Sergey Kez
This station has world fame, which few people in Russia know about. Passengers of the Trans-Siberian Railway crossing Russia can rightfully say that they have passed through Malta. Geography connoisseurs should not get excited: on the map there was a place not only for the island state of Malta, but also for a station with the same
title. Moreover, the residents of Siberian Malta are no less proud of their history than they are of the Mediterranean.
Malta means “bird cherry place” in Buryat. With the current head of the station, Andrei Drachuk, no matter how hard we tried, we could not find even a hint of the remains of bird cherry thickets. Either the first builders of the great Siberian road completely eliminated this bush with black tart berries, or it disappeared for unknown reasons even before their arrival. The head of the local municipality Sergei Miller, also a railway worker in the recent past. True, through joint efforts they successfully overcome that part of the story that concerned the most noticeable historical events 333-year-old village.
Malta originates from a monastic village that belonged to the Ascension Monastery in Irkutsk. The founding date is considered to be 1675. The village, apparently, was destined to be first a postal station and then a railway station. The Senate decree on the construction of a high road from Moscow to Irkutsk was signed in 1731, and almost three decades later the road reached Malta. The landmark, according to historians, was the old shackled path along which convicts and settlers dragged themselves. Neither Radishchev, nor Chernyshevsky, nor the Decembrists, nor the exiled Poles escaped Malta. History repeated itself in the 20th century, when a camp for Japanese prisoners of war appeared in the village.
The life of Malta changed dramatically after the arrival of the railway: it was divided, as it were, into two parts - the railway and the purely rural. Over time, the railway began to dominate. A school, a holiday home, and shops appeared here. In short, the center of business and cultural life moved closer to the railway.
But the real glory of Malta came from excavations, when it was revealed that almost its entire territory is a unique monument of the Paleolithic era. Moreover, it all started, according to old-timers, as often happens, anecdotally. In 1929, a local peasant Savelyev was deepening his cellar and during this simple task he hardly pulled a giant bone out of the ground. Of particular importance Savelyev did not think anything of the wonder, and a few days later the Maltese children began to use the find as a sled. The head of the village reading room turned out to be more knowledgeable person He reported a bone of strange sizes to Irkutsk local history museum. In Malta, without delay, the world-famous anthropologist, archaeologist, historian and sculptor Mikhail Gerasimov appeared.
Continuing to deepen the Savelyevsky cellar, the archaeologist, to unspeakable delight, discovered mammoth bones, artistic items made from its tusks and the remains of other long-vanished animals. This is how the oldest human settlement was found in Siberia.
And then discoveries rained down like from a cornucopia. Over several decades, Gerasimov continued his archaeological research until 1959, and not only in the cellar, he found many bone human figurines. They were all female. According to the scientist, this was explained by the fact that the ancient Maltese had a matriarchy. According to him, more than two tens of thousands of years ago, on the site of Malta there was a tundra along which herds of mammoths, rhinoceroses and bison slowly moved. They served as the main object of extraction. The ancient Maltese ate animal meat, and built a tent from bones, using deer antlers woven together as a roof. Skins were thrown over this frame of bones, which were pressed down by massive mammoth skulls and tusks. (It is curious that in Mediterranean Malta, the discovery, for example, of the Hypogeum was accompanied by similar events: the owner of the land accidentally discovered a hole leading to underground caves. site note)
Archaeologists continue excavations to this day with varying degrees of intensity.
Here, wherever you poke a shovel, with luck you can get into a world sensation, because the entire territory of Malta, according to Mikhail Gerasimov’s student, Irkutsk scientist, Professor German Medvedev, has long been declared a continuous zone of archaeological heritage. With all the ensuing restrictions for local residents: to obtain a plot of land for construction or to start it, admitted Sergei Miller, a big problem. The matter will move forward only when scientists issue a permit.
But the head himself local authorities dreams of the time when Malta's world fame begins to bring at least a penny into the meager municipal budget.
— It would be entirely possible to organize a paid excursion to sites already discovered in the area ancient man. We are late, but we are even creating a museum for this purpose, which will be located in the building of a former parochial school, also, by the way, a local old-timer - this house is almost years old. And archaeologists have long been notified: dig, but some of the artifacts found are for us. Otherwise, there is practically not a single good exhibit - everything is in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In a word, a shoemaker without boots, says Sergei Miller.
And finally, we go to the famous Maltese springs. A mug of cold salt water goes around in a circle. Sergei Miller promises to give me a book about the history of Malta, which was written by retired teachers Anatoly Grechenko and his wife Antonina, along with other family members.
And I’m trying to find a piece of the landscape where there is not a single sign of modernity, so that I can imagine how herds of mammoths wandered here thousands of years ago. It seems that I have found it, and now giant animals will appear. But a locomotive passing nearby sounded its whistle, and the obsession disappeared.
