Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Sakhalin Island. Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Sakhalin Island Message about Sakhalin Island summary

In 1869, Sakhalin Island was officially declared a place of royal exile, and until the beginning of the twentieth century, the majority of the island's inhabitants were convicts.

In 1890, the famous Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov traveled to Sakhalin Island to “study the life of convicts and exiles.” In preparation for the trip, Chekhov studied more than a hundred works and notes of travelers, monographs of scientists, ethnographic materials, and records of officials of the 17th-19th centuries.

The creative result of this trip was the artistic and journalistic book “Sakhalin Island” (From travel notes), which was based not only on personal impressions from numerous meetings, but also on statistical data collected by the writer on the island.

Thanks to the fact that the writer worked for three months on Sakhalin as a census taker, he was able to get to know in great detail the life and everyday life of settlers and convicts. From the Sakhalin trip, according to the writer, he brought “a chest of all kinds of convict stuff”: ten thousand statistical cards, samples of article lists of convicts, petitions, complaints from doctor Perlin, etc.
Chekhov returned to Moscow on December 8, 1890, and at the beginning of 1891 he began work on a book about Sakhalin: he read the necessary literature, put the collected materials in order, and sketched out the first chapters.

The fact that Chekhov came to Sakhalin and his contribution to the history of the region is a source of pride for Sakhalin residents. In September 1995, thanks to the enthusiasm of the Sakhalin public, a city literary and art museum of A.P. Chekhov’s book “Sakhalin Island” appeared in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Talking about this book, which is the most complete “encyclopedia” about Sakhalin of the 19th century, the museum reveals the beginning of the history of the region from the founding of the hard labor camps of Tsarist Russia, shown by one of the great classical writers.

The museum, along with other exhibits, displays a collection of Chekhov's books "Sakhalin Island", translated and published in different countries world: Japan, USA, Netherlands, Poland, Italy, France, Finland, China, Spain. This is the only museum in the world that houses a large collection of books "Sakhalin Island", published in many languages ​​of the world.

I posted a note about Sakhalin and illustrated it with such wonderful photographs that I can’t resist reposting it:

Sakhalin is the most big Island Russia. It is located at east coast Asia, and is washed by the waters of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and Japan. Sakhalin is separated from the mainland by the Tatar Strait, which connects Okhotsk and Japanese sea. And from the Japanese island of Hokkaido - through the La Perouse Strait. From north to south, Sakhalin stretches for 948 km, with an average width of about 100 km.

Nivkhi. Photo by IK Stardust



The indigenous inhabitants of Sakhalin - the Nivkhs (in the north of the island) and the Ainu (in the south) - appeared on the island during the Middle Ages. At the same time, the Nivkhs migrated between Sakhalin and the lower Amur, and the Ainu - between Sakhalin and Hokkaido. In the 16th century, Tungus-speaking peoples—Evenks and Oroks—came to Sakhalin from the mainland and began to engage in reindeer herding.

Sakhalin Ainu

Many may be surprised to learn that several geographical names Sakhalin region have French origin. For this we must thank the great navigator Jean-François La Perouse, who during trip around the world in 1787 he put the strait between Sakhalin and Hokkaido on the world map. Nowadays this 101-kilometer-long body of water bears the name of its discoverer. It was sung about him in a soulful Soviet song: “And I throw pebbles from a steep bank wide strait La Perouse."

Strait of La Perouse

The presence of the French in this region far from the banks of the Seine is reminiscent, for example, of the Crillon Peninsula, named after the bravest military leader of the times of Henry IV, Louis Balbes Crillon. Fans of Alexandre Dumas remember this colorful character from the novels “The Countess de Monsoreau” and “Forty-Five.” “Why am I not a king,” he whispers to himself in last page"Countesses", ashamed of their monarch's indifference to the villainous murder of Comte de Bussy.

Dinosaurs of Cape Crillon. Photo Olga Kulikova

By the way, there are earthen ramparts on the Krillon Peninsula medieval fortress Shiranusi. It is not known for certain who built it - it could have been either an outpost of the Mongol Empire or the Tungus tribes of the Jurchens, who created the Jin Empire in the territory of Primorye and northern China. One thing is obvious: the fortification was built according to all the rules of fortification of that time.

