History of the Saratov region. History of the land of Saratov

Saratov- a city in the Russian Federation, the administrative center of the Saratov region, a major industrial, cultural and scientific center of the Middle Volga region. The city is located on the right bank of the Volga River (Volgograd reservoir), 858 km southeast of Moscow. Saratov is a port on the Volga, a major junction of railway lines and highways, there is an airport in the city. The main branches of urban industry are mechanical engineering, including aircraft building and machine tool building, the electrical industry, instrument making, ferrous metallurgy; oil refining, chemical industry, woodworking, light industry; food industry.

Story

The city was founded in 1590 by Prince G. O. Zasekin and boyar F. M. Turov as a fortress. The name "Saratov" comes from the Turkic "sary tau" - "yellow mountain". Convenient geographical position cities, natural resources of the region, protective measures of the tsarist government favored the formation of Saratov as a trading center on the Volga.

In 1790, in connection with the formation of the Saratov governorate, and in 1782 - the province, the city becomes the administrative center and receives its coat of arms: three sterlets in a blue field. The abolition of serfdom in Russia, the construction of the Ryazan-Ural (now the Volga) railway and the development of shipping on the Volga contributed to the transformation of Saratov in the late 19th and early 20th centuries into one of the largest commercial and industrial centers of the Middle and Lower Volga region. Its population in 1897 was 137 thousand people. The main commodity of Saratov trade at the end of the 19th century was bread. The city also played the role of a major intermediary in the trade in refined products, as well as meat, fish, salt, and wool. The factory industry of Saratov was directed mainly to the processing of agricultural products. Saratov ranked first in Russia in the production of flour, mustard and sunflower oil. At the end of the 19th century, the first large metalworking factories appeared in the city. Significant development of industry in Saratov falls on the years 1920-1930. In the prewar years, Saratov provided the country with machine tools and bearings, measuring instruments and electrical equipment. Since 1939, the former combine harvester plant began producing Yak-1 aircraft.

The main symbols of modern Saratov are Europe's largest road bridge connecting the right and left banks of the Volga, the memorial complex "Cranes", installed on Sokolovaya Gora (it can be seen from almost anywhere in the historical center of Saratov). In 2002, a monument was erected to P. A. Stolypin, who was governor of Saratov in 1903-1906. Thanks to his efforts, a university was founded in Saratov. The university building is a striking architectural landmark of the city (architect K. L. Myufke). The building of one of the oldest in Russia Saratov Conservatory named after L. V. Sobinov also attracts attention. The city has kept a large number of cast decoration of buildings: balcony railings, stairs, fences, made in the late 19th - early 20th century at local iron foundries.

Saratov museums: local history, museum-estate of N. G. Chernyshevsky (born in Saratov), ​​art museum named after A. N. Radishchev, house-museum of writer K. A. Fedin (native of Saratov). The most important element of cultural tradition and modern life Saratov became theatrical art. Already in the pre-revolutionary city, theaters played an important role - the City Theater (now the Opera and Ballet Theater) and the public (people's) theater. The Opera and Ballet Theatre, the Drama Theatre, the first theater for young spectators in Russia are very popular. A. P. Lensky, M. G. Savina, P. A. Strepetova, O. I. Yankovsky began their journey on the Saratov stage. The buildings of many theaters are architectural monuments: the Saratov Youth Theater is located in a former merchant club built in 1907. The first national circus in Russia was founded in Saratov in 1873 by circus performers, the Nikitin brothers.

The history of Saratov is connected with the names of S. Razin and E. Pugachev; with the activities of outstanding scientists and figures of art and culture of Russia. The Volga city gave the country the revolutionary democrat N. G. Chernyshevsky; Nobel Prize winner, chemist N. N. Semenov; artist V. E. Borisov-Musatov; architect F. O. Shekhtel; composer A. G. Schnittke; writer K. A. Fedin; actors B. A. Babochkin, B. F. Andreev, S. N. Filippov, O. P. Tabakov. Pilot-cosmonaut Yu. A. Gagarin studied in Saratov. Modern Saratov is known not only for its cultural monuments, museums and educational institutions, but also for its sanatoriums and medical organizations, which include the sanatorium-dispensary "Sokol", a balneological clinic, the sanatorium "October Gorge".

Geography

Saratov is located 858 km southeast of Moscow, on the right high bank of the Volga (Volgograd reservoir). The city stretches along the Volga for 34 km, from the Guselka River in the north to the railway. Neftyanaya station in the south. The central and southern parts of the city are located in a hollow (50-80 m above sea level), surrounded on three sides by low mountains of the Volga Upland: Sokolovaya (165m), Lysaya (286m), Lopatina (274m), Altynnaya (251m), Uvek (135m).

The hills in the western part of the city are covered with the Kumysnaya Polyana forest. The territory of the city is heavily dissected by ravines and gullies going to the Volga. The main ones north of Sokolovaya Gora are Makhanny, Secha, Alekseevsky, Dudakovsky, Slepysh. In the Volga basin: Glebuchev (with branches Myasnitsky and Kooperativny), Beloglinsky, Vakurovsky, Bezymyanny, Zaletaevsky, Tokmakovskiy.

In connection with the formation of the Volgograd reservoir, the water level in the Volga near the city rose by more than 6 meters. On the Volga, opposite Saratov, there are islands: Oak Mane, Zeleny, Pokrovsky Sands, Cossack. The width of the Volga opposite Saratov is from 2.6 km at the old auto bridge to 8 km at the village. Zonalka.

In the west, the city is bounded by small rivers Elshanka and its tributary Razboyshchina. From the north - by the rivers 1st and 2nd Gusyolka. In the south, the Nazarovka River flows with the Chernikha and Berezina tributaries.

Vegetation zone: forb forest-steppe. Soils: ordinary and southern chernozems.

There are two oil and gas fields on the territory of the city: Elshanskoye and Sokolovogorskoye.

Transport

Saratov is located at the intersection of the main railway and automobile lines, water routes. Main oil pipelines, gas pipelines and product pipelines are laid through the region.

Passenger transportation by rail in suburban and long-distance, as well as international traffic is provided by the Saratov Carriage Depot, Saratov Locomotive Depot and Saratov-1, Saratov-3, Trofimovsky-1 railway stations.

The Saratov airport operates.

Intercity and suburban transportation is carried out by bus transport. Buses depart along routes from the bus station and from several parking lots in the city.

From the river station you can go on a cruise ship to major cities on the Volga and on small ships of local lines to villages near Saratov.

All major modern modes of transport are present in Saratov, with the exception of the metro (the project for the construction of the Saratov metro is periodically discussed by the city authorities, but has not yet reached practical implementation). Trolleybus (see Saratov trolleybus), tram (see Saratov tram) and bus routes operate in the city. Since 1995, fixed-route taxis have become widespread.

The layout of the streets in the central part of the city is regular, but the old streets are narrow and have poor road surfaces, which, along with the limited transit highways and exits from the city, creates a difficulty for motorists.

Attractions

The main symbols of modern Saratov are the largest road bridge in Europe connecting the right and left banks of the Volga, the memorial complex "Cranes" installed on Sokolovaya Gora (it can be seen from almost anywhere in the historical center of Saratov). In 2002, a monument was erected to P. A. Stolypin, who was governor of Saratov in 1903-1906. Thanks to his efforts, a university was founded in Saratov. The university building is a striking architectural landmark of the city (architect K. L. Myufke). The building of one of the oldest in Russia Saratov Conservatory named after L. V. Sobinov also attracts attention. The city has preserved a large number of cast decoration of buildings: balcony railings, stairs, fences, made in the late 19th - early 20th century at local iron foundries.

Among the Saratov temples in architectural terms, the Trinity Cathedral in the Moscow Baroque style (1674-1675, the only monument of urban architecture of the 17th century) and the Church of the Intercession (a wooden church was built in 1860, and a stone church in 1882) are of value.

culture

There are many fine art galleries in Saratov, among them the Saratov Museum named after A. N. Radishchev. It was the first public museum in Russia. It exhibits paintings by many famous artists, such as Levitsky, Repin, and others. There are also other museums and galleries of fine arts in Saratov: the House-Museum of V. E. Borisov-Musatov, the House-Museum of P. V. Kuznetsov, the Gallery "Aesthetics ", art gallery "White", gallery them. V. Fomichev, exhibition hall of the Union of Artists of the Russian Federation and so on.

Theatres, conservatory, philharmonic

Saratov is an old theater city. The first fortress theater, owned by the merchant Gladkov, appeared in Saratov as early as 1803. In 1810, on Khlebnaya Square (now Teatralnaya Square) of Saratov, on the instructions of the governor A.D. Panchulidzev, a theater building was built. On the stage of this small wooden theatre, the plays "Yabed" by V. Kapnist, "The Government Inspector" by N. V. Gogol were shown. In early 1842, A. Verstovsky's opera "Askold's Grave" was staged here for the first time in the province.

In 1859 the wooden building of the theater burned down. In the same place, a new theater building was erected only in 1865. It was a large three-tiered stone theater with 1200 seats, called the City Theatre.

However, theatrical life was not interrupted, because on December 26, 1859, the theater troupe moved to the premises of the summer theater, which was then outside the city limits (now the Saratov State Academic Drama Theater named after I. A. Slonov is located on this site). With the construction of the stone building of the city theater, performances began to take place in two places at once: a drama troupe staged performances in the summer theater, which was called the People's Theater, and drama performances were staged in the City Theater, operas were staged, and the Saratov operetta performed on the same stage.

Thus, the history of the Saratov Drama Theater and the Saratov Opera and Ballet Theater begins with a common date for the two theaters: 1803. The 2007/2008 season is rightfully considered by both theaters to be their 205th theatrical season.

At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, N. Kh. Rybakov, N. K. Miloslavsky, A. O. Bantyshev, A. F. Guseva played or toured on the stage of both Saratov theaters. For three seasons (1897-1900), Vasily Ivanovich Kachalov shone on the Saratov stage.

As of 2008, there are nine theaters in the city: the Saratov Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, the Saratov State Academic Drama Theater named after I. A. Slonov, the Saratov Academic Theater for Young Spectators named after Yu. Engels, but is considered Saratov and often gives performances on the stages of Saratov theaters and houses of culture), the Saratov Puppet Theater "Teremok", the Saratov Theater of Russian Comedy, the Saratov Municipal New Drama Theater "Version", the Saratov Theater "Balaganchik", the Theater of Magic and Tricks " Kick scooter".

During the Great Patriotic War, GITIS, the Moscow Art Theater was evacuated to Saratov (it was assigned a place in the then idle Youth Theater).

Cinemas

Of the two dozen cinemas that remained from pre-revolutionary times and were built in Saratov during the Soviet years, only four survived in the era of change: Pioneer, Pobeda, Temp and Saratov. After film distribution began to revive throughout Russia, Dom Kino and Illuminator were opened. As a result, at the beginning of 2008 there were 6 cinemas in Saratov.

Cinemas "Temp", "Illuminator", "Pioneer", "Victory" and "Saratov" specialize in novelties of mass film distribution. "Dom Kino" introduces viewers to rare samples of domestic and European cinema, not only feature films, but also documentaries.

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1. Introduction

The city of Saratov is located in a picturesque hollow, which was formed by five mountains: Sokolovaya, Lysaya, Altynnaya, Uvekskaya, Lopatina, along the right bank of the Volga River. Its length is more than 50 km. The city includes six districts: Volzhsky, Kirovsky, Leninsky, Frunzensky, Oktyabrsky, Zavodskoy. Now in the region, the center of which is Saratov, 2643.6 thousand people live, of which 1944.3 thousand people or 73.5% are urban residents and 699.3 thousand or 26.5% are rural residents. In general, the most middle-aged people live in the region - 61.3% (1621034 people), the second place is occupied by the elderly - 22.2% (586500 inhabitants), but young people rightfully got the third place of honor. Now 16.5% of able-bodied boys and girls live in the region. Thus, the population density is 26.4 people per square kilometer. m.

The specialization of the region is based primarily on mechanical engineering, chemical industry, energy, agriculture grain and livestock direction.

In terms of the production of a number of important types of products, the Saratov region has a fairly significant share in the Russian Federation and the Volga region.

The Saratov region is a developed industrial and agricultural territorial production complex of regional rank. In the total gross output of the region in the mid-1990s. industry accounts for 60%, agriculture - 29%. This ratio shows that agriculture continues to play an important role in the economy of the region. In terms of agricultural production, our region is among the ten largest agricultural regions of Russia.

In recent years, there have been noticeable structural shifts in the region's economy. A trend towards a decrease in the share of industry (by 15% over the past 5 years) and an increase in the share of agriculture and construction has become quite clear.