- ((hut reading()a()linya)) reading hut; pl. reading huts, reading huts; and. In the USSR until the end of the 60s: a cultural and educational institution in the village. The manager of the reading hut. * * * reading hut one of the types of rural club institutions in the USSR before... ... encyclopedic Dictionary
One of the types of rural club institutions in the USSR before the beginning. 60s... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
Noun, number of synonyms: 2 library (19) toilet (87) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms. V.N. Trishin. 2013… Synonym dictionary
G. Cultural and educational institution in rural areas (in the USSR in the 20-60s of the XX century). Dictionary Efremova. T. F. Efremova. 2000... Modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language by Efremova
hut-reading room- , s and, w. Reading room in a peasant house. ◘ In our country, clubs have now become centers of political educational work in working-class areas, and reading houses in the villages (Molotov). BAS, vol. 5, 86. Resolved: to purchase... ... using the workers' correspondents' fees... Explanatory dictionary of the language of the Council of Deputies
One of the types of rural club institutions in the USSR. They arose in the first years of Soviet power. In some national republics, districts, territories, regions, mobile I. h. red teahouses, red plagues, red yurts, etc. were created... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
hut-reading room- hut and chit alnya, hut and chit alnya... Russian spelling dictionary
hut-reading room- (1 f 1 f), R. hut / chit / flax ... Spelling dictionary of the Russian language
hut-reading room- hut/chit/linen; pl. and / huts chit / flax, huts chit / flax; and. In the USSR until the end of the 60s: a cultural and educational institution in the village. The manager of the reading hut... Dictionary of many expressions
hut-reading room- hut/a/ chit/a/l/n/ya... Morphemic-spelling dictionary
Books
- The ashes of Odessa are knocking on my heart Collection of poetic, prose and journalistic materials, Izba-Reading Room. The collection “The Ashes of Odessa Knocking on My Heart” was compiled by the editorial team of the literary and artistic portal “Izba-Reading Room” based on materials from the site’s authors.. main idea real...
- The rejected returned or the rejected joins the Collection of poetic, prose and journalistic materials, Izba-Reading Room. The collection "Crimea is a Russian land. The torn-off returns or the torn-off annexes!" was compiled by members of the editorial board and artistic council literary and public association"…
To the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR Comrade. Yagoda
I am sending you a special note about the state and activities of reading huts, red corners and rural clubs in certain areas of the Kursk region. Individual signals received from the localities indicated extreme problems in the state of political education work in the village and necessitated active intervention on our part. We, with the participation of representatives of party and Soviet organizations, conducted a sample survey of reading huts, red corners and clubs. The materials of this note characterize political education work in 27 districts, where a total of 42 reading huts, 8 red corners and 6 clubs were examined.
The survey established that this area of work in the vast majority of districts of our region has fallen out of sight of the party and Soviet bodies, and, as a consequence of this, the content of political education work in the countryside is currently completely unresponsive to political and economic objectives and does not satisfy the needs of the population. At the same time, I am sending a special note to the regional committee of the CPSU (b) to make an appropriate decision.
Application: mentioned.
Beginning Directorate of the NKVD for the Kursk region. Dombrovsky
Application:
In connection with the Lately from a number of districts of the Kursk region. As a result of signals about the extremely unfavorable state of political education work in the village, the NKVD authorities, with the participation of party and Soviet organizations, carried out a random survey of reading huts, red corners and clubs. In 37 districts, 42 reading huts, 8 red corners and 6 clubs were examined. The survey established an extremely low level of political and educational work in the countryside, completely inconsistent with the increased socio-cultural needs of the village.
The main reasons for this are: lack of proper leadership from district and party and Soviet organizations; underestimation in a number of regions of the serious importance of this area of work; the lack of supply of reading rooms, red corners and clubs with appropriate personnel and their contamination with socially alien, morally corrupt elements.
Reading huts and red corners have an extremely unattractive appearance, both in terms of external and internal equipment. In some places, the buildings are dilapidated, unsanitary, unartistically decorated, and not provided with literature. Many reading rooms do not subscribe to periodicals. The unfavorable situation in the state of political education and work in rural areas is characterized by numerous facts.
Belgorod district. District organizations hardly manage the work of reading huts and red corners. Through the district ONO, leadership is entrusted to the district inspectors: Bezhentsev (the son of a merchant, a former Socialist Revolutionary, expelled from the CPSU (b)) and Saprykin (removed from work in the district ONO for disrupting the work to eliminate illiteracy). As a result of this “leadership” there is no cultural and educational work in the village, reading rooms and red corners are inactive. The collective farm "Red militant" has a red corner. Apart from a few books published in 1926−1927, there is no library in the reading hut. The premises of the red corner are dirty, the roof is leaking, there are traces of dampness everywhere, there is no decoration of any kind. The corner is headed by party organizer Kravchikov.
Korenevsky district. Political enlightenment there is almost no work. The District Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) does not deal with this issue. The district does not manage the work of reading huts and red corners. In the Kaponovsky village council, the hut-reading room is managed by Myagkikh, expelled from the Komsomol for moral and everyday decay. The soft ones do not do any work at the club. The circles of Osoaviakhim, MOPR, drama, choir and other amateur circles exist only on paper, and do not carry out any work (Starkovsky, B. Dolzhenkovsky and other village councils).
Nikolsky district. DistrictONO does not manage political education work in the district. There is no work plan for the district as a whole, or for individual reading huts and red corners. In the Korotysh village council, the hut-reading room is run by Komsomol member Malygin, who was expelled from the Komsomol for the collapse of the Komsomol organization. Malygin deals exclusively with drinking. The premises of this reading hut are kept unsanitary: the room is dirty, the roof has fallen into disrepair, and is full of holes. The house is rotting and threatening to collapse. Among the decorations there is one anti-Easter poster. Tables and chairs are broken. The literature is outdated and no one uses it. Although newspapers are subscribed, only the people in the houses use them. He keeps newspapers in his apartment, explaining that “you can’t keep newspapers in the reading hut, the mice will eat them.” At the Krasnaya Polyana collective farm, the red corner is headed by Vasiliev, the brother of an active Baptist sectarian, with whom he has a close connection. The work in the red corner was done extremely poorly.
