It is extremely difficult to write about Altai. A lot has been written about this region. Altai is a well-known part of our territory and a land of mysteries, legends, a land of not only centuries-old, but also thousands of years of history. Altai has long been a unique junction of civilizations: historical, cultural, archaeological. Many cultures and peoples formed around Altai, which subsequently influenced the fate of other territories.

In the territory Altai Territory and the Altai Republic there are 3 large archaeological regions: Gorny Altai, Upper Ob, Altai Foothills. Most of the archaeological sites of Altai are confined to river valleys, as well as extensions of intermountain basins, which are traditionally called steppes (Tvnyinskaya, Kanskaya, Abaiskaya, Uimonskaya, Kuraiskaya, Chuyskaya, Ulaganskaya). It is in these places convenient for living and life that people have settled since ancient times and developed their major events Altai history.

The first people settled in the valleys of Altai many hundreds of thousands of years ago, as evidenced by the world-famous Ulalinskaya site, discovered in Gorno-Altaisk. During excavations at the Ulalinskaya site, primitive stone tools were found made from blanks obtained using fire technology, i.e. by heating and rapidly cooling the stones. Ulala finds date back to the Lower Paleolithic period, some of them are more than a million years old. Materials from excavations of the cave sites of Denisova and Ust-Kanskaya caves belong to later periods of the Stone Age. It was in these natural closed complexes, not subject to external influences, that archaeologists excavated interesting monuments with a well-traced sequence of cultural layers.

It is assumed that ancient people led a nomadic lifestyle. They lived in camps located in strategically convenient places. The closed caves were most likely used as a shelter during nomadic migrations.

Early Bronze Age

The Chalcolithic, a transitional period from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age, characterized by the use of bronze tools along with stone tools, is represented in the Altai Mountains by the Afanasyevskaya archaeological culture (end of the 4th millennium BC - first quarter of the 2nd millennium BC). The culture received its name from Afanasyevskaya Mountain (near the Batenya River in the Krasnoyarsk Territory), where the first burial ground of this era was explored in 1920. In Altai, the captive Afanasyevites settled from Lake Teletskoye (along the Biya River) and the middle reaches of the Katun in the south to the latitude of Barnaul in the north.

The formation of the Afanasyevskaya culture is associated with the resettlement of early pastoral tribes of proto-Europeans, who were engaged in transhumance cattle breeding, to Altai. Copper and bronze began to be used in the production of weapons, tools, household items and jewelry. It has not yet been possible to determine the ethnicity of the Afanasyevites; we can only talk about their racial affiliation. Anthropologists claim that these people were very tall (average height 1.8 m). According to skull reconstructions, these were elite Caucasians. It has been established that on the basis of the Afanasyevskaya culture, the Scythian-Siberian cultural and historical community later appeared.

The Afanasievites conducted complex farming, giving preference to pasture cattle breeding. They liked to settle in wide open river valleys. Afanasyevsky monuments are represented by the burial grounds and settlements of Balyktuyul, Elo, Kara-Tenesh, Tenga, Bolshoi Tolgoek, Aragol, Kurota, etc.

Funeral monuments are enclosures in which there were oval or rectangular grave pits with a ceiling. The pits contained single or paired burials; the deceased were laid on their sides or backs, usually with their legs bent and their heads to the northeast or southwest. Often the bones of the buried were painted with ocher. Among the grave goods found in the burial grounds were ceramic vessels, incense burners, vases, tools and decorations. The ceramics are decorated with a comb stamp design.

Iron Age

In the 1st millennium BC. A culture of the Scythian type appears in Altai, giving world history a number of unique art monuments.

Scythians, ancient nomadic tribes of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, settled at the end of the 7th-2nd centuries. BC. in the Black Sea region and on the shores of the Caspian Sea. The origin of these tribes, which probably belonged to the Indo-European group, is still not fully understood. It is known that Scythian warriors fought with Persia, attacked Greek colonies in the Black Sea region, and there are references to Scythian mercenaries in the armies of these states. The Scythian time in Altai is associated primarily with the Pazyryk archaeological culture of early nomads (VII-II centuries BC). The main occupation of the nomadic tribe of Pazyryk warriors was hunting.

The Pazyryk people knew and loved nature, they were excellent artists: they depicted leopards, eagles, deer, and painted fantastic animals. Dozens of such tribes appeared in the steppes of Eurasia, creating a culture that was called Scythian-Siberian, after the name of the most famous tribe. After the defeat of the Scythian state by the Goths, the Scythians disappeared among other tribes, presumably making their contribution to the formation of the Slavic ethnos.

Mounds of the Pazyryk period have been identified in many regions of Altai (Ulagansky, Ongudaysky, Ust-Koksinsky, Charyshsky, etc.). There are both large and small mounds, and, as a rule, small mounds are the burials of ordinary nomads. Large mounds, the most interesting from a historical point of view, are usually extended in a chain in the north-south direction. Under the stone embankments in the pits there are log houses with wooden floors or stone boxes. In terms of the wealth of inventory (metal coins, knives, daggers, mirrors, bone products, jewelry, horse harnesses) and internal design, they differ sharply from small mounds.

These are the burials of tribal nobility. In the mounds with permafrost, objects made of wood, leather, felt, and fabrics were preserved. The Pazyryk mounds were first explored in the Pazyryk tract on the Bolshoi Ulagan River, where a chain of five large mounds was discovered. In 1993, on the Ukok plateau, archaeologists from the Novosibirsk Institute of Archeology and Ethnography made a unique discovery of the embalmed body of a young noble woman. In addition to burial grounds, the Early Iron Age includes settlements, memorial and ritual structures, numerous menhirs (stone steles), “deer stones,” and petroglyphs.

Kurgan burial grounds of the Shibin period (from the name of the Shibe tract in the valley of the Ursul River) were discovered along the Katanda, Berep, Karakol, Kurota, Kurai, Yakonur, and Peschanaya rivers. In size and structure they are similar to the Pazyryk mounds. They contain things of Chinese origin, and in the rich mounds there are quite a lot of gold things.

A group of writings from Central Altai, made using the dotted printing method, in which the entire image is filled with dimples and dots, also belongs to the era of the early nomads.

Traces of gold mines from distant times have been found. In addition to gold mining, highly specialized cattle breeding (horse breeding, sheep breeding), and hunting for ungulates and fur-bearing animals developed.

