Plains!
Therefore, the relief of the Republic alternates with uplands and depressions, which, in turn, are crossed by numerous river valleys, logs and ravines.

In the spaces of Udmurtia, three high-rise levels are distinguished:
1. Upper level with elevations of 250 m or more - Verkhnekamskaya Upland
2. Average level from 180 to 250 m - Mozhginskaya and Sarapulskaya uplands
3. And the third, low level - the valleys of the rivers Kama, Cheptsy, Kilmezi

We are interested, first of all, in the heights, the highest points of Udmurtia.As well as mountains that have their own names and are associated with many legends.

Looking ahead, I will say that there are still no mountains, as such, in Udmurtia. And Baygurez, and Mount Soldyr and Sidorov mountains are nothing more than a high steep bank of the river.

There are uplands, there are hills.different in their geological origin.

"Boar Mountain" in the Zavyalovsky district on the border with the Uvinsky district in the forest area towards the settlement of Poyvay. This is an alluvial island of the ancient sea with a rich sand and gravel mixture. Such AGM deposits stretched like a thread along the northern tip of the Mozhginskaya Upland - the villages of Nardyg, Rodniki, Malaya Volozhikya.

There are pure sandy hills, ideally formed by their shape in the form of a drop of water, stretched out and lying on the surface. Near the village of Syurovai, Uva district, on the Uva-Syumsi highway, such sandy hills stretch on both sides of the road and cause unhealthy interest among the “black diggers”: “Isn’t Genghis Khan’s treasure buried in these hills?” No, not a treasure. This is the activity of the winds during the ice age, when the icy winds freely “walked” along the border of the edge of the glacier, forming dunes and dunes of the silent desert. The same classic hill near Novye Zyattsy, which is on the Selty-Igra road.

Near the former village of Vylgurt, Vavozhsky district in the seventies, a similar hill was planted with hazelnuts by the forces of the Yuzhno-Kakmozhsky forestry. A whole mountain of nuts! The walnut lasted for twenty years, then it was irrevocably drowned out by the young growth of linden and birch.

On the territory of Udmurtia, it is customary to distinguish five hills:
1. Krasnogorsk
2. Verkhnekamskaya
3. Tylovaiskaya (Tylovaysko-Multanskaya)
4. Mozhginskaya and
5. Sarapulskaya

The first three are actually one common Verkhnekamsk upland, going far to the north to the Kirov region. For convenience, we have divided it into regions.

Krasnogorskaya - the valley of the Cheptsa river with its left tributaries - Lekma, Ubyt and Sepych. The maximum heights here are - 276 m(village Tura on the road to Valamaz) and 275 m(near the villages of Nefedovo and Prokhorovo).

Verkhnekamskaya - the right bank of the Cheptsa River, within the administrative districts of Yarsky, Glazovsky, Balezinsky and Kezsky.

The last three districts claim to be located in the district The highest point of the Udmurt Republic (SVTUR). To put an end to disputes, in May of this year, an expedition of enthusiasts drove along the route with an altimeter device and made the necessary measurements. The championship was given to the heights in the Balezinsky district (on the border with Glazovsky) near the village of Sever with a mark of 332.6 meters! Nearby is another height (the village of Novosely) - 332 m. And in some sources it is she who is called SVTUR!

The Kez Upland near the village of Kuliga, where the Kama River originates, "lost" the same centimeters - 332 .0 meters! How annoying!

The Sharkansky district, which also claims to be SVTUR, has marks over 300 meters, but still falls short of the record - 321 meters near the village of Zyuzino. The locals call the mountain “POINTS” (the emphasis is on the second syllable, and, more correctly, not “Points”, but “Totski”, where the letter “C” is with dots).

Sharkan territory belongs to the Tylovai Upland. Here is the Geographical Center of Udmurtia - Cape Erestem (altitude 298 m), from which the city of Izhevsk is visible. And here, in the latitudinal direction, heights of about 250 m stretched near the village of Novy Multan (therefore, the Tylovaysko-Multan Upland).

Mozhginskaya Upland is more modest, but it “took” a height of 250 meters! It stretches along the floodplain of the Vala River and in its upper reaches on the right tributary near the village of Nizhnyaya Saika, a hill of 256 meters. And the maximum height near the previously mentioned Malaya Volozhyka - 258 meters - is the mountain "Alexandrovskaya" named after the former village.

The Sarapul Upland united the areas along the right bank of the Kama - Zavyalovsky, Sarapulsky, Kiyasovsky and Karakulinsky. Heights are good for 200 meters. With maximum 248 meters near the village of Baikuzino, Zavyalovsky district, 244 meters - Krasny Bor neighboring Tatarstan, next to the Zuev Keys and 231 m near the village of Lysovo, Sarapulsky district. Unfortunately, no one could tell us anything about the Baikuzinsky mountain, about its legends.

What, in the end, we have.
Natural heights of 250-330 meters are common in Udmurtia. These are not river banks, not cliffs. Those are the heights. Some have their own names: "Erestem", "Points", "Alexander Mountain".

