Head of the village reading room 5 letters. An important section of socialist construction

Brief review of archival materials

INTRODUCTION
Over the past five years, I keep hearing: is the history of libraries really needed? Well, they were alive now, but are they worth such close attention to their past. I am sure: the history of libraries is on the same level with the history of public education. After all, they, along with schools, have played a huge role in the life of our people. It is they who help to store and pass on from generation to generation the knowledge accumulated by mankind. Studying the history of libraries operating in the city is an opportunity not only to determine the date of opening, addresses, but also to try to name those who opened these libraries.
The history of libraries can be studied in two ways. First: memories of the oldest library workers and their readers. The second is the study of documents that are stored in the funds of our archives: the State Archive of the Ulyanovsk Region and the Archive of Recent History. In addition to traditional statistical reports on the work of libraries for each year of work from the date of foundation, the funds of the Department of Culture and the Department of Culture of the City Council also store text reports, references on the work of libraries and other documents. What a joy it is when, through a pile of dusty dry reports, you come across a living word about a library or a reading room - evidence that not just a performer, but also a real ascetic worked in this small cultural institution.
The scope of my research is limited to the Soviet period and only to the city (the history of the largest libraries - regional scientific and youth - is handled by the academic secretary of the Palace of Books, V.M. Patutkina).

HUT - READING ROOMS
Let's imagine our city in the early twenties. It is generally accepted that at that time the city had two or three libraries. This is wrong. According to the list of libraries as of December 1, 1921, there were 34 libraries in the city. The list includes military and departmental libraries: for example, at the Economic Council, Gubzemdepartment, health department, concentration camp, correctional house, and so on. In the same list - the provincial book depository familiar to us, the central library, two regional ones, and so on. In addition to the registered libraries, it is known that various institutions and organizations of the city had ... 47 distribution points.
The ruler of thoughts in those years was our countryman - V.I. Lenin. He and his wife N.K. Krupskaya thought out and put into practice the idea of bringing the book as close as possible to the reader. For example, V.I. Lenin believed that the number of libraries serves as an indicator of the culture of any country. In his opinion, the library should be a 20-minute walk from the reader's place of residence. In the most difficult years of devastation and famine for the country, reading rooms began to appear in the country.
About a hundred reading rooms were registered in the Ulyanovsk region, six of them were located in the city. Some of them became prototypes of modern libraries, clubs and even kindergartens.
The reading huts of Ulyanovsk appeared as "centers of political education and conductors of all cultural events." The reading hut was supposed to contribute to "rallying the poor and farm laborers with the middle peasants".
At each reading room there were political circles, likpunkts (for the elimination of illiteracy), drama circles (in the largest - Kulikovo - reading room they staged performances that were popular with the population.
The reading huts were supposed to become centers for organizing conscription into the army, the huts organized evenings of remembrance of former servicemen and solemn farewells for conscripts. The duty of the hut is the design of the wall newspaper, the organization of loud readings and various lectures. Not at all, but at many huts-reading rooms there were small funds of books. In some cases, the hut agreed on the issuance of books at certain hours (brought books from the Book Palace). Each reading room subscribed to newspapers and magazines. In the early 1930s, the reading rooms resembled today's teenage clubs. “There have been more cases when teenagers and low-income children of the dispossessed, breaking off relations with their parents, go out into the street where they beg, commit offenses, thereby replenishing the ranks of homeless children,” Terekhina and Agapova write to Gorono, “please give specific instructions on how to deal with children deprived people living in poverty on the streets". Much attention was paid to working with children and women. At large reading huts, playgrounds were organized, which became the prototypes of today's kindergartens. One of the documents specifies that "the reading hut arose as a means of cultural enlightenment work among unorganized household housewives". In the same document, it was proposed "in view of summer time, to transfer work (reading huts) to nature and, if possible, organize excursions (housewives), for example, to their nursery. Ilyich, to a museum or to a house for the protection of motherhood and childhood. The plans for the work of the reading hut include arranging outdoor readings of the magazines Rabotnitsa, Delegate, and Peasant Woman. On the outskirts of the city, where there are no reading huts yet, it was proposed to organize travel and book collection points. “Some reading rooms were organized not from above, but ... from below, spontaneously, by the population itself. For example, in November 1925, the Butyrskaya reading room was opened.
From the documents of 1928, one can see the concern of the authorities that “the population of Tuti and the Northern pasture with the adjacent areas of Brick sheds and Boltavsky pits are completely not served by political enlightenment work.”(f.521, inventory 1, file 521, p.191). “The house according to the 74\4 team is quite suitable for a reading room for serving the Northern pasture,” reports the author of one of the reports. He recommends purchasing the Doktorov brothers' house for this purpose. It is possible that as a result of the concern of the authorities, huts appeared - reading rooms on Kulikovka and in Podgorye. Prior to this, the population of these areas of the city was served by the Booksellers of the Palace of the Book and school workers. However, the authors of the documents admit, this work was carried out "haphazardly and without any regulation of this." One of the reasons is called “non-payment of labor”. Izbachi, like school workers, received a salary. The GORONO is responsible for supplying reading huts with kerosene, firewood and newspapers. The Department of Public Education supervised the work of reading huts until 1954. Questions about reading huts were discussed at the "Association of Librarians" operating in the city. For example, at a meeting of the Gubpolitprosveta (1925), the "Association..." raised the issue of supplying reading huts with reader and book forms, as well as "Book lending notebooks." At each hut-reading room there were Soviets from among the activists. Before starting work, the izbach-librarian had to pass a monthly "test" (training and practice) at the Central Library. The archives contain many interesting facts about many huts-reading rooms of the city and the region. Reading huts were financed from the county budget. Where there is no money, they were supported by ... the population. “The reading rooms seem to have come to life,” they write in the documents of the Gubpolitprosveta dated March 10, 1924, “the visits have increased several times, the need for a good peasant book has increased .... The magazine "Atheist" is read to the holes. It is necessary to write out posters with the image of V.I. Lenin, books with his biography. We need Stasov's books "What the peasants need to know about Soviet power, about the land and their economy" ... We need the magazine "New Village".
The funds of the Ulyanovsk archives contain many interesting facts about the Nizhne-Chasovenskaya, Kanavskaya and Royal huts-reading rooms of the Zavolzhsky district. In the center of Ulyanovsk there were Butyrskaya, Kulikovskaya and Podgornaya reading huts. In this publication I will focus on one of them - Butyrskaya.
BUTYRSKAYA
Old-timers know that Butyrki is the area of the old cemetery, Robespierre and Nizhne-Polevoy streets. In the 1920s and 1930s, the Butyrok area was considered an area of poor handicraftsmen and artisans. Judging by the sources, it was they who initiated the opening of the reading room. Opened it twice. For the first time - in November 1925. The reading hut was placed in the two-storey building of Pishtrest, which before the revolution housed the office of the Lipatov mill.
The ideal reading room presupposes a stage. She was built. An illiteracy liquidation center was opened in one of the rooms, and another was occupied by a watchman. The first furniture of the reading room: tables, benches, water tank.
So far no information has been found about the first Butyrok hut. Most likely, he did not manage to prove himself, it is possible that he simply did not know where to start work. Perhaps he spent two years in this state, otherwise why in November 1927 the Butyrskaya hut-reading room was opened again. This is reported by the hut Presnyakov. In statements to Gorono, he writes that the reading room was opened literally from scratch: by the time he arrived, there was no table, no bench, no water tank in the room. Presnyakov asks for a hundred rubles for him to buy furniture. In January 28, he orders firewood, as there are three stoves in the room, and before that he bought firewood with his own money. The inspectors are unanimous in assessing his activities: "The work ... is felt."
Under Presnyakov, a drama circle and a literary circle began to operate in the reading room.
K. Okolova, a methodologist of the Palace of Books, who checks the work of the reading-room, calls the Butyrskaya reading-room "a valuable mobile point." In the audit report, she reports that "more students and teenagers read, but there is no reader's guide to reading.". K. Okolova notes that the reading room is one common room where they play checkers and rehearse. Maybe there was some room for lending books? It is known that Presnyakov regularly informed about the working hours of the movement. Most likely, the books were brought from the Palace of Books. Izbach compiled annotated lists of literature, designed book exhibitions.
Under Presnyakov, the reading room was renovated, and a playground for 62 people was arranged under him. On the day of the Red Army, he organized an excursion to Polivno. This event resolved the issue of the bond between the population and the army. By the date of the capture of the city (September 12), a report was held. After the speaker, a loan agitator spoke. The event "brightened up" the movie. The work of the Butyrsky hut was set as an example. And, as often happens, he was noticed there, "above" and already in October 1928, Presnyakov was transferred to another area of work: to the Karsun Volost Committee of the Komsomol.
The fate of the Butyrskaya hut-reading room confirms the well-known "Cadres decide everything." Presnyakov's place was taken by Bayushev, who, as it is written in the report of the inspector of political education for the city of Vasyanin, "has never worked at the political education and has little interest. His work is poor." Bayushev is the exact opposite of Presnyakov. He is rude, insensitive.
The most affectionate thing about visitors: "hooligans", Being not in the mood, he could call the visitor a "drunk face". The Butyrka activists fought the rude hut: each of his "blunders" was reported to the political enlightenment. For example, once Bayushev disrupted the planned report "On the Lena execution." The speaker has arrived, and circus performers are performing in the reading room. The hut was justified by the banal: "But I thought that you would not come."
Activists continued to brand the hut in the wall newspaper. But this did not help: Bayushev did not want to be re-educated, he behaved defiantly. At one of the meetings, Inspector Vasyanin reports that Butyrok activists refuse to work with Bayushev.
There are not so many huts in the city. The hut of the Kanavskaya hut-reading room Ivan Veselkin has long been asking to be transferred to the city. You have to make concessions. Veselkin is transferred to the Butyrskaya hut-reading room, Bayushev is "exiled" to Kanavskaya.
Let's leaf through one of the plans of the Butyrskaya hut-reading room. The main task is "wide familiarization of the population with the tasks of the party." No less important is "to focus the population's attention on strengthening the country's defense capability." In the section on circle work, it is increasingly noted: "Organize ...", "Resume ..."
Obligatory for all circles at huts - reading rooms were circles of OSOAVIAKHIM, MOPR. Under Presnyakov, they were, but under Bayushev, they fell apart. The wall newspaper ceased to be issued, activists did not gather.
Likpunkt is open again at the reading room. Izbach plans to create a circle of stencors, a cell for the fight against alcohol, a circle "Godless", Komsomol and pioneer circles. It is planned to "stage a movie three times", to prepare a performance twice by the drama circle, to organize checkers games. An interesting point: "Hold a show trial."
At the Butyrskaya hut-reading room there is a playground - this is the prototype of a modern kindergarten. It is headed by E.F. Greshnyakova. There is her statement with a request "to release the manufactory in order to sew underwear for the children of poor parents."
Unfortunately, Ivan Yakovlevich Veselkin did not prove himself either. According to one version, he quit of his own free will. According to another, it was filmed by harsh Butyrka Komsomol members. They did not forgive him "negligent attitude to work, drinking and rudeness ...". Since February 1929, A. Voronin has been in charge of the Butyrskaya hut-reading room. His work is marked by the rise of mass work. An assessment of his work can be read in the report of political education inspector Sharagina, who visited the reading room. He writes that “in the area of old and new Butyrki there are no cultural and educational institutions, except for the reading room. ... Territorially, it is located far from the outskirts. -reading rooms - 80-100 people."
The inspector notes that “work is getting better: there are already 27 people in the OSOAVIAKHIM cell, 17 people in the drama circle, 22 attend the sanitary circle - ROCK. Amateur artists sometimes put on paid performances in favor of the reading room.
There is a political circle among Komsomol members .. All political and economic campaigns, all revolutionary holidays are reflected in a timely manner in the Butyrskaya reading room.
Sharagin cites several figures: monthly - seven reports and lectures, in the fund of the reading room there are about 200 political and fiction books. Books are issued twice a week. Recruited (in the sense - recorded) 157 people. Every month, 670 books pass through the hands of readers. There are booksellers in the reading room.
Sharagin is dissatisfied with the "weak leadership of the reading room." A separate room is missing: "68 sq. m. is not enough." He calls the lack of work with parents a lack of work. The "Group of the Poor" is not organized, work is not carried out among women. The head of the hut-reading room does not participate in the work of the illiteracy liquidation point.
Sharagin suggests that the hut should "keep accurate records of visitor traffic." At the same time, he recommends "setting a course for weeding out alien elements visiting the reading room."
In June, Voronin asks for a vacation: he was lucky enough to get a ticket to a rest home. And since September, he has been writing an application for "departure to Samara for admission to the Pedagogical Institute from September 1 to September 6, 1929." In the same folder - M. Trifonova's statement. She asks to be appointed head of the reading room at Butyrki.