Manturovo district. Clubs, reading rooms and red corners are inactive. No cultural or educational work is being carried out. The room is in disrepair. There is no decoration - no posters, portraits, slogans. They are not provided with literature. Newspapers are subscribed to very limited quantities and are not properly used. In some areas, the premises of reading rooms and clubs are used for storing bread, and in the Leninsky district the club is adapted as a barn. In the Korsakovsky district, out of 5 reading huts, 3 do not work at all, because the premises are occupied by grain storage facilities. In the Pavlovsky village council of the Oboyansky district, it is extremely comfortable room The reading room was seized by the village council for grain storage. Many collective farm and rural wall newspapers are deprived of any leadership from party organizations. A significant part of the wall newspapers do not have rural actives, as a result of which their socio-political significance is insignificant. Often newspapers are politically illiterate.
Oryol district. On the collective farm. XVII Party Conference, the newspaper “Voice of the Collective Farm” was published. The editor of the newspaper is teacher Vetrov. The newspaper does not cover issues of organizational and economic development and socio-political work of the collective farm. Vetrov publishes his own “editorials” of exceptional illiteracy in the newspaper. In one of his articles he wrote: “The revolution of 1917 occurred because Tsar Nicholas II and his assistant Grishka Rasputin were drunkards. If they had not been drunkards, there would have been no revolution."
Pristensky district. The Sazovsky village council publishes a wall newspaper “For a record harvest.” Its authors are two - the head of the hut-reading room and a school employee. The funds allocated for political education are far from being fully used.
Leninsky district. Of the 10 thousand rubles allocated from the district budget for cultural and educational work, 1 thousand rubles were spent. The rest of the money was partially spent for other purposes.
Krasno-Yaruzhsky district. The reading hut of the Ilek-Penkovsky village council has 500 rubles for cultural and educational work, but does not spend it.
Korsakovsky district. The reading hut of the Pokrovsky village council of 600 rubles allocated for cultural and educational work. I spent only 105 rubles. Reported to regional party organs. No. 4/17938.
Vilensky
Soviet village through the eyes of the Cheka-OGPU-NKVD. 1918-1939. Documents and materials. In 4 vols. / T. 4. pp. 185−187.
Chapter V. Cultural and mass work of the Komsomol in the village
Komsomol members - organizers of youth leisure
Collective farm youth, who know how to work hard, persistently, selflessly to help the front, love to sing in their free time good song, listen to music, exchange funny joke, dance. Young people have a great desire for knowledge - to study history, geography, literature, technology.
War leaves little time for rest, but this time must be used wisely. Well-spent minutes of rest provide energy for many hours of work.
Komsomol members must act as leaders of youth not only in work, but also in organizing the education and leisure of youth.
Mass cultural work is based on broad amateur activity of the masses and should meet the most diverse interests of young people.
Fascinating lecture, friendly meeting, conversation, literary or military evening, amateur performance show, reading aloud best works classical and Soviet literature, excursions, group visits to the cinema, discussion of books, films, performances, drama, choir and music clubs, clubs folk dances and dancing and much, much more - all these interesting and entertaining types of cultural mass work must find their place in the work of Komsomol organizations of collective and state farms. They open up inexhaustible opportunities for instilling in young people a feeling of ardent love for their homeland and pride in the great, immortal culture of our people.
The Soviet state, taking care of cultural development workers, and during the war allocates tens and hundreds of millions of rubles for the needs of political and educational institutions. A reading hut is created on the territory of each village council, funds are allocated for its operation, and a special employee is allocated - the manager of the reading hut, hut.
The reading hut is the center of the cultural life of the village. This is at the same time a military propaganda post, a club, and a reading room. This is the most important center of mass work with youth. The social life of the village is concentrated here. A good reading hut is always crowded. Both young and old come here to catch up: to read the latest newspaper, consult with a knowledgeable person, talk about what is happening at the front, talk about collective farm affairs.
Here you can listen to an interesting report on current events, meet a hero of the Patriotic War, or join an interesting club.
Therefore, rural Komsomol members should strive in every possible way to improve the work of their reading room.
How should the work of the reading hut be organized and what can Komsomol members do for this?
First of all, each reading hut must be equipped, landscaped, given a cozy and cultural species. No one will go to a neglected reading room, which is dirty, uncomfortable, not heated, and has no fresh newspapers and books.
It’s another matter if the reading hut is in good, caring hands. The work of such a hut-reading room in the Novo-Shchapovsky village council of the Klinsky district of the Moscow region tells about the work of the hut comrade. Clerks:
“When evening falls, a line of people flocks to our hut-reading room, as if into a cozy native home. Both old and young come here: to read, listen to a conversation, and relax.
A clean painted floor, wallpapered walls, white curtains on the windows, portraits of leaders, a geographical map, colorfully decorated display cases, photo newspapers, battle slogans, illustrated montages, flowers on the tables - this is the internal appearance of our reading hut.
The walls inside the building are well decorated. Here you will see a board of honor, a slogan calling for hard work, or a montage “How did you help the front today?”, where a collective farmer will read the names of his neighbors who donated warm clothes, money, and food to the Red Army relief fund. They seem to visually agitate and convince visitors that their work is a contribution to the great cause of the fight against the German invaders, that victory depends on the perseverance, endurance and selfless work of every patriot.