Significant places for the Udmurts, called "mountains" - "Sidorovy Gory", "Alangasargurez", "Soldyr" - these are, first of all, ancient settlements, settlements of people. That is why they have their own name and their own legends.

The territory of Udmurtia is located on the Kama part of the East European Plain , which gradually passes into the Cis-Urals. On the plain, elevated and low-lying areas alternate, indented by numerous river valleys, logs, and ravines. The surface of the territory of the republic has a slight slope from east to west and from north to south. In the north of Udmurtia, the Verkhnekamsk Upland is located. It runs approximately to the valley of the Cheptsa River and continues in the Kirov Region and the Perm Territory. Its northern part is like a mountainous area. It is here in the north of the Balezinsky region that the highest point of Udmurtia is located - a mark of 332 meters above sea level. The Chepetsa valley is occupied by the Chepetsky lowland, which stretches in a narrow strip from west to east. It is composed of sand deposits. To the south of Cheptsa in the middle part of the republic there are two hills. The western part is the Krasnogorsk upland (285 m), the eastern part is the Tylovaysko-Multan upland (321 m). Its eastern part in the Sharkansky district looks especially picturesque. Therefore, the Sharkans themselves call it "Udmurt Switzerland". Here wooded hills are interspersed with river valleys, copses and fields. Such ruggedness of the relief makes the area picturesque. The central part of the republic is lower. The lowlands, located here along the river valleys, stretched from north to south. The western part is occupied by the Kilmez lowland, it is the largest in Udmurtia. It is heavily swamped, on the watersheds there are sandy hills covered with pine forests. In the center there is a low-lying valley of the Izh River with tributaries, in the east - low-lying valleys of the Votka and Siva rivers. Sandy hills of ancient origin, covered with pine forests - relict dunes, have also been preserved here. In height (256 m) it is somewhat higher than Sarapulskaya (248 m), but its slopes are more gentle, covered with mixed forests. The Sarapul Upland is strongly indented by the valleys of small tributaries of the Kama and abruptly breaks off to the Kama in the east and south. Landslides occur on the high right bank of the Kama. On them, trees grow obliquely, for which they received the name "drunken forest". The upland itself is almost treeless, there are many ravines, their slopes are covered with forest and shrub vegetation. The low left bank of the Kama is occupied by the Kama-Belskaya lowland. It is covered with ancient sand deposits. Sometimes there are relic dunes with pine forests on them. In lower places, mixed forest is mainly located. In the extreme south-west of the republic, where the Privyatskaya lowland is located on the Vyatka River, south of the village of Krymskaya Sludka, the water's edge has a mark of 51 m above sea level. Thus, 281 meters is the difference between the highest point in the north and the lowest point in the south. On the whole, the surface of Udmurtia can be characterized as a hilly plain, where highlands alternate with lowlands. ) - current ravines (ravines)

The Udmurt Republic is located in the Ural region, which is somewhat reflected in its relief. According to the predominance of certain forms of relief, the territory of the republic can be schematically divided into five geomorphological regions.

First district located on the Kilmez-Valinsky, Vyatka-Valinsky and Valinsky-Izhsky watersheds. As a result of the division of this region by a large number of rivers, streams and streams, its relief has a wavy shape with the presence of hilly and elongated elevations in places. The tops of the watersheds mostly have a plateau-like form with altitude marks within 150-200 m above sea level. The ravine network is moderately expressed, the depth of the ravines varies from 2 to 10 and rarely more than meters. The steepness of the slopes is in most cases less than 5°.
Second district occupies part of the Selty, Syumsinsky and Krasnogorsk regions. The main elevations of the region are 100-150 m. An exception are some sections of the watershed of the Lumpun and Ut rivers, where heights reach 200 m. the result of wind erosion. On the above-floodplain terraces of the rivers, between these elevations, there are significant depressions occupied by marshy soils.
Third district located mainly on the watershed Kilmez - Cheptsa. Its altitudes fluctuate mainly within the range of 150-250 m. An exception are several elevations reaching 250-300 m. The dissection of the region by rivers and ravines gives the relief a well-defined wavy shape. The main elements of the relief are gently sloping and slightly sloping slopes of different exposure. In some places there is a hilly area. Leveled areas are found along the tops of watersheds and above floodplain terraces of river valleys.
Fourth district It is characterized by the predominance of a ridged form of relief, in places with a significant number of hills and hilly elevations. The tops of the ridges are predominantly oval in shape. Interval depressions are represented by deep but narrow river valleys. The ravine network is developed everywhere, but is most pronounced in the Sharkan and Debes regions, as well as along the right bank of the Cheptsa River and along some of its tributaries.
By location above sea level, the characterized area is the most elevated in Udmurtia. Altitude marks on the prevailing area of ​​the region range from 200-300 m, and in some areas reach 320-340 m. Many rivers originate from the heights of this region, including the Kama and Vyatka.
Fifth district occupies the Kama-Izhsky watershed. Its relief has a broad-wavy shape. There are low hills along the Kama River and in a number of other places. The tops of undulating elevations are mostly located at a height of 150-200 and rarely - up to 250 m, they have a plateau-like or oval shape. The most common relief elements are slopes, and the southern ones are usually steeper and shorter than the northern ones. The ravine network is moderately expressed. The ravines are mostly shallow, but of great extent, sometimes they extend almost to the top of the watersheds. Water erosion played the main role in the formation of the relief of the described area.