FIRST LIBRARY
In 1938, the Butyrskaya izba-reading room turns into library No. 1. Until recently, the employees of city library No. 1 considered 1941 to be the date of their opening, citing the fact that an inventory book has been kept since that year. The search for the decision of the city executive committee "brought" me to 1938. Firstly, because in one of the references on the work of the city's libraries for 1950, the director of the Palace of Books, Elizaveta Perukhina, reports that ... "the first library has existed since 1938." Having plunged into the documents of the pre-war period, I discovered the “Estimate of expenses for 1 city library for 1938”. However, where is the decision of the City Council?
"Proletarian Way" dated May 28, 1937 publishes a note by N. Sokolova "Forgotten Outskirts". She writes that in the city “little attention is paid to the outskirts. Take at least the old and new Butyrki. There is no club here, not even a small reading room. There was a reading room, as we know, in this area, but, perhaps, in the thirties it worked so imperceptibly that N. Sokolova did not notice it. One way or another, but the authorities read the note and made their own conclusions. From the protocol of the section of public education and the eradication of illiteracy dated January 28, 1938, its head Pyotr Kradenov spoke "... about the need to open a library under the mountain, where a secondary school is also needed, since in the future the population will increase there." At the meeting, it was decided to provide for the opening of one library on the outskirts of the city in the budget for 1939. Today we know that before the war only one library was opened, the first one was opened on the fund of the former Butyrka reading room. There is a document according to which the librarian E. Gladilina was hired in the Butyrskaya reading room, and left already from the city library No. library, which dates back to December 1918).
It is possible that many modern libraries "grew" out of reading huts. Some of them lasted until the mid-1950s. But this is in the area. City huts-reading rooms ceased to exist by themselves even before the war, the very phrase "hut-reading room" is a thing of the past. And after the war, libraries began to grow. The second city library (now library No. 4) and the first children's library (now library No. 24) opened in the 46th. Three years later, in May 1949, documents were signed on the opening of the city library No. 3 (street of the 40th anniversary of October, 33). In the first half of the fifties, half of the libraries currently existing in the city were opened in the city: from the 4th to the 11th. On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the birth of V.I. Lenin - in 1969 and 1970 - seven more libraries appeared in Ulyanovsk. One of the last ones opened in the city was the 30th Children's Library (1990). In 1967 the second city library became the Central Library. Since 1974, centralization has taken place in the city: the city's libraries have become a single library system. Its first director was L. A. Ogneva, then - V. M. Poletaeva. Since 1992, the city's library system has been headed by R.M. Gimatdinova, Honored Worker of the Russian Federation.

