Homemade cannons lined up on the lawn, a sculpture of a soldier on the roof, vigilantly examining visitors - it is impossible not to notice the military miniature located in front of the house of Veniamin Somov. The neat white estate of the Somovs is called the “house with cannons”.
But the most amazing thing awaits guests behind the gate. A path entwined with wild grapes leads to a gingerbread house, behind the walls of which a real museum is hidden: here are hunting trophies - deer antlers and a stuffed bear head, and carefully hung grass, and photographs of ancestors yellowed from time to time, and countless author's sculptures.
Who is he, the owner of this dwelling? Veniamin Ivanovich himself does not know where to classify himself. By type of service - a military man, by profession - a driver, and by vocation - a sculptor, herbalist, hunter and beekeeper.
In 1944, as a 16-year-old boy, Veniamin Somov fled to the front, after the war he served in the troops of the MGB (Ministry of State Security of the USSR). The front-line service left an indelible mark, and, returning to his native village, Veniamin Somov made it his life's work to preserve the memory of those who died defending their homeland. He decided to express his gratitude to his colleagues in stone.
At first he made small figures of Russian soldiers, and then moved on to monumental art - monuments. Having only 4 classes of education, he created his creations on a whim, without drawings and sketches. He himself bought concrete, granite and marble, forged fittings, ordered equipment for installing creations. It seems incredible, but over the course of several decades, Veniamin Somov made almost two dozen monuments dedicated to combatants. Almost all of them are installed on the picturesque hills of the village Dalnee Konstantinovo.
princely gift
Each person is born with his own talent and his own laziness, - Veniamin Somov begins the conversation thoughtfully. - You need talent and hammer a nail.
Somov speaks reluctantly about his talent. But having taken out an album with photographs of creations, he does not refrain from commenting:
This is a monument to the Komsomol members of the region, who gave their lives for their Motherland, erected on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Komsomol. Here is a chapel in honor of the soldiers who died during the Second World War, right from this place the guys were taken to the front. There is a monument to the soldiers of the Dalnekonstantinovsky district, who died for the old and new Russia in 1914-1920. A monument to the soldiers-internationalists who died in Spain, a monument to those who died in the Finnish war, and, of course, to the Afghans.
The author's imagination is amazing. What is worth, for example, his composition dedicated to the victims of Stalinist repressions: metal human hands in shackles, growing out of the earth and as if calling to heaven, and a bell swaying measuredly in the wind. But the monument erected to the participants in future wars and interethnic strife is especially impressive: a huge cross made of rails, adorned with metal rings, standing alone in the field, is a real work of avant-garde art.
It's scary to imagine that future generations will participate in wars, says Somov. - But I feel the need to pay tribute to the courage of these unborn children.
And also Veniamin Ivanovich is a lover of creations with secrets. Among its monuments are two monuments in which special sounding devices are immured: a monument to those who died in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 and a monument in honor of the victory over Japan in 1945.
Over time, under the influence of rain and snow, the concrete will crumble, and with a light breath of wind penetrating into concrete recesses, a gentle melodic sound will be carried along the hill, - Veniamin Somov explains the secret.
But the village sculptor recalls his last work - a 6-meter statue of Alexander Nevsky, towering on a hill above the Ozerka River, with particular pride.
A long time ago in Gorodets they collected money for the construction of a monument to Prince Nevsky. And I decided to donate the monument to my district without any fees. He worked on this monument for about a year. The sculpture was assembled from four concrete blocks in his workshop. To take them to the place, he hired a tractor, and a crane had to be ordered for the installation of the monument. But now newlyweds and schoolchildren come to this monument.
Years take their toll, and having created the last monumental creation, Somov moved from large forms to small ones. Near the house he installed concrete cannons - copies of the artillery pieces of the Patriotic War of 1812. Another author's cannon, working, is located near the building of the district administration. With ten shots from it, Veniamin Somov annually salutes in honor of Victory Day.
In the district center Somov is kindly called an eccentric. The 83-year-old veteran is not offended by the fixed name and even willingly agrees with the well-aimed nickname.
All of us in the family were eccentrics. But how talented! Grandfather, a craftsman, built wonderful houses. True, the drunkard was bitter. It used to happen that he would come from his earnings at the troika in a woman's shirt and malachai and shout to his grandmother: “Pay!” So, he drank everything. By the way, Somov immortalized his rich pedigree (in the family, information about ancestors who lived back in the 17th century!) was immortalized in a memorial plaque, which he installed at the local cemetery.
by the way
Veniamin Somov talks about his other hobbies with no less pleasure.
