Novoselov А.

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Last Updated on Thursday, 03 January 2019 09:58

 Alexander Yefremovich Novosselov (1884 - 1918), ethnographer

“Over the mountains there are mountains and over these mountains there are a lot of other mountains. But if you pass this mountain range, you will come to a free valley. The rivers in this valley are milk and honey, there is no winter and it’s a home for lots of animals and birds. This country is called Belovodye”.

Nobody knows who made up this beautiful poetic legend. It is interesting thouh that the ways of Russian searchers of this country crossed in the upper reaches of the Irtysh river, in Rudniy Altai.
Finding the way to Belovodye was a dream of those Old Believers, who, looking for rescue from religious prosecution, settled in the upper reaches of the Irtysh. Very soon this place got inhabited by “Polish” Old Believers and these settlements still exist, they are called Lossikha, Sekissovka, Cheremshanka.

Local and world history specialists, ethnographers, linguists were interested in the history and way of life of Old Believers. Alexander Novosselov, a brilliant writer, was one of them. His book “Belovodye” was published only twice (in Barnaul, in 1957 and in Alma-Ata, in 1960) during the Soviet Period. There is very little information about his life and work.

Alexander Novosselov was born in Zhelezinskaya stanitsa (located in contemporary Pavlodarskaya oblast) in the family of Siberian Cossack troop’s cornet. He was accepted to Omsk military school at the age of 12. The future soldier was interested in literature. He devoured books of Jules Verne and Mayne Reid, and then he was thoroughly reading the books of Pushkin, Lermontov, Turgenev and Tolstoy. His literary and social interests lead him to drop the school at the age of 17 and became a teacher. He was teaching children in Bolshenarymskaya stanitsa for a few years and then, in 1907, he returned to Omsk and became a teacher in the Cossack boarding house. Novosselov enriched his knowledge in literature, history, geography, botany and zoology. He read books and articles of Southern Siberia researchers such as G.N. Potanin, N.M. Yadrintsev, V.V. Sapozhnikov.

At that time Novosselov already had his own research theme – Belovodye. He addressed his request to the Western Siberia department’s selection committee of Russian Geographic Society: “I set myself a task of studying the life of Altaic Old Believers, known as “Polish” and this summer I want to make my first trip to the places of their settlements near Uba, Ulba, Bukhtarma and Uymon rivers”.

Alexander Efremovich realized his intention stubbornly and methodically. Being a convinced materialist, he was studying religion of Old Believers in close connection with their culture and the way of life. For example, when he visited a little house of “fedoseevtsy” in Maloulbinka, he wrote: “I have a peculiar impression after my visit to vespertine service. It seemed like I was in the Catacombs of the first Christians. Many centuries have passed, life has developed, one nation has taken place of the other nation and in this place everything seemed inviolable”.

With a great difficulty the explorer reached a female coast-dweller skit. The nuns in that skit lived like hermits, ate only vegetable food and considered cattle-breeding a vile sin. The material about this skit was used in the novel “Mirskaya”.

He crossed upper-river of Ulba, passed Ridder’s mine and headed for Zyryanovsk (Bukhtarminsky land) through the mountain passes.

Novosselov explored Solovyevo, Snegiryevo, Kondratyevo settlements and Bukhtarminskaya stanitsa. But his main work was in Sennoe village, where archives of Ekaterina’s reign times were kept.

Novosselov made a report about the results of his journey to the members of Omsk Geographical Society. The work had some very important information about history and ethnography of East Kazakhstan.

The first expedition was followed by the second and the third one. Novosselov made many photos of houses, chapels, suits. He recorded hundreds of songs, “chastushka” (humorous rhymes – Russian folklore), fairy-tales, riddles and proverbs.

From his expeditions Novosselov brought not only scientific material, but also a lot of impressions that became a basis for his best novels, such as “Belovodye”, “Isishkin’s dream”, “Toad’s life”, “Sanka’s maral”. The young writer was supported by A.M. Gorky; he used to give Novosselov pieces of advice and helped him to publish his works in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Novosselov planned to create new works, but didn’t manage to realize his dreams.

His political views were indistinct and tangled. He didn’t accept the October revolution, but he was trying to defend interests of the community in front of Siberian White Guardists and he paid for that with his life.

In autumn 1918, he was killed by White Cossacks.

Alexander Novosselov left little literary heritage, but his works are talented, original and they are written in rich, expressive language.

Translated by Yuliya Visloguzova, translation major student of KAFU

Паллас П. С.