SUBURBAN LIBRARIES
In December 2006, ten suburban libraries joined the city's library system. Each of them has its own story. It is possible that the opening date of many rural libraries should be considered the date of the opening of the reading room. As we remember, they acted in almost every large village in the Ulyanovsk region. This is mentioned in the list of reading huts in the Ulyanovsk region by the instructor of the political education at the GORONO Vyugov. In a report dated September 26, 1936, he lists that reading rooms operated in the villages of Zagudaevka and Volostnikovka. Biryuchevka, Novy Uren, Karlinsky, Seldi, Mostovaya, Shumovka, Vyshki, Poldomasovo, Isheevka, Vinnovka, Vyrypaevka and others... 8 libraries. From the reports for each library, it can be seen that in the reading huts there is an accordion, a gramophone, a balalaika, in some - a radio. Most have books, but not all. Booksellers bring books to such reading-rooms.
From documents related to the work of reading huts, we learn that many libraries and reading huts are occupied “for other needs”: for example, in Bely Klyuch, Kuvshinovka and Elshanka, grain was stored in reading huts.
An interesting fact: in the thirties, the press (in particular, the newspaper Proletarsky Put) willingly covered the work of reading huts. In the issue for September 1, 1937. we are talking about a reading hut with. White Key (now - branch library No. 32). “... a good library, beautiful paintings, but the villagers rarely visit it. Sokolov's (Lyakhov's) hut does not organize mass cultural work well. In another note, they criticize the chairman of the board of the Sviyaga collective farm, Tikhonov, who does not understand the role of the hut. Tikhonov forces the hut Guryanov to be ... a hairdresser. “You won’t be a hairdresser,” Tikhonov threatens, “I’ll take off work.”
CONCLUSION
Recreating the history of small and seemingly inconspicuous cultural institutions is an important part of preserving social memory. It is possible that it was in such small cultural institutions that our parents or grandparents read their first books. The study of the history of individual libraries and the library system as a whole is an important part of the history of the city's cultural development. Librarianship has always been an indicator of the level of literacy and intelligence of the people. Information about how many libraries there were in the city, where they were located, how they worked, and even what mistakes were made in relation to these cultural institutions, is part of the history of the city. The reading hut, from which this or that modern library of the city has grown, is like a “small homeland”, which we love, no matter what. Unfortunately, it is impossible to cover the history of our libraries from different points of view in one article. The materials stored in our archives are enough for hundreds of articles. I want to express my gratitude to the staff of the Ulyanovsk archives for their help in finding materials for research on the history of reading huts and libraries in the city of Ulyanovsk.

NOTE:

Malta attracted special attention two years ago, when a family of mammoths appeared at the entrance to the ancient village. Surprisingly, many residents of the Angara region until that time did not even suspect that one of the largest sites of the Paleolithic era was located next to them. It all started with the fact that back in 1929, the peasant Saveliev decided to deepen the cellar at home. During the excavations, he discovered a huge old bone, which, however, did not impress him. He threw it over the fence, and the local boys immediately found a use for it, adapting it as a sled. However, the head of the village reading room took a closer look at the curiosity and reported it to Irkutsk. The famous archaeologist Mikhail Gerasimov immediately went to Malta and discovered an ancient site. This news stunned the entire scientific world. From the bowels of the Malta land, such unique artifacts as miniature female figurines, Venuses, the burial of a child with rich inventory and a bead made from a mineral called "tiger's eye" were recovered.

The church collapsed in silence

The beautiful large village of Malta is divided into two parts - the right and left banks of the Belaya River. The right side is more modern. It was formed after the railway was built. All socially significant objects are located here: the local administration, the school, the House of Culture, the Maltinskoye mineral water enterprise and the remains of a sanatorium that once thundered throughout the region.

But the left side is a real historical treasury. Along the main street - Lenin - stretches the former Moscow tract, along which convicts and soldiers moved several centuries ago. During the journey, they made a short stop in Malta: they rested, changed horses. This episode from the history of the village was recreated by the Malta people on one of the village holidays. Dressed in rags and tatters, they depicted how convicts moved along the Moscow highway.

At the corner of the street, there is still a two-story old house in which there was a tract hotel. According to the residents, Anton Chekhov once stayed there. Then, many years later, the building was turned into a maternity hospital.

It is known that not all convicts withstood the long road. Often the martyrs found their last resting place here. They were buried without a funeral, and it was for this reason that the inhabitants decided to build a church in the village. They sent a petition to Tsar Alexander I and, without waiting for an answer, began to collect money.

Initially, it was decided to build a two-aisled temple, but over time, the plans changed, and as a result, a large three-aisled church was erected. The main chapel is in the name of the Ascension of the Lord, the second - the Kazan Mother of God, and the third - in the name of St. Innocent. The temple was made to last. For its construction, large old bricks made from local clay were used. In order for them to hold on tighter, a huge amount of eggs was added to the solution. Residents themselves carried them from their yards. Everyone wanted to contribute to a good cause.

In 1810, two smaller aisles were consecrated, and the turn of the most important came only 23 years later, as there were difficulties with money. A parochial school was also opened near the church. 10 people graduated first. At the same time, according to the recollections of old-timers, at that time there were more boys than girls. In its original form, the temple served until the revolution.

During the Civil War of 1918, both Reds and Whites used it to zero in artillery pieces. The church was shelled from all sides. In February 20, when Malta was under martial law, the Reds fired back from the Kappelites from the bell tower.

In 1933 the temple was closed. Part of the premises was fenced off and equipped as a warehouse, and the church territory was given over to sports grounds and buildings. For some time in the temple on the second floor there was an office of a brick factory, then it was given over to a club. Workers of the Malta culture showed films, arranged dances. This is where the people gathered for gatherings. During the time when the temple was not used for its intended purpose, it began to be gradually dismantled for needs. Since the brick was of very good quality, in the 30-40s the military took it to the barracks.

The last who found shelter in the church for a while was the general store. True, he did not work for long, and after the building was empty, it began to collapse. During the earthquake of 2009, most of the walls of the temple crumbled, and two years later only ruins remained from it.

It was very quiet that day. At about 17.30 they heard a terrible crack, and the temple collapsed. On my own. Apparently, his time has come. No one went there anymore, no one looked in, - says Galina Kolomiets, curator of the school museum of local lore. - It's a pity, of course, the church. Architectural monument. Maybe someday a new temple will be built in its place. After all, this is a sacred place.

Venuses, beads and ancient burials

In Malta, there is also the world-famous site of an ancient man. The story of how a local resident dug up a mammoth bone has long turned into a legend that the older generation tells to the young. For several decades, expeditions visited here every season. From the ground, archaeologists recovered the bones of a mammoth, a woolly rhinoceros, deer antlers, tools of labor of primitive people, jewelry and household items.

This ancient monument has attracted hundreds of thousands of tourists and archaeologists from all over the world. Everyone wanted to get to know the unique artifacts better. Scientists have found that on the site of Malta 21-23 thousand years ago there was a tundra, through which herds of mammoths, rhinos and bison roamed. Their meat served as food for primitive people, and dwellings were built from skins and bones.

In 1958, Mikhail Gerasimov, who was the first to study the Malta culture, was replaced by his student, professor and archaeologist German Medvedev. He also unearthed many amazing artifacts. Among them, for example, small figurines of women. They had clearly cut lips, profiled nostrils and a miniature chin. There were 30 such figurines, named after Venus. Another find is an ancient bead made from the tiger's eye mineral. It is noteworthy that until now this mineral was found only in India and southern Afghanistan.

In Malta, the only burial of a child in the region with rich decorations was found: beads and pendants from mammoth tusk, fragments of the image of a flying bird, flint products and a bracelet.

They burned fires, sang to the guitar

Archaeological research also aroused genuine interest among local residents. The children often visited the expedition members, watched how they work.

Previously, there was even a sign "Parking of the ancient man." Outsiders were not allowed to enter. But when I was young, we often ran there. In the 80s, archaeologists set up a tent city and worked here for the whole season, three or four months. Students and young people came mainly from Irkutsk, they burned fires, played the guitar. And we joined them, - recalls Dinara Salikhovna, a resident of Malta.

From the first grade, young "archaeologists" have trodden a path here. They were interested in the whole process of work: how the first layer of earth is removed, working with scrapers and brushes, extracting products, taking measurements and photographing artifacts.

It's impossible to describe. Need to see. I have never seen such meticulous work, every millimeter of the earth is explored. Archaeologists are kind to each discovered exhibit. Handle them very carefully so as not to cause damage.

