If we have heard about Atlantis absorbed by the water element, few know about the Russian city of Mologa. Despite the fact that the latter can even be seen: the level of the Rybinsk reservoir drops twice a year - and this ghost town appears.
Since time immemorial, this place has been called the fabulous interfluve. Nature itself took care to make the vast space at the confluence of the Mologa River into the Volga not only very beautiful, but also abundant.
In spring, water flooded the meadows, supplying them with moisture for the whole summer and bringing nutritious silt - juicy grass grew. It is not surprising that the cows gave wonderful milk, from which they obtained the best butter in Russia and amazingly tasting cheese. The saying "Milk rivers and cheese banks" is about Mologa.
The navigable river Mologa is wide at its mouth (over 250 m), with crystal clean water- was famous throughout Russia for fish: sterlet, sturgeon and other valuable varieties. It was the local fishermen who were the main suppliers to the imperial table. By the way, this circumstance played decisive role in the birth in 1777 of the decree of Catherine II on conferring the status of a city on Mologa. Although at that time there were only about 300 households there.
The favorable climate (even epidemics bypassed the region), convenient transport links and the fact that wars did not reach Mologa - all this contributed to the prosperity of the city until the beginning of the 20th century. And in economic terms(12 factories worked in the city), and socially.
By 1900, with a population of seven thousand, Mologa had a gymnasium and eight more educational institutions, three libraries, as well as a cinema, a bank, a post office with a telegraph, a zemstvo hospital and a city hospital.
A memorial sign on the site where the Cathedral of the Epiphany stood. Every year on the second Saturday of August, Mologa residents meet at this sign.
hard times civil war 1917-1922 only partially affected the city: the new government also needed products and their processing, which provided employment for the population. In 1931, a machine and tractor station and a seed-growing collective farm were organized in Mologa, and a technical school was opened.
A year later, an industrial complex appeared, combining a power plant, a starch and oil mill, and a mill. There were already over 900 houses in the city, 200 shops and shops were engaged in trade.
Everything changed when a wave of electrification swept the country: the number of coveted megawatts became the main goal, for which all means were good.
FATAL 4 METERS
Today every now and then you hear about the rise in the level of the World Ocean and the threat of flooding of coastal cities, and even countries. Such horror stories are perceived somehow detachedly: they say, it can happen, but it will never happen. At least not in our lifetime. And in general, it is difficult to imagine this very rise of water by several meters ...
In 1935, the inhabitants of Mologa - then the regional center of the Yaroslavl region - initially also did not represent the full extent of the impending danger. Although, of course, they were informed of the decree of the USSR government issued in September on the construction of the Rybinsk reservoir. But the level of water rise in the project was declared as 98 m, and the city of Mologa was located at an altitude of 100 m - safety is guaranteed.
But then, without much fuss, the designers, at the suggestion of economists, made an amendment. According to their calculations, if the water level is raised by only 4 meters - from 98 to 102, then the capacity of the Rybinsk hydroelectric power station under construction will increase from 220 to 340 MW. It did not stop even the fact that the area of flooding doubled at the same time. The momentary profit decided the fate of Mologa and hundreds of nearby villages.
However, the wake-up call sounded back in 1929 in the famous Afanasiev Monastery, founded in the 15th century. It was adjacent to Molotoy and was rightfully considered one of the most magnificent monuments of Russian Orthodox architecture.
In addition to four churches, the monastery also kept a miraculous relic - a copy of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God. It was with her that the first Prince of Mologa, Mikhail Davidovich, arrived in his patrimony in 1321 - he inherited the lands after the death of his father, Prince David of Yaroslavl.
So, in 1929, the authorities seized the icon from the monastery and transferred it to the Mologa District Museum. The clergy regarded this as a bad omen. And indeed, soon the Afanasevsky Monastery was transformed into a labor commune - the last service took place here on January 3, 1930.
Just a few months later, the icon was requisitioned from the museum - for representatives new government it was now listed only as "an object containing non-ferrous metal." Since then, traces of the relic have been lost, and Mologa has been left without holy patronage. And the disaster was not long in coming ...
CHOICE FOR DISSENTERS
Residents of Mologa wrote letters to various authorities with a request to lower the water level and leave the city, they gave their arguments, including economic ones. In vain!
Moreover, in the fall of 1936, a deliberately impossible order was received from Moscow: before the new year, 60% of Mologa residents should be resettled. It was still possible to overwinter, but in the spring the townspeople began to be taken out, and the process dragged on for four years until the start of flooding in April 1941.
In total, according to the plan for the construction of the Rybinsk and Uglich hydroelectric facilities, over 130 thousand residents were forcibly evicted from the Mologo-Sheksna interfluve. In addition to Mologa, they lived in 700 villages and villages. Most of them were sent to Rybinsk and neighboring districts of the region, and the most qualified specialists were sent to Yaroslavl, Leningrad and Moscow. Those who actively resisted and agitated to stay were exiled to Volgolag - a huge construction site needed working hands.
And yet there were those who stood their ground and did not leave Mologa. In the report, the head of the local branch of the Volgolag camp, State Security Lieutenant Sklyarov, reported to his superiors that the number of “citizens who voluntarily wished to die with their belongings when filling the reservoir is 294 people ...
