Аннотация: The Fairy Tale about the Rafting of Kropotkin along the Amur river
The Fairy Tale about the Rafting of Kropotkin along the Amur river
The prince Pyotr Alexeevich Kropotkin was rafting along the Amur River and was reasoning:
"It is difficult to imagine more pleasant floating, than in the afternoon, on the barge which is getting down according the will of a current. There is neither a noise, nor a roar, as by steamship. Sometimes it is necessary to turn an enormous fodder oar two-once to hold the barge among the river. A fan of the nature can not to find the more beautiful views...
Kropotkin has plunged into memoirs. He studies in the Page Corps. The enormous fire in St. Petersburg. The building of the Page Corps is threatened by the fire. The forces of pupils aren't enough. Kropotkin finds the governor general of St. Petersburg prince Suvorov.
"- Who has sent you?
- Nobody. Companions, fellow students.
- So you say that the Page Corps will light up soon?
- Yes. We can't defend any more.
- Come with me ...
...
- In the yard there is a company of soldiers. Take the detachment and immediately clean the street. The one of guts of the steam fire truck soon will be outstretched here. Operate it. I charge you personally this matter.
About three or four o'clock in the morning it became obvious that it was succeeded to cope with fire. The Page Corps was out of danger."
A time passes. The meeting of Kropotkin with the governor general of Eastern Siberia count Nikolay Nikolayevich Muravyov. Very clever, very active human. Charming, as personality. The governor general very much wished to work for the improvement of the territory.
The idea was to build along the Amur river and the Ussuri river, at the territory of the length of 3500-odd miles, a chain of stanitsas (villages) and thus to establish proper communication between Siberia and the shores of the Great Ocean. An inhabitants were needed for villages. East Siberia had no enough locals to fill stanitsas. Then Muravyov executed the extraordinary measures. The civil rights were returned to the exiled-convicts who served time in hard labor and later were directed for works to the governmental enterprises. The former exiled-convicts were turned into the Trans-Baikal Cossack Host. Then part of them settled along the Amur and Ussuri. Thus, two more new Cossack Hosts appeared.
The conversation with the governor general count N. N. Muravyov came to Kropotkin's memory. The count, like Kropotkin, too, was of the higher nobility, too, had studied in his time in the Page Corps, was in the Corps the one of the best students. The conversation went without unnecessary formalities.
"You, Nikolay Nikolayevich, have achieved the complete release of thousands of convicts (mostly murderers and thieves), which decided to arrange as the free settlers population on the lower Amur. Sending them from Kara to new places, you, before they sat down on rafts to sail down the Shilka and Amur, gave them a speech: "With God, children. You're free now. Cultivate the land, make it a Russian land, start a new life " and so on.
- A words for an inspiration... - Muravyov replied.
- I, Nikolay Nikolaevich, yesterday in the Internet got acquainted with news. The law on the Far Eastern hectare has been put into effect. The law allows any citizen of Russia once for free to receive 1 hectare in the Far East for residential construction, farming or business activities.
Muravyov according his own bureaucratic habit made notes on paper. Three figures appeared on paper: "1", "1" and "1".
- I will inform the Emperor, - said the count. - But any report wins if it has a written grounds, not just a words.
Kropotkin gave to Muravyov the printout from the Internet.
The officer at this time entered: "The courier from St. Petersburg arrived. The urgent messages!'
The count, wishing success, finished the conversation."
And before departure to the Far East there were dreams: ... Mississippi of the Far East ... ... mountains ... ... subtropical vegetation in the region of the Ussuri river... ...the drawings of Maack, who traveled in the region of Ussuri... ... the tropical belt which is so miraculously described by Humboldt ... ... the great generalizations of Ritter ...
Kropotkin has looked at the river.
"Only those who saw Amur or know Mississippi and Yangtze can imagine what enormous river is the Amur after confluence with Songhua River and what enormous waves go down the river during a bad weather!"
The conversation came to memory: with the Emperor after Kropotkin completed his studies in the Page Corps.
"The Amur Cossack Host was then the youngest in army ...
Alexander II has asked:
- So you go to Siberia? Well, your father has agreed?
- Yes.
- Doesn't frighten you to go so far?
- No ..."
"Why to me this headache?" - Kropotkin has thought. - "Now it is fashionable to raft along the rivers ... A comfortable bicycle and a car will be invented soon...".
- Nikolayevsk! - the exclamation of one of participants of the floating was heard. The rafting along Amur river was fulfilled...
May 10, 2018 16:23
Translation from Russian into English: May 10, 2018 - May 12, 2018.
Владимир Владимирович Залесский 'Сказка о сплаве Кропоткина по Амуру'.