In the 3rd century. BC. The Pazyryk culture was replaced by the Hunno-Sarmatian culture. By the end of the 3rd century. BC. The tribal union of the Xiongnu, the ancestors of the Huns who later conquered the European peoples, created the first early class state in Central Asia. Over the past 20 years, about two dozen monuments of this period have been discovered and studied in Gorny Altai. These include the burial grounds of Ust-Edigan, Chendek, Upper Uimon, Bely Bom, Bikv, Airydash, etc., as well as settlements, settlements, sanctuaries: Yustyd, Bertek, Maima, Kucherla, etc. The cultural and ethnic affiliation of these monuments has not yet been established. Perhaps the Pazyryk culture did not disappear without a trace, but was transformed into a Hunnic type culture. The continuity of the two cultures is evidenced by the similarity of the funeral rites. In addition, in one of the Hunnic-type burials on the middle Katun, a complex of things of Scythian culture was found, and in one of the Pazyryk mounds - bow guards of the Hunnic type.

The monuments of the 1st millennium of the settled tribes of the Upper Ob have been well studied. There are Verkhneobskaya (II-VIII centuries) and Srostkinskaya (9th-10th centuries) cultures.

Scythian gold

The first archaeological expeditions to study the Scythians took place under Peter the Great in the 18th century. It was at this time that the king’s friend, the famous scientist from Amsterdam Nicolae Cornelisson Witsen, received from his Russian friends ancient Roman coins, a Chinese mirror and some other curiosities found in Siberian mounds. Among these items, the most interesting were four dozen gold items, such as very finely crafted necklaces, belt plates, and various ornaments depicting animals. All of them dated back to the times of the Scythians.

It all began on October 29, 1715, when representatives of the highest aristocracy presented Tsarina Catherine, on the occasion of the birth of Tsarevich Peter, with “luxurious gold items from Siberian burials, as well as one hundred thousand rubles in specie,” which belonged to the richest entrepreneur and founder of the first Ural factories, Nikita Demidov. Later, in 1793-1830, engineer and passionate collector P.K. Frolov, founder of the Barnaul Museum, collected a large number of antiquities discovered in Altai during mining operations, but especially during secret archaeological excavations.

The best items from Frolov's collection are now in the Hermitage, and the rest of the collection is kept in the Historical Museum in Moscow. Two exhibits ended up in museums in Stockholm.

Art of the Eastern Scythians

Based on the finds made in the Lazyryk mounds, one can judge the remarkable art of the Altai nomads. Wooden sculptures and bas-reliefs, geometric patterns, silhouettes and polychrome drawings - all techniques are often combined in one work. Among the images of animals, the most common are the horse, camel and deer. Of all animals, the Eastern Scythians gave a special place to the deer, because it was this animal, according to their ideas, that delivered souls to the afterlife.

Among the finds made in the mounds, there are few metal objects, but there is every reason to assume that there were much more of them and that they were varied: bronze figurines depicting animals and birds, cast, openwork and chased bas-reliefs made of copper, bronze, silver and gold . Craftsmen who worked with metal resorted to the same expressive means, which they used in working with wood.

Of the samples coming from the southwest, unique fabrics and carpets are of exceptional interest because they are the oldest evidence of the existence of weaving and the art of carpet making in the Middle East. Altai nomads also borrowed some mythical motifs from Persia. One of them is a griffin, which later became a favorite subject of local art.

Turkic period

In the Altai Mountains, various archaeological monuments of the 6th-10th centuries dating back to the Turkic time were discovered, in which the connection between the Hunno-Sarmatian and Turkic periods of the history of Altai is clearly visible. During this period, the transition took place from the Indo-European inhabitants of Altai to the ancient Turks, the ancestors of modern Altaians, Turks and Mongols.

In the VI century. The Turkic tribes united into the powerful First Turkic Khaganate, which included in its possessions lands from the Caucasus and Crimea in the west to China in the east. In 572, the First Turkic Khaganate split into the Western Khaganate, with its center in Semirechye, and the Eastern Khaganate, with its center in modern Mongolia. In 682, the Second Turkic Khaganate was formed, which lasted until 744, until the appearance of the Uyghur Khaganate in the steppes of Central Asia, under whose rule the population of Altai came to be. After the fall of the Uyghur Khaganate in 840, the Altai tribes found themselves subordinate to the Yenisei Kyrgyz, the ancestors of the modern Khakass, and became part of the Kyrgyz Khaganate. Since the 6th century. the ancient Turks began to penetrate into the forest-steppe and forest zones of the Ob region. The Ugric-Samoyedic tribes who lived here were partially pushed to the north, while another part of them assimilated with the ancient Turks. In this way, the cultural differences that existed for many centuries between the population of the Altai mountain and steppe zone and the inhabitants of the Upper Ob were smoothed out. Turkic archaeological sites are the most diverse and well preserved in the Altai Mountains. Among them are mounds and memorial complexes, runic writings. Burials in ground pits with a southern orientation with accompanying burials of horses are typical. The dead were provided with ritual food, usually lamb.

‘Stone women’ (kezer tash) are also associated with the rich mounds of Turkic times and stone enclosures. This group of monuments dates back to the VI-IX centuries. More than 30 sculptures were discovered in Altai. Many were found along the Chuya tract, seven in the Kurai steppe. Some of the sculptures were taken by expeditions to museums in Tomsk, Gorno-Altaisk, Moscow (State Historical Museum) and St. Petersburg (Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography). Some women nevertheless remained in their places. Despite the meagerness of their visual means, the stone sculptures of the ancient Turks that have survived to this day are surprisingly individual and similar to the ancient people who lived in Altai more than a thousand years ago.

In addition, the Keser sculptures also had a purely practical meaning: thus, according to the animistic ideas of the Turks, the soul of the deceased could be enclosed in stone by a shaman; that is, the deceased himself seemed to be present at his wake. Often the stone figures of kesers - ancient warriors - are called stone women. Unlike the Polovtsian stone sculptures, with which they are often compared, the Altai figures never depict women, but are the embodiment of the image of an ancient warrior. The first stone sculptures of women in a conventional manner depict a person’s face, made in the upper part of the stele.

As a rule, this is a man with wide cheekbones, slanted eyes, a mustache and beard; Some sculptures depict earrings placed in the ears, and smooth hryvnias and necklaces on the neck. Later figures of Turkic warriors also depict ceremonial vestments with weapons (saber and dagger) on a belt decorated with figured plaques. The number and composition of belt plaques served as insignia of military distinction. Sometimes clothing is also depicted: hats, robes with lapels on the chest and wide sleeves with cuffs. IN right hand the warrior is depicted with a bowl or goblet, the left one is lowered onto the hilt of the saber. The most expressive figures of the Altai Turks are known in the valleys of Uzuntal, Kurai, Karakol, Argut and White Anui.

More than 3,000 enclosures of Turkic times are known in the Altai Mountains. They are quadrangular structures made of stone slabs. These are the foundations of a temple or a wooden frame building in the form of a dwelling (similar structures are still erected over the graves of Altai and Kazakhs in South-Eastern Altai). Engraved drawings of animals and people are often found on the slabs of Altai fences. The space around the fences was lined with large boulders or small pebbles carefully fitted to each other. The fence represented the last refuge of the soul of the deceased. A larch tree was placed in the center, and a horse was sacrificed; the so-called “gailga” was installed - the skin of a sacrificial animal stretched over inclined stakes.

