The boats are so small, but the hearts are so brave …
July 31, 2017 | 13:40 |1473
Is it possible, having crossed the Caspian Sea on a single wooden boat, to sail all the way to Moscow? Given the steep nature of the Caspian, many will give a negative answer to this question. But… The thirties of the last century were full of bright events in the life of Turkmenistan. It was a time of an unprecedented rise in people's energy, a thirst for exploits and discoveries. The legendary equestrian crossing of Ashgabat-Karakum-Moscow has just finished. Following this, girls from different regions of Turkmenistan, having united in several detachments, performed the Chardzhou (nowadays Turkmenabad) -Ashgabat equestrian crossing, following the example of their older brothers. In 1933, the legendary motor race Moscow-Karakum-Moscow (Orient recently published an article about it) was held. At about the same time, a group of Turkmen mountaineers climbed one of the world's most difficult peak, the Pamir. The sail of the Turkmen fishermen from Krasnovodsk (now Turkmenbashi) to Moscow is one of such deeds. The transition was dangerous and unprecedented in complexity, as it was carried out on small boats made out of wood - taymuns. The purpose of the campaign was to confirm: our compatriots living in the desert, mountains and sea environment are able to overcome any obstacles. In addition, this transition was supposed to demonstrate the best qualities of Turkmen fishermen - strength, courage, endurance. The adventurers have thoroughly prepared for the campaign. Of the inhabitants of the coastal areas, nine people were selected as being most suitable for such a difficult journey. The youngest - Oraz Taganov, has only turned eighteen, the oldest - Annak Geldiev, was over fifty. The campaign plan was developed in great detail. All the participants in the sail passed a medical examination; all the taymuns were scrupulously checked to ensure that there was not the slightest crack. Taymoon is a flat-bottomed single-seat Turkmen boat, hollowed out of a single piece of wood, like a kayak or an Indian canoe. You can use them while sitting or standing on one knee. Taymuns are very fast, easy to slide on the water, but their management requires special preparation and constant attention: one wrong move, even in quiet weather, and a boat that does not have a draft is turned over. Turkmen fishermen use taymuns to explore the shoals of fish and for hunting. But taymuns were never used for long travel. It was on such boats that the participants of the march had to make a journey of almost 5,000 kilometers. Of these, 1200 kilometers through the volatile and unpredictable Caspian, 2,300 kilometers against the current along one of the world's greatest rivers, the Volga, and about 1,000 kilometers along the Oka and the Moscow River. On the evening of July 5th, 1936, after a solemn rally, the participants of the march, escorted by numerous residents of the city to the dock, and by comrades who arrived even from distant villages, left Krasnovodsk and, moving along the eastern coast, headed for Kara-Bogaz-Gol. The gray-waved Caspian is very capricious. During the caravan's journey, it will change its mood dozens of times, sometimes rocking the boats tenderly, and sometimes violently breaking its waves against them. The storm in the Caspian Sea comes lightning fast. In a few minutes a quiet, mirror-smooth sea turns into a ruthless abyss. The first, 7-ball, storm overtook brave taymun-sailors already on the third day of the road, on the transition from Karshi to Kara-Bogaz-Gol - the last settlement on the Turkmen coast of the Caspian Sea. The storm swept the light boats like chips. The brave travelers struggled with the bewildered nature for twelve hours. In three-point storms, with a favorable wind and dead swell, the fishermen linked the taymuns in pairs and sailed to the open sea. Many storms will catch them on the way, but they will not give up, and they will not turn back. On the seventh day of the trip, the first sailors of Kazakh fishermen began to appear. Colleagues in the marine business and neighbors on the ground for a long time walked side by side, questioned, marveled at the unusual nature of the voyage of Turkmen fishermen. And each presented a gift of his part of the catch. You can not refuse – otherwise you will offend your brother-fishermen. Depending on the weather, the men were travelling on sails or on oars. Fatigue was inhuman, if we consider that some stages of the journey were passed nonstop for ten to twelve hours. They finally rested, landing to the shore. Here, the travelers warmed up, making a jocular struggle, listening to songs performed by their friend Bayzhan Ataev, having sparingly supped, and went to bed. In the early morning it was time to return to the travel. July 15th, gaining 120 running hours from the beginning of the journey, overcoming 800 kilometers of sea route, taymun adventurers arrived to the fort Alexandrovsk. From here begins the most important part of the march - over 300 kilometers across the Caspian Sea, to Astrakhan. July 22nd, thousands of workers of Astrakhan came out to meet Turkmen fishermen. Bread