The Saratov region is considered the only subject of the Russian Federation located on the most favorable territory for agricultural activities. Profitability" is explained by three geographical zones: the region is located in places of forest-steppe, steppe and semi-desert. Here you can find both mixed forests and oak forests, copses, deserts and steppes, moreover, on an area equal to 200 km from north to south. Thus , the mixed flora and fauna of Asia and Europe gave rise to unprecedented picturesque expanses here, where most of the local inhabitants flora 250 species of birds and 70 species of mammals are found in the region. There are more than 1,700 species of plants, 400 of which are protected by law. among them - the State National Natural Park "Khvalynsky", zoological reserves for the acclimatization of beavers, muskrats, deer. In addition, there are about 300 cultural monuments, more than 3 thousand architectural sights in the region. 18 old estates have also been preserved. The weather here contributes to the development of fish The climate of Saratov is temperate continental: winters are frosty and summers are hot.The average temperature in July is 30-40 C. In January it drops to minus 20-35 degrees Celsius.

The prevailing winds are northwest and west. There is relatively little precipitation: 37-400 millimeters per year. Snow cover here is established in late November - early December, disappears in late March - early April. Rivers usually freeze in the second decade of December, and are completely cleared of ice at the end of April.

2.History of Saratov Starting from the 6th century BC. e. to 5th century AD e., the Savromats-Sarmatians lived in the Volga region. Near the villages of Susla, Novaya Lipovka, Rovnoye and in other places, there are Sarmatian mounds, in which burials of people, weapons, jewelry, household items, dishes were found. From the 5th-6th centuries AD. e. in the Volga region, nomadic Turkic tribes begin to penetrate: the Pecheneg Turks, the Polovtsy. In the 8th-9th centuries, the Lower Volga region was the center of the monogol-Tatar state - the Golden Horde. The first location of Saratov is the modern Zavodskoy district of the city. The third largest city of the Golden Horde was Uvek, located within the city of Saratov. The main boundaries of the monument are considered to be the mouth of the river. Uvekovki in the north, Neftyanaya station, the Volga bank in the east and the edge of the Volga Upland in the west. The name comes from the ancient Turkic word "Uvek" - a tower. Scientists date the foundation of Uvek to the 50s of the 13th century. Uvek, like other cities of the Golden Horde, arose immediately, "from scratch". It was built by prisoners driven from different countries conquered by the Mongols. The city was not only a craft and shopping mall but also the center of the agricultural district. Judging by archaeological finds, the city stretched along the coast for more than two kilometers. Dominated over him high mountain, which is now called Kalancha. Uvek had a quarter-estate layout. The central region of Uvek was aristocratic. Its streets were built up with one-two-story residential buildings, mosques, palaces made of wood and baked bricks with lime mortar. The facades of the buildings, as well as the internal front rooms, were decorated with inlaid majolica panels from blue-turquoise tiles. The drawing there was geometric or floral. There were also large aristocratic estates surrounded by high walls, with ponds, with rich houses made of mud bricks. The houses were distinguished by splendor and luxury decoration. In the rooms, along three walls, a couch-sofa was arranged, inside which chimneys-kans passed from the stove to heat it. On the inside of the oven, notches were made for baking cakes. The floor in the dwelling was earthen and brick. A handicraft and trade area stretched along the Volga. There were bazaars, caravanserais, craft workshops. The most different masters: jewelers, blacksmiths, coppersmiths, glassblowers. Bricks, tiles, majolica and various dishes were made in pottery kilns - simple and covered with glaze on the outside. In this area one could see small houses standing close to each other. Small merchants, workshop owners, the most skilled, semi-dependent artisans lived in them. Separate quarters were occupied by large dugouts with walls reinforced with mud bricks. Wide benches-sofas were arranged along the walls. Such a room was heated by braziers with hot coals. Slaves-artisans lived in these dugouts. Probably, the same common dugouts existed in the northern part of the city, in the so-called "Christian" quarters, where Russians, Armenians and other non-Muslims lived. There were even christian churches and chapels. In the southern part of the city there was a necropolis. The functioning water supply consisted of a pool, ditches and underground water pipes, as well as house water pipes. Uvek minted its own coin. It is well known from numerous finds. On one side there was an inscription like: "Eternal glory and its attendant honor." The place of minting - Uvek - and the year of issue were indicated on the back. Almost all inscriptions are made in Arabic. The last coins of Uvek belong to the middle of the 70s of the XIV century. Probably, the city in these years was destroyed by landslides on the banks of the Volga and fell into severe decline. He finally died in 1395 from the troops of Tamerlane, who, pursuing the ruler of the Golden Horde, Tokhtamysh, followed in his footsteps from Ciscaucasia. Uvek existed for about 150 years. Perhaps now at the bottom of the Saratov rivers, under a layer of silt and sand, the ancient treasures of the Golden Horde are stored. However, the excavations are not carried out, and the Tatar riches continue to remain only a legend. 3. Foundation of Saratov The need to strengthen the southeastern borders, settling and developing vast lands, developing trade along the Volga route caused the construction of cities and fortresses on the new outskirts of the state. The cities founded on the Volga became a powerful barrier against the races. Crimean Tatars and neighboring Nogais. The tsarist government took measures against the raids of nomads and thieves' Cossacks, but they were ineffective. Then they built fortified cities. All three cities - Samara, Tsaritsyn, Saratov - were founded by one person - Prince Grigory Osipovich Zasekin. He was a major military leader, an experienced fortifier and a recognized town planner. His name is associated with the final consolidation of the Russian state on the Volga. The fortified city of Saratov was placed halfway between the two fortresses, in an area where there was a good crossing over the Volga in July 1590, as mentioned above, by Prince G. O. Zasekin and boyar F. M. Turov. Already in the next century, Saratov becomes a solid military-strategic object of the Russian state, the location of which is the cape formed by the Saratov and Volga rivers, which, according to the modern map of the city, is the location of the city of Engels. In the fortress on the defensive stood from 300 to 400 archers. Based on indirect documents and archaeological finds, most scientists suggest that the first, original Saratov was built a few kilometers above the modern city. Here, at the confluence of the Guselka River with the Volga, there is a cape with a smooth, slightly sloping plateau. Saratov was originally located in its center. A high hill rose above the city, or, in the local language, "shikhan", from which the area was perfectly visible for several miles, and from the tower built there - even further. The steep slopes of the banks of the Volga and the Guselka, a place overgrown with forest interspersed with water meadows, channels, oxbow lakes, lakes, were natural obstacles and protected the city from the Trans-Volga region. FROM opposite side a good defense was provided by a deep ravine, also overgrown with forest and shrubs, which ran behind the shikhan hill. Wooden fortress walls with towers surrounded a small city and protected it from attacks. The voivodship office and the yard of the voivode himself were built in the city, nearby were the yards of the children of the boyar and archery centurions. The rest of the territory was occupied by the estates of artisans and merchants, and closer to the fortress walls - archers, gunners and other service people. Grain barns, powder magazines, a prison and other state buildings stood separately. A wooden church towered above all the buildings. Fire hazardous metallurgical and pottery furnaces, and possibly forges, were built outside the fortress walls in the field. The Lower Volga region possessed huge untouched riches. There were fertile lands for plowing, abundant pastures, rich hunting and side lands, and notable fishing. Salt was of great value. The estate of an ordinary Saratov citizen consisted of a hut, outbuildings (a cellar, a barn, a stable and a room for livestock) and a bathhouse. The hut was small, with small cut-through windows that moved with a “drag” plank. Part of the hut was occupied by a stove, next to it, under the ceiling, beds were arranged for rest and sleep. Things, which were not so many, were arranged skillfully, which made the hut seem spacious. Along the walls were wide benches, chests for things - "junk". There was also a small table. Shelves were built into the walls. The hut was illuminated by a torch, inserted into an iron forged light. Before him put a trough with water for falling coals. There was also a place in the hut for crafts: shoemaking, furrier, bone carving and others. The population of the city consisted mainly of service people. They carried guard duty, monitored the movement of Nogai nomads, fought against the "thieves'" Cossacks. Streltsy were engaged in the protection of the Volga route, escorting trade caravans to the nearest city. The governor was in charge of all affairs in the city. The first governor was Grigory Zasekin, his assistant was the head of the archery Turov. For their service, the archers received the sovereign's bread and a cash salary, which was delivered to Saratov along the coast. Therefore, in their free time from the military guard service, they were engaged in arable farming and gardening, bred livestock, traded in crafts, trade, fishing and hunting. At the beginning of the 17th century, an unprecedented exacerbation of the class struggle resulted in the first civil war in the history of the Russian state (1603-1614). Fleeing from the oppression of the tsarist administration and the oppression of the feudal lords, peasants and townspeople (city dwellers) fled to the banks of the Volga. Here they joined the detachments of the Volga Cossacks. By the summer of 1604, the Cossacks became absolute masters on the Volga and did not allow trade and embassy caravans to pass. Large losses were borne by the commercial and industrial people of the Volga cities - Samara, Saratov, Tsaritsyn and others. The entire Volga region was stirred up by the movement of Ilya Gorchakov, or Ileyka Muromets. He managed to assemble a 4,000-strong detachment of Terek, Don and Volga Cossacks. Ileika pretended to be “Tsarevich Peter, allegedly the son of Tsar Fedor Ivanovich (the younger son of Ivan the Terrible). The detachment of this impostor caused confusion among the boyars, landowners, and merchants. Robberies and robberies swept the lower reaches of the Volga. Soon a new impostor appeared on the Volga - a typical representative of the lower freemen, who called himself "Tsarevich Ivan-August" - the son of Ivan the Terrible. In the summer of 1607, the movement of "Tsarevich Ivan-August" and his self-proclaimed grandsons Osinovik began. In July, the detachment of Ivashka-August entered Tsaritsyn, and then moved up the Volga. The troops of the low-ranking freemen reached Saratov without hindrance, laid siege to it, but they failed to take the city. The reinforced garrison under the command of Zamyatiya Saburov and Vladimir Anichkov repulsed the attacks, "many thieves were beaten", and "Tsarevich Ivan" hastily moved to the Don, where he moved to Bolotnikov. But his detachment was defeated by False Dmitry II, Ivan-August himself and his associate Laurus were captured and hanged. And the Cossacks dealt with Osinovik earlier, after the defeat near Saratov. But Saratov did not remain loyal to the Moscow government for long: already in 1609, the city went over to the side of False Dmitry II. Until 1614, there was no documentary news about Saratov. It is only certain that in the winter of 1613/14 the city burned down, either from negligence with fire, or as a result of an attack by gangs of thieves. The circumstances of the burning of the city are unknown. Wooden Saratov burned like a torch. Many people died in the fire. The horses could not be saved. Part of the archers, who escaped death, moved 350 miles to Samara. About 200 people reached this fortress. Such is the fate of the original Saratov.

After the death of Saratov on the right bank, it was restored on the meadow side of the Volga (slightly north of the current city of Engels). Probably, from here it was easier to follow the movements of the nomads, to conduct guard duty. The first information about the left-bank Saratov dates back to 1617. It was located on a large cape at the confluence of a small, but then full-flowing river, later called Saratovka, into the Volga.

The city occupied approximately 15-17 hectares. Passing in 1623, the Moscow merchant Fedot Kotov wrote: “In Saratov, the city stands on the meadow side, the towers are chopped, round, the courtyard and rows in the city. And outside the city are archery yards and fish shops, and barns where they put supplies from ships. Saratov was depicted as a city-fortress by the secretary of the Holstein embassy, ​​Adam Olearius, who saw Saratov in 1636.

The center of the left-bank Saratov was a prison (Kremlin) with wooden walls, loopholes for rifle fire and chopped towers with cannons. Inside the prison there was a voivodship yard, an office, a command hut, customs, a church, houses of "boyar children", shopping arcades and other buildings. A ditch was dug in front of the walls of the prison, and a settlement was located behind it. There were houses of archers, townspeople, there were shops, barns. Field fortifications - radolbs - were arranged around the settlement.

In the 1630s, several hundred archers and carpenters were sent to Saratov, who built a new prison. The fortress walls with towers now covered the entire settlement. The new fortress was besieged by artillery. On the towers and in the walls there were cannons that fired cannonballs, and on the travel towers - buckshot. The city became a fortress, which successfully withstood more than one attack by the "thieves'" Cossacks and nomads.

The main population of the left-bank Saratov was service people - horse and foot archers, gunners, collars. Of these, 300 people with their families lived in the city permanently, but there were another 100 "year-olds" sent to serve in the fortress for two or three years. The city was also inhabited by sovereign blacksmiths and carpenters. Service people received a yearly salary in money (3 rubles and bread (two-quarters of rye and oats each). The small salary forced the service people to free time engage in agriculture, gardening, household cattle breeding, make handicrafts and even engage in petty trade. Otherwise, the family would not be able to feed themselves.