True, there is one significant minus in this Malta attraction. Since the whole village is essentially an archaeological heritage zone, any construction, earthworks are prohibited here. And for the residents, this is a very big problem. In order to obtain permission to build any object, even a small shed or bath, they need to go through many instances. Those who wish to simply take the land for a garden are subject to the same procedure. Some of the Maltinians tried to prevent this "disgrace" and erected structures without permission. However, the supervisory authorities, having learned about the violation, immediately came and punished the perpetrator with a ruble.

mammoth and dentist

In the early 2000s, due to lack of funding, the excavations stopped, and only two or three years ago they were resumed. In 2014, archaeologists at the Irkutsk State University discovered the remains of a mammoth on the river bank. First, they stumbled upon an animal's tooth, which was hiding immediately under the turf, then, digging deeper, they found the rest of the remains: fragments of the skull, leg bones, and ribs. All of them were located in an ancient frost crack, on an area of about one and a half meters. The age of the deposits was approximately 25 thousand years.

According to Dmitry Lokhov, a research engineer at the Department of Archeology, Ethnology and the History of the Ancient World, it is possible that the baby mammoth became the prey of an ancient man. He was beaten off from the herd and driven into a trap. This can be judged by the appearance and location of the remains. Archaeologists have found chopped leg bones and a skull. The teeth were separate. The ribs were also chopped up and piled in one pile.

In 2015, research work in Malta was started later, already in early September.

Excavations were carried out right along the fences, along the entire length of Proizvodstvenny Lane. They dug about three meters deep, and everything was under the film from above, - says Dinara. - This time we placed the expedition members in the House of Culture, heated the bathhouse, gave them tea. Work continued until mid-November. In the cold they stoked the stove. While the excavations were going on, a temporary bypass road was paved for the residents. After the completion of the work, the alley was returned to its original appearance. We do not know what archaeologists discovered, we only know that there were many elements of animal bones.

On Beregovaya Street, along which excavations were carried out for many years, none of the former inhabitants remained. The old died, the young left. The new tenants only know that there is an ancient man's site here. True, sometimes someone finds curious fragments. So, last year, after a heavy downpour, Natalya Burlakova, going down to the shore, accidentally

poked at an object of unusual shape. At first she thought it was a stone, but after looking closely, she decided that it looked more like a tooth. The experts confirmed her suspicions. She donated her find to the school museum. It is noteworthy that she found the tooth not on the left bank, where the parking lot is located, but on the right. How he got there remains a mystery. At least Galina Kolomiets jokingly tells the children at school that the mammoth went to the dentist.

Another exhibit of the school local history museum is a huge vertebra. Fishermen caught it in the river. For a long time they did not know where to attach it, and then they decided to take it to the museum. The jaw of an unknown animal, a bone from the thigh of a woolly rhinoceros and a copy of Venus, which was presented to the museum by German professor Nana Nauwald, are also kept here.

Cucumbers are salted on spring water

The site of an ancient man is not the only attraction of Malta. Who does not know the bottled mineral water of the same name? It is implemented throughout the Irkutsk region and beyond. The source is privately owned. One entrepreneur took a plot, drilled a well on it and started a profitable business. Residents of Malta and all unauthorized persons are not allowed to enter there, but they don’t need it. They have their own source. Anyone can come and draw spring water for themselves. It tastes slightly salty. As the Maltinians assure, it contains many useful substances. Usually she is treated for the gastrointestinal tract. To do this, you need to drink 100 grams of water in the morning and evening. Housewives make good pickles based on this water. Salted cucumbers are especially successful. There is a chapel next to the spring.

Sanatorium "Maltinskiy" - another pride of the village - has long sunk into oblivion. In his golden years, people came here on vacation from the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Buryatia, the Chita Region, and Yakutia. The sanatorium served up to 1000 people per season. People were attracted by the local beauty and therapeutic mud, which was mined from the Popovskie lakes. They helped with diseases of the joints and the musculoskeletal system. Mud is still there today, only Usolsk clinics use it.

Now from the former rest home there is only a sign at the entrance to the village and two buildings - an office and a dining room. Other buildings either burned down or were dismantled for needs. A few years ago, these two buildings turned into ordinary residential buildings. The district administration plans to create an open-air museum on the territory of the former rest home. True, no one knows when the desired will come true.

Selfie on a mammoth

The only attraction that has appeared here lately is the family of mammoths. The opening of the monument was timed to coincide with the celebration of the 90th anniversary of the Usolsky district. First, a mother and a mammoth appeared in an open area in front of Malta, and later dad joined them. The sculptural composition was made by the famous master from Telma Ivan Zuev.

I immediately decided that it would be a little mammoth, pulling my mother out of the icy water. On the one hand, this is salvation, on the other hand, it is an awakening. Mammoth seems to symbolize our young generation, which is trying to pull information about the past from the depths of centuries. About what we have already forgotten. I wish people would remember this. Many simply do not know what unique treasures are stored in the bowels of this village, - Ivan Zuev noted.

The manufacturing technology of the sculpture is identical to that used to create the Motherland Calls statue in Volgograd. In addition, a special bronzing technique was used. This creation is guaranteed for 50 years. As soon as the family of mammoths settled in the countryside, cars drive towards them in an endless stream. People take photos, selfies against the background of ancient animals, and someone tries to climb on the back of a mammoth.

Tourists are attracted by the cellar

Malta children are still trying to find unique artifacts. They carry all their finds to the local history museum. Every year there is a competition for the most interesting ancient exhibit. Schoolchildren bring antique utensils, household items. However, today even such devices as a home landline telephone, radio, and tape recorder have historical value for them. The Angarsk geological expedition, based in Malta, donated a set of stones to the museum, and a local watchmaker brought a lot of interesting watch movements. Among his presents are a ship's clock, counting time with the accuracy of the Kremlin.

The pride of the school is the school theater "Voice", which will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year. The theater repertoire is impressive. Among the productions: "Juno and Avos", "Master and Margarita", "12 chairs" and much more. Actors are both children and the entire teaching staff. Regional theater festivals and master classes are also held here.

In general, according to the residents, they have a good, calm village. Groups of tourists visit Malta every summer. It is interesting for everyone to look at the place where mammoths, woolly rhinos lived many thousands of years ago. They are especially attracted by the house, in the cellar of which the first artifacts were dug out. True, the tenants there have changed a long time ago and outsiders are not allowed into their site. And there is nothing to look at there anymore - everything is overgrown with grass and beds. The regional authorities have been brewing for a long time the idea of organizing a tourist route around the Malta archaeological heritage sites. It remains only to bring this idea to life.

Photo by Sergey Ignatenko

Chapter V. Cultural work of the Komsomol in the countryside

Komsomol members - organizers of youth leisure

Collective-farm youth, who know how to work stubbornly, perseveringly, selflessly to help the front, loves to sing a good song in their free time, listen to music, exchange merry jokes, and dance. Young people also have a great desire for knowledge - for the study of history, geography, literature, and technology.

The war leaves little time for rest, but the more wisely you need to use this time. Well-spent moments of rest provide a charge for many hours of work.

Komsomol members should act as leaders of the youth not only in work, but also in organizing the education and leisure of young people.

Mass cultural work is based on the broad initiative of the masses and must meet the most diverse interests of the youth.

A fascinating lecture, comradely, conversation, literary or military evening, amateur performances, reading aloud the best works of classical and Soviet literature, excursions, collective cinema visits, discussion of books, films, performances, drama, choral and musical circles, circles of folk dances and dances and much, much more - all these interesting and entertaining types of mass cultural work should find their place in the work of the Komsomol organizations of collective farms and state farms. They open up inexhaustible opportunities for instilling in young people a feeling of ardent love for the motherland, pride in the great, immortal culture of our people.

The Soviet state, taking care of the cultural development of the working people, releases tens and hundreds of millions of rubles during the war for the needs of political and educational institutions. On the territory of each village council, a reading room is created, funds are allocated for its work, a special worker is allocated - the head of the reading room, the hut.

