The first task: to obtain a high-quality three-dimensional model of a fragment of a fortress structure. Second: to recreate it in real physical size on the same site together with the Berezovsky estate of the 18th century. And then this will be the first fairly reliable reconstruction of a part of an ancient fortified village in Western Siberia.
The Centenary Route: St. Petersburg-Berezov-Moscow
First, let me remind you why Berezovo is famous, unusual and attractive – one of the first Russian towns beyond the Urals (modern Berezovo has been an urban-type settlement since 1954). The fortress was founded in 1693. The name is not original, the founding governors borrowed it from the Khanty – the local inhabitants, their settlement “Sumgutvash” translated into Russian means: “Birch City”. Hence the image of birches on the coat of arms.
There was a time when Berezov was the center of the district, the largest beyond the Urals. And even now the Berezovsky district eclipses many regions in terms of territory. For example, its area is almost twice that of the Moscow region. The land of severe cold (the regional center is located near the border of the Yamalo-Nenets Okrug), swamps, forest-tundra and Siberian taiga jungle.
Just like 330 years ago, during the warmer months the village has no land connection with the mainland. In summer it can be reached by plane or by water: first by the main road, the Ob, then by its tributary, the Northern Sosva. A regular river passenger service has been established. Almost every week a cruise ship arrives, sailing between Tobolsk, Surgut and Salekhard.
On their last visit, tourists, mainly from Central Russia and Muscovites, arrived right at the beginning of the excavations. They pestered archaeologists with questions and took selfies. Interestingly, if they wish, visitors can use the services of a taxi, which is not lacking in the village of 7,000 inhabitants: they can take you to any destination in a couple of minutes and for a hundred rubles.
Berezovo was connected to the unified energy system a little over ten years ago. Previously, the village received electricity from autonomous generation – a gas turbine power plant. Fortunately, the reservoir is, so to speak, under your feet. We discovered it somewhat by accident. A devastating accident occurred on the drilling rig with a massive release of gas. The hellish roar, heard ten kilometers from the well, frightened many residents of Berezovka. The discovery in the autumn of 1953 is considered historic in the history of exploration and production of hydrocarbon resources in the Soviet Union: many experts at that time believed that there were no decent reserves of either gas or oil beyond the Ural Mountains.
Without the underground warehouse, Berezovo, which in 1953 had the status of a village, would probably have quickly fallen into disrepair as young people left (on the eve of World War II, only 830 people lived there). Ten years later, in 1964, the family of Semyon and Antonina Sobyanin moved here from an even more remote wilderness. They have three children, the youngest, Sergei, is 8 years old. After graduating from Berezovskaya secondary school, he leaves his parents’ home and enters the Technological Institute.
Subsequently, after metallurgical, engineering and Komsomol work in Chelyabinsk, administrative work in Kogalym, his career, as is known, developed brilliantly: Chairman of the Duma of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, head of a committee in the Federation Council, Governor of the Tyumen Region, Head of the Presidential Administration, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Mayor of Moscow.
Map of the city of Berezov with its surroundings at the end of the 17th century from the “Sketchbook of Siberia, compiled by the son of the Tobolsk boyar Semyon Remezov in 1701” – St. Petersburg, 1882
Exactly three hundred years ago, by decree of Peter the Great, a prison was built in Berezovo for sovereign criminals of special importance. The corner for isolation is ideal. Even if you evade the guards, there is nowhere to run, hundreds of kilometers to the main roads cannot be covered on your own. It seemed that the natural walls were insurmountable.
When Leon Trotsky was sent into exile – “for eternal settlement” – in Obdorsk (present-day Salekhard), and the gendarmes made a stop in Berezovo, they did not keep a close eye on him or the other escorts: they relied on prudence – whoever decided to escape would die. Especially in winter. Nevertheless, he came up with a cunning, though very risky, escape plan. Not without the support of a sympathetic and like-minded person. On a reindeer sleigh. He escaped with great adventures and eventually went abroad.
As far as we know, this was the first and only successful attempt by a convict to leave Berezov without permission. God knows what would have been the fate of Trotsky, the leader of the October Revolution, if he had not decided to undertake this adventure in February 1907.
It is doubtful that, by ordering “selected” criminals to be sent two and a half thousand miles from the capital to the permafrost region, the first emperor intended in this way to punish his favorite friend, perhaps the person closest to the throne. . Although that year, 1724, Menshikov fell into disgrace: he was dismissed from his posts of Governor-General of St. Petersburg and President of the Military Collegium, he did not miss the opportunity to influence the actions of the highest authorities. And soon after Peter’s death, he took full advantage of this and became the de facto ruler of the empire.