To the east from the fences with statues stretch small, vertically placed stones - balbas. This name in modern archeology was given to rows of low stone columns located next to fences. However, there is no unity among scientists regarding the interpretation of this term. Previously, stone sculptures were called balbals, and a phonetic simplification of the word explained why sculptures of warriors were often called women. Previously, all researchers were unanimous in the fact that the Turks placed stone pillars - balbals - at the memorial structures of their warriors according to the number of enemies killed by the buried person. But big number balbals (several dozens, sometimes hundreds) at the memorial complexes of the ancient Turkic aristocracy makes archaeologists doubt this version: it is difficult to imagine that the Turkic kagans during their lifetime could kill hundreds of enemy warriors. IN last years It was widely assumed that the number of stones corresponded to the number of relatives who took part in the funeral.

It is possible that the stones are symbolic hitching posts - an integral part of any nomad’s home. The balbal hitching post was a kind of sign of the presence (attention) of a certain person to the deceased. In addition, here one can draw a parallel between the Altai balbals and the wooden hitching posts-serge, revered by the Buryats and Yakuts. Also belonging to the cultural layer of Turkic times are numerous petroglyphs and writings - rock paintings and elements of Turkic runic writing. Petroglyphs are made using the technique of dot knockout or graffiti, i.e. drawn drawing.

As a rule, the drawings depict animals, horsemen, battle scenes and hunting scenes, birds and snakes, and fantastic creatures. The runic inscriptions on the stones are made with signs of the Orkhon-Yenisei alphabet. Some Turkic settlements have been preserved in the Altai Mountains. Most of them were located on mountain slopes, in ravines or at the foot of the mountains, which made it possible in case of military danger to withdraw to a neighboring valley. The most famous Turkic settlement was excavated at the mouth of the Bolshoi Yaloman River. According to researchers, this was significant and Big city Turks. Chinese chronicles characterize the Turks as skilled metallurgists, supplying iron and blacksmith products to their neighbors.

Dzungar Khanate and the annexation of Altai to Russia

By the 10th century the population of Altai was a conglomerate of various Turkic tribes, the most powerful of which were the Kipchaks, one of the Telengit or Teleut tribes, the ancestors of the Cumans, known from ancient Russian chronicles. Until the 13th century. various tribes - including the Yenisei Kyrgyz, Kimaks, Kochans, Khitans, Naimans, etc. - formed more or less large and powerful powers, which included the peoples of Altai.

At the beginning of the 13th century. The Kyrgyz Kaganate was defeated by the troops of Genghis Khan. In 1207, the territory of Altai became part of the ulus of Genghis Khan's eldest son Jochi and, later, became part of the huge state of the Golden Horde, formed as a result of conquests, under the leadership of Jochi's eldest son Batu Khan. The territory of this state extended from the lower reaches of the Danube to the foothills of the Altai Mountains. Archaeological research show that from that time in Altai there remained ruined settlements with traces of fires, and funerary monuments with poor grave goods reflect the sharp impoverishment of the population and the general decline of culture. The southern Altai tribes fled from devastation and internecine wars in the forest-steppe zones of the Ob region.

At this time, to the east of Altai, the tribes of the Western Mongols-Oirats, the immediate neighbors of the Altai population, began to strengthen. In 1635, the scattered Oirat tribes united into a single state - the Dzungar Khanate. Oirat feudal lords and Dzungar khans, as well as Teleut princes, forcibly collected tribute from the peoples of Altai. At this time, the southern and northern Altaians were clearly distinguished among the population of Altai. The southern ones belonged to the most Mongoloid Central Asian and South Siberian type (Tuvians, Buryats, Mongols). Northern Altaians belong to the Ural type and represent an ethnic substrate that included Turkic, Samoyed, Ket and Ugric elements.

Southern Altaians lived in the Altai Mountains: near Lake Teletskoye and along the Chulyshman River, in the valley of the Chui River, on the Katun. Northern Altaians inhabited the spurs of the Altai Mountains and the valley of the Biya River. In the 17th century The foundations of the economic activity of the Altai people were formed, which they are engaged in to the present day: hunting, cattle breeding. The first Russian settlers appeared in Altai only at the end of the 17th century. The development of Altai went faster after the construction of defensive fortresses and forts that protected from the attacks of the Dzungar khans.

XVIII-XIX centuries: Demidovsky (1727-1745) and Cabinet (1747-1893) periods

At the beginning of the 18th century. Russia fought the Northern War with Sweden, which lasted for 20 long years. During this period, it became an urgent need to obtain their own metals, especially copper, for the manufacture of cannons. By decree of Peter I, search parties were equipped, ore explorers were encouraged, and a bonus was promised for the discovery of copper and silver ores.

The presence of metals in Altai was known due to the discovery of numerous Chud mines. Stepan and Yakov Kostylevs are considered the discoverers of ore deposits in Altai. But their discoveries were taken advantage of by another person who played an important role in the history of Altai, whose name is often given to an entire period in the history of the region.

We are talking about a large Ural breeder A.N. Demidov. In 1726, he received permission and a monopoly right to build factories and mines in Altai. For reconnaissance, Demidov sent his clerks and artisans from the Urals to Altai, who confirmed the rich content of the local ores and thereby accelerated the decision to build mines and factories. At the end of 1727, on a tributary of the Belaya River - Loktevka - construction began on a copper smelter (Kolyvano-Voskresensky), which opened 2 years later. In 1744, another Demidov plant, built at the mouth of the Barnaulka River, began operating - the Barnaul copper smelter.

Despite the cheap labor, copper smelting was unprofitable. Most likely, Demidov had a much greater business interest in the production of silver, which was more profitable and profitable. Demidov secretly minted silver coins from silver from the Altai Zmeinogorsk mine at his Ural factory. Most likely, rumors about this reached St. Petersburg, and Queen Elizabeth sent a commission to Altai to check. Further events developed rapidly.

In 1745 A. Demidov died. Elizabeth confiscated his possessions in Altai for her own benefit. From that moment on, the cabinet period began in the history of Altai. After the defeat of the Dzungar Khanate by the Chinese in 1756, the inhabitants of the Altai Mountains voluntarily became part of Russia. This event had an impact on all aspects of the life and activities of the Altai population.

Since 1747, Rudny Altai became the property of the Russian tsars, metallurgical and silver smelting industries developed rapidly, in 1762-1768. Another silver smelter was built in Pavlovsk. The main management of the factories belonged to the Tsar's Cabinet in St. Petersburg; real management was carried out by the office of the mining authorities, whose power extended to all local population, including merchants, townspeople and soldiers.

