What a mountain until the middle of the 19th century. Russia, Bryansk city "16 amazing and interesting facts about Bryansk

The village named Menshovo, located on the banks of the Rozhaya River near Moscow, has been known since the 16th century. The first mention of him is found in the watch book of that century. Who it originally belonged to is unknown. Perhaps Menshovo and the nearby village, and then the village of Akulinino, belonged to the same owner, so this article will also touch upon the history of the second settlement, known since 1537. This year, the village "Akulininskaya" in Rostunovskiy Stan, along with the "repairs", was transferred to the Borovsky estate owner Vasily Artemyevich Ushakov to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery.

The next mention of this village is found in the scribes of the Borovsk district of 1627-1629. There is the following entry about her: “The Rostunovsky camp is a village that was the Akulinin wasteland, on the river on Opoka, behind Semyon Semyonov's son Panin, according to the Sovereign's Charter 133 (1625 - MN), signed by the clerk Tretyak Korsakov, his old father Semyonov bought a patrimony, that his father bought it from Ivan Stupishin. " Apparently at the beginning of the 17th century Akulinino became desolate and became a wasteland, passing into the possession of Ivan Stupishin, and then Semyon Panin. It follows from the scribal books that at the time of their compilation, there were four courtyards in the village: one estate owner, one clerk and two business people's courtyards (five tenants). Semyon Semyonovich Panin is indicated in the boyar lists of 1606-1607 as an employee in the city of Kozelsk, where he was given 400 cheets of land in the estate or in the patrimony.

In 1646 Akulinino was mentioned as a small village with one peasant and two Bobyl households. In total, nine people lived in this settlement that year.

In 1678 this small village already belonged to Semyon Timofeevich Kondyrev. The Kondyrev family descended from Mark Demidovich, who left Lithuania for Tver. His great-grandson Ivan Yakovlevich received the nickname Kondyr, and all his descendants began to be called the Kondyrevs. Members of this family did not differ in wealth and kinship until the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich. Their rise to high ranks began precisely under this tsar, and the rise to the top of the career ladder took place under his sons, Tsars Fedor and Peter Alekseevich. Semyon Kondyrev's two brothers, Peter and Ivan, rose to the rank of boyars by the end of the 17th century. In 1652, Semyon Timofeevich served as a voivode in Perm. By 1677 he was already in the rank of a Duma nobleman, and in 1678 he became a devious. From 1680 to 1682, Semyon Kondyrev served as a voivode in Solikamsk, his last place of service was the voivodeship in Cherdyn.

In 1678 in Akulinino there were ten yards of peasants and bobs and one yard of a “back man”. In 1687, Kondyrev's son Efim Semyonovich built in this village a wooden church in the name of the Archangel Michael, as well as the courtyards of a priest, a sexton, a sacristan and a mallow, allocated 20 acres of arable land and mows for the clergy. This year, the newly formed parish, in which, in addition to sacred households and clergy, was one estate of the patrimonial land, eighteen households of peasants, five households of business people, three households of grooms, the church authorities imposed a tribute in the amount of "one ruble five money, a hryvnia arrival." After the death of the estate owner, the village passed to his sister Irina, and then to the brothers, princes Obolensky Mikhail and Vasily Matveyevich.

The family of princes Obolensky has deep historical roots. The grandson of Prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich of Chernigov, Prince Konstantin Yuryevich received the city of Obolensk as his inheritance and became the ancestor of the princely family of the Obolenskys. Until the middle of the 16th century, the Obolensk princes were among the most influential people at the court of the great princes and tsars of Moscow. But then they receded into the shadows and did not occupy important government posts until the reign of Peter the Great. Prince Mikhail Matveyevich Obolensky in 1706 was a room steward and by 1721 he rose to the rank of governor of the Arzamas province. At the beginning of the 18th century, his brother, Prince Vasily Matveyevich, was a “primitive people”, but died in his youth in 1707.

Both brothers owned several estates in different districts of the Russian kingdom. Among the possessions of Prince Mikhail located in Dmitrovsky, Galitsky, Nizhny Novgorod, Arzamas districts, there was also a patrimony in the Moscow district - a quarter of Alekseevsky village, Dolmatovo identity, "half three courtyards", as well as in Borovsky district - half of the village of Akulinino, "half a pole of a courtyard ". In total, Mikhail Obolensky owned 272 courtyards. His brother owned estates in Galitsky, Arzamassky, Vladimirsky, Yaroslavsky, Dmitrovsky districts. In the Moscow district, he owned half the village of Alekseevsky, Dolmatovo, too, two yards, and in the Borovsky district in the village of Arkhangelskoye, Akulinino, the same, "half a pole of the yard." Prince Vasily Matveyevich Obolensky was the owner of 325 households.

In the census books of the Borovsk district of 1705, it is written: “behind the stewards, princes Mikhail and Vasily Matveyev, the children of Obolensky, the village of Akulinino, in the village the church of Mikhail the Archangel, near the church in the courtyard of priest Ivan Konstantinov, with the children Peter and Ivan, and in the village there are 15 peasant households in there are 69 of them. " In 1739, Yakov Ivanov was a priest at the Akulinin Church.

In the same 1739, Prince Mikhail Obolensky divided his estates between his sons Ivan and Alexander. Prince Ivan Mikhailovich got the estates in Dmitrovsky and Oryol districts, and Prince Alexander Mikhailovich in Moscow and Borovsky districts.

In the middle of the 18th century, the village of Akulinino had several owners from the princely family of the Obolenskys. The village was divided between the son of Prince Mikhail Matveyevich - Alexander, and his uncle - Prince Matvey Matveyevich Obolensky. The latter, in 1743, built, near the village on a hillock, a one-altar stone church, one-story with an equilateral cross. Its dimensions were small: 17 meters in length, 8.5 in width and 27.7 m in height. The smooth outer walls were decorated with stone cornices in the form of belts, brought together in a semicircle, the windows were barred with iron bars. The copper-colored iron roof was crowned with a blank lantern with an eight-pointed iron cross with a princely crown at the top. Inside the church were three doors, sheathed with iron. The altar with two windows was separated from the middle temple by a stone wall. Solea was built of stone and rose one step above the floor. The walls of the church were adjoined by kliros, arranged by a shield. The bells were placed on wooden posts.

About the other owner of the Akulinina village - Prince Alexander Mikhailovich Obolensky (1712-1767), it is only known that he rose to the modest army rank of Prime Major, and was twice married: his first marriage to Anna Alekseevna Naryshkina; the second on Anna Mikhailovna Miloslavskaya (1717-1794). From his second marriage he had a son, Peter.

During the 4th revision of 1787, the village "Arkhangelskoye, Akulinino identity" belonged to the son of Prince Alexander Mikhailovich - court adviser Prince Peter Alexandrovich Obolensky (1742-1822). That year, he himself lived in Moscow, and 94 male souls lived in his village. Perhaps at this time, the village of Menshovo also belonged to him. In 1804, the court councilor, Prince P. A. Obolensky, made in the Akulininsky church a new four-tier iconostasis with carvings on a red field, put his old icons in order, adding new ones. All of it was painted with a "milky color", varnished and gilded.

Prince Peter Alexandrovich Obolensky was married to Princess Ekaterina Andreevna Vyazemskaya (1741-1811). Through her, he became a relative of the famous poet and author of memoirs - Prince Pyotr Andreevich Vyazemsky. In his youth, Prince Pyotr Vyazemsky often visited the Obolenskys. In 1795, the eldest son of Peter Alexandrovich, Andrei, married the daughter of a wealthy neighbor on the estate near Moscow, the owner of the Troitskoye-Ordyntsy estate, Andrei Yakovlevich Maslov, Martha. Obviously, as a dowry for his wife, he received an estate with the village of Troitskoye. The next year, Marfa Andreevna, having given birth to a daughter, died, and Prince Andrei Petrovich inherited her rich estate near Moscow, a Moscow house, another real estate, as well as up to four thousand serf souls. The young widower was brought up to respect his parents, and his entire large family, headed by his parents, began to use the unexpected inheritance from his unfortunate first wife. Peter Alexandrovich with his whole family moved from his estate Akulinino to the estate of his son - Troitskoye-Ordyntsy. The future poet and friend of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, Peter Andreevich Vyazemsky, came there in his youth.

A few decades later, the aged Prince Vyazemsky with nostalgia for his youthful years recalled in his essay "The Moscow Family of Old Life" about Pyotr Alexandrovich and his large and friendly family. Memories of the owner of a large estate, which included the village of Akulinino and the village of Menshovo, are worth mentioning verbatim.

“Prince Peter Alexandrovich Obolensky, the ancestor of the Obolenskys' multigenerational offspring, was at one time a great original. His last 20-30 years he lived in Moscow as an almost hopeless stay-at-home. From outsiders, he did not see anyone and did not know. At home, he was engaged in reading Russian books and turning. He was probably rather indifferent to everything and everyone, but he valued his habits. His day was strictly and barely delimited; there were no cross-country possessions and plots here: everything had its own definite place, its own edge, its time and its measure. Of course, he went to bed early and at the appointed hours, got up and dined; he always dined alone, although his family was crowded at home. He was an old man, clean, fresh, neat, even dapper; but his dress, of course, did not change according to fashion, but always kept the same cut adapted by him. All household or room accessories were distinguished by their elegance. English comfort was not yet transferred into our language and into our mores and customs; but he guessed it and introduced it in himself, that is, his comfort, not following either fashion or innovation. In the fall, even when he was quite old, he went out with his six sons on a hound hunt for hares. No matter how shy he was, or, at least, no matter how he shied away from society, he was not unsociable, stern and old-manly grumpy. On the contrary, the often kind and somewhat subtle smile illuminated and revived his childishly old face. He sometimes liked to listen and make jokes himself, or funny speeches, which in French are called gaudrioles, but we do not know what to call decently, and which usually have a special charm for old people, even blameless chaste in morals and in life. -being: the crafty one is always something, this or that, but slightly lures us into his snares. Prince Obolensky was not burdened by his loneliness or singularity, but he loved that his children - all already adults - came to him one by one, but not for long. If they somehow forgot and stayed too long, he, smiling in a friendly and innocent way, would say to them: dear guests, am I delaying you? Here the room was instantly cleared before a new visit. In my childhood, it was always pleasant for me when he allowed me into his elegant and bright cell: I unconsciously guessed that he did not live like others, but in his own way ”.

Prince P. was married. And Obolensky was married to Princess Vyazemskaya, the sister of Prince Ivan Andreevich. In continuation of their marriage cohabitation, they had twenty children. Ten of them died at different times, and ten survived their parents. Despite the accomplishment of her twenty female deeds, the princess was in old age, and to the end of her vigorous and strong, tall stature, she kept herself straight, and I do not remember that she was sick. Such were the old-world landowners' constitutions with us. The soil did not wear out and did not become scarce from the prolific vegetation. Without any preparatory education, she was of a clear, positive and firm mind. Her character was the same. In the family and in the household, the princess was a prince and a steward, but without the slightest claim to this dominion. It took shape by itself for the common benefit, for the common pleasure, from a natural and unexpressed agreement. She was not only the head of her family, but also his bond, concentration, soul, love. It had moral rules, native and deeply entrenched. During one of the visits of Emperor Alexander to Moscow, he paid special attention to the beauty of one of her daughters, Princess Natalia. The Tsar, with his usual courtesy and attentiveness to the fair sex, distinguished her: he talked with her in the Noble Assembly and in private houses, more than once he passed polonaises with her at balls. Of course, Moscow did not let this pass by its eyes and thoughts. Once the family talked about this in the presence of the princess-mother and jokingly made various assumptions - "Before that, I will strangle her with my own hands," said the Roman matron, who had no understanding of Rome. Needless to say, the tsarist red tape and all the comic predictions left no trace of themselves.

This family constituted a special, so to speak, world of Obolensky. Even in the then patriarchal Moscow, rich in a multi-family and especially a multi-girl composition, it differed from others in some kind, bright and sharp imprint. There were six sons and four daughters on the face. There was a time when all the brothers, still far from old, were retired. It was also a kind of feature in our service morals. Some of them, already in the reign of Alexander, still sported, on major holidays, in military uniforms from Catherine's time: here they showed a special cut, multi-colored cuffs, red camisoles with gold laces and, I remember, yellow trousers. All of them lived with their mother and mother for a long time. The everyday dining table was already of a decent size, while the festive one was double and triple. Especially in the summer and autumn months, in the Moscow region, this family life took on extraordinary dimensions and character. In addition to the complete family, other relatives also came to stay there. A small house, small rooms had some kind of elastic property: the multiplication of loaves, rooms, beds, and for the lack of them, the multiplication of sofas, the multiplication of grubs and feed for horses for the visiting servants, all this, by some miracle, according to the mistress, was done in this the Old Testament side. And the owners were not at all rich people. I remember that in my adolescence, by order of the princess, they always gave me a bed for the night - not a bed, a sofa - not a sofa, but something narrow and rather short, which she called, I don't know why, a boat. Where is this boat? Is she alive? What happened to her? How I would like to see her, and although even more curled up than during it, lie down in her. I remember her with heartfelt emotion. I am sure that I would still find in her the old and carefree dream, with bright dreams and joyful awakening. But a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since that time, light and transparent, muddy and agitated; with her, no doubt, my boat also flowed away and shattered to smithereens. In any case, we are Russians - not antique dealers and are not thrifty in relation to family furniture, utensils, portraits of ancestors. We are used to and love to heal from the present day. "

From the same essay it is known that in the autumn months the old prince, together with his sons and numerous guests, hunted hares with dogs. Pyotr Vyazemsky recalled: “The hunt and all its accessories were well and richly arranged. In the intervals when hunting for hares, the hunt for cards was diligently going on; not in the form of a win, because everyone was their own, and that the game was small. Everyone was playing here: fathers and children, husbands and wives, old and young. At dinner they usually ate, in various forms and preparations, all the hares hunted the day before. " It is possible that, chasing poor hares through the surrounding fields, the hunters, together with the owners of the estate, drove into the village of Akulinino and the village of Menshovo, where, in half-forgotten manor houses, they rested from the noise of gunfire and a frantic horse race.

Peter Alexandrovich had a large family. These are the sons: Andrey (1769-1852), Ivan (1770-1855), Nikolay (1775-1820), Vasily (1780-1834), Alexander (1780-1855), Sergey; and daughters: Maria (1771-1852), married to D.S. Dokhturov, Varvara (1774-1843), married to Prince A.F. Shcherbatov, Elizabeth (1778-1837), Natalia, married to V.M. Mikhailov.

During his lifetime, Prince Peter Alexandrovich divided his estates between the children. The eldest son Andrey got the village of Akulinino, the second son Ivan got the village of Menshovo.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the village of Menshovo was located in the parish of the Church of the Archangel Michael, in the village of Arkhangelskoye, Akulinino, too, and belonged to the son of Prince Peter Alexandrovich - the guard captain-lieutenant Prince Ivan Petrovich Obolensky. The nearby village of Akulinino, Arkhangelskoye, also belonged to his brother, the actual state councilor, Prince Andrei Petrovich Obolensky. At the time of the audit in 1816, 65 male and 54 female peasants lived in the village, a total of 119 souls. One peasant from this village was owned by a third brother - State Councilor Prince Alexander Petrovich Obolensky. In the village of Menshovo, in the same year, there were household people: 2 males, 2 females; peasants: male 43, female 37, total 84 souls. The presence of courtyard people in Menshovo suggests that there was a manor house in this village.

But the absence of courtyard people registered outside the village of Akulinin suggests that no one lived in the manor house located in it, but the landlord's house continued to exist. The courtyard people from Akulinino, at the end of the 13th century, were transferred to the Trinity estate.

Unlike the owner of Menshovo, Prince Ivan Obolensky, who did not reach high ranks and retired with the rank of guards lieutenant captain, his older brother, Prince Andrei Obolensky, made a good career and rose to the rank of trustee of the Moscow educational district.

In the lists of noblemen of the Podolsk district, who have the right to participate in the noble elections for 1816, two princes of the Obolensky are recorded: Andrei Petrovich and Ivan Petrovich. Both are listed as living in Moscow.

For 18 years (up to the 8th revision of 1834) the population of Menshovo increased. It was inhabited by servants: male 8, female 9; peasants: male 47, female 43 souls, 107 souls in total. He also owned the village of Stolbishchevo, where 60 serfs lived. The village of Akulinino was registered for the life-guard captain - guarantor Princess Elena Ivanovna Obolenskaya. This village was inhabited by 177 souls of both sexes.

Princess Elena Ivanovna Obolenskaya, nee von Stackelberg, was the wife of Prince Ivan Petrovich, and Prince Andrei Petrovich gave her the village of Akulinino. If you believe the date of birth of Elena Ivanovna (1758) mentioned in the reference books, then she was 12 years older than her husband. Her father, the director of the Livonian Collegium of Economy, Baron Fabian Adam von Stackelberg, came from a noble Baltic family, whose representatives switched to the Russian service under the emperors Peter I and Anna Ioannovna. Under Empress Catherine II, Stackelberg's two daughters, Elizabeth and Catherine, were her maids of honor. In 1767, accompanying the young Russian Empress on a journey along the Volga, Elizaveta Ivanovna met the Count and Knight Vladimir Grigorievich Orlov, the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Elizaveta Ivanovna was not a beauty and wore girls until she was 27 years old, but her kind character attracted the attention of the brother of the Queen's favorite, Grigory Orlov, and the next year they got married. The second sister, Ekaterina Ivanovna, was the wife of Count Tiesenhausen. Both sisters had great influence at the imperial court, which cannot be said about their younger sister Elena. The marriage of Ivan Petrovich and Elena Ivanovna took place in 1790.

