Ekaterininsky tract (Old Kaluga road): description, history and interesting facts. Catherine and Roman stone roads

Many contemporaries no longer know that the so-called Vladimirskaya road passed through the territory of our region sometime in the 18th century, going from Moscow through Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Vasilsursk, Kozmodemyansk, Cheboksary, Sviyazhsk to Kazan, and then to Siberia, which was built back in mid-sixteenth century. In the XVIII century, under Catherine II, the road was improved, the so-called Nizhny Novgorod road was additionally built, which passed through our region and connected with Vladimirskaya. From Vasilsursk it went to Yadrin, from Yadrin to Tsivilsk, from it to Sviyazhsk, connecting under the village of Martynovo (now the Kozlovsky district) with the Vladimir road running from Cheboksary. The Chuvash called the Nizhny Novgorod road Catherine's. In the legends about its construction on the territory of Chuvashia, it is said that it was built by Chuvash peasants by order of Empress Catherine II to send convicts to Siberia. The Chuvash called it Ristan Schule (The Road of Prisoners). Traditions, perhaps erroneously, attribute to Catherine II the order to plant birches along this road. But the birch trees were indeed planted in the 30s and 40s. years XIX century. From these birches, one can still determine the former location of the old road. Previously, it was manually lined with white stone. Subsequently, as unnecessary, local residents dismantled stones from the road for household needs, usually for foundations for buildings. The exiles were led along this road in stages, and on the day the convicts walked about 25 or more miles. The movement was not fast, as the prisoners were in shackles and chains. Approximately at this distance along the road there were camps and half-stations, stages and half-stages, where the convicts received meager food and spent the night.
The prisoners were practically not fed during the journey. The Chuvash peasants treated them with sympathy, if possible they gave them bread or other food, gave them water. The military escort service dominated the camps. They had the authority to do so and forced the local peasants to repair the road, clean it all year round. According to legend, Catherine II herself drove along this road (in fact, there are no reliable documents for this). According to legend, she lingered in Tsivilsk because of bad road and ordered the construction of a prison there. In 1774, the Pugachev army was advancing along the Catherine's road, for which there is historical evidence.
Currently, the village of Balanovo has a plot of this Catherine's road, passing through the forest belt between the fields and crossing the asphalt road Balanovo - Maloye Bishevo. Of course, this is not the same road for a long time, just a clearing along which our tractors drive during the sowing and harvesting season. High birches growing in two rows remind of the former road. In past years, during the rainy season, we experienced great difficulties in transporting the crop, and this section was one of the most difficult, the equipment could not pass, and we talked about this on our website (“Calling Nature and Not Only” dated 09.26.16. ). Once (2013) it happened that during the rain a loaded tractor cart got bogged down so that at night, in the pouring rain, four tractors in the coupler could not pull it out. In this regard, this year we decided to clean up this section of the old Ekaterininsky road. Along the entire length of the clearing, it was cleared of perennial weeds, deadwood and ... household garbage. The roadside was slightly deepened and the roadbed was raised, drainage outlets were made in some places, and pipes were laid. The forest clearing became bright and clean. In the next year, this section will not be actively exploited and the fresh dirt roadbed will naturally settle down and get stronger. It will be seen how rain and melt water will behave. And from local residents already today it is pleasant to hear words of gratitude for the colossal work done, which can only be appreciated by seeing it with one's own eyes.
We express sincere gratitude excavator Vyacheslav Aleksandrov, an employee of the ZAO Chuvashgiprovodkhoz Institute, who performed work under an agreement with the Enezh farm on this site. A versatile, virtuoso specialist, a master of his craft, perfectly performed the main part of the work. Apparently for the future, it makes sense for us to build a memorial stele here, reminding posterity that this is a section of the old Catherine's road, built in the 18th century by the hands of our local peasants.

Photo by V. Olgin.

The Siberian tract is a land route stretching from European territory Russia to the borders of China through Siberia. It has many names. Among them:
- Moscow-Siberian tract.
- Large tract.
- Moscow-Irkutinsky tract.
- The main Siberian postal route.

The end of this path is marked by branches to Kyakhta and Nerchinsk. The length of the Siberian tract, according to some estimates, was 11 thousand kilometers. This is a quarter of the distance along its equator.

The need to create

Over a fairly long period of communication between European part Russia and Siberia were carried out only along separate river routes. This was due to the lack of roads.

In 1689, the Treaty of Nerchinsk was signed between Russia and China, thanks to which official relations became possible between the countries for the first time. In addition, the agreement opened the way for a variety of trade relations, which caused the need to create a transport corridor between states.