Among them were those who firmly attached themselves with locks ... to deaf objects. Such authorities officially recognized as suffering from nervous disorders, and that's it: they died during the flood.
Sappers blew up tall buildings - this was a hindrance to future shipping. The Cathedral of the Epiphany withstood after the first explosion, explosives had to be planted four more times in order to turn the recalcitrant Orthodox monument into ruins.
ERASE FROM BIOGRAPHY
Subsequently, the very mention of Mologa was banned - as if such a region did not exist. The reservoir reached its design mark of 102 m only in 1947, and before that the city was slowly disappearing under water.
There were several cases when resettled Mologa residents came to the shore of the Rybinsk Reservoir and entire families passed away - they committed suicide, unable to bear the separation from their small homeland.
Only 20 years later, Mologa residents were able to organize meetings of fellow countrymen - the first took place in 1960 near Leningrad.
Houses were rolled into logs, huddled into rafts and rafted down the river to a new place.
In 1972, the level of the Rybinsk Reservoir dropped noticeably - finally there was an opportunity to walk along the Mologa. Several families of Mologzhans who arrived determined their streets by cut down trees and telegraph poles, found the foundations of houses, and in the cemetery, by tombstones, the burial places of relatives.
Soon after that, a meeting of the Mologa residents was already held in Rybinsk, which became an annual one - fellow countrymen from other regions of Russia and neighboring countries come to it.
…Twice a year, flowers appear at the city cemetery of Mologa - they are brought by people whose relatives, by the will of fate, were buried not only in the ground, but also under a layer of water. There is also a home-made stele with the inscription: "Forgive me, city of Mologa." Below - "14 m": this is the maximum water level above the ruins of the ghost town. Descendants keep the memory of their small homeland, which means that Mologa is still alive ...
Today, few remember that there is a flooded city of Mologa in Russia, which was sacrificed to civilization and electrification of the country. In our time, even such formations as cities with a population of many thousands and developed infrastructure are born, live and die.
Among these dead cities is a provincial small town, which was previously located not far from. For him tragic fate in the people it is called Russian Atlantis.
For the first time, the Mologa River is mentioned in the annals of 1149. They say that “... in battles with the Grand Duke Yuri Dolgoruky, Prince Mstislavich burned down all the villages on his way to Mologa ...” The city with the same name was already flooded in the 20th century by the will of people and circumstances.
History of Mologa
As a place already inhabited by people, Mologa is mentioned in the records of the 13th century - fairs were held here, famous for many miles around. Many foreigners - Greeks, Lithuanians, Poles, Germans brought their goods here to exchange them for raw materials. Various furs were in great demand. The city grew, expanded, and the number of its inhabitants grew.
In the 17th century, there were 125 houses in Mologa. Of these, 12 belonged to fishermen who caught various fish in the Volga and Mologa, and even red. And then, among other things, they delivered it to the royal table.
By the end of the 18th century, there was a town hall on the city territory, 3 churches - 2 stone and one wooden - and 289 wooden houses. In 1767, in the traditions of Russian architecture, the Resurrection Cathedral was erected.
The majestic Afanasevsky Monastery flaunted near the city.
At the same time, the city received its coat of arms, which depicted a bear with an axe.
In the 19th century, Mologa was already a small port city - many ships loaded and unloaded various goods there. There were 11 factories in the city, there was a bank, a post office, a telegraph office, a monastery, churches, libraries, and educational institutions.
A gymnastic school, one of the first in Russia, was also opened here. In it, those who wished were taught fencing, playing skittles, riding a bicycle, and were taught carpentry. About 6,000 people lived in the city.
In the 20th century, the city's population increased to 7,000 people. There were 9 educational institutions, 6 cathedrals and churches, many plants and factories.
Mesopotamia
The location of the city of Mologa was initially very successful: in the Mologo-Sheksna lowland. The Volga River had a U-turn here and flowed further towards Rybinsk.
And in the interfluve between the Mologa and Sheksna rivers there were water meadows, which at that time fed the 3rd part of all of Russia. Bread, milk, sour cream - all these products were supplied in huge quantities to different parts of the country.
Terrifying news spread around the city
Potential flood zone
Life went on as usual without any special events and disasters. But in 1935 the Government of the country decided to build the Rybinsk and Uglich hydroelectric stations.
To implement these grandiose plans, it was necessary to build dams and flood a vast territory: approximately the same as the country of Luxembourg occupies.
The city of Mologa stood on a hill and was not originally part of the flood zone. According to engineering calculations, the water level was assumed to be 98 meters above sea level, and the city stood 2 meters higher.
Government changes plans
But plans "above" have changed. The country was preparing for war with Germany. Additional powerful energy resources were needed. That is why at the beginning of 1937 it was decided to raise the level of the reservoir to 102 meters, and hence to flood the Mologa.
Almost doubling the area of the future man-made reservoir increased the capacity of the hydroelectric power plant by 130 megawatts. This figure cost the lives of 700 villages and the city of Mologa with 800 years of history, hundreds of villages surrounding it with beautiful forests, fertile fields and arable land.
