Mologa. The city is doomed. Rybinsk reservoir, hydroelectric power station and flooded mologa

In an area rich in water, at the confluence of the Mologa River and the Volga. The width of Mologa opposite the city was 277 m, the depth was from 3 to 11 m. The width of the Volga was up to 530 m, the depth was from 2 to 9 m. The city itself was located on a fairly significant and flat hill and stretched along the right bank of Mologa and along the left bank Volga. Before the railway communications, from which Mologa remained aloof, the busy St. Petersburg postal route ran here.

Since the 17th century, the settlement has been classified as a city Epsom salt(named after the river flowing nearby), located 13 km up the Mologa River from the city. Immediately outside the city there began a swamp and then a lake (about 2.5 km in diameter), called Saints. A small stream flowed from it into the Mologa River, bearing the name Mine.

Middle Ages

The time of the initial settlement of the area where the city of Mologa stood is unknown. In the chronicles, the name of the Mologa River appears for the first time in 1149, when the Grand Duke of Kiev Izyaslav Mstislavich, fighting with Yuri Dolgoruky, the prince of Suzdal and Rostov, burned all the villages along the Volga all the way to Mologa. This happened in the spring, and the war had to stop, as the water in the rivers rose. It was believed that the spring flood caught the combatants exactly where the city of Mologa stood. In all likelihood, there has long been a settlement here that belonged to the princes of Rostov.

From the inventory compiled between 1676 and 1678 by the steward M.F. Samarin and the clerk Rusinov, it is clear that Mologa at that time was a palace settlement, that there were then 125 households in it, including 12 belonging to fishermen, that these latter, together with the fishermen of Rybnaya Sloboda, they caught red fish in the Volga and Mologa, delivering 3 sturgeon, 10 white fish and 100 sterlets each year to the royal court. It is unknown when the residents of Mologa stopped paying this tax. In 1682 there were 1281 houses in Mologa.

The coat of arms of the city of Mologa was Supremely approved on August 31 (September 11), 1778 by Empress Catherine II along with other coats of arms of the cities of the Yaroslavl governorship (PSZ, 1778, Law No. 14765). Law No. 14765 in the Complete Collection of Laws Russian Empire dated June 20, 1778, but on the drawings of coats of arms attached to it, the date of approval of the coats of arms is indicated - August 31, 1778. In the complete collection of laws it is described as follows: “a shield in a silver field; part three of this shield contains the coat of arms of the Yaroslavl governorship (on hind legs bear with an ax); in two parts of that shield, part of an earthen rampart is shown in an azure field; it is trimmed with a silver border or white stone.” ). The coat of arms was created by a fellow herald, collegiate advisor I. I. von Enden.

The reason for the city's prosperity was discovered by chance. At the opening of the city duma, the residents passed a secret public verdict of the following content: since the established duma can only dispose of the income specified in the law, and for purposes also determined by law, under the control of the highest authorities, they decided to maintain the previous public administration under the supervision of the same city mayor and the same members of the Duma and at the disposal of this management to provide special capital, formed according to a general layout. Thus, from 1786 to 1847, there were actually two city governments in Mologa: one official, with 4 thousand rubles of income; another secret, but essentially real, with an income of 20 thousand rubles. The city flourished until the state accidentally learned the secrets; The head was put on trial, the illegal capital was transferred to the government and as a result, as I. S. Aksakov, who audited the city administration of the Yaroslavl province in 1849, wrote, “the city fell into decay and quite quickly.”

In 1862, it was announced in Mologa that there were 1 merchant capital for the 2nd guild and 56 for the 3rd guild. Of those who took guild certificates, 43 were engaged in trade in the city itself, and the rest - on the side. In addition to the merchants, 23 more peasants traded here at that time. Among the trading establishments in Mologa at that time there were 3 shops, 86 shops, 4 hotels and 10 inns.

On May 28, 1864, a terrible fire occurred, destroying to the ground the best and largest part of the city. More than 200 houses burned down within 12 hours, Gostiny Dvor, shops and public buildings. The loss was then calculated at over 1 million rubles. Traces of this fire were visible for about 20 years.

In 1889, Mologa owned 8.3 thousand hectares of land (first place among the cities of the province), including 350 hectares within the city limits; stone residential buildings 34, wooden 659 and non-residential stone buildings 58, wooden 51. All residents in the city were about 7032, including 3115 men and 3917 women. Except for 4 Jews, all were Orthodox. By class, the population was divided as follows (men and women): hereditary nobles 50 and 55, personal 95 and 134, white clergy with their families 47 and 45, monastics - 165 women, personal honorary citizens 4 and 3, merchants 73 and 98, burghers 2595 and 3168, peasants 51 and 88, regular troops 68 men, reserves 88 men, retired soldiers with families 94 and 161. By January 1, 1896, there were 7064 residents (3436 men and 3628 women).