There are several circles at the reading hut, there is a choir that has learned a lot of Russian folk songs, a drama club has been created.”
In order to develop truly mass cultural work in the countryside, Komsomol members must first of all put their reading hut in order: renovate it, repair tables, benches, stools, decorate the walls with new posters and slogans, and equip, if the space allows, a stage.
When Komsomol member Raya Yagafarova took over the reading hut in the village of Tatarskie Vyselki, it was cold and deserted: bare, torn walls, a destroyed stage. There are two or three old brochures on the bookshelf. From the very first days, Yagafarova was convinced that it would be difficult to put the reading hut in order alone. First of all, it was necessary to create an asset. Komsomol members came to Yagafarova’s aid. The first thing they did was organize a collection of books, and soon a library containing up to 3 thousand books appeared in the reading hut. With the help of Komsomol members, Yagafarova tidied up the premises and decorated it. Now the reading hut has become a favorite vacation spot for young people.
How to organize work in a hut-reading room
The reading hut is primarily a center of political information for the population. Collective farmers, our youth, are following with the greatest interest the situation on the fronts of the Patriotic War, events in our country and in international life. Satisfy these requests, give answers to exciting topics, be at the level of increased political activity masses - direct duty and obligation of the hut.
Komsomol members can help many people in organizing political information. The best Komsomol agitators should be on duty in the reading room to conduct conversations, answer unclear questions to collective farmers, and explain important military and government messages. 
Rural teachers and high school students can provide great assistance in organizing political information. The teacher has an honorable role in the reading hut. He can conduct a conversation, lead a circle, and explain an unclear question. Teachers and camp workers can make a homemade geographical map for the reading hut and use flags to mark the places where hostilities are taking place. The teacher can help readers, talkers, and agitators.
Of course, one cannot limit oneself to conversations and reading newspapers. Rural youth will listen with great interest to the stories of soldiers who returned from the front, learn courage and bravery from front-line soldiers, and learn to hate the enemy.
Reading letters from fellow countrymen from the front is an important, interesting, exciting thing. It can be well organized by Komsomol members. To do this, it is necessary to widely use vivid letters from the front published in Komsomolskaya Pravda.
Reading and discussing such letters among young people is a great event. It will make every young man and girl think about the purpose of life, will arouse a passionate desire to be like the heroes of the Patriotic War.
In many reading huts, Komsomol members arrange artistically designed display cases “Letters from relatives and fellow countrymen from the active army,” as well as exhibitions of portraits of fellow countrymen - heroes of the Patriotic War. Komsomol members take out photographs of their fellow countrymen who distinguished themselves at the fronts, or cut out their photographs from newspapers and magazines; if they have their own artists, they draw them. Under the portraits there is a brief description of the feat of the fellow countryman. Instead of a signature, you can place a clipping and a letter received from the front.
Visual propaganda occupies a significant place in the cultural work of the reading room.
Similar to an exhibition of portraits of heroes, you can arrange various photomontages from magazine and newspaper photographs, write or redraw “TASS windows”, etc.
Such montages and posters are easy and simple to make. You can successfully involve local self-taught artists, especially high school students, in working on them.
Librarians and teachers have extensive experience in creating such homemade posters. They will help you select material, make clippings from newspapers and magazines, and tell you how best to arrange them.
The youth of the Soviet village loves and respects a good book. There is always a great demand for such a book.
The Komsomol organization cannot limit itself to only creating or strengthening the local rural library - it is also necessary to bring the book to young people. A good remedy cultivating a love for books among young people is the collective reading of works of fiction and their discussion. In each organization there are several well-literate Komsomol members who will help the izbach organize collective reading. Teachers will advise which book should be read aloud and will tell the reader how best to read it. There is no need to strive to read a book in one evening. Great piece can be divided into several evenings, and then listeners will look forward to the next meeting with the heroes of the book.
In many reading huts, literary evenings are held, the participants of which discuss a work that everyone has read in advance. It’s good to spend such a literary evening with a discussion of the best examples of classical and Soviet literature. You need to prepare for such an evening in advance. Youth should be widely informed about what work will be discussed, prepare a comrade who will give an opening speech, and organize a preliminary reading of this work.
We rarely have discussions about films. But movie heroes are often the favorite heroes of young people.
The more inventive the Komsomol members are when organizing such evenings, the more interesting, lively, and exciting they will be, the greater the mark they will leave in the memory of each participant.
The needs of our youth are wide and varied. It would be good to organize conversations and lectures on topics about military affairs, various types weapons, on historical topics, geography, astronomy, o various phenomena nature, plant and animal life, sanitation and hygiene.
Lectures and conversations on agrotechnical topics should occupy a special place. They can be successfully carried out by an agronomist or livestock specialist if Komsomol members approach him with a request. Now that youth has become a decisive force in agriculture, our task is to constantly help her acquire agrotechnical knowledge and train new personnel for the collective farm. In some reading huts, interesting evening meetings are organized between old masters of collective farm fields and young people. At such evenings, old and young collective farmers exchange experiences: young people learn from old, experienced workers of the land the skill of obtaining high yields. Such evenings are very popular in the village and bring undoubted benefits.