The life of the city and its inhabitants turned into a nightmare. 6 ancient monasteries and many churches were to be destroyed.
And, most importantly, people. More than 150 thousand people had to leave their habitable places. Places where their ancestors once lived and were buried. Ride into the unknown.
Since the flooding of Mologa was not planned from the beginning, for the young people the news of the upcoming event was like "thunder in the sky." Residents prepared for the winter, stocked up hay for livestock, firewood for heating. And around October 30, unexpected news came: we urgently need to move.
Pain and despair of the Mologa people
Before the start of construction, a separate Volgolag camp was created to carry out the planned work, in which there were 20 thousand prisoners. And this number is growing every day.
started preparatory work- centuries-old trees were cut down, ancient churches were blown up - everything that could interfere with further navigation was destroyed. With pain, the inhabitants of the city watched how buildings were destroyed, temples exploded.
The story of how the Cathedral of the Epiphany was destroyed has been preserved. The majestic building, which was built to last for centuries, after the first explosion with dynamite, only rose to a small height in the air and fell back into place without damage. I had to make 4 more attempts to finally destroy the century-old structure.
It's time for people to move. This went on for four years. How much pain, fear and sadness these long four years have brought with them to the families of migrants! Houses were dismantled by logs, numbered to make it easier to assemble later and transported on horse carts, some floated them down the river along with things. In villages close to Rybinsk, you can still see old houses with numbers on the logs of log cabins.
The owners of the houses were paid meager monetary compensation, which was barely enough to pay for the demolition of the house. And lonely, sick people were distributed to the homes of the disabled located nearby.
There were also those who, not wanting to leave, chained themselves to some heavy object in the yard of their house.
According to the surviving data, 294 people refused to leave their homes. Popular rumor conveys terrible stories that these people voluntarily remained in their homes and were buried alive under the water.
But eyewitnesses of those events say that these are all fictions. The authorities acted very simply: they recognized these people as crazy and by force they took them out of the danger zone of the upcoming flood, sending them to psychiatric hospitals.
By the way, the authenticity of the Report given here is questioned. In the archives of the Rybinsk Museum, dedicated to the History of the tragedy of Mologa, such a document does not appear.
Very gradually the city of Mologa was under water. IN famous movie Mologa. Russian Atlantis ”it is shown that the water surged sharply, and in a few hours the city went under water. But this is a work of art. After all, the depth of flooding was very small: no more than 2 meters.
And on April 14, 1941, they dug up the last opening of the dam. The restless waters of three rivers: the Volga, the Mologa and the Sheksna met the resistance of the dams on their way and overflowed their banks. The vast expanse of land began to gradually fill with water, forming a majestic sea created by man. This is how the well-known Rybinsk reservoir appeared.
In memory of human tragedy
As a result of the flooding of the Mologo-Sheksna interfluve, the 8th part of the Yaroslavl lands disappeared from the face of the earth. More than 800 settlements, 6 monasteries and 50 churches were under water.
On the above map of the Rybinsk Reservoir (it can be enlarged), the channels of the former rivers are marked in dark blue, and next to them, red dots are villages and villages that have gone under water forever.
Surprisingly, the Volga in those days was not considered the Great River and was not even navigable. It is known that steamships sailed only on the Rybinsk-Mologa interval.
Decades have passed since the tragedy. The Soviet people won a victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic war. As historians say, the capacities of the created Volga hydroelectric power stations played an important role in this event.
Gradually, the history of Russian Atlantis was forgotten. In addition, for many years in the Soviet Union it was forbidden even to pronounce this name: Mologa. For such a mention, one could easily fall into some camp.
Years passed. There were periods when the water level in the Rybinsk reservoir dropped, and one could see the remains of the ancient city: the foundations of former houses and streets, cemetery tombstones.
But the elements of water, wind and time do their job. And already in the 21st century, little is reminiscent of the former tragedy. The remains of many churches and temples, not destroyed by flooding, which previously towered above the surface of the water, almost completely went under water.
Many historical cities have survived, but due to partial flooding, they have become much smaller. The ancient city of Vesyegonsk decreased by 3/4, the flooding affected Uglich, Myshkin, Kalyazin.
Kalyazinsky bell tower
Many cities, villages and villages went under water at the same time. Among them, the infamous city was also partially damaged. The Nikolsky Cathedral located there was built in 1694.
Under him, since 1800, a five-tiered bell tower has risen. Its height is 74.5 meters. There were 12 bells in the belfry! The largest of them was cast in honor of Nicholas II, who became Emperor.
During the preparation of these lands for flooding, the cathedral was dismantled, and the bell tower was left as a lighthouse for ships. In the eighties, its foundation was strengthened, an artificial island of land was created around it, and now divine services and prayers are held there in the summer.
For visiting tourists, an original attraction has appeared. Well, for the residents of Kalyazin - a good reason to earn some extra money by taking travelers to.
People's memory
Now, according to a sad tradition, on one of August Sundays, the descendants of those who once lived in Mologa gather in and sail on a ship to the place of the sunken city. Sometimes the water level drops and the city appears out of the water. The spectacle is not for the faint of heart, it just becomes scary. After all, once people lived there - they were sad and laughed, dreamed and hoped for a happy future ...