The tragic exile of Alexander Danilovich with his family to Berezovo, the finding of the once richest and most titled man in the country in the role of a disenfranchised commoner, the first academician in Russia who never learned to write, his death and lost burial, carried away, perhaps, by a stray, eroding the banks of the Siberian river – a different story. As well as (here is the irony of fate on a sovereign scale) the story of the exile to Berezov of another failed shadow ruler – Prince Alexei Dolgorukov, who “displaced” Menshikov through intrigues.
The third highest dignitary buried in Sumgutvash is Andrei Osterman, an associate of Peter I, vice-chancellor and prime minister of the Russian Empire.
Unlike the powerful courtiers, the Decembrist exiles (Ivan Fokht, Andrey Entaltsev, Alexey Cherkasov) escaped death in Berezovo.
In the early 1920s, Pyotr Ershov, the future author of The Little Humpbacked Horse, studied at the local district school: his father was then serving as a zemstvo police officer of the Berezovsky district.
A plaque indicating the burial place (approximately nearby) of the first governor of St. Petersburg, Generalissimo, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire. Photo: Anatoly Pristansky
arrive at the kremlin
The question may arise: is it worth building a vegetable garden in a small remote village that cannot be considered publicly accessible? That is, is there any reason to continue exploring the cultural layer, restore the surviving objects of antiquity and reproduce them in a new version?
However, the historical and cultural center of Berezovo is one of the most remarkable and attractive in the entire Western Siberian space. Here they try to preserve the past. There are several remarkable monuments from past centuries and relatively recent ones. The new museum building houses a rich exposition; Menshikov’s all-Russian readings have been held here for two decades.
The historic centre and the main attractions are located next to the picturesque high coast and dominate it. The landscape of the natural park with centuries-old larches fascinates and immerses one in contemplation. The author of these lines flew to Berezovo 5-6 times and always walked the historical paths with constant pleasure.
– Yes, Berezovo is not Surgut, founded just a year later, but which has long since lost the monuments of the distant past. This is a large modern city, similar to many others. Berezovo, where there are no massive, high-rise buildings, has changed little in its appearance and atmosphere. It is here that it is possible to reproduce one by one, as close as possible to the original, parts of the fort in its place of origin.
“Thanks to previous excavations within the boundaries of the settlement, we created a 3D model of the Berezovsky estate of the 17th-18th centuries. It is good to turn it into a physical object, to fill the house with objects corresponding to that era. As for the tower, we have a good idea for now: a large fort with a wide entrance and a high tower with a watchtower. But it is important to clarify the details, the individual elements of the building and the location,” says Georgy Vizgalov, candidate of historical sciences and senior researcher at the Ugra Center for Archaeology and Ethnography of Surgut State University.
He is the director of the project “Berezovsky Kremlin: Living History”, to which the excavations are connected. His team consists of seven specialists. Five are from the towns of Ugra: archaeologists Anna Skuibida, Maria Eremenko, laboratory assistant Natalya Kazantseva, director of the non-profit scientific historical and cultural organization “Siberian Heritage” Alsou Dozmorova, and geodesist Andrei Goman. Artist Alexander Kukhterin is from Tyumen, and reenactor Andrei Verbovsky traveled from Donetsk. A group of young residents of the village are busy with the excavation work.
View from the river to the Berezovsky Kremlin, 18th century. Artist Alexander Kukhterin
This is the comment that Alsu Dozmorova made to Rodina:
– We are implementing an important project for the tourist industry of our region, for historical science and historical education, thanks to a convincing victory in the Presidential Grants Fund competition. After the completion of the excavations, analyzing the information obtained and comparing it with data from archival documents, we will begin to create three-dimensional graphic and digital models.
We will present the results at scientific conferences and publish them on public Internet resources. What inspires optimism: the new head of the district reacted positively to the project and at a recent meeting with us stressed that he was interested in preserving historical heritage sites.
Near the excavation site, from which the turf was carefully removed, is the stone Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was built on the site of a church that burned down in 1764, demolished with the participation of Alexander Menshikov, where he was simultaneously church warden and sacristan. According to some reports, he was buried near the altar. Be that as it may, the grave is lost. Only contradictory legends exist about it. But many objects lie in the ground – remains of buildings from the time of the Tsarist coups and exiles.
– Let’s go back in time. A number of different artefacts have already been found. One of these days another group of tourists will be waiting for us. We will set up an information stand for them so that they understand what we are looking for and why,” says Georgy Vizgalov.