From the results of the audit of 1850, it is clear that the village of Akulinino and the village of Menshovo still belonged to the guards captain - lieutenant Prince Ivan Petrovich Obolensky. The population of Menshovo consisted of 105 people, including courtyards: 9 males, 8 females; peasants: male 41, female 47 souls. According to Nystrem's reference book for 1852, Prince I.P. Obolensky lived in his estate in the village of Akulinino, the population of which was: male 83, female 87, in Menshovo male 50, female 45, in Stolbishchevo male 34, female 23.

In 1855, Ivan Petrovich Obolensky died. Princess Elena Ivanovna died even earlier - in 1846. They did not have children and their estate near Moscow with the village of Akulinino, the village of Menshovo and the village of Stolbishchevo, Ivan Obolensky bequeathed to his niece - the daughter of his brother Alexander Petrovich, Princess Obolenskaya Agrafena Alexandrovna (1823-1891). It was behind her, during the last 10 revision of 1858, that this estate was recorded. At that time, only 179 souls lived in 20 yards; in the village of Menshovo in 9 courtyards 97 souls, in the village of Stolbishchevo 9 courtyards 79 souls.

Prince Alexander Petrovich Obolensky, like his brother, died in 1855. From marriage with Agrafena Yurievna, nee Neledinskaya-Meletskaya (1789-1829), he had children: Catherine (1811-1843), Andrei (1813-1855), Sofia (1815-1852), Vasily (1817-1888), Sergei (1818 -1882), Varvara (1819-1873), Mikhail (1821-1886), Dmitry (1822-1881), Agrafen (1823-1891), and Yuri (1825-1890).

The village of Stolbishchevo was most likely sold, and began to contact the Penza Kiselevskaya almshouse. In 1859, an almshouse was built in Penza, according to the will of the state councilor Alexander Grigorievich Kiselev, by his wife Maria Mikhailovna. In it, at the request of the testator, until the end of their days were supposed to live: the elderly, the poor, the crippled, all the weak people of both sexes, without distinction of religion and rank. By the name of the city where the almshouse was founded and by the name of the founder, it was named Penza-Kiselevskaya. And in the village of Stolbishchevo, the landowner sold a plot of land that had been transferred to her under the section with local peasants, on which a house was built for the living of the caretakers of the Penza Kiselevskaya almshouse.

Princess Agrafena Alexandrovna never got married, and by the beginning of 1860 she shared part of her estate with relatives. The village of Menshovo passed to her sister Varvara Alexandrovna (1819-1873), who married Alexei Alexandrovich Lopukhin (1813-1872).

Menshovo under the Lopukhins

The life story of Varvara Alexandrovna's husband, Alexei Alexandrovich Lopukhin, is remarkable, first of all, by the fact that at the time of his youth, he was a close friend of the famous poet Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov.

Their acquaintance took place in late 1827 - early 1828. At this time, Mikhail Lermontov settled in Moscow, in a house on Molchanovka, rented by his grandmother E.A. Arsenyeva. Nearby there was a house belonging to Aleksandr Nikolaevich Lopukhin, Aleksey's father. A.P. Shan-Girei recalled: “In the neighborhood with us lived the Lopukhins family, an old father, three girls-daughters and a son; they were with us like family and very friendly with Michel, who rarely was there ”. Mikhail Lermontov made friends with Alexei and his sisters: Maria and Varvara, he had a heartfelt affection for the latter. The image of Varenka Lopukhina was embodied in the novels "Vadim" and "A Hero of Our Time". Many poems were dedicated to her, including: "Ishmael-Bey" and "Demon". Several portraits of her, made by the hand of Mikhail Lermontov, have survived.

For several years Lermontov and Lopukhins lived in the neighborhood. The rapprochement between Mikhail and Alexei was also facilitated by the fact that they studied together at the Noble Boarding School at Moscow University. After graduating from the boarding school, the young friends entered Moscow University in 1830. After Mikhail Yuryevich left Moscow for St. Petersburg in 1832, he was in correspondence with Alexei Lopukhin until his death in 1841. One of his contemporaries noted: "Only a very few, and among them A.A. Lopukhin, deeply appreciated his friendship and believed in his high soul, and retained this attitude after death."

However, there were difficult moments in the friendship between Lopukhin and Lermontov. In the summer of 1833, Alexei Lopukhin was carried away by the famous "coquette" Ekaterina Sushkova, who was looking for a rich groom. It was going to the engagement, which the relatives and acquaintances of Alexei Alexandrovich did not want. One of his cousins, Alexander Vereshchagin, asked Lermontov to try to upset the engagement. Being familiar with Sushkova and knowing her character, Mikhail Yurievich decided to "help" his friend. Being with him and Sushkova at balls, he was able to divert the attention of a secular coquette from Lopukhin and attract him to himself. Ekaterina Sushkova, having fallen in love with Lermontov, stopped paying attention to the alleged groom. Alexey Alexandrovich, without reproaching his friend for anything, although in his heart and jealousy towards him, gave up the idea of ​​marrying Sushkova. Thus, having upset the engagement of a friend, Mikhail Yuryevich, he himself stopped meeting with Sushkova.

In this way, the great Russian poet Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov, knowing nothing about the village of Menshovo, indirectly influenced its history. After all, if Alexei Lopukhin married Ekaterina Sushkova, then a representative of another noble family would become the owner of Menshovo. And so, five years after the failed wedding with Sushkova, Alexei Lopukhin married Princess Varvara Obolenskaya.

In 1838, the wedding ceremony of Alexei Alexandrovich and Varvara Alexandrovna took place. And on February 13 of the following year, the first-born Alexander was born to the young couple Lopukhins. In a letter from the Caucasus, Mikhail Yuryevich congratulated his friend of his youth and sent a poetic message dedicated to the newborn:

Baby sweet birthday
Cheers my belated verse.
Blessings be with him
All heavenly and earthly angels!
May he be worthy of a father;
Like his mother, he is beautiful and loved;
May his spirit be calm,
And in righteousness is as strong as God's cherub.
Let him not know before the deadline
No pangs of love, no glory of greedy thoughts;
Let him look without reproach
To the false brilliance and false noise of the world;
Let him not look for a reason
To someone else's passions and joys,
And he will come out of the secular mud
White soul and unharmed heart!

After graduating from university, Alexey Alexandrovich, being in the court rank of chamber-cadet, served in the civil department. One of his places of service was the Moscow Synodal Office. From the end of the 1850s, he and his family began to constantly come to the Menshovo estate during the summer. Alexei Lopukhin retired with the rank of full state councilor. Most of his life, having lived in Moscow, in his own house on Molchanovka, Alexey Alexandrovich Lopukhin died in 1872 and was buried in the Donskoy Monastery.

The Russian State Archives of Literature and Art (RGALI), in the fund of Prince Nikolai Petrovich Trubetskoy, contains the correspondence of his wife Sofia Alekseevna, daughter of Alexei Lopukhin. From these papers it follows that already in 1857, the children of Alexei Alexandrovich and Varvara Alexandrovna Lopukhin spent the summer season, under the supervision of their mother, teachers, tutors and servants, in the Menshovo estate. Alexey Alexandrovich himself, being in the service, could come there only on his days off.

Also in this fund are the memoirs of the grandson of Alexei and Varvara Lopukhin - Evgeny Nikolaevich Trubetskoy. The following is an excerpt from his mother, Sofya Alekseevna. In the mid - late 1850s, she, together with her family, spent the summer months in Menshovo and this is what she left behind.

“She grew up freely, cheerfully together with others among the Lopukha freemen. One hill in Menshov is still called "Sonya's Mountain" in her honor, because once there, as a girl, escaping the supervision of her elders, she jumped on a bareback peasant horse and ran along the mountain on it. " Local residents still call the mountain located on the right side of the road from the bridge over Rozhaya to the village of Menshovo "Sonina Gora". Thanks to the memories of Prince Yevgeny Trubetskoy, now it becomes clear in honor of which Sonya and for what reason, this mountain got its name.

In total, the Lopukhins family had eight children: Alexander (1839-1895), Maria (1840-1886), Sofia (1841-1901), Lydia (1842-1895), Boris (1844-1897), Olga (1845-1883), Emilia (1848-1904) and Sergei (1853-1911). By 1861, only daughter Sofia flew out of the parental nest, having married Prince Nikolai Petrovich Trubetskoy that year. After the wedding, the young people went on a trip to the southern estates of Prince Trubetskoy, and all the relatives of the young wife, bored and worried about her, bombarded her with letters. From these letters, some details of the life of the Menshovo estate became known.

On May 31, 1861, from a Moscow house, in two carriages and a tarantass, the Lopukhin family left for their estate near Moscow Menshovo. The wagon train with various supplies left even earlier. Mother Varvara Aleksandrovna took her children, daughters, Maria, Lydia, Olga and Emilia, and the youngest sons, Sergei and Vladimir, to live in the village. (The last child - Vladimir died at a young age). They were accompanied by governesses and nannies: Sofya Ivanovna, Klara Ivanovna and the Englishwoman Miss Boni. A little later, the elder sons, Alexander and Boris, came to the "village", the latter studied at the gymnasium and at the beginning of the summer passed exams. Alexander, having visited Menshovo twice and having stayed in it for two and a half days, left for the whole summer to stay with his sister Sonya Trubetskoy. Having been with his sister, by the end of the summer, he again returned to Menshovo.

Usually on Friday evening, on weekends, the head of the family, Alexey Alexandrovich, came to the estate. Guests sometimes came with him. Almost constantly on weekends, there was a family friend and, most likely, Lopukhin's subordinate, a certain Novikov. Of the other names who visited Menshovo that year, the letters mention cousins ​​and second cousins ​​uncles and aunts, brothers and sisters. Among them: Sofya Yurievna Samarina, Dmitry Pavlovich Evreinov, Countess Maria Fedorovna Sollogub, with her son Fedya and his tutor Nikolai Ivanovich Orfeyev, Vladimir Petrovich Begichev, with his daughter Masha, fans of Lida Lopukhina - Volodya Davydov and Valuev, a former admirer of Sophia - Prince other persons named only by name. The adults were also accompanied by: Princess Agrafena Aleksandrovna Obolenskaya ("Aunt Grusha") who lived in her estate in the village of Akulinino, her relatives who came to her: Lina, Lika and Katya Samarins, and also aunt Masha who came to Menshovo with the Lopukhins. Maybe this was the same Maria Lopukhina with whom Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov was in friendly correspondence. Also, neighbors visited Menshovo and Akulinino, including the Ershov landowners who lived on their Vorobyovo estate: Varvara Sergeevna, her son Ivan Ivanovich with her granddaughter Masha.

The RGALI funds also contain letters describing the life of Princess Sophia Trubetskoy.

"Dad" - so called in the letters of Alexei Alexandrovich Lopukhin, most often reported family details in his letters. One of them concerned “Aunt Grusha” (Agrafena Obolenskaya). Without her home in Moscow, she lived in a rented apartment. The next winter, the owners of the house refused her an apartment, and she was going to live until next summer in Akulinino. The house that remained in this estate near Moscow from Prince Ivan Obolensky was still strong, and "Aunt Grusha" was short of money. The Lopukhins repeatedly came and even came on foot to visit Agrafena Alexandrovna at her estate. She did not visit Menshov very often.

On one of these visits to Akulinino, Alexei Lopukhin found himself in an unexpected situation. In a letter dated June 26, he reported: “… On Friday I was supposed to arrive at Akulinino at 8 o'clock (in the evening), but I drove up to dear Rozhay and for the first time he did not let me through; such a heavy rain was in the vicinity of Menshov, even in Vorobyovo, according to the locals, there was water on level ground, knee-deep, that I finally saw Rozhay giving birth and, having reached the Vorobyovskaya Mill, crossed the dam and begged the horses there, but the coachman certainly wanted to take me to tarantase, which is why it took a long time to equip the journey. At 10 o'clock I arrived in Akulinino ... ". There were already guests in Akulinino, members of his family who had arrived in advance and close relatives: Lelya with her husband and Lina Samarina. After celebrating the birth of Aunt Grusha, the Lopukhin family went to Menshovo. “... From Akulinino we set off in the following order: Mama, Aunt Masha, Klara Ivanovna and Emilia sat in the carriage; Olga, Mitya Evreinov, Novikov, Garder and I ... Masha and Lida stayed overnight in Akulinino for Lina, who the next day I came to Menshovo with aunt Grusha and sisters. ... The next day, give birth again without water, because in Turgenev the dam burst and the water left. "

In a letter dated July 4, “Papa” informed his daughter Sonya the village news: “... In general, in Menshov and Akulinin, everyone is busy with foreign policy, and Aunt Grusha and Katya are studying German and English. ... Without me there was an incident in Menshov. One woman hired a peasant as a worker, and after drinking, he did not want to work and was rude to her, for which she scolded him, and he dragged her away, so that not only hands were in action, but also legs. Last Sunday they were tried and the young man was flogged dashingly, which Menshov's peasants did not know and did not try ... ".

That year, all the landowners were in anxious anticipation of how their former peasants would behave after the abolition of serfdom. Alexey Alexandrovich also wrote about this. In a letter dated July 13, he reported: “... On Sunday I saw Ershov (Ivan Ivanovich - MN) and Masha (his daughter - MN). The first one returned from his journey, was in Tula, Ryazan and Penza, that is, in these provinces, and it is strange to hear his stories. He, who preached that the peasants would not work, says that they are doing three times against the former and are so meek and calm that they are like lambs. " In the same letter, "Papa" said that due to the heat, the mowing is bad, and the bread will not be very good either.

In one of his last letters from Menshovo, he described the celebration of Masha Ershova's name day in the Vorobievo estate. “... The next day, Aunt Masha went to Vorobyevo for mass and received an invitation to everyone. In the evening, with the whole family, except for Novikov and Alyosha Trubetskoy, we went to Vorobyovo, where we found Vasily Andreevich Obolensky, Demidov, the mayor with his son, the doctor and Ogarev. Vasily Andreevich just hit on Masha and Lidinka, who impressed him with their ribbons, as if their color was good and Masha was very avantage. The table was prepared between the house and the church, on the high road, chocolate pie, cottage cheese, varenets, peaches, cherries, raspberries and melons, which were banished in my honor and served after. Masha Ershova cut a pie and treated them, but this time not in a blue dress, but in a muslin dress trimmed with solferino ribbons. " Returning home in the evening, the Lopukhins and their guests saw a big fire in Ilyinskoye. The flame was so great that it was visible even in Menshovo.

At the very beginning of August, Alexey Alexandrovich fell ill and did not come to Menshovo again this summer. As it turned out, he contracted a dangerous disease - smallpox. His wife Varvara Alexandrovna, in mid-August, came from the village to take care of him and also became infected. In a letter dated July 6, Varvara Lopukhina presented the daily routine of all family members. “… I will describe our day to you: We all get up at different hours, I am naturally later than others, but much earlier, however, than before. At 12 o'clock I am always ready, and sometimes at 11 I come to the living room. So, until 11 o'clock, Sofya Ivanovna walks with the boys in the garden, and at 11 they come to greet me, bring either mushrooms or berries that they have picked. Then they go swimming, and I either do the abacus or read. At 1 o'clock they have breakfast, and I drink rye coffee. Then I embroider Dad's pillow in the hoop. At 2 o'clock, Sofya Ivanovna and I teach the children until 4 o'clock, and at 4 o'clock they go swimming again, and I sit down at the embroidery frame, and Borya reads me. At 5 o'clock we have lunch, after, sometimes two or three games I will play billiards, without energy, because I am surrounded by bad players, whom I always win without difficulty, then we all sit together, chatting until 8 o'clock. At 8 o'clock we always go for a walk, after which we drink tea and never go to bed later than 11 o'clock. Masha reads and embroiders, Lidya reads, embroiders, and plays the piano, Olga and Emilia study all morning and also study music. Aunt Masha, now with Masha, now with Borya, reads, and more than ever, it seems, she is bored, poor thing.