Although, according to today's researchers, almost nothing is left of those times. All the stories that you can see ancient buildings, temples and tombstones and crosses under water are a myth. Only stones and shell rock are visible at the bottom. Only occasionally do searchers discover small hardware and coins.
Do not forget that almost all stone buildings were blown up before flooding, and wooden buildings sorted out for firewood.
On the site of the flooded city, enthusiasts erected a symbolic monument-pointer with the inscription: "Forgive me, the city of Mologa." And his arrow is directed under the water.
Where to learn about the history of the flooding of Mologa
In Rybinsk there is a museum of the Mologa region, where you can learn in detail about these events, see objects of that time and light a candle in memory of the inhabitants of Mologa. It is located in Preobrazhensky lane, house 6 a. Open from 10 am to 5 pm except Monday and Sunday.
And in the city of Myshkin, which was also partially affected, but the built dams saved it from complete flooding, there is. It is located on Nikolskaya Square, building 5. The curator of this museum, a local historian, can also tell a lot about the flooded cities, in particular, about Mologa.
We were deeply moved by the story of the curator of the museum, Sergei Vasilyevich Kurov, about the history of the Volga region, about how the preparations for the flood were carried out. He preserved the memories of eyewitnesses of these events and their descendants.
Also in his collection are many things that in previous years he was able to find in the area of the flooded city. Here, for example, is a brick from Russian Atlantis.
And it was also very interesting to see this whole story on ordinary geographical maps of those years. Here we have an edition of the late 30s of the 20th century.
The lowlands are clearly visible here. And this area is circled with a dotted line as a possible object, which is planned to be flooded in the future. On the map of 1938, the inscription is visible: the zone of the alleged flooding.
And next to it is a more modern map with the Rybinsk reservoir. Its outlines surprisingly repeat the contours of the former fertile lowland.
Mologa - the pearl of Russia
There can be no unambiguous assessment of these tragic events. After all, we must not forget that it was this newly created Rybinsk reservoir that in 1941 provided electricity to all of Moscow, as well as numerous factories that produced weapons and equipment for the front.
By the beginning of the war, the building of the hydroelectric power station was already ready, only the roof had not yet been built. It was replaced with a tarpaulin and, despite the fighting, the work continued. The country, the people needed this additional power plant. Only - at what cost? - that's another question...
This is where the flooded city of Mologa is now located on a modern map.
Other sights of the Yaroslavl region, where I managed to visit, are on this map.
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In August 2014, the city of Mologa (Yaroslavl region), which was completely flooded in 1940 during the construction of the Rybinsk hydroelectric power station, again appeared on the surface due to extremely low level water at the Rybinsk reservoir. In the flooded city, the foundations of houses and the contours of streets are visible. Babr offers to remember the history of 6 more Russian cities that went under water
View of the Afanasevsky Monastery, destroyed in 1940 before the city was flooded
Mologa is the most famous city, completely flooded during the construction of the Rybinsk reservoir. This is a rather rare case when the settlement was not moved to another place, but completely liquidated: in 1940 its history was interrupted.
Celebration in the town square
The village of Mologa has been known since the 12th-13th centuries, and in 1777 it received the status of a county town. With coming Soviet power The city became a regional center with a population of about 6 thousand people.
Mologa consisted of about a hundred stone houses and 800 wooden ones. After the impending flooding of the city was announced in 1936, the resettlement of residents began. Most of Mologzhan settled far from Rybinsk in the village of Slip, and the rest dispersed to different cities of the country.
In total, 3645 sq. km of forests, 663 villages, the city of Mologa, 140 churches and 3 monasteries. Relocated 130,000 people.
But not everyone agreed to voluntarily leave their home. 294 people chained themselves and were drowned alive.
It is difficult to imagine what a tragedy these people, deprived of their homeland, experienced. Until now, since 1960, meetings of Mologa residents have been held in Rybinsk, where they remember their lost city.
After each little snowy winter and dry summer, Mologa appears like a ghost from under the water, exposing its dilapidated buildings and even a cemetery.
Center of Kalyazin with Nikolsky Cathedral and Trinity Monastery
Kalyazin is one of the most famous flooded cities in Russia. The first mention of the village of Nikola on Zhabna dates back to the 12th century, and after the foundation of the Kalyazin-Troitsky (Makarevsky) monastery on the opposite bank of the Volga in the 15th century, the significance of the settlement increased. In 1775, Kalyazin was given the status of a county town, and from the end of the 19th century, the development of industry began in it: felting, blacksmithing, and shipbuilding.
The city was partially flooded during the creation of the Uglich hydroelectric power station on the Volga River, the construction of which was carried out in 1935-1955.
The Trinity Monastery and the architectural complex of the Nikolo-Zhabensky Monastery, as well as most of the historical buildings of the city, were lost. All that remained of it was the bell tower of St. Nicholas Cathedral sticking out of the water, which became one of the main attractions of the central part of Russia.
3. Korcheva
View of the city from the left bank of the Volga.
On the left side you can see the Church of the Transfiguration, on the right - the Resurrection Cathedral.