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Last Updated on Monday, 12 January 2026 16:04

Паллас Петр Симон (1741-1811) - известный немецкий ученый-биолог, географ, академик Петербургской АН.

Родился 22 сентября 1742 года, в Берлине в семье хирурга. После защиты докторской диссертации в двадцать два года его избирают членом академий Лондона и Рима. В 1766 году Петербургская академия запланировала несколько экспедиций в различные области России. В апреле 1767 года Паллас дал согласие выехать в Россию и становится членом Петербургской академии. В 1768-74 гг возглавил экспедицию Академии в районы Поволжья, Прикаспйской низменности, Башкирии, Урала, Забайкалья, Сибири результаты которой им были опубликованы в труде "Путешествие по различным провинциям Российского государства." После первой экспедиции занимался обработкой многочисленных коллекций, изданием научных трудов. В 1793-1794 гг посетил Поволжье, Северный Кавказ, Урал. Во время путешествий им были собраны обширные геологические, ботанические, этнографические и другие материалы, сведения о естетссвенных богатствах исследуемых областей. Особое значение занимают зоологические исследования. Им было открыто и описано большое количество новых видов птиц, млекопитающих, рыб, насекомых идругих животных, дано также описание их внутреннего строения, сезонной изменчивости, географического распространения. Как палеонтолог произвел исследования ископаемых остатков волосатого носорога, буйвола, мамонта. Академик П. Паллас организовал самостоятельную экспедицию в Казахстан. По результатам путешествий дедает вывод о казахской экономике: «Богатство казахов - это скот, и у них много лошадей и овец». Далее он пишет, что «... животноводство широко распространено среди казахов, по сути, это почти единственная отрасль, хорошо развитая в этом регионе. У них прекрасные стада...» Паллас прошел через восточную и северо-западную части Казахстана (Уральск, Гурьев, Троицк и Семей). В результате этой экспедиции был опубликован трехтомный труд «Путешествие по разным провинциям Российской империи».Он содержит ценные материалы по истории и этнографии казахского народа. Паллас - автор более 170 науч. трудов, которые имеют большую научную значимость.

Паласс П. С. умер в Германии.

П. С. Паллас туралы әдебиет

Литература о П. С. Палласе.

Кітаптар - Книги

Қалиев, С. Ұлы далада ұлы халық тұрады [Мәтін] / С. Қалиев, Д. Абаева // Үлгілі үйдің ұл-қызы = Народ - истинный воспитатель. - 2000.

Қарасаев, Ғ. Қазақстанның Шығыс өңірі ХVIII-XX ғасыр басындағы Батыс орыс зерттеушілері шығармаларында, ғылыми-көпшілік басылымдары деректерінде [Мәтін] : тарихнамалық бағыт / Ғ. Қарасаев . - Өскемен : Медиа-Альянс, 2006. - 396 б.                                                                                                                        

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Проблемы физической, экономической и медицинской географии Казахстана [Текст] : материалы научных конференций, посвященных 50-летию Великой Октябрьской социалистической революции. - Алма-Ата: [б. и.], 1967. - 157 с.

Голенкова, А. И. Следопыты Байкала [Текст] / А. И. Голенкова. - М.: Мысль, 1973. - 190 с.

Соколов, В. Е. У истоков отечественной териологии [Текст] / В. Е. Соколов. - М.: Наука, 1986. - 519 с.

Немцев, М. С. "Лениногорск литературный" [Текст] : биографический справочник /М. С. Немцев  - Лениногорск: Полиграф-Сервис, 2002. - 167 с.

Лухтанов, А. Г. Алтайское притяжение [Текст] : очерки по истории Восточно-Казахстанской области / А. Г. Лухтанов . - Усть-Каменогорск: Медиа-Альянс, 2006. - 459 с.

Лухтанов, А. Г. П. С. Паллас в Восточном Казахстане [Текст] /А. Г. Лухтанов  // Алтайское притяжениеочерки по истории Восточно-Казахстанской области А. Г. Лухтанов / А. Г. Лухтанов. - Усть-Каменогорск : Медиа - Альянс, 2006. -Паллас П. С. : с.17

Лухтанов, А. Г. Первопроходцы Алтайского Прииртышья [Текст] /А. Г.  Лухтанов  - Усть-Каменогорск : Медиа - Альянс, 2006. - с. 7

Немцев, М. С. Литературный Риддер [Текст] : биографический справочник /М. С.  Немцев - Усть-Каменогорск: Медиа - Альянс, 2012. - 245 с.