Start of construction

12(22). On 11. 1689, a royal decree was issued, which ordered the construction of a route connecting Moscow with Siberia. However, the construction of the tract was delayed. No action was taken for another forty years. The decree remained on paper.

Even under Peter the Great, it was possible to get from Moscow to China only with the help of many overland routes, waterways and drags. Only in 1725 a delegation was sent to China, headed by Count Savva Raguzinsky Vladislavovich. As a result of her negotiations in 1727, the Burin Treaty was signed. This agreement established the borders of states near the future settlement of Kakhty. The Treaty of Kakhta was also signed, which defined trade and political relations between countries. And finally, in 1730, Russia took up the construction new road, which was called the Siberian tract. The work was completed by the middle of the 19th century.

Geography

The Siberian tract is the longest road of that time, which connected two different parts of the world together. But at the same time, the overland route from Moscow to China became the shortest route connecting the central part of Russian state with its eastern outskirts.

Where is the built Siberian tract located on the map of Russia? Its thread originates from Moscow itself, then goes to Murom, passes through Kozmodemyansk and Kazan, Osa and Tobolsk, Tara and Kainsk, Kolyvan and Yeniseysk, Irkutsk and Verneudinsk, as well as Nerchinsk. Its end point is the city of Kyakhty. Thus, the Siberian Highway stretches through Siberia to the borders of China.

At the beginning of the 20th century, this overland route changed somewhat. If you take a map of that time, then on it the Siberian Highway is located somewhat south of Tyumen. It runs through Yalutorovsk and Ishim, Omsk and Tomsk, Achinsk, and Krasnoyarsk. Then it stretches to Irkutsk and coincides with the previous route.

However, by the end of the 19th century. The Siberian tract is one of the most long roads in the world - became unable to meet the ever-increasing transport needs of the Russian state. That is why the government decided to build the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Construction of settlements

The newly created Siberian tract required a certain arrangement. For this, settlements were built along its entire length. Moreover, the villages and villages located on the highway had a large extent and were located on both sides of the road. The outskirts of the tract settlements were located at a distance of one or two kilometers from the center.

In order to make the streets more compact, the houses were placed on the narrowest side of the road. The central part of this locality, located near the church, as a rule, expanded due to the streets that ran parallel to the land route.

Territory development

The Siberian tract became the main reason for the settlement of previously sparsely populated areas. The government built the road by forced colonization. The Siberian tract is the area where coachmen were resettled from the European regions of Russia. In addition, exiled peasants were driven here, whom the landowners passed as recruits. Settled in these territories and free settlers. They came from different regions of Siberia and Russia.

As the land route developed, so did the influx of settlers to these places. Gradually, these territories became the most inhabited in Siberia. The people who moved here had government benefits. For two years they were exempted from all the duties that existed at that time, except for the poll.

When the Siberian tract was finally built, the government assigned additional duties to the peasants from the tract villages and villages for the maintenance of crossings and bridges, transportation of military personnel, etc. Such duties were 40 times higher than the expenses of the same peasants living in the Russian provinces.

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In addition to establishing ties with China, Russia needed the Siberian Highway for one more purpose. Without this overland route, it was impossible to organize a state postal service. The construction of the road soon justified all the expectations of the government. So, if in 1724 postal items from Moscow to Tobolsk were transported only once a month, then already in 1734 - weekly, and after two decades - every three to four days.

For the purpose of uninterrupted organization of delivery, many post stations were built along the entire Siberian tract. In this case, the delivery of items was carried out by coachmen or peasants.

shackled way

The Siberian tract is a land route, where, in addition to many postal stations, there were stages every 25-40 miles. The first of them were built in the twenties of the 19th century. According to administrative reform, the prisoner parties followed their own path, divided into 61 stages. The order of movement of prisoners along the Siberian Highway was regulated by a special document. It was the "Statute of the Stages." It outlined the basic rules for arranging prisons, the procedure for moving exiled parties, etc.

The Siberian tract is where the prisoners, after two days of travel along the route, could rest in a transit prison. The stage huts, which were located at almost all postal stations, also served for these purposes. A distance of 25-30 versts was covered in two days by prison carts, which sometimes included carts carrying household property. Sometimes a prisoner could get sick or die along the way. Then his corpse was put on a cart and continued to follow until the next stage. It was from here that the saying was born: "Deliver dead or alive."

For the period from 1783 to 1883. Approximately 1.5 million prisoners passed along the route of the Siberian Highway. There were also political rebels among them. For example, in the 90s of the 18th century. A.N. was delivered twice along this road. Radishchev, who was the founder of the domestic samizdat.