The reading hut is the center of the cultural life of the village. This is at the same time a combat propaganda center, a club, and a reading room. This is the most important center of mass work with youth. The social life of the village is concentrated here. A good reading room is always crowded. Both old and young come here for a light: to read a fresh newspaper, to consult with a knowledgeable person, to talk about what is being done at the front, to talk about collective farm affairs.

Here you can listen to an interesting report on current events, meet with the hero of the Patriotic War, join an interesting circle.

Therefore, rural Komsomol members should strive in every possible way to improve the work of their reading room.

How should the work of the reading room be organized, and what can Komsomol members do for this?

First of all, each reading room must be equipped, landscaped, and given a cozy and cultured look. No one will go to a neglected reading room, where it is dirty, uncomfortable, not heated, there are no fresh newspapers and books.

Another thing is if the reading room is in good, caring hands. The work of such a reading hut in the Novo-Schapovsky village council of the Klinsky district of the Moscow region is told by the hut comrade. Clerks:

“When the evening descends, a string of people stretches into our reading room, as if into a cozy home. Both old and small come here: to read, listen to a conversation, relax.

A clean painted floor, wallpapered walls, white curtains on the windows, portraits of leaders, a geographical map, colorful shop windows, photo newspapers, battle slogans, illustrated montages, flowers on the tables - such is the interior view of our reading room.

The walls inside the building are well decorated. Here you will see a board of honor, a slogan calling for hard work, or a montage “How did you help the front today?”, where the collective farmer will read the names of his neighbors who donated warm clothes, money, food to the Red Army aid fund. They seem to visually, agitate, convince visitors that their work is a contribution to the great cause of the fight against the German invaders, that victory depends on the stamina, endurance and selfless work of every patriot.

There are several circles working at the reading room, there is a choir that has learned many Russian folk songs, and a drama circle has been created.

In order to develop truly mass cultural work in the countryside, Komsomol members must first of all put their reading room in order: repair it, fix tables, benches, stools, decorate the walls with new posters and slogans, equip, if space permits, a stage.

When Komsomol member Raya Yagafarova took over the reading room in the village of Tatarskie Vyselki, it was cold and deserted: bare, ragged walls, a ruined stage. There are two or three old pamphlets on the bookshelf. From the very first days, Yagafarova was convinced that it would be difficult to put the reading room in order alone. First of all, it was necessary to create an asset. Komsomol members came to the aid of Yagafarova. First of all, they organized a collection of books, and soon a library with up to 3 thousand books appeared in the reading room. With the help of the Komsomol members, Yagafarova put the room in order and decorated it. Now the reading room has become a favorite place for young people to relax.

How to organize work in the reading room

The reading hut is, first of all, the center of political information of the population. Collective farmers and our youth are following with the greatest interest the situation on the fronts of the Patriotic War, the events in our country and in international life. To satisfy these requests, to give an answer to exciting topics, to be at the level of the increased political activity of the masses is the direct duty and duty of the hut.

Komsomol members can help many in organizing political information from the izbachu. The best Komsomol agitators should be on duty in the reading room to conduct conversations, to answer incomprehensible questions to the collective farmers, to clarify important military and government messages.

Rural teachers and high school students can be of great help in organizing political information. The teacher has an honorary role in the reading room. He will conduct a conversation, and he can lead the circle, and clarify an incomprehensible question. Teachers and kolniks can make a self-made geographical map for the reading room, mark with flags the places where hostilities take place. The teacher can help readers, talkers, agitators.

One cannot, of course, confine oneself to conversations and reading newspapers. The rural youth will listen with great interest to the stories of the fighters who have returned from the front, learn courage and bravery from the front-line soldiers, and learn to hate the enemy.

Reading letters from fellow countrymen from the front is an important, interesting, and exciting thing. It can be well organized by Komsomol members. For this, it is necessary to make extensive use of bright letters from the front, published in Komsomolskaya Pravda.

Reading and discussing such letters among young people is a great event. It will make every young man and woman think about the purpose of life, will cause a passionate desire to be like the heroes of the Patriotic War.

In many reading huts, Komsomol members arrange artistically designed showcases “Letters from relatives and countrymen from the army in the field”, as well as exhibitions of portraits of countrymen - heroes of the Patriotic War. Komsomol members take out photographs of their fellow countrymen who have distinguished themselves at the fronts, or cut out their pictures from newspapers and magazines; if there are artists of their own, they draw them. Under the portraits is placed a brief description of the feat of a fellow countryman. Instead of a signature, you can put a clipping and a letter received from the front.

Visual agitation occupies no small place in the mass cultural work of the reading room.

Like an exhibition of portraits of heroes, you can arrange various photo montages from magazine and newspaper pictures, write or redraw "TASS windows", etc.

Such montages and posters are easy and simple to make. You can successfully involve local self-taught artists, especially older schoolchildren, to work on them.

Librarians and teachers have a lot of experience in arranging such homemade posters. They will help in the selection of material, make clippings from newspapers and magazines, and suggest how best to arrange them.

The youth of the Soviet countryside loves and respects a good book. This book is always in high demand.

The Komsomol organization cannot confine itself to the creation or strengthening of the local rural library; it is also necessary to convey the book to the youth. A good means of educating young people to love the book is the collective reading of works of art and their discussion. In each organization there are several well-educated Komsomol members who will help the hut to organize collective reading. Teachers will advise which book should be read aloud, tell the reader how best to read it. There is no need to strive to read a book in one evening. A large work can be divided into several evenings, and then the listeners will look forward to the next meeting with the heroes of the book.

In many reading huts, literary evenings are held, the participants of which discuss the work read by everyone in advance. It is good to spend such a literary evening with a discussion of the best examples of classical and Soviet literature. It is necessary to prepare for such an evening in advance. You should widely inform the youth about what work will be discussed, prepare a comrade who will make an opening speech, organize a preliminary reading of this work.

Rarely do we have discussions about movies. But the heroes of movies are often the favorite heroes of young people.

The more inventive the Komsomol members are in organizing such evenings, the more interesting, lively, and exciting they will be, the more trace they will leave in the memory of each participant.

The needs of our youth are wide and varied. It would be good to organize talks and lectures on military affairs, on various types of weapons, on historical topics, on geography, astronomy, on various natural phenomena, on plant and animal life, on sanitation and hygiene.

Lectures and discussions on agricultural topics should take a special place. They can be successfully carried out by an agronomist or livestock specialist, if the Komsomol members turn to him with a request. Now that the youth has become a decisive force in agriculture, our task is to constantly help them acquire agrotechnical knowledge and train new personnel for the collective farm. In some huts-reading rooms interesting evenings-meetings of the old masters of the collective farm fields with the youth are arranged. At such evenings, old and young collective farmers exchange experience: young people learn from old, experienced land workers the skill of obtaining high yields. Such evenings are very popular in the countryside and bring undoubted benefits.

The reference work of the reading room has acquired great importance in the current conditions. In connection with the war, the collective farmers are raising many new, most diverse questions that directly affect the vital interests of the youth. For example, the question of benefits for the families of military personnel, the procedure for paying pensions to war invalids, how to find relatives who have gone into the army, etc. Some reading rooms, with the help of Komsomol members, did a good job of such reference work. The head of the Serpey hut-reading room of the Meshchovsky district of the Smolensk region, comrade. A. Fatova tells how, after the restoration of the reading room, destroyed by fascist robbers, she organized a table of information:

“When I posted an announcement that the information desk had started working, they willingly came to me for information, with requests to write a letter, a statement. In many ways, the Komsomol helped me. In my absence, they were on duty, issued certificates, wrote letters to the front at the request of the collective farmers.

Reference work raises the authority of the reading room, strengthens the connection between the reading room and the Komsomol members working in it with the collective farmers.

At first, the wives of those mobilized into the Red Army came to the Vershnikovskaya hut-reading room in the Gorky region for information, asking them to write a letter, an application, to obtain an allowance. Izbach and his asset helped in all these cases. Now people come here for a wide variety of issues: agricultural technology, medicine, pedagogical, legal and many other issues. The number of certificates issued by the reading room is constantly growing.