In the current conditions, the reference work of the reading room has acquired great importance. In connection with the war, collective farmers are faced with many new, very diverse questions that directly affect the vital interests of young people. For example, the question of benefits for the families of military personnel, the procedure for paying pensions to war invalids, how to find relatives who went to the army, etc. Some reading huts, with the help of Komsomol members, did a good job of conducting such reference work. Head of the Serpey hut-reading room, Meshchovsky district, Smolensk region, comrade. A. Fatova tells how, after restoring the reading hut, destroyed by fascist robbers, she organized an information desk:
“When I posted an announcement that the help desk had started working, people willingly came to me for information, asking me to write a letter or statement. Komsomol members helped me in many ways. In my absence, they were on duty, issued certificates, and wrote letters to the front at the request of collective farmers.”
Reference work increases the authority of the reading room, strengthens the connection between the reading room and the Komsomol members working in it with the collective farmers.
At first, mainly the wives of those mobilized into the Red Army came to the Vershnikovsky hut-reading room in the Gorky region for certificates, asking them to write a letter, an application, and obtain benefits. Izbach and his activists helped in all these matters. Now people come here on a wide variety of issues: agricultural technology, medicine, pedagogical, legal and many other issues. The number of certificates issued by the reading room is constantly growing.
Various clubs organized by Komsomol members at the reading hut help to involve young people in the social life of the collective farm and in active Komsomol work.
Amateur artistic circles - drama, choral, song and dance, music - became especially widespread in the village. Who, if not the Komsomol organization, should initiate the creation of such circles and direct their activities?
The first thing that Komsomol members should undertake when creating amateur circles is to identify and unite everyone who wants to participate in such circles. However, you should not be alarmed if there are too many applicants at first. In progress random people will quickly drop out.
When creating a drama club, the most difficult thing is to find a leader. It is best if it is a literature teacher from a nearby school or one of the gifted high school students.
At first, the circle should begin work by staging small, one-act plays, skits, scenes that do not require many characters and complex scenery. Such a repertoire will also allow you to change the program more often. When choosing a play, you must remember that its theme corresponds to the combat missions of the day.
When starting to work on a play, the leader and members of the circle must first discuss it in a circle class, understand the idea of this work, find out the characters and characteristics of each actor, his attitude towards other characters in the play.
Even on a poorly adapted site of a rural reading hut or club, you can stage a well-designed production (you just need to show ingenuity.
Drama club participants do not have to limit themselves to just working on staging a play. It will be good if the circle members who are not involved in the play prepare a recitation of poetry. This will provide an opportunity to diversify the evening program and involve more young people in the active work of the circle.
The work of the circle will be interesting and fruitful if Komsomol organizations seriously and daily help its leader.
The song has always been a faithful companion of the Russian people in work and in battle. There are many singing lovers in every village. Therefore, creating a choir is not difficult. The best of the singers, the most musical, can become the director of the choir. Sing well to the accompaniment of an accordion or guitar. New songs can be learned by ear, the melody and words can be recorded on the radio. If there is a gramophone in the village, you can learn songs by listening to records. Choir circles should widely promote Russian folk songs and new fighting songs Soviet poets and composers, songs of the Great Patriotic War.
In a moment of leisure, young people love to dance. Why shouldn’t Komsomol members become the organizers of this exciting undertaking? In every village there is a good dancer. He can be entrusted with organizing a folk dance club.
We should not forget about the music club. There are many music lovers among young people in the village. It is necessary to gather comrades who have musical instruments, consult with them, select a leader from among the most prepared people, and together with them outline a program of work for the circle.
You can separately gather harmonica players and those who like to play string instruments.
Several clubs can perform at the evenings at the same time. This will make the concert varied and interesting. In addition to circles, there may be performances by individual people - soloists: singers, storytellers, dancers, reciters, musicians, accordionists, etc.
It’s good to organize a competition for the best harmonica player, guitarist, best performer folk songs. Such competitions always attract great attention youth. Competitions and shows of amateur performances, organized on the initiative of Komsomol organizations, attract new forces and help promote talented, gifted people from among the youth.
An amateur art competition can be organized first in one village, among the collective farms of a given village council, and then the best forces can be gathered for a regional amateur performance show. During the very course of a competition or show, new circles usually grow, new participants in amateur performances appear, and Komsomol life in the countryside begins to beat faster.
Good organization of amateur activities increases the activity of young people and unites them around Komsomol organizations. Young people see their leaders and organizers in the Komsomol members and are greedily drawn to work, joining the ranks of the rural Komsomol.
Youth evenings are one of the best forms of mass work of the Komsomol. If amateur clubs work well in the village, it will not be difficult to prepare and conduct an interesting evening for young people.
You can open the evening with a report on any topic that interests young people: about the heroes of the Patriotic War and their exploits, about the current moment, etc.
The speaker for the evening should be invited from the regional center. It could also be a fellow countryman who took part in the Patriotic War, an izbach, a local school teacher, or one of the well-trained Komsomol members. After the report, it is good to organize performances by amateur art groups, dancing.
An interesting evening was organized by Komsomol members of the Kirov state farm in the Kvarken district of the Chkalov region. A report on the fighting traditions of the Komsomol was made by the instructor of the regional committee of the Komsomol, Comrade. Danilova. Front-line soldier Prosha, who worked on a state farm before the war, took the floor. The informative report and the passionate speech of a Komsomol front-line soldier, a participant in the defense of Stalingrad, excited the youth.
At the evening, an amateur art group performed, then the athletes showed gymnastic exercises. The evening ended with a performance by an amateur brass band and dancing.