There were 3 fairs in Mologa at that time: Afanasyevskaya - on January 17 and 18, Sredokrestnaya - on Wednesday and Thursday of the 4th week of Lent and Ilyinskaya - on July 20. The cost of bringing goods to the first place was up to 20,000 rubles, and the sale was up to 15,000 rubles; the rest of the fairs were not much different from ordinary bazaars; weekly trading days on Saturdays were quite lively only in the summer. Crafts in the city were poorly developed. In 1888, there were 42 craftsmen in Mologa, 58 workers and 18 apprentices, in addition, about 30 people were engaged in the construction of barges; factories and factories: 2 distilleries, 3 gingerbread-bakery-pretzel factories, a cereal factory, an oil press factory, 2 brick factories, a malt factory, a candle and tallow factory, a windmill - 1-20 people worked at them.

The townspeople mainly found their means of living locally, although there were also absences. Residents of the Gorkaya Sol settlement, when free from field work, were hired to raft barges. Some of the residents of Mologa were engaged in agricultural work, renting arable and meadow lands from the city for this purpose. In addition, there was a huge meadow opposite the city; all the inhabitants who signed up for the unit used the good and plentiful hay from this meadow. The mowers were hired by the city, and the hay was raked by the shareholders themselves.

In terms of income, Mologa, among other cities of the Yaroslavl province, ranked fourth in 1887, and in terms of expenses - fifth. Thus, city revenues in 1895 amounted to 45,775 rubles, expenses - 44,250 rubles. In 1866, a bank was opened in the city - it was based on money collected by residents for emergencies since the 1830s; by 1895 its capital reached 48,000 rubles.

At the end of the 19th century, Mologa was a small, narrow, long city that took on a lively appearance during the loading of ships, which lasted only a short time, and then plunged into the usual sleepy life of most of the county towns. From Mologa began the Tikhvin water system, one of three connecting the Caspian Sea with the Baltic Sea. Despite the fact that out of about 4.5 thousand ships passing through, only a few stopped here, their movement could not but affect the well-being of the residents, opening up the opportunity for them to supply the ship workers with food supplies and other necessary items. In addition to the passage of the mentioned ships, more than 300 ships were annually loaded at the Mologskaya pier with grain and other goods worth up to 650,000 rubles, and almost the same number of ships were unloaded here. In addition, up to 200 forest rafts were brought to Mologa. The total value of unloaded goods reached 500,000 rubles.

In 1895 there were 11 factories (distillery, bone grinding, glue and brick factories, a plant for the production of berry extracts, etc.), 58 workers, the amount of production was 38,230 rubles. Merchant certificates were issued: 1 guild, 1 guild, 2 guild 68, for petty trading 1191. The treasury, bank, telegraph, post office, and cinema functioned.

There was a monastery and several churches in the city.

• Afanasyevsky Monastery(from the 15th century - male, from 1795 - female) was located 500 m outside the city. Had 4 churches: cold (1840) and 3 warm (1788, 1826, 1890). The main relic was miraculous icon Tikhvin Mother of God from the early 14th century.
• Resurrection Cathedral was built in 1767 in the Naryshkin style and restored by the merchant P. M. Podosenov in 1881-1886. The cathedral church had 5 altars - the main one of the Resurrection of Christ and the side altars - the Prophet Elijah, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and the Assumption Mother of God and Saints Athanasius and Cyril. The bell tower of three decreasing octagons is built like the Uglich bell towers. Separately from this temple (cold) built in 1882 in the Russian-Byzantine style, warm Epiphany Cathedral, which had three thrones - Epiphany, the Protection of the Mother of God and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The same P. M. Podosenov, together with the merchant N. S. Utin, took the main part in the construction of this cathedral. Attached to the cathedral was also a wooden structure, plastered on both sides, the former cemetery Church of the Exaltation of the Cross, built in 1778.
• Ascension Parish Church built in 1756; it contains three thrones: the Ascension, the holy princes Boris and Gleb and the Archangel Michael. Baroque elements were used in the design of its facades.
• All Saints Cemetery Church, built in 1805, with two altars - in the name of All Saints and John the Baptist.
• Church in the village of Gorkaya Sol, built in 1828 by the same F.K. Bushkov. She had 2 thrones - the Apostle Thomas and the Kazan Mother of God.

There were 3 libraries and 9 educational institutions: city three-year men's school, Alexandrovskoe two-year school girls' school, two parochial schools - one for boys, the other for girls; Alexandrovsky orphanage; “Podosenovskaya” (named after the founder of the merchant P. M. Podosenov) gymnastics school - one of the first in Russia; bowling, cycling, fencing were taught; Carpentry, marching and rifle techniques were taught, and the school also had a stage and stalls for staging performances.

There was a zemstvo hospital with 30 beds, a city hospital for incoming patients and with it a warehouse of books on popular medicine, available for reading for free; city ​​disinfection chamber; private eye clinic of Dr. Rudnev (6,500 visits per year). The city, at its own expense, supported a doctor, a nurse-midwife and two nurses to care for the sick at home. There were 6 doctors in Mologa (1 of them was a woman), 5 paramedics, 3 paramedics, 3 midwives, 1 pharmacy. For walks on the banks of the Volga, a small public garden was built. The climate was characterized as dry and healthy, and it was believed that it helped Mologa avoid epidemics of such terrible diseases as plague and cholera.