Unfavorable geological phenomena (landslides, mudflows, landslide-scree processes, karst, erosion) did not cause emergency situations on the territory of the Udmurt Republic (registered). At the same time, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Udmurt Republic, slow processes of soil landslides occur on the territory of the Udmurt Republic. These phenomena are extremely rare and the likelihood of exogenous sources of emergency situations is unlikely.

Territories of the Udmurt Republic subject to landslide processes.

- north-eastern outskirts of the city of Sarapul, on a segment of the slope adjacent to the territory of the treatment facilities of the city water intake.

- a plot of the territory of the village of Doksha, Zavyalovsky district,

- 45-kilometer segment of the slope between the villages of Sukharevo and Cheganda, Karakulinsky district;

- With. Crimean Sludka, Kiznersky district on the bank of the river. Vyatka - coastal abrasion occurs. For 48 years, 280 m of the coast were washed away over a length of 1.3 km, the potential threat of landslide activation is unlikely.

The relief plays an important role in the distribution of precipitation over the territory. Different relief elements have their own microclimatic features. The relief influences the development of water erosion, the species composition of natural vegetation, and the activity of microbiological processes in the soil. All this directly or indirectly affects soil formation. The distribution and migration of pollutants is also associated with relief. Dangerous and unfavorable geomorphological processes are of great importance. Some of which cause significant harm to a person and objects of his economic activity.

Unfavorable processes in Udmurtia.

Of great importance for the good operation, durability and reliability of buildings (structures) are hazardous geological processes. An obligatory point in the course of engineering surveys is the identification of such processes and the prediction of changes in hazardous geological conditions over time. If these processes are present at the study site, certain protective measures are taken to reduce the negative impact on adjacent houses (buildings, structures) or to completely eliminate them (if possible).

Hazardous geological processes are engineering-geological and geological processes, in particular hydrometeorological phenomena, which adversely affect the general condition of buildings and structures, as well as the livelihoods of the population.

These processes are described in detail and spelled out in state regulations, such as: GOST 22.1.02-97, GOST R 22.1.06-99, SNiP 22-02-2003.

Conducting engineering and geological surveys, specialists most often encounter the most common hazardous geological processes in Russia:

1. Flooding (foundations, pits, etc.); spring floods, melt water. Intensive deforestation has led to accelerated snowmelt. This, in turn, led to a period of recharge of groundwater and an increase in the volume of water in high water and caused by floods. Flooding is a consequence of both man-made processes and natural ones. This process is possible as a result of any violation of the water regime, as well as the overall balance of the area for a specific settlement period. In this case, the groundwater level rises significantly and reaches critical levels characteristic of a certain type of territory (in particular, for the functional purpose of the building).

The main causes of flooding of foundations and pits include:

Laying asphalt in built-up areas (and, consequently, reducing evaporation and disturbing the natural water balance of the area);

Leakage of aquifers (emergency situations);

Lack of a special system of surface water runoff, as well as storm sewers;

Destruction of the upper layer of soil during the construction of the foundations of buildings (structures).

2. Karst-suffusion processes; (carved, depressions, small caves, karst lakes). Suffusion - the removal of small mineral particles of rock filtered through it by water. Karst is a violation of the integrity of massifs, a complex of landforms created as a result of chemical weathering. Raindrops, underground and surface water.

The geology of the site is significantly exposed to the destructive effects of karst-suffosion processes. This category of hazardous geological processes includes the interaction of such processes as suffusion and karst. Suffusion is an erosive process of leaching microparticles from rocks (soluble) by filtering water. At the same time, voids are formed in the rock, which eventually lead to adverse consequences: soil deformation, foundation shrinkage, etc.

The main cause of suffusion phenomena should be considered the occurrence in groundwater of significant hydrodynamic pressure forces and the excess of a certain critical water velocity. This causes separation and removal of particles in suspension.

One of the main factors of karst formation is the action of water - atmospheric, river, underground, if it does not have high mineralization. The rocks are most strongly dissolved by weakly mineralized water, as well as aqueous solutions containing free carbon dioxide. In this case, the dissolving effect of water increases many times over. Dissolution is facilitated by elevated temperature and water movement.

3. Erosion processes. In the southern, mostly treeless regions, ravine erosion is developed. The share of ravaged lands here is 41%, while the volume of eroded land reaches 300 thousand m³ and is carried out to floodplain meadows and reservoirs and causes shallowing. Erosion processes are a complex of negative processes that lead to the erosion of soils (soil), river banks and channels. These dangerous geological processes are carried out due to intense water flows, which at the same time cause gravitational movements. This leads to the formation of ravines and a decrease in the level of watersheds.

Causes of soil erosion. The intensity of development of erosion processes is greatly influenced by climate, topography, anti-erosion resistance of soils, vegetation, human economic activity and other factors.