Korcheva is the second (and last) completely flooded city in Russia after Mologa. This village in the Tver region was located on the right bank of the Volga River, on both sides of the Korchevka River, not far from the city of Dubna.
Korcheva, early 20th century. General form to the city
By the 1920s, the population of Korchevka was 2.3 thousand people. Mostly there were wooden buildings, although there were also stone buildings, including three churches. In 1932, the government approved the plan for the construction of the Moscow-Volga canal, and the city fell into the flood zone.
Today, on the unflooded territory of Korchevo, a cemetery and one stone building, the house of the Rozhdestvensky merchants, have been preserved.
4. Puchezh
Puchezh in 1913
City in Ivanovo Oblast It has been mentioned since 1594 as a settlement Puchische, in 1793 it became a settlement. The city lived by trade along the Volga, in particular barge haulers were hired there.
The population in the 1930s was about 6 thousand people, the buildings were mostly wooden. In the 1950s, the territory of the city fell into the flood zone of the Gorky reservoir. The city was rebuilt in a new place, now its population is about 8 thousand people.
Of the 6 existing churches, 5 turned out to be in the flood zone, but the sixth also did not reach our days - it was dismantled at the peak of Khrushchev's persecution of religion.
5. Vesyegonsk
City in the Tver region. Known as a village since the 16th century, a city since 1776. It developed most actively in the 19th century, during the period of active functioning of the Tikhvin water system. The population in the 1930s was about 4 thousand people, the buildings were mostly wooden.
Most of the city was flooded by the Rybinsk Reservoir, the city was rebuilt on non-flood marks. The city lost most of the old buildings, including several churches. However, the Trinity and Kazan churches survived, but gradually fell into disrepair.
I wonder what to move the city to more high place were collected in the 19th century, since 16 of the 18 streets of the city were regularly flooded during the flood. Now about 7 thousand people live in Vesyegonsk.
6. Stavropol Volzhsky (Tolyatti)
City in Samara Oblast. Founded in 1738 as a fortress.
The population fluctuated greatly, in 1859 there were 2.2 thousand people, by 1900 - about 7 thousand, and in 1924 the population decreased so much that the city officially became a village (the city status was returned in 1946). In the early 1950s, about 12 thousand people lived.
In the 1950s, it ended up in the flood zone of the Kuibyshev reservoir and was moved to a new location. In 1964, it was renamed Tolyatti, and began to actively develop as an industrial city. Now its population exceeds 700 thousand people.
7. Kuibyshev (Spassk-Tatarsky)
Volga near Bolgar
The city has been mentioned in chronicles since 1781. In the second half of the 19th century, there were 246 houses, 1 church, and by the beginning of the 1930s, 5.3 thousand people lived here.
In 1936 the city was renamed Kuibyshev. In the 1950s, it ended up in the flood zone of the Kuibyshev reservoir and was completely rebuilt in a new location, next to the ancient settlement of Bulgar. Since 1991, it has been renamed Bolgar and soon has every chance of becoming one of the main tourist centers in Russia and the world.
In June 2014, the ancient settlement of Bulgar (Bulgarian State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve) was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Because of the drought, the great Russian river Volga became very shallow. It became so shallow that the city of Mologa, flooded in 1940 during the construction of a hydroelectric power station, came to the surface.
It was a tragedy for many, many families. But there can be no unambiguous assessment of these tragic events .. because at the same time, it was the appearance of the Rybinsk reservoir in 1941 that provided Moscow with electricity, numerous factories that produced weapons and equipment for the front.
Soviet history tried to hush up how the whole ancient Russian city disappeared from the face of the earth and was flooded. Then one of the main slogans was:
"Communism is Soviet power plus the electrification of the whole country."
For the sake of this "great" goal, an entire city was sacrificed.
The preparation of the city for flooding was carried out for more than one year. Centuries-old trees were cut down, ancient churches were blown up - everything that could interfere with further navigation was destroyed. How could the inhabitants of the city look at how buildings are being destroyed, temples are being blown up? And what could they do? They had to leave their homes.
The resettlement of people lasted four years. Wooden houses disassembled by logs, numbered, so that later it would be easier to assemble them in a new place. And they were transported on horse carts or floated along the river along with things.
On one of the Sundays in August, the descendants of those who once lived in Mologa gather in Rybinsk and sail on a ship to the place of the sunken city.
Such stories make one wonder at what price industrialization was given to our people, and for some reason, in the nineties, a bunch of traitors to the motherland - the USSR - took possession of its fruits for a pittance.
Russian Atlantis - the story of the flooded city
In our time, even such huge settlements, with almost a thousand-year history and original culture, as cities with many thousands of people and developed infrastructure, are born, live and die. Neither from war, nor from natural disasters, nor from an earthquake, but simply at the whim of the ruling elite, who imagine themselves to be the rulers of nature and conquerors of rivers. It doesn't matter at what cost or with what sacrifice.
I already hear the cries of "cheers-patriots" who shout in the comments that this was necessary for victory and for great achievements. It makes no sense to explain to them that on the vast territory of the USSR no more than 15% -20% of the land was used, and even now it is used. Everything else is taiga, mountains, rivers, lakes and swamps. A zealous owner would find a less crowded place to create a reservoir, so as not to flood villages, villages, cities.