After the evening, four young collective farmers and two female tractor driver courses announced their desire to join the Komsomol. Such evenings are held by many Komsomol organizations, and they always give positive results.
It is very important to involve as many collective farm youth as possible in organizing such an evening. Give to the young collective farmers who stood aside from public life, some assignment for preparing the evening, help them with advice, support their initiative, and they can soon become active participants in all the endeavors of Komsomol members.
In the summer, propaganda teams can be organized from participants in amateur performances. Members of such a propaganda brigade, working in the field along with other collective farmers, in their free time organize small concerts, help publish combat leaflets, hold conversations, read newspapers and books aloud, and compose funny ditties on local topics. 
The propaganda team of the Farm hut-reading room in the Nizhne-Uvelsky district of the Chelyabinsk region, led by Nikolai Ovchinnikov, is known far beyond the village council. She is warmly greeted by collective farmers in the field. The brigade leader usually holds a conversation with the collective farmers, and then a small concert is held: a short play or sketch is shown, songs and dances are performed, and string orchestra, and sometimes athletes.
Particularly popular is the performance of ditties on local themes. Izbacha Ovchinnikov, the compiler of ditties, is called in the village “the master of ditties.” Negligent collective farmers especially get it. The propaganda team pesters them with their marks and sharp satirical ditty.
The Komsomol organization must remember that the success of mass cultural work depends to a great extent on the hut. If the manager of the reading hut is a cultured, well-prepared, energetic person, work will begin to boil in the reading hut, and it will be easier for the Komsomol organization to work. Therefore, selecting a good hut is a vital matter of the Komsomol organization.
“Every step in the work,” says M.I. Kalinin, “every word from the izbach that can influence people should be aimed at helping the front. Working as a hut is a difficult task, but noble and exciting. This is work for the soul. A person feels that he is bringing enlightenment to the masses. What could be more exciting when you realize that you are expanding the mental horizons of the masses.”
More than half of the huts are Komsomol members. This is a positive fact. But people in huts need to be helped in their work on a daily basis, to improve their political and business training. A strong asset should be created around the reading hut.
Active Komsomol members, teachers, agronomists, doctors, and collective farmer activists can be involved in this work.
One of the forms of combining such an asset is the council at the reading room. The council involves all the cultural forces of the village in its work, considers the work plan of the hut-reading room, discusses issues of its practical activities, hears reports from the leaders of circles, heads of red corners, etc.
The council also monitors the implementation of the budget of the hut-reading room, the safety of its property, timely repairs and maintenance of the premises in cleanliness and order. Members of the council themselves work in brigades, in red corners and on ten-yards and distribute among themselves responsibilities for organizing and managing individual areas of work: military-defense, agrotechnical, information, amateur artistic activities, etc. The council of the hut-reading room reports on its work to village council of workers' deputies. The Komsomol organization must take an active part in all the work of the reading hut council.
Cultural work in rural areas is an important area of Komsomol activity. One cannot think that it is limited only to the reading room.
The head of a Komsomol organization must be aware of what young people read, what heroes of works excite them, what a young man who is interested in history, military affairs or geography dreams of learning about. Skillfully directing these interests and requests, tirelessly taking care of increasing the knowledge and political horizons of young people is the urgent task of the Komsomol leader.
In organizing mass cultural work, one should always be guided by the instructions of Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin, who at the Moscow meeting on political education work said:
“Constantly contribute to cultural and educational work political elements. IN this moment Focus all your attention on helping the front in all its forms, in the most varied manifestations. The one from the cultural workers, from the huts, who will carry out this line satisfactorily, will do a great political job.”
Malta has captivated Special attention two years ago, when a family of mammoths appeared at the entrance to an ancient village. Surprisingly, many residents of the Angara region did not even suspect that one of the largest sites of the Paleolithic era was located next to them. It all started when, back in 1929, the peasant Savelyev decided to deepen the cellar at home. During excavations, he discovered a huge old bone, which, however, did not impress him. He threw it over the fence, and the local boys immediately found a use for it, adapting it as a sleigh. However, the head of the village reading room took a closer look at the curiosity and reported it to Irkutsk. The famous archaeologist Mikhail Gerasimov immediately went to Malta and discovered an ancient site. This news stunned everyone scientific world. Such unique artifacts as miniature female figurines, Venuses, a child’s burial with rich grave goods, and a bead made from a mineral called “tiger’s eye” were recovered from the bowels of the Malta soil.
The church collapsed in silence
The beautiful large village of Malta is divided into two parts - the right and left banks of the Belaya River. Right side more modern. It was formed after it was built Railway. All socially significant objects are located here: the local administration, a school, the House of Culture, the Maltinskoye mineral water production enterprise and the remains of a sanatorium that once thundered throughout the region.
But left-hand side is a real historical treasury. Along the main street - Lenin - stretches the former Moscow Highway, along which convicts and military personnel moved several centuries ago. During the journey, they made a short stop in Malta: they rested and changed horses. The Maltinians recreated this episode from the history of the village on one of the village holidays. Dressed in rags and tatters, they depicted how convicts moved along the Moscow highway.
There is still a two-story building on the street corner. old house, in which there was a hotel near the tract. According to residents, Anton Chekhov once stayed there. Then, many years later, the building was equipped as a maternity hospital.
It is known that not all convicts survived the long journey. Often martyrs found their final refuge here. They were buried without a funeral service, and it was for this reason that the residents decided to build a church in the village. They sent a petition to Emperor Alexander I and, without waiting for an answer, began collecting money.