The climate influences the development of erosion processes as a result of temperature fluctuations, the amount and intensity of precipitation, and wind strength. The depth of soil freezing, the intensity of snow melting and thawing of the soil, the flow of melt water, and their absorption into the soil depend on temperature. If a permanent snow cover is established on unfrozen soil, then in the process of its thawing in spring, water is well absorbed into the soil and there is no runoff of water, washout and erosion of the soil. If snow is blown off the slopes in winter, the soil becomes bare, freezes deeply and melt water is little absorbed, there is a large runoff of water and soil destruction.

4. Slope processes - processes of slope transformation by the combined action of denudation and accumulation. Loose particles or whole blocks of rocks are shifted down under the action of various forces and accumulate in the lower parts of the slopes and at the foot, or this material is carried away by the river, waves, etc.

The nature of slope processes depends on the rocks that form the slope, on its steepness, on climatic conditions, etc. If the foot of the slope is not washed away by the river or the sea, then under the influence of slope processes the slope becomes more gentle.

On slopes, the most important factor causing the movement of weathering products and the destruction of slopes is gravity. However, depending on the height and steepness of the slopes, as well as on the degree and nature of the impact of water, gravitational forces cause a number of processes to occur. This series includes the actual gravitational processes (falling and shedding), in which the action of gravity is manifested in the purest form; water-gravitational processes (slumping and solifluction), when the moistening of rocks becomes an indispensable factor with the decisive role of gravity, and water-slope processes (planar washout and slope erosion), which are carried out by the activity of flowing waters, only subject to the action of gravity. In arid areas, the wind process plays an important role in the destruction of slopes.

5. Drawdown phenomena. Subsidence, compaction of soil under the action of an external load or only its own weight. Occurs during artificial soaking (in loess and loess-like deposits), thawing (thermal subsidence in frozen soils), dynamic effects (vibration subsidence. Subsidence can cause cracks to form on the surface and in the soil massif. If moisture filtration in subsidence soils during soaking occurs after subsidence phenomena, then post-subsidence deformation of the soil is possible due to the leaching of water-soluble compounds from it.The causes of subsidence phenomena (in loess and loess-like deposits) are an undercompacted state of the soil with particles that lose strength when soaked. with increasing pressure Interpartial bonds in the soil can delay its compaction, despite the increase (under the influence of the weight of new sediments or built structures) pressure, due to which a discrepancy between porosity and pressure is created - an undercompacted state. When the strength of the bonds of soil particles is reduced (for example, when loess is soaked as a result of leaks from the water supply network or when the groundwater level rises near reservoirs), subsidence phenomena occur.

Hazardous geological phenomena can bring not only negative consequences to the designed building (structure), but also, with their maximum manifestation, complete destruction. It is very important to predict in a timely manner the possibility of such processes occurring at the study site and to take a number of protective measures to prevent them.

Native fields, forest and copses,
Meadows around and a river outside the window.
And everything in its splendor, splendor,
And here is my native and fatherly home.
Vladimir Gerun

The Udmurt Republic lies in northwestern part of the Urals, in the interfluve of the Kama and its major tributary, the Vyatka. Square republics - a little more than 42 thousand km 2. Her neighbours : on the south- Tataria and Bashkiria (which also adjoins from the southeast), on north and west- Kirovskaya, and on east- Perm region. Among the cities of Udmurtia stand out Izhevsk (capital of the republic) , Glazov, Sarapul, Votkinsk, Mozhga.

The landscape is calm and welcoming

Udmurtia spreads out on a vast gently undulating plain, where low hills are separated by numerous wide valleys of calm rivers. Here we will not see such sharply different natural landscapes as, for example, in Bashkiria. However, the territory of the republic cannot be called monotonous. Upper Kama Upland occupies almost the entire northern half of Udmurtia, dissected by many valleys of small rivers flowing into Cap, which flows steadily through its valley. On the southeast republics Sarapul Upland abruptly breaks off to the mighty Kame, beyond which stretches a vast lowland. On the southwest hills spread out Mozhginskaya Upland , gently descending to the river Vyatka.

Climatic conditions

Basically, the climate of the republic is formed by air masses coming from the Atlantic Ocean, but when they pass over Europe, they lose part of the moisture they contain, cool in winter, heat up in summer and thus acquire properties temperate continental air. It is characterized by severe winter with severe frosts, deep snows, and quite warm summer. Mid-January temperature from -14°С to -15°С, but can fall below 40°С of frost; in July the average temperature fluctuates from +17°С to +19°С. Frosts are common in spring and autumn. Moisture is abundant here: 400-600 mm falls annually precipitation . North Udmurtia is noticeably harsher than its south. There is less solar heat here, and more rainfall.

How rich is the republic

The main natural wealth of Udmurtia is forest . Its bowels are also not poor, they have significant deposits oil . In addition, there are small stocks manganese ores, copper sandstones, mineral paints . Abundant Udmurtia and peat . good here and mineral springs .