Charity for the poor was staged beautifully in Mologa. There were 5 charitable institutions: including the water rescue society, guardianship for the poor of the city of Mologa (since 1872), 2 almshouses - Bakhirevskaya and Podosenovskaya. Owning enough timber, the city came to the aid of the poor, distributing it to them for fuel. The guardianship of the poor divided the entire city into sections, and each section was in charge of a special trustee. In 1895, the trusteeship spent 1,769 rubles; there was a canteen for the poor. It was very rare to meet a beggar in the city.

Soviet power in the city was established on December 15 (28), 1917, not without some resistance from supporters of the Provisional Government, but without any bloodshed. In the years Civil War There was a food shortage, especially acute at the beginning of 1918.

In 1929-1940, Mologa was the center of the district of the same name.

In 1931, a machine and tractor station for seed production was organized in Mologa; its tractor fleet, however, numbered only 54 units in 1933. In the same year, an elevator for seeds of grassland grasses was built, and a seed-growing collective farm and technical school were organized. In 1932, a zonal seed production station was opened. In the same year, an industrial complex arose in the city, combining a power plant, a mill, an oil mill, a starch and syrup plant, and a bathhouse.

In the 1930s, there were more than 900 houses in the city, about a hundred of which were made of stone, and there were 200 shops and shops in and around the shopping area. The population did not exceed 7 thousand people.

Flooded City

Most of the Mologans were settled near Rybinsk in the village of Slip, which for some time was called Novaya Mologa. Some ended up in neighboring regions and cities, in Yaroslavl, Moscow and Leningrad.

The first meetings of Mologans date back to the 1960s. Since 1972, every second Saturday in August, Mologans gather in Rybinsk to commemorate their lost city. Currently, on the day of the meeting, a trip by boat to the Mologa region is usually arranged.

In 1992-1993, the level of the Rybinsk reservoir dropped by more than 1.5 meters, allowing local historians to organize an expedition to the exposed part of the flooded city (paved streets, contours of foundations, forged gratings and gravestones in the cemetery were visible). During the expedition, interesting materials were collected for the future Mologa Museum and an amateur film was made.

In 1995, the Museum of the Mologsky Region was created in Rybinsk. In June 2003, on the initiative of the public organization “Community of Mologans”, the Administration of the Yaroslavl Region organized a round table “Problems of the Mologa region and ways to solve them”, at which V. I. Lukyanenko first put forward the idea of ​​​​creating the Mologa National Park in memory of the flooded city .

In August 2014, the region experienced low water, the water receded and entire streets were exposed: the foundations of houses, the walls of churches and other city buildings are visible. Former residents of the city come to the banks of the reservoir to watch unusual phenomenon. The children and grandchildren of the Mologans sailed on the motor ship “Moskovsky-7” to the ruins of the city to set foot on their “native land”.

see also

Notes

1. Now flooded.
2. Trinity. History of the Mologa country, p. 39. - Gorodsk. settlements in Russia. empires. T. V, part 2. St. Petersburg. 1866 vol., p. 463.

The flooded city of Mologa (Russia) - description, history, location. Exact address, phone number, website. Tourist reviews, photos and videos.

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Surely many people are familiar with the eerie looking old black and white photographs, which show the roofs of houses barely sticking out above the water and already rotted. A little higher above them rise the domes of churches with domes, from where the solemn and bright glaze has long since disappeared... It seems that this is some kind of apocalyptic picture or a still from a science-fiction film. But, unfortunately, this is the real reality. Modern Atlantis, the City of Kitezh, but in fact the city of Mologa barbarically flooded by the Bolsheviks, which today lies under the waters of the Rybinsk Reservoir.

History paragraph

This city, located at the confluence of the Mologa and Volga rivers, has been known since the Middle Ages, namely since the 14th century. The local Afanasyevsky Monastery housed the revered miraculous icon of the Tikhvin Mother of God. The city grew and developed, and the main occupations of the locals were fishing and, of course, trade. For a long time Mologa was considered one of the main centers of trade in the Upper Volga region, which ensured its constant prosperity.

If the city had not been destroyed, today we could see its sights - the Afanasyevsky Monastery, built in the 16th century, the Resurrection Cathedral of the 18th century in the Naryshkin Baroque style, the All Saints Cemetery Church and many others. Malaga survived World War and three revolutions, it was destined to be sunk in the dark 30s.

How Mologa went under water

In their brazen manner, the authorities bluntly announced their decision in 1935. Initially, it was planned to resettle the residents and move the buildings before the beginning of 1937, which was, of course, impossible. As a result, the resettlement began in the spring of 1937, when the ice melted from Mologa and the Volga, and lasted until 1941. Many Mologans were resettled in surrounding areas and cities, most ended up in the village of Slip, not far from Rybinsk, while others settled in Yaroslavl or Moscow .

Every year, the children and grandchildren of former Mologans go to the flooded Mologa to worship the land of their ancestors.

In the early 60s, during the Thaw era, meetings of former city residents began. And in 1972, a tradition began to gather every second Saturday in August in order to honor their hometown. This tradition still exists today.

What to see

Periodically, the water level in the reservoir drops, the roofs of houses and in some places even the foundations become visible. Most low level was recorded in 2014, when the city was examined in almost the smallest detail. Depending on the weather and water level in spring and summer, you can negotiate in Rybinsk with the owner of the boat and sail to the former Mologa. Or go to the Museum of the Mologa Region and take a closer look at the tragic history of a once magnificently prosperous city, but now resting at the bottom of a reservoir.