The military authorities were the head of the archery, centurions and junior commanders from among the "children of the boyars." The head of the archery, as well as the governor, received 40 rubles a year in money. And for successful military campaigns - expensive gifts. Trade people, artisans (carpenters, shoemakers, kalachniks and others), as well as people who worked for hire on ships and fisheries also lived in the city. But this township population was not numerous. Few of them had their own yards, most rented corners in other people's houses. The servants and the townspeople were subordinate to the governor, who was in charge of administrative, military, economic affairs, and, if necessary, repaired the court and reprisals. In total, there were no more than 1500-2000 people in the left-bank Saratov.

In the spring of 1674, in pursuance of the decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich "To make a new city on the mountains of Saratov," the fortress was moved. Colonel Alexander Shel chose a place to the south of Sokolovaya Gora, on the site of the fishermen of the Moscow Novospassky Monastery who settled at that time. In 1722, Peter I visited the city, and Academician I. Lepekhin, who visited the city in 1769, called Saratov the most developing and comfortable province of Russia with straight streets and good shopping arcades. At that time, a lot of factories were built here. People were engaged in pottery, traded fish, salt, bread. Manufactory production was also well developed. All this was indicated by the names of the streets, which testified to the employment of the population. Salt, Kuznetsk, Brick, Tulupnaya, Bolshaya and Malaya Kostrizhnye (from the fire "- waste of flax and hemp). The factory of the Frenchman Verdier produced satin, stockings, taffeta - thin silk fabric. On August 6, 1774, the main forces of Emelyan Pugachev's army approached Saratov. He did not come here with good intentions and stopped at Sokolova Gora, from which he began to shell the city.On October 8, the leader of the rebels was arrested in the Saratov Trans-Volga region.

The settlement of the region in the first half of the XVIII century. occurred both at the initiative of the ruling circles, landlords, monasteries and merchants, and spontaneously. The monasteries founded the city of Khvalynsk, the villages of Voskresenskoye, Bakury, and Tersa. Many villages were founded by runaway serfs, especially in the Trans-Volga region, along the banks of the Bolshoi and Malyi Irgiz, Bolshoi and Malyi Uzen rivers. To mid-eighteenth in. within the boundaries of the former Saratov province there were already 634 settlements, and the number of inhabitants reached 200 thousand people. At the same time, the trade and transport importance of the Volga and the cities located on it, including Saratov, continued to grow.

In connection with the development of the Elton salt deposit, the government established a “salt commissariat” in Saratov, which was in charge of the extraction and transportation of salt. Ukrainians were invited to transport salt from Lake Elton to Saratov, where salt barns were built. After 20-30 years, in the Left Bank, on the roads from Elton to Saratov, and in the Right Bank, on the roads from Saratov to Tambov and Voronezh, dozens of Ukrainian settlements and farms arose (among them is Pokrovskaya Sloboda - the current city of Engels).

The population of the Saratov Volga region increased significantly after the schismatics moved to the Volga by decree of Catherine II. As a result, large schismatic settlements arose in the Trans-Volga region: Balakovo, Krivoluchye, Kamenka, Mechetnoye (Pugachev), etc. Soon the first colonists appeared in the city. The suburban settlement was called German. According to the plan of 1812, a place in the first block from Nikolskaya (Radishcheva) Street was specially allocated for this occasion. Soon a German street (now Kirov Avenue) appeared.

Gradually, Saratov turns into a southern trading capital. The artisans who flooded the city are advancing its borders from the Volga to the southwest, building shops, houses, shops in the direction from Moscow Street to Aleksandrovskaya (Gorky) and Volskaya. Wealthy people, represented by the local nobility and merchants, chose another part of the city, which began immediately after Novo-Soborskaya Square, covering Konstantinovskaya, Aleksandrovskaya, Dvoryanskaya and other streets. The elite of the Saratov society living here was directly involved in the construction of the city. Thus, thanks to widespread philanthropy in 1869, a church in the name of Saints Cyril and Methodius appeared in the city at the men's gymnasium, a house church in the women's boarding school, the funds for the construction of which came from Mykola Azarov. But the head of the City Duma, Ivan Pozdeev, contributed to the opening of a children's hospital on Mount Sokolova. In 1803, the first city theater was opened here. The history of the city also remembers the name of Pyotr Stolypin, Chairman of the Council of Ministers. P.A. Stolypin (1862-1911) in 1903 was appointed head of the Saratov province. In March, the new governor received members of the City Duma at his residence (Moskovskaya, 31). Shortly after taking office, house No. 22 on Volskaya Street was converted into the governor's apartment. A three-story building was built nearby for his office and "presences" (Volskaya, 24). In April 1906, the 44-year-old Stolypin was appointed Minister of the Interior. The last time he visited Saratov as prime minister was in September 1910. Nowadays, in the regional museum of local lore in Saratov, you can see the uniform of the reformer of Russia, the armchair from the Kyiv theater, on which the mortally wounded Stolypin sank, as well as a family album with unique photographs. But in the local art museum. Radishchev there is a portrait of Stolypin, painted by Ilya Repin, commissioned by the last City Duma. The current authorities also managed to perpetuate the memory of the first governor. So, in 2002, the first Russian monument to Stolypin appeared in the city.

4. Germans in the Volga region

By the beginning of the 20th century, on the maps of the Volga region, there were over two hundred German names given to their settlements by the Germans who settled in the Saratov Territory at the invitation of Catherine II. But in 1915, these “names” began to urgently change to Russian. Wiesenthal became, for example, Lugovoi. Rosenberg - Clever. Unterdorf - Veselovka. The first world war was on. And although the Volga Germans had long since become respectable Russians, the oppression of the German colonists began. German newspapers were closed and German was forbidden to be spoken in public places. The names have been changed. After the February Revolution of 1917, the names were restored, newspapers were opened. The Volga Germans achieved the creation of their own districts of Ekaterinenstadt, Zelmansky, Balzersky. In 1919, the Autonomous Region was formed, which included lands where the German population prevailed. The Saratov authorities did not welcome such changes. With the separation of the Germans into an independent region, the province was losing land, where the economy was much better than in other provinces. However, the colonists were supported by Moscow. In 1923, as part of autonomous region part of the lands with the Russian and Ukrainian population entered, filling the gaps in its territory. The Pokrovsky district also entered there. And Pokrovsk itself, thanks to its economic development and size, has risen from a county center to a regional one. At the beginning of 1924, the German region was already transformed into the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of the Volga Germans as part of the RSFSR. Thanks to this, Pokrovsk suddenly became the center of the republic. The area of ​​the Republic of the Volga Germans was over 25 thousand square meters. kilometers. The population is over half a million people. 551 locality including 4 cities. The ASSR of the Volga Germans was liquidated in 1941, after the outbreak of World War II. The territory of the liquidated ASSR NP was divided between the Saratov region (15 cantons) and the Stalingrad region (7 cantons). As a matter of urgency, all Germans, without exception, were resettled from the Volga region to remote regions of Kazakhstan and Siberia. In early October 1941, 365,000 Germans were resettled from the Volga region. And on the deserted lands they began to settle refugees from western regions countries. In May 1942, all 229 German names on the maps were replaced by Russian ones. Balzer became Krasnoarmeysk, Zelman - Rovny. Marxstadt lost his German prefix, but avoided renaming, like Engels, for ideological reasons. It was strictly forbidden to mention the disappeared republic.

5. Saratov province

In 1780, the Saratov governorship was established as part of nine counties (Saratov, Khvalynsky, Volsky, Kuznetsky, Serdobsky, Atkarsky, Petrovsky, Balashovsky and Kamyshinsky), from April 2, 1782, it was transformed into a province. Saratov province in the second half of the 19th century was one of the most extensive provinces of European Russia. Its area was more than 192 thousand square kilometers. The Saratov region continued to rapidly populate. The bulk of the settlers arrived from the Non-Chernozemny region, as well as from other places in Russia where there was a shortage of land. The bulk of the population of all cities and counties were Russians - 75%, German colonists - 8.5%, Ukrainians - 6.5%, Mordovians - 6.5%, Tatars - 3.5%. The rest of the national groups (Chuvash, Meshcheryak, Bashkirs) were insignificant. In 1850, its territory was reduced by more than half, in connection with the transfer of the Volga districts to Samara and Astrakhan provinces, and amounted to 84,640 square meters. km (the territory of the modern Saratov region is 100.2 thousand square kilometers). The population of the province at the beginning of the 20th century increased significantly. If, according to the 1897 census, 2405829 inhabitants lived in it, then in 1913 already 3290710. Indeed, at the beginning of the 20th century it was the third largest city in Russia (within its modern borders) and the largest city in the Volga region (in 1913, 242 thousand people ). 131,000 people lived in Kazan then, and 113,000 people lived in Astrakhan. Samara and Nizhny Novgorod have 91,000 people each. Back in the 80s. XVIII century in the Saratov governorship there were only a few small industrial enterprises: rope factories, distilleries and leather workshops. More than 80% of the population of the Saratov Territory was employed in agriculture. The province specialized in the production of grain crops, mainly wheat, which was in great demand both in the domestic and foreign markets. The rapid settlement of the region and the intensive development of commercial grain production contributed to the emergence of flour milling. Already in the middle of the XIX century. more than 1,500 wind and water mills operated in the villages and cities of the region. The largest of them, producing flour for the market, were located in Saratov, Volsk and Khvalynsk. Since the mid-1850s, sunflower crops have been increasing in the province. In a number of counties, this crop has replaced oats. Sunflower grain went to local oil mills. In Petrovsky Uyezd, handicraft production of sledges, carts, wheels, barrels, and buckets developed widely. In the Balashovsky district - pottery and brick factories. Among the peasants, domestic production of canvas was developed everywhere, and in some places, cloth. In the middle of the century, the machine-building industry was born in Saratov. The enterprises repaired machines, manufactured various accessories for mills, steamships, oil mills and distilleries, and agricultural implements. Animal husbandry remained an important branch of agriculture, in most counties, livestock was used as a labor force and to meet food needs. The livestock of peasant farms needed to improve their breed. However, in the south of the province, landowners and wealthy peasants were engaged in fattening large cattle Kalmyk breed and sheep for the purpose of selling to local herders. Industrial production began to develop especially intensively in the 1990s. the last century. During these years, large steam mills and metalworking enterprises arose in the Saratov province. Other industrial enterprises - brick and sawmills, printing houses - occupied a secondary place.

The first decades of the 20th century were perhaps the most difficult for the economy of the Saratov province. The years of great social upheavals and wars caused such a severe degradation of the economy that it took more than ten years to reach the level of 1913 in terms of production volumes.

The most important stage development of the national economy of the region began 30 years. Changes in the correlation of forms of ownership, national economic planning, industrialization and collectivization radically changed the structure of the economy and its development trends.

During this period, a long-term trend of a constant increase in the share and importance of industry in the economy of the region was revealed. In the early 20s. along with the restoration of enterprises, new construction was also carried out. The Petrovskaya power plant, the Pokrovsky (Engelssky) bone-processing plant and a bacon factory, a number of enterprises in Saratov were put into operation. Among them are the plant "Universal", which produces drilling machines, parts for shoe machines, cartridges for lathes; boiler plant, tannery, sewing, shoe, knitwear factories, meat processing plant. This led to noticeable changes in the industrial structure of the Saratov province. The share of the food industry dropped to 47%, while metalworking increased to 10.3%, the woodworking industry to 8.9%, building materials to 9.8%, and the chemical industry to 4.5%. By the mid-20s. many industries of the province reached the pre-war level of production, with the exception of flour milling, which was used by less than half.

The years of the pre-war five-year plans are a special, in a sense, remarkable period in the development of the economy of our region. Its characteristic features were:

Impressive scale of new industrial construction. Two times more industrial enterprises were put into operation than in all previous years. Among them are a large number of large enterprises of national importance, such as SarGRES, factories of combines, alkaline batteries, gear-cutting machines, an oil refinery, bearing, etc.

The highest growth rates of industrial production. On average, every 2-3 years there was a doubling of industrial production. The region did not know such rates of industrial development either before or after this period.

High degree of industrial concentration. The enterprises of the three largest industrial centers of the region at that time (Saratov, Volsk and Balashov) produced more than 80% of the industrial output of the region. Saratov has become one of the largest industrial centers of the country, concentrating more than 60% of the region's industrial potential.

Predominant development of heavy industry, primarily mechanical engineering and metalworking. This caused new significant shifts in the sectoral structure of industry. Although the food industry was still in the first place, its share decreased to 37.7%, and metalworking and mechanical engineering (31.4%) moved into second place. Among other industries, the oil refining industry, building materials, woodworking, light industry.

