The Ushachy region is famous for the beauty of its lake nature and the talents of its people
It doesn't matter where you were born – in a big city or a remote village cut off from civilization. The homeland draws a person to itself with each passing year more strongly, regardless of the benefits of civilization, the presence of good roads, and the number of young people. Because the main thing is your childhood and youth memories, a sense of inner peace, and the desire to do something good for this small corner of the earth as a token of gratitude. It was with such heroes that we met in the Ushachi district – one of the smallest in the Vitebsk region.
— I carry everything with me, — jokes Mikhail Ivanovich. — You can't do otherwise in our profession: at any moment you can encounter an unforeseen situation. Both visiting poachers and wild animals themselves cause trouble near villages…
Despite the fact that the Ushachi district is rightly called a land of lakes (there are 178 lakes, 18 small and medium-sized rivers here), there are also plenty of remote forests. And it is very difficult to find a more experienced person than Mikhail Podvorny: after all, he is a professional hunter and an experienced ecologist by profession, having spent more than 40 years alone with nature. He worked in both hunting and forestry.
— Neither flora nor fauna like thoughtless interference, — is convinced Mikhail Podvorny. — You might say, toHow can a hunter be so humane? When picking up a rifle, everyone must anticipate the consequences. For example, do you think wolves are going to the villages today out of spite? Not at all. Everything in nature is so balanced that any mistake can have serious consequences. It is also impossible to shoot wolves indiscriminately. If a pack loses its leaders who provided food for the entire "community," this "community" will go to the village because it cannot feed itself. That is why we take only 10-12 individuals from the wild per year. This is enough to regulate their numbers.
Complaints from villagers about beavers are not always justified, believes Podvorny. It's one