Children and grandchildren of former Mologans go there on ships to worship the ancient flooded city, as well as see the land of their ancestors.

Practical information

Mologa was located 32 km from Rybinsk, GPS coordinates: 58.19972; 38.44111.

You can't get there on your own without a boat. It is necessary in Rybinsk to negotiate with local captains who are ready to provide their watercraft and gasoline for the whole day for about 3,000 RUB. Prices on the page are as of October 20167.

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• Where to stay: for radial excursions around the region, it is most convenient to stay directly in Yaroslavl. In search of nature and solitude - in one of the sanatoriums, tourist centers or hotels in the Yaroslavl region.
• What to see: the ancient and freely spread Yaroslavl on the Volga, one of the oldest Russian cities, Rostov the Great and the majestic Boris and Gleb Monastery, located nearby. It is worth visiting the city where Tsarevich Dmitry was killed - in Uglich, as well as on Lake Pleshcheyevo and Pereslavl-Zalessky: it was here that young Peter I laid the foundation for the Russian fleet, creating his “amusing flotilla”. Finally, the famous reservoir and merchant buildings of the charming

In the Yaroslavl region, on the Rybinsk reservoir, the buildings of the city of Mologa appeared from the water, which was flooded in 1940 during the construction of a hydroelectric power station. Now there is low water in the region, the water has gone and exposed entire streets: the foundations of houses, the walls of churches and other city buildings are visible.

The city of Mologa in the Yaroslavl region, which disappeared from the face of the earth more than 50 years ago, again appeared above the surface of the water as a result of low water levels that came to the region, ITAR-TASS reports. It was flooded in 1940 during the construction of a hydroelectric power station on the Rybinsk Reservoir.

Former residents of the city came to the banks of the reservoir to observe the unusual phenomenon. They said that the foundations of houses and the outlines of streets appeared from the water. Mologans are going to visit their former houses. Their children and grandchildren plan to sail on the Moskovsky-7 motor ship to the ruins of the city to walk around their native land.

“We go to visit the flooded city every year. Usually we put flowers and wreaths in the water, and the priests serve a prayer service on the ship, but this year there is unique opportunity set foot on land,” said Valentin Blatov, chairman of the public organization “Community of Mologans.”

The city of Mologa in the Yaroslavl region is called the “Russian Atlantis” and the “Yaroslavl city of Kitezh”. If it had not been sunk in 1941, it would now be 865 years old. The city was located 32 km from Rybinsk and 120 km from Yaroslavl at the confluence of the Mologa and Volga rivers. From the 15th to the end of the 19th century Mologa was a large shopping center, with a population at the beginning of the 20th century of 5,000 people.

On September 14, 1935, a decision was made to begin construction of the Rybinsk and Uglich hydroelectric complexes, as a result of which the city found itself in a flood zone. Initially, it was planned to raise the water level to 98 meters above sea level, but then the figure increased to 102 meters, since this increased the power of the hydroelectric power station from 200 megawatts to 330. And the city had to be flooded... The city was flooded on April 13, 1941.

Incredibly lush grass grew in the fields of Mologa because during the spring flood the rivers merged into a huge floodplain and unusually nutritious silt remained in the meadows. The cows ate the grass that grew on it and produced the most delicious milk in Russia, from which butter was produced at local creameries. Such oil is not produced now, despite all the ultra modern technologies. There is simply no more Molog nature.

In September 1935, the USSR government adopted a decree on the start of construction of the Russian Sea - the Rybinsk hydroelectric complex. This implied the flooding of hundreds of thousands of hectares of land along with the settlements located on it, 700 villages and the city of Mologa.

At the time of liquidation the city lived full life, it housed 6 cathedrals and churches, 9 educational institutions, plants and factories.

On April 13, 1941, the last opening of the dam was blocked. The waters of the Volga, Sheksna and Mologa began to overflow their banks and flood the territory.

The tallest buildings in the city and churches were razed to the ground. When the city began to be ravaged, the residents were not even explained what would happen to them. They could only watch as Mologa-paradise was turned into hell.

Prisoners were brought in to work, who worked day and night, demolishing the city and building a waterworks. Prisoners died in hundreds. They were not buried, but simply stored and buried in common pits on the future seabed. In this nightmare, residents were told to urgently pack up, take only the essentials and go for resettlement.

Then the worst thing began. 294 Mologans refused to evacuate and remained in their homes. Knowing this, the builders began flooding. The rest were forcibly taken away.

After some time, a wave of suicides began among former Mologans. Whole families and one by one they came to the banks of the reservoir to drown themselves. Rumors spread about mass suicides, which reached Moscow. It was decided to evict the remaining Mologans to the north of the country, and remove the city of Mologa from the list of ever existing ones. Mentioning it, especially as a place of birth, was followed by arrest and prison. They tried to forcefully turn the city into a myth.