Боркин, Л. Я. Дорогами Петра Симона Палласа (по западу Казахстана) [Текст] : посвящается 25-летию Санкт-Петербургского союза ученых / Л. Я. Боркин, Б. К. Ганнибал, А. В. Голубев. - Санкт-Петербург - Уральск, 2014. - 312 с.

Сытин, А. К. Ботаник Петр Симон Паллас [Текст] / А. К. Сытин. - М.: Товарищество научных изданий КМК, 2014. - 456 с.

Кашляк, Виктор. Остров Полковничий [Текст] / В. Кашляк // 7 дней. - 2016. - 24 марта. -  С. 7

Интернет ресурстар

Интернет –ресурсы 

Петр Симон Паллас (1741–1811) [Электронный ресурс] : // Официальный сайт Президентской библиотеки им. Б.Ельцина. – Режим доступа: https://www.prlib.ru/collection_Pallas (дата обращения 12.01.2026)

Obruchev V. A.

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Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 January 2026 13:54

Vladimir Aphanasyevich Obruchev (1863-1956), the researcher of Altai.

Vladimir Aphanasyevich Obruchev has a special place among the scientist of the past, who made their mark in history of Siberia and Central Asia study. He was an academician, geologist, geographer, traveler and writer.
He was born on October 10th, 1863 on the riverside of Volga in Rzhevsky uyezd of former Tverskaya province in the family of a serviceman. In 1881 Obruchev brilliantly passed examinations to the Institute of Mining. When he finished the institute, he decided to research the geology of Asia. Obruchev made three journeys to Transcaspian region (1886-1888) and after that his expedition went to Siberia and Asia (1888-1900).
His works, which he did in his researches of geology of these places, made the young scientist one of the greatest scientist-travelers of Russia. He was awarded a few times by Russian Geographic Society and Paris Academy of Sciences. During his expedition in 1905, Obruchev came to East Kazakhstan. He crossed Semipalatinsk region from North-West to South-East, made his researches in the branches of Tarbagatay, Manrack mountain ridges, Zayssan kettle, delta of Black Irtysh, and visited Zayssan. The most interesting thing for Obruchev was crossing Kalbynsky mountain ridge. Geological and geographic structure of Kalba was very interesting for the scientist.
In June 1911 Obruchev came again to Ust-Kamenogorsk, which was described as “a big village with only a few stone houses on the Central Square” in his diary. In the town he met with E.P. Mikhaelis, who was a political exile. Obruchev wrote about this meeting: “When his exile ended, he didn’t come back to Ural, but stayed here and took part in the town’s self-government and Siberian periodical press. I’ve visited this old man, who is still so spry and cheerful, in his little house and I stayed there for two hours”. Vladimir Aphanasyevich made his geological researches on Kalbynsky mountain ridge and gold fields located there for the whole summer. In the area of Akzhal village he collected more than 3 hundred types of rocks, made a topographic map and collected the material for his geological work.
After Akzhal Obruchev went to Boko valley, where he surveyed two Khotimsky mines and after that he went to the valleys of Kyzyl-Su and Massagul, where he studied Kazangunkur mine. He found paintings of late Stone Age on the stones of two graves in Kazangunkur and in the mine working he found instruments of labor and quartz grinders of the same age. Obruchev in his books draw attention of archeologists to desirability of Kalbynsky mountain ridge’s study in archeological way, as the place, which was inhabited by people of the Stone Age. Besides, the scientist visited such mines, as “Doubay”, “Udali”, “Davnoozhidaemi”, “Voznesenski” etc.
Work on Kalbynsky mountain ridge arouse his interest in geology of Altai. He made a conclusion that the notion about Altai as a place of ancient mountain system was wrong. Travels of 1914 and 1936 were devoted to study of Altai. The scientist visited Abay village, crossed Kholsun mountain ridge, which was little-studied at that time and through the Zyryanovsky mine he went to the Irtysh River. Survey of tectonics and relief of Altai mountain ridges showed that its modern relief made not by folding, but by faulting. His conclusion about tectonics of Altai Obruchev wrote in his article “Altai etudes”, which was published in 1915.
The routes and result of his travels were described in details in his book “My travels to Siberia” that was published in 1948. Observations that Obruchev made in Altai helped him “to mark out a new branch of tectonic science – neotectonic, which was the result of the latest achievements of the Earth crust study”. And his study of “Udalyi” mine in 1911 became a basis of his novel “Mine Ubogiy”.
Vladimir Aphanasyevich wrote more than one thousand books, articles and significant works about geology and geography. The materials of his book will never lose its significance. V.A. Obruchev was decorated by 5 Lenin orders, order of Labour Red Flag and a number of medals. He was a Hero of Socialistic Labour.
He died in 1956.