Various circles organized by Komsomol members at the reading room help to involve young people in the social life of the collective farm, in active Komsomol work.

Amateur art circles - dramatic, choral, songs and dances, musical ones - were especially widespread in the village. Who, if not the Komsomol organization, should initiate the creation of such circles and direct their activities?

The first thing Komsomol members should take up when creating amateur circles is to identify and unite all those who want to be engaged in such circles. At the same time, one should not be afraid if there are too many applicants at the beginning. In the process of work, random people will quickly drop out.

When creating a drama circle, it is most difficult to find a leader. Best of all, if it becomes a literature teacher of the nearest school or one of the gifted high school students.

At first, the circle should begin work with staging small, one-act plays, sketches, sketches, for which many characters and complex scenery are not needed. Such a repertoire will also allow you to change the program more often. When choosing a play, one must remember that its theme should correspond to the combat missions of the day.

When starting work on a play, the leader and members of the circle must first discuss it in the circle class, understand the idea of \u200b\u200bthis work, find out the characters and characteristics of each character, his attitude to other heroes of the play.

Even on a poorly adapted site of a rural reading hut or club, you can stage a production well (you just need to show ingenuity.

Drama club members do not have to limit themselves to working on the production of the play. It will be good if the circle members who are not involved in the play prepare a recitation of verses. This will provide an opportunity to diversify the program of the evening and involve more young people in the active work of the circle.

The work of the circle will be interesting and fruitful if the Komsomol organizations seriously and daily help its leader.

The song has always been a faithful companion of the Russian people in work and in battle. There are many lovers of singing in every village. Therefore, creating a choir is not difficult. The best of the singers, the most musical, can become the leader of the choir. Sing well to the accompaniment of an accordion or guitar. New songs can be learned by ear, the melody and words can be recorded on the radio. If there is a gramophone in the village, songs can be learned by listening to records. The choir circles should widely promote the Russian folk song, the new battle songs of Soviet poets and composers, and the songs of the Great Patriotic War.

In a moment of leisure, young people love to dance. Why don't Komsomol members act as organizers of this exciting business? In every village there is a good dancer, a dancer. He can be entrusted with the organization of a folk dance circle.

We should not forget about the musical circle. There are many music lovers among young people in the countryside. It is necessary to gather comrades who have musical instruments, consult with them, select a leader from among the most prepared people, and together with them outline a program for the work of the circle.

You can separately collect harmonists, lovers of playing stringed instruments.

Several circles can perform at the evenings at the same time. This will make the concert varied and interesting. In addition to circles, there may be performances by individuals - soloists: singers, storytellers, dancers, reciters, musicians, harmonists, etc.

It is good to organize a competition for the best harmonist, guitarist, best performer of folk songs. Such competitions always attract a lot of attention of young people. Competitions and reviews of amateur performances, organized on the initiative of Komsomol organizations, attract new forces, help to nominate talented, gifted people from among the youth.

An amateur art competition can be arranged first in one village, on the collective farms of a given village council, and then the best forces can be gathered for a district amateur performance review. In the very course of a competition or review, new circles usually grow up, new participants in amateur performances appear, and Komsomol life in the countryside begins to beat faster.

A good organization of amateur performances raises the activity of the youth, rallying them around the Komsomol organizations. The youth sees in the person of the Komsomol their leaders, organizers and eagerly reaches for work, joins the ranks of the rural Komsomol.

Youth evenings are one of the best forms of Komsomol mass work. If amateur circles work well in the village, it will not be difficult for young people to prepare and hold an interesting evening.

You can open the evening with a report on any topic of interest to young people: about the heroes of the Patriotic War and their exploits, about the current moment, etc.

The speaker for the evening should be invited from the district center. It can also be a fellow countryman who participated in the Patriotic War, a hut, a teacher of a local school, or one of the well-trained Komsomol members. After the report, it is good to organize performances of amateur art circles, dancing, dancing.

An interesting evening was organized by Komsomol members of the Kirov state farm in the Kvarken district of the Chkalov region. A report on the combat traditions of the Komsomol was made by the instructor of the regional committee of the Komsomol comrade. Danilova. After her, the front-line soldier Prosha, who worked at the state farm before the war, took the floor. A meaningful report, an ardent speech by a front-line Komsomol member, a participant in the defense of Stalingrad, excited the youth.

At the evening, an amateur art circle performed, then the athletes showed gymnastic exercises. The evening ended with a performance by an amateur brass band and dancing.

After the evening, four young collective farmers and two trainees of the courses of tractor drivers declared their desire to join the Komsomol. Such evenings are held by many Komsomol organizations, and they always give positive results.

It is very important to involve as many collective farm youth as possible in organizing such an evening. Give the young kolkhozniks, who have stood aloof from public life, some assignment to prepare the evening, help them with advice, support their initiative, and they may soon become active participants in all the undertakings of the Komsomol members.

In the summer, propaganda teams can be organized from amateur art participants. Members of such a propaganda team, working in the field along with other collective farmers, organize small concerts in their free time, help to issue combat leaflets, conduct conversations, read newspapers and books aloud, compose funny ditties on local topics.

The agitation team of the Khutorsky reading-room of the Nizhne-Uvelsky district of the Chelyabinsk region, led by Nikolai Ovchinnikov, is known far beyond the village council. She is warmly welcomed by the collective farmers in the field. The head of the brigade usually holds a conversation with the collective farmers, and then a small concert is arranged: a short play or skit is shown, songs and dances are performed, a string orchestra performs, and sometimes athletes perform.

The performance of ditties on local themes is especially popular. Izbach Ovchinnikov, the compiler of ditties, in the village is called the "master of ditties." Especially in them goes negligent collective farmers. The propaganda team bakes them with its mark and sharp satirical ditty.

The Komsomol organization must remember that the success of mass cultural work depends to a large extent on the hut. If the head of the reading-room hut is a cultured, well-trained, energetic person, and work will begin to boil in the reading-room hut, it will be easier for the Komsomol organization to work. Therefore, the selection of a good hut is the vital business of the Komsomol organization.

“Every step in the work,” says M.I. Kalinin, “every word of the hut, which can influence people, should be directed to help the front. The work of huts is difficult, but noble and exciting. This is work for the soul. A person feels that he brings enlightenment to the masses. What could be more exciting when you realize that you are expanding the mental horizons of the masses.

More than half of the huts are Komsomol members. This is a positive fact. But the huts must be helped every day in their work, to improve their political and business training. A strong asset should be created around the reading room.

Active Komsomol members, teachers, agronomists, doctors, collective farm activists can be involved in this work.

One form of association of such an asset is the council at the reading room. The council involves all the cultural forces of the village, considers the work plan of the reading room, discusses questions of its practical activities, hears reports from the leaders of circles, heads of red corners, etc.

The Council also monitors the fulfillment of the budget of the reading room, the safety of its property, timely repairs and maintenance of the premises in a clean and orderly manner. The members of the council themselves work in brigades, in red corners and ten-yards and distribute among themselves the responsibilities for organizing and managing individual areas of work: military defense, agrotechnical, reference, amateur art, etc. The council of the reading room reports on its work to village council of working people's deputies. The Komsomol organization must take an active part in all the work of the council of the reading room.

Cultural-mass work in the countryside is an important sector of the activity of the Komsomol. You can not think that it is limited only to the hut-reading room.

The head of the Komsomol organization should be aware of what young people read, the heroes of what works excite them, what a young man who is fond of history, military affairs or geography wants to know. Skillfully directing these interests and demands, tirelessly caring about raising the knowledge and political horizons of the youth is the urgent task of the Komsomol leader.

In organizing mass cultural work, one should always be guided by the instructions of Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin, who at the Moscow meeting on political enlightenment work said:

“Constantly introduce political elements into cultural and educational work. At this moment, concentrate all your attention on helping the front in all its forms, in the most varied manifestations. The one from the cultural workers, from the huts, who will carry out this line satisfactorily, will do a great political deed.