GHOST TOWN

But Mologa was not destined to become the City of Kitezh or the Russian Atlantis, which forever plunged into the abyss of water. Her fate is worse. The depths at which the city is located, in accordance with dry engineering terminology, are called “vanishingly small.” The reservoir level fluctuates, and approximately once every two years Mologa emerges from the water. Street paving, house foundations, and a cemetery with tombstones are exposed. And the Mologans come: to sit on the ruins of their home, to visit their father’s graves. For every “low-water” year, the ghost town pays its price: during the spring ice drift, the ice, like a grater, scrapes along the bottom in shallow water and takes with it material evidence of past life...

REPENTANCE CHAPEL

A unique museum of the flooded region was created in Rybinsk.

Now on the remaining Molog lands there are the Breitovsky and Nekouzsky districts of the Yaroslavl region. It is here in the ancient village of Breytovo, located at the confluence of the Sit River Rybinsk Reservoir, a popular initiative arose to build a penitential chapel in memory of all the flooded monasteries and temples resting under the waters of the man-made sea. This ancient village itself revealed the image of the tragedy of the Russian interfluve. Once in the flood zone, it was artificially moved to a new location, while historical buildings and temples remained at the bottom.

In November 2003, the first monument to the victims of the flooded Mologsky district appeared. This is a chapel built exclusively with human donations on the shore of the Rybinsk Reservoir, in Breytovo. This is the memory of those who did not want to leave their small homeland and went under water along with Mologa and the flooded villages. This is also the memory of all those who died during the construction of the hydroelectric power station. The chapel was named “Our Lady of the Waters.”

Penitential chapel in Breytovo

Icon of the Mother of God “I am with you, and no one else is against you” or Leushinskaya

Yaroslavl Archbishop Kirill blessed this chapel to dedicate to the Mother of God “I am with you, and no one else is against you,” the icon that became a symbol of flooded Rus', and to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the patron saint of swimmers. Therefore, the chapel also received another name: Theotokos-Nikolskaya.

Today, few people remember that there is a flooded city of Mologa in Russia, which was sacrificed for civilization and electrification of the country. Nowadays, even such entities as cities with a population of many thousands and developed infrastructure are born, live and die.

Among these dead cities is a small provincial town that was previously located not far from. Because of his tragic fate, people call him the Russian Atlantis.

The Mologa River was first mentioned in chronicles in 1149. They say that “... in battles with Grand Duke Yuri Dolgoruky, Prince Mstislavich burned all the villages on his way to Mologa...” The city with the same name was already flooded in the 20th century by the will of people and circumstances.

History of Mologa

As a place already inhabited by people, Mologa is mentioned in the records of the 13th century - fairs were held here, famous for many miles around. Many foreigners - Greeks, Lithuanians, Poles, Germans - brought their goods here to exchange them for raw materials. Various furs were in great demand. The city grew, expanded, and the number of its inhabitants grew.

In the 17th century, there were 125 houses in Mologa. Of these, 12 belonged to fishermen who caught various fish, and even red ones, in the Volga and Mologa. And then, among other things, they brought it to the royal table.

By the end of the 18th century, the city area had a town hall, 3 churches - 2 stone and one wooden - and 289 wooden houses. In 1767, the Resurrection Cathedral was built in the traditions of Russian architecture.

Near the city stood the majestic Afanasyevsky Monastery.

At the same time, the city received its coat of arms, which depicted a bear with an axe.

In the 19th century, Mologa was already a small port city - many ships loaded and unloaded a variety of goods there. The city had 11 factories, had its own bank, post office, telegraph, monastery, churches, libraries, educational institutions.

A gymnastics school, one of the first in Russia, was also opened here. There, those interested were taught fencing, bowling, cycling, and carpentry. The city had a population of about 6,000.

In the 20th century, the city's population increased to 7,000 people. There were 9 educational institutions, 6 cathedrals and churches, many plants and factories.

Mesopotamia

The location of the city of Mologa was initially very successful: in the Mologo-Sheksninskaya lowland. The Volga River made a turn here and flowed further towards Rybinsk.

And in the interfluve between the Mologa and Sheksna rivers there were flooded meadows, which at that time fed the third part of all Russia. Bread, milk, sour cream - all these products were supplied in huge quantities to different parts of the country.

Horrifying news spread across the city

Proposed flood zone

Life went on as usual without any special events or disasters. But in 1935, the Government of the country decided to build the Rybinsk and Uglich hydroelectric stations.

To implement these grandiose plans, it was necessary to build dams and flood a huge territory: approximately the same as the country of Luxembourg.

The city of Mologa stood on a hill and was initially not part of the flood zone. According to engineering calculations, the level of water rise was assumed to be 98 meters above sea level, and the city stood 2 meters higher.

The government changes plans

But the plans “at the top” have changed. The country was preparing for war with Germany. Additional powerful energy resources were needed. That is why at the beginning of 1937 a decision was made to increase the level of the reservoir to 102 meters, and therefore to flood Mologa.

Almost doubling the area of ​​the future man-made reservoir increased the power of the hydroelectric power station by 130 megawatts. This figure cost the lives of 700 villages and the city of Mologa with an 800-year history, hundreds of surrounding villages with beautiful forests, fertile fields and arable land.

The life of the city and its inhabitants has turned into a nightmare. 6 ancient monasteries and many churches were subject to destruction.