Appearance as main collective form agriculture, which resulted in hitherto unprecedented rates of mechanization of agricultural labor. Having created a wide network of machine and tractor stations (MTS), by the beginning of the 40s. In terms of the degree of mechanization of the main types of agricultural work, the region reached the level of the most developed countries in the world.

Along with the construction of industrial giants (mainly in Saratov), ​​local industry also developed. At the end of the 30s. it has already developed in 19 cities and districts of the region. It was represented by woodworking, metalworking, transport, pottery, felting, sewing workshops, building materials and food industry enterprises. In the food industry, these included the Donguz fruit and berry plant, the Novouzensky and St. Petersburg fruit and vegetable factories, the Samoylov oil mill, the Balashov soft drinks factory, the Bazarno-Karabulak and Turkovsky food processing plants. The enterprises of the region, many of which acquired all-Union significance, produced a wide variety of products. They supplied the national economy with gasoline and fuel oil, crane trucks and gearboxes, bearings and hardware, shoe machines, Shukhov's diesel boilers, oil shale. For agriculture, steam-horse passages and other convoy products, spare parts and agricultural machinery, saddlery harness, mixed fodder, etc. were produced. For the needs of construction, red and silicate bricks, cement, lime, grated paints, sawn timber, and furnace casting were produced. A wide range of household items and food products were produced.

The Great Patriotic War significantly delayed the development of the regional economy, but did not stop it. During the first period of the war, the textile, light and rubber industries were developed. Previously built enterprises were expanded and evacuated enterprises were located on the territory of the region. In Engels, the Bryansk Machine-Building Plant (now a trolleybus plant), a dressings factory and a spinning and weaving factory were located; in Saratov and Volsk, three new garment factories; the knitting factories of Saratov and Krasnoarmeysk tripled their capacities. During the war years, new industries and industries emerged in the region. The extraction of natural gas at the Elshanskoye field and its supply via a gas pipeline to Saratov, and later to Moscow, began the gas industry of the region. In 1950, the region gave more than 1/10 of the all-Union gas production. By this time, the oil industry had also developed on the basis of the Sokolovogorsk field.

By the end of the war, as a result of the expansion and reconstruction of production for the needs of the front, the share of machine building and metalworking increased sharply. The war slowed down the development of agriculture and the food industry. In connection with the involvement of a significant part of the mechanization personnel, tractors, cars, horses for the needs of the front, the level of mechanization of agriculture has sharply decreased. This led to a reduction in the area under crops and the volume of agricultural production. It was possible to restore these branches of the national economy of the region only in the early 50s. In the first post-war years, the Saratov region became a major supplier of building materials to areas whose economy was severely destroyed during the war. In the late 40s - early 50s. many enterprises in this industry carried out orders for the largest construction projects in the country: the Volga-Don Canal, the Kuibyshev and Stalingrad hydroelectric power stations. Along with the Volsky cement plants, new enterprises producing crushed stone in the Pugachevsky, Ivanteevsky and Ershovsky districts also took part in the implementation of this huge construction program. Thus, by the beginning of the 1950s in our region, the basis of a powerful construction complex was created, which further contributed to the placement of the largest economic facilities of national importance here. The structure of the region's economy gradually became more complex. There was a long-term trend of outstripping development of industries that determine scientific and technological progress - chemical, machine-building, electric power.

The 1950s can be considered the beginning of the “big chemistry” of the Saratov region. The construction of chemical plants of national importance in Balakovo, Engels, and Saratov necessitated the creation of a large-scale production of prefabricated reinforced concrete structures in these industrial centers. During this period, the branches of the fuel and energy complex - gas, oil, shale, heat and power - developed dynamically. The structure of the machine-building complex was improved. The presence of highly qualified scientific and technical personnel was an important prerequisite for the creation in our region (primarily in Saratov) of precision engineering, instrumentation, and electronics. The largest enterprises of these industries, located on the northwestern outskirts of Saratov, served mainly the needs of the country's military-industrial complex.

Technical glass factory, sugar factory, fat factory - new buildings of other industries.

Important tasks were solved during this period in the agricultural sector. In 1953-1956. in the Saratov region, about 1 million hectares of virgin lands were plowed up and developed. The technical equipment of agricultural production increased significantly, and with the connection of the region to the Unified European Energy System of the country in 1960, the possibilities of mechanizing the main technological processes in animal husbandry and electrifying rural areas expanded.

At the turn of the 1970s. the first of the giants of the electric power industry, the Saratov hydroelectric power station, went into operation. The region has turned from energy-deficient to energy-surplus. The power plant gave impetus to the development of the city of Balakovo, where, relying on a powerful construction base and cheap electricity, the largest industrial hub of the region after Saratov was formed. Mechanical engineering and especially the energy-intensive branches of the chemical industry, which have been developing most dynamically in the past three decades, have received further development.

The 1970s went down in the history of the economy of the Saratov Territory as the years of the birth and rapid development of the reclamation complex. During this period, hundreds of kilometers of irrigation canals, several large irrigation systems and other reclamation infrastructure facilities were built. Currently, our region has the largest array of irrigated lands in Russia. All this was ultimately reflected in the formation of the appearance of the countryside and the modern structure of agricultural production. Insufficient productivity of natural fodder lands is compensated by fodder production on irrigated lands, which was a stimulus for the further development of animal husbandry.

The growth of the economic potential of the region continued until the end of the 1980s. By this time, the role of the "troika" of the main branches of industry—machine-building, chemical, and energy—had become much stronger. The largest new buildings of those years: factories of rubber products, chemical, self-propelled earth-moving machines, nuclear power plant in Balakovo; a factory for raincoat fabrics and a plant for autotractor trailers in Balashov; Engels factories of synthetic detergents and autotractor spark plugs; CHPP-5 in Saratov, etc.

The Saratov region is one of the largest in Russia in terms of its industrial potential, the capacity of construction organizations, the volume of agricultural production, the size and level of the scientific and technical base and the training of qualified personnel and occupies an important place in the territorial division of labor.