The church collapsed in silence
The beautiful large village of Malta is divided into two parts - the right and left banks of the Belaya River. The right side is more modern. It was formed after the railway was built. All socially significant objects are located here: the local administration, the school, the House of Culture, the Maltinskoye mineral water enterprise and the remains of a sanatorium that once thundered throughout the region.

Venuses, beads and ancient burials
In Malta, there is also the world-famous site of an ancient man. The story of how a local resident dug up a mammoth bone has long turned into a legend that the older generation tells to the young. For several decades, expeditions visited here every season. From the ground, archaeologists recovered the bones of a mammoth, a woolly rhinoceros, deer antlers, tools of labor of primitive people, jewelry and household items.

In Malta, the only burial of a child in the region with rich decorations was found: beads and pendants from mammoth tusk, fragments of the image of a flying bird, flint products and a bracelet.

They burned fires, sang to the guitar
Archaeological research also aroused genuine interest among local residents. The children often visited the expedition members, watched how they work.

mammoth and dentist
In the early 2000s, due to lack of funding, the excavations stopped, and only two or three years ago they were resumed. In 2014, archaeologists at the Irkutsk State University discovered the remains of a mammoth on the river bank. First, they stumbled upon an animal's tooth, which was hiding immediately under the turf, then, digging deeper, they found the rest of the remains: fragments of the skull, leg bones, and ribs. All of them were located in an ancient frost crack, on an area of about one and a half meters. The age of the deposits was approximately 25 thousand years.

In 2015, research work in Malta was started later, already in early September.

Poked on an object of unusual shape. At first she thought it was a stone, but after looking closely, she decided that it looked more like a tooth. The experts confirmed her suspicions. She donated her find to the school museum. It is noteworthy that she found the tooth not on the left bank, where the parking lot is located, but on the right. How he got there remains a mystery. At least Galina Kolomiets jokingly tells the children at school that the mammoth went to the dentist.

Cucumbers are salted on spring water
The site of an ancient man is not the only attraction of Malta. Who does not know the bottled mineral water of the same name? It is implemented throughout the Irkutsk region and beyond. The source is privately owned. One entrepreneur took a plot, drilled a well on it and started a profitable business. Residents of Malta and all unauthorized persons are not allowed to enter there, but they don’t need it. They have their own source. Anyone can come and draw spring water for themselves. It tastes slightly salty. As the Maltinians assure, it contains many useful substances. Usually she is treated for the gastrointestinal tract. To do this, you need to drink 100 grams of water in the morning and evening. Housewives make good pickles based on this water. Salted cucumbers are especially successful. There is a chapel next to the spring.

Selfie on a mammoth
The only attraction that has appeared here lately is the family of mammoths. The opening of the monument was timed to coincide with the celebration of the 90th anniversary of the Usolsky district. First, a mother and a mammoth appeared in an open area in front of Malta, and later dad joined them. The sculptural composition was made by the famous master from Telma Ivan Zuev.

Tourists are attracted by the cellar
Malta children are still trying to find unique artifacts. They carry all their finds to the local history museum. Every year there is a competition for the most interesting ancient exhibit. Schoolchildren bring antique utensils, household items. However, today even such devices as a home landline telephone, radio, and tape recorder have historical value for them. The Angarsk geological expedition, based in Malta, donated a set of stones to the museum, and a local watchmaker brought a lot of interesting watch movements. Among his presents are a ship's clock, counting time with the accuracy of the Kremlin.

D.V. Popkova (1933-2002), since 1954, head. mobile fund of the Central District Hospital,

1962-1965 - acting head CRH,

1969 -1971 head. Dmitrov Children's Library,

1975-1976 - head. reading room of the Central District Hospital,

1983-1988 - methodologist of the DCRB.

Everything I want to tell about is connected with the history of the Dmitrov Regional Library and, of course, about the years that I devoted to serving it, about the people I worked with.

I began my activity on September 1, 1952 as an inspector of the cultural department. At that time the department of culture worked closely with the library. Conducted joint seminars, which were attended by librarians and clubs, as well as heads of reading huts (one worker worked as both the head of the library and the head of the club. Everything was in the same room). Before the seminars, they made trips to the region. We went out in a group - head. department of culture (was Yuri Nikolaevich Babakin) or I, inspector of the department of culture Dontsova Dina Vasilievna, from the district library - head. library Varvara Vasilievna Minina or head. mobile fund Maria Bedash. They checked the work of clubs and libraries, left proposals and indicated the deadlines for their implementation. And then at the seminars they analyzed the work of proven institutions and gave directions on how to work in the future to all those present at the seminar. A representative of the department of culture (head of the department or inspector) from the district library - head. library or manager mobile fund. The last word was for an employee of the CC CPSU, who was assigned to culture.

In 1953, a cinema network was attached to the department of culture (although this union did not last so long then).

The head of the department of culture is the first person, the second is his deputy, head. cinema network, inspector of the department of culture.

All cadres participated in checking libraries, clubs, film installations, holding seminars.

In addition, in those years when I worked as an inspector of the department of culture, visits to the village began to be carried out 2-3 times a year for a week with a check. The visiting team included:

Head - representative of the CC CPSU

District council representative

Head agricultural department

Head RONO

Head district health department

Culture department representative

Library representative.

Checked the work, each in his own profile. Then all of us and the heads of the collective farm, schools, hospitals, cultural institutions, the chief livestock specialist and the chief veterinarian, the chairman of the village council, and the secretary of the party organization gathered. And only then in Dmitrov the question was brought to the bureau of the CC CPSU.

These visits have had positive results. We often sought both the repair of libraries and clubs, and additional money from the s/council to complete their libraries.

They sought from the leaders of the collective farm to improve the housing of cultural workers or repair cultural institutions.

In April 1954, I was transferred to work in the district library - head. mobile fund. I must say that the work of an inspector of the department of culture for 1 year and 7 months was not in vain for me. I received my first baptism, then it was easy for me to work in the library: I already knew all the library workers, all the workers of the CC CPSU and the district council, the secretaries of the party organizations of the village and the chairmen of the village council. This further facilitated my work in the district library. While working in a mobile fund, I myself served 5 large shifts: a printing house (now an offset printing factory), an RTS in Vnukovo, a sewing workshop, Zarechye, Shpilevo, and 10 shifts were serviced by the wanderers of those organizations where they took books. I went to every shift once a week. She carried books and gave them out. In addition, I regularly went to the village to check the work of libraries and provided them with all possible assistance. Of course, most of all I went to see newcomers to library work.

At that time, courses were organized in the library to train library personnel for further work in the libraries of the region. The courses were designed for a 6-month study period. All employees of the district and children's libraries led the training program. These are: Kaftannikova E.M., Tugarinova E.A., Minina V.V., Glukhova A.I. and etc.

In each department of the library, cadets had practice, and then passed tests. At the end of the course, they received a "certificate", giving the right to work in libraries. These courses at that time played a significant role, since there were very few with a library education. There were many among the library workers who did not have a library education, but they were experts in library work. Many librarians graduated from library technical schools after the courses.

In those days, the book collections of libraries were overflowing with books, brochures, magazines and newspapers, since in those days everything went to the main fund. At that time, libraries occupied old houses with stove heating, and our district and children's libraries occupied a 2-story building with stove heating. The children's library is on the 2nd floor, and the district library occupied the 1st floor on Zagorskaya Street.

The book collections were closed by a barrier, there was no free access to books. The reading room did not satisfy the readers, because was small. Pupils and students sometimes agreed among themselves and came to classes, distributing seats in the reading room by the hour: I from 12.00 to 16.00, and you from 16.00 to 21.00. That's how the library worked then. Despite the difficulties, the library has always worked steadily, fulfilled the plan for readers and lending, regularly held reader conferences and literary evenings, reviews of new products, etc. In addition, workers traveled to the region to provide practical and methodological assistance to local libraries. The team was only 5 people. When I came to the library (in April 1954), they were working: head. library Minin V.V., head. subscription Tugarinova E.A., librarian Suchkova N.N., head. reading room Evnikia Mikhailovna Kaftannikova, and I, head. mobile fund, Demidova D.V. Minina V.V. went to the district at that time. and I.