and salt, flowers, friendly embrace and congratulations. After a short rest, they inspected the boats. They were in full service, only the salt water washed away the paint a little ... Soon the brave travelers left the hospitable city. Ahead of them lied the Volga. A storm suddenly broke out on the approaches to the great Russian river. Time passed, and the storm grew stronger. But this time everything went well. After the Caspian Sea, through which the taymun-travellers sailed almost alone, the route became livelier. Light taymuns, guided by skilled hands like small lizards, scurried along the river among large two-decked steamboats, which, compared to miniature boats, looked like giants. The landscape has also changed radically. They swam past towns and villages, past birch groves and collective farm fields, at which the harvesting of bread was in full swing. Here the first heavy rains caught up with the caravan. Everybody knew about the transfer of Turkmen fishermen and was meeting the brave travelers joyfully. Everywhere there were settlements, local people came ashore, waved their hands, beckoned to visit. People ran to look at the taymuns, tried them with their hands, climbed aboard. It was difficult for them to believe that more than 1,500 kilometers were passed on these fragile boats. At the village of Seroglazka, children from the pioneer camp gathered on the shore. With fatherly tenderness, the fishermen would seat the children on the taymuns and ride the children along the river. Near the town of Kamyshin, Volga fishermen asked travelers to ride a bit on the taymuns themselves, but without the skill it was impossible: the brave ones, under the laughter of their comrades, overturned into the water. In the town of Volsk, in honor of the Turkmen brothers, the whole pier was decorated with flowers. At this point, exactly half the way was passed. Here the participants of the transition suffered a grief. One of the young fishermen Makhtumkuli Yazkumov caught a cold and fell seriously ill. Despite his requests to swim along with everyone, the guy was left in the hospital. There he died. The comrades bid him their last good-byes and moved on. The days in the campaign passed according to a fixed schedule. The adventurers woke up at five o'clock in the morning, had breakfast and at six o'clock hit the road. On the way, they made short stops for a second breakfast and lunch. At eight o'clock in the evening dinner and rest. At the stops they played chess, checkers, dominoes, went to the cinema, theater. For taymun-riders everything was new, because none of them had ever traveled beyond the limits of their area. In Stalingrad, where taymun team has arrived on August 1st, after riding along the Volga for 111 hours or 495 kilometers, hundreds of sports boats and boats appeared to meet them. In the city, travelers were shown the giant departments of the famous Stalingrad Tractor Plant. In a few years they will turn into ruins, the plant will become one of the bastions of the Great Patriotic War, and the name Stalingrad itself is a symbol of the courage and unshakeable steadfastness of the soldiers of that war. The countrymen of our travelers will be among the defenders of the city. In Syzran, in the village of Perevolok, the taymuns were transferred to the Usa River. The villagers enthusiastically welcomed the taymuns. They knew that last year, almost at the same time, brave Turkmen dzhigits were greeted in the same collective farm. Kuibyshev, Ulyanovsk and Kazan have now been left behind... In Gorky, a special commission examined the participants of the transition and found that everyone's health was excellent. For two days of rest, they inspected the sights of the city, visited the famous GAZ auto plant. And again, hit the way to Oka, the final point of the route to Moscow. On September 29th the taymuns approached Beloomut. Navigation was already closed, but for Turkmen travelers they made an exception and opened the heavy gate of the lock. On October 6th, at 5:10 pm, a solemn meeting of brave Turkmen fishermen took place at the water station of the Central Park of Culture and Rest named after Gorky, completing an unprecedented adventure in the history of the times from Krasnovodsk to Moscow. On this occasion taymun travelers put on holiday clothes, and strictly following each other, accurately observing the distance between themselves, beautifully and freely approached the pier. Despite the inclement weather, more than 10 thousand residents of Moscow came to meet the team. Thus, an unprecedented three-month campaign ended - 4653 kilometers of sea and river open spaces remained behind the sides of Turkmen boats. Courage and fearlessness of all participants in the travel were marked with the Order of the Badge of Honor. Before the beginning of the tour, their parting words were: "Let the equestrian run Ashgabat - Moscow" serve as an example to you!" Turkmen fishermen not only repeated the feat of their fellow Dzhigits, but, it is possible to say with complete justification, in terms of complexity and danger, in some way surpassed it. And this passage was a golden page in the history of Turkmenistan.Vladimir Zarembo