This is our day on weekdays. When the Pope and Novikov appear, well, then there is a great hesitation, as it always was with them, and we go to bed much later, and have tea long after dinner, and evening walks are long, and then the day must be finished with millers, whose goal is certainly to leave Novikov's miller. then to ask him if he suffered much loss when the mill in Turgenevo burst. "

Despite the fact that in a noble environment, summer holidays in the village were considered the best pastime of the year, and the entire urban population sought to breathe fresh, clean air in nature, among the Lopukhins there was a person who was not very happy about a trip to a Moscow region estate. This particular person was the eldest daughter Maria. The fact is that she was sick and had difficulty walking. She understood that her personal life was unlikely to work out, and mental suffering was added to the physical suffering. In addition, she admitted in a letter to her sister Sonya that she loved Novikov, but hardly hoped for a mutual feeling, although he paid her more attention than other sisters. Probably, illness at an earlier age did not so much affect Masha's physical condition and psyche, and she recalled with pleasure the past years spent in the village. “Tolya it happened (Menshovo society - MN) during, for example, poetry and our walking trip from Menshovo. How then our society was crowded, fun and pleasant. "

Nevertheless, fresh air, pleasant weather, relief from illness and good company did their job, and by the middle of summer Maria was cheerful. In a letter dated July 15, she humorously described the story that happened during the celebration of the birthday of Begichev and his younger brother Volodya, who had come to visit. “… Everyone, including Aunt Grusha and Katya, went for a walk with songs in the wonderful moonlight and in beautiful weather. ... We returned from our walk at almost one o'clock; they reached Vorobyov, where they made a terrible alarm. Part of the Ershov house was already asleep, while the other was waiting for the departure of the police chief and Demidov (the world mediator - M.N.), who had already been given horses to also lie down; when suddenly they heard terrible chants and shouts outside the church and saw a crowd of people. Alarmed in the afternoon by the stories of Verderevsky (the owner of the Skobeevo estate - M.N.) as a mediator about one indignation, the Ershovs imagined that it was indignant peasants who had come to them, and were afraid to leave. But the police chief and Demidov, as the authorities came to see them, having sent a preliminary for the Cossack. When they saw that they were ours, the Ershovs also went out, and Ivan Ivanovich, frightened, led them with torches into an earthen barn, where he treated them to cherries and peaches. This is what fear means; Ershov rarely and not a crowded society leads during the day to a dirt barn, and here he led a whole crowd of 12 people, and even at night. Having eaten cherries to the dump, our people returned home with songs and Dad, Mom and I went to meet them. When we got home, we sat down to supper and all the time laughed terribly at Begichev's story about their adventure. "

Even before the news of the seriousness of Papa's illness, Menshov's summer residents had new fun. On August 4, Maria wrote: "Our whole company is very busy looking for porcini mushrooms, of which there are now a lot and Seryozha told you to tell you that they found 45 porcini mushrooms this morning, which is very fun." Masha's condition improved so much that she went to the forest and also found several mushrooms. After the departure of "Mama" to Moscow, as the eldest in the family, Maria became the mistress of the estate. She looked after the younger brothers and sisters, gave instructions to the servants about the household. In mid-September, a little recovered from his illness, "Papa" gave her instructions in writing to repair the shed in the estate and to send things brought back from Moscow. After recovery, “Daddy” and “Mommy”, “Aunt Pear” considered that in gratitude for God's mercy, “Daddy” should pay “rugu” (payment in money and supplies) to the Akulinin priest. In a letter to his daughter Maria, “Mom” conveys his answer: “… The Pope thanks Aunt Grusha for deciding that he should give his friend to the priest Akulininsky. However, he does not recognize the obligation to give it to him. In the Assumption (the church on the Korytensky churchyard - M.N.), not one of the parishioners pays or gives anything to the priest and all the priest, and only the Pope is responsible for everything, then why should he, in fact, give for the maintenance of the Akulin priest ".

Due to the illness of their parents, the children of Lopukhina returned to the Moscow house only at the end of September, and for the last month and a half Maria had no time for rest. In addition, Novikov also fell ill with smallpox, and fear for the life of a loved one was added to the worries about the health of his parents.

The letters of the third sister - 18-year-old Lida, a girl of marriageable age, are full of delight and tenderness of village life. Judging by the letters, she was a cheerful and pretty girl, around whom many young gentlemen constantly hovered. Sister Sophia strongly advised her to fall in love with one of them, but Lidya, as her family called her, only carelessly brushed her sister's words aside, postponing marriage for the future. And her letters mention interesting details from the life of a noble family in the village.

On June 23, a family holiday was celebrated in Akulinino. The owner of the estate, Princess Agrafena Aleksandrovna Obolenskaya, was congratulated on her birthday. Varvara Alexandrovna and her daughters Masha and Lidya came to Akulinino from the Lopukhins' family. According to the old tradition, former serfs came to congratulate the mistress. After congratulations, Aunt Grusha gave them wine to drink. Kurgan peasants and women danced in round dances to the sound of an accordion. As always, there were drunks and a respectable company: "one man who was very drunk and therefore lied terrible trifles amused me very much."

Like Mama, Lydia described her daily routine in a letter. “I get up at 9-10 o'clock, after tea before breakfast, that is, until 12 o'clock I read Macaulay's story with Miss Boney, then breakfast. Until 3 o'clock I play the piano, sort out Obolensky's sonatas (which I think I will never give him) and various pieces in your memory, then we go for a swim, and after lunch we walk until tea, then there are millers or just a conversation. " Often in the evening hours, Menshov's company drove off to visit Akulinino. “Yesterday we were all at Aunt Grusha's in the evening, and she made tea with all kinds of berries in her park, the evening was amazing and we had a very pleasant time.”

Brother Boris, unlike the sisters, did not spoil his sister with letters. Perhaps the reason for this was his state of love. The 16-year-old schoolboy, as often happened in noble families, was carried away by the young governess of his younger brothers, Sofia Ivanovna. The young man's condition was noticed, but they did not attach any importance to it. For several days his friend from the gymnasium Garder came to see Boris. Judging by the fact that, apart from a brief mention of his presence in the letter, nothing else was reported, he did not attract attention to himself.

In the letters of Olga's sister, there is little information about the life of the family in the village. The younger sister wrote more about herself. Swimming in the Rozhae River, picking strawberries and mushrooms, playing the piano with Lida in four hands, these were her main entertainments. Parents began to accustom the girl to the household and instructed her to take care of the farmyard. Of course, she did not milk the cows or clean the manure. But taking milk and cottage cheese from the workers, buying eggs and other supplies was part of her duties. Olga got down to business with fervor, but the cows given by her aunt Pears constantly ran away to their usual Akulinino grazing, and they had to be constantly returned to Menshovo.

The younger sister Emilia, following the example of the adults, also described her daily activities in the village. “We spend our time almost exactly the same as last year: we get up at half past five, at seven we go for a swim, from eight to nine Olga plays the piano, at nine o'clock tea, after tea I play, then we have lessons before breakfast, from breakfast until four o'clock again lessons, at four we swim again, and after lunch, we either go for a walk or swim again. On Mondays we go to Akulinino to take a music lesson, and on Thursdays, Katya comes to us. " Among other entertainments, in which Emilia also took part, was fishing in the Rozhaika River. Today we were fishing and caught only four crucian carp, which went to Dad's ear. "

Even the little brothers Seryozha and Volodya wrote letters to their sister Sonya. In large letters, first written in pencil and then outlined in ink, most likely with the help of his teacher Sofia Ivanovna, Seryozha wrote to his sister: “Fishing and billiards are very interesting for me and I would be glad to fish with Novikov all day, because we are both addicted and enter in excitement. Sergei made a vegetable garden for us, and we salt our cucumbers and eat peas, beans and other vegetables. " Another entertainment for the boys was swimming in the Rozhae River, Seryozha learned to swim that summer.

Due to illness of the parents, the end of the summer season of 1861 turned out to be crumpled. The first autumn frosts had already begun, and the children continued to be in the village. The parents did not want to put them at risk of contracting smallpox and returned them to Moscow only on September 27, when the danger had passed.

In the same year 1861, after the abolition of serfdom, part of the landowners' lands was transferred to the peasants freed from serfdom. In subsequent years, the landlords were to receive a ransom for it from the peasant rural society. However, the process of buying out land lasted for many years, and peasants, until the moment they bought land, were considered "temporarily liable" to their former landowners. They continued to work out the corvee and pay the rent.

In 1865, the lands of the village of Akulinino belonged to the princess of Obolenskaya and the Akulininsky rural society, which included 85 temporarily liable peasants. The land was divided as follows: the peasant allotment was 270 dessiatines 2085 sazhens, the landlord's land - 571 dessiatins 273 sazhens. The lands of the village of Menshovo were recorded for Lopukhina and Menshovsky rural society. These lands included the Bankov wasteland. In the peasant society of the village of Menshovo, there were 48 temporarily liable peasants, whose allotment was 156 dessiatines, while the landowner owned 102 dessiatines, 1200 sazhens. The Stolbishchevo rural society, which included 37 temporarily liable peasants, was allocated 159 dessiatines 848 fathoms of land. For the Penza - Kiselevskaya almshouse, the land was not recorded.

Since the mid-1860s, the village of Akulinino, the village of Menshovo and the village of Stolbishchevo were part of the Rastunovskaya volost of the Podolsk district. By the mid-1870s, the borders of the Podolsk district volosts were redrawn. In the southeast of the county, the Shebantsevskaya volost was formed, into whose borders were included the settlements: Akulinino, Menshovo and Stolbishchevo.

And life in the Lopukhin Menshovo estate near Moscow continued to revive only in the summer months. The children of Alexei Alexandrovich and Varvara Alexandrovna were growing up, their sons, having graduated from various educational institutions, entered the service, and on rare days they could be seen in such a favorite place of their summer vacation. Each of them has reached a high position.

All the sons of Alexei Lopukhin chose a legal career for themselves. Their nephew Yevgeny Trubetskoy, this is how he remembered them. “There were no nihilists and free-thinkers between my uncles the Lopukhins; but it is characteristic that, unlike the Trubetskoy uncles, who all began their service in the guards, my uncles Lopukhins were all judicial figures, moreover, they were liberal: the Lopukhins' soft soul and flexible mind immediately took on the appearance of an "era of great reforms." Thanks to this, the whole atmosphere in which we grew up was saturated with the liberalism of that time of a special, judicial type. "

The eldest son, Alexander, in honor of whose birth Mikhail Lermontov wrote a poem, after studying in His Majesty's Corps of Pages, chose the civil service, and already in 1866 served as a magistrate in Moscow, and in 1867 as a comrade (deputy) prosecutor at the Moscow District Court ... In the 1870s, he was already the prosecutor of the St. Petersburg Court of Justice. It was he who, in 1878, participated as a prosecutor in the famous open trial in the case of the terrorist Vera Zasulich, who shot at the Petersburg mayor F.F. Trepova. The well-known lawyer A.F. Koni presided over the trial. Experienced specialists conducted the hearings on the high-profile court case in such a way that V. Zasulich was acquitted by the jury. For the "unsuccessful" conduct of this case, both Koni and Lopukhin were removed from their posts. In 1879, Alexander Lopukhin was sent to Turkey, where he served as chairman of a special commission at the imperial embassy in Constantinople. In 1882, Alexander Alekseevich served as chairman of the Warsaw District Court. He rose to the rank of actual state councilor and was awarded the rank of chamberlain at the court. He was married to Elizaveta Dmitrievna Golokhvastova (1841-1909) and had sons Alexei (1864-1928), Dmitry (1865-1914), Boris, Yuri and Viktor (1868-1933).

The middle son of Alexei Alexandrovich, Boris, also chose the profession of a lawyer. A graduate of the Faculty of Law of Moscow University, he rose to the position of prosecutor of the Warsaw District Court, and then chairman of the Yaroslavl District Court. Boris Alekseevich, like his older brother, had the rank of a full state councilor. From a marriage with Vera Ivanovna Protasova, he had sons Vladimir (1871-after 1940), Eugene (1878-after 1940) and a daughter Vera.

The youngest, Sergey, climbed the highest on the career ladder. Taking part as a volunteer in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, Sergei Alekseevich was awarded the Order of St. George of the 4th degree and the Romanian Iron Cross for personal heroism. While in the position of assistant of the Tula prosecutor, Sergei Lopukhin was appointed senator of the Criminal Cassation Department. In 1902 he was already a prosecutor of the Kiev Court of Justice. In 1906, another promotion awaited him. Sergei Alekseevich was invited to the Russian capital for the post of Chief Prosecutor of the Senate. At the end of his career, Sergei Lopukhin held the rank of privy councilor and senator. He was on friendly terms with the great writer Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy, visited him at the Yasnaya Polyana estate, where he played in amateur performances. Married to Countess Alexandra Pavlovna Baranova (1854-1934), he had children: Nikolai (1879-1952), Anna (1880-1972), Alexei (1882-1966), Raphael (1883-1915), Peter (1885-1962) ), Maria (1886-1976), Catherine (1888-1965), Mikhail (1889-1919), Tatiana (1891-1960), Eugene (1893-1967).

Of the five daughters of the Lopukhin spouses, two: Maria and Lydia never got married, and lived out their days as old maidens. Olga married A.S. Ozerov, and Emilia for Count Pavel Alekseevich Kapnist. Sofya Alekseevna in 1861 was married to Prince Nikolai Petrovich Trubetskoy. Some features of the maternal character were mentioned in his memoirs by the son of Sophia Yevgeny Trubetskoy. “… The general gaiety and cheerfulness of the Lopukhinsky appearance in her soul was combined with that spiritual burning, which for her brothers and sisters gave only sparks, while hers flared up into flames.

The first time she found out that the courtyard was being whipped was a day of deep emotional turmoil for her. It was a whole storm of indignation, a rebellion against my father, accompanied by sleepless nights spent in sobs. For a long time she felt alienated from him; in the Lopukhino family, this was, as far as I know, the only case of alienation so profound.

To overcome this alienation, it took that higher spiritual development and that spiritual breadth, which later gave her the opportunity to understand that this section was not so much the personal fault of her grandfather as the common fault of his environment and, moreover, the inherited fault.

It was not cerebral, cold "liberalism", because the cerebral rationality and coldness in Mama did not spend the night at all. It was the soul - the very soul that later spiritualized Akhtyrka too, filled with previously unknown grace the beautiful architectural forms of her estate and locality, created by another loving mother's hand. It was through her that Menshov's invasion of Akhtyrka took place, which created the entire spiritual atmosphere of our childhood and adolescence. But at the same time, it was a transformation of Menshov himself, because Mom was much more serious, stronger and deeper than the average Menshov level. "

The family of Nikolai Petrovich Trubetskoy spent most of the summer months in his father's family estate "Akhtyrka", located not far from the modern town of Sergiev Posad near Moscow. But sometimes the Trubetskoy children were also taken to their maternal grandmother in Menshovo. Talking in his memoirs about his childhood, Evgeny Trubetskoy constantly compared the order that existed in two estates near Moscow. Later, fate will connect the family of Nikolai Petrovich and Sofya Alekseevna with the Menshovo estate for a long time. In the meantime, let's continue our story about the Lopukhin family.

Over time, the children of the Lopukhins left their home and only the unmarried daughters Maria and Lydia remained with their parents. Father, mother and daughters formed the permanent basis of that society, which continued to come to Menshovo for the summer. The rest of their children, already with their children, began to come to their parents' estate near Moscow only to visit, for a few days or weeks. Here they were always welcomed. Evgeny Trubetskoy recalled with pleasure: “Here grandfather and grandmother were completely different. There was no "distance" between us and them. They doted on their grandchildren and spoiled them as best they could. We used to say "you" to Grandfather Trubetskoy, but with grandfather and grandmother Lopukhin we were on the same terms. And no "forms" were supposed to be in our relations with them. We also adored "the Lopukhins' grandfather and grandmother," but did not allow them to refuse anything. When one day I was so naughty that my grandfather was forced to stand up for discipline, I called him a fool, for which I was immediately spanked. This was one of my first big disappointments in life. How, this grandfather, who looks into my eyes with such love, pokes his finger in my stomach and says to me so affectionately - "sweet belly" - this very grandfather suddenly fights! And I began to cry - not from pain, of course, because the spanking was "paternal", but from an insult. And my grandfather kissed me and consoled me with an incendiary glass, with which he immediately burned the paper to my great joy.

This grandfather Alexey Alexandrovich was also a bright type of his own kind. I remember that we children almost always found him lying in bed. For weeks he did not get up, and we thought he was sick. But, it never happened, grandfather was completely healthy. Suddenly, for no reason, he got up for several weeks, and then went to bed again. Subsequently, I learned that this periodic lying was caused by a deep and incomprehensible to us children tragedy. The “illness” that periodically forced my grandfather to go to bed was a kind of paralysis of will, and it was caused, oddly enough, by the act of February 19th. Until that time his business had been going well; judging by the stories of my aunts - his daughters, who vaguely understood the business side of life, under serfdom "everything was done by itself, and income was generated by itself," and after that, grandfather had the task of starting his own economy. He came into complete prostration and, suppressed by the consciousness of his helplessness, "turned into some kind of Oblomov." The managers stole, the income was not received, the affairs "of themselves came into disorder," and the grandfather retired with heavy thoughts in his bed. In such a state of mind, we children were salvation for him. And in a special tenderness for us, besides his loving heart, all the pain of the suffering soul was also expressed.

However, everyone in the Lopukhins' house treated us with the same love - both the grandmother, and the aunts, and the old woman - my mother's nanny - Sekleteya Vasilyevna from the former courtyards - the representative of the now disappeared type of "Pushkin nanny". For my unmarried aunts, their nephews and nieces were almost the only interest in their life, which is not surprising, since only in us could they find satisfaction for the motherly feeling inherent in every woman. "

Prince Yevgeny Trubetskoy was born in 1863 and his memories of the Lopukhins' grandparents are associated with the late 1860s and early 1870s. An especially populous society gathered in Menshovo in 1869. In addition to the Lopukhins' parents and their unmarried and unmarried children, the family rested here from several months to several days: the family of Alexander's eldest son - wife Liza and children: Alyosha, Mitya and Borya; family of daughter-princess Sophia Trubetskoy, husband and children; daughters - Countess Emilia Kapnist, families of Lina and Lelia Samarin, Princess Agrafena Alexandrovna Obolenskaya, Evreinovs, Lvov and Smirnov, uncle Yusha (relative). It was a wonderful time for the senior Lopukhins. The whole family and people close to her were together and enjoyed the beautiful nature of the Moscow region and the good weather. But unfortunately for them, this was one of the last happy years in their lives.

Alexey Alexandrovich Lopukhin died in 1872, and the next year his wife Varvara Alexandrovna died. The summer months of 1872-1873 were spent by the Lopukhin family at a rented dacha in Butyrki, a suburb of Moscow. Most likely, this was due to the fact that the roof of the Menshovsky house was damaged due to strong winds in the previous year. In addition, Varvara Alexandrovna became seriously ill, and she needed constant medical supervision. Renting a dacha turned out to be cheaper than renovating an old house. The Lopukhins have done this before. It is possible that in the middle of the 1860s, for a year or several years, the estate in Menshovo was empty. This can be assumed from the letter of Princess Sophia Trubetskoy to her husband dated May 22, 1867: “Mom went to Meshcherskoye, which turned out to be useless, and therefore they hired carpenters to fix the Menshov house and probably will move there, they took 300 rubles from them to make the kitchen and that's it. necessary amendments ”.