Trade route

The highway built from Moscow to China revived not only international, but also domestic economic relations. Throughout this land route, there were large fairs - Makarievskaya and Irbitskaya. Also, thanks to the route, constant exchanges of goods were carried out between different regions. For example, rich bais appeared in the Kazan province, who opened their factories not far from the road.

Thanks to the Siberian tract expanded economic ties between Russia and China. Leather and furs, silver and oil, pine nuts and rare fish, goose meat and much more were delivered abroad along this road. The Netherlands, England and France also used the Siberian Highway. They transported their goods to China along this route. It is also worth mentioning that the carts were drawn along the Siberian Highway in a continuous chain throughout the year.

The emergence of a transport corridor contributed to the creation of three large arms factories in the country. Their list includes Perm Cannon, Izhevsk Armory and Kazan Powder. They transported their products along the highway to the center of the Russian state.

The eastern part of the land route, located in Siberia, is called the "Great Tea Route". It was followed by caravans delivering tea from China. in Russia at the end of the 18th century. even appeared new company"Perlov with sons". She traded tea, delivering it to all regions of the empire.

Road condition

Traveling along the Siberian Highway was extremely difficult. The fact is that the condition of the entire road was in an extremely unsatisfactory condition. The description of the area of ​​the Siberian tract is found in the memoirs of some travelers. According to their stories, this path in places looked like arable land, cut into longitudinal furrows. This significantly slowed down the movement, and therefore the distance of thirty miles could be covered in only 7-8 hours.

East of Tomsk, the tract passed through hilly terrain, but was also in an extremely unsatisfactory condition. It also caused criticism from travelers, whose number was constantly increasing. Nevertheless, despite this state of affairs, the road for thousands of kilometers was a means of reliable and cheap communication. At first, it was distinguished only by milestones, crossings passing through mountains and rivers, gati and copses. Then Catherine II ordered to plant birches along the tract. The trees were located at a distance of 2 m 84 cm (four arshins) from each other, protecting the road from and not allowing travelers to go astray in bad weather.

The path today

The Moscow-Siberian overland route had a huge national importance for almost a century and a half. However, after the opening of steamship river traffic in 1840, as well as laying in 1890 in these parts railway, its use has been on a smaller scale. Russia's economic growth has increased the country's transportation needs. This led to the decision to start construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway. After its completion in 1903, the slow caravan trade moved on to new tracks.

Today, the former southern branch of the Siberian route is almost completely superimposed by the road in communication from Kazan to the city of Malmyzh, and then to Perm and Yekaterinburg. At the same time, the former Siberian tract was almost completely reconstructed and today it is a highway the highest category. For example, a section from Zur to the village of Debesy remained outside the modern highway, the degree of preservation of which is different. Only one of its segments is actively used for local needs. This is the route from Syurnogut to Debyosy.

There are also other sections of the Siberian Highway on the Kazan-Perm road, which turned out to be outside the boundaries of the new highway. Their condition is different. Some of the previously laid tracks are maintained in good condition and are used in transportation local importance, while others are completely withdrawn from circulation and are now overgrown.

Museum

In 1991, a unique complex was opened in the village of Debesy. This is a tract museum. Its main goal is to preserve the memory of the main road between Moscow and China, which in the 18-19 centuries. was the main postal, trade and shackled way of Russia.

The museum is located in a building built in 1911 by a merchant of the second guild, Murtaza by Mulyukov. In the old days it was a barracks lower ranks, located near the prison-stage, where prisoners were kept between transfers. The museum building is under state protection.

The staff of the complex consists of fifteen employees and four scientists. They protect and increase the museum's funds, which today contain more than three thousand rare books, ethnographic items and other exhibits.
The expositions of this unique complex are open in three halls. Their subject matter:
- "State's road".
- "The Village on the Siberian Highway".
- "Forest meetings".

On the second floor of the building there are such expositions as "The history of the school in the village of Karaduvan" and "The history of the Siberian tract". Their exhibits tell about the development of the postal service from 1790 to the present day. At the same time, visitors can get acquainted with the clothes of coachmen, as well as bells, harnesses, etc. used during transportation. Great interest the guests of the complex are called up with pre-revolutionary documents, among which are letters and maps of the postal-geographical district, which depict the Kazan district. Among the exhibits you can see a telephone set made at the beginning of the 20th century, a Morse device, branded clothes of postal employees from the period of the 40s of the 20th century, as well as the first Soviet TV set.

