today? Maybe this "happy today" was seen by the last commander of Rybachy - Kudel Viktor Viktorovich? Or thousands of other Fishermen? Why did millions of our fathers and grandfathers die in 1941-1945? To be winners or, in the end, defeated? There is no clear answer to these questions. But still! Glory to the heroes of the Rybachy Peninsula! And eternal memory to them!
I returned to Ozerko, having traveled more than a hundred kilometers with bitterness in my soul ...
we, of course, could not refuse the offer to trample on the northernmost geographic point mainland European territory. Yes, and they promised different beauties ... things in the teeth, a camera around the neck, jumping into the car - we are going to the Rybachy Peninsula.
Strategic map of the area with important notes :) blue dotted line - our approximate route 
the weather in the Arctic is all so sudden. and if the never-setting sun accompanied us all the way to Teriberka, this time we passed almost the entire way in foggy milk. almost the checkpoint and the barrier did not slip through :)) - access to the peninsula itself has been open since not very long ago, but harsh guys in uniform are interested in the purpose of visiting) 
after the barrier, the civilized road ends. the cars are clustered, the guys are pitting the wheels - they are getting ready for the delights of off-road life :) and then beauty begins.
the Titovka river and the cascade of waterfalls Melnichny. 
I would love to spend more time on the waterfalls, but it was evening, and it was still a long way to go to the place of spending the night .. limited to a couple of views 
five-minute rest before the mountain pass. 
the fog thickens. Musta Tunturi - mountain range separating the peninsulas average and Rybachy from the mainland. 
driving along the pass in the fog is still a pleasure. visibility tends to zero - I'm going there, I don't know where. 
mountain roads can be dangerous even if they are not high mountains. 
rescue operation to get a stuck tractor. they say he has been resting here since the beginning of spring) the operation ended successfully, after 2 days on the way back, they got just at the very moment when they managed to pull him onto the road. 
the fog has cleared, the pass has been passed - we are on the Sredny Peninsula. 
in general, Sredny and Rybachy are often called in one word - Rybachy. but in fact there are two peninsulas - one passing through the isthmus into the other. Average in Rybachy. 
the time on the clock is midnight, it was decided to stop here. 
having dinner (or what is the name of the meal after midnight? :), we explore the surrounding area. a suspended project of a hotel - a recreation center (according to the plan, it should have already been commissioned). very nice project, I hope someday it will still work. we walked to the houses, looked - if everything is completed, it will turn out great. there are not many cozy places of rest on the coast of the Arctic. 
the next day came - there is a long excursion along the Middle, but by the evening we should get to Rybachy itself. the path is expected to be difficult) 
we go along the coast. if you look very carefully - you can see Norway :) 
somewhere around here:) here and sms come "welcome to Norway". Pts nice, but the connection on the phones was turned off just in case :) 
A lonely sail turns white in the blue fog of the sea ... 
subtle natural toning. once again we were lucky with the weather, it seems that there is not much sun, but it is not cloudy either. 
us there! I like places where there are not many people, to put it mildly) 
our little gang 
They promised to show us "two brothers". what is it, what does it look like? .. we drive the first car: "Guys, tell me at least where to look? what if we miss it?" ...No, they say, don't miss it! You will see, you will immediately understand!
and really .. they didn’t miss and understood :)) 
"Two Brothers" are multi-meter stone remnants located on the coast of the Sredny Peninsula. In ancient times, they served as landmarks for fishermen, and the Sami considered bizarre stone sculptures to be sacred, they performed sacrifices and pagan rites here. 
brother one. 
and another brother. 
There is a beautiful Sami legend about the Noids. it means that they are not brothers, but the groom and his wife. well, it doesn’t matter .. the spectacle is impressive in any case) 
view from the viewing stone away from the brothers) 
encyclopedic reference: the peninsula is a plateau, abruptly breaking off to the sea. The plateau is composed of shales, sandstones and limestones. 
a few kilometers from the "Brothers" there is another interesting place - the Coast of Red Stones. or the Coast of White Stones (apparently, it depends on the weather at the moment :)) 
stones of amazing alien shapes honed by the ocean-sea. 
yes, and indeed - the stones in the sun are red. 
and without it - white. 
selfie - holy :) 
I've also guarded the surf a bit. the most difficult thing is to simultaneously catch a wave and a ray of the sun, which peeked out timidly from behind the clouds)) 
the panorama in a narrowed form looks so-so .. I recommend to see it live :))) 
perfect place for lunch. 
I also didn’t know that there are eagles on the Kola) 
to be continued...
The Rybachy Peninsula, which is located in the Murmansk region, is a very interesting place. Rybachy Peninsula will certainly appeal to those who love travel, trips to nature and sea fishing. Photos from trips and travels to this unique place can be found online as well as in travel magazines. There you can also find reviews of experienced outdoor enthusiasts and interesting photos of amateur anglers.