Nature of Udmurtia

Tasty air in the forest at dawn,
And the colors in the forest are beautiful here
Vladimir Gerun

Most of the surface north Republic is covered with a dark green carpet southern taiga , often interrupted by significant sections arable land and light green riverine meadows . Here prevail fir-spruce forests, replaced by saturated light pine forests.
Against a gloomy background Siberian firs the trunks of the merry ones also turn white birches. Found everywhere aspen, in the undergrowth - wild rosemary, honeysuckle, wild rose, in grass-shrub cover - blueberries, lingonberries, bilberries, northern linnaea. mosses poorly developed, as they are suppressed by herbaceous plants.
The resinous smells of the taiga are mixed with the aroma of flowering polyan. In the grass cover there are plants characteristic of deciduous forests: European hoof, spiky raven, male shieldwort, fragrant woodruff, forest chistets and others. Forests and copses replace expanse meadows.
AT southern parts of Udmurtia, the taiga is gradually giving way mixed forests . Here arable land occur in solid arrays. Moreover, in the south it is no longer fields, but forests that look like islands. Here small-leaved linden goes to the first tier. Appear next to her common oak, elm and elm. Conifers are represented fir and spruce. Found in the undergrowth common hazel and warty euonymus.

forest dwellers

The existence of animals in the taiga is closely connected with coniferous trees, as well as with some other plants accompanying them. Taiga gives animals food, shelter from bad weather and enemies. Seeds (nuts) of spruce, fir and pine are the main food for spruce crossbill and white-winged crossbill . Coniferous seeds, mushrooms, berries feed on characteristic taiga animals - squirrel and chipmunk . Vegetation is typically eaten taiga birds capercaillie, hazel grouse, black grouse . Insect larvae are exterminated in large numbers three-toed woodpecker, chickadee tit and nuthatch . Often there are predatory birds: sparrow hawk, hawk owl and owl . In addition, birds are common here redstart, whitethroat, common and deaf cuckoo, partridge , and from mammals — white hare, mole, weasel . In remote corners of habitation, preserved wolf and fox . Valuable fur-bearing animals are common marten and ermine .

The constant alternation of watershed spaces with valley depressions and seemingly insignificant changes in the composition of rocks, microclimate, soils and vegetation greatly diversify the Udmurt landscape.

Water resources

The main water arteries of Udmurtia are Kama river, tributaries of the Vyatka rivers Cheptsa, Kilmez and others as well Votkinsk reservoir (on the Kama) , slightly entering the territory of the republic from the east. Many in different rivers fish : bream, roach, perch, ide, burbot.

Kama - the largest tributary of the Volga. Her path within Udmurtia is interesting. Kama begins at an altitude of 331 m above sea level. The source of a huge river is modest. He is at Karpushat villages. Under the old birch there is a transparent spring, enclosed in a log cabin with a plank roof. The murmuring water runs down the pipe into a wooden block, overflows over its edge and hurries on. This tiny drain is the beginning of Kama. After 100 m, it receives its first tributary, the same key - Further, and after another 200 m - Key Upper. The Kama is already running like a stream in its own shallow valley, merges with river Bystrushka. After a few kilometers, the first Kama "reservoirs" — chain of mill ponds. Even at the origins, even at the “infancy age”, Kama begins his work for the benefit of man. Further, taking in more and more tributaries, it flows through the territory of the Kirov region, first to northwest and northeast, entering the Perm Territory, gradually changing its direction to east, southeast and southern, but from Perm up to falling into Volga always sticks to southwest. The Kama describes a huge arc in its upper and middle reaches. Starting in Udmurtia as a modest stream, it returns to the republic as a mighty river. . From the sources to Sarapul, the Kama overcomes a path of 1.5 thousand km, while in a straight line these points are separated by only about 200 km.

late autumn , after the frost hits, the rivers on long time are covered ice . Duration freezing about six months. In second half of April starts ice drift , it lasts for several days and leaves indelible impression.

Land of ancient settlement

The ancient tribes from which the Udmurts emerged lived in the basins of the Kama, Vyatka and Belaya as far back as 3,000 years ago. The ancestors of the modern Udmurts in the VI-VII centuries. n. e. emerged from the conglomerate of local Finno-Ugric tribes. The very word "Udmurt" means "Man of the Oud Tribe"- this was the name of one of the tribes of the ancestors of modern Udmurts. From time immemorial, the basis of the economic life of this people has been cultivation of gray bread, flax. Since ancient times, the Udmurts were familiar fur hunting, fishing, forestry, domestic weaving.

Already in the X-XI centuries. cultural ties between the Udmurts and the northeastern Russian principalities arose. Russians began to penetrate here from the XII century. In those days, the Udmurt lands were part of Volga-Kama Bulgaria. From the end of the XIII - the beginning of the XIV century. Udmurts became tributaries of the Tatar-Mongols. After the fall of the Tatar yoke at the end of the XV - the middle of the XVI century. Udmurts voluntarily joined Moscow state.

In the 18th century, the mining industry was rapidly developing in the Urals. In the Udmurt Kama region, Votkinsk and Izhevsk metallurgical plants appeared, which played a big role in the economic development of the region. At these plants, Ural cast iron was processed into iron and steel, into various metal products. However, in those days, in general, the economy, culture and life of the Udmurt people were extremely backward.
The harassment of the tsarist administration, the severity of factory work, national oppression caused repeated uprisings of the Udmurts. They took part in the peasant wars led by Stepan Razin and Emelyan Pugachev, in "potato riots".