The ramparts of the Siranusi fortress and the lighthouse at Cape Crillon

The island of Moneron in the Strait of Tartary was also named La Pérouse, in honor of his associate, the engineer Paul Moneron. On this piece of land is located the first marine natural park in Russia.

Tourist complex on Moneron Island

Moneron is famous unique waterfalls, columnar rocks and wildlife. The island has every chance of becoming a Mecca for the country’s underwater photographers in the near future.

Sea lions on Moneron Island. Photo by Vyacheslav Kozlov

On Moneron. Photo by Vyacheslav Kozlov

After La Perouse, Russian expeditions began exploring the region. In 1805, a ship under the command of Ivan Kruzenshtern explored most of the Sakhalin coast. By the way, for a long time on various maps Sakhalin was designated either an island or a peninsula. And only in 1849, an expedition under the command of Grigory Nevelsky put a final point on this issue, passing on the military transport ship “Baikal” between Sakhalin and the mainland.

Lighthouse on Cape Aniva. Photo by Anvar

In the 19th century, the Sakhalin land was a refuge for exiles for more than thirty-five years - the official Russian penal servitude. Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, who visited the island in 1890, called it “hell on earth.” The most inveterate criminals of the empire served their sentences here, for example, the thief Sonya Zolotaya Ruchka, who tried to escape from here three times and became the only woman whom the penal servitude administration ordered to be shackled.

The famous thief Sonya Zolotaya Ruchka in Sakhalin penal servitude

After the capture of Sakhalin by the Japanese in 1905 and the signing by the tsarist government, under pressure from the United States, of the “Treaty of Portsmouth,” hard labor was abolished. At the same time, the southern part of Sakhalin and Kurile Islands were proclaimed the governorate of Karafuto and transferred to Japan. 15 years later, the Japanese occupied the northern part of the island and left it thanks to the efforts of Soviet diplomacy only in 1925. Only after the end of the Second World War did Sakhalin again become part of our state. Although to this day Russia and Japan argue about whose foot set foot on this island first.

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

Monument at the birthplace of Vladimirovka

In 1882, the settlement of Vladimirovka was founded for convicts who had served their time on Sakhalin. From 1905 to 1945, when Southern Sakhalin was the territory of Japan, Vladimirovka was the center of Karafuto Prefecture and bore the name Toyohara.

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Photo by Sir Fisher

In 1945, the territory was occupied by Soviet troops, and Southern Sakhalin became part of the USSR. A year later, Toyohara was renamed Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, and a year later it became the capital of the Sakhalin region.

Museum of Local Lore. Photo Illusionist

Museum of Local Lore. Photo by Irina V.

Perhaps one of the most striking attractions of the island can be called the Sakhalin Regional local history museum. It is located in the building of the former Japanese governorate of Karafuto, built in 1937; this is almost the only monument of Japanese architecture in Russia. The museum's collections span the period from ancient history to the present day.

Model 1867 eleven-inch gun. The cannon was manufactured in 1875 in St. Petersburg, and during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. took part in the defense of Port Arthur

The Museum of Chekhov's Book "Sakhalin Island" is another pride of Sakhalin residents. The museum building was built in 1954, has an attic and its architecture resembles Chekhov’s “house with a mezzanine”. This museum can tell a lot of interesting things about the writer’s Sakhalin journey: for example, about the fact that Anton Pavlovich took a pistol with him on his voyage to these shores in order... to have time to shoot himself if the ship sank. The classic was terribly afraid of drowning.

Near the station there is a museum of railway equipment, where samples of Japanese equipment that worked on Sakhalin are collected, including the Japanese snowplow "Wajima" and the head section of the Japanese passenger diesel train ("Ki-Ha") shown in the photograph.

Voskresensky Cathedral in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Photo by Igor Smirnov

Skiing is one of the most popular entertainments among Sakhalin residents. The most a nice place within the boundaries of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk there is the Mountain Air tourist center. IN dark time 24 hours it can be seen from almost anywhere in the city.