After the death of the Lopukhins' parents, the estate in Menshov was not used for several years. Only in the spring of 1879, under the supervision of Emilia's husband, Count Pavel Alekseevich Kapnist, the buildings of the Menshov estate were repaired. Since that year, the families of the Lopukhins, Trubetskoy, Kapnistov and their relatives and friends spent part of the summer in Menshov. Kapnist and Trubetskoy also had their own estates, so representatives of their families were here infrequently and not for long. But the sisters of Lopukhina, Maria and Lydia, became the mistresses of the parental estate.

Evgeny Trubetskoy in his memoirs gave a wonderful description of Menshov of that time. “In the Lopukhins-Menshov, near Moscow, there were two light-colored wooden manor houses with mezzanines on a hill above the river. The contrast with the Akhtyr house was, of course, complete: it was magnificent, while these were pretty and cozy. And the Menshov area, with a small side river, with laughing, as if washed birch woods, was in complete harmony with the house and was a bright contrast with the mowith thick spruce and pine trees of the Akhtyrsky park. Everything in the houses was simple, and, of course, there was no question of any "highest exits" in such an environment. Also, in the park with small picturesque ravines, with bridges knocked together on a living thread, there were no gazebos, nor any other undertakings, but for that all together it was infinitely sweet, cozy and cheerful, especially since the strict faces of ancestors were not hung on the walls. There was nothing here that could arouse in the child a hooligan-anarchic feeling of protest.

And, strange to say, I already remember four generations in Menshov; during this time, everything was rebuilt twice, so that one of the remains of two houses was formed, the names of the owners also changed, because Menshovo passed through the female line. And nevertheless, the Menshov tradition and the Menshov way of life are still the same. All the same Menshovo is full of cute, cheerful, cheerful, mostly female youth. All the same there is the atmosphere of an open house, where people come easily, without observing strict and heavy forms. All the same, all rooms are always invariably full of guests, overwhelming the house to the last limit of capacity. All the same, young people, attracted by female youth, predominate among the guests. How many fell in love and got married there! In the words of a deceased Moscow old woman, the god Amor visited there often, if not continuously. Needless to say, in Menshov, in the midst of the unimaginable din and all-day bustle of incessant arrivals and departures, it was difficult to do anything seriously. The atmosphere of some kind of continuous spring festival of the blossoming of youth prevailed there; a generation of adorable children who would then grow up to resume the same tradition of hilariously falling in love again. I was in Menshov for the first time, five years old, and retained for the rest of my life the impression of a spring dream, which was then renewed when I arrived there as a young man, and is renewed even now, when I am there. And I was already in my sixties for a long time.

When I met Menshov, the flowering of my aunts Lopukhins was already coming to an end. This was already in the second half of the sixties. Then, as in subsequent generations, this flowering was not a barren flower. Comparing the Menshov freeman with the Akhtyrka style of grandfather Pyotr Ivanovich, I cannot but see that it was this Menshovian freeman and gaiety, which later invaded Akhtyrka, prepared an extremely important turning point in the understanding of life. The free attitude of fathers and children, grandchildren and grandfathers facilitated the transition from old Russia to new. The Lopukhin family in the sixties was much more modern than the Trubetskoy family. Thanks to this, the dispute between fathers and children here manifested itself in other forms, incomparably milder: despite this dispute, the distance between generations did not turn into an abyss. "

The Lopukhins and their relatives spent the summer months in Menshovo until 1884. And in the following year, 1885, this estate was rented out as a dacha and not to anyone, but to the artist Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov, already famous at that time. It is not known whether the Lopukhins previously knew Polenov, but be that as it may, for two years - 1885 and 1886, the estate in Menshovo in the summer was used by members of the Polenov family and his friends. This period from Menshov's history will be discussed in a separate article.

Concluding the story about the members of the Lopukhin family who lived in the Menshovo estate in 1850 - 1880, we will finally mention their relatives and friends who visited them and left a memory of themselves in Russian history. Emilia Nikolaevna Lopukhina's husband is Count Pavel Alekseevich Kapnist (1842-1904), a privy councilor, in 1880-1895 he was a trustee of the Moscow educational district, and since 1895 he was appointed a senator. He rarely visited Menshovo, because he himself had a rich estate in Ukraine - Obukhovka.

The son of Alexander Alekseevich Lopukhin, Alexei (1864-1928), who in childhood visited his grandfather and grandmother Lopukhins in their estate near Moscow, rose to the rank of director of the police department of the Russian Empire (1903-1905). He became famous for the fact that, after retiring, he handed over the secret police agent, Azef, to the Social Revolutionaries. For divulging official secrets, he was arrested and sentenced: to deprivation of all rights of the state and five years of hard labor, replaced by exile to Siberia. In December 1912, Alexey Alexandrovich Lopukhin was pardoned and reinstated.

Dmitry Pavlovich Evreinov (1842-1892) stood out from a number of his relatives in that he was known among them as a "nihilist." Indeed, after spending part of the summer in Menshov and gaining strength, in the fall of 1861, a student at Moscow University Dmitry Evreinov, participated in the riots at his educational institution. In May 1862, he was arrested on charges of "spreading outrageous proclamations" and was held in the Peter and Paul Fortress until mid-August. Thanks to the intercession of high-ranking relatives, Dmitry Evreinov was not severely punished, he was only sent to Tula to his sister, who took him on bail. He no longer participated in the revolutionary movement, and in 1865 police supervision was removed from him.

Count Fyodor Lvovich Sollogub (1840-1890) was engaged in theatrical painting, drew sketches for theatrical costumes, was the head of the setting on the stages of the Moscow Imperial Theaters. He taught at the Moscow drama schools. At the time of the Lopukhins, Menshovo in the summer months was visited by other representatives of the Moscow noble aristocracy, mostly women and children, who were close to them.

Menshovo under the Trubetskoy princes.

In 1886, Maria Alekseevna Lopukhina died. The Menshovo estate remained in the possession of the sisters: Lydia Lopukhina and Sophia Trubetskoy. Since 1887, this estate near Moscow was taken over by Prince Nikolai Petrovich Trubetskoy. The daughter of Nikolai and Sophia Trubetskoy, Princess Olga, who compiled the written chronicle of the Trubetskoy family, explained this event in this way. “Aunt Lidya (Lopukhina) spent this summer in Skobeevka (with her aunt Agrafena Aleksandrovna Obolenskaya), because her old house was being rebuilt in Menshov so as to accommodate our entire family. After a long and fruitless search for an estate that could satisfy the requirements of the family, and at the same time would not be too unbearable for the budget, Dad and Mom stopped at the idea of ​​making an extension to the old Menshov house and live there with aunt Lydia, who was too sad to return there alone after the death of Aunt Masha. "

An old acquaintance and good neighbor on the estate, Vladimir Ivanovich Ershov, took over to oversee the reconstruction of the house. An unidentified architect was hired to rebuild the house. In accordance with the wishes of Nikolai Petrovich: "so that the hall was built so that there was room for setting up the stage," he separated the living room from the hall with an arch, "which turned out to be really very convenient for charades and performances." The only drawback of renovating the house was that inside it, after the reconstruction, there were many defects. According to Olga Trubetskoy, V. I. Ershov was "so busy with his farm that he could hardly have been able to follow it (the construction site) successfully, but Vladimir Ivanovich enjoyed such the authority of an owner and a practical person that no one thought to delve into the details of this restructuring."

Agrafena Obolenskaya and Lydia Lopukhina, who lived in neighboring Skobeevka, could not calmly look at the renovation of the house. Both cried and pitied the old Menshov house being rebuilt, which had been thoroughly dismantled. Without windows, without doors, and in some places without foundations, it reminded them of a ruined plucked nest. In addition, the construction was carried out slowly, but Ershov assured: "that this inaction is necessary and begged not to rush him." Nikolai Petrovich occasionally dropped in at the construction site, but did not live there permanently. The house in the Menshovo estate was completely renovated by the summer of 1888.

The new informal owner of Menshovo, Prince Nikolai Petrovich Trubetskoy (1828-1900), left a significant mark in the history of the development of musical art in Russia and Moscow. All reference books and encyclopedias mention his activities. Having devoted his youth to music, having spent most of his personal funds on organizing various musical events, the later half of his life, he had to look for money to support his family.

Born into a noble and wealthy family of a general, Prince Pyotr Trubetskoy, Nikolai Petrovich received an excellent education in the Corps of Pages. In his youth, he fought, participated in the Hungarian and Crimean companies. Then he moved to the civil service. His passion was music. Having no special musical education, he perfectly played the piano, sang and composed music. For a long time, Nikolai Petrovich became chairman of the Moscow branch of the Russian Musical Society. Being in close friendship with the musicians brothers Anton and Nikolai Rubinstein, Prince Nikolai Trubetskoy, together with Nikolai Rubinstein, became a co-founder of the Moscow Conservatory. Thanks to his efforts, symphony and quartet concerts were regularly held in Moscow, a conservatory was opened, in which gifted children received musical education.

Engaging in public affairs, Prince Nikolai Trubetskoy squandered most of his funds. Trying to make up for the lost, he decided to go into agriculture. Nikolai Petrovich acquired an estate in the south of the Russian Empire, and began growing and selling bread, as well as sheep breeding. For several years, apart from his family, he spent in his southern estate - Sidor. However, his undertakings were unsuccessful, neither he himself, nor the managers hired by him, could not earn money to support the family. On the brink of ruin, Nikolai Petrovich entered the service, and from 1876 to 1885 he served as vice-governor of the Kaluga province. But the salary of a high-ranking official was not always enough for family needs, and he did not take bribes. The family estate of Akhtyrka, as well as Sidor, had to be sold. Having released his eldest sons into life, Prince Nikolai Petrovich Trubetskoy retired and in 1887 moved with his family to live in Moscow. Starting in 1888, he spent the summer months in a family environment, in a quiet and calm corner of the Moscow region - the Menshovo estate.

And the prince's family, according to the tradition of those years, was large. From two marriages, he had eleven children. For the first time he was married to Countess Lyubov Vasilyevna Orlova-Denisova, who died in her youth. From this marriage, he had three children: Peter (1859-1911), Sophia (married to Vladimir Glebov) and Maria (to Grigory Ivanovich Christie). From the second marriage with Sofia Alekseevna Lopukhina were born: sons Sergei (1862-1905), Eugene (1863-1920) and Gregory (1874-1930), as well as daughters: Elizabeth (for M.M. Osorgin), Antonina (for F. Samarin), Marina (after Prince Nikolai Gagarin), Varvara (1870-1933, after G.G. Lermontov) and Olga (04/26/1867-1947).

By 1888, his older children were already living independently, had families and their young children. The eldest son from his first marriage, Peter, owned the Uzkoe estate near Moscow, so if he ever visited Menshovo, it was very rare, just like his sisters, Sophia and Maria. But the children from the second marriage preferred Menshovo to Narrow. The eldest sons Sergei and Eugene, after graduating from Moscow University in 1885, devoted themselves to science. By 1888, both were living near their parents' summer residence. Sergei was left at the department to prepare for the title of professor and in 1888 was admitted to the number of assistant professors at Moscow University. Eugene, having passed a military training camp and received an officer's rank, went into the reserve. In 1886 he became a privat-docent at the Demidov Juridical Lyceum in Yaroslavl. On ordinary days, he lectured once a week, so for the remaining six days he left for Moscow. So, starting in 1888, all members of the family of Nikolai Petrovich Trubetskoy, some all summer, and some even a few days, spent in the Menshov estate.

The Chronicle of the Trubetskoy Family, compiled by Olga Nikolaevna Trubetskoy, will help to tell about this. So, on June 6, 1888, most of the Trubetskoy family members arrived at the renovated manor house. “Dad moved earlier than the others and, together with Alexandra Ivanovna and Alexander, arranged the furniture in the house as best he could and prepared all the rooms. He was very busy and was looking forward to our arrival and the first impression. " But Olga's first impression was unimportant. “The house had just been painted red and, as is the case when painting with a mummy, the color was too bright and light, and hops had not yet been planted around, which brightened the house so much later. There was also no balcony at the entrance, and the porch was very uncomfortable, to say the least. But inside, everything was so fresh, light and tidy, and the large hall was so pretty that we soon came to terms with the appearance of the house, which gradually became, if not more beautiful, then more comfortable. Moreover, the surrounding nature immediately captivated. The Pope was very pleased with the upper terrace and the terracotta vases, which he placed on the balustrade pedestals, there were no flowers in them yet, and their appearance did little to decorate, but the Pope demanded that they be admired. "

Gradually, the whole Trubetskoy family, with the exception of Elizabeth's daughter, who married Mikhail Mikhailovich Osorgin and who lived in the Osorgins' Kaluga estate - Sergievskoye, gathered in Menshovo and its environs. Sergei Nikolaevich in October 1887 married Princess Praskovya Vladimirovna Obolenskaya and decided to live with his own, while a small family, separately, but not far from everyone. A house in the Prokhorovo estate, located a few versts from Menshov, was hired for him. Sister Olga herself went to equip a temporary, but still a family nest of the newlyweds. Another place where all the Trubetskoys came this summer was the Skobeevo estate. Princess Agrafena Alexandrovna Obolenskaya, Aunt Grusha, continued to live there in the summer months. Driving there and from there, they could not pass the Vorobyevo estate, where they were always welcomed by the Ershov family, Olga Trubetskaya was very close to Vera Ershova and Maria Khitrovo, who lived with her. Another relative of the Trubetskoy family, Sonya Evreinova, lived with Aunt Grusha.

This summer, the company of the young girls gathered in Menshov was only made up of brother Grisha, who came to visit Vorobyevo Bobby (Boris?) Nechaev and Nikolai Andreevich Kislinsky, a home person in the Trubetskoy family. Already grown-up brothers Sergei and Eugene and sister Olga were more engaged in entertainment for adults, although they also enjoyed boating around Rozhaya. Sergei constantly came from Prokhorovo to Menshovo, where he enjoyed playing tennis with his brothers, Kislinsky and Olga. Eugene simply adored this game and if he hadn't played in the morning, then he was not playing himself. Hunting was his other pastime. Olga preferred horseback riding (she went to Meshcherskoye, Turgenevo and Odintsovo), swimming in the river and reading. She did not like to walk on foot, since she had been lame since childhood.

Adults enjoyed the wonderful nature, fresh air, and smothered conversations. From time to time, relatives and friends came to Menshovo to stay for a few days. This summer there was an uncle Kapnist, a friend of Varvara's daughter, Anna Sytina. Olga decided to celebrate the end of the summer season with a home performance. “… Now Bore (Lopukhin) has a letter to bring the plays, on 20 (August) - he was here, 22 - the roles were rewritten, on 26 we already played“ Trouble from a tender heart ”and“ By the nest and the bird ”. All the preparations for the performance were made by the Trubetskoy children in secret from the adults. The appearance of the stage and the curtain was explained by the holding of not a play, but a charade. Olga's venture was a success, and perhaps for the first time in the entire existence of the settlement, a theatrical performance took place in the vicinity of Menshovo.

The last day, when most of the Trubetskoy family members and their guests were in Menshovo, was August 30. “… Yesterday, before the end, the house was overflowing. Petya brother (Pyotr Nikolaevich Trubetskoy), Vasya and Yusha Davydovs, Aunt Grusha arrived. " However, in September, life in this corner of the Moscow region did not freeze. After the departure of his relatives, Sergei Trubetskoy and his wife moved to the Menshov house, where he was preparing his dissertation. Dad with Vladimir Ivanovich Ershov went on some business to Malvinsky (Malvinskoe-Otradnoe). The guests continued to visit the Trubetskoys on cool October days. Alexey Lopukhin and Sergey Ozerov came to the autumn Menshovo. Finally, by the onset of cold weather, that is, by mid-October, life on the Menshovo estate came to a standstill.

Dacha life in Menshov continued in the summer of the next 1889. The Lopukhins, old men Osorgins, Samarins, Lydia Beklemisheva, Andrei Ozerov and other relatives, some for a day, and some for several weeks, came to visit the family of Prince Nikolai Petrovich Trubetskoy. There were not enough places for everyone, and then the guests who appeared without an invitation, and therefore without a place, were received by Aunt Grusha in Skobeevo. It was with her that Peter and Lina Samarins settled. Olga Trubetskaya wrote to her brother Eugene: "... the horror that the people were with us."

This year Olga became seriously interested in photography. She bought a camera and took pictures, developed and printed photographs herself. She had a particularly wide field of activity in Menshovo. Indeed, in addition to the Menshov summer residents and their neighbors, it was possible to shoot beautiful picturesque views near the estate. But even this did not seem enough. Olga Nikolaevna, together with her sisters and friends, took up art photography. Sofya Alekseevna Trubetskaya, who moved from Menshovo to Moscow in September, wrote to her son Zhenya, who lived in Yaroslavl: “... Yesterday I was sent a fantastic picture from The Demon: on a steep cliff, Manya Khitrova depicts a Demon, only a witch came out rather than a Demon, and below Maria in a Tamara costume he goes to fetch water, and it turned out very nice and the place was chosen wild. " The location of this survey was the steep banks of the Rozai River in the vicinity of Menshovo. The photographs of Menshov's dacha life taken by Olga Trubetskoy were popular among her relatives, and she had to make several sets of them to order. Sister Marina helped her in this. Where are these photos now? How interesting it would be to look at the life that raged in Menshovo 120 years ago.