And, most importantly, people. More than 150 thousand people had to leave their homes. Places where their ancestors once lived and were buried. Go into the unknown.

Since the flooding of Mologa was not planned from the beginning, for the Molozh residents the news of the upcoming event was like “a bolt from the blue.” Residents prepared for winter, stocked up on hay for livestock and firewood for heating. And around October 30, unexpected news came: we urgently needed to move.

Pain and despair of Mologans

Before the start of construction, a separate camp “Volgolag” was created to carry out the planned work, in which there were 20 thousand prisoners. And this figure grew every day.

Preparatory work began - centuries-old trees were cut down, ancient churches were blown up - everything that could interfere with further navigation was destroyed. Residents of the city watched with pain as buildings were destroyed and churches exploded.

The story of how the Epiphany Cathedral was destroyed has been preserved. The majestic building, which was built to last, after the first explosion with dynamite, only rose a small height into the air and fell back into place without damage. We had to make 4 more attempts to finally destroy the century-old structure.

The time has come for people to move. This lasted four years. How much pain, fear and sadness these long four years brought with them to the families of the displaced! The houses were dismantled log by log, numbered to make it easier to assemble later, and transported on horse-drawn carts; some floated them down the river along with their belongings. In villages close to Rybinsk you can still see old houses with numbers on the logs.

Home owners were paid a meager amount monetary compensation, which was barely enough to pay for the demolition of the house. And lonely, sick people were distributed to nearby nursing homes.

There were also those who, not wanting to leave, chained themselves to some heavy object in the yard of their house.

According to the surviving data, 294 people refused to leave their homes. Popular rumor conveys terrible stories that these people voluntarily remained in their homes and were buried alive under the water.

But eyewitnesses of those events say that this is all fiction. The authorities acted very simply: they recognized these people as crazy and took them out of town by force. danger zone the upcoming flooding, sending them to mental hospitals.

By the way, the authenticity of the Report given here is questioned. In the archives of the Rybinsk Museum, dedicated to the History of the Mologa tragedy, such a document does not appear.

Very gradually the city of Mologa found itself under water. In the famous film “Mologa. Russian Atlantis” shows that the water surged sharply, and in a few hours the city went under water. But this is fiction. After all, the depth of the flooding was very small: no more than 2 meters.

And so on April 14, 1941, the last opening of the dam was dug. The turbulent waters of three rivers: the Volga, Mologa and Sheksna met the resistance of dams on their way and overflowed their banks. The vast expanse of land began to gradually fill with water, forming a majestic sea created by man. This is how the well-known Rybinsk Reservoir appeared.

In memory of human tragedy

As a result of the flooding of the Mologo-Sheksninsky interfluve, the 8th part of the Yaroslavl lands disappeared from the face of the earth. More than 800 settlements, 6 monasteries and 50 churches were under water.

On the given map of the Rybinsk Reservoir (it can be enlarged), the beds of former rivers are indicated in dark blue, and next to them with red dots are villages and hamlets that have gone under water forever.

Surprisingly, the Volga in those days was not considered a Great River and was not even navigable. It is known that steamships sailed only between Rybinsk and Mologa.

Decades have passed since the tragedy. The Soviet people defeated Germany in the Great Patriotic War. As historians say, the capacities of the created Volga hydroelectric power stations played an important role in this event.

Gradually, the history of Russian Atlantis was forgotten. Besides long years in the Soviet Union it was forbidden to even pronounce this name: Mologa. For such a mention one could easily end up in some camp.

Years passed. There were periods when the water level in the Rybinsk Reservoir dropped, and one could see the remains of the ancient city: the foundations of former houses and streets, cemetery tombstones.

But the elements of water, wind and time do their work. And in the 21st century there is little that reminds us of the former tragedy. The remains of many churches and temples that were not destroyed during the flooding, which previously rose above the surface of the water, have almost completely sunk under water.

Many historical cities have survived, but due to partial flooding they have become much smaller. Decreased by 3/4 ancient city Vesyegonsk, flooding affected Uglich, Myshkin, Kalyazin.

Kalyazinskaya bell tower

Many cities, towns and villages went under water at the same time. Among them, the notorious city was partially damaged. St. Nicholas Cathedral located there was built in 1694.

Under him, since 1800, a five-tier bell tower has stood. Its height is 74.5 meters. There were 12 bells in the bell tower! The largest of them was cast in honor of Nicholas II, who became Emperor.

During the preparation of these lands for flooding, the cathedral was dismantled, and the bell tower was left as a lighthouse for ships. In the eighties, its foundation was strengthened, an artificial island of land was created around it, and now in the summer divine services and prayer services are held there.

An original attraction has appeared for visiting tourists. Well, for residents of Kalyazin, this is a good reason to earn a little extra money by taking travelers to.

People's memory

Now, according to a sad tradition, on one of the August Sundays, the descendants of those who once lived in Mologa gather and sail by boat to the site of the sunken city. Sometimes the water level drops and the city appears out of the water. The spectacle is not for the faint of heart, it just becomes scary. After all, people once lived there - they were sad and laughed, dreamed and hoped for a happy future...