View of the Mountain Air route from Victory Square

Sakhalin apocalypse

Damn bridge. Photo by Father Fedor

Abandoned tunnel and bridge on the old Japanese railway Kholmsk - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Going into the tunnel, the road deviates to the right and rises, then, after exiting the tunnel, it goes around the hill and then crosses itself along a bridge. above the entrance portal of the tunnel. In this way, a giant spiral is formed, ensuring that the road rises to the ridge while maintaining an acceptable slope.


And here are the remains of the steamship "Luga", which ran aground at Cape Crillon sixty years ago.

Danger Stone Island

Lighthouse on the Danger Stone

The Danger Stone is a rock located 14 km southeast of Cape Crillon - the extreme southern point Sakhalin Islands - in the La Perouse Strait. The rock greatly hampered the movement of ships through the strait. To avoid a collision, sailors were stationed on the ships, whose duty was to listen to the roar of the sea lions located on the Danger Stone. In 1913, a concrete tower with a lighthouse was erected on the rock.

Flora and fauna

Sakhalin crab. Raido Photos

Fish day is a common thing for Sakhalin residents. Fish, fish caviar, crustaceans, shellfish, algae - all this variety makes incredibly tasty dishes rich in protein.

A giant sandwich with red caviar was prepared for Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk City Day. The dimensions of the culinary masterpiece are 3 by 5 m. It was made in the shape of a heart, symbolizing love for the birthday person.

Sakhalin fox. Photo by Andrey Shpatak

According to scientists, without compromising reproduction, more than 500 thousand tons of fish, about 300 thousand tons of invertebrates, and about 200 thousand tons of algae can be harvested annually in Sakhalin waters. The fishing industry has been and remains the main one for the region.

10.10.2017

“Sakhalin Island” was written by Chekhov in the form of travel notes in the scientific and journalistic genre.

In the summer of 1890, the writer arrived in the half-abandoned city of Nikolaevsk with its sleepy and drunken inhabitants, living from bread to water and engaged in smuggling. It even seemed to Chekhov that he was not in one of the cities of the Russian Empire, but in the American state of Texas.

There wasn’t even a hotel in the city and Chekhov had to spend two nights on the ship, but when he set off on the return journey, the traveler with his suitcases found himself on the pier without any shelter.

On the next steamship "Baikal" we headed for Sakhalin Island, which was previously mistakenly considered a peninsula. When Chekhov left the cabin on deck early in the morning, he saw a mix of sleeping third class passengers, soldiers, guards and prisoners, frozen and covered with morning dew.

Along the way, Chekhov managed to visit the family of a naval officer living on the top of a mountain and engaged in marking the fairway. Chekhov was struck by hordes of mosquitoes that could easily eat a person alive.

When Chekhov arrived on Sakhalin, in the city of Aleksandrovsk, it seemed to him that he was in hell: the Sakhalin taiga was burning all around.

The writer settled into an apartment with a local doctor, from whom he learned many Sakhalin secrets. Soon Chekhov was introduced to the Governor-General of the Corfu region, who came to inspect prisons and settlements and found the conditions of convicts quite tolerable, although this was not true.

Having received permission to freely visit all settlers (except political ones), Chekhov began a census. He walked around many huts, which sometimes did not even have furniture (sometimes there was only one feather bed on the floor), and met many bright personalities.

The writer visited the Aleksandrovskaya, Duyskaya, Voevodskaya prisons with their horrific unsanitary conditions, cold and dampness. The convicts slept on bare bunks, ate meagerly, walked in rags, worked backbreakingly in clearing forests, building, and draining swamps.

After analyzing the climate in the Alexander District, Chekhov came to the conclusion that summer and spring here are like in Finland, autumn is like in St. Petersburg, and the winter months are even harsher than in northern Arkhangelsk. It often snowed in July and residents had to wrap themselves in fur coats and sheepskin coats. The writer called this weather bleak.

The writer was also interested in the indigenous inhabitants of the north of Sakhalin - the Gilyaks. They lived in yurts, practically did not wash, and abused alcohol. Women were treated with contempt and considered inferior beings. But in general, they behaved quite peacefully towards others.

In September, Chekhov left northern Sakhalin to get acquainted with the southern part of the island, shaped like a fish tail. In his memory, the north remained like a gloomy little world, like a terrible ominous dream.