According to the newly emerged tradition, the name day of Nikolai Petrovich Trubetskoy was celebrated in early October, in Menshovo. For this celebration, the adults Trubetskoy came there for a few days. The Trubetskoy children had not left there since the summer, and all September were left to their own devices. Arriving to them in Menshovo, Sofya Alekseevna wrote to her son Yevgeny in surprise: "... Here all the time there is such fun, such excitement and even some ecstasy that I got, as it were, out of darkness into a dazzling light that I cannot quite endure."

At the end of the dacha season, friends of the Trubetskoy sisters gathered in Menshovo. There were Maria Rachinskaya and her brother Alexander, Boris Lopukhin, Alexey Kapnist, Maria Khitrova and other neighbors from Vorobyevo. A surprise was arranged for the birthday boy, a charade was played. Sofya Alekseevna Trubetskaya wrote: “... Who was nice in the charade was Marina, who danced a whole ballet. Manya Khitrova taught her various ballet dances, and she is so graceful and sweet, and she dances quite like ballet. ... Yesterday she portrayed hellfire in the kingdom of Pluto, and danced a quick dance in a lovely red and black costume, lit by a Bengal fire, and was lovely as sweet. " Finally, after celebrating the name day, all the Trubetskoys, their relatives and friends left Menshovo to return to it next summer.

Lidia Alekseevna Lopukhina also spent the whole summer of 1889 on her estate near Moscow. In winter, a misfortune happened to Aunt Lida, she had a stroke, after which she was partially paralyzed. Fresh country air was one of the medicines. Lydia Alekseevna was brought to Menshovo for the summer. A paramedic arrived with her, who constantly monitored her condition. From Moscow, from time to time, Dr. Roth came to her. And I must say that being in nature helped the patient a little. The old sensations gradually returned to the numb arm and leg of Lydia Alekseevna.

The next year, 1890, was significant for the Menshov estate in that it was visited by the famous Russian philosopher Vladimir Sergeevich Soloviev. The acquaintance between him and Sergei Trubetskoy happened in 1888. From that moment on, Trubetskoy became a student of Soloviev and one of his best followers. In 1889, Sergei Nikolaevich Trubetskoy defended his master's thesis at Moscow University entitled "Metaphysics in Ancient Greece." This work significantly increased his reputation among Russian philosophers. The dissertation was also published in the form of a book. Recognized experts in this field began to pay attention to his philosophical works. And Sergei Nikolaevich moved from the category of students to the category of friends of the famous philosopher. The arrival of Vladimir Solovyov to Menshovo was already the visit of an older friend to a younger one.

Earlier it was known that Soloviev came to the Trubetskoys at the Uzkoye estate. Twice in 1890, he visited Sergei Trubetskoy and the Menshovo estate. This fact became known from the diary of Olga Trubetskoy. Unfortunately, she did not indicate on what days Soloviev came to their estate near Moscow. Probably due to a very large influx of friends and relatives, this summer Olga Nikolaevna kept a diary in fits and starts, and she simply did not write down the date of Solovyov's arrival. But in the fall, recalling the impressions of the past summer, Olga Nikolaevna wrote down in her diary her interesting impressions of the visit of this extraordinary person.

“The summer passed in a great commotion: the house (in Menshovo) was constantly full of people. During this month (mid-August-September) how many horror we have been. Manya Rachinskaya came twice and all the Kapnists, Alyosha (Lopukhin?) Almost every week. Soloviev, who came the first time for one day, and the second for two days, left a lot of talk about himself. His appearance a second time was more spectacular. We all ate breakfast in a crowded and noisy campaign, the table was stretched out across the room. Suddenly, the front door opens and a huge figure of Solovyov with incredibly disheveled hair appears in it. There was a strong wind, he leaned out the window of the carriage, and the wind tore off his hat, and he came from Podolsk with his head uncovered, arousing the amazement of the townsfolk and the curiosity of the boys everywhere along the way in the villages, who rushed behind the cab while they had the courage. His appearance is already riveting. Aunt Pear treated him with ill will and not without fear. For some reason, she considered him the Antichrist, and she was scary with him. Mom, too, was not entirely trusting of him. There was a lot of controversy whether he was posing or not. Long hair especially did not like him and served as an argument for his posturing. All day he walked through the forest or through the garden with Seryozha, and we saw him only at lunch, breakfast and tea, and in short intervals of common sitting on the terrace after lunch and breakfast. Of course, he noticed how we were all busy with him, and puffed up the heat in our sense. It was an unusually warm, dry evening after a sultry day. Everyone poured out onto the meadow, and went to the edge of the cliff to three birches, to Linino's place, and Soloviev and Seryozha joined us. Soloviev warned us not to be frightened if we hear noise and even screams at night. He is sometimes visited by ghosts and lately all some terrible animals, then roosters of extraordinary size, then monkeys, and sometimes rush to peck or bite him, and then he screams. The announcement of this great excitement and laughter produced in the younger company. Soon everyone noticed some white brisk kitty that was spinning around us, and when we moved on, she curled around Solovyov, drawing circles around him. In a long mac, with a disheveled disheveled head, in the twilight of the approaching night, his figure was really extraordinary, and although he walked in front with Grusha and Seryozha, snatches of conversations of young people who walked behind reached him. "Do not be alarmed by this cat," he said suddenly, turning to them, "this is my poodle." When we went to bed, the house was still full of animation and laughter. Everyone was waiting for Solovyov's screams and figured out how to react to it. I slept with Grusha Panyutina, and across the corridor was Solovyov. We also did not sleep for a long time and listened to the din in the sisters' room. Suddenly, someone knocked softly on our door, and a loud scratching was heard. We felt uncomfortable. Pear opened the door, and Solovyov's cat was outside the door ... She never appeared before or after, and her appearance at the door was completely unpleasant. "

Of course, Soloviev came to Menshovo not to shock or frighten the local and dacha public, but to visit his friend, to discuss questions of philosophy with him. In one of the letters from Berlin, where Sergei Trubetskoy went with his family in the late autumn of 1890, he wrote to his mother: "... Olga and you ask me about Soloviev's article: it was not new to me, because Soloviev read it to me in Menshovo" ... In the future, friendly relations between the Trubetskoy brothers and Vladimir Solovyov continued until his death. By the way, Vladimir Sergeevich Soloviev died in the summer of 1900, while visiting Pyotr Nikolaevich Trubetskoy in his estate "Uzkoe".

As usual, in the summer of 1891, members of the Trubetskoy family arrived at their estate near Moscow. But the mood of the vacationers was not particularly joyful. Princess Agrafena Alexandrovna Obolenskaya began to quickly and strongly surrender. Olga Trubetskaya wrote in her diary: "Aunt Grusha sinks and grows old at a terrifying rate." This was her last summer at home. On October 22, 1891, she passed away.

The beginning of the summer cottage season in 1892 occurred in a dispute between Sofia Alekseevna Trubetskoy and members of her family. After reading the just published article by Leo Tolstoy, "The First Step", Mama, who had previously hated Leo Tolstoy, suddenly became his admirer. She stopped eating meat dishes, and instead of linen tablecloths, she ordered to cover the purchased oilcloth on the table. Dad, Eugene and even daughters took up arms against her. And almost to the face they mocked her new quirks.

Among other details of this summer, Olga Trubetskoy remembered the appearance of a gypsy camp in the vicinity of Menshovo. In her diary for July 12, she wrote: “Today we have a camp of gypsies outside Posiberekha. We go there with the whole crowd, and all the Valischevskys and Menshovskys also came to take a look. They are beautifully spread across the small forest, but themselves - despite the poetry of savagery - are unpleasant and alien and uncomfortable. " Mitya Istomin came to Menshovo from new faces this year.

On August 10, in Menshovo, the birthday of Princess Marina Nikolaevna Trubetskoy was celebrated. Local peasants with children were also invited to the feast, to the landlord's estate. Her older sister Olga wrote in her diary: “Yesterday Marina turned 15 years old. It was celebrated in the evening with illumination. The Ershov girls lived here for 2 days. The holiday for the peasant children was full - they played all day at the ticket offices in the garden, squealing. In the evening, the illumination was lit, and the whole garden was filled with people, they danced, chanted, and danced. People were buzzing everywhere. ... In front of the porch, noisy shouts of approval were heard from the dancers, the stamping of feet, the monotonous rhythm of harmony was heard. "

Silence and boredom reigned in Menshov all summer of 1893. Only for a few days, Uncle Petya and Aunt Lina Samarins came to visit the Trubetskoy estate near Moscow. Representatives of the Trubetskoy youth and their relatives gathered here only in September. Arriving from the estate of the Samarin Molodenki, Olga Trubetskaya found a cheerful and noisy company here. Among the guests were Sergey Evreinov, Mikhail Osorgin, Prince Nikolai Gagarin and Dmitry Istomin. “The noise, the hubbub was terrible,” Olga recalled, “besides, it was raining, not remembering itself, and it was all rustling in the house.” To this it should be added that in the Menshov house, for several days, several young charming girls gathered, and young representatives of aristocratic families tried to show themselves in all their glory. “Mitichka Istomin had a lively conversation with Linochka and sometimes“ using the words of a poet, ”he started declaring poetry. Nikolai Gagarin did not leave Marina and was in some kind of excited state. Poor Olga only watched the general fun, without participating in it. She only wrote down her impressions in her diary: "Aunt Lida and Mama are very pleased and revived by the resurrection of the former Menshov."

The following year, much more events took place in Menshovo, worthy of mention in the family papers of the Trubetskoy princes. Olga Nikolaevna, having arrived in Menshovo from the Crimea in mid-May, felt at home here. Having gone for a few days to the estate of Pyotr Nikolayevich's brother "Narrow", she wrote in her diary: "In Uzkoye there is no Menshovo village and its beauty, there is no smell from flowering meadows, but in the morning in Menshovo there are no such bright and cool corners on the terraces, nor this beauty of flowers, wealth, brightness of colors and extraordinary aroma of roses, carnations, mignonette. "

The main Menshov event in 1894 was the celebration of the 17th anniversary of his sister Marina. Preparations for it began ahead of time, several weeks in advance. Uncle Peter Fedorovich Samarin, who lived more than usual this summer in Menshovo, took the preparations for the celebration into his own hands. Despite his age, he personally drew and cut out banners, glued paper balloons and lanterns for illumination. He drew up the script, according to which the solemn event, including the performance, was to take place. But time was running out and they took the first comedy "Confusion" they came across. The play was supposed to participate: Olga, Varvara and Grigory Trubetskoy, Sergei Evreinov. Uncle Petya Samarin took on the role of a footman. Rehearsals began three days before the celebration. All Menshov's inhabitants lived for several days in anticipation of this holiday, looking with apprehension at the sky. And this summer was unusually rainy and everyone feared that it would rain again on this special day.

Finally, on August 16, 1894, guests began to arrive in Menshovo. The brothers Peter and Ivan Raevsky, Vladimir Evreinov, Dmitry Istomin, brothers, princes Yevgeny and Sergei Shcherbatovs, Prince Nikolai Gagarin arrived. The weather was great and flags and lanterns were hung in the garden for illumination. But towards the end of the day the unbearable rain started again and everyone hastened to take refuge in the house. But a dress rehearsal of the performance was planned for this evening. All the guests, so as not to spoil the impressions of the upcoming performance, were sent to a room on the second floor. And the rehearsal took place in the hall where the stage was set up. Tired of the hassle, the hosts and guests went to bed early, anticipating tomorrow's holiday. Marina was delighted, and no rain could spoil her mood.

On the morning of August 17, everyone gathered to go to mass in Vorobyevo, but it was canceled. Then a lottery was announced. Dad won a knitted woolen hat, immediately put it on and walked around the house telling everyone how his head would be warm in winter. The weather mocked the inhabitants and guests of Menshovo. The sun was shining and warming, then hiding behind rain clouds, from which a cold rain poured. The youth took advantage of the sunny moments and ran out of the house to play tennis. Pyotr Fedorovich provoked the gamblers with the establishment of a sweepstakes. They immediately forgot about the rain, and a game of chance began, in which they did not spare themselves. As a result, Petya Raevsky and Zhenya Trubetskoy twisted their legs. For those who remained in the house, a hurdy-gurdy was poured on the balcony.

Maria Golitsyna and her husband drove up to breakfast. They were reputed to be one of the best dance organizers at Moscow home balls, and they were greeted with great pleasure. For dinner, the last guests arrived: from the neighboring Vorobyovo estate, its owner Varvara Sergeevna Ershova, and from Moscow, the husband of Antonina's sister, Fyodor Samarin. From the letter of Lydia Alekseevna Lopukhina it follows that the festive dinner ended with two shots from a cannon. But what kind of gun it was and where the Trubetskoys got it from, it was not possible to establish.

Dinner was followed by a performance, and the adults who did not participate in it retired to the room at a card table to play vint. The play was a success, the actors enjoyed the performance, and the audience laughed at them. Grisha, who played the main role, was especially good. Pyotr Fyodorovich, who played the small role of a footman, came out to bow like a real artist and was applauded most of all. After the performance, the actors also sang couplets dedicated to Marina.

After the performance, everyone went to the garden, which was decorated with lanterns. Priests from neighboring churches came to see the illumination: Prokhorovskaya and Akulininskaya. The latter brought his entire family with him. Lydia Lopukhina was surprised in her letter: "What a thirst for pleasure is necessary to return at night in such weather and just swim, because they say there is a continuous river up to Akulinino." The illumination in Aunt Lydia's eyes was very unsuccessful: "the rain was so sprinkling, besides, during the performance they brought candles from lanterns." But the youth liked everything, they admired the beauty of the ornamented alleys and walked until 11 o'clock in the evening.

The celebration ended with a ball. The hurdy-gurdy was brought into the hall and dances began, which, in the eyes of the outdated Aunt Lydia, were similar to madness. At the mazurka that Marina received a large number of gifts, Peter Fedorovich Samarin presented the main gift - a precious brooch with the number 17. This is how the most memorable day of the summer of 1894 took place in Menshovo. After him, the guests began to leave Menshovo. On August 27, Mom and her younger sisters left for Crimea, while Dad, Aunt Lida, Olga and Grisha remained at the dacha. And since September, Olga Trubetskaya remained completely alone in Menshov. Since spring, she has taken up the garden and flowers. Taking the peasant Gavryushka as her assistant, she dug in the garden, and, not sparing the old trees, put things in order in it. In the fall, Olga Nikolaevna started a small restructuring, or rather a new extension to the house. Since this year, dad has somehow moved away from economic affairs and the sons Sergei and Eugene in correspondence with each other, worried about his financial condition, consulted on how to help him.

Unfortunately, Princess Olga Nikolaevna Trubetskaya brought the chronicle of her family only until 1894, and the details of the Trubetskoys' stay in Menshovo since 1895 are little known. However, in subsequent years, members of the Trubetskoy family continued to come to Menshovo. Moreover, the Trubetskoy family began to grow at the expense of the children who were born, who simply needed fresh country air in the summer. Sergei Nikolaevich, from a marriage with Princess Praskovya Vladimirovna Obolenskaya (1860-1914), had children: Maria (1888-1934), Nikolai (1890-1938) and Vladimir (1891-1937). ... By the way, Princess Praskovya Vladimirovna was the granddaughter of Prince Andrei Petrovich Obolensky, the brother of the former owner of the Menshov village, Prince Ivan Petrovich Obolensky. This is how, through marriage, the representative of the princely family of the Obolensky returned to her ancestral domain.

Another brother, Evgeny Nikolaevich, married Princess Vera Alexandrovna Shcherbatova in 1889. They also had children: Sergei, Sophia and Alexander. The youngest children of Nikolai and Sophia Trubetskoy were replaced by their grandchildren in the children's rooms of the Menshov house. The daughters of Nikolai Petrovich, having married, went to the houses of their husbands. But at the invitation of their grandparents, the grandchildren: princes Trubetskoy and Gagarins, Lopukhins, Samarins and Osorgins, accompanied by their parents, visited them in the estate near Moscow.

In 1895, Lydia Alekseevna Lopukhina died and the Menshov estate was completely transferred to the possession of Nikolai and Sophia Trubetskoy. However, they did not manage their beloved estate near Moscow for long. On July 19, 1900, in Menshovo, Prince Nikolai Petrovich Trubetskoy died of a heart failure. And the next year, his wife, Princess Sofya Alekseevna Trubetskaya, also died.

Together with them, their peers, who came to visit in Menshovo, died.

A remarkable person who more than once visited the Trubetskoys in their estate near Moscow was their distant relative Pyotr Fedorovich Samarin (1831-1901). After graduating from the law faculty of Moscow University, he entered the civil service. During the Crimean War, Pyotr Fedorovich joined the army and took part in hostilities. After the announcement in 1861 of the manifesto on the emancipation of the peasants, Peter Samarin quit his service and devoted himself to the improvement of the peasants. He was the first conciliator in the Bogorodsky district of the Moscow province. He gave his peasants much more land than it should have been according to the Manifesto. Was the Tula provincial leader of the nobility. In the 1880s, Pyotr Fedorovich retired from state affairs, lived in Moscow and from his estate of Molodenki, Epifan district, Tula province. He was an intelligent, educated, well-read man with great erudition, who was known as a connoisseur and lover of art. He owned a rich collection of rare etchings and prints. His collection of works by Rembrandt was especially famous.