By the end of the 18th century, after rapid development, silver smelting production reduced its volumes. The reserves of the Zmeinogorsk silver mine dried up, and silver smelting became less significant. After the abolition of serfdom in 1861, the mining industry finally entered a period of crisis. In the 1870s. factories that once occupied a leading position in the economy became unprofitable. Altai silver could no longer compete with cheaper foreign ones. In 1893, the Barnaul, Pavlovsky, and Loktevsky factories were closed. IN late XIX V. Altai becomes a predominantly agricultural region, and private entrepreneurship, small factories and trade develop in cities.

Altai in the 19th century

After the abolition of serfdom, the influx of Russian settlers from the European part of Russia to Altai, who sought to Siberia in search of free land. As a rule, settlers used advanced technologies and methods of farming, in particular improved tools and fertilizers, and bred new varieties of crops and breeds of livestock for Altai.

At the same time, the large cities of Altai - Barnaul, Biysk and Zmeinogorsk - turned into shopping centers. Barnaul and Biysk are becoming significant purchasing points for agricultural raw materials, especially wheat and flour. Trade fairs were regularly held in villages, and shops and stores operated in cities. Carried out through Biysk international trade with Mongolia and China. In Altai at the end of the 19th century. large merchant families and entire family clans: the Sukhovs, Sychevs, Morozovs, Mashtakovs, Zhernakovs, etc. Large entrepreneurs and the business elite played an important role in the economic and public life, were engaged in charity work and philanthropy.

At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. Many Russian and foreign private companies operated here, incl. for textile trade - Vtorovykh, for the sale of sewing machines - Singer, for the sale of agricultural machinery - "International Company of Reaping Machines", in the gold industry - "Altai Gold Mining Business", "Thurn and Taxis", etc.

Soviet power, established in Altai in December 1917, fell at the end of the summer of 1918, as well as throughout Siberia, as a result of the uprising of the Czechoslovak military corps in major cities beyond the Urals. For some time, Socialist-Revolutionary-Menshevik authorities operated in the territory controlled by the White Czechs. Another coup took place on November 18, 1918, when a military dictatorship was established and Admiral A.V. Kolchak became the supreme ruler.

Soviet power in the region was established only by the end of 1919. In 1922, the Oirot Autonomous Region was formed (renamed Gorno-Altai in 1948). During the NEP, a layer of middle peasants emerged among the peasantry. Prosperous farms mainly belonged to old-timers and settlers of the last quarter of the 19th century. Cooperative traditions in Altai were very strong, the most respectable being butter-making cooperatives (in 1923 there were 586 butter and cheese factories). Trade was actively developing in the cities, urban and rural bazaars, markets, trading establishments, and department stores were being restored.

In 1928, I. Stalin announced a new course for the implementation of the grain procurement plan and the transition to mass collectivization. It was from Altai that brutal repressions of wealthy peasants began. In the 30s peasants who escaped repression were forced into collective farms, carrying out forced collectivization. In 1937, by resolution of the USSR Central Executive Committee of September 28, a new administrative entity was established - the Altai Territory.

During the Great Patriotic War, Altai received more than 100 evacuated enterprises from the western regions of Russia. On the basis of these factories, many large enterprises of Altai arose, which began work in difficult years war. Industrial production increased 1.6 times during the war period. Agricultural engineering and the chemical industry, which developed on the local raw material base, became promising industries.

http://putevoditel-altai.ru/load/1173-istoriya-altaya.html

A brief overview of the history of Gorny Altai.

Primitive era.

People lived in Siberia back in the Old Stone Age during the Ice Age more than 40 thousand years ago. This is evidenced by archaeological finds of crude stone tools in the Altai Mountains. By the end of the Ice Age, hunting tribes had formed with the establishment of matriarchy.

After the retreat of the glacier, a warmer and more humid climate, close to the modern one, developed in Siberia. The earth was covered with taiga. Large animals either became extinct or moved north. To hunt small animals, it was necessary to invent new tools. This is how bows and arrows with stone tips appeared. A new one has arrived stone Age. At the sites of primitive people of the Neolithic era, discovered in the Ob valley near the village of Kiprino, as well as near Biysk and in areas of Gorny Altai Polished stone axes, knives, arrowheads, and fragments of pottery were found. People began to master cattle breeding and build dugouts. During this period, beliefs and the beginnings of art were born. The sites date back to the 6th - 4th millennia BC.

The emergence of native metals on the surface led to changes in the life of ancient people in Siberian lands. Needles, awls, and knives were made from pieces of copper. Jewelry was made from silver and gold. Along with native metals, metals smelted from ore and their alloys are used. Harder metals begin to replace stone tools - the Bronze Age has arrived. In the XVI - XIV centuries BC e. New tribes are flocking to the territory of Siberia from what is now Kazakhstan. The role of hunting fades into the background; people are mainly engaged in cattle breeding, fishing, and farming. Sites and burial grounds from this period of history were discovered near the villages of Kytmanovo, Nizhnyaya Suetka, and Chauzovo.

The development of cattle breeding strengthened the role of men in the tribe. A gradual transition began to patriarchy, a patrilineal clan consisting of several large families. Tribes begin to change their habitats. In the spring, having planted crops near winter camps, cattle breeders moved to summer pastures. In the fall they returned, harvested crops and grazed the winter pastures. Growing herds required more food, so people began to change camp sites not twice a year, but more often. The period of early nomads, also called Scythian, began; it lasted from the 7th century BC. e. until the 1st century AD e.

Feudal era.

At the dawn of classes and the state in the 3rd century BC. e. A huge state of the Huns was formed on the territory of Transbaikalia and Mongolia. After its collapse in the 1st century AD. e. the Hun tribes moved west towards Europe, partially settling along the entire route. The Huns who remained on the territory of Central Asia (Tele and Tyukyu tribes - ancient Turks) became the ancestors of many modern nationalities, including the Altaians. In the middle of the 6th century, the Turkic tribes, which had long been under the yoke of the Rourans (nomadic Mongol-speaking tribes), freed themselves and formed the Turkic Khaganate with its center in Altai.

During nomadic migrations, internecine wars and the mixing of tribal unions in the territory of Altai in the 10th - 12th centuries, Altai tribes(currently the Altaians are divided into small nationalities: Teleuts, Kumandins, Telengits, Chelkans, Tubalars).

The Golden Horde yoke subjugated the Altai tribes in 1206-1207. It was difficult for the Altai people. The Mongol-Tatar conquerors took all the grain and livestock for their army, weakening the strength of the Altai people. Subsequently, the principalities located east of the Urals separated from the Golden Horde, forming the White Horde, which in the 15th century broke up into the Nogai Horde and the Siberian Khanate. Until the 16th century, the Altai tribes were under the rule of successive Mongol khans.