Healing herbs, gifts of nature, which Veniamin Ivanovich was taught to use in everyday life by his grandmother, is an inexhaustible topic for conversation.
To the question "How do you heal?" Somov is perplexed:
How than? periodic table. Everything that a person needs is in it: silver disinfects, iron relieves anemia, calcium strengthens bones, iodine heals the thyroid gland, salt controls the amount of fluid in the body. People have forgotten how to be treated with what nature gives, and indiscriminately swallow pills.
Meanwhile, the secret of longevity is simple: one must live in harmony with nature. Find a job you love and a loved one. So my wife and I got married when we were 16 years old, and have been together for almost 70 years. There are children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and even great-great-grandchildren! May God grant everyone to experience such happiness in their lifetime.
For Veniamin Somov, the mission of his life was to preserve the memory of those who died defending their homeland. It seems incredible, but a veteran from Nizhny Novgorod, alone, managed to erect 11 monuments in the vicinity of his village.
The pensioner forged the rebar himself, bought concrete with his own money. Having only 4 classes of education, he created his monuments "on a whim", without drawings and sketches.
Reporting by Yuri Chukhin.
After a shot from a cannon, Veniamin Somov sits down on a bench and rests. Once a month, he salutes at the monument in honor of the inhabitants of the regional center who died in the Great Patriotic War with a gunpowder volley from a home-made gun. However, the entire memorial was created by his hands. Like the other eleven monuments erected by Somov in the vicinity of the village of Dalnee Konstantinovo, where the veteran lives.
Veniamin Somov: "There is a monument to the Afghans, the heroes of the Finnish war, the dead drivers of our region. Further, the monument to the soldiers of the Japanese war of 904."
It's hard to believe, but all these huge monuments, five or six meters high, were created by Somov alone. He himself forged reinforcement, the basis for future sculptures, bought concrete for pouring with his own money, and erected monuments himself.
Now Somov is 82 years old. At the age of 16, he went to war as a volunteer, and the first obelisk was erected by fellow countrymen who fought like him on the fronts.
Veniamin Somov: "We give these monuments as a tribute to the dead, so that they remember."
Somov never had any projects, sketches, or drawings. The self-taught sculptor created monuments, rather, on a whim. An idea came, a new image was born, and he set to work. Here is the sword lying on the ground. Next to it is an explanatory inscription: "For the enemies of Russia."
Veniamin Somov: "The sword is for the defense of the Motherland. It says here:" For the enemies of Russia.
The last work of the village sculptor is the statue of Alexander Nevsky.
Veniamin Somov worked on the monument to Alexander Nevsky for about a year. He assembled a six-meter sculpture from four concrete blocks in his workshop. To bring them to the place he hired a tractor, and for the installation of the monument he had to order a crane.
But the years take their toll, and, having created a monument to the prince, Somov moved from large forms to small ones. Near the house he installed four concrete cannons: reconstructions of artillery pieces of the Patriotic War of 1812. Village youth often come to look at them.
Nastya Tkacheva: "Not every district has a person who can do this. We should be proud of such people. There are not so many of them."
However, they are proud of the sculptor in Far Konstantinov, obviously, after all, not everyone. Near the obelisk, until recently, a bell hung. One night he was gone, probably picked up by metal hunters. Now, instead of the bell, Somov rings the beater. Not the same sound, complains the veteran. And he hopes, if only this iron is not removed.
Our terrain is hilly, there are plenty of hills, they serve as good landmarks, give us views from their peaks picturesque panoramas, although not everyone likes to overcome the endless climbs of our hilly plain, very similar to a huge washboard.
Mountains also tell us a lot with their names.
For instance, mountain-hill of the Balkans near the village of Borisovo-Pokrovskoe It was named so, most likely, by the participants in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, who returned from the Balkans, where they defended the freedom of our brotherly Bulgaria. And the name of another local mountain - Sokolnaya- is probably of more ancient origin. If Borisovo-Pokrovskoe was in the XIV century the possession of the Nizhny Novgorod Grand Duke Boris Konstantinovich, then wasn’t this the place for princely hunting with falcons?
Mountain Cool near the village of Bolshoe Teryushevo - this name, of course, is explained by the peculiarity of the mountain (cool!). And here is the place Cool in the forest near Dubkov - here the steepness of the relief was only enough for such a diminutive name.