The section that tells about the history of the village of Karaduvan is equipped with local history materials, including a handwritten Koran, personal belongings of the former owners merchant's house etc.

Employees conduct excursions not only in the museum, but also in the village of Debesy, as well as in its environs. The main activity of this unique historical complex is not commercial at all, but research and cultural activities.

Kaluga tract began at the Crimean ford / now Crimean bridge/ and stretched to Kaluga in the direction that has now become Profsoyuznaya Street, turning into the A-103 highway (Kaluga highway). Before Kresty, the current Kaluga highway lies under fresh asphalt with four lanes along the old highway, but in Kresty the most interesting begins - the modern highway goes aside and, contrary to its name, to Belarus. And the Old Kaluga or, as it is also called, the Ekaterininsky tract, still leads to Kaluga.

Perhaps this road gained the greatest popularity for history because Napoleon retreated here, losing the battle of Tarutino, but it became especially well-groomed under Catherine II.

At the end of the 18th century, by decree of Catherine II, along all big roads birch alleys were planted.

A wonderful idea: it is impossible to think of anything better than Russian birches. And you won’t go astray, and in the heat they shelter you from the heat, and protect you from snow drifts.

Moreover, of a certain variety - hollow, with curved, like candlesticks, branches, with dark green bark.

The second sign of the road is not overgrown clearing. How many years it has not been used, and neither trees nor bushes grow there! So don't get lost. It can be seen that the soil was heavily trampled down over the centuries, when the Old Kaluga was the main road that went south. Only where a heavy tractor has passed through the ground and deeply cut it open, young shoots make their way along the edge of the rut.

In some places the road is still overgrown and narrowed, and birch trees are not visible. Then you can track it by the most faithful satellites - roadside ditches. They run along with her mile after mile at a clear distance from each other - 10 fathoms. So it was established by the General survey carried out under the same Catherine II.

Unfortunately, ditches are not eternal either: making an embankment on the road, they cut them off with a bulldozer, and simply plow them on the field.

The Kaluga Highway ended at the Moscow Gates in Kaluga. These gates were built specifically for the arrival Great Empress to the city with the money collected by local merchants. Catherine II arrived, saw the building, she, a lover of this, liked the gate very much, the efforts of the merchants were appreciated, and “ Kaluga appointed the main city of the province».

Unfortunately, the Moscow Gates have not survived to our time - Soviet power they were somehow not needed and in 1935 they were demolished. Only a lone obelisk-verst has survived to this day, standing on a small sidewalk patch in front of the entrance to the Kaluga Regional Philharmonic.

Nowadays, the road from Moscow to Kaluga runs a little to the side. In some places, only the direction remained from Old Kaluga, guessed by the even birch plantings growing along.

The main off-road part of the tract is the section from Tarutino to Yastrebovka. We will include it in the weekend itinerary.

Old Kaluga road, connecting Moscow with Kaluga, has been known since the 14th century, and now has almost nothing in common with the roads that exist in this direction now. In dense forests, swampy lowlands and in ravines, the once very busy trade route was lost.

At the end of the 18th century, by decree of Catherine II, along all roads, including the Kaluga road, birch alleys were planted, which performed numerous functions: they accurately indicated the direction of the road, even in the thickest fog and snowstorm it was impossible to stray from the right course; sultry summer days covered the road from the scorching sun; and in snowy winters they saved roads from snow drifts. This is one of the signs by which you can recognize the Old Kaluga Road, among the many country roads and forest paths. Another - the clearing almost does not overgrow, because. over the years of its existence, the soil has been compacted under the wheels of carts and horses so much that the first tree will not appear on it soon.

The old Kaluga road, or as it is also called - the Ekaterininsky tract, in addition to the function of the main transport artery in southbound, is also known for the fact that the Napoleonic army began its retreat from Moscow along it.

Up to the village of Tarutino, where the notorious battle "Tarutinsky maneuver" took place, after which, already fairly thinned, french army was forced to turn north.

Do not forget about the sad pages of the history of the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945, when during the offensive eastern front Nazis to Moscow, the Germans restored by that time the already abandoned highway Catherine's tract, after which the transfer of heavy equipment, trucks with provisions and people began along it. Having reached Nedelnoye, the Nazis set up a large supply base for one of their army corps here. However, under the blows of the counteroffensive troops Western Front, the enemy was forced to evacuate headquarters, warehouses and heavy weapons to Kaluga. One of the few monuments dedicated to tragic events seventy years and two centuries ago is located in the village of Kuzovlevo.