Annexation of the Altai tribes to Russia

The defeat of the Siberian Khanate during the conquest of Siberia by Ermak marked the beginning of the annexation of the Siberian tribes, including the Altai, to Russia. However, the Western Mongolian tribes, taking advantage of the lack of proper fortifications in the Siberian lands conquered by Russia, continued to raid the Altai tribes. Feeling the growing superiority of Russian forces, Mongol troops decided to retreat, but at the same time forcibly took the Altaians with them. There were a few left who managed to hide in the mountains and taiga. In 1756, Altai slaves managed to break free, they returned to Altai and voluntarily became part of Russia.

Today, among the indigenous peoples in Altai, the Altaians themselves live, who are divided into southern Altaians (Telengits, Teleuts) and northern Altaians (Kumandins, Chelkans, Tubalars).

Telengits live in Ulagansky district near Lake Teletskoye, along the Chulyshman River flowing into it and its tributary Bashkaus. According to the 2002 census, their number in the Altai Republic is 2,368 people. Beliefs: shamanism, Orthodoxy, Burkhanism.

Teleuts live mainly in the Kemerovo region in the Belovsky and Guryevsky districts. These are the so-called “Bachat Teleuts” after the name of the Big and Small Bachat rivers of the Ob basin. According to the 2002 census, the number of Teleuts is 2,534 people in the Kemerovo region and 32 people in the Altai Mountains. Beliefs: Orthodoxy, shamanism.

Kumandins live in the Altai Territory along the Biya River in the Biysk, Krasnogorsk, Solton regions, population - 1663 people; in the Turochaksky district of the Altai Republic - 931 people; in the Kemerovo region - 294 people and in other regions of Russia. Beliefs: shamanism, Burkhanism, Orthodoxy.

Chelkans live in the Turochaksky district of the Altai Republic, population - 834 people. Beliefs: shamanism, Burkhanism, Orthodoxy.

Tubalars live in the Choysky district of the Altai Republic, population - 1533 people. Beliefs: shamanism, Burkhanism, Orthodoxy.

Altai is called the “Cradle of the World”, believing that it was from here that humanity began its journey. This sacred land still holds many mysteries.

The meaning of the Turochak writings

In 1975, on the steep cliffs off the left bank of the Biya River, seven kilometers from the village of Turochak, amazing two-meter rock paintings were discovered: more than two dozen rapidly “walking” moose.

Stylistic analysis of the images made it possible to attribute them to the Bronze Age and, with a high degree of probability, associate them with the Karakol culture, which existed in the 2nd century BC. But how these rock carvings, unique to Altai, appeared is still not completely clear. Distinctive Features The Turochak writings were not only the material with which the drawings were created - red ocher, atypical for Altai petroglyphs, but also the choice of characters.

The researchers were also amazed by the dynamics and expressiveness of the images that distant ancestors were able to create on a steep and inaccessible surface. But the main mystery remains the meaning. What did the ancient “artists” try to tell their descendants?

Woman with tattoo

The sacred Ukok plateau in the south of Altai is a place that attracts both daredevils who decide to “test themselves” and numerous researchers. Its main mystery is the world science community began to be discussed relatively recently, in 1993, when archaeologists under the leadership of Doctor of Historical Sciences Natalya Polosmak, during excavations at the Ak-Alakh burial ground, discovered a mummified body, the estimated age of which is 2.5 thousand years.

The perfectly preserved find allowed scientists to conduct a DNA examination and restore the appearance of the 25-year-old girl. Her facial features were not Mongoloid; the appearance rather resembled a European one. The waist of the “Princess of Ukok” was decorated with a red belt - a symbol of a warrior; in her hands she clutched a larch wand - an instrument of “creation of the world”, and her head was crowned with a high headdress with golden braids - an attribute of a woman possessing magical powers and keeping the “secret of immortality”.

On the body were found tattoos made in the Scythian “animal” style in the form of a capricorn deer with a griffin’s beak, a ram with its head thrown back, and a spotted leopard. All this, as well as a leafy deck similar to a shaman’s boat “rotyk”, and six “heavenly” horses buried here, indicated that not a common person. Altai shamans are sure that this is the body of the legendary ancestor of their people - Kydyn, with the “desecration” of whose burial all the troubles of Altai began.

Academician Vyacheslav Molodin, under whose leadership a large-scale study of the Altai highlands was carried out, is convinced that “this is not a princess, but a representative of the middle stratum of Pazyryk society” of the 6th-3rd centuries BC. Perhaps she was a sorceress or a healer, however, who the “Altai Princess” really was and what her name was will remain a mystery.

The eighth wonder of the world

The Ukok Plateau has other secrets. For example, mysterious geoglyphs were discovered here - huge images that can only be viewed from considerable distances, usually from a bird's eye view. It is unclear for what purpose they were created.

The age of creation of geoglyphs is another controversial issue. For a long time it was assumed that they appeared one and a half to two thousand years ago, but latest research allowed us to assume that the time of their creation was the 3rd-2nd centuries BC. Scientists are also trying to understand why, over such a long period of time geological processes didn't destroy the geoglyphs?

Finally, they have yet to understand the meaning of the “messages.” Although the outlines of many of them are easy to “read”, the “idea” of the ancient artists still remains a mystery. Scientists rightly call geoglyphs the eighth wonder of the world and continue their search, while ufologists are trying to support their theory about the location of alien airfields in these places.

Altai stonehenge

Thousands of tourists visit the Chui steppe to see the Altai Stonehenge. Five huge boulders up to seven meters high are decorated with petroglyphs - drawings from the time of the Pazyryk culture. One of the blocks differs from the others by the crossbar placed on it, the other is made in the form of a throne chair.

Researchers are sure that ancient shamans used this place for rituals. At the same time, the stones were probably specially delivered from other places - a comparison of their structure showed that the material is not found in the nearby mountains. According to legend, the boulders were brought by the ancient Scythians from an area 500 kilometers away.

The age of the Altai Stonehenge presumably dates back to the 8th-6th centuries BC. The stones are installed in the direction of the cardinal points and, according to observations, have differently charged electromagnetic fields. Tourists who ventured into the center of the “stone fence” said that they “seemed to be pulled into a funnel.” People are still guessing about the true purpose of the Altai Stonehenge and its “magical power”.

"Denisovan" or "Altai man"

Denisovskaya Cave is located in the valley of the Anuy River, which the keepers of Altai traditions call “the path to the mysterious Belovodye”. Many cultural and historical monuments were discovered in this world-famous archaeological site. In 2009, among other finds, a phalanx of a little girl’s finger was found, and a little earlier, a molar tooth of an 18-year-old boy.

The artifacts were sent to the M. Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig. The analysis showed that their owners were representatives of a new ancient human population. So far, Russian, American and Canadian scientists are finding it difficult to give an exact answer: whether we are talking about a new species or subspecies, so they use the neutral one - “Denisovan” or “Altai man”.

Supposedly a million years ago, it “deviated from the branch general development human” and evolved in an independent, as it turned out, dead-end way.
Denisovan genes were not found in any representative modern civilization, with the exception of the Melanesians, whose ancestors, according to scientists, could have had contact with the “Denisovans” in East Asia.