Translated by Yuliya Visloguzova, 2nd year translation major student, KAFU

Pankratyev D.G.

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Last Updated on Tuesday, 05 May 2026 08:58

Pankratiev Dmitry Gordeevich (1867-1956) - naturalist.

Born April 23, 1867 in the village of Ilya Karga, Tatar district, Tobolsk province, in a peasant family. There was no school in the village. Curious by nature, Dmitry learned to read and write at the age of six from an exiled convict. Soon the Pankratiev family moved to Semipalatinsk.

In 1899, Dmitry was drafted into the tsarist army. For some time, his part was located in the Ust-Kamenogorsk fortress, and he liked the city. Then the military unit was transferred to Zaisan. Here Dmitry Gordeevich first came into contact with gardening, to which he then devoted a significant part of his life.

In May 1898, he arrived in Ust-Kamenogorsk, where he soon met a former political exile, then a beekeeper, Alexander Nikolaevich Fedorov. Passes a course of study and practice at the Fedorov apiary.

D. G. Pankratiev was an indispensable participant in many beekeeping exhibitions and congresses of beekeepers. At the first West Siberian Agricultural Exhibition in 1911, his report for 12 years of fruitful work and rational beekeeping in the apiary joint with Fedorov was awarded the Small Gold Medal.

A. N. Fedorov organized beekeeping courses at the Pankratiev apiary. The students of these courses were peasants, students, teachers and students of the seminary, who were supposed to become propagandists and guides of rational frame beekeeping among the population. Classes usually ended with excursions to well-maintained, prosperous large apiaries. Pankratiev, as a rule, conducted practical classes and was the closest assistant to A. N. Fedorov.

But Gustav Alexandrovich Vistenius made a gardener out of Dmitry Gordeevich Pankratiev. G. Vistenius grew a garden in Ust-Kamenogorsk. In 1906, he, a doctor in a military hospital, retired and decided to leave the city. The news that he was leaving and selling the garden instantly spread around the city. Buyers came from different directions. The merchant Kurochkin offered ten thousand rubles, but Vistenius did not agree. He decided to hand it over to Pankratiev. In Pankratiev, the doctor unmistakably guessed the real owner of his garden. Vistenius did not just hand over the garden, but set a condition: to contribute 100 rubles annually to the city library-reading room for 15 years.

The first years were spent on the study of plantings in the garden, caring for them and studying the literature on gardening. And soon D. G. Pankratiev came to the conclusion that the plantings of Vistenius, spread over an area of ​​15 acres, were more of a collection than of a production nature, since some varieties were represented only by single specimens. Therefore, Pankratiev began again to prescribe various varieties of fruit, berry and ornamental plants from the central provinces of Russia and Siberia, to select and transfer to the garden the best local wild berry forms. Pankratiev began to sow the seeds of berries and fruit plants and breed his local varieties adapted to harsh conditions. He cultivated up to seventy species of plants in the garden, developed the basic methods of caring for them, and created local agricultural gardening techniques. Seedlings of ornamental and fruit trees, shrubs, seeds of berries and vegetables began to spread among hundreds of amateur gardeners and vegetable growers in Ust-Kamenogorsk and neighboring villages.

At the garden of D. G. Pankratiev, an apple nursery was laid for more than 10 thousand bushes. In the pre-war years, 7-10 tons of raspberries, black currants, cherries, gooseberries, wild strawberries and other berries were delivered to the table of Ust-Kamenogorsk residents annually from the Pankratievsky Garden.

In 1939, the construction of the Ust-Kamenogorsk hydroelectric power station began on the Irtysh. And the gardener transferred his Michurin activities to Ablaketka. Here, with the help of the public, he created another garden, laid out a park and landscaped the village of hydro-constructors, laid a greenhouse facility, which during the Great Patriotic War supplied the population with seedlings and vegetables.

The crowning work of Dmitry Gordeevich was the creation of a vineyard on Ablaketka.

The first attempt to breed grapes in Ust-Kamenogorsk Pankratiev made even before the revolution. In 1917, he ordered several early grape varieties from the Simbirsk province and from Saratov. When planting, most of the seedlings were accepted. In 1921-1922, fruits appeared on many of them, but they were small, sour, and unripe. In subsequent years, all the bushes died out.

By 1941, Pankratiev had extensive experience in gardening. In the autumn of 1941, he went to Zaisan, where he purchased 2,000 bushes of two-year-old grape seedlings from the local state nursery. They were landed on Ablaketka in the spring of 1942. Some of the seedlings died, and some began to bear fruit well. From year to year, the agricultural technology of growing grapes in local conditions has been improved, the area of ​​​​the vineyard has expanded, experience has been accumulated, and productivity has grown.