6.Culture of the region In the history of national culture, the Saratov province has long been a region with a high cultural potential. Its geography and structure changed over the centuries, while the existence of the center on the site of today's city of Saratov remained unchanged. Saratov (founded in 1590) is a city with rich cultural traditions. In 1885, the first public art gallery in the Russian province was opened in Saratov, named after A.N. Radishchev and opened on the initiative of the grandson of the great figure. The first collection included works by artists A. Bogolyubov, I. Shishkin, F. Vasilyev, I. Kramskoy, I. Repin, K. Corot, S. Daubigny and others. Their contribution (material, of course) to the creation of the gallery also made: S. and. P. Tretyakov, A. Bakhrushin, Pauline Viardot. In 1873, the first stationary circus of the Nikitin brothers was founded, and in 1831, on the initiative of the Free Economic Society, a public library was opened. In 1912 - the first conservatory in the province (the third after Moscow and St. Petersburg), the creation of which spurred the development of musical and concert life in the city. In 1909 - the tenth Nikolaev University, and in 1918 - the first children's theater. Thus, theatrical, artistic, musical traditions were laid down in the 19th century. Moreover, this city has become the birthplace of many Russian celebrities. For example, the first Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was born and graduated from an industrial technical school in Saratov. Saratov land is the birthplace of painters P. S. Utkin, K. S. Petrov-Vodkin, P. V. Kuznetsov, writers K. A. Fedin, L. A. Kassil, M. N. Alekseev, artists I. A. Slonov, B. A. Babochkin, B. F. Andreev, E. Lebedev, S. Filippov, O. Tabakov, O. Yankovsky, composer A. G. Schnittke, author of the world-famous song "Kalinka" - musician I. Larionov, the inventors of the caterpillar and wheeled tractor F. Blinov and Y. Mamin, the brilliant biologist N. I. Vavilov, the Nobel Prize winner Academician N. Semenov. The great Russian fabulist S. Krylov lived and worked here for some time, the writer S. Rozanov, who became famous for his modern views on literature, was born here. Architects known throughout Russia lived and worked in Saratov and the region: V.I. Suranov (1759-1821), A.M. Salko (1838-1918), P.M. Lyukshin (1858-1918), A. N. Klementiev (1852-1920), K. L. Myufke (1868-1918), S. A. Kallistratov (1874-1966), V. K. Karpenko (1873-1936) . Saratov region - in the biographies of the artist M. Vrubel, aircraft designer O. Antonov, writer M. Bulgakov, architect F. Shekhtel, chemist N. Zinin, poet G. Derzhavin, academician G. Marchuk, designer of space radiotelephone communications Yu. Bykov... Saratov region has a great cultural heritage. In the sphere of attention and control of the Government of the Saratov region there are 2950 objects of historical and cultural heritage, 662 objects of cultural heritage are on state records, 53 of them are of federal significance. These are the conservatory, the visiting card of Saratov and the region, the ensemble of the university campus - the creation of the architect Myufke, the Holy Trinity Cathedral, the residence of the Saratov governors, the house of the merchant Maltsev in Balakovo, the estate of the Naryshkin nobles in the village of Pady in the Balashovsky district, the Gostiny Dvor building in Volsk and many others. a lot others. By the Decree of the Board of the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR, the Gosstroy of the RSFSR and the Presidium of the Central Council of the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments (VOOPiK) dated February 19, 1990, 10 cities of the region were included in the list of historical settlements of the Russian Federation: Saratov (1590), Atkarsk (1780), Balakovo (1762), Balashov (1780), Volsk (1780), Novouzensk (1835), Petrovsk (1698), Pugachev (Nikolaevsk, 1835), Khvalynsk (1780), Engels (Pokrovsk, 1914). The policy of the Government of the Saratov region in the field of culture is aimed at strengthening the material base and developing the creative potential of the leading regional institutions of culture and art, ensuring the accessibility of culture for citizens, creating a decent environment in every city and region. At present, the budget under the section "Culture, Art and Cinematography" provides for the maintenance of 1061 public (public) libraries, 1275 club institutions, 22 state museums, 6 parks, 114 educational institutions of culture and art, 18 theater and concert organizations and 639 film installations of the region. There are regional organizations of unions of theatrical figures, writers, composers, artists, cinematographers, architects, photographers in the region. It has already become a tradition to hold a creative competition for the Literary Prize of the Saratov Region named after I. MN Alekseev, the regional theater festival "Golden Harlequin". The festival and musical life of the Saratov region is very active and varied. Saratov residents, not without reason, are proud of their academic theaters, educational establishments culture and arts, the regional philharmonic society, the provincial theater of choral music. Music festivals and competitions are held annually. One of the brightest cultural events is the Sobinovsky Music Festival, which has been held annually since 1986 at the Saratov Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. In recent years, the concept of the festival has expanded significantly and went beyond the purely operatic. Since 1999, it has included all genres of musical art: opera, ballet, symphony, operetta, as well as modern Russian rock music. The focus of the festival was the traditional Competition of Vocal Competitions, in which laureates of Russian and international competitions take part. Leading masters of the stage of opera theaters in Moscow, St. Petersburg, other regions of Russia, near and far abroad have become permanent participants of the festival. According to the results of a survey of the musical community, conducted by the newspaper "Musical Review", the Sobinovsky festival was named the best festival in 1999, 2001, 2002 in Russia. Creative contacts of theaters and artistic groups of the region with other regions are actively developing. The Academic Opera and Ballet Theater successfully implemented the projects "Opera theaters of Russia on the Saratov stage" and "Soloists of the ballet of Russian theaters on the Saratov stage". The Russian Festival named after G. G. Neuhaus, which has already become traditional, is of great interest. It is held in the Saratov Regional Philharmonic. A. Schnittke once every two years, in 2004 it was already the seventh festival. World-class musicians - People's Artist of the USSR E. Virsaladze, People's Artists of Russia N. Gutman, A. Nasedkin, Honored Artists of Russia A. Lyubimov, A. Diev - became regular participants in the festival. The organizer and permanent artistic director of the festival is a student of G. G. Neuhaus, People's Artist of Russia, professor of the Saratov Conservatory A. Tarakanov. An interesting initiative was made by the Saratov Regional Philharmonic. A. Schnittke, having carried out in the concert season 2003-2004. the festival of arts "Beaumonde". The festival included concerts of various genres, which attracted a large number of listeners. It was attended by musicians and groups representing the elite of the world academic art. These are the honored team of Russia, laureate of the State Prize of Russia A. P. Borodin Quartet; People's Artists of the USSR composer E. Doga and pianist V. Krainev; Russian-French jazz duo Daniil Kramer - Didier Lockwood; laureate of all-Union competitions, composer T. Kamysheva; People's Artist of Russia E. Kamburova. In the future, the practice of holding festivals of this level will be continued. The All-Russian Festival-Competition of Folk Song Performers im. L.A. Ruslanova. In 2003, 90 performers from 35 regions of Russia took part in this song forum. Once again, the competition showed the high creative potential of young folk song performers, great interest and love for folk art in Russia. In order to popularize academic choral art in Saratov, the Governorate Festival of Academic Choirs is held annually, in which choirs not only from the Saratov region, but also from other regions of the Volga region participate. In 2004, the third festival took place, it was dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the Department of Choral Conducting of the Saratov Conservatory. For the fifth time now, Children's and Youth Art Assemblies have been held on Saratov land, uniting talented children from Moscow and Saratov, Arkhangelsk and Krasnodar, Orenburg and Voronezh, Kharkov and Penza, Ryazan and Kurgan, Perm and Volgograd in an atmosphere of friendly trust and creative search : Art Assemblies have long gone beyond the regional competition and acquired the status of a regional one, becoming a center of scientific and methodological communication, a creative laboratory for young talents. 2004 was filled with bright events. In June 2004, within the framework of the Year of Russia in Kazakhstan, the Days of Economy and Culture of the Saratov Region were held in the West Kazakhstan region of the Republic of Kazakhstan. A large creative program was presented by leading creative teams and performers of the Saratov region. The following exhibitions were exhibited in the halls of the Kazakh Drama Theater: "Saratov province features" of the regional universal scientific library, "Saratov province in the panorama of centuries" of the regional museum of local history, an exhibition of works of art by the Saratov organization of the Union of Artists of the Russian Federation. In September, Saratov hosted the III All-Russian Congress of Organs for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments, which was attended by about 200 delegates from 74 regions of the Russian Federation. The resolution of the congress formed the basis of the documents presented by the Ministry of Culture and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation in October 2004 at a meeting of the Government of the Russian Federation on the issue of preserving the historical and cultural heritage of Russia. In 2004, anniversary celebrations dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Saratov theater school took place; 75th anniversary of the creation of the Saratov regional center of folk art; 70th anniversary of the opening of the Saratov Regional School of Culture; 60th anniversary of the founding of the Children's Art School Saratov. In November, a regional festival dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the composer A. G. Schnittke, a classic of music of the 20th century, born in Saratov, was opened. A large program was implemented, including an international scientific and practical conference, competitions for young composers, artists and writers, a cycle of chamber and symphony concerts, and book exhibitions. The final events of the festival are scheduled for February 2005. Within the framework of creative interaction with the regions of Russia, expansion of international cultural ties, the Academic Theater for the Young Spectator named after. Yu.P. Kiseleva participated in the IX International Youth Theater Festival of Russian classics in the city of Lobnya, Moscow Region (with the play "Eternal Husband" by F. Dostoevsky) and in the International Theater Festival "Summer Fountain" (Rome, Italy); The Saratov puppet theater "Teremok" visited Bulgaria (with the play "A Lesson for Little Red Riding Hood" by E. Schwartz) and became a participant in two international festivals of puppet theaters: the X International Festival "MOBARAK" in Tehran, Iran and the II International Festival "Malachite Box, or Petrushka the Great" in Yekaterinburg; The Provincial Theater of Choral Music toured in Spain and participated in the VIII International Festival of Arts. A. D. Sakharov in Nizhny Novgorod. Within the framework of the Cooperation Agreement between the Ministry of Culture of the Saratov Region and the National Stage of Le Havre "Volcano" (France), a Russian-French project was implemented - the production of the play "Pentesileia" by A. Milianti (France) based on the play by G. von Kleist with students of the theater department Saratov Conservatory (course of A. Kuznetsov). In February, the French premiere took place in Le Havre, in April the performance was shown at the Drama Theater. I. A. Slonova. The Ministry of Culture of the region traditionally supports the diversity of forms of folk art, considering this a priority for its activities and cultural institutions in the field. This is one of the components of the task of today, expressed in the concept of "a decent living environment for every person." Development of amateur artistic creativity contributes to the regular holding of regional, regional and district reviews, competitions, festivals. Only in 2004 were held: the IX regional folklore and ethnographic holiday "Christmas Meetings", the International Festival of Traditional Culture "Down the Mother, along the Volga", regional festivals of folk art "Victory Salute", "Family Mosaic", "Springs of the Volga Region", "Victory inextinguishable light", "Steppe expanses", "Play, accordion, ring, ditty", pop song contest "Golden Microphone", festival of choreographic groups "Hello, world!", regional open festival of circus art "Carnival of Youth". 27 creative amateur groups and individual performers of the region took part in all-Russian and international festivals and competitions that were held in Sochi, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Vladimir, Penza, Voronezh, Ivanovo, Moscow, Astrakhan, the best of them won the title of diploma winners and laureates. Collectives from Balakovo, Balashov, Petrovsk, Pugachev, Saratov, r. The village of Ivanteevka adequately represented the Saratov region at the II stage of the All-Russian festival of folk art "Salute of Victory" in the Volga Federal District (Nizhny Novgorod). Festival activities contribute to the improvement of the performing level and stage culture of our amateur groups. Evidence of increasing skill is the annual growth in the number of creative teams bearing the title of "folk". Today there are 274 of them. Creative teams are active in concert activities, organize numerous holidays, serve social and cultural events of the district, regional and Russian scales. "First", "for the first time" - these words are often used when talking about the Saratov region. In the annals of the region, indeed, there are quite a few exceptional and unique events. For the first time in the country, an industrial natural gas field was discovered; the Saratov-Moscow gas pipeline laid the foundation for the gas industry of the USSR. Here, on the banks of the Volga, Yuri Gagarin, a student of the Saratov flying club and industrial technical school, took to the skies for the first time. It is significant that it was on the Saratov land that he "descended" after the legendary flight into space. The second person who visited the near-Earth space, German Titov, was also met from space by the Saratov region, and much more. At Moskovskaya, 9, the house of the merchant Dmitry Vakurov, the first book dealer in Saratov, has been preserved. Afanasy Stolypin, a renowned artillery officer, a participant in the Battle of Borodino, and great-uncle of the poet Mikhail Lermontov, often visited him. Until the early 1800s. in the city the main public school, the printing house of the provincial government, the first serf theater were opened. In 1826, according to the project of the architect V.P. Stasov, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was built - in honor of the victory over the army of Napoleon (destroyed in the 30s of our century). The most important events before the beginning of the 1900s: on July 12, 1828, a publicist, writer, critic N. Chernyshevsky was born in Saratov (died on October 17, 1889 in his native city, buried at the Resurrection Cemetery), the first steamboat approached the Saratov pier (1838) , the first newspaper "Saratov Provincial Gazette" (1844) began to be published, P. Yablochkov was born, an electrical scientist, inventor of the "Russian world" (1847), the Holy Spirit Church, which is still operating today, was built (1855), the city public bank was opened (1863), the first steam mill (1865), the artist V.E. a car appeared on the streets of Saratov (1900)... On the Volga bank, not far from the place where right-bank Saratov was founded, the connection between the past, present and future is especially acute. Here, on Museum Square, there is a monument of architecture - the Holy Trinity Cathedral, built in the late 17th - early 18th centuries. Near Sokolovaya Gora, which keeps the memory of Peter I and E. Pugachev, there is an airport from which "YAKs" born in Saratov soar into the sky. Together with the Volga, the city is in perpetual motion - it is being built, improved, developing production, science, and culture. Saratov - the center of the Saratov region of the Russian Federation, a large industrial and agricultural region, in 1956 and 1970. awarded with two highest orders of the country. 7. About the flag and coat of arms ... Flag of the Saratov region

The flag "is a rectangular panel of two horizontal stripes: the lower one is red and the upper one is white, in the ratio of the width of the stripes 1: 2, with a double-sided image in the center of the white stripe of the coat of arms of the Saratov region, surrounded by a golden decorative wreath of oak, laurel branches and ears of corn connected with a golden ribbon. The overall width of the image of the emblem of the Saratov region should be 1/4 of the length of the flag. The ratio of the flag's width to its length is 2:3.

The red color of the flag symbolizes courage, boldness, fearlessness, generosity and love; white - purity of thoughts, nobility of deeds, truthfulness, high spirituality of people living in the Saratov region

City coat of arms

On August 23, 1781, the emblem of Saratov and 8 cities that are part of the Saratov governorship was approved. On the coat of arms of Saratov "in a blue field there are 3 sterlets, meaning the abundance of such fish in this country." Above the shield at the top is the imperial crown, and on the other sides it was surrounded by golden oak leaves connected by an azure St. Andrew's ribbon. Three sterlets in a blue field are placed in the upper part of the emblems of Atkarsk, Balashov, Volsk, Kamyshin, Kuznetsk, Petrovsk, Serdobsk, Khvalynsk, which testified to their belonging to the Saratov governorate. By the decision of the Saratov City Duma dated November 18, 1997 # 13–108, the Regulations on the coat of arms of the city of Saratov were approved. The coat of arms of the city of Saratov is a traditional heraldic shield. It depicts three silver sterlet, meaning "this country's great abundance of such fish." Sterlets are oriented from the upper corners of the shield and the middle of the lower edge with their heads towards the center of the composition, forming the Greek letter "upsilon", symbolizing "the choice of a worthy path at the crossroads of life's roads." The sterlets located in the upper part of the shield are depicted with their backs to each other, and the sterlet located in the lower part is depicted with its back to the left of the viewer. The heraldic description of the coat of arms of the city of Saratov reads: “In the azure (blue, blue) field there are three silver sterlets with their heads to the heart of the shield; the lower sterlet is turned with its back to the right ”(heraldically the right side is located to the left of the viewer).

City flag

The modern flag of the city of Saratov is a rectangular white panel, in the lower part of which a blue stripe is horizontally located on the front and back sides. The width of the blue stripe is equal to 1/3 of the total width of the flag. In the center of the white stripe is the coat of arms of the city of Saratov. The coat of arms has the same field as the lower stripe of the flag - blue.

About symbolism...

Founded in 1590, Saratov as a fortress city to protect the Volga route from nomadic raids soon received the unofficial name of the Fish Town. Indeed, from the village of Sosnovy Ostrov, which is higher along the Volga, now the city of Khvalynsk, to the lower reaches of the great river, fishing was carried out. In the XVII-XVIII centuries, fishing and fish trade were the main sources of livelihood for the Saratov people. For a long time, beluga, stellate sturgeon, sturgeon, and sterlet remained their pride. The sterlet, a symbol of the region's fish wealth, was placed on the blue field of the coat of arms during the reign of Peter I. Three sterlet are read as many similar fish, and Saratov as the center of sterlet fishing. With the establishment of the Saratov governorate in 1780, the coat of arms of Saratov with the image of three sterlets was approved the next year. Viceroyalty in 1782 renamed the province. And although industry began to develop rapidly in the region from the second half of the 19th century, and the city turned into a large center of grain trade and flour milling, the same three sterlets remain on the coats of arms of the province and the city - evidence of adherence to tradition. They entered the provincial coat of arms, approved on July 5, 1878.

Coat of arms of the Saratov region

The modern emblem of the Saratov region is a pentagonal "French" shield of azure color, on which three silver sterlets are located in the form of a forked cross, with their heads to the center of the cross, while the lower sterlet lies on the right side. Above the shield is a historical land crown of gold color, lined with azure, with five visible teeth, stylized as the domes of Christian churches, which personifies the rich historical past since the foundation of Saratov as a border city - a fortress on the outskirts of the Russian state under Tsar Fedor Ioannovich in 1590 . The coat of arms of the city of Saratov, approved on August 23, 1781, served as the basis for the coat of arms of the region. The coat of arms is surrounded by a gold decorative wreath, consisting of intertwining oak, laurel branches and wheat ears intertwined with a gold ribbon. The azure color of the shield denotes the river expanses of the Volga and the beauty of small rivers flowing through the region. Sterlet symbolize the abundance of fish stocks, the purity of the Volga River and small rivers of the region. Oak branches in a decorative wreath symbolize the strength, courage and resilience of the peoples of the Saratov land during periods of hard times. The laurel personifies victory over enemies and the glory of Russian weapons. Ears of wheat symbolize natural and vegetable wealth, abundance, hospitality of the inhabitants, hard work of the people. Golden ribbons - wealth, power and constancy.

The newest coat of arms of the Saratov region

The coat of arms of the Saratov region in this image was approved by the Law of the Saratov region in March 2001 and registered in the State Heraldic Register of the Russian Federation on January 31, 2002 under # 850 (without a decorative wreath).