For the first time, the Mologa River is mentioned in the annals of 1149. They say that
“... in battles with the Grand Duke Yuri Dolgoruky, Prince Mstislavich burned down all the villages on his way to Mologa ...”
The city with the same name already in the 20th century was flooded by the will of obsessed people and circumstances.
As a place already inhabited by people, Mologa is mentioned in the records of the 13th century - fairs were held here, famous for many miles around. Many foreigners - Greeks, Lithuanians, Poles, Germans brought their goods here to exchange them for raw materials. Various furs were in great demand. The city grew, expanded, and the number of its inhabitants grew.
The majestic Afanasevsky Monastery flaunted near the city.
The majestic Afanasevsky Monastery flaunted near the city.
In the 17th century, there were 125 houses in Mologa. Of these, 12 belonged to fishermen who caught various fish in the Volga and Mologa, and even red. And then, among other things, they delivered it to the royal table.
By the end of the 18th century, the city area had a town hall, 3 churches - 2 stone and one wooden - and 289 wooden houses. In 1767, in the traditions of Russian architecture, the Resurrection Cathedral was erected.
At the same time, the city received its coat of arms, which depicted a bear with an axe.
In the 19th century, Mologa was already a small port city - many ships loaded and unloaded various goods there. There were 11 factories in the city, there was a bank, a post office, a telegraph office, a monastery, churches, libraries, and educational institutions.
A gymnastic school, one of the first in Russia, was also opened here. In it, those who wished were taught fencing, playing skittles, riding a bicycle, and were taught carpentry. About 6,000 people lived in the city.
In the 20th century, the city's population increased to 7,000 people. There were 9 educational institutions, 6 cathedrals and churches, many plants and factories.
Mesopotamia
The location of the city of Mologa was initially very successful: in the Mologo-Sheksna lowland. The Volga River had a U-turn here and flowed further towards Rybinsk.
And in the interfluve between the Mologa and Sheksna rivers there were water meadows, which at that time fed the 3rd part of all of Russia.
Bread, milk, sour cream - all these products were supplied in huge quantities to different parts of the country.
In 1935, the Government of the country decided to build the Rybinsk and Uglich hydroelectric stations.
To implement these grandiose plans, it was necessary to build dams and flood a vast territory: approximately the same as the country of Luxembourg occupies.
The city of Mologa stood on a hill and was not originally part of the flood zone. According to engineering calculations, the level of water rise was assumed to be 98 meters above sea level, and the city stood 2 meters higher.
Beginning 1940s Remains of the Yugskaya Dorofeeva Desert before flooding
But plans "above" have changed. The country was preparing for war with Germany. Additional powerful energy resources were needed. That is why at the beginning of 1937 it was decided to raise the level of the reservoir to 102 meters, and hence to flood the Mologa.
Almost doubling the area of the future man-made reservoir increased the capacity of the hydroelectric power plant by 130 megawatts. This figure cost the lives of 700 villages and the city of Mologa with 800 years of history, hundreds of villages surrounding it with beautiful forests, fertile fields and arable land.
The life of the city and its inhabitants turned into a nightmare. 6 ancient monasteries and many churches were to be destroyed.
Photo con. 1930s The evicted village of Verkhovye
Photo con. 1930s The evicted village of Verkhovye
And, most importantly, people. Over 150 thousand people had to leave their homes. Places where their ancestors once lived and were buried. Ride into the unknown.
Since the flooding of Mologa was not planned from the beginning, for the young people the news of the upcoming event was like "thunder in the sky." Residents prepared for the winter, stocked up hay for livestock, firewood for heating. And around October 30, unexpected news came: we urgently need to move.
Pain and despair of the Mologa people
Before the start of construction, a separate Volgolag camp was created to carry out the planned work, in which there were 20 thousand prisoners. And this number is growing every day.
Preparatory work began - centuries-old trees were cut down, ancient churches were blown up - everything that could interfere with further navigation was destroyed. With pain, the inhabitants of the city watched how buildings were destroyed, temples exploded.
The story of how the Cathedral of the Epiphany was destroyed has been preserved. The majestic building, which was built to last for centuries, after the first explosion with dynamite, only rose to a small height in the air and fell back into place without damage. I had to make 4 more attempts to finally destroy the century-old structure.
It's time for people to move. This went on for four years. How much pain, fear and sadness these long four years have brought with them to the families of migrants! Houses were dismantled by logs, numbered to make it easier to assemble later and transported on horse carts, some floated them down the river along with things. In villages close to Rybinsk, you can still see old houses with numbers on the logs of log cabins.
Report, The Flooded City of Mologa Homeowners were paid meager monetary compensation, which was barely enough to pay for the demolition of the house. And lonely, sick people were distributed to the homes of the disabled located nearby.
There were also those who, not wanting to leave, chained themselves to some heavy object in the yard of their house.
Gradually, the city of Mologa was under water. In the famous film "Mologa. Russian Atlantis ”it is shown that the water surged sharply, and in a few hours the city went under water. But this is a work of art. The depth of flooding was no more than 2 meters.