Under Soviet rule, Udmurtia became an autonomous region in 1920, and an autonomous republic in 1934. Since 1990, it has been transformed, and became known as the Udmurt Republic.

National composition

The main nationalities inhabiting the republic are Udmurts, Russians and Tatars . Also living here Mari, Ukrainians and other nationalities. The Udmurts are the second largest group of the indigenous inhabitants of the Urals. Most of them live in villages. The tradition of decorating the dwelling with woven towels with embroidered national ornaments has been preserved from the past.

National dishes

Traditional basis of nutrition Udmurts - bread (nyan) . Diverse national bread products: tortillas (tabani), unleavened cheesecakes with minced meat, eggs and onions, pies, pancakes, dumplings stuffed with meat, mushrooms, cabbage and potatoes, sour dough noodles . Udmurts also season some liquid dishes with flour. For example, oatmeal they diluted with kvass, water or sour milk, and from hot meals widespread soup With groats and peas. Otherwise, the food of the Udmurts is no different from the food of the local Russian population.

Folk arts and crafts

On the territory of Udmurtia, decorative and applied crafts, traditional for this region, successfully operate. Among them weaving, artistic carving and wood painting, ceramics and pottery, artistic processing of birch bark and straw, folk toys, artistic weaving from wicker and bast, making national clothes . Old ways revived traditional folk embroidery , restored cooperage and bone carving . Original craftsmen work throughout Udmurtia, primarily in villages. The best works are exhibited at republican exhibitions, including exhibition-fair "City of Masters", which is an impressive addition holiday "Gerber".

Izhevsk is a craftsman's city

Izhevsk was founded in 1760 by the construction iron processing plant Ural factories for iron. It was typical for the Urals of those times factory town . The concept of "factory" simultaneously meant both the village itself and the factory that gave rise to it. There was a lot in common in the appearance of mining settlements. In the center of the village, a river, usually small (in our case, it is the Izh River), was blocked by a dam, a large pond spread above it. Pipes and buildings of factory buildings rose below the dam. On the sloping and steep banks of the pond, small wooden houses were molded - workers' huts. Among them, the stone house of the owner of the plant, surrounded by the greenery of the garden, and the white stone houses of managers and bosses stood out in relief.
This is the beginning of the artisan city. In 1774, the village of Izhevsk Zavod was occupied by troops Emeliana Pugacheva and heavily damaged. Together with the production of iron, and later steel, the weapon business gained great importance, when in the village in 1807 a Armory . From the middle of the 19th century to four arms factories started to be produced hunting rifles. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Izhevsk plant was one of the largest arms factories in Russia. In 1918 Izhevsk receives city ​​status, in 1921 becomes the capital of Votskaya Autonomous Region, in 1934 - the capital of the Udmurt ASSR. In 1985-87. the city was called Ustinov. Since 1990 - the capital of the Udmurt Republic.

AT old quarters Izhevsk still has a lot wooden, less often semi-stone (with the first floor of brickwork) two-story mansions With carved window frames. On the other hand, the new Izhevsk was spread wide, its outskirts grew and pressed the suburban forests, meadows and fields.
The city has an extensive pond - 15 km long and 2.5 km wide. A long time ago, the water wheels at the factory dam stopped spinning. Now the pond supplies Izhevsk with water. Citizens and guests of the capital rest on its green shores on hot summer days. This place is worthy to be written about by poets:

Your pearl - Izhevsk pond
shakes clouds and emerald,
And the sun creeps, blinding the eyes,
a fiery carpet between the shores.

So I saw the beauty of this pond poet V. Ya. Tyaptin .

On the elevated eastern shore of the pond is located central part cities. From the iron staircase that connects the dam to Soviet street (the main city highway), offers a wide view of the hustle and bustle of the factory buildings, the distant District, framed by a bluish border of the forest. The measured sounds of bell ringing are floating - it is the clock that strikes on old tower , which has been rising above the “dry” slope of the dam for almost two centuries, giving a classic finish ensemble of hydraulic structures. The tower is crowned five sazhen column with a square capital and a gilded ball. It is visible from Sovetskaya Street and closes the perspective of this highway. Right there, on the dam, but at the slope descending to the water, under the canopy ancient poplars — bust a remarkable Russian engineer who founded the arms business in Izhevsk in the 19th century, A. F. Deryabina.

The importance of Izhevsk for the Udmurts is enormous as cultural center. There are many places where you can get acquainted with the cultural heritage of Udmurtia. Doors are always open for residents and visitors of the city theaters :State National, State Russian Drama Theater named after V. G. Korolenko, State Opera and Ballet, State Puppet Theater and Theater "Young Man". In addition, connoisseurs of beauty can visit State Philharmonic and Academic Choir Chapel , listen State Symphony Orchestra and State Orchestra of Wind Instruments of the Ministry of Culture of the Udmurt Republic . Those who are close folklore can enjoy creativity State Academic Song and Dance Ensemble "Italmas", in the repertoire of which a prominent place is occupied by works of national art, State Theater of Folklore Song "Haykay", State Ensemble of Folk Song, Music and Dance "Tanok", Folklore Ensemble "Zarni Shep" and others. At the service of lovers of spectacular recreation, a beautiful State Circus and city ​​zoo .