Although, according to today's researchers, almost nothing remains from those times. All the stories that you can see ancient buildings, temples, gravestones and crosses under water are a myth. Only stones and shell rock are visible at the bottom. Only occasionally do searchers discover small metal objects and coins.

Do not forget that almost all stone buildings were blown up before the flooding, and wooden buildings were dismantled for firewood.

On the site of the flooded city, enthusiasts erected a symbolic monument-signpost with the inscription: “Forgive me, the city of Mologa.” And its arrow is directed under the water.

Where to learn about the history of the flooding of Mologa

In Rybinsk there is a museum of the Mologa region, where you can learn in detail about these events, see objects of that time and light a candle in memory of the residents of Mologa. It is located in Preobrazhensky Lane, building 6a. Open from 10 to 17, except Monday and Sunday.

And in the city of Myshkin, which was also partially damaged, but the built dams saved it from complete flooding, there is. It is located on Nikolskaya Square, building 5. The caretaker of this museum, a local historian, can also tell a lot about the flooded cities, in particular about Mologa.

We were deeply moved by the story of the curator of the museum, Sergei Vasilyevich Kurov, about the history of the Volga region, about how preparations were made for the flooding. He preserved the memories of eyewitnesses of these events and their descendants.

Also in his collection are many things that in past years he was able to discover in the area of ​​​​the flooded city. Here, for example, is a brick from Russian Atlantis.

It was also very interesting to see this whole story on ordinary geographical maps those years. Here we have a publication from the late 30s of the 20th century.

The lowlands are clearly visible here. And this area is circled with a dotted line as a possible object that is planned to be flooded in the future. On the 1938 map you can see the inscription: zone of expected flooding.

And there are already more nearby modern map with the Rybinsk Reservoir. Its outlines surprisingly follow the contours of the former fertile lowland.

Mologa - the pearl of Russia

There can be no clear assessment of these tragic events. After all, we must not forget that it was this newly created Rybinsk reservoir that in 1941 provided electricity to the whole of Moscow, as well as numerous factories that produced weapons and equipment for the front.

By the beginning of the war, the hydroelectric power station building was already ready, but the roof had not yet been built. It was replaced with a tarpaulin and, despite fighting, work continued. The country and the people needed this additional power plant. Only - at what cost? - that's another question...

This is where the flooded city of Mologa is now located on a modern map.

Other attractions of the Yaroslavl region, where I was able to visit, are on this map.

This year's winter turned out to be light and snowy, and the remains of Mologa appeared on the surface of the Rybinsk reservoir - the ancient Russian city would have turned 865 years old this year if not for the decision to build the Rybinsk hydroelectric power station in 1935.

In September, we went to look at the “Russian Atlantis” and visit the Rybinsk hydroelectric station at the invitation of RusHydro.

Water itself, after the drought in the Volga region of 1921-22, was considered a strategic resource and filling the future Rybinsk reservoir in those years was a strategically important decision - the main water artery of the capital, the Moscow River, became very shallow and polluted, and the overpopulated city threatened to soon be left without vital source.
On June 15, 1931, at the Plenum of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, a resolution was adopted: “... to radically solve the problem of watering the Moscow River by connecting it with the upper reaches of the Volga River.”

It all started with the construction of the Moscow Canal (the old name was Moscow - Volga). Initially, it was planned to build three hydroelectric power stations with a capacity of 220 MW in Myshkin, Yaroslavl and Kalyazin. Later, this scheme was changed and two hydroelectric power stations were built in Uglich and Rybinsk with a total capacity of 440 MW (110 MW and 330 MW, respectively).

The construction of the Rybinsk hydroelectric complex pursued another important goal - the creation of the Volga-Baltic waterway. Navigation on the Upper Volga before its confluence with the Mologa River was possible only during floods.

Work on deepening was carried out, but this did not lead to results, because the level immediately sank. When the Rybinsk, Uglich and Ivankovskoe reservoirs were created, a navigable passage 4.5 meters deep was formed.

We are going to the Rybinsk hydroelectric station.

Construction of the hydroelectric complex began in 1935 near the village of Perebory at the confluence of the Sheksna and the Volga, and the main work on the hydroelectric station began in 1938-1939.

Some sources claim that Stalin was personally interested in the progress of construction of the Rybinsk hydroelectric complex, and raising the level from 98 to 102 meters was his initiative. Main goal: increasing the capacity of the Rybinsk hydroelectric station and ensuring more reliable navigation. Many residents were against the construction of the Rybinsk hydroelectric power station and the state regarded their actions as a betrayal.

In April 1941, filling of the Rybinsk Reservoir began. The retaining water level was supposed to be about 98 m, but by 1937 this figure had increased and amounted to 102 meters.

In 1941, the reservoir rose to a maximum of 97.5 m, in 1942 - to 99.3 m. Mologa is located at 98-101 meters.

Now a favorite place for local fishermen is downstream, where slightly stunned fish end up after passing through the whirlpool.

The first two units of the Rybinsk hydroelectric power station were launched in November 1941 and January 1942 - the war and energy famine began. Moscow defense enterprises and machine-building plants needed electricity.

In 1945-50 Four units of the hydroelectric power station were successively put into operation, and in 1998 and 2002, two of the six hydroelectric units were reconstructed.