And on April 14, 1941 year blocked the last opening of the dam. The restless waters of three rivers: the Volga, the Mologa and the Sheksna met the resistance of the dams on their way and overflowed their banks. The vast expanse of land began to gradually fill with water, forming a majestic sea created by man. This is how the well-known Rybinsk reservoir appeared.
As a result of the flooding of the Mologo-Sheksna interfluve, the 8th part of the Yaroslavl lands disappeared from the face of the earth. More than 800 settlements, 6 monasteries and 50 churches were under water.
Surprisingly, the Volga in those days was not considered the Great River and was not even navigable. It is known that steamships sailed only on the Rybinsk-Mologa interval.
Decades have passed since the tragedy. The Soviet people defeated Germany in the Great Patriotic War. The capacities of the created Volga hydroelectric power stations played an important role in this event.
Gradually, the history of Russian Atlantis was forgotten. In addition, for many years in the Soviet Union it was forbidden even to pronounce this name: Mologa.
For such a mention, one could easily fall into some camp. What they did and how they devastated 700 villages, including the camp "bitches" from "Volgolag", none of his contemporaries can even imagine, even documents marked "Sov.Secret" were destroyed). and will not say, just as he will not confirm the authenticity of this document:
Years passed. There were periods when the water level in the Rybinsk reservoir dropped, and one could see the remains of the ancient city: the foundations of former houses and streets, cemetery tombstones.
But the elements of water, wind and time do their job. And already in the 21st century, little is reminiscent of the former tragedy, the destruction of not only Russian arable land, but also the Russian people themselves.
In Russia, everyone remembers the Holocaust, the Holodomor, Khatyn, but few people guess about Stolypin's "THINING THE EUROPEAN PART OF RUSSIA", about the "FLOWING OF ARABLE LANDS", about "MAN-MADE DISASTERS IN THE URALS", etc. But aren't these links of one chains and isn't it time to find out who is behind all this?
The remains of many churches and temples, not destroyed by flooding, which previously towered above the surface of the water, almost completely went under water.
The remains of the Leushinsky monastery after the flooding of the Rybinsk reservoir
Many historical cities have survived, but due to partial flooding, they have become much smaller. The ancient city of Vesyegonsk decreased by 3/4, the flooding affected Uglich, Myshkin, Kalyazin.
Many cities, villages and villages went under water at the same time. Among them, the notorious city of Kalyazin was partially damaged. The Nikolsky Cathedral located there was built in 1694.
Under him, since 1800, a five-tiered bell tower has risen. Its height is 74.5 meters. There were 12 bells in the belfry! The largest of them was cast in honor of Nicholas II, who became Emperor.
During the preparation of these lands for flooding, the cathedral was dismantled, and the bell tower was left as a lighthouse for ships. In the eighties, its foundation was strengthened, an artificial island of land was created around it, and now divine services and prayers are held there in the summer.
For visiting tourists, an original attraction has appeared. Well, for the residents of Kalyazin - a good reason to earn some extra money, taking travelers to the abandoned bell tower.
Eastern wisdom says - "memory, like conscience, is given to a person as a punishment"!
Now, according to a sad tradition, on one of the August Sundays, the descendants of those who once lived in Mologa gather in Rybinsk and sail on a ship to the place of the sunken city. Sometimes the water level drops and the city appears out of the water. The spectacle is not for the faint of heart, it just becomes scary. After all, once people lived there - they were sad and laughed, dreamed and hoped for a happy future ...
Although, according to today's researchers, almost nothing is left of those times. All the stories that you can see ancient buildings, temples and tombstones and crosses under water are a myth. Only stones and shell rock are visible at the bottom. Only occasionally do searchers find small metal items and coins.
Do not forget that almost all stone buildings were blown up before flooding, and wooden buildings were dismantled for firewood or were stupidly burned by prisoners.
In Rybinsk there is a museum of the Mologa region, where you can learn in detail about these events, see objects of that time and light a candle in memory of the inhabitants of Mologa.
There is no unambiguous assessment of these tragic events. We must not forget that it was this newly created Rybinsk reservoir that in 1941 provided electricity to the whole of Moscow, as well as numerous factories that produced weapons and equipment for the front.
But in the same way, we must not forget about the Russian land, which fed the Russian people for thousands of years. It is impossible to erase from memory those 700 villages that were destroyed.
In the USSR, many cities were flooded in the 1930s and 1950s during the construction of hydroelectric power stations. 9 cities fell into the flood zone: 1 on the Ob River, 1 on the Yenisei and 7 on the Volga. Some of them were completely flooded (as, for example, Mologa and Korcheva), and some partially (Kalyazin). Many cities were rebuilt, and for some this was a breakthrough in development: for example, Stavropol (or Stavropol-on-Volga) turned from a small village into a city with a population of 700 thousand inhabitants, which today is called Tolyatti.