Connoisseurs of historical heritage also have something to visit and see. For example museums : National Udmurt Republic named after K. Gerd, Udmurt Republican Fine Arts Museum and Exhibition Complex of Small Arms named after M. T. Kalashnikov and others. Those who like to just wander through the green alleys, ride on attraction or sit on a bench in a quiet, beautiful place, city “oases” are suitable - parks and gardens , such as Gorky Summer Garden, Kirov Park, Cosmonauts Park and Birch Grove(or as it is also called - goat park).

Among architectural landmarks stand out St. Michael's Cathedral, St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Trinity Church and mosque.

land of craftsmen

Izhevsk. In the Central Lenin Museum in Moscow, you can see a miniature three-line rifle made with jewelry art, made in 1918 by Izhevsk gunsmiths as a gift to Lenin. This rifle is only twice the size of a regular fountain pen. Nowadays Izhevsk hunting and sporting guns won a good reputation in many countries of the world.
Interesting and unique factory of art products . Among its products are in great demand carpets, runners, scarves with national Udmurt ornament. In passing, we note that spinning and weaving were among the most common types of home production among the Udmurts. And now many of the local women are skilled weavers.

Votkinsk. In 1759, a conversion plant was built on the Votka River. steel plant. A settlement spread around it, which was transformed into a city under Soviet rule. The fact that in the middle of the 19th century they were entrusted with the manufacture of the metal frame of the "golden needle" - the spire of the cathedral of the famous Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg - speaks of the high production culture of the Votkinsk people.

Healing places of Udmurtia

Near the very border with Tatarstan is balneo-mud resort Varzi-Yatchi operating since 1885. The main treatment is mineralized peat mud, which is obtained from a swamp located on the territory of the resort. The sick are also treated here. baths with weak hydrogen sulfide water, for drinking cure apply sulfate-calcium water. Successfully cured in Varzi-Yatchi diseases of the joints, nervous and gynecological. The resort is located in the picturesque valley of the Big Varzi River, a tributary of the Izh River. The slopes of the valley and surrounding ravines are covered with beautiful trees and shrubs.

AT Uva village the eponymous sanatorium . Sources mineral water, peat therapeutic mud, crystal clear air, surroundings of coniferous-birch forests, a beautiful pond- this combination makes this health resort a truly unique healing place. People come here from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, musculoskeletal system, respiratory organs, cardiovascular and nervous systems, urological and gynecological diseases. All of them receive high-quality treatment. At the service of visitors bath, sauna with swimming pool and horseback riding.

The republic is rich in its health resorts. When you visit here, you will be able to feel the healing powers of the Udmurt nature.

Attractive places in Udmurtia

Nechkinsky national park. In the middle part of the Kama River valley and in the coastal strip of the Votkinsk reservoir, the Nechkinsky National Park was created in 1997. He spread out over area more than 20 thousand hectares. Here you can see plants and taiga animals, mixed forests and forest-steppe. Especially valuable is the right bank Nechkinka rivers where they meet old-growth pine forests . And how picturesque mighty Kama! The width of its channel in these places reaches 1 km. Behind the edge of the yellow sandy beaches of the low left bank are bright green meadows and thickets of coastal trees and shrubs; pine forests stand on the terraces above the floodplain. But what a contrast the right bank represents! The steep slopes of the Sarapul Upland, which breaks off at the Kama, rapidly go up. The gentle shades of the green left bank are opposed by the range of colors (from pale pink to fiery and brick-rusty) of the right bank cliffs. Here, in the Kama valley, the so-called Permian red flowers are exposed. They are framed by dark green, often with a bluish tinge, needles of spruce and fir. Trees pierce the sky with sharp teeth, so the tops of the slopes seem to be covered with a palisade.

Monuments of nature. Of the natural monuments located on national park territory , can be distinguished landscape tracts "Sidorovy Gory" and "Galevo", the mouth of the Siva River, the Kemulskoye swamp and mineral spring Makarovsky. There are also archaeological sites. The park also includes city ​​of Votkinsk.

Museum of P. I. Tchaikovsky in Votkinsk. Votkinsk is famous not only for its plant. Here, in 1840, a son was born in the family of the mining chief I.P. Tchaikovsky - the future great composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky . A place of pilgrimage for many thousands of people from all over the country has become an old house with a mezzanine on the bank of the factory pond, where the Tchaikovskys lived. Now in it museum . In front of the museum bust of Peter Ilyich. The exposition includes the furnishings of the Tchaikovsky family, things of the composer, stands telling about his life and creative path.

Music festivals in Votkinsk. Large music festivals, which are held every year on May days, have become traditional (Pyotr Ilyich was born on May 7). In festival concerts invariably participate major performers and symphony orchestras.