The find completely destroyed the stereotypical idea of ​​the ancient inhabitants of the planet and suggested that 50 thousand years ago Neanderthals lived in the western part of Eurasia, and “Denisovans” lived in the eastern part. Could they interact, and what caused the disappearance of the “Altai Man” - questions for which answers have not yet been found.

Center of the Universe

Many researchers correlate the highest Altai mountain Belukha with the sacred Mount Meru. In particular, the Russian philosopher Nikolai Fedorov tried to confirm this theory. Based on a map depicting the sacred Mount Meru, dated to the 2nd century BC, Turkologist Murat Adji supplemented the popular hypothesis.

One of the arguments was the similarity of the location of ancient Meru and modern Belukha. On equal distance from Meru there were four then known oceans, and Belukha was equally distant from the Indian, Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Where did the fourth ocean go? It may have existed west of Belukha during Atlantean times, but subsequently disappeared. Other “evidence” includes the ability to observe the Big Dipper over Altai all year round and the consonance of the ancient name of Belukha “Uch Sumer” with the toponym “Meru”.

In search of freedom

In the Russian consciousness, Altai is inseparable from the legendary and mystical country of Belovodye, the abode of freedom and immortality. The popularization of the legend is usually associated with the Old Believers-runners who flocked to Altai in search of better life and showed the way to all those who were thirsty with the help of “guidebooks”, where the path to Belovodye was described in an allegorical form. Russian scientist and philosopher Nicholas Roerich associated the Slavic idea with Buddhist legends about Shambhala. He announced the inextricable connection between Altai, India and Tibet and was confident that they were components of a single energy system that had been preserved since the times of Atlantis. Is it possible today to find a way to the Land of Justice and Virtue? – the search for an answer to this question lies, rather, in the field of spiritual knowledge.

People first appeared on the territory of Altai about one and a half million years ago. The glacial shell then covered vast areas Western Siberia, therefore, all the sites of ancient people were located south of the glaciers, in the adjacent swampy plains, cold steppes and forest-steppes of that era - the Stone Age.

At the end of the 6th - beginning of the 3rd century BC. e. groups of newcomers appear on the territory of Altai. The culture of the newcomer population was called “Afanasyevskaya” - after the name of the mountain in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, near which the first burial ground dating back to this period was excavated. The Afanasyev tribes settled throughout the Altai along the Biya and Katun rivers in the south and along the Ob in the north. These were early pastoral tribes of proto-Europeans, whose basis of life was transhumance.

In the 1st century BC. e in Altai there was a culture of the Scythian type, which left a huge number of unique monuments. The main occupation of the population of Altai at that time was cattle breeding. People roamed the plains and foothills in the summer, and with the beginning of winter they drove their cattle to the mountain valleys. The settled tribes of Altai in the Scythian era lived from modern Kulunda in the west, to Kuznetsk Alatau in the east and to the Altai Mountains in the south.

From the end of the 3rd century - beginning of the 2nd centuries BC. e. and until the end of the 1st century BC. e. Altai was in the sphere of influence of the Xiongnu tribal union - the ancestors of the Huns, who subsequently conquered many European peoples in the process of the “Great Migration of Peoples”. The Xiongnu created the first early class state in Central Asia. The massive movement of nomadic tribes to the west greatly changed the appearance of the population of Altai. In the forest zone, the culture of the Samoyed population, West Siberian Ugrians and early Turkic elements began to take shape.

WITH late XVI century, the population of Altai closely resembles the tribes of the Western Mongols-Oirats. In 1635, the Oirats united into a single vast state - the Dzungar Khanate. Most of the Altai tribes were included in Dzungaria.

XVII-XVIII centuries

The settlement of the Upper Ob region and the Altai foothills by Russians began in the 2nd half of the 17th century. The development of Altai began after the Bikatun (1718), Beloyarsk (1717) and Biysk (1718) fortresses were built to protect against the warlike Dzungar nomads.

In order to explore valuable ore deposits, search parties were sent to Altai. The father and son Kostylevs are considered to be the discoverers; later, the Ural breeder Akinfiy Demidov took advantage of the discoveries.

For reconnaissance, Demidov sends his clerks and artisans from the Urals to Altai, who confirmed the rich content of the local ores. In addition to rich ores, Altai had dense pine forests and numerous rivers. Thus, there were all conditions for the creation of a mining industry. On September 21, 1729, the Kolyvano-Voskresensky plant began operating.

In parallel with copper production, silver smelting also began. The result of the activities of Akinfiy Demidov and his clerks in Altai was the creation here of a feudal mining industry based on the serf labor of assigned peasants and artisans.

Rumors about Demidov's smelting of silver reached St. Petersburg, and Empress Elizaveta Petrovna issued a decree on May 1, 1747, which transferred Altai to the personal property of the Russian tsars.

In the first five years (from 1747 to 1752), over 750 pounds of silver and more than 20 pounds of gold were smelted in Altai, which was estimated at 150 thousand rubles. The Shrine of Alexander Nevsky weighing 90 pounds, which is now in the Hermitage, was made from Altai silver.

Formed by the 2nd half of the 18th century, the Altai Mountain District is a territory that included the current Altai Territory, Novosibirsk and Kemerovo, part of the Tomsk and East Kazakhstan regions, with a total area of ​​over 500 thousand km² and a population of more than 130 thousand souls of both sexes. The Emperor was the owner of Altai factories, mines, lands and forests; their main management was carried out by the Cabinet, located in St. Petersburg. The backbone of the local administration consisted of mountain officers. But main role non-commissioned officers and technicians played in production, from whose ranks came talented craftsmen and inventors I. I. Polzunov, K. D. Frolov, P. M. Zalesov, M. S. Laulin.

19th century

In the first half of the 19th century, Altai ranked first in Russia in the production of silver, second in copper, and third in gold. It has become second after the Urals industrial area in the east of the country. The statesman, reformer and Siberian governor M. M. Speransky visited Altai in the 20s of the 19th century and came to the conclusion: “Nature itself destined this region for a strong population and for the richest products of agriculture, trade and industry. But it is impossible to expect the latter under the present structure.” He considered it expedient to replace serf workers and assigned peasants with hired workers and attract settlers to the lands of Altai. But for many decades the Tsar’s Cabinet did not agree to even small concessions that could undermine its monopoly position.

And after the reforms of the 60-70s of the 19th century, feudal remnants remained in Altai to a greater extent than in the center of the country and other regions of Siberia. The ownership of the mountain district by the kings remained intact, and this determined many features of the development of Altai in the post-reform period.

The mining industry, which was the main branch of the district's economy, entered a period of crisis after 1861. From the beginning of the 70s, the unprofitability of factories began to increase uncontrollably, and by the end of the century almost all of them were closed.