8.Conclusion

The Saratov Territory has a unique individual appearance and a rich historical destiny. The history of the "capital of the Volga region" begins with the ancient Golden Horde city of the 5th century, which existed for 150 years and was destroyed by the troops of Tamerlane. Passed through the revival, the raids of nomads, the attack of Emelyan Pugachev, the fire, the transfer of the city from place to place, Saratov had enormous wealth. There were fertile lands for plowing, abundant pastures, rich hunting and side lands, and notable fishing. Salt was of great value. Built in 1590 by Prince G. O. Zasekin and boyar F. M. Turov, Saratov, which had natural obstacles that protected the city from the Trans-Volga region, became a solid military-strategic object of the Russian state. In 1769, the city was the most developing and comfortable province of Russia, and at the beginning of the 20th century it was the third largest city in Russia and the largest city in the Volga region. Thanks to widespread patronage, churches, theaters, a circus, an art gallery, a public library, a conservatory, a hospital, and much more were built in the city. The Saratov region is the birthplace of many famous people: writers, artists, artists, scientists, musicians, inventors, etc. The Saratov region in terms of its industrial potential, the capacity of construction organizations, the volume of agricultural production, the size and level of the scientific and technical base and the training of qualified personnel is one of the largest in Russia and occupies an important place in the territorial division of labor.

9. List of references

1. History of the Saratov region: [From ancient times to 1917] / Ed. ed. V. P. Totfalushina. - 2nd ed., Rev., add. - Saratov: Regional Volga publishing house "Children's Book", 2000

2. Semenov V.N. - "In the old days of Saratov: Essays and stories about the past of our region." - Saratov: Regional Volga publishing house "Children's Book", 1993

3. Osipov, V.A., Gusakova Z.E., Gokhlener V.M. - "History of the Saratov Territory 1590-1917" - Saratov: Saratov University Publishing House, 1983

When the entire Saratov Trans-Volga region was divided between Astrakhan and the newly formed Samara provinces. The departed counties continued to maintain very close economic and cultural ties with the Saratov province. The Saratov region in the first half of the 19th century continued to be rapidly populated. In terms of the rate of settlement and the number of migrants, the Saratov province occupied one of the first places in the country. ...

Development. However, gradually the county towns of the region turned into centers of trade in bread and raw materials. They played a significant role in establishing and developing intraregional economic ties. One of the results of the socio-economic development of the cities of the Saratov region in the 18th century was the formation of the merchant class. Wealthy merchants held profitable fisheries in their hands, bought up cattle, lard...

In the church hierarchy, they either distinguished themselves as teachers of theological educational institutions57. Pokrovsky drew attention to two important moments pointing to the significant role of the Saratov Seminary in the transformation of the cultural space of the province. The contingent of children from the clergy to whom seminary education became available, according to his observations, increased significantly due to the discovery of this ...

By the adoption of retaliatory repressive measures in 1775, serfdom was extended to the whole of Ukraine, many Cossack liberties were abolished, and the Zaporozhian Sich would soon be destroyed. The peasant war of 1773-1775 was defeated, but does this give grounds to speak of its futility? First, the peasant war raised tens of thousands of people under its banner. They were from different places and...

Starting from the 6th century BC. e. to 5th century AD e., the Savromats-Sarmatians lived in the Volga region. Near the villages of Susla, Novaya Lipovka, Rovnoye and in other places, there are Sarmatian mounds, in which burials of people, weapons, jewelry, household items, dishes were found. From the 5th-6th centuries AD. e. in the Volga region, nomadic Turkic tribes begin to penetrate: the Pecheneg Turks, the Polovtsy. In the 8th-9th centuries, the Lower Volga region was the center of the monogol-Tatar state - the Golden Horde. The first location of Saratov is the modern Zavodskoy district of the city. The third largest city of the Golden Horde was Uvek, located within the city of Saratov. The main boundaries of the monument are considered to be the mouth of the river. Uvekovki in the north, Neftyanaya station, the Volga bank in the east and the edge of the Volga Upland in the west. The name comes from the ancient Turkic word "Uvek" - a tower. Scientists date the foundation of Uvek to the 50s of the 13th century. Uvek, like other cities of the Golden Horde, arose immediately, "from scratch". It was built by prisoners driven from different countries conquered by the Mongols. The city was not only a craft and trade center, but also the center of an agricultural district. Judging by archaeological finds, the city stretched along the coast for more than two kilometers. It was dominated by a high mountain, which is now called Kalancha. Uvek had a quarter-estate layout. The central region of Uvek was aristocratic. Its streets were built up with one-two-story residential buildings, mosques, palaces made of wood and baked bricks with lime mortar. The facades of the buildings, as well as the internal front rooms, were decorated with inlaid majolica panels from blue-turquoise tiles. The drawing there was geometric or floral. There were also large aristocratic estates surrounded by high walls, with ponds, with rich houses made of mud bricks. The houses were distinguished by splendor and luxury decoration. In the rooms, along three walls, a couch-sofa was arranged, inside which chimneys-kans passed from the stove to heat it. On the inside of the oven, notches were made for baking cakes. The floor in the dwelling was earthen and brick. A handicraft and trade area stretched along the Volga. There were bazaars, caravanserais, craft workshops. A variety of craftsmen worked in them: jewelers, blacksmiths, coppersmiths, glassblowers. Bricks, tiles, majolica and various dishes were made in pottery kilns - simple and covered with glaze on the outside. In this area one could see small houses standing close to each other. Small merchants, workshop owners, the most skilled, semi-dependent artisans lived in them. Separate quarters were occupied by large dugouts with walls reinforced with mud bricks. Wide benches-sofas were arranged along the walls. Such a room was heated by braziers with hot coals. Slaves-artisans lived in these dugouts. Probably, the same common dugouts existed in the northern part of the city, in the so-called "Christian" quarters, where Russians, Armenians and other non-Muslims lived. There were even Christian churches and chapels. In the southern part of the city there was a necropolis. The functioning water supply consisted of a pool, ditches and underground water pipes, as well as house water pipes. Uvek minted its own coin. It is well known from numerous finds. On one side there was an inscription like: "Eternal glory and its attendant honor." The place of minting - Uvek - and the year of issue were indicated on the back. Almost all inscriptions are made in Arabic. The last coins of Uvek belong to the middle of the 70s of the XIV century. Probably, the city in these years was destroyed by landslides on the banks of the Volga and fell into severe decline. He finally died in 1395 from the troops of Tamerlane, who, pursuing the ruler of the Golden Horde, Tokhtamysh, followed in his footsteps from Ciscaucasia. Uvek existed for about 150 years. Perhaps now at the bottom of the Saratov rivers, under a layer of silt and sand, the ancient treasures of the Golden Horde are stored. However, the excavations are not carried out, and the Tatar riches continue to remain only a legend.

Foundation of Saratov

The need to strengthen the southeastern borders, populate and develop vast lands, develop trade along the Volga route caused the construction of cities and fortresses on the new outskirts of the state. The cities founded on the Volga became a powerful barrier against the runs of the Crimean Tatars and neighboring Nogais. The tsarist government took measures against the raids of nomads and thieves' Cossacks, but they were ineffective. Then they built fortified cities. All three cities - Samara, Tsaritsyn, Saratov - were founded by one person - Prince Grigory Osipovich Zasekin. He was a major military leader, an experienced fortifier and a recognized town planner. His name is associated with the final consolidation of the Russian state on the Volga. The fortified city of Saratov was placed halfway between the two fortresses, in an area where there was a good crossing over the Volga in July 1590, as mentioned above, by Prince G. O. Zasekin and boyar F. M. Turov. Already in the next century, Saratov becomes a solid military-strategic object of the Russian state, the location of which is the cape formed by the Saratov and Volga rivers, which, according to the modern map of the city, is the location of the city of Engels. In the fortress on the defensive stood from 300 to 400 archers.

Based on indirect documents and archaeological finds, most scientists suggest that the first, original Saratov was built a few kilometers above the modern city. Here, at the confluence of the Guselka River with the Volga, there is a cape with a smooth, slightly sloping plateau. Saratov was originally located in its center. A high hill rose above the city, or, in the local language, "shikhan", from which the area was perfectly visible for several miles, and from the tower built there - even further. The steep slopes of the banks of the Volga and the Guselka, a place overgrown with forest interspersed with water meadows, channels, oxbow lakes, lakes, were natural obstacles and protected the city from the Trans-Volga region. On the opposite side, a deep ravine, also overgrown with forest and shrubs, which ran behind the shikhan hill, served as a good defense. Wooden fortress walls with towers surrounded a small city and protected it from attacks. The voivodship office and the yard of the voivode himself were built in the city, nearby were the yards of the children of the boyar and archery centurions. The rest of the territory was occupied by the estates of artisans and merchants, and closer to the fortress walls - archers, gunners and other service people. Grain barns, powder magazines, a prison and other state buildings stood separately. A wooden church towered above all the buildings. Fire hazardous metallurgical and pottery furnaces, and possibly forges, were built outside the fortress walls in the field. The Lower Volga region possessed huge untouched riches. There were fertile lands for plowing, abundant pastures, rich hunting and side lands, and notable fishing. Salt was of great value.

The estate of an ordinary Saratov citizen consisted of a hut, outbuildings (a cellar, a barn, a stable and a room for livestock) and a bathhouse. The hut was small, with small cut-through windows that moved with a “drag” plank. Part of the hut was occupied by a stove, next to it, under the ceiling, beds were arranged for rest and sleep. Things, which were not so many, were arranged skillfully, which made the hut seem spacious. Along the walls were wide benches, chests for things - "junk". There was also a small table. Shelves were built into the walls. The hut was illuminated by a torch, inserted into an iron forged light. Before him put a trough with water for falling coals. There was also a place in the hut for crafts: shoemaking, furrier, bone carving and others.

The population of the city consisted mainly of service people. They carried guard duty, monitored the movement of Nogai nomads, fought against the "thieves'" Cossacks. Streltsy were engaged in the protection of the Volga route, escorting trade caravans to the nearest city. The governor was in charge of all affairs in the city. The first governor was Grigory Zasekin, his assistant was the head of the archery Turov. For their service, the archers received the sovereign's bread and a cash salary, which was delivered to Saratov along the coast. Therefore, in their free time from the military guard service, they were engaged in arable farming and gardening, bred livestock, traded in crafts, trade, fishing and hunting.

At the beginning of the 17th century, an unprecedented exacerbation of the class struggle resulted in the first civil war in the history of the Russian state (1603-1614). Fleeing from the oppression of the tsarist administration and the oppression of the feudal lords, peasants and townspeople (city dwellers) fled to the banks of the Volga. Here they joined the detachments of the Volga Cossacks. By the summer of 1604, the Cossacks became absolute masters on the Volga and did not allow trade and embassy caravans to pass. Large losses were borne by the commercial and industrial people of the Volga cities - Samara, Saratov, Tsaritsyn and others. The entire Volga region was stirred up by the movement of Ilya Gorchakov, or Ileyka Muromets. He managed to assemble a 4,000-strong detachment of Terek, Don and Volga Cossacks. Ileika pretended to be “Tsarevich Peter, allegedly the son of Tsar Fedor Ivanovich (the younger son of Ivan the Terrible). The detachment of this impostor caused confusion among the boyars, landowners, and merchants. Robberies and robberies swept the lower reaches of the Volga. Soon a new impostor appeared on the Volga - a typical representative of the lower freemen, who called himself "Tsarevich Ivan-August" - the son of Ivan the Terrible. In the summer of 1607, the movement of "Tsarevich Ivan-August" and his self-proclaimed grandsons Osinovik began. In July, the detachment of Ivashka-August entered Tsaritsyn, and then moved up the Volga. The troops of the low-ranking freemen reached Saratov without hindrance, laid siege to it, but they failed to take the city. The reinforced garrison under the command of Zamyatiya Saburov and Vladimir Anichkov repulsed the attacks, "many thieves were beaten", and "Tsarevich Ivan" hastily moved to the Don, where he moved to Bolotnikov. But his detachment was defeated by False Dmitry II, Ivan-August himself and his associate Laurus were captured and hanged. And the Cossacks dealt with Osinovik earlier, after the defeat near Saratov. But Saratov did not remain loyal to the Moscow government for long: already in 1609, the city went over to the side of False Dmitry II.

Until 1614, there was no documentary news about Saratov. It is only certain that in the winter of 1613/14 the city burned down, either from negligence with fire, or as a result of an attack by gangs of thieves. The circumstances of the burning of the city are unknown. Wooden Saratov burned like a torch. Many people died in the fire. The horses could not be saved. Part of the archers, who escaped death, moved 350 miles to Samara. About 200 people reached this fortress. Such is the fate of the original Saratov.