Architectural and ethnographic museum-reserve "Ludorvay". Not far from Izhevsk is the architectural and ethnographic museum-reserve "Ludorvay", where you can get acquainted with life, life and customs of the Udmurts late XIX - early XX centuries. It is still under construction, in the future, according to the plan, it will include 5 sectors: Udmurts - northern, central and southern, Tatars and Russians. But even now there is something to see. The museum-reserve is already included two monuments: windmill, late 19th century and manor of the beginning of the 20th century . Moreover, the estate, unlike other museums, is operational. A peasant lives in it with a full household and pets. The estate has barns, barn, smoke sauna, pagan sanctuary "Kuala". The interior of the house itself South Udmurt. Guests are welcomed national dishes — perepechami, tabanami with zyret and kumyshka (bread wine). Here you can attend festivities, holidays, and those who wish can try it for themselves bath. Such an acquaintance will remain in your memory for a long time.

Historical and cultural museum-reserve "Idnakar". A few kilometers from city ​​of Glazov on Mount Soldyr at the confluence of the Cheptsa and Pyzep rivers, the historical and cultural museum-reserve "Idnakar" is located. It includes the territory of the unique ancient settlement of the Finno-Ugric tribes of the 9th-13th centuries. By visiting the museum, you will get acquainted with the life of the ancestors of modern Udmurts.

Ski resort. On the the outskirts of the Nechkinsky National Park, 40 km from Izhevsk , right in the middle of the southern taiga you can visit a ski resort! He belongs sports and tourist center "Nechkino". A modern ski resort, framed by the most beautiful places, has excellent, trails of varying difficulty, the height difference of which reaches 115 meters (the longest route is up to 1.5 km). Upstairs you will climb Austrian 4-seater chairlift enjoying the wonderful panorama of protected areas from a bird's eye view.

There are 403 monuments of architecture, history and culture in Udmurtia under state protection

architectural landmarks Among the architectural sights are many Orthodox churches of the late XVIII - early XX centuries, Muslim mosques and pagan chapels . All these monuments tell about the religious life of the multinational population of the republic over the centuries.

There are many places in Udmurtia worth visiting. Of course, it is impossible to cover them all in these pages. in the republic hundreds of monuments of architecture, history and culture . In addition, you are waiting for ski resorts , and various clubs : aerial, paragliding, horseback riding, and boat trips, and wonderful fishing, and all kinds tourist routes, and many many others. But most importantly: hospitable hosts and unforgettable impressions are waiting for you.

The territory of Udmurtia is located on Kama part of the East European Plain , which gradually passes into the Cis-Urals. On the plain, elevated and low-lying areas alternate, indented by numerous river valleys, logs, and ravines. The surface of the territory of the republic has a slight slope from east to west and from north to south.

In the north of Udmurtia, the Verkhnekamsk Upland is located. It runs approximately to the valley of the Cheptsa River and continues in the Kirov Region and the Perm Territory. Its northern part is like a mountainous area. Just here in the north of the Balezinsky district is the highest point of Udmurtia - a mark of 332 meters above sea level.

The Chepetsa valley is occupied by the Chepetsky lowland, which stretches in a narrow strip from west to east. It is composed of sand deposits. To the south of Cheptsa in the middle part of the republic there are two hills. The western part is the Krasnogorsk upland (285 m), the eastern part is the Tylovaysko-Multan upland (321 m). Its eastern part in the Sharkansky district looks especially picturesque. Therefore, the Sharkans themselves call it "Udmurt Switzerland". Here wooded hills are interspersed with river valleys, copses and fields. Such ruggedness of the relief and gives picturesqueness to the area.

The central part of the republic is lower. The lowlands, located here along the river valleys, stretched from north to south. The western part is occupied by the Kilmez lowland, it is the largest in Udmurtia. It is heavily swamped, on the watersheds there are sandy hills covered with pine forests.

In the center there is a low-lying valley of the Izh river with tributaries, in the east - low-lying valleys of the Votka and Siva rivers. There are also preserved sandy hills of ancient origin, covered with pine forests - relic dunes.

The southern part of the republic is occupied by the Mozhginskaya and Sarapulskaya uplands, which are separated by the low Izha valley.

Mozhginskaya Upland is located in the southwest. In height (256 m) it is somewhat higher than Sarapulskaya (248 m), but its slopes are more gentle, covered with mixed forests. The Sarapul Upland is strongly indented by the valleys of small tributaries of the Kama and abruptly breaks off to the Kama in the east and south. Landslides occur on the high right bank of the Kama. On them, trees grow obliquely, for which they received the name "drunken forest". The hill itself is almost treeless, there are many ravines, their slopes are covered with forest and shrub vegetation.

The low left bank of the Kama is occupied by the Kama-Belskaya lowland. It is covered with ancient sand deposits. Sometimes there are relic dunes with pine forests on them. In lower places, mixed forest is mainly located.

In the extreme south-west of the republic, where the Privyatskaya lowland is located on the Vyatka River, south of the village of Krymskaya Sludka, the water's edge has a mark of 51 m above sea level. Thus, 281 meters is the difference between the highest point in the north and the lowest point in the south.