In the private industry of post-reform Altai greatest development received gold mining. The private manufacturing industry was represented by flour and coarse mills, distilleries, sheepskin and sheepskin workshops.

At the end of the 19th century, the territory of present-day Altai was part of the Tomsk province

XX century

Pre-revolutionary period

Gradually the basis of the Altai economy is becoming Agriculture. Along with the cultivation of grain crops (wheat, oats, rye), potato plantings expanded, and beekeeping received significant development. At the beginning of the 20th century, dairy farming and butter production came to the fore. Altai oil was exported to Western European countries.

At the end of the 19th century, a section of the Siberian Railway passed through the northern part of the district, and by 1915 the Altai Railway was built Railway, connecting Novonikolaevsk, Barnaul and Semipalatinsk. Water transport also improved.

Stolypinskaya land reform gave impetus to the resettlement movement to Altai, which generally contributed to the economic recovery of the region.

Revolution and civil war

In July 1917, the Altai province was formed with its center in Barnaul, which existed until 1925. The events of 1917 led to the establishment of Soviet power in Altai. In 1918, Barnaul was captured by the White Guards, the Red Guards were forced to switch to partisan warfare. The Zimin uprising in August 1919 marked the beginning of a massive partisan movement in the region. Soon, an entire partisan army of E.M. Mamontov and I.V. Gromov, which numbered about 15 thousand people, was already operating in Altai. In areas controlled by the rebels, Soviet power was restored. At the end of 1919, the whites in Western Siberia were defeated.

Interwar period

From 1925 to 1930, the territory of Altai was part of the Siberian Territory (the regional center is the city of Novosibirsk), and from 1930 to 1937 it was part of the West Siberian Territory (the regional center is the city of Novosibirsk). In 1937, the Altai Territory was formed (the center is the city of Barnaul).

Throughout the 20s, Altai remained an agricultural region and therefore the main political and socio-economic processes were associated with the development of the village. By the beginning of the 30s, collectivization was largely completed peasant farms. The NEP no longer existed by this time.

On economic development The Altai province at the end of the 20s was affected by the completion of the construction of the Turkestan-Siberian railway. The Barnaul melange plant is being built to process Central Asian cotton. Elevators were built in Barnaul, Biysk, Kamen-na-Obi, sugar factories in Biysk and Aleysk, and meat processing plants in Biysk, Rubtsovsk and Pospelikha. Metalworking and the production of building materials grew rapidly, and the transport network improved. By the end of the 30s, Altai turned into one of the large agrarian-industrial regions of Siberia.

Great Patriotic War

The outbreak of the Great Patriotic War required a restructuring of the entire economy. Altai received more than 100 evacuated enterprises from the western regions of the country, including 24 factories of national importance. The war fundamentally changed the economic appearance of Altai, giving a powerful impetus to the development of its industry. At the same time, the region remained one of the main breadbaskets of the country, being a major producer of bread, meat, butter, honey, wool and other agricultural products.

Post-war time

The first post-war decade was a period of massive development of new equipment and technology. The growth rate of the region's industry exceeded the all-Union rate. By the beginning of the 60s, Altai produced more than 80% of tractor plows, over 30% of freight cars and steam boilers produced by that time in the RSFSR.

The priority development of industry, characteristic of the post-war decades, affected the state of agriculture, which continued to develop using extensive methods. The grain problem remained key for Altai. In October 1953, N.I. Belyaev, who had led the Altai Territory since 1943, submitted a note to the 1st Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee N.S. Khrushchev, which reported the need to put the fertile lands of Western and Eastern Siberia, which are not used properly. At the plenum of the CPSU Central Committee held in February-March 1954, the Soviet leader came up with a virgin soil program on his own behalf. (although later, at a meeting with editors of central newspapers, he admitted that Belyaev was the author of the idea).

Having received approval for his proposals, Belyaev demanded that the region increase the target for raising virgin soil. On his initiative, at the VII regional party conference held in January 1954, it was decided to expand the area under spring wheat by 2 million hectares in 1954-1955 (instead of 1 million 200 thousand hectares according to previously announced proposals). The implementation of the tasks of plowing virgin soil required a large amount of agricultural equipment. During the first year of the virgin lands campaign, the number of tractors in the MTS of the Altai Territory increased from 29.6 to 44.3 thousand units. To provide the sharply increased amount of agricultural machinery with qualified personnel to the farms of the virgin regions, a large number of youth and Komsomol members were called up from other regions of the country. Thanks to the persistence and energy of Belyaev, who kept the party workers in constant tension, in 7 years 2,789.2 hectares of virgin soil and fallow lands were raised in the Altai Territory, of which 87.9% in the first two years. However, along with fertile virgin lands, in the first two years of the campaign, under pressure from party bodies, farms plowed large tracts of land that were unsuitable for growing grain crops. In 1955, such lands were removed from the arable land, but in subsequent years they were again plowed up and abandoned, as a result of which the reported figures for the development of virgin lands did not correspond to reality.

The erosion of virgin soils and the epidemic of weeds that intensified in the late 1950s and early 1960s, which were the result of erroneous approaches to virgin agriculture, significantly reduced the productivity of fields. In 1959-1963, the average annual amount of grain delivered to the state by collective and state farms decreased by 36% compared to the 1954-1958 period.

In the 70-80s, there was a transition from separately operating enterprises and industries to the formation of territorial production complexes: agricultural-industrial hubs, production and production-scientific associations.

After the collapse of the USSR

After the collapse of the USSR, the regional economy entered a protracted crisis associated with the loss of state orders in industry and the unprofitability of agricultural production. Based on the Law “On Peasant (Farm) Economy” of November 22, 1990, many workers of former state farms and collective farms began to divide the former collective and state farm land into shares, and the property into shares, and create farms. The Russian government decree “On the practice of reorganizing collective and state farms,” issued in 1992, led to a sudden increase in the number of farms: in 1991-1995, the number of farms in the Altai Territory increased from 99 to 6,806. However, by the mid-1990s, interest in farmers from the state sharply declined, and conditions for the development of farms began to deteriorate. The government has practically abandoned the implementation of the Federal Farm Support Program. Under these conditions, farmers found themselves in a critical situation, and the number of farms that ceased their activities began annually to exceed the number of newly formed ones, resulting in 5,957 farms remaining in the Altai Territory in 1999. However, due to a decrease in the number of people wishing to become farmers, newly created farms were provided with larger plots, so the average land plot size increased from 113 hectares in 1995 to 156 hectares in 1999. By the end of the 1990s, the Altai Territory was among the top ten regions of Russia in terms of the number of farms, and in the top six in terms of the area of ​​agricultural land in one farm.

ALTAI REGION in Russian Federation. Formed in September 1937. Area 169.1 thousand km2. Population 2690 thousand people (1991). Center - Barnaul. Occupies part of Altai and parts of the West Siberian Plain adjacent to it in the North.