Initially, it was decided to build a two-aisle temple, but over time the plans changed, and as a result, a large three-aisle temple was erected. The main chapel is in the name of the Ascension of the Lord, the second is Kazan Mother of God, and the third - in the name of St. Innocent. The temple was built conscientiously. Large antique bricks made from local clay were used for its construction. In order for them to hold tighter, they added to the solution great amount eggs Residents themselves carried them from their yards. Everyone wanted to contribute to a good cause.
In 1810, two smaller chapels were consecrated, and the turn of the main one came only 23 years later, as there were difficulties with money. A parochial school was also opened near the temple. 10 people were the first to graduate. Moreover, according to the recollections of old-timers, there were more boys than girls at that time. The temple served in its original form until the revolution.
During Civil War In 1918, it was used for zeroing artillery pieces by both red and white. The church was shelled from all sides. In February 2020, when Malta was under martial law, the Reds fired back from the Kappelites from the bell tower.
In 1933 the temple was closed. Part of the premises was fenced off and equipped for storage, and the church territory was given over to sports grounds and buildings. For some time, there was a brick factory office on the second floor of the temple, then it was given over to a club. Workers of Malta culture showed films and organized dances. Here the population gathered for gatherings. During the time when the temple was not used for its intended purpose, it was gradually dismantled for needs. Since the brick was very good quality, in the 30-40s, the military took him to the barracks.
The last one to temporarily find refuge in the church was a general store. True, he did not work for long, and after the building was empty, it began to collapse. During the 2009 earthquake, most of the walls of the temple crumbled, and two years later only ruins remained.
It was very calm and quiet that day. At about 17.30 they heard a terrible crash and the temple collapsed. On my own. Apparently, his time has come. No one went there or looked there anymore,” says Galina Kolomiets, curator of the school’s local history museum. - It's a pity, of course, the church. Architectural monument. Maybe someday a new temple will be built in its place. After all, this place is prayed for, holy.
Venuses, beads and ancient burials
Malta is also home to the world-famous site of ancient man. The story of how a local resident dug up a mammoth bone has long turned into a legend that the older generation tells to the younger ones. For several decades, expeditions visited here every season. From the ground, archaeologists recovered the bones of a mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, deer antlers, tools of primitive people, jewelry and household items.
This ancient monument has attracted hundreds of thousands of tourists and archaeologists from all over the world. Everyone wanted to take a closer look at the unique artifacts. Scientists have found that on the site of Malta 21-23 thousand years ago there was a tundra through which herds of mammoths, rhinoceroses and bison roamed. Their meat served as food primitive people, and houses were built from skins and bones.
In 1958, Mikhail Gerasimov, who was the first to study Malta culture, was replaced by his student, professor and archaeologist German Medvedev. He also unearthed many amazing items. Among them, for example, are small figurines of women. Their lips were clearly cut out, their nostrils were profiled, and their miniature chins stood out. There were 30 such figures, named Venus. Another find is an ancient bead made from the tiger's eye mineral. What is noteworthy about it is that until now this mineral was found only in India and Southern Afghanistan.
In Malta, they discovered the only burial of a child in the region with rich decoration: beads and pendants made of mammoth tusk, fragments of an image of a flying bird, flint products and a bracelet.
They burned bonfires and sang with a guitar
Archaeological research also aroused genuine interest among local residents. The children often visited expedition members and watched how they worked.
Previously, there was even a sign “Site of an ancient man.” Outsiders were prohibited from entering there. But in my youth we often ran there. In the 80s, archaeologists set up a tent city and worked here for the entire season, three to four months. Mostly students and young people came from Irkutsk, they lit fires and played the guitar. And we joined them,” recalls Dinara Salikhovna, a resident of Malta.
From the first grade, young “archaeologists” trodden a path here. They were interested in the whole process of work: how the first layer of earth is removed, working with scrapers and brushes, removing products, taking measurements and photographing artifacts.
It's impossible to describe. Need to see. I have never seen such meticulous work; every millimeter of the earth is examined. Archaeologists are sensitive to every discovered exhibit. Handle them very carefully so as not to cause damage.
True, there is one significant drawback to this Malta attraction. Since the entire village is essentially an archaeological heritage zone, any construction or excavation work is prohibited here. And this is a very big problem for residents. In order to obtain permission to build any object, even a small barn or bathhouse, they need to go through many authorities. Those who simply want to take land for a vegetable garden are subject to the same procedure. Some of the Maltese tried to prevent this “disgrace” and erected buildings without permission. However, the supervisory authorities, having learned about the violation, immediately came and punished the culprit with a ruble.
Mammoth and dentist
In the early 2000s, due to lack of funding, excavations stopped, and only two or three years ago they continued again. In 2014, archaeologists of Irkutsk state university The remains of a baby mammoth were discovered on the river bank. First, they came across a tooth of an animal that was hiding just under the turf, then, digging deeper, they found the rest of the remains: fragments of the skull, leg bones, ribs. All of them were located in an ancient frost crack, on an area of about one and a half meters. The age of the deposits was approximately 25 thousand years.
According to the assumptions of Dmitry Lokhov, research engineer at the Department of Archaeology, Ethnology and History Ancient world, perhaps the baby mammoth became the prey of an ancient man. He was separated from the herd and driven into a trap. This can be judged by the appearance and location of the remains. Archaeologists found chopped leg bones and a skull. The teeth lay separately. The ribs were also chopped and piled together.