Kalyazin- one of the most famous flooded cities in Russia. The first mention of the village of Nikola on Zhabna dates back to the 12th century, and after the foundation of the Kalyazin-Troitsky (Makarevsky) monastery on the opposite bank of the Volga in the 15th century, the significance of the settlement increased. In 1775, Kalyazin was given the status of a county town, and from the end of the 19th century, the development of industry began in it: felting, blacksmithing, and shipbuilding. The city was partially flooded during the creation of the Uglich hydroelectric power station on the Volga River, the construction of which was carried out in 1935-1955. The Trinity Monastery and the architectural complex of the Nikolo-Zhabensky Monastery, as well as most of the historical buildings of the city, were lost. All that remained of it was the bell tower of St. Nicholas Cathedral sticking out of the water, which became one of the main attractions of the central part of Russia.
Mologa is the most famous city, completely flooded during the construction of the Rybinsk reservoir. This is a rather rare case when the settlement was not moved to another place, but completely liquidated: in 1940 its history was interrupted. The village of Mologa has been known since the 12th-13th centuries, and in 1777 it received the status of a county town. In the 19th century, the Afanasievsky Monastery and several churches were built here. With the advent of Soviet power, the city became a regional center with a population of about 6 thousand people. Mologa consisted of about a hundred stone houses and 800 wooden ones. After the impending flooding of the city was announced in 1936, the resettlement of residents began. Most of the Mologzhans settled far from Rybinsk in the village of Slip, while the rest dispersed to different cities of the country. Since the 1960s, Rybinsk has hosted meetings of the Mologa residents, where they remember their lost city.
Mologa, 1910. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Berillium
Korcheva is the second (and last) completely flooded city in Russia, which ceased to exist after that. This village in the Tver region was located on the right bank of the Volga River, on both sides of the Korchevka River, not far from the city of Dubna. The village has been mentioned in chronicles since the 16th century, and it received the status of a city in 1781. By the 1920s, the population of Korchevka was 2.3 thousand people. Mostly there were wooden buildings, although there were also stone buildings, including three churches. In 1932, the government approved the plan for the construction of the Moscow-Volga canal, and the city fell into the flood zone. On March 2, 1937, the center of the Konakovo district was moved to Konakovo, and the inhabitants of Korchevo were also resettled here. Today, on the unflooded territory of Korchevo, a cemetery and one stone building, the house of the Rozhdestvensky merchants, have been preserved.
Korcheva, early 20th century. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Andrey Sdobnikov
City of Puchezh exists to this day, but all of its old part went under the waters of the Gorky reservoir in 1955-1957. The village has been mentioned in sources since the 16th century. Its inhabitants were engaged in trade, fishing, gardening. In 1793 the settlement became a settlement, and in the first half of the 19th century there was a center for hiring barge haulers. In 1862, a flax-spinning factory was built here. In 1955-1957, due to the impending flooding of the city, it was decided to move Puchezh to a higher place. Part of the wooden buildings was moved to the new city, and all the stone buildings were destroyed. The rebuilt city still exists today: in 2014, its population is 7624 people.
Vesyegonsk, flooded in 1939 in connection with the creation of the Rybinsk reservoir, known since 1564. In those days, the village of Ves Yogonskaya was located on the site of the future city. In the 16th-19th centuries, this settlement was an important shopping center. Here they sold and bought salt, wax, hops, fish, furs and much more. Since 1796, Vesyegonsk has been a provincial town in the Tver province, and since 1803, a county town. It is mentioned in N. Gogol's "Dead Souls" as an example of a provincial county town: "... And the court writes: send you from Tsarevokokshaysk to the prison of such and such a city, and that court writes again: send you to some Vesyegonsk, and you move yourself from prison to prison and say, examining the new dwelling: “No, here the Vsegonsk prison will be cleaner: even if it’s in grandmas, there is a place, and there is more society!” By 1930, about 4 thousand people lived in Vesyegonsk. During the flood, the territory of the old city was completely destroyed, and new buildings were located to the south, on collective farm lands. At the same time, the city was downgraded to the status of a working village. Vesyegonsk received the city status again in 1953. Only the ensembles of the Trinity and Kazan churches and the cemetery church of John the Baptist have survived from the old buildings.
Stavropol(informal names - Stavropol-Volzhsky or Stavropol-on-Volga), a city in the Samara region, was founded in 1738 as a fortress. The number of inhabitants fluctuated greatly: in 1859, 2.2 thousand people lived here, by 1900 - about 7 thousand, and in 1924 the population decreased so much that the city officially became a village (city status was returned in 1946). At the time of the flood in the 1950s, about 12 thousand people lived in Stavropol. The city was moved to a new location, and in 1964 it was renamed Tolyatti. The rapid development of the city is associated with the appearance of large industrial enterprises("Volgotsemmash", "KuibyshevAzot" and "KuibyshevPhosfor", etc.).
River port in modern Togliatti. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / ShinePhantom
City of Kuibyshev(Spassk-Tatarsky) has been mentioned in chronicles since 1781. In the second half of the 19th century, there were 246 houses, 1 church, and by the beginning of the 1930s, 5.3 thousand people lived here. In 1936 the city was renamed Kuibyshev. In the 1950s, it ended up in the flood zone of the Kuibyshev reservoir and was completely rebuilt in a new location, next to the ancient settlement of Bulgar. Since 1991, it has been renamed Bolgar and soon has every chance of becoming one of the main tourist centers in Russia and the world. In June 2014, the ancient settlement of Bulgar (Bulgarian State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve) was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