The settlement of the Upper Ob region and the Altai foothills by Russians began in the 2nd half of the 17th century. The development of Altai began after the Beloyarsk (1717) and Bikatun (1718) fortresses were built to protect against the warlike Dzungar nomads. For this purpose, prospecting parties were sent to Altai to explore valuable ore deposits. The father and son Kostylevs are considered to be the discoverers; later, the Ural breeder Akinfiy Demidov took advantage of the discoveries.

Coat of arms of the Altai Territory

The Altai Mountain District, formed by the 2nd half of the 18th century, is a territory that included the current Altai Territory, Novosibirsk and Kemerovo, part of the Tomsk and East Kazakhstan regions, with a total area of ​​over 500 thousand square meters. km and a population of more than 130 thousand souls of both sexes. The Emperor was the owner of Altai factories, mines, lands and forests; their main management was carried out by the Cabinet, located in St. Petersburg. The backbone of the local administration consisted of mountain officers. But the main role in production was played by non-commissioned officers and technicians, from whose ranks came talented craftsmen and inventors I. I. Polzunov, K. D. Frolov, P. M. Zalesov, M. S. Laulin.

The mining industry, which was the main branch of the district's economy, entered a period of crisis after 1861. From the beginning of the 70s, the unprofitability of factories began to increase uncontrollably, and by the end of the century almost all of them were closed. At the end of the 19th century, the territory of present-day Altai was part of the Tomsk province.

Gradually, agriculture becomes the basis of the Altai economy. Along with the cultivation of grain crops (wheat, oats, rye), potato plantings expanded, and beekeeping received significant development. At the beginning of the twentieth century, dairy farming and butter production came to the fore. Altai oil was exported to Western European countries.

At the end of the 19th century, a section of the Siberian Railway passed through the northern part of the district; by 1915, the Altai Railway was built, connecting Novonikolaevsk, Barnaul and Semipalatinsk. Water transport also improved.

The Stolypin land reform gave impetus to the resettlement movement to Altai, which generally contributed to the economic recovery of the region.

Altai region

The events of 1917-1919 led to the establishment of Soviet power in Altai. In July 1917, the Altai province was formed with its center in Barnaul, which existed until 1925. From 1925 to 1930, the territory of Altai was part of the Siberian Territory (the regional center is the city of Novosibirsk), and from 1930 to 1937 it was part of the West Siberian Territory (the regional center is the city of Novosibirsk). In 1937, the Altai Territory was formed (the center is the city of Barnaul).

The outbreak of the Great Patriotic War required a restructuring of the entire economy. Altai received more than 100 evacuated enterprises from the western regions of the country, including 24 factories of national importance.

In the 70-80s, there was a transition from separately operating enterprises and industries to the formation of territorial production complexes: agricultural-industrial hubs, production and production-scientific associations.

And after the collapse of the USSR, the regional economy entered a protracted crisis associated with the loss of state orders in industry and the unprofitability of agricultural production.

Relief

Altai Territory, sunset over Korgon

The Altai Territory is located in the southeast of Western Siberia of Russia between 49-54 degrees north latitude. and 78-87 degrees east. In the west and south, its territory borders on the East Kazakhstan and Pavlodar regions of Kazakhstan, in the north and northeast - on the Novosibirsk and Kemerovo regions of Russia, in the southeast - on the Altai Republic. Area - 167.85 thousand km², length from west to east 600 km, from north to south - 400 km. The distance from Barnaul to Moscow by air is 3600 km.

The territory of the region belongs to two physical countries - the West Siberian Plain and the Altai - Sayan Mountains. The mountainous part covers the plain on the eastern and southern sides - the Salair Ridge and the foothills of Altai. The western and central parts are predominantly flat in nature - the Priob Plateau, the Biysk-Chumysh Upland, and the Kulundinskaya steppe. The region contains almost all natural zones of Russia - steppe and forest-steppe, taiga and mountains. The flat part of the region is characterized by the development of steppe and forest-steppe natural areas, with ribbon pine forests, a developed girder-gully network, lakes and ridges.

Climate and water resources

The climate of the Altai Territory is temperate, transitional to continental, and is formed as a result of frequent changes in air masses coming from the Atlantic, Arctic, Eastern Siberia and Central Asia. The absolute annual amplitude of air temperature reaches 90-95 C. Average annual temperatures are positive, 0.5-2.1 C. Average maximum temperatures in July are 26-28 C, extreme temperatures reach 40-41 C. Average minimum temperatures in January are −20, −24 °C, absolute winter minimum. −50, −55 °C. The frost-free period lasts about 120 days.

Altai region

The driest and hottest is the western lowland part of the region. To the east and southeast there is an increase in precipitation from 230 mm to 600-700 mm per year. The average annual temperature rises in the southwest of the region. Due to the presence of a mountain barrier in the southeast of the region, the dominant west-east transport of air masses acquires a southwestern direction. During the summer months, northerly winds are frequent. In 20-45% of cases, the speed of winds in the southwestern and western direction exceeds 6 m/s. In the steppe regions of the region, the occurrence of dry winds is associated with increased winds. In the winter months, during periods of active cyclonic activity, snowstorms are observed everywhere in the region, the frequency of which is 30-50 days a year.

Snow cover is established on average in the second ten days of November and is destroyed in the first ten days of April. The height of the snow cover averages 40-60 cm, in the western regions it decreases to 20-30 cm. The depth of soil freezing is 50-80 cm; in steppe areas bare of snow, freezing to a depth of 2-2.5 m is possible

The water resources of the Altai Territory are represented by surface and groundwater. The largest rivers (out of 17 thousand) are the Ob, Biya, Katun, Alei and Charysh. Of the 13 thousand lakes, the largest is Lake Kulunda, its area is 728 km². The main water artery of the region - the Ob River - is 493 km long within the region, formed from the confluence of the Biya and Katun rivers. The Ob basin occupies 70% of the region's territory.

Flora and fauna

map of Altai region

The diversity of zonal and intrazonal landscapes of the Altai Territory contributes to the species diversity of the animal world. The avifauna of the region includes more than 320 species of birds. Mammals are represented by 90 species.

About 2,000 species of higher vascular plants grow here, which accounts for two-thirds of the species diversity of Western Siberia. Among them there are representatives of endemic and relict species. Particularly valuable include: golden root (Rhodiola rosea), maral root (Rapoptikum safflower), red root (forgotten kopeck), Maryin root (Elecampane), Ural licorice, oregano, St. John's wort, elecampane and others.

The forest fund occupies 26% of the region's area.

Minerals

Mineral resources of the Altai region include polymetals, table salt, soda, brown coal, nickel, cobalt, iron ore and precious metals. Altai is famous for its unique deposits of jasper, porphyry, marble, granite, mineral and drinking water, natural healing mud.