In 2015 research papers in Malta were started later, already at the beginning of September.
Excavations were carried out right along the fences, along the entire length of Proizvodstvenny Lane. They dug about three meters deep, and on top everything was under film,” says Dinara. - This time we accommodated the expedition members in the House of Culture, heated the bathhouse, and gave them tea. Work continued until mid-November. When it was cold they lit the stove. While the excavations were going on, a temporary bypass road was built for residents. After the work was completed, the alley was restored to its original appearance. We don’t know what archaeologists discovered, we only know that there were many elements of animal bones.
On Beregovaya Street, along which excavations have been carried out for many years, none of the former residents remain. The elderly died, the young left. The new residents only know that this is the site of an ancient man’s site. True, sometimes someone finds interesting fragments. So, last year, after a heavy rain, Natalya Burlakova, going down to the shore, accidentally
Bumped into an object unusual shape. At first she thought it was a stone, but after looking closely, she decided that it looked more like a tooth. Experts confirmed her guesses. She donated her find school museum. It is noteworthy that she found the tooth not on the left bank, where the parking lot is located, but on the right. How he got there remains a mystery. At least, Galina Kolomiets jokingly tells the children at school that the mammoth went to the dentist.
Another exhibit of the school local history museum is a huge vertebra. Fishermen caught him in the river. For a long time they didn’t know where to put it, and then they decided to take it to the museum. The jawbone of an unknown animal, a bone from the thigh of a woolly rhinoceros and a copy of Venus, which was donated to the museum by professor from Germany Nana Nauwald, are also kept here.
Cucumbers are pickled using spring water
The site of an ancient man is not the only attraction of Malta. Who doesn’t know the bottled mineral water of the same name? It is being implemented throughout the Irkutsk region and beyond. The source is privately owned. One entrepreneur took a plot of land, drilled a well on it and started profitable business. Residents of Malta and everyone to strangers entry there is prohibited, but they don’t need it. They have their own source. Anyone can come and draw some spring water for themselves. It tastes slightly salted. As the Maltinians assure, it contains many useful substances. It is usually treated for the gastrointestinal tract. To do this, you need to drink 100 grams of water in the morning and evening. Housewives use this water to make good pickles. Lightly salted cucumbers are especially successful. There is a chapel next to the source.
The Maltinsky sanatorium, another pride of the village, has long since sunk into oblivion. In his golden years, people came here on vacation from the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Buryatia, Chita Region, and Yakutia. The sanatorium served up to 1000 people per season. People were attracted by the local beauty and healing mud that was extracted from the Popovsky Lakes. They helped with diseases of the joints and musculoskeletal system. There is mud even today, only the Usolsky hospitals use it.
Now all that remains of the former holiday home is a sign at the entrance to the village and two buildings - an office and a dining room. Other buildings either burned down or were dismantled for needs. A few years ago, these two buildings also turned into ordinary residential buildings. The district administration plans to create on the territory former home recreational open-air museum. True, no one knows when the desired will come true.
Selfie on a mammoth
The only attraction that has appeared here recently is a family of mammoths. The opening of the monument was timed to coincide with the celebration of the 90th anniversary Usolsky district. First, a mother and a baby mammoth appeared on the open area in front of Malta, and later the father joined them. Sculptural composition performed by the famous master from Telma Ivan Zuev.
I immediately decided that it would be a little mammoth pulling its mother out of ice water. On the one hand, this is salvation, on the other, awakening. The baby mammoth symbolizes our young generation, which is trying to extract information about the past from the depths of centuries. What we have already forgotten. I wish people would remember this. Many simply do not know what unique treasures are stored in the depths of this village,” noted Ivan Zuev.
The technology for making the sculpture is identical to that used to create the statue “The Motherland Calls” in Volgograd. In addition, a special bronzing technique was used. This creation is guaranteed for 50 years. As soon as a mammoth family settles in the countryside, cars drive towards it in an endless stream. People take photos and selfies against the backdrop of ancient animals, and someone tries to climb onto the back of a baby mammoth.
Tourists are attracted by the cellar
Malta children are still trying to find unique artifacts today. They take all their finds to the local history museum. Every year there is a competition for the most interesting ancient exhibit. Schoolchildren bring antique utensils and household items. However, today even such devices as a home landline telephone, radio, and tape recorder have historical value for them. The Angarsk geological expedition, based in Malta, donated a set of stones to the museum, and a local watchmaker brought many interesting watch mechanisms. Among his gifts is a ship's clock that keeps time with the precision of the Kremlin clock.
The pride of the school is school theater“The Voice,” which will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year. The theater's repertoire is impressive. Among the productions: “Juno and Avos”, “The Master and Margarita”, “12 Chairs” and much more. The actors are both children and the entire teaching staff. Regional events are also held here theater festivals, master classes.
In general, according to residents, they have a good, calm village. Every summer Malta is visited by groups of tourists. Everyone is interested in seeing the place where mammoths and woolly rhinoceroses lived many thousands of years ago. They are especially attracted to the house in whose cellar the first artifacts were dug up. True, the tenants there have long since changed and strangers are not allowed onto their property. And there’s nothing to see there anymore - everything is overgrown with grass and beds. The regional authorities have long had an idea to organize archaeological heritage sites in Malta a tourist route. All that remains is to bring this idea to life.