After the death of Saratov on the right bank, it was restored on the meadow side of the Volga (slightly north of the current city of Engels). Probably, from here it was easier to follow the movements of the nomads, to conduct guard duty. The first information about the left-bank Saratov dates back to 1617. It was located on a large cape at the confluence of a small, but then full-flowing river, later called Saratovka, into the Volga.

The city occupied approximately 15-17 hectares. Passing in 1623, the Moscow merchant Fedot Kotov wrote: “In Saratov, the city stands on the meadow side, the towers are chopped, round, the courtyard and rows in the city. And outside the city are archery yards and fish shops, and barns where they put supplies from ships. Saratov was depicted as a city-fortress by the secretary of the Holstein embassy, ​​Adam Olearius, who saw Saratov in 1636.

The center of the left-bank Saratov was a prison (Kremlin) with wooden walls, loopholes for rifle fire and chopped towers with cannons. Inside the prison there was a voivodship yard, an office, a command hut, customs, a church, houses of "boyar children", shopping arcades and other buildings. A ditch was dug in front of the walls of the prison, and a settlement was located behind it. There were houses of archers, townspeople, there were shops, barns. Field fortifications - radolbs - were arranged around the settlement.

In the 1630s, several hundred archers and carpenters were sent to Saratov, who built a new prison. The fortress walls with towers now covered the entire settlement. The new fortress was besieged by artillery. On the towers and in the walls there were cannons that fired cannonballs, and on the travel towers - buckshot. The city became a fortress, which successfully withstood more than one attack by the "thieves'" Cossacks and nomads.

The main population of the left-bank Saratov was service people - horse and foot archers, gunners, collars. Of these, 300 people with their families lived in the city permanently, but there were another 100 "year-olds" sent to serve in the fortress for two or three years. The city was also inhabited by sovereign blacksmiths and carpenters. Servant people received a yearly salary in money (3 rubles and bread (two-quarters of rye and oats each). A small salary forced the service people to engage in agriculture, gardening, household cattle breeding, make handicrafts and even engage in petty trade in their free time. there was no food.

The military authorities were the head of the archery, centurions and junior commanders from among the "children of the boyars." The head of the archery, as well as the governor, received 40 rubles a year in money. And for successful military campaigns - expensive gifts. Trade people, artisans (carpenters, shoemakers, kalachniks and others), as well as people who worked for hire on ships and fisheries also lived in the city. But this township population was not numerous. Few of them had their own yards, most rented corners in other people's houses. The servants and the townspeople were subordinate to the governor, who was in charge of administrative, military, economic affairs, and, if necessary, repaired the court and reprisals. In total, there were no more than 1500-2000 people in the left-bank Saratov.

In the spring of 1674, in pursuance of the decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich "To make a new city on the mountains of Saratov," the fortress was moved. Colonel Alexander Shel chose a place to the south of Sokolovaya Gora, on the site of the fishermen of the Moscow Novospassky Monastery who settled at that time. In 1722, Peter I visited the city, and Academician I. Lepekhin, who visited the city in 1769, called Saratov the most developing and comfortable province of Russia with straight streets and good shopping arcades. At that time, a lot of factories were built here. People were engaged in pottery, traded fish, salt, bread. Manufactory production was also well developed. All this was indicated by the names of the streets, which testified to the employment of the population. Salt, Kuznetsk, Brick, Tulupnaya, Bolshaya and Malaya Kostrizhnye (from the fire "- waste of flax and hemp). The factory of the Frenchman Verdier produced satin, stockings, taffeta - thin silk fabric. On August 6, 1774, the main forces of Emelyan Pugachev's army approached Saratov. He did not come here with good intentions and stopped at Sokolova Gora, from which he began to shell the city.On October 8, the leader of the rebels was arrested in the Saratov Trans-Volga region.

The settlement of the region in the first half of the XVIII century. occurred both at the initiative of the ruling circles, landlords, monasteries and merchants, and spontaneously. The monasteries founded the city of Khvalynsk, the villages of Voskresenskoye, Bakury, and Tersa. Many villages were founded by runaway serfs, especially in the Trans-Volga region, along the banks of the Bolshoi and Malyi Irgiz, Bolshoi and Malyi Uzen rivers. By the middle of the XVIII century. within the boundaries of the former Saratov province there were already 634 settlements, and the number of inhabitants reached 200 thousand people. At the same time, the trade and transport importance of the Volga and the cities located on it, including Saratov, continued to grow.

In connection with the development of the Elton salt deposit, the government established a “salt commissariat” in Saratov, which was in charge of the extraction and transportation of salt. Ukrainians were invited to transport salt from Lake Elton to Saratov, where salt barns were built. After 20-30 years, in the Left Bank, on the roads from Elton to Saratov, and in the Right Bank, on the roads from Saratov to Tambov and Voronezh, dozens of Ukrainian settlements and farms arose (among them is Pokrovskaya Sloboda - the current city of Engels).

The population of the Saratov Volga region increased significantly after the schismatics moved to the Volga by decree of Catherine II. As a result, large schismatic settlements arose in the Trans-Volga region: Balakovo, Krivoluchye, Kamenka, Mechetnoye (Pugachev), etc. Soon the first colonists appeared in the city. The suburban settlement was called German. According to the plan of 1812, a place in the first block from Nikolskaya (Radishcheva) Street was specially allocated for this occasion. Soon a German street (now Kirov Avenue) appeared.

Gradually, Saratov turns into a southern trading capital. The artisans who flooded the city are advancing its borders from the Volga to the southwest, building shops, houses, shops in the direction from Moscow Street to Aleksandrovskaya (Gorky) and Volskaya. Wealthy people, represented by the local nobility and merchants, chose another part of the city, which began immediately after Novo-Soborskaya Square, covering Konstantinovskaya, Aleksandrovskaya, Dvoryanskaya and other streets. The elite of the Saratov society living here was directly involved in the construction of the city. Thus, thanks to widespread philanthropy in 1869, a church in the name of Saints Cyril and Methodius appeared in the city at the men's gymnasium, a house church in the women's boarding school, the funds for the construction of which came from Mykola Azarov. But the head of the City Duma, Ivan Pozdeev, contributed to the opening of a children's hospital on Mount Sokolova. In 1803, the first city theater was opened here. The history of the city also remembers the name of Pyotr Stolypin, Chairman of the Council of Ministers. P.A. Stolypin (1862-1911) in 1903 was appointed head of the Saratov province. In March, the new governor received members of the City Duma at his residence (Moskovskaya, 31). Shortly after taking office, house No. 22 on Volskaya Street was converted into the governor's apartment. A three-story building was built nearby for his office and "presences" (Volskaya, 24). In April 1906, the 44-year-old Stolypin was appointed Minister of the Interior. The last time he visited Saratov as prime minister was in September 1910. Nowadays, in the regional museum of local lore in Saratov, you can see the uniform of the reformer of Russia, the armchair from the Kyiv theater, on which the mortally wounded Stolypin sank, as well as a family album with unique photographs. But in the local art museum. Radishchev there is a portrait of Stolypin, painted by Ilya Repin, commissioned by the last City Duma. The current authorities also managed to perpetuate the memory of the first governor. So, in 2002, the first Russian monument to Stolypin appeared in the city.

Germans in the Volga region

By the beginning of the 20th century, on the maps of the Volga region, there were over two hundred German names given to their settlements by the Germans who settled in the Saratov Territory at the invitation of Catherine II. But in 1915, these “names” began to urgently change to Russian. Wiesenthal became, for example, Lugovoi. Rosenberg - Clever. Unterdorf - Veselovka. The first world war was on. And although the Volga Germans had long since become respectable Russians, the oppression of the German colonists began. German newspapers were closed and German was forbidden to be spoken in public places. The names have been changed. After the February Revolution of 1917, the names were restored, newspapers were opened. The Volga Germans achieved the creation of their own districts of Ekaterinenstadt, Zelmansky, Balzersky. In 1919, the Autonomous Region was formed, which included lands where the German population prevailed. The Saratov authorities did not welcome such changes. With the separation of the Germans into an independent region, the province was losing land, where the economy was much better than in other provinces. However, the colonists were supported by Moscow. In 1923, part of the lands with Russian and Ukrainian populations became part of the Autonomous Region, filling in the gaps in its territory. The Pokrovsky district also entered there. And Pokrovsk itself, thanks to its economic development and size, has risen from a county center to a regional one. At the beginning of 1924, the German region was already transformed into the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of the Volga Germans as part of the RSFSR. Thanks to this, Pokrovsk suddenly became the center of the republic. The area of ​​the Republic of the Volga Germans was over 25 thousand square meters. kilometers. The population is over half a million people. 551 settlements, including 4 cities. The ASSR of the Volga Germans was liquidated in 1941, after the outbreak of World War II. The territory of the liquidated ASSR NP was divided between the Saratov region (15 cantons) and the Stalingrad region (7 cantons). As a matter of urgency, all Germans, without exception, were resettled from the Volga region to remote regions of Kazakhstan and Siberia. In early October 1941, 365,000 Germans were resettled from the Volga region. And refugees from the western regions of the country began to settle on the deserted lands. In May 1942, all 229 German names on the maps were replaced by Russian ones. Balzer became Krasnoarmeysk, Zelman - Rovny. Marxstadt lost his German prefix, but avoided renaming, like Engels, for ideological reasons. It was strictly forbidden to mention the disappeared republic.

A week tour, one-day hiking trips and excursions combined with comfort (trekking) in the mountain resort of Khadzhokh (Adygea, Krasnodar region). Tourists live at the camp site and visit numerous natural monuments. Rufabgo Waterfalls, Lago-Naki Plateau, Meshoko Gorge, Big Azish Cave, Belaya River Canyon, Guam Gorge.

Saratov original

In the book "Gospel", written at the end of the XVI century, on clean slate in the handwriting of an illiterate and inexperienced person, the following entry was made in the letter: “In the summer of 7098 (1590), the month of July, on the 2nd day, in memory of the position of the belt of the Most Pure Mother of God, Prince Grigory Osipovich Zasekin and Fyodor Mikhailovich Turov came to lay the foundation of the city of Saratov.” Although the recording is quite accurate and there was no doubt about the authenticity, this is just a personal note. Scientists continued to search for information in official documents. And in the collection, written at the beginning of the 17th century by the elder Tikhon Kazants, consisting of chronicle fragments, there was an entry: “And in the 98th year, the city of Saratov was established.” Later, another mention was found in the Digit Book of the 15th-16th centuries, where they were recorded according to the years of appointment to the highest military and government positions. Under 1590, it was indicated: “In the new city on Saratov Island, the head of Fedor Turov.”

These documents testify to the foundation of Saratov in 1590. Based on indirect documents and archaeological finds, most scientists suggest that the first, original Saratov was built a few kilometers above the modern city. Here, at the confluence of the Guselka River with the Volga, there is a cape with a smooth, slightly sloping plateau. Saratov was originally located in its center. A high hill rose above the city, or, in the local language, “shikhan”, from which the area was perfectly visible for several miles, and from the tower built there - even further. The steep slopes of the banks of the Volga and the Guselka, a place overgrown with forest interspersed with water meadows, channels, oxbow lakes, lakes, were natural obstacles and protected the city from the Trans-Volga region. On the opposite side, a deep ravine, also overgrown with forest and shrubs, which ran behind the shikhan hill, served as a good defense. The place for the construction of the first Saratov, as we see, was chosen convenient, protected by natural barriers, militarily advantageous. The construction of the city on the Volga was a matter of great national importance. Therefore, the preparation was thorough. A place was chosen, in relation to it, a drawing of the future city and an estimate for construction were drawn up, where the size of the city, its social composition, and what and where to get building materials were determined. In the summer of 1590, on the banks of the Volga, in the place where the Guselka River flows into it, it was crowded and noisy. Hundreds of people, guarded by archers, unloaded ships with timber for the construction of a new city.