Traditionally, villages were formed along the tracts - large and small, where there is a village - there is a church. Today, most of the villages no longer exist. But like 200-300 years ago, stone churches keep the peace of the roads and the Russian land. Neither time, nor weather, nor plants, nor man is able to destroy the spirit and image of stone beauties.

In mid-May 2012, the club held an unusual jeeper event. In addition to the traditional off-road overcoming, the goal was to help one of the temples prolong its life, and give a chance to potential restorers to find a church not in ruins. So, the choice is made: off-road - Ekaterininsky tract, the church - Nikolskaya, not far from the village of Bashmakovka.
Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was built in 1812, in memory of the expulsion of the French from the Russian land. She experienced a lot in her lifetime: she was a church, a granary, a grain dryer. According to the stories of local residents: “in the 60s, the church was closed, all the decoration was taken out of it. A grain dryer was opened in the church building. The dryer worked, the engines hummed, the temperature was high. abandoned, crumbling with time."

To date, the church is very heavily overgrown with trees - outside, inside and on the walls themselves, trees also grow, tearing it apart with its roots from the inside. Looking ahead, I will say that we were not able to remove trees from the walls, without climbing equipment and appropriate skills this is completely impossible. There are no such people among us ...

May 19, morning on the banks of the Nara River, 15 prepared cars on the threshold of the Old Kaluga Road.

With varying success, making their way through the swampy forest, struggling with ruts, unwinding winches and helping each other, a section of the Ekaterininsky tract, about 70 kilometers long, was passed. Strongly prepared cars drove without any difficulties, the rest - to the best of their ability.

I can say for sure that we pass the Ekaterininsky tract only if the car is prepared, the winch is available and the pilot is experienced. Soils are too wet and too much water.

Standard cars were offered an alternative way of getting to the camp - asphalt, primers ... By Saturday evening, everyone was in place, in the camp at the foot of the church. Dinner, heartfelt conversations by the fire, attempts to imagine: what was it like here before...

On the morning of May 20, our forces brought employees to the church from the nearest asphalt charity center"Country Church". The Center does not set itself the task of complete restoration of churches - there are neither financial opportunities nor human resources for this. The essence of their activities is the implementation of immediate counter-emergency measures. For further restoration work by interested parties.
They determined the further front of work, and added zest. Very beautiful floor tiles have been preserved on the floor of the temple. According to the brand found, it can be said that it was made at the Marywile Polish factory at the end of the 19th century. The tile was found and carefully laid, for its further removal to the storage, all the trees inside the temple were carefully cut down and pulled out by the winches of our cars, all the garbage was removed. The most interesting thing was to cut the trees around. Many of them are no longer small size. Here the effect of an anthill played - someone is sawing, someone is dragging a sawn one, someone is pulling the winch cable so that the tree is not filled up on the wall of the temple, but in opposite side. Everyone worked - pilots and navigators, children and wives :) For 4-5 hours of hard work, all the tasks were completed. The temple was transformed and again began to soar over the Old Kaluga Highway.

And better than one of the protesters said Alexander Mralex Perhaps no one will say: "standing in the lowland along which the ancient highway once passed, a completely different picture opened up to me. On the hill to the left stood a church. Not very big, but the three-quarter view from below made it somehow airy and majestic at the same time. Columns and round windows only intensified this feeling. huge size birch, the crown of which is spread somewhere completely under the sky, above the bell tower. And then, as it sometimes happens with me, the imagination played such a thing. I saw this place as if 100 years ago. The slope is not littered with boughs, but neatly mowed ... the birch is a little smaller and fenced with a small wooden fence, a gilded cross rises above the bell tower and the church is whitewashed, and not at all in rags of plaster.

There was a bonus - in one of the most overgrown bushes they found a grave dating back to 1954. And by the appearance of her fence and monument, no one saw her for about 20 years. The section of the Catherine's tract, along the church, heavily overgrown with shrubs, was also sawn through and freed from the undergrowth. Now, like 200 years ago, the Road goes where it was supposed to go, and the church rises above it just as it has for two centuries. The club "TAM. In Russia" tried to make such a modest gift to the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker for its bicentennial.

P.S. In the process of writing this article, a thought came to me. It may not be distinguished by its novelty, but I cannot help but formulate it.
How many more on the territory of our vast such forgotten and abandoned pieces of the soul. Forgotten by those who should not forget them. Abandoned by those who can and should take care of them. Abandoned by those who decided, voluntarily or involuntarily, renounced historical roots and genetic memory. It cannot and should not be so. There can be no future without the past. Each of us can invest a piece of his soul, a piece of himself. Extending the life of eternal values ​​and preserving them for their children...

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