Chekhov was no longer so enthusiastic about exploring the southern settlements of Sakhalin Island, as he was tired of the north.

The indigenous population here were the Aino, which means “man”. They were distinguished by excellent spiritual qualities, but the appearance of the elderly women was striking in its ugliness. The effect was aggravated by blue paint on the lips. To Chekhov they sometimes seemed like real witches. They did not recognize Russian bread, but they could not live without rice. The Aino kept bears in log cages near their homes, which they ate in winter.

If previously Sakhalin was owned by two states - Russia and Japan, then since 1875 the island became part of the Russian Empire. Japan received the Kuril Islands in return.

When a convoy of female convicts arrived on the island, instead of going to prison, they were immediately assigned to be cohabitants with the male settlers. They looked at everyone: young and old, beautiful and ugly. Old women, as well as young women, who were considered infertile on the mainland, for some reason gave birth very well on Sakhalin.

In prisons, card games flourished among prisoners and they were more reminiscent of “gambling houses” than correctional institutions. Prisoners were severely punished for their offenses with rods or whips. The writer witnessed how convict Prokhorov was given 90 lashes, having previously been tied to a bench by his hands and feet.

Out of despair and unbearable conditions of detention, people attempted to escape, which rarely ended in success: impenetrable taiga, dampness, midges, wild animals served as reliable guards.

Chekhov analyzed church registers over a ten-year period and came to the conclusion that the most insidious and deadly disease on Sakhalin was consumption, followed by death from pneumonia.

The book shocked Russian society and caused such a public outcry that the government was forced to respond by reforming the legislation on the maintenance of convicts. I think this is what every writer wants deep down - not only to inform and influence minds, but also to contribute to real changes in life.

A summary of Chekhov's travel notes about Sakhalin was provided by Marina Korovina.

Sakhalin - largest island Russia, located in the northwestern part Pacific Ocean, east of Russia and north of Japan.

Since in its structure, Sakhalin Island resembles a fish, with a fin and tail, the island has disproportionate dimensions.

Its dimensions are:
- in length, more than 950 kilometers
- in width, in its narrowest part, more than 25 kilometers
- in width, in its widest part, more than 155 kilometers
- total area islands, reaches more than 76,500 square kilometers

Now let's plunge into the history of Sakhalin Island.

The island was discovered by the Japanese around the middle of the 16th century. And by 1679, a Japanese settlement called Otomari (the current city of Korsakov) was officially formed in the south of the island.
During the same period, the island was given the name Kita-Ezo, which translated means Northern Ezo. Ezo - former name Japanese island Hokkaido. Translated into Russian, the word Ezo means shrimp. This suggests that near these islands lived large cluster one of the main Japanese delicacies, shrimp.

The island was discovered by Russians only at the beginning of the 18th century. And the first official settlements on the current island of Sakhalin were developed by 1805.

I would like to note that when Russian colonists began to create topographic maps Sakhalin, there was one mistake because of which the island got its name, Sakhalin. This is due to the fact that maps were drawn up with rivers in mind, and because of the location from which the colonists began mapping the topography, main river there was the Amur River. Since some of the guides of the Russian colonists through the untouched thickets of Sakhalin were immigrants from China, the Arum River, according to the old written Chinese languages, namely from the Manchu dialect, the Amur River sounded like Sakhalyan-Ulla. Due to the fact that Russian cartographers did not correctly enter this name, namely, the place Sakhalyan-Ulla, they entered it as Sakhalin, and they wrote this name on most maps where there were branches from the Amur River, on mainland they considered that such a name was assigned to this island.

But let's get back to history.

Due to the abundant resettlement of Russian colonists to the island, the Japanese, in 1845, declared the current island of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands independent, the inviolable property of Japan.

But due to the fact that most of the north of the island was already inhabited by Russian colonists, and the entire territory of present-day Sakhalin was not officially appropriated by Japan and was considered not disbanded, Russia began disputes with Japan about the division of the territory. And by 1855, the Treaty of Shimoda was signed between Russia and Japan, in which it was accepted that Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands were a joint undivided possession.

Then in 1875, in St. Petersburg, a new treaty was signed between Russia and Japan, according to which Russia renounced its part of the Kuril Islands in exchange for full ownership of the island.