From the first years of its existence, the vineyard on Ablaketka began to attract the attention of amateur gardeners. Gardeners from Barnaul, Zmeinogorsk, Semipalatinsk, Novosibirsk, Leningrad, and Bulgaria came to see the "Pankratieff Miracle".

In addition to grapes, Pankratiev acclimatized and grew Manchurian walnuts in his garden, the first harvest of which in 1949 amounted to three tons of fruit; cork tree, oak, linden and many other ornamental and fruit plants.

Boris Gerasimov, a prominent Kazakh local historian and researcher of the region, wrote a lot about the merits of Pankratiev in the development of rational beekeeping and horticulture in Altai. Academician B. A. Keller, who led an expedition to East Kazakhstan on the instructions of the government to study the plant resources of Altai in the mid-30s and visited the Pankratiev garden, noted in his report: "... all the threads of the development of horticulture in Ust-Kamenogorsk lead to Pankratiev" .

In addition, Dmitry Gordeevich was the first meteorologist of the region. From 1898 to 1959, he monitored weather conditions and natural phenomena from the Yekaterinburg Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory. His notes were accurate and specific. The main physical observatory in 1913 awarded the observer of the meteorological station Dmitry Pankratiev with a light bronze medal in memory of the 300th anniversary of the reign of the Romanov dynasty. This medal was allowed to be worn on the chest. But few people saw the award from Dmitry Gordeevich, he was a very modest person.

Surprisingly, he had many friends among the inhabitants of the city, scientists and writers. In 1891, his company commander wrote in his description: "... it is rare to meet a person of such high moral qualities. Namely: modesty, good nature, pious structure of the soul, always a thinking person."

A very strong friendship connected Dmitry Gordeevich with the famous writer Georgy Grebenshchikov. One of the first Grebenshchikov noted the importance of Pankratiev's activities for the city and its inhabitants. In 1911, when a strong hail caused great damage to the garden and apiary, Pankratiev even fell ill. Then Grebenshchikov sent him a long letter of consolation: “I don’t want to flatter you for consolation, but I want to tell you the true conviction that your works have already deserved to be entered on the tablets of local history, but isn’t this the highest award for your stubborn and ascetic labor.

Literature about the life and work of D. G. Pankratiev

Books

Анов, Н. Ертіс нұры [Мәтін] / Н. Анов, Г. Молотков. - Алматы : Қазақ мемлекет баспасы, 1954. - 168 б. 

Кузьменко, Б. Ертіс өңірі  [Мәтін] = Прииртышье = Prііrtyshye / Б. Кузьменко. - Алма-Ата: Кайнар, 1982. - 184 с.

Қасымұлы, А. Алтайдан ұшқан ақиық [Мәтін] / А. Қасымұлы. - Өскемен : Шығыс Баспа, 1999. - 181 б. 

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Анов, Н., Молотков, Г. Огни на Иртыше  [Текст]. - Алма-Ата: Казгосиздат, 1953.- 155 с. 

Черных С. С берегов Иртыша [Текст] / С. Черных. - Алма-Ата: Казахстан, 1981. - Панкратьевские сады. - С. 144-163.

Барышников, С. И. Пчелка  [Текст] / С. Барышников. - Алма-Ата: Кайнар, 1985.- 96 с. 

Черных, С. Одна, но пламенная страсть [Текст] / С. Черных. - Алма-Ата: Казахстан, 1986. - След на земле. - С. 94-120.

Кратенко, А. И. Беловодье... Потерянный рай  [Текст] / А. Кратенко. - Усть-Каменогорск, 1991. - 77 с. 

Articles

Исатаев, Т. Сад, которому 100 лет [Текст] : [об истории создания Панкратьевского сада в г. Усть-Каменогорске] / Т. Исатаев // АиФ: Казахстан. - 1994. - N 38. - С. 7.

Кущ, Г. Его именем назван сад [Текст] : [к 130-летию со дня рождения садовода Д. Г. Панкратьева] / Г. Кущ // Рудный Алтай. - 1997. - 13 февраля.

Черных,С. Панкратьевские сады [Текст] / С. Черных // Семь дней. - 1999. - 15, 22, 29 июля; 5 августа.

Шимолина, Н. Я знаю: саду цвесть! [Текст] : [Панкратьевский сад переживает третье рождение] / Н. Шимолина // Рудный Алтай. - 2002. - 5 сентября. - С. 2.