In contact with
You can get to the Rybachy Peninsula from Murmansk. The main thing is to think over the route of the trip in advance, because due to the complex weather conditions a trip to Rybachy can fail. To get to the Rybachy Peninsula from Murmansk, you must have a map with you. The Rybachy Peninsula in the Murmansk Region is one of the most interesting places on the map of northern Russia.
Travel to the Rybachy Peninsula in the Murmansk region: why you should go there
For those who love leisure in nature, it is not at all necessary to leave Russia for this. There are also very interesting routes in our country. In the north of Russia, beyond the Arctic Circle, is the city of Murmansk. This is one of the northernmost cities in Russia. From Murmansk you can easily get to the Rybachy Peninsula.
There are several reasons where Rybachy should definitely be visited. These are the following reasons:
Those who are interested in national history and the military glory of Russia will certainly want to return to Rybachy again and again. Here you can still find shells and other artifacts that have survived from the time of the Great Patriotic War. The heroic past of the Rybachy Peninsula is even sung in the famous Soviet song dedicated to farewell to the Rocky Mountains. There are industrial enterprises, fishing farms and reindeer farms.
Murmansk region Rybachy peninsula: fishing for outdoor enthusiasts
This place has a "speaking name": Rybachy. It is no coincidence that the locals dubbed this peninsula is like that. The Rybachy Peninsula provides everyone with a unique opportunity to have a great time on real sea fishing. You can fish both with a fishing rod and with a more modern spinning rod equipped with a variety of additional devices. They go out to sea, usually by boat or boat. You can get on sea fishing in the following ways:
When fishing, you can easily catch the most diverse marine fish, which a resident of the Russian middle lane usually seen only in stores. It is good to catch both large cod and small capelin. If you are very lucky, you can see real fur seals basking on the seashore.
On the peninsula there are a large number of private fishing farms and tourist bases designed for fishing enthusiasts. You can rent transport and fishing equipment at the camp site. Those who are afraid to go out into the open sea for the first time without an escort can take a competent instructor with them - an experienced fisherman who will help you organize fishing properly and get a good catch.
For fishing, you should choose calm, calm weather. It is dangerous to fish in a storm, so if a tourist plans to go to Rybachy specifically for the purpose of fishing, it is advisable to check the weather in advance.
While fishing, you can unique photos. The northern sea waters are rich in fish, so even a novice amateur fisherman will not be left without a solid catch. Everything you need for fishing (bait, clothes, accessories) can be purchased at local fishing shops. The best time for fishing is the short northern summer. From time immemorial, local residents have been engaged in fishing, hence the "speaking" name of the peninsula. You won't find fish like this anywhere else. Sea fishing in one of the coldest and northern places of our country is an activity for real men and passionate fishing enthusiasts.
Rybachy is located in northern Russia, so the climate there is very specific. So, when going on a trip, you must definitely take warm clothes with you: a jacket, boots, a warm hat, waterproof clothes for sea fishing.
The Rybachy Peninsula is rich in mushrooms and berries. Passionate mushroom pickers should be aware that blood-sucking insects rage in the local forests during the mushroom season, so you should definitely take protective equipment with you - insecticides and repellents. Those who go into the forest for "silent hunting" should wear long-sleeved clothes so that their arms and legs are reliably protected from bites.
Those, who go to Rybachy in the summer, in the midst of a local tourist season, must pre-book places in a hotel or at a camp site, otherwise there may simply not be free places.
When traveling, be sure to take your camera and camcorder with you. On the territory of the peninsula there are big problems with cellular communication. In order to talk on the phone with relatives or friends, you have to specifically look for a place where mobile communication catches.
On the peninsula there are several nature reserves and national parks. During your stay in these places, you must strictly observe the rules of conduct that are mandatory for all visitors. : do not make fires, do not leave behind garbage, do not pick flowers and do not break tree branches. In case of violations of generally accepted rules, the violator risks paying a hefty fine.
On the territory of the peninsula there are places where any hunting and fishing is completely prohibited. Therefore, before planning these events, it is necessary to check with local residents whether the chosen place is forbidden.
Those, who loves animals and is interested in agriculture, can visit the numerous reindeer herding farms scattered throughout the peninsula in abundance.
The Rybachy Peninsula is a unique place in the north of Russia. At this place ancient history and a heroic military past. Those who have ever visited the Rybachy Peninsula usually return there several times. The majestic northern nature makes people's hearts freeze with admiration. However, it is not recommended to travel to Rybachy with small children because the weather on Rybachy is very severe. - an ideal option for those who are interested in the nature of their native land and love extreme tourism. Rest here is inexpensive, but will be remembered for a long time.
