Information about the abandoned villages of the Chelyabinsk region is extremely scarce. And no one, by and large, seriously engaged in the study of this problem, with the exception of only a few local historians. In the article we will try to tell as much as possible about the empty villages and villages of this region.
So, where are the abandoned villages in the Chelyabinsk region? And how many are there? Let's get it right.
Sad stories of the Ural villages
Cities grow, villages disappear. This sad process in the scientific community is called urbanization. A brutal, predatory word … In some states, these processes are less active, in others - more intensively. Russia is one of the world leaders in rural extinction. Just think about it: every year the country loses three of its villages!
If a couple of centuries ago villages disappeared as a result of floods, fires and epidemics, nowadays purely economic aspects come to the fore. Lack of jobs, minimal infrastructure and an uncomfortable living environment - all this drives people to nearby cities. And first of all, young people. As a result, only old people and people with limited mobility remain in the villages.
Chelyabinsk region, fortunately, is not yet among the leading regions in the number of villages left by man. There really aren't very many of those here. But they are still there. According to the Chelyabinsk ethnographer Vladimir Teplov, over the past hundred years, the total number of villages in the region has almost halved. At the same time, the Troitsky, Oktyabrsky, Uvelsky, Sosnovsky and Krasnoarmeysky areas suffered the most.
There are more and more abandoned villages in the Chelyabinsk region every year. Solving this extremely acute problem requires considerable efforts both by local authorities and higher-ranking officials.
Abandoned villages of the Chelyabinsk region: list and map
The most reliable data on the demographic situation in a given region are provided by population censuses. In the Russian Federation, the last such census was carried out in 2010. She counted 22 completely empty villages in the Chelyabinsk region. Interestingly, 20 of them were empty during the period from 2001 to 2010. What is their total number today, it’s impossible to say for sure.
Below is a list of the most interesting non-residential settlements in the Chelyabinsk region (abandoned villages, deserted villages and former villages including):
- Korolevo (Kasli district).
- Cape (Sosnovsky district).
- Anfalovo (Krasnoarmeysky district).
- Adishchevo (Krasnoarmeysky district).
- Malyshevo (Sosnovsky district).
- Selki (Verkhneufaleysky urban district).
- Freedom (Kasli district).
- Old Muslumovo (Kunashaksky district).
- Hardware site (Magnitogorsk).
- Shevchenko (Troitsky district).
Below on the map you can see the location of all the abandoned villages of the Chelyabinsk region (photos and descriptions of the most famous of them can be found later in our article). It is curious that most of them are concentrated in the northern part of the region.
Hardware platform
Where to start the review of the abandoned villages of the Chelyabinsk region? Hardware platform - a village that enjoys great popularity among all the "stalkers" of this region. It is located in the vicinity of Magnitogorsk, right in the middle of the old industrial zone.
The village appeared in the first half of 1940 at the same time as the hardware and calibration production, which, in turn, arose on the basis of equipment evacuated from the western regions of the USSR. However, later it turned out that such a close proximity of the plant and residential areas is not the best idea. Plus, the village was in the sanitary zone located near the metallurgical plant. In the late 80s, the residents of the Hardware site began to be relocated to other settlements. In just a few years, the population of the village decreased from 3, 500 to zero.
Today, the Hardware platform looks extremely deplorable. Most of the buildings have already lost their floors and roofs. The highlight of the abandoned village is the Palace of Culture of Stalinist times with still preserved columns and sculptures at the main entrance.
Malyshevo
The village of Malyshevo is located in the Sosnovsky district. This is an ancient village, which was founded in the middle of the XVIII century by Cossacks and peasants. Named after one of the first settlers. By the beginning of the twentieth century, there were about 200 inhabitants, there was an elementary school. After the war, a branch of the Mitrofanovsky state farm was organized in the village. Malyshevo was completely empty in the early 2000s. Near the village, only an array of garden plots, belonging mainly to residents of Chelyabinsk, was preserved.
Capes
Another abandoned village of the Sosnovsky district has a colorful and unusual name - Cape (emphasis on the first syllable). Like Malyshevo, it was also founded in the XVIII century as a Cossack farm. The maximum population here was recorded in 1926 (580 inhabitants). The village was officially excluded from the list of existing settlements in 1995.
Selki
The almost extinct village of Selki is located in the northern part of the region, just a few kilometers from Lake Itkul and ten kilometers from the city of Verkhny Ufaley. It grew out of a small security post founded in 1774. At the beginning of the XIX century, the development of one of the local mines began here. In Soviet times, wood was harvested in Selki.
The village consists of only three small streets. Today it is a series of dilapidated wooden huts. According to the 2010 census, only 9 people lived in Selki - six men and three women.
freedom
Another abandoned village is located in the Kasli district, in the north of the Chelyabinsk region. Her name is pathos and loud - Freedom. True, today this settlement is free only from residents.
The village was empty after the so-called Kyshtym disaster of 1957 - radiation emissions at the Mayak chemical plant. Like most other neighboring villages, she was completely evicted and destroyed. Only one building survived - the stone temple of Simeon Verkhotursky. The church, according to archival data, was founded in the middle of the century before last. Today, the shrine stands alone in the middle of the field, overgrown with trees and shrubs.
Abandoned villages of the Chelyabinsk region: where can I live?
Many people today seek to move from big and noisy cities to small villages with clean air, no traffic jams and fresh food. Among them are the originals who want to hide in an abandoned village. In the Chelyabinsk region, there are plenty of such places. For example, Korolev near the village of Bagaryak, Kasli district. It has everything you need for a full recluse life: a forest, a river with picturesque cliffs on the shore and a complete absence of people.
Of course, before moving to such a wilderness, one should well weigh the pros and cons of such a step. After all, you have to come to terms with such unpleasant moments as:
- Lack of electricity, gas supply, mobile communications.
- Lack of nearby grocery stores, hospitals and police stations.
- Possible lack of a normal access road to your place of residence.
- Neighborhood, as well as possible encounters with wild and dangerous animals - bears, wolves, foxes, lynxes.
- Difficult weather and climate conditions (in the summer in the Chelyabinsk region the air temperature can rise to +30 degrees, and in the winter - drop to 30-40 degrees, but already with a minus sign).
If all of the above does not frighten you, then it remains to expand a large-scale map of the region and choose the appropriate settlement.
Those people who are not yet ready for complete isolation and loneliness can choose for themselves a village that is not yet completely empty. There are also many such settlements in the region. For example, in the village of Bolshoi Teregusty, near Kyshtym, only about fifty people live. The nature in the surroundings is incredibly beautiful: river, mountains, wild taiga. Another great option is the village of Ilek, Ashinsky district with a population of about one hundred people. There are many empty and solid houses.