Pyotr Fedorovich Samarin was closely acquainted with Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy. Their acquaintance, which grew into friendship, took place in 1857. In the 1860s Samarin often visited Tolstoy at his Tula estate Yasnaya Polyana. Lev Nikolaevich, 1860-70, paid return visits to Molodenki. And they agreed on the basis of a common passion for hunting. But their views on life were radically different. Often their conversations ended in a quarrel. While they were young, they found the strength to forgive each other. But with age, impatience for other people's principles intensified. In 1881, another dispute about the death penalty flared up in Yasnaya Polyana. Peter Samarin advocated that the participants in the assassination of Emperor Alexander II should be executed. Leo Tolstoy was categorically against it. There was an unpleasant scene, after which the relationship of friends cooled. They continued to meet, but from the entries in the diary it is clear that Lev Nikolayevich no longer considered Samarin his friend. Pyotr Fedorovich Samarin became the prototype of Sakhatov - the hero of Leo Tolstoy's comedy "The Fruits of Enlightenment"

The Menshovo estate passed into the possession of their eldest son, Prince Sergei Nikolaevich Trubetskoy. By this time, he had achieved great success in his career. In the year of his father's death, he defended his doctoral dissertation at Moscow University and was appointed an extraordinary professor at the Department of Philosophy. Then he became one of the editors of the journal "Questions of Philosophy and Psychology." Brothers Sergei and Evgeny Trubetskoy, at the beginning of 1900, became on a par with the outstanding philosophers of that time. The elder brother went down in the history of Russian philosophical thought as the author of his own original concept, which he himself called "the theory of concrete idealism." Sergei Trubetskoy created fundamental works on the history of ancient philosophy, ontology, epistemology and cultural studies.

Sergei Nikolayevich combined his scientific and teaching work with extensive social activities. From the very beginning of the formation of the liberal movement in Russia, he actively participated in its formation. In 1902, he became an ordinary professor at his native university and received the rank of state councilor.

In September 1905, Doctor of Philosophy Sergei Nikolaevich Trubetskoy became the first elected rector of Moscow University. It was at this time that the reform of public education and revolutionary unrest took place in Russia. Students have always actively participated in demonstrations, and the university has been closed several times. All these experiences affected the young rector. On September 29, 1905, after a heated discussion in the cabinet of the Minister of Public Education of the issues of reforming university education, Sergei Nikolaevich died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

Prince Yevgeny Trubetskoy did not serve for long at the Demidov Lyceum. In 1893 he was invited to teach at Kiev University. About ten years of his life are associated with Kiev. Here he was actively engaged in scientific work and became a professor of philosophy. During these years, Evgeny Nikolaevich rarely visited Menshovo. The summer months, he and his family, spent in "Nara" - the estate of the father of his wife, Prince Shcherbatov, near Moscow, located in the Vereisky district of the Moscow province. In 1906, Evgeny Nikolaevich moved to Moscow. But even after the move, he and his family rarely visited Menshovo. They got their own estate in the Kaluga province and district - Begichevka. The family of Evgeny Nikolaevich spent most of the summer there.

Younger brother Grigory, after graduating from the Faculty of History and Philology of Moscow University, chose a career as a diplomat and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Having been appointed attache of the Russian embassy in Constantinople, by 1901 Grigory Nikolaevich had already become the first secretary of this embassy. According to some reports, he also held diplomatic posts in Vienna and Berlin. If during the years of service abroad, when he came on vacation to Russia in the summer, then no doubt he visited his parents and brother Sergei, who lived in Menshovo.

After the death of Prince Sergei Nikolaevich, the estate on the banks of the Rozhaya remained with his family, and passed to his wife Praskovya Vladimirovna Trubetskoy. By some miracle, a book with annual reports on the Menshovo estate for 1903-1910 was preserved in the archives of Prince N.P. Trubetskoy. From this book you can learn about the income and expenses of the landlord's economy on this estate. For all these years, expenses always exceeded income, that is, this Trubetskoy estate near Moscow was unprofitable. The money was spent on salaries: manager, gardener, cook, shepherd, water carrier and worker. In addition, the landlord's money was used to buy "grub", paid for insurance, paid duties (taxes), paid for the performance of rural work, repairs of the house and other buildings, as well as stove heating. The income part included the money received for: the sale of livestock (calves, foals) and the lease of horses. On the landlord's fields were grown: rye, oats, buckwheat, potatoes and cabbage. Perhaps part of the harvest was sold and the proceeds from this were also included in income. At that time, economic issues were not dealt with by the gentlemen, but by the manager hired by them, who made the annual reports. Most likely, the owners of the estate were dissatisfied with their managers, since in the reports for these eight years three names are mentioned: until August 1907 there was Boltukhov, then Shutov, and since August 1909 Mosalsky.

From the memoirs of Sergei Nikolayevich's son, Vladimir, published under the title "Cuirassier Notes", it is known that the Trubetskoys, even after the family tragedy of 1905, continued to spend the summer months in the Menshov estate. This is how Vladimir Sergeevich recalled the summer of 1911 he spent in this estate near Moscow. “As usual, the whole family spent the summer at the Menshove estate near Moscow, where I practiced semi-instrumental surveying of the area using the purchased bezel, guided by Baron Brinken's topography textbook.

Taking into account the upcoming service, in the summer I gradually rode a horse every day, bought from a Cossack from "His Majesty's own escort." It was a medium-sized, but very fine chestnut horse, which I, from a boyhood and style, cut off its tail and mane for my own sake, giving the horse a stupid anglicized look and also calling it "Bang-bang." On this mustang, I was terribly reckless and did some pretty silly tricks and all sorts of tricks, seriously imagining that I was comprehending the highest cavalry wisdom. All local and even remote ditches and fences I jumped on poor Pif-puff. He jumped how much in vain, but with such enthusiasm and heart that he brought the unfortunate cattle to exhaustion and almost to the point of complete brokenness of the front limbs. This is how I prepared for service in the cavalry. In my family, of course, they began to consider me a wonderful cavalryman. ...

In general, the summer of 1911 passed quietly for me, without events. This was the last summer that I lived with my mother, and I did not leave Menshov anywhere, with the exception of two trips to the Kaluga province to see my bride, whom I still loved ardently. "

And after 1911, the Trubetskoy estate was filled with their numerous relatives all summer months. Only from 1914 the situation on the Menshovo estate could change. This year, the owner of the estate, Princess Praskovya Vladimirovna Trubetskaya, died. Then in 1914, the First World War began. Unfortunately, nothing is known about this period in the life of the Trubetskoy family. But it may well be that the estate in Menshovo continued to be a kind of center, where young members of noble aristocratic families came with pleasure to have fun: Trubetskoy, Lopukhins, Obolensky, Samarins, Gagarins, Osorgins, Kapnistov, Mansurovs, and other families related to the owners. The great turning point, which turned everything upside down in the fate of Russia, changed the course of life in this cozy corner of the Moscow region. After the October Revolution of 1917, the Trubetskoy estate near the village of Menshovo fell into disrepair.

The fate of the members of this princely family was different. Having moved from Kiev to Moscow in 1906, Evgeny Nikolaevich Trubetskoy served as a professor at Moscow University. He had a recognized authority in the field of legal philosophy. Evgeny Trubetskoy was an active publicist and defended the idea of ​​the independence of the church from the state. His philosophical works are known in modern times. In addition to scientific work, he was also involved in politics. In 1907-1908, Evgeny Nikolaevich was a member of the State Council. Trubetskoy participated in the organization and activities of a number of scientific societies: the Psychological at Moscow University, the Religious and Philosophical Society named after V.I. Vl. Soloviev and others; lesser known. He was the initiator and participant of the Put 'book publishing house (1910-17). In 1918, for obvious reasons, he had to flee from Moscow to Ukraine, first to Kiev, then Odessa. Together with the officers of the Volunteer Army, he moved to Novorossiysk, where he died in 1920 from typhus.

His younger brother, Grigory Nikolaevich, returned from abroad in 1906, where he held diplomatic posts. Together with his brother, from 1906 to 1910, he edited the socio-political magazine "Moscow Weekly". In 1912, Grigory Trubetskoy returned to the diplomatic service and was an adviser on Middle East affairs. From 1915 to 1915, he was the Russian envoy to Serbia. In 1917-1918, Grigory Trubetskoy was a member of the Local Council. In 1918, he left Bolshevik Moscow for southern Russia, where he served as head of the department for confessions in the Denikin government. As part of the government, P.N. Wrangel, replaced P.B. Struve, who was responsible for external relations. In 1920, Grigory Nikolaevich emigrated from the Crimea abroad, first to Austria, then to France. He took part in the political life of the Russian emigration, collaborated with publications of the foreign Russian press. Prince Grigory Nikolaevich Trubetskoy died in 1930, in the suburbs of Paris.

In conclusion of the story about the owners of the Menshovo estate, we will mention the children of Sergei Nikolaevich Trubetskoy, who also spent their childhood and youth here. The eldest son Nikolai, following the example of his father and uncle, entered Moscow University in 1908, at the Faculty of History and Philology. Prior to that, he was fond of ethnography, folklore, linguistics, history and philosophy. After graduating from the department of comparative linguistics in 1912, Nikolai Sergeevich was left at the department. Gradually he became one of the leading Russian linguists, folklorists and Slavic scholars. The October Revolution did not contribute to his pursuit of science, and he moved from Moscow to the south, and then, in 1920, emigrated from Russia to Bulgaria. Here he conducted research and teaching activities at Sofia University as a professor. The last years of his life, Nikolai Sergeevich Trubetskoy spent in Austria, where he served as a professor of Slavic studies at the University of Vienna. He was not involved in politics, but nevertheless the Soviet government considered him their enemy, just like the fascist Gestapo. Numerous searches in his apartment, the confiscation of his works, the threat of arrest, brought him to the grave.

The author of the memoirs "Notes of a Cuirassier" - Vladimir Trubetskoy, who had a large family, could not go abroad and stayed to live in Soviet Russia. All property was taken away and he had to survive more than live. During the NEP time there was a temporary improvement, and Vladimir Sergeevich, under the pseudonym V. Vetov, began to publish his stories in the magazine "World Pathfinder". But the terrible 30 years have come. The magazine was closed, and one of its authors, Vladimir Trubetskoy, in 1934, together with his family, was exiled to distant Andijan. He was accused of being in connection with the trans-cordon monarchical center, the head of which was allegedly his elder brother, Nikolai Sergeevich Trubetskoy, who had emigrated from Russia. Later, the charge changed, and the former prince turned out to be "a member of the national-fascist organization." It was there, in Central Asia, that Vladimir Sergeevich wrote, of course not for the press, but for his family, the memoirs of the Cuirassier Notes. In the summer of 1937, Vladimir Trubetskoy was arrested. It is not difficult to predict his further fate. In this terrible year, the lives of several million former nobles, priests and ordinary people, on whom the suspicion of the Soviet regime fell, was cut short.

The elder sister Maria Sergeevna, in 1910 she married Apollinarius Konstantinovich Khreptovich-Butenev. Most likely, after 1917, they left Russia.

Menshov's peasants.

The story about the life of the peasants in the village of Menshovo and also in the village of Akulinino and the village of Stolbishchevo will start from the time when surnames began to appear, that is, from the 1870s. During these years, in all the volosts of the Podolsk district, family lists of each village began to be drawn up. By the way, it was in the 1870s that these settlements became part of the newly formed Shebantsevsky volost. The lists indicated the head of the family, the size of the hut and other buildings (gorenki, sheds, barns), the number of workers and the occupation of local peasants. In the village of Menshovo, 15 families were registered, of which only four heads had surnames. These are Vasily and Ivan Fedorovich Yachmenevs, who each lived in their own household, Alexey Stepanovich Frolov and Andrey Vasilyevich Busharin. The village of Akulinino consisted of 27 households, but only one peasant, Sergei Ivanovich Lisenkov, had a surname. There was a tavern in the village. He was kept in the house of a landless, former courtyard, Gavrila Abramovich. He himself lived in the workers of the owners, and rented the house for a tavern, to the Podolsk tradesman Ivan Petrov. for 25 rubles. For the village of Stolbishchevo, such lists have not yet been found. All houses in these villages were one-story, wooden, and covered with thatch.

Menshovskoe rural society bought its land from the landowner only in 1877. Until that time, the inhabitants of the village were considered temporarily liable, and using the land allocated to them, they continued to work off the corvee from the former landowner and pay him a quitrent. At the time of the land redemption, there were 48 revision souls in Menshovo. The land redeemed by him was not yet divided between the children of the landowner and belonged to Princess Sofya Alekseevna Trubetskoy, Lydia, Alexander, Boris, Sergei, Maria and Olga Alekseevich Lopukhin and Emily Alekseevna Kapnist. The share of the rural society was allocated according to the charter: estate land - 2 tithes 2294 sazhens; arable land - 118 dess. 1794 sage; hayfields - 16 dess. 360sage .; shrub - 1 dec. 1320sage .; under rivers and ponds - 2245 soot; under roads and streets - 1 dess. 1032 sazh; total 141 dec. 1845 sazh .. In addition, for him in the Baikova heath: arable land - 12 dess. 1536 soot; hayfields - 3 dess. 524 sazh; shrub - 4 dess. 1200 sazh.; under the river - 720 soot; total 20 dess. 1580 sazhens. In total, 162 dessiatines of 1025 sazhens were allotted to Menshov's rural society, with all the buildings on them.

In 1889, again, in the volosts of the Podolsk district, statements began to be drawn up with a description of the household of the peasants. This time it was connected with the insurance of peasant property. In addition to the description of the hut and farm buildings, these lists also indicated the livestock that the peasant had. By this time, most of the peasants were already registered with their surnames. In the village of Menshovo that year, there were 17 courtyards, on which there were 47 wooden buildings. And they were owned by families of peasants: Boleznovs (2 families), Morozovs, Busharovs (2 families), Yachmenevs (3 families), Grigorievs, Frolovs (2 families), Mironovs (2 families), Lavrentievs (2 families), Rodionovs. In the village lived three families of the Yachmenevs, who were relatives but lived separately, each had its own yard.

In the village of Akulinino that year, there were 110 wooden buildings in 25 yards. Local residents bore the names: Korolevs, Romanovs, Lisenkovs (2 families), Borisovs (2 families), Kuznetsovs (2 families), Lovyrevs, Yarkins, Pogodins, Tikhonovs, Monakhovs (3 families), Ermakovs, Shmarins (2 families), Sinitsyn , Novikovs, Borunovs, Privezentsevs, Semyonovs Mashkovs. In the village of Stolbishchevo, in 15 yards, there were 78 wooden buildings belonging to peasant families: Myasnovs, Chekmarevs, Chukanovs, Leonovs (2 families), Chikhachevs, Smyslovs, Kolobashkins, Gorlovs.

In 1888, the owner of the Menshovo estate, Lidia Alekseevna Lopukhina, decided to renew the landmarks and delimitation of the peasant allotment in the dacha of the village of Menshov. But she did not do this herself, but issued a power of attorney for the Privy Councilor, Prince Nikolai Petrovich Trubetskoy. Apparently, disputes arose between landowners and peasants over the use of land. In 1889, the disputed land was measured. The case went to court, according to which, in 1892, the land was awarded to the Menshov peasants. The landowners did not agree with this decision and filed an appeal with a higher authority. How the case ended has not yet been established.

By the beginning of the 20th century in the village of Akulinino there were: 202 inhabitants, in Menshovo - 108, in Stolbishchevo - 97. In 1911, part of the land near the village of Akulinino belonged to the owner of the Vorobyovskoy estate V.I. Ershov. In the same year, there was a zemstvo school in the village of Akulinino. The trustee is the wife of Major General Elena Mikhailovna Ershova. Teacher Agrippina Alexandrovna Morozova. Law teacher priest Nikolai Kalugin

Menshovo during the years of Soviet power.

A telegram was given to the Shebantsevskiy executive committee on taking measures to protect the Menshovo estate. Nothing has been found of art treasures, except for the mythological atlas donated to the University earlier.

Anyone who has ever been to the mountains remembers them for life. This is such an incredible sight that it is simply unrealistic to forget. Here, being at a height, you understand what kind of insect you really are. Here your soul and body rest, here you can truly relax, feel the cold mountain air, think about something high ...

What are the most popular mountains? Probably the same ones on which you fly downhill on skis or snowboard. However, over time, you realize that you want to climb higher and ask yourself the question - which mountain is the largest in the world? It turns out that the answer is simple - this is Everest, which we were told about more than once at school.

Chomolungma (8852 m)

Everest (or, as it is also called, Chomolungma), which is part of the huge mountain system of the Himalayas and is located in Nepal and China, reaches an altitude of 8852 above sea level! To get to the top, travelers spend weeks and months, and once there, they resort to using an oxygen mask - if this is not done, you can stay at the top forever, since the air there is very thin. For all the time, only about 4,000 people were able to conquer the peak, and about 500 more volunteers try to do it every year, but not everyone succeeds.

Everest has a very interesting climate. At the foot of the mountain, tropical plants grow, while at the top there is incredible frost (up to -70 at night), and the wind speed reaches several hundred meters per second. Even if in such weather conditions you managed to get to the peak, you will not stay there for a long time. Firstly, the rarefied atmosphere, secondly, severe frost, and thirdly, it is necessary to have time to descend while it is still light. By the way, going down is not much easier than going up. Nevertheless, many travelers are not scared at all.

Not so long ago, scientists discovered a mountain on Mars, whose height is as much as 21.2 kilometers, that is, it is more than two times higher than Everest. Probably, climbers would gladly climb it, but only we cannot fly to the red planet, alas.

Chogori (8611 m)

Chogori is the second highest mountain peak after Everest. It was first discovered by researchers in 1856 and at that time it was decided to name it K2 in honor of the second peak of the Karakorum. However, years later the mountain got its current name.

It is interesting that the British first tried to climb Chogori at the beginning of the 20th century, but they succeeded in doing it. The Italians were the first to conquer the mountain in 1954.