In 1957, Rogachevsky (the former Communist district) was annexed to the Dmitrovsky district, and in 1962, Taldomsky district was also added.

In 1961, the district library received a new building in the Palace of Culture and the team also got its move! And the staff of the Dmitrov regional library was 5 people and remained so. And the workload was big and responsible. Only the composition of the library team has changed:

Interim head of library from 1962-1965 - me,

Head subscription Butylkin N.P.,

Librarian Minina V.V.,

Head reading room Khokhlova A.T.,

And about. head Mitrofanov M.I. mobile fund

They began to go to the district in turn, mainly: me and Butylkina N.P., me and Khokhlova A.T., me and Mitrofanova M.I.

We had to get acquainted with the people of these areas, and with the funds. A lot of literature had to be written off, mainly on agriculture and transferred to those libraries where she would find her readers.

It was necessary to resolve the issue of holding seminars. Rogachevsky district was closer and somehow kindred to us. And most importantly, we found complete agreement with the head. Rogachev Regional Library Kasatkina Maria Sergeevna and head. reading room Klyueva L.S.

With the accession of the Taldom region, great difficulties arose, because. Libraries had to be reached mainly on foot along swampy roads. After all, there was no transport in the department of culture then, and there is nothing to say about libraries. And yet we managed to find a common language. Seminars were held either in Dmitrov, or in Rogachev, or in Taldom. We cleared the book stocks, found an approach to each other. And Taldom residents began to understand that we are their friends and helpers.

It should be noted that we were very lucky then. There was such a tendency to open public libraries, to create library councils. And we had a library council under the leadership of Tatiana Sergeevna Nemkova, which helped us a lot at that difficult time. We could go to rural libraries, because we knew that we had assistants from the Library Council who also worked with readers and conducted reviews, participated in reading conferences and evenings, helped in the liquidation of debtors, and a member of the Library Council, Sedov N.Z. left a great memory of himself. For many years he sought the construction of a new library and achieved it. The library on Pochtovaya Street is his gift to the citizens of Dmitrov. At that time, a public library on Cosmonauts was opened, which later became the 2nd city library.

But perhaps the most joyful event was that the Taldomsky district left us, leaving a memory of itself, several libraries behind the canal: Dutshevskaya, Ramenskaya ...

In connection with the release of V.V. Minina to work for her previous position - head. Dmitrov Central District Hospital, I went to work in film distribution from July 1, 1965 to September 16, 1969. But I did not lose contact with the library, I went 1-2 times on a voluntary basis to the library on the street. Cosmonauts.

On September 16, 1969, I was transferred to the Dmitrov Children's Library, in connection with the departure of Glukhova A.I. In retirement, she worked at the children's library for over 37 years. I worked there until December 16, 1971, because was elected as the released chairman of the Civil Code of the Trade Union of Cultural Workers from December 16, 1971 to August 1975.

In connection with the preparations for the transition of libraries to centralization, they immediately remembered Dina Vasilievna's lifesaver, both in the department of culture and in the district library. And on September 1, 1975, I was transferred to the position of head. reading room, but with V.V. Minina, we were preparing the transition to centralization. True, it was hard for me, because. Our library has been dealing with this issue for a long time, and I came after a long break when I did not work in the district library.

I started with a trip to the regional library, read a lot of literature there, got acquainted with the documents of the Department of Culture. In short, I studied the basics of the transition to centralization. The main thing was to prepare the book collections for work in the new conditions. If earlier book collections were accumulated, library workers fought to write them off, now centralization raised the question of flexibility in working with funds. Very well, someone said at a seminar in Moscow: “Remember once and for all, now you need to work with the fund in such a way that the library will never drown ... you need to replenish and write off the book fund regularly and evenly.” All libraries urgently began to deal with this, and the central library helped them in this as always.

The issue of reducing the number of libraries, staffing, and premises for libraries was a very difficult one.

But the most difficult was the issue of approving the new staffing table. Varvara Vasilievna Minina and I had to be in the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR every other day and settle and defend, sometimes almost crying, the new staffing table. It was a shame that the department of culture did not run away to help the regional library, it scolded us more. And many districts received a lot of help and benefited from it, received more staff units, and then it was so important. Having approved the staffing table from March 16, 1976, changes were made to work books, because. management has passed into our hands. There was a lot of work. All HR cases were taken over from the Department of Culture. Have already started business in the library again.

Painstaking work began in the methodological department. I had to visit all the libraries. Conduct seminars with the question of the new in librarianship. Exorbitant work fell on the department of acquisition and processing of the book fund. A new era in librarianship began, which required many changes in work.

Young cadres with higher education, strength and energy came to work in the library. And in November 1976 I left for family reasons in Tomsk, where I lived for 6.5 years, and there I participated in the organization and development of the Tomsk CBS.

And from April 1, 1983 to April 8, 1988 (retirement) I was again at home, in Dmitrov, and again in the Dmitrov Central Library, but already working in the methodological department and I came to the conclusion that the closest work for me in all libraries means working with collections, with books, and when you see the fruits of your work, you are just happy and calmly retire.

June 1998

Memories of the oldest library workers

Kaftannikova Evnikiya Mikhailovna reading room from 1919 to 1957. During these long years of work in the central library, E.M. Kaftannikova was a true propagandist of library books and periodicals. Not in words, but in deeds, she moved the book to the masses, did a lot of work with the librarians of the district, instilled in them the basics of the art of librarianship, and at that time it was of great importance, since they basically had a secondary education. Many of them fell in love with this profession so much that they graduated from library technical schools in absentia and devoted their whole lives or many years to this work. Evnikia Mikhailovna attached great importance in her work and the promotion of the book among high school students. Knowing literature well, she passed on her knowledge through systematic literary evenings, conferences, debates and reviews.

Every week, Evnikia Mikhailovna went out to the enterprises with loud readings in the tailor's workshop, because. dressmakers had no time to read. She systematically read for several years in the workshop, thereby introducing women to the latest in literature.

Tugarinova Ekaterina Aleksandrovna subscription until 1960. She carried out painstaking individual work with readers, involving them in reading not only fiction, but also to help self-educate and improve their professional skills.

These two tireless workers attracted, thanks to their ability to work with readers, a huge number of readers for that time. The authority of the library among the population was great. And this is the great merit of Evnikia Mikhailovna Kaftannikova and Ekaterina Alexandrovna Tugarinova.

I have known Varvara Vasilievna Minina since September 1952 at work. First, as an inspector of the cultural department. Together with her and head. Department of Culture Babakin Yury Nikolaevich systematically traveled with methodological and practical assistance to employees of cultural and educational institutions of the region. I think V.V. Minin as his mentor. V.V. Minina is a mentor to many librarians who now work in many rural libraries in the area.

V.V. Minina is a person who, not sparing herself, her health, gave all her strength and knowledge for the development of the library network and librarianship in the Dmitrovsky district. Throughout the work in the position of head. Varvara Vasilievna, the library and director of the Central Library Library, did not pursue fame, ranks and titles. She worked hard and demanded (sometimes harshly but fairly) from all library workers the same return.

She brought up excellent library staff, especially in the countryside, systematically spoke at seminars on librarianship, devoted a lot of energy to the movement to organize public libraries and library councils. At the district library, the first public library council in the region was created (chairman Nemkova Tatyana Sergeevna), which played a huge role in its time in promoting library books, and in bringing the book to every family. It was they who helped, the members of the Library Council, and especially N.Z. Sedov, V.V. Minina to achieve the construction of such a library, in which we are now.

V.V. Minina was the initiator at the end of 1975 of the transition of our state libraries to centralization. It took a lot of willpower and perseverance from her to achieve all the work on the transition in the shortest possible time, and from March 1976 the libraries began to work under new working conditions. This is a great merit of V.V. Minina. In addition to library work, all library workers were engaged in social work. V.V. Minina for almost ten years was the secretary of the party organization of the department of culture.