Last summer, in the forest-rich upper reaches of the Volga, a wooden city was cut down - all its buildings, including fortifications. For summer and autumn wooden buildings dried out, the logs settled. In the spring, all the log cabins were dismantled, marking each log with a carpenter's account, and delivered on ships to the site of the future city. This method made it possible to build a new city in a few weeks. The voivodes - Prince G. O. Zasekin and the head of the archery F. M. Turov, and with them clerks, boyar children, archers, came to the laying of the new city. Even earlier, carpenters, blacksmiths, stove-makers and other builders, foot archers arrived here. G. O. Zasekin, as an experienced fortifier and urban planner, supervised all the work. Finally, the day of laying Saratov came. According to the drawing, its territory was marked out: grooves were dug, pegs-marks were driven in at the site of future buildings. The builders were followed by governors, clerks, free archers. There was a priest right there, followed by an icon. According to the customs of that time, with a prayer and blessing of water, they walked around the supposed places of fortifications and the gates of the city. The priest sprinkled all this with “holy” water. Then they outlined and consecrated the place of the temple. On the same day, while everything was still "holy", the first crowns of future structures and buildings were laid out of logs. And the construction went on in full swing. The first Saratov, apparently, was no different from other fortress cities of that time. Wooden fortress walls with towers surrounded a small city and protected it from attacks. The voivodship office and the yard of the voivode himself were built in the city, nearby were the yards of the children of the boyar and archery centurions. The rest of the territory was occupied by the estates of artisans and merchants, and closer to the fortress walls - archers, gunners and other service people. Grain barns, powder magazines, a prison and other state buildings stood separately. A wooden church towered above all the buildings.

Two versions about the place of foundation of Saratov

The history of Saratov is well studied and covered in the works of pre-revolutionary and Soviet historians, publicists and local historians. Collected abundant and eloquent material in local museums. Nevertheless, two questions remain unresolved in the history of the city to this day: 1) in what place was Saratov founded - on the right or on the left bank of the Volga; 2) what is the origin of this obviously foreign geographical name? This second question is all the more legitimate because our city arose not in ancient times, not many centuries ago, like Novgorod, Kyiv, Moscow, but in relatively recent times, which left behind numerous documents along with monuments of material culture: chronicles, legislative acts , scribe and bit books, all kinds of letters, reports, written eyewitness accounts, cartographic material, etc. Saratov was founded in the years when Moscow Rus took shape as a Russian state with a centralized administration and, although with poor and unkempt, but well-studied internal tracts, with a dense network of river routes. It would seem that with the emergence of each new city, it should be given not a foreign, but a Russian name such as Novgorod, Lugansk, Pavlodar, Pokrovsk, etc. After all, in those years, other new cities - the same age as Saratov - were given names: Belgorod, Tsarev- Borisov. Here is a name that is incomprehensible and alien in its basis to Russian speech. It turns out that if it is difficult to answer the first question - about the place of the original founding of the city due to the fact that the archive of the order of the Kazan Palace, which was in charge of the affairs of the Volga region, burned down in 1701, then in the question of the geographical name, the evidence seems to lie inside itself: you just have to decipher its language basis, and the answer is received. Unfortunately, it is not at all as simple as it seems, and not only in this case. There are many geographical names, the meaning and origin of which, despite strenuous attempts to establish them, still remain undeciphered. So it is here: although local historians have put a lot of effort into solving the problem, yet many of their assumptions and arguments remain unconvincing. The fact that local historians did not make enough use of the materials published in the press of a special branch of linguistics - toponymy, the science of geographical names, also played its role. However, in this case, the importance of toponymy is especially great, since “the (geographical) names themselves can tell a lot to the historian-researcher, be, especially with a lack of other sources, a kind of historical landmark. Geographical names can be used along with other historical sources to study the history of the country and historical and geographical facts. It should be emphasized that toponymy as a science of geographical names is associated primarily with geography (including historical), as well as with history and ethnography, often refers to archeology and other branches of knowledge. According to one, the earliest version, Saratov was founded in 1590 on the left bank of the Volga, somewhat north of the current city of Engels.

In the winter of 1613, the wooden fortified city completely burned down and only after 3-4 years was restored in the same place. According to another, the city arose in the indicated year on the right bank of the Volga, but it has not been exactly established exactly where. Died from a fire in 1613, it was rebuilt already on the left bank at the mouth of the river. Saratovka in 1616-1617. Left-bank Saratov, according to both versions, was transferred by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in 1674 to the right bank of the Volga to a place between Glebuchev (Vorovsky - in the terminology of those times) and Beloglinsky ravines. Until the end of the last century, there was no doubt that Saratov was founded on the left bank of the Volga. It was believed that the Book of the Big Drawing, a state document early XVII century, representing a set of geographical information about the territory of the Russian state and neighboring countries, contains quite convincing evidence of the left-bank location of Saratov. All local historians were unanimous in this opinion. Among them, we will name A.F. Leopoldov, the author of the book “Historical Sketch of the Saratov Territory” published in 1848, A.I. Shakhmatov. Let us mention the works of S. S. Krasnodubrovsky “A Story about the Old Years of Saratov” and N. F. Khovansky “About the Past of the City of Saratov” published in the same 1891 - for the 300th anniversary of the city. The same version was confirmed in the detailed two-volume work by G.I. Peretyatkovich “The Volga Region. Essays on the history and colonization of the region ... ". In the first part of this work, the author directly states that "a year after the construction of Tsaritsyn, Saratov already existed on the left bank of the Volga." The most solid among these works are the historical essays of the native Saratov native A. I. Shakhmatov, among whose ancestors was one of the Saratov governors and who has preserved an extensive archive where you can find information about the past of Saratov. Shakhmatov's book contains a large amount of factual material relating to the place and time of existence of Saratov on the left bank, including a large-scale map of the area and a copy of the map of Olearius. They will be discussed in chapter six. The assumption that Saratov was originally founded on the right bank and exactly where Uvek is now located, apparently, was first expressed by the local historian V.P. Yuryev, who published an article on this topic in one of the Saratov newspapers. In 1913, P. G. Lyubomirov developed this idea in his report to the provincial archival commission. He also believed that Uvek was the place of origin of Saratov. The version about the foundation of the city on the right bank was developed first in the article, and then in the great work of A. A. Geraklitov "History of the Saratov Territory of the 16th-18th centuries."

Recognizing that the exact location of the old Saratov has not been established, the author of this work nevertheless assumed (taking into account the archaeological excavations on the right bank of the Volga in the area from Pristannoye to Uvek) that most likely the fortress was founded a little south of the current village of Pristannoye. B. A. Osipov spoke even more clearly: this is an area on the banks of the river. Guselki, where excavations were carried out in 1963. Over time, this problem becomes more and more debatable, and the number of supporters of the second version (about the foundation of a city on the right bank) increased more and more. The most objectively debatable issue was reflected in a small, but very informative work by V. I. Opokova (published in 1924), “The Past of the Saratov Territory”, which is very informative in terms of the information contained in it. “We know exactly the year Saratov was founded, but we cannot indisputably indicate the place of its construction. Information about where Saratov was located in the first years of its existence is so unclear that it caused controversy between researchers. Some believe that Saratov was built on the left bank of the Volga at the confluence of the Saratovka river, 2 versts above Pokrovsk (a reference is made to Chekalin and Peretyatkovi-cha. - N. S.), others that Saratov was first founded on the right bank and only after a troubled time was transferred to the left meadow, where traces of his settlement are still preserved. At the same time, V. I. Opokova gives an explanation: “Supporters of this last opinion disagree on the question of where exactly the original Saratov was located: in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe current Kazan Church in Saratov (Lyubomirov) or somewhere near the village of Pristannoye (Heraklitov). There is even one indication that Saratov was located on an island, but it is the only one and, perhaps, due to the fact that the city, if it was located on the meadow side, was surrounded by water on almost all sides in the spring, which is why it seemed to be spread out on the island (highlighted us.- N. S). They argued a lot about what the word "Saratov" means, and this issue also cannot be considered resolved to this day.

And what does the word "Saratov" mean?

The question - what does the name of their city - Saratov asked, probably only in the middle of the last century. And then one of our first local historians, historiographer and journalist Andrei Filippovich Leopoldov seemed to solve this riddle quite simply. Indeed, the word "Saratov" as if by itself splits into two eastern, Turkic ones: "sary", which means "yellow", and "tau" - mountain. And then everything turns out very logically. Mountain near the city - available. There were Turkic-speaking nomads in the 16th century in the Volga region. It seems that they could call this mountain in their own way. And the founders of the city - the Russians, slightly changing, transfer this name to the fortress, set at the foot of the mountain. However, over time, difficulties emerged. Firstly, as it turned out, for the first time Saratov could be placed not near the "yellow mountain", but somewhere quite far from it. Secondly, this mountain, if you look closely, is not yellow, but rather gray. Thirdly, it was not possible to find evidence that the nomads called the aforementioned mountain "sary-tau". (Among the Russians, this peak has long been called Sokolova). And fourthly, and most importantly, the word "Saratov", if you deal with it more thoroughly, breaks up not only into "yellow" and "mountain". It turns out that it can also be understood as "sara-atel", which already means "beautiful comfortable area" (A.I. Shakhmatov, 1891). And as "saryk-atav" - "hawk" or "robber island" (N.F. Khovansky, 1891). And as "saryk-atov" - also an "island", but already "yellow" (V.I. Osipov, 1976). This is, if we mean the Turkic languages. But besides nomads - Tatars or Nogais, Finno-Ugric and Indo-Iranian tribes once lived in our area. And among them, "sarata" is understood as "fast flowing water" (A.S. Maduev, 1928). "Cap" - means sedge or low marshland (V.I. Gortsev, 1986).

And here's something else that's interesting. The decryptions made after Leopoldov seemed to be somehow linked with the features of those places where, according to later researchers of the Saratov antiquity, the city could be built and got its name. Let's say, on the left bank of the Volga, which is a "beautiful convenient place." Or on one of the many river islands, where, of course, there were birds of prey - hawks, kites, or robbers found shelter, or, again, on an island that could be called "yellow" because of the color of its sandy shores. Of course, the Saratov fortress at first could have been built near some river with "flowing water" flowing into the Volga, like Guselka. Or - by a quiet backwater, the banks of which are "overgrown with sedge" ... In addition to the above assumptions, over the past century and a half, some more less successful ones have been made, since their authors did not try to connect "Saratov" with the features of some places, but simply guided by the consonance of this name with suitable words from various ancient languages. For example, opinions were expressed that "Saratov" comes from the old "Sart", meaning "sedentary, permanent resident" (M.V. Gotovitsky, 1889). Or from "cap" - "builders of cities" (school of Academician Marr). Or from "sarms", meaning "to fence, protect" (V.N. Maikov, 1978). It is unlikely that the founders of the first Saratov fortress, the boyar Turov and the governor Zasekin, had time to do research in ancient books in order to choose a wiser name there. And even more so, they would not have turned to, say, Kalmyk with its "Sary-Bolgasn", which means "yellow city" (foreign researchers). Moreover, there were no Kalmyks in our area at the end of the 16th century. The assumption that the word "Saratov" is connected with the ancient Russian "ratai" can hardly be considered successful. plowman. During the first hundred years of the life of the city, Saratov definitely did not work the land, because. were completely absorbed in military affairs. Arable soldiers appeared in our area much later (A.I. Bazhenova, 1987).

Much more interesting are two other assumptions that have appeared recently. They are based on the remark of the Saratov scientist A.A. Geraklitov, made back in 1923. He noted that in the first years of Saratov's existence, our ancestors, going to a new city or sending some dispatches there, spoke and wrote not "to Saratov", but "to Saratov". According to the peculiarities of the Russian language, this could only be so if the word "Saratov" denoted not only the city, but also the whole district, area, tract. The authors of new hypotheses (E.K. Maksimov, L.G. Khizhnyak, Z.L. Novozhenova, 1990-1991) believe that the name of the city was derived by the Russians from the word "sary-tav" used by the Turkic-speaking nomads - Nogais , denoting the right upland section of the Volga coast, steep, in many places still yellow today. The Nogais really wandered in the Volga region in the 15th-16th centuries and had constant contacts with the Russians. In addition, the above researchers admit that the basis of the name of the first Russian fortress in our area could have appeared even earlier, even before the arrival of the Nogais and even the Tatar-Mongols to the Volga. In the 9th-10th centuries, among nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes, who partially used Indo-Iranian words, their "sara" also meant "yellow", and maybe "red". And there were tribal groups where red hair was very common. If one of these groups roamed our current lands for quite a long time, then the name "Saratov" may come from the name of the area where "a red-haired tribe lived near the Volga."

So, today there are at least 13 options for deciphering the word that interested us. Unfortunately, none of them is indisputable and cannot withstand serious criticism, and therefore, our search will continue. And obviously not for fun. After all, "Saratov" is not only the name of our main city. This word is part of the sacred concept for us - the Saratov Land. And what's more - it sounds in our common name - Saratov. A name that unites those who still live within the boundaries of the Saratov region, near or slightly away from the majestic steep banks of the Russian Volga River...

Literature

1. Khudyakov D.S. Land of Saratov. Saratov: Compatriot, 1998.

2. History of the Saratov region. Saratov: Region. Privolzh. publishing house "Children's book", 2000.

3. Essays on the history of the Saratov Volga region. T.1: From ancient times to the abolition of serfdom. Saratov: Sarat Publishing House. un-ta, 1993.