In a world where we are buffeted with alteration, where “progress” seems to be cleaning land to build another parking lot … there is a corner of quietness and stability where change occurs slowly, thoughtfully. There are no historical towers and palaces, no modern skyscrapers, no luxurious vehicles, no super service. But…no noise, no haste, and no polluted city air.
Three hours’ trip by bus across 180 km of flat steppes to the southwest off the bustling Barnaul and you are in a geographic heart of Altai, a wonderful oasis of emerald grassy sloping hills, 506 blue-eyed lakes and 11 sparkling brooks of Shipunovsky raion. The tender charm of this quaint place embraces the visitors almost immediately. Covered with modest field flowers: forget-me-nots, bells and lilies of the valley, full of magical sounds of the first spring thunderstorms, songs of nightingales and skylarks, filled with unforgettable smells of wormwood, ripe crops and milk, watered by the longest Altai river the Alei (882 km) and rich in fish, the Charysh this soft sport of my heart will help you see remoteness from a new perspective. Enjoy your happy chance!
Some people say that the word “Shipunovo” originates from the last name of its first settler, others affirm that it was called after a rare species of wild geese inhabiting our lakes centuries ago. Who is correct? I prefer the second variant. It is more romantic, isn’t it?
This area is a cradle of my childhood, a rather spacious “cradle” I would say; 24000 square kilometers! Six European states: Monaco, San-Marino, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Andorra, Malta and some more can make themselves comfortable in its territory.
Here you’ll be amazed by the beautiful simplicity of warm, tidy and cozy log-houses built at the edge of the birch-groves. The traditional Russian trees with snow-white “legs” wave their tender green “arms,” as if inviting you to one of them.
Imagine a long winter evening! The logs are merrily crackling in the stove; it is warm and comfortable in the room. Breathe in the smell of baking bread! All its ingredients: wheat flour, sugar, sunflower seed oil, and hop are grown in the fields of my area by my countrymen. Some of them are well known all over Russia: Varvara Bacholdina, Feodor Grinko, and Mikhail Efremov. Help yourself to tasty and healthy food: a mug of milk, a loaf of homemade bread and golden honey! Take granny’s spindle in your hands! Don’t be afraid! Move it! One, two… One more attempt! The spindle can make miracles, masterpieces in the hands of Russian handy women. During long winter evenings they are busy with fine-needle work, embroidering green leaves of birches, red sunrays, blue clouds on the towels, pillowslips, bed-covers that turn the rooms into flourishing summer meadows. Their men are very skillful in carpentry, carving, and fretwork. You can see the best woodworks of Nikolai Rudnikov and Peotr Romanov, the finest paintings of our local artists Alexey Gikal, Sergey Bozhenko, and Alexander Rusakov in our museum of Culture and Lore that is located in the center of Shipunovo. It’s worth seeing! When I was a child, listening to my granny’s songs and fairy-tales, I was also taught to knit, to make clay toys etc. Thus skills of my forefathers, their love for the Motherland got removed and went on to me.
So, what is the real treasure of my native place? It’s not a secret! You’ll come the first time because of the interest to new “places”; you’ll come back because of the interest to special talented “faces” of my countrymen! Welcome to Shipunovo, a small oasis of beauty and craft! We always keep light in the windows for our guests!
marina marfutenko
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