Bereznikovskaya mountain- this name is clear to the inhabitants of the village of Surovatikha: from here New Berezniki looks like standing on a mountain.
With title Lane Nagorny in Far Konstantinov, everyone who goes from Vostochnaya Street to Sovetskaya Street by this lane agrees - it is located on a mountain (on the slope of the Kermet River valley). It is curious that earlier the lane was called Kuznechny, but the forge was gone there, so they were named after another characteristic (natural) feature.
There are in our area golden mountain, named so either for the treasures hidden in it, or for the local forests burning with autumn golden foliage.
Thanks to a curious historical source, a copy of which was made for the museum by local historian R. Kh. Tabolkina, we learned, in particular, ancient name Uleyka villages - Ugornovo. The Russian settlement was once located “near the mountain”, but it is still here, but it has long had a different name - Uleika (from the occupation of the inhabitants by beekeeping).
white mountain, Red Mountain, stone mountain - and such (also Russian) names are found in our area, they are from some characteristic features these heights. But here's the title Silisat-mountain” in the vicinity of Migalikha, we still cannot explain. It is probably of Mordovian (Erzya) origin, that is, left over from ancient population these places. The similarity of the word " Silisyat" with the Mordovian male names Surovat, Murovat (which are present in the names of the currently existing settlements).
It is impossible for a local historian-researcher to ignore the names of local hills. How sometimes it is impossible for a traveler to get around the mountain, even if it is steep. But to go up means to learn something new, to achieve something. No wonder there is an expression "go uphill" - to achieve success, grow in service, etc.
Nikolay GRYAZNOV,
district director
local history museum
I can help you stop drinking! Tested personally on myself. And I drank painfully for a long time, for years. And I didn't have enough willpower to quit. I don't think I'm the only one.
I was coded many times, traveled around the Moscow region in search of grandmothers, visited gypsies, Psychics, but everywhere I came across the usual "divorces" furnished with iconostases, hoodies and other paraphernalia. And after many years, I learned from acquaintances about a herbalist from the Nizhny Novgorod region. At first, he was skeptical about the offer to visit him, because the experience was similar. I waited some time after several acquaintances had gone and, satisfied with the result of my observations, I went myself (well, that is, they took me).
And now, I myself take people there, these trips have almost turned into work. I took all my friends who sincerely wanted to "tie up" there, everyone is happy. In the process, I learned that my grandfather himself once drank heavily, but for 26 years not a drop.
And all that is required is a sincere desire to stop drinking, when it is no longer possible to do it on your own, there is not enough willpower.
You will be delivered absolutely anonymously (either by me or by another driver) from Moscow to the Nizhny Novgorod region to the herbalist and, after a simple procedure (you need to drink a glass of water with dried herbs), back to Moscow.
The time spent is between 12 and 16 hours depending on traffic conditions and weather conditions. The duration of the procedure is 5 minutes. It's not an encoding. We do not carry those who use “like everyone else”, since they, as a rule, are still able to control themselves.
Departure is usually on the night from Friday to Saturday, return on Saturday afternoon.
The amount you spent will be 25,000 rubles for the trip (about 500 km one way) and the procedure. Safe and effective. The method is based on the immune-cellular effect of the herbal collection.
Coding in Moscow in narcology will cost you about 16,000 rubles with a dubious effect. I'm probably not the only one with this experience.
I myself, when I was returning home from the herbalist, regaining consciousness, I thought - "what kind of nonsense, how can herbs affect the brain? Another divorce." But, since everything that was possible in the field of my struggle with alcoholism had been tried, I decided on this.
And, in fact, as my grandfather said, the body somehow imperceptibly rebuilt, began to demand what I had not noticed before. If I used to look at ordinary drinks as a "beer" for strong ones, and buy the cheapest mineral water, now I have become picky in the choice of juices and other things. I look at beautiful bottles of booze with absolutely indifference, it’s just that the craving has disappeared somewhere.
Once, at the end of the 80s, I was the first (out of more than a dozen) times in my life to code, and successfully (the only time), and did not drink for 4 years instead of 3 "set". Moreover, I could quite calmly taste beer, wine, without experiencing any unpleasant sensations, just after a sip I didn’t feel like it anymore, indifference appeared, as the doctor (now deceased, unfortunately) promised. So in this case, cravings disappeared, interest in life appeared. How long? I don't know, I don't want to know, and I don't even try to think about it.