For a long time it was believed that Chogori is the highest mountain on the planet, since many researchers argued that its height can reach 8,900 meters. It was only in 1987 that full-fledged measurements were carried out, thanks to which it turned out that the true height of Chogori is 8611 m.

Climbing Chogori is technically very difficult, so until the mid-2000s, only about 250 people climbed the mountain, and another 60 died during the ascent. At the same time, successful attempts to climb took place exclusively in the warm season. Those who tried to conquer the mountain in winter invariably died.

Kanchenjunga (8586 m)

Kanchenjunga is a mountain range in the Himalayas and is located on the border of India and Nepal. The massif consists of five peaks and they are all incredibly high, but the highest is Kanchenjunga Main.

It is not known exactly when the massif was discovered, but it was he who for a long time was considered the highest mountains until the middle of the 19th century. The first attempts to conquer the summit began in 1905, when the expedition led by Aleister Crowley was able to climb only to an altitude of 6200 meters. The next attempt took place in 1929, however, it ended unsuccessfully. But the members of the expedition led by Charles Evans were finally able to peak on May 25, 1955. The ascent took place from the side of the Yalung glacier.

Usually, with the development of technology, mortality when climbing mountains decreases, but this does not apply to Kanchenjunga. The fact is that the number of cases that end tragically is only growing. Interestingly, almost all the women who tried to conquer the mountain died. Local residents even have a legend - they say that the mountain kills all women who try to climb it because of jealousy.

Lhotse (8516 m)

Lhotse is part of the Mahalangur-Himal mountain range, located on the border of China and Nepal. It has three peaks, the height of the main of which reaches 8516 m.

The first successful conquest of the summit took place in 1956 - then the members of the Swiss expedition were able to do it. In 1990, the Russians, under the leadership of A. Shevchenko, were able to climb the mountain along the South Face. At the moment, their record has not been conquered, since it is incredibly difficult to climb Lhotse this way. One of the members of that expedition says that this happened only due to the fact that the Soviet Union was able to bring together 17 excellent specialists who knew how to work harmoniously with each other.

According to the data for 2003, the total number of those who reached the summit was about 240, and about 12 died.

Makalu (8481 m)

Number five on our list of the highest mountains is Makalu or the Black Giant. It is a mountain range located in the Himalayas. It has several peaks, the main of which reaches a height of 8481 m.

Like several other participants in our rating, the mountain is located on the border of China and Nepal, 22 km from Chomolungma. According to historical data, Makalu has been known to Europeans since at least the beginning of the 19th century, but the first attempts to conquer the summit began only in the middle of the 20th century. Why? The explanation is simple - most experts at that time wanted to conquer the highest mountains, which were Everest and Lhotse, and the rest were much less interested in them. However, over time, this situation has changed radically.

The first successful ascent to the main peak was completely in 1955 - a French group led by Jean Franco managed to do it. They climbed the mountain along the northern route. Later there were successful ascents along other routes. If we talk about the Slavs, the last to climb Makalu were the Ukrainians from the city of Sumy, whose journey took two whole months.

Cho-Oyu (8188 m)

Another mountain peak in the Himalayas, located on the border of Nepal and China - Cho Oyu, whose height reaches 8188 m. It belongs to the Mahalangur Himal mountain range and is part of the Chomolungma mountain range.

Not far from Cho Oyu there is the Nangpa La pass, covered with ice. Its height reaches 5716 m. It is through it that the trade path passes, along which the inhabitants of Nepal get to Tibet. From the side of the latter, it is very easy to climb the mountain, but from the side of Nepal, it is incredibly difficult to do this, since a steep wall lies in wait for travelers.

The first successful ascent to the peak took place in 1952.

Dhaulagiri (8167 m)

Continuing our list, one cannot fail to note Dhaulagiri or White Mountain, as it is sometimes called. Dhaulagiri is a mountain range in the Himalayas, which has many peaks, the highest of which is Dhaulagiri I - its height reaches 8167 m.

The first ascent of the mountain took place in the middle of the 20th century, but a successful conquest took place only in 1960, when a team of the best European climbers decided to climb to the top. This took place in May, and the first winter ascent was made by the Japanese Akio Koizumi in 1982, together with the Sherpa Nima Wangchu.

Manaslu (8156 m)

Manaslu (Kutang), located in the Himalayas, completes our list. The mountain is part of the Mansiri-Himal mountain range, which is located in the north of Nepal. Manaslu has three peaks: main, eastern and northern. The first is the highest of them, its height reaches 8156 m.

The first successful ascent to the summit was made in 1956. The number of deaths during the ascent for the entire time was about 20 percent, which is a lot, although this cannot be said from the photo.

Today the mountain and its surrounding territories are part of the Manaslu National Park, which was founded 15 years ago.

This article is a logical continuation of my pseudo research handicraft activity. It was reflections on the heroic development of the Far North in the 17th century that led me to think about the demography of that time.
To begin with, I will present the thought on which I ended the previous article, namely: And how quickly humanity is multiplying and is history not too long compared to the rabbit agility of people.

I looked through many articles on the demography of the Russian family. Got the following very important moment for me. In peasant families, as a rule, from 7 to 12 children grew up. This was due to the way of life, the enslavement of the Russian woman and, in general, the realities of that time. Well, at least common sense tells us that life was less suitable for entertainment back then than it is now. Now, a person can occupy himself with a wide range of activities. But in the 16-19 centuries, there were no televisions, as well as the Internet and even radio. But what to say about the radio, even if the books were a novelty, and then only church ones, and only a few were able to read. But everyone wanted to eat and in order to drag the farm and not die of hunger in old age, many children were needed. Moreover, the very creation of children is an international fun and does not lose its relevance in any era. Moreover, this is a godly business. There was no contraception, and it was not needed either. All this leads to a large number of children in the family.
They got married and got married early, before Peter, 15 years old was just the right age. After Peter, closer to 18-20. In general, 20 years can be taken as childbearing age.
Also, of course, some sources speak of high mortality, including among newborns. I don't understand this a little. In my opinion, this statement is unfounded. It seems like old times, no scientific and technological progress in terms of medicine, no institutes of obstetrics and gynecology and so on. But I take my father as an example, in whose family he had 5 brothers and sisters. But all of them were born in a rather distant village without these obstetric tricks. From progress there was only electricity, but it is unlikely that it could directly help health. In the course of life, just as few from this village turned to a doctor for help and, as far as I could see, the absolute majority lived to be 60-70 years old. Of course, there was everyone everywhere, whom the bear snatched, someone drowns, someone burns in the hut, but these losses are within the limits of the statistical error.

From these introductory notes, I make a table of the growth of one family. I take as a basis that the first mother and father begin childbearing activities at the age of 20 and by the age of 27 they already have 4 children. We do not take three more into account, for example, they died suddenly during childbirth or then did not follow the rules of life safety, for which they paid, and some men were taken into the armed forces altogether. In short, they are not the successors of the clan. Each of these four lucky ones, for example, has the same fate as their parents. They gave birth to seven, four survived. And those four, whom each gave birth to those whom the first two gave birth, did not become original and followed in the footsteps of mothers and grandmothers and each gave birth to 7 more children, of whom four grew. I'm sorry for the pun. Everything is clearer in the table. We get the number of people from each generation. We take only the last 2 generations and count them. But, since a man and a woman are needed for successful childbearing, we assume that in this table there are only girls, and another identical identical family gives birth to boys for them. And then we calculate the birth rate for 100 years. We divide the sum of 2 generations of people by 2, since we have to add a man from a neighboring family to each girl and divide the resulting number by 4, we had so many people in our conditions, in the first level of this pyramid. That is, dad mom comes from families where only boys and only girls are born. All this is conditional and only in order to represent the level of possible fertility rates for 100 years.

That is, under these conditions, the population would have increased 34 times over the year. Yes, this is just a potential, under ideal conditions, but then we keep this potential in mind.

If we tighten the conditions and assume that only 3 children get to the childbearing process, we get a coefficient of 13.5. An increase of 13 times in 100 years!

And now let's take a situation that is absolutely catastrophic for the village. Nobody pays the pension, the cow has to be milked, the land has to be plowed, and there are only 2 children for all the children. And in doing so, we get a fertility rate of 3.5.

But this is just a theory, even a hypothesis. I am sure that I did not take into account a lot of things. Let's turn to the great Wiki. https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_Production

Additions from 04/05/16

one of the comments on another page pointed out to me the absurdity of the calculations, since with the birth of 2 children in a family, no increase can be observed. There will be just a change of generations. At the same time, even some minus will naturally appear, since not everyone will be lucky to survive. Here mathematics gives way to common sense. I will add more correct 2 tables with a minimum number of children 2.5 per family and 3 children. At the same time, the tables are now built with the condition of observing the principle that it is a woman who gives birth to children. as well as the total number of male and female people over 100 years should be equal. The coefficients turned out: 4.25 for a family of 2.5 children and 8.25 for 3 children in a family. 2.5 children are realized due to the fact that 2 conditional families are taken and one of them gives birth to 2 children in a generation and the second 3. In the next generation, on the contrary, the first gives birth to 3 children, the second 2. It may seem to some that there are not enough men for women, but I repeat that the tables are conditional, for clarity, with an equal distribution of men and women. This means that there are hundreds more families, among which there are the necessary number for marriage.

As I already said, even some oversights and not absurd conventions do not change the picture at all. And of course, they do not change the essence of the article in any way.
End of add-on.

Returning to the topic of the development of medicine, which defeated high mortality. I can't believe something, in the great medicine of the designated countries, And in my opinion, the high growth in them only in comparison with the low growth of European countries, and before that it was at the same level.
And Russia in the 19th century, judging by the same Vicki, was the 2nd most fertile in the world, after China.
But the main thing that we see is population growth of 2.5-3% per year. And a modest 3% per year turns into an 18-fold increase in population in 100 years! An increase of 2% makes a 7-fold increase in 100 years. That is, in my opinion, this statistics confirms the possibility of such an increase (8-20 times in 100 years) in Russia in the 16-19 centuries. In my opinion, the life of the peasants in the 17-19 centuries was not very different, no one treated them, which means that the growth should be the same.

We roughly understood that humanity can multiply at times in a very short time. Various reviews of the Russian family only confirm this, there were many children. My observations also confirm this. But let's see what the statistics tell us

Steady growth. But if we take the lowest coefficient of 3.5 times in 100 years, which is MUCH less than 2 or 3% per year, which some leading countries have, then even it is too large for this table. Let's take the interval 1646-1762 (116 years) and compare it with our coefficient 3.5. It turns out that the poorest demographics should have reached 24.5 million in 100 years, and made only 18 million in 116 years. And if we count the increase over 200 years within the boundaries of 1646, then in 1858 there should be 85 million, and we have only 40.
And I want to draw your attention to the fact that the end of the 16th and the entire 17th century for Russia is a period of great expansion in a territory with very difficult climatic conditions. With such an increase, I think it is hardly possible.

To hell with him with the 17th century. Maybe someone was missing somewhere or the quantity was compensated for by quality. Let's take the heyday of the Russian Empire in the 19th century. The year 1796-1897 is just a good 100-year period, we get an increase of 91.4 million over 101 years. They had already learned to count and mastered absolutely the entire territory, at the maximum of which RI died. And let's calculate how much the population should have been with an increase of 3.5 times in 100 years. 37.4 * 3.5 turns out to be 130.9 million. Here! It's getting close. And this despite the fact that the Russian Empire was the leader in fertility after China. And also do not forget that over these 100 years Russia has not only given birth to people, but in the number of 128.9, as far as I understand, the population of the annexed territories is also taken into account. And to be honest, in general it is necessary to compare in the redistribution of the territories of 1646. In general, it turns out that according to the meager coefficient of 3.5, it should have become 83 million, but we have only 52. ​​Where are there 8-12 children in the family? At this stage, I am inclined to believe that there were still a lot of children, rather than in the statistics cited, or whatever this work of Mironov should be called.

But you can play around with demographics and in the opposite direction. Take 7 million people in 1646 and interpolate back one hundred years by a factor of 3, we get 2.3 million in 1550, 779 thousand in 1450, 259 thousand in 1350, 86000 in 1250, 28000 in 1150 and 9600 in 950. year. And the question arises - did Vladimir baptize this handful of people?
And what if we also interpolate the population of the entire earth with a minimum coefficient of 3? Let's take the exact year 1927 - 2 billion people. 1827 - 666 million, 1727 - 222 million, 1627 - 74 million 1527 - 24 million, 1427 - 8 million, 1327 - 2.7 million .. In general, even with a coefficient of 3, in the 627 year 400 people should have lived on earth ! And with a coefficient of 13 (3 children in a family), we get a population of 400 people in 1323!

But let's return from heaven to earth. I was interested in facts, or rather at least some official sources, from which you can rely on information. I took Vicky again. Compiled a table of the population of large and medium-sized cities from the beginning of the 17th century to the end of the 20th. I drove all the significant cities into Vicki, looked at the date of the city's foundation, and the population tables and moved them to myself. Maybe someone for himself will learn something from them. For the less curious, I recommend skipping it and moving on to the second, in my opinion, the most interesting part.
When I look at this table, I remember what was there in the 17th and 18th centuries. You have to deal with the 17th century, but the 18th century is the development of manufactories, water mills, steam engines, shipbuilding, iron making and so on. There must be an increase in cities in my opinion. And our urban population begins to at least somehow increase only in the 1800s. Veliky Novgorod was founded in 1147, but only 6 thousand people live in it in 1800. What have you been doing for so long? In ancient Pskov, the situation is the same. In Moscow, founded in 1147, 100 thousand live in 1600m. And in neighboring Tver in 1800, that is, only after 200 years, only 16,000 people live. In the northwest rises the capital city of St. Petersburg, with 220 thousand people, while Veliky Novgorod passed just over 6 thousand. And so in many cities.

Part 2. What happened in the middle of the 19th century.

Regularly, "underground" history scholars stumble upon the mid-19th century. There are many incomprehensible wars, great fires, everything incomprehensible with weapons and destruction incomparable with them. Here is at least this photo, where the date of construction is precisely indicated on the gate, or at least the date when this gate was erected, 1840. But at this time, nothing could threaten or harm the abbey of this gate, and even more so simply destroy the abbey. There were clashes between the English and the Scots in the 17th century, and then quietly.

So I, exploring the population of cities on Wiki, stumbled upon something strange. In almost all Russian cities, there is a sharp decline in population around either 1825m or 1840s or 1860s, and sometimes in all three cases. There are thoughts that these 2-3 failures are actually one event, which was somehow duplicated in history, in this case in censuses. And this decline is not by percentage, as in the 1990s (I counted a maximum of 10% in the 90s), but a decrease in the population by 15-20%, and sometimes 30% or more. Moreover, in the 90s, a large number of people simply migrated. And in our case, they either died, or people got into such conditions that they could not bear children, which led to this effect. Remember the photographs of empty cities in Russia and France in the middle of the 19th century. We are told that the exposure is great, but there are not even shadows from passers-by, perhaps this is just that period.

I would like to point out one more detail. When we look at the demographic gap, we compare it with the value of the previous census, the second minus the first - we get a difference, which we can express as a percentage. But this will not always be the right approach. Here is the example of Astrakhan. The difference between 56 and 40 years is 11,300 people, which means that the city has lost 11,300 people in 16 years. But over 11 years? We do not yet know whether the crisis was extended for all 11 years, or it happened, for example, within a year, in the 55th year. Then it turns out that from 1840 to 1855 the trend was positive, and another 10-12 thousand people could have been added and by 55 there would have been 57,000. Then we get the difference not 25%, but all 40%.

Here I look and I can not understand what happened. Either all the statistics are falsified, or something is very confused, or the guardsmen wandered from city to city and massacred thousands of people. If there was a catastrophe, like a flood, then in one year everyone would be washed away. But if the catastrophe itself happened before, and then a sharp change in the world paradigm followed, as a result of the weakening of some states, more affected and the strengthening of less affected, then the picture with the guardsmen takes place.

Below, for the sake of example, I would like to superficially make out a couple of oddities in the cutouts.

The city of Kirov. There was a very small decline in population in 56-63, not great, only 800 people were lost. But the city itself is not great, although the devil knows how long was founded, in 1781, and before that, too, it had a history dating back to the era of Ivan the Terrible. But to start building in the unremarkable city of Kirov, Kirov region with 11 thousand population in 1839, in honor of Alexander I's visit to Vyatka province, a huge cathedral and to call it, of course, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is strange. It is, of course, 2 times lower than Isaac's, but it was piled in several years, not counting the time it took to collect the money. http://arch-heritage.livejournal.com/1217486.html

Moscow.


It began to lose its population considerably at the beginning of the 18th century. I admit the possibility of an outflow of the population to St. Petersburg in the middle of the 18th century, after the construction of a road in 1746, along which, by the way, it was necessary to get there for a month. But, in 1710, that year, where did 100 thousand people go? The city has been under construction for 7 years and has already been flooded a couple of times. I cannot accept that 30% of the population with their skardbom is not clear how they leave the pleasant Moscow climate, the inhabited city for the northern swamps to the barracks. And where did more than 100 thousand people go in 1863? Are not the events of 1812 happening here? Or let's say the troubles of the early 17th century? Or is it all the same?

One could somehow explain this by some kind of recruiting or a local epidemic, but the process can be traced throughout Russia. Here Tomsk has a very clear framework for this cataclysm. Between 1856 and 1858, the population declined by 30%. Where and how do so many thousands of conscripts go without even having railways? To central Russia to the western front? It is true that Petropavlovsk-Kachatsky can also be defended.

One gets the feeling that the whole story is jumbled up. And I am no longer sure that the Pugachev uprising took place in the 1770s. Maybe these events were just in the middle of the 19th century? Otherwise I don’t understand. Orenburg.