It is difficult to find a worker in the hall - the entire process is automated.

The control panel provides round-the-clock monitoring of the systems and units of the hydroelectric power station.

On July 30, 1955, the Uglich and Rybinsk hydroelectric complexes were put into commercial operation, forming Cascade No. 1 of Mosenergo. In 1993, the company changed its name to DOJSC "Cascade of Verkhnevolzhskiye HPPs".

The building retains original chandeliers from the 1940s.

The workers are joking.

Bloggers tweet.

There is a beautiful picture in the turbine room, giving general idea about hydroelectric power station.

And now a trip to Mologa.

From the central Rybinsk pier by boat to Mologa it takes more than two hours to travel along the Rybinsk reservoir and the first point is the locks.

The gate at the lower level closes, it takes about 10 minutes for the lock to be filled with water, and we enter the reservoir area.

For seagulls, the process of filling or filling the sluice with water is most beneficial - stunned fish are easier to catch - just like for fishermen near a hydroelectric power station.

Due to the current shallowing of the reservoir by almost 2.5 meters, the number of steamships has decreased and the lock staff welcomes rare visitors.

We pass by the monument to Mother Volga.

Kamennikovsky Peninsula.

While we sail, we listen to the history of Mologa from local history keepers and local historians.

To create the Rybinsk reservoir with an area of ​​4,580 km2, it was necessary to resettle, in addition to Mologa, more than 600 villages. Filling of the reservoir lasted longer than planned - it was flooded to the required level only in the high-water year of 1947. This happened because during the war water was released to the lowest levels to maximize electricity production.

Soon a strip of land and several stones appeared on the horizon.

Mologa has a rich history - the city was the same age as Moscow, and in the chronicle it is mentioned as the city that saved Yuri Dolgoruky during the war with the Kyiv prince Izyaslav Mstislavovich. Then the squad of Kievites burned all the cities of the Suzdal principality, and Mologa misfired - the Volga rose and flooded all the surrounding fields and roads. As a result, the Kiev squad went home, and the founder of Moscow was saved.

Apparently, there is some kind of evil irony of fate in the fact that the first chronicle mention of this city almost completely coincides in meaning with the last mention of Mologa - with the only difference that the grateful descendants of Dolgoruky flooded Mologa itself.

According to the first edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, in 1936 there were 6,100 people living in it, it was a small town built up mainly with wooden buildings.

Before reaching a couple of kilometers to the place where the highest point of Mologa appeared, we transfer to a boat - the fairway does not allow the steamer to go further.

The boat approaches the shore very carefully - in some areas the water depth does not even reach half a meter.

Mologa was famous not only as a trade and transport hub of the country, but also as a producer of butter and cheese, which was even supplied to London.
Previously, the view of Mologa from our place was like this. The photo was taken before 1937.

Now it is a bare island with thousands of scattered bricks and remnants of everyday life.

Before filling the reservoir in mandatory its bed is being cleared of buildings. Wooden houses either dismantled and transported to a new location, or burned. In Mologa, most of the residents dismantled their houses, built rafts from them (so that they could later reassemble the house) and, having loaded everything that could be taken away onto them, they floated down the river to a new place of residence.

People were forced to leave their stone houses, the graves of their relatives and friends.
Stone buildings were destroyed to the ground, and this was done long before the reservoir was filled. Everything valuable that could be useful on the farm and could be carried away was taken away.

It is safe to assume that by 1940 the resettlement was almost complete, since the local Soviet authorities took a direct part in the resettlement process - they issued exit certificates, on the basis of which the migrants received financial assistance from the state. In total, about 130 thousand people were overpopulated.

Yaroslavskaya street was then the most high point city, which this year poked its head out of the water.

Yaroslavskaya street now.

The pride of the Mologans of that time was the tower designed by the brother of Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Mologsky district, the city of Mologa and 6 village councils of the Mologsky district, falling into the flood zone, were officially liquidated by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR on December 20, 1940.

Rumors that more than 300 people drowned without leaving the city are not true. Sitting for months in the middle of an open field and waiting for water to come is a surprisingly strange and painful way of committing suicide. The Rybinsk Reservoir has a small backwater, but a large volume, and, accordingly, fills quite slowly - a few centimeters per day. This is not a tsunami or even an ordinary flood; you can get away from the rising reservoir simply on foot and without much effort.

It was possible to continue walking, but it was nearing sunset and we had to urgently set sail before it got dark.

By a fatal coincidence, the coat of arms of the city of Mologa, approved back in 1778, seemed to predict its flooding - the earthen rampart in the “azure field” ended up being the Rybinsk Reservoir.

In memory of the ghost town, a museum was opened in 1995 in Rybinsk, which became known as the Museum of the Mologsky Region, and former Mologans gather every year to honor the memory of their sunken homeland.

And don’t believe the pictures on the Internet showing that something has survived at the site of Mologa - there is no bell tower, like in Kalyazin, or domes sticking out of the water - only stones and a homemade monument remind of the ancient Russian city that once stood here. ..

The report partially used photographs of the Mologsky region museum and from my personal archive from 2006 (hydroelectric power station above).