Photos taken on Sakhalin Island, between the mid-18th and early 19th centuries




























In 1905, due to Russia's defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, which took place from 1904 to 1905, Sakhalin was divided into 2 parts - the Northern part, which remained under Russian control, and the Southern part, which went to Japan.

In 1907, the southern part of Sakhalin was designated Karafuto Prefecture, with its main centers represented by the first Japanese settlement on Sakhalin Island, the city of Otomari (present-day Korsakov).
Then main center, moved to another large Japanese city, Toehara (the current city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk).

In 1920, Karafuto Prefecture was officially given the status of an external Japanese territory and, from an independent Japanese territory, came under the control of the Ministry of Colonial Affairs, and by 1943, Karafuto received the status of an internal land of Japan.

On August 8, 1945, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, and 2 years later, namely 1947, the Soviet Union won this, the second Russo-Japanese War, taking Southern part Sakhalin and all the Kuril Islands.

And so, from 1947 to the present day, Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands remain part of the Russian Federation.

I would like to note that after the deportation of more than 400,000 Japanese back to their homeland began by the end of 1947, at the same time, mass migration of the Russian population to Sakhalin Island began. This is due to the fact that the infrastructure built by the Japanese on the southern part of the island required labor.
And since there were many minerals on the island, the extraction of which required a lot of labor, mass exile of prisoners began to Sakhalin Island, which was an excellent free labor force.

But due to the fact that the deportation of the Japanese population occurred more slowly than the migration of the Russian population and the Sylochniks, the deportation was finally completed by the end of the 19th century. Russian and Japanese Citizens had to live side by side for a long time.

Photos taken on Sakhalin Island between the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

































“Sakhalin Island” is a book by the great writer A.P. Chekhov, written in the form of notes during the author’s trip to the island in one thousand eight hundred and ninety.

Chekhov's journey began with the half-empty city of Nikolaevsky. It was distinguished by its gloomy setting, poor and drunken townspeople who somehow made ends meet and survived mainly on smuggling. In general, the city resembled American Texas.

Also this city was no different developed infrastructure, and the writer was unable to find even a hotel for a couple of days. Because of this, he spent 2 nights on the ship, but he had to set off on a return voyage, and Chekhov was left completely without shelter in this city.

The next point on the route was Sakhalin Island, which was mistakenly considered a peninsula in those days. She sailed there on the ship "Baikal". One day Chekhov took a casual walk on deck, he saw ordinary people of the 3rd class who were cold and covered with dew from early work.

Upon arrival on the island, in the city of Aleksandrovsk, the writer thought that he was in hell, he was so struck by the dense taiga of Sakhalin. In this city, Anton Pavlovich was able to settle in the apartment of a local doctor, who told him many secrets mysterious island. The author sadly observed the injustice towards convicts and convicts. He visited several prisons with their inhumane, unsanitary conditions, humidity, freezing and hunger. Convicts were forced to work exorbitantly long hours in terrible physical conditions - with virtually no clothing or shoes.

Later, Chekhov began taking a census of their population (except for political convicts, to whom he was denied access).

The unpleasant climate added to the difficulties for the residents - the summer was cold, cloudy, snow often fell in June, the autumn was very damp with freezing rain, the winter months were striking in their severity of frost.

In addition to the prisoners, Chekhov met the main inhabitants of the island - the Gilyaks. They lived so poorly, in special buildings - yurts, their life was hard and joyless, which caused them to sin with alcohol and disdainful attitudes towards the women of their people. However, in human terms they were quite hospitable and welcoming.

Having become familiar with northern part islands, Anton Pavlovich went to its southern part. The indigenous people there were the Aino, who amazed Chekhov with their elderly women. Their ugliness, aggravated by the blue paint on their lips, was incredible. In appearance they resembled real devils. One more interesting feature was that they ate mainly rice and practically did not use ordinary Russian bread.

Following the publication of this book, the Russian public became dismayed by the lives of convicts and indigenous people, resulting in the government being forced to respond. This book shows how harsh conditions our country has, and how indifferent the government was to the lives and everyday life of the people.

Reader's diary.

 

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