If we put this statistics into the official history, then it turns out that all the disappeared people are recruits for the call to the Crimean War, some of whom later returned back. Yet Russia had an army of 750 thousand. Hopefully in the comments someone will appreciate the adequacy of this assumption. But, all the same, it turns out that we underestimate the scale of the Crimean war. If they went so far as to sweep almost all adult men out of large cities to the front, then they swept them out of the villages as well, and this is the level of losses in the 1914-1920s, if in percent. And then there was the First World War and the Civil War, which took away 6 million and do not forget about the Spanish Woman, which only within the borders of the RSFSR claimed 3 million lives in a year and a half! Incidentally, I wonder why such an event receives so little attention in the same media. Indeed, in the world, it carried away from 50 to 100 million people in a year and a half, and this is either comparable or more than the losses of all sides in 6 years in World War II. Isn't there the same manipulation of demographic statistics, in order to somehow comb the population, so that there are no questions about where these 100 million people have gone, for example, in the middle of the 19th century.

International Mountain Day, established by the UN, is celebrated 10 times today. Each year a special theme is assigned to the holiday. In 2013, it sounds like this - "Mountains: The Key to a Sustainable Future". Mountains occupy almost 27 percent of the earth's land area and, of course, play a vital role in human life. "RG" has collected unusual, curious and somewhat mystical facts about the greatest peaks in the world.

Divine mountain

Chomolungma (translated from Tibetan "Divine") or Everest is the generally recognized "navel of the Earth".

The height of the mountain is 8848 meters. By the way, despite this, the most distant point from the center of the Earth is the summit of the extinct Ecuadorian volcano Chimborazo, since the equatorial radius of the Earth is 21 kilometers higher than the polar one.

Everest is the record holder among the mountains. It is also "the world's highest landfill." In 2008, the China Daily published information that the Chinese authorities decided to restrict the access of tourists to Everest in an attempt to preserve the fragile ecology of the region. And it is not surprising: annually only the Chinese side of the summit is visited by about 40 thousand tourists. According to rough estimates of environmentalists, they leave behind 120 tons of garbage: bottles, bags and cans, oxygen cylinders, ropes and broken ladders.

Climbing to the highest point of the planet has always been the dream of many brave and desperate people. Not everyone succeeded in conquering the mountain: the dead here are numbered in the hundreds. Local residents, sacred to the thousand-year traditions, periodically demand the burial ceremonies of the dead climbers. They say that their souls appear here time after time: they walk in the form of shadows, sometimes ask for food and even steal warm clothes.

Ancient Everest is no stranger to progress: since 2010, there has been cellular communication (it is provided by a Chinese operator) and even high-speed 3G Internet, covering the top of the mountain.

Stone guard

Aconcagua - the highest point of the American continent, South America, western and southern hemispheres - rises to 6962 meters.

Previously, it was believed that Aconcagua is an extinct volcano, but modern research claims that this is not the case.

Scientists do not know for certain the origin of the name of the peak. The most popular version is Ackon Cahuak, which means "Stone Guard" in the language of the South American Indian people of Quechua.

There is an amazing phenomenon on Aconcagua - "Bianco Bente" ("White Wind"). Here is how one of the conquerors of the Argentine peak described it: "In the evening it began to snow. Clouds appeared. The summit hid every now and then. Alas! Such a wind gives almost no one the opportunity to climb the summit! It was very cold at night. But we had goose sleeping bags. down for a temperature of -40! Not less than half a meter of snow fell. "

Despite the icy wind, corrosive dust and the scorching sun, the mountain is popular with tourists and is considered, by the way, technically light. The ascent along the simplest route is carried out through intermediate points, one of which is the legendary Inca Bridge. Along this miraculous road, according to legend, the heir to the throne of the Inca empire went to a distant mountainous region to recover from an illness there.

25th President

McKinley is a two-headed mountain in Alaska. This highest point in North America is named after the 25th President of the United States.

It is believed that the mountain was first mapped by a Russian navigator and polar explorer, Admiral Wrangel. From 1799 to 1867, McKinley was the high point of the Russian Empire until it was sold to the United States on March 30, 1867 for $ 7.2 million.

During the period when Alaska was still a Russian territory, the peak was simply called Big Mountain. At the same time, the Athabaskan Indians, who inhabited the western regions of the United States and Canada, called the peak "Denali", which means "Great".

McKinley is one of the most difficult peaks to climb. Firstly, meteorologists recorded here really bitter frosts - down to minus 83 degrees Celsius. Secondly, due to the high latitude, the air here is very thin. By the way, the southern "head" is higher than the northern one, therefore, the conquest of this very peak is considered especially honorable among fans of extreme sports.

The mountain that sparkles

Kilimanjaro is located in northeastern Tanzania. This is the highest point in Africa: 5895 meters above sea level.

Researchers to this day cannot decide where the name of the mountain came from. According to one version, the word "Kilimanjaro" comes from the Swahili language and means "a mountain that sparkles." According to another, the name comes from the word of the language of the natives and means "the one who conquers the bird / leopard / caravan".

Kilimanjaro is a potentially active volcano. And although there are no documented eruptions, local legends speak of volcanic activity 150-200 years ago. True, scientists do not predict any other activity, except for the current gas emissions.

Another legend speaks of the unusual inhabitants of these places. Local people tell stories about pygmies, a people no taller than ordinary children, who once lived in caves and ravines of the mountain. There are also stories of mountain gorillas who lived in the dense rainforest on the slope of Kilimanjaro many years ago.

The snow cap that has covered the top of the mountain since the last Ice Age is rapidly melting. In March 2005, it was reported that the peak was almost completely ice-free for the first time in the last 11 thousand years. True, this news did not cause a stir among environmentalists: it is believed that this is not caused by a change in temperature, but by a decrease in the amount of snowfall.

The mountain that brings happiness

Elbrus is a former volcano on the border of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia. This is the highest peak in Russia: 5642 meters in the western part of the cone, 5621 meters in the eastern part.

The mountain has a record number of names. The word "Elbrus" is Iranian "high Mountain", or Iranian "sparkling, brilliant". The second interpretation, according to some researchers, is more likely. The Georgian name Yalbuz - goes back to the Turkic yal - "storm" and buz - "ice". Other names of the mountain: Mingi tau - an eternal mountain (Karachay-Balkar), Kuskhyamakhu - a mountain that brings happiness (Adyghe), Urym Ihymyua - the top of the Byzantine road (Abaza) and so on.

The mountain could have another name - Hitler's Peak - if the 1st Mountain Division of the Wehrmacht managed to hold the summit. The conquest of Elbrus was not included in the plans of the German High Command. In his memoirs, the Fuehrer's personal architect Albert Speer grumbled: "It was a pointless business." By the middle of the winter of 1942-1943, the Wehrmacht was knocked out of the slopes of the mountain: Soviet mountain climbers hoisted Soviet flags on the peaks.

According to one version, the German soldiers expected not only to assert themselves by placing a banner on the top of the mountain, but also to find the entrance to the legendary Shambhala. According to legend, it is the Elbrus region that hides the very legendary Hall of earthly and extraterrestrial knowledge, which Pharaoh Cheops could not find yet. And Hitler, as you know, was fond of mystical trends. Historians have recorded the stories of old-time shepherds: once, as if the Germans brought skinheads with oriental features to the local plateau. These "Tibetan monks" were supposed to help find the doors disguised in the mountains.

Father of the fleet of two oceans

Vinson Massif is the highest mountains in Antarctica. At their highest point, they reach 4892 meters.

The summit was discovered relatively recently - in 1957. And the actual accident - an American plane was flying over the mountains. At the same time, the mountain system, which includes Vinson, was also discovered from the air: in 1935, by the American businessman and polar explorer Lincoln Ellsworth.

The mountains were named after the American Democratic politician, Congressman from Georgia Carl Vinson. He was known for being successfully elected to Congress for over 50 years, of which he served as Chairman of the Naval and Armed Services Committee for 29 years. In the United States, he is known as "the father of the fleet of two oceans." By the way, Vinson became one of the few Americans in whose honor an aircraft carrier was named during his lifetime.

The mountain attracts only the most desperate extreme sports enthusiasts. In summer (November-December) the blinding sun shines here around the clock. The weather is relatively warm by local standards: about minus 30 degrees Celsius. In winter, in the area of ​​the massif, real hell sets in - strong winds, continuous darkness of the Antarctic night and frosts down to minus 70 Celsius.

White Mountain

Mont Blanc is a crystalline massif 4810 meters high in the Western Alps. Its name translates as White Mountain.

By the way, an automobile tunnel 11.6 kilometers long has been laid under the mountain. It connects France and Italy. The passage through the tunnel is paid: in March 2013, for the pleasure of driving through the mountain, they took about 41 euros.

In ancient times, the mountain was surrounded by mystery. The first documentary mention of it dates back to 1088 AD. On the map of the Benedictine monks' possessions in the city of Chamonix, it is designated as Rupes Alba ("White Mountain"). However, for centuries, locals have called it "The Cursed Mountain", believing that demons and dragons live there.

Ancient weapons and tools discovered in the Alps indicate that people inhabited these places 50 thousand years ago. It is known that they were nomadic hunters. In the middle ages of the harsh climate, people settled here for a very short period: in the summer they climbed the mountains, where they grazed cattle on rich pastures, and with the onset of winter they descended into the valleys.

Polish-Australian flavor

Kostsyushko is the highest peak of the Australian continent. Its height is 2228 meters.

The first person to conquer the summit was the Polish traveler Pavel Edmund Strzelecki. It was he who gave the mountain the name of his compatriot - the military and political leader of the 19th century Tadeusz Kosciuszko.

The locals, by the way, cannot pronounce this name, even if they try very hard, so in Australia it is useless to ask "how to get to Mount Kostsyushko" - they will understand only if you pronounce the name as "Kosiosko".

Professional climbers say: The Australian Alps are pretty simple. The peak is one of the most equipped. Trails are laid here, if you want - run, if you want - jump, if you want - ride a bike. At an altitude of 2000 meters, there is enough oxygen in the air, although it is a little dry.

Kostsyushko is almost the only place on the entire continent where you can touch the real snow.

There are only 14 mountain peaks on our planet that are over 8000 meters high. Most of the peaks are located in the Himalayas and are known to everyone as the "Roof of the World". Conquerors and climbers from all over the Earth consider it their duty to climb at least one of the points, however, such ascents are accompanied by many dangers. Until the middle of the 20th century, it was believed that it was impossible to conquer eight-thousanders, but there were already many daredevils who proved the opposite. We bring to your attention the top 10 highest mountains in the world, the rating is presented in ascending order.

10. Annapurna (8091 m)

Located in Nepal, it is part of the mountain range of the same name. The name is translated from Nepali as "Goddess of Fertility". The summit of the first of all the Himalayan ridges was conquered by man in 1950, the height was conquered by two French climbers. Annapurna consists, in fact, of nine peaks, one of which (Machapuare) has not yet been ascended. Local residents are sure that God Shiva lives at the top, so there is no need to bother him. For Annapurna, the glory of an extremely dangerous mountain was entrenched, on which death awaits every third brave man (the number of deaths on the way to the top was recorded at 32%). An interesting fact: after the 2015 earthquake, Annapurna became another 20 cm taller.

The North American relief can be conditionally subdivided into several types: in the central and northern parts you can admire the delightful plains, ...

9. Nanga Parbat (8125 m)

Mount Killer is in ninth place on our list. The summit is located in the Pakistani-controlled territory of Kashmir, between two large rivers - the Indus and Astor, in the northwestern part of the Himalayas. The name is translated from Sanskrit as "Mountain of the Gods" and is one of the three most dangerous for climbing eight-thousanders. The first mention of the peak in geographical maps dates back to the 19th century, but the conquest of Nanga Parbat took place only in 1953, although attempts to climb the peak were made in the period from 1895 to 1950. Even the future climber to Everest tried to climb the mountain, but Tenzing Norgay never managed to reach the top. According to reliable information, Nanga Parbat killed more than 64 climbers, in addition, at the foot of the mountain, Taliban militants killed another 10 people.

8. Manaslu (8156 m)

In Sanskrit, the name translates as "Mountain of Spirits". Manaslu is also located on Nepalese land, and is part of a massif called Mansiri-Himal. Geographers distinguish three peaks of the ridge - central, northern and eastern. Climbing Manaslu was carried out in several stages and took a long period of preparation. In 1950, a reconnaissance of the mountain was made, after which climbers from Asia tried to climb to the top almost every year, overcoming a height of 5275 meters, then 7750 meters. The conquest took place in 1956 by a group of Japanese explorers. Today, more than 10 tourist routes have been laid along the slopes of Manaslu, and the mountain attracts travelers like a magnet, despite the sad statistics - 53 people have died here in 60 years.

7. Dhulagiri (8167 m)

Due to the abundance of snow and glaciers, the incredibly beautiful Dhulagiri is translated from Sanskrit as "White Mountain". The summit is located in the Himalayan massif of the same name, which belongs to the Nepalese side. On both sides of the Dhulagiri there are two waterways - the Kali-Gandaki and Mayangdi rivers. In total, the summit consists of eleven peaks, ranging in height from 7193 to 8167 m, the last of which climbers conquered only in 1975. To climb the central peak, a group of climbers, citizens of several European countries, was assembled. For the first time, a light-engine aircraft was used to deliver people to the mountain. On May 13, 1960, the mountain climbers finally conquered the height, after which the path laid by them became a classic route. In total, about 60 people died on Dhulagiri.

6. Cho-Oyu (8201 m)

Also located in the Himalayas, it is considered the sixth highest eight-thousander. The peak is located on the border between two states - China and Nepal and geographically belongs to the Mahalangur-Himal ridge, to the Chomolungma mountain range. Not far from the peak lies the Nangpa-La ice pass, through which there is a trade trail connecting Tibet and Nepal. Many climbers consider Cho-Oyu the easiest to climb among all the ridges exceeding 8 thousand meters. The ascent to the peak is made from the Tibetan side, since the Nepalese wall, located to the south, is practically inaccessible. The mountain is included in the national park of Nepal - "Sagarmatha". Today, 15 routes have been laid on the summit, including the first route, along which two Austrians ascended Cho Oyu in 1954 in company with the local Dawa Lama.

5. Makalu (8485 m)

The mountains are not in vain called one of the most grandiose creations of nature, they have fascinated and delighted people at all times. This is not surprising, high ...

The second name of the eight-thousander, which is located between China and Nepal, is "Black Giant". Makalu is the closest neighbor of Everest, both peaks are located at a distance of only 19 km from each other. For more than a hundred years no attempts were made to climb Makalu, and only in 1955 did two Frenchmen make up their minds. The mountain is considered extremely difficult to climb due to the steep slopes and very sheer cliffs, which only the most experienced climbers can climb. The percentage of those who reached the peak is about 30, the rest of Makalu did not submit. Since the middle of the last century, 17 routes have been laid to the height, along which expeditions from America, France, Japan, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Russia, Ukraine, Italy and Kazakhstan climbed. In just over half a century, 26 people have found their last refuge on the slopes of Makalu.

4. Lhotse (8585 m)

The mountain is located in the Tibet Autonomous Region, is part of the Mahalangur-Himal mountain range and is part of the national reserve. Lhotse is located three kilometers from Everest and is separated from it by a seven thousandth pass known as the South Saddle. The shape of the top is unique in its kind and is a pyramid with three faces. Climbers distinguish three peaks that make up Lhotse - Main, Middle and Shar, while all three are more than 8000 meters high. Average Lhotse was entered in the Guinness Book of Records as the eight-thousander peak that had never been unconquered until 2001. The first ascent to the Main Lhotse was carried out on the western slope in 1956 by mountaineers from Switzerland, 14 years later the northeastern ridge was explored.

3. Kanchenjunga (8585 m)

It is located in the mountain range of the same name, on the territory of the national park with the same name and closes the top three of the leaders - eight-thousanders. The summit is located on the border between India and Nepal and includes 5 peaks, 4 of which are higher than 8000 m. Kanchenjunga translates as “five treasures of the great snows”, and is considered the “muse” of the great Russian artist and philosopher Nicholas Roerich, who sang the summit in his pictures. Until the middle of the 19th century, scientists considered Mount Kanchenjunga to be the highest in the world, but a little later the first place was given to Everest. The first time the summit was conquered by people in 1955, when an expedition led by two British climbed the peak. Today, climbers have developed 11 routes, which were visited by groups from Germany, England, Japan, Poland, India, and the Soviet Union. In the entire history of the conquest of Kanchenjunga, 40 people died here.

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2. Chogori (8614 m)

The name of the mountain is translated from the West Tibetan language as "high". The peak is extremely picturesque, located on the border of China and Pakistan and is considered the most difficult peak to climb. Chogori was discovered as a result of an expedition in 1856 and is known among climbers as "K-2". The first time two mountain climbers from England tried to conquer Chogori, but they did not reach the top. In the same year, the Italian group realized the plan, and for the first time a human foot set foot on K-2. In total, 249 climbers visited Chogori, 60 of which died.

1. Everest or Chomolungma (8848 m)

There are few people who do not know which is the highest mountain in the world. The undisputed leadership belongs to the great and terrible Everest, whose name translates as "the divine mother of vital energy." Located in Nepal, the peak belongs to the Mahapangur-Himal mountain range and is divided into southern and northern. The beauty of Chomolungma is legendary, and its shape is almost perfect and is a three-sided pyramid. For the first time, Everest conquered a man in 1953, and since then more than 200 people have found their last refuge on its slopes. To climb the mountain, you need at least two months and about 10 thousand dollars. The biggest problem that climbers face is low night temperatures - up to -60 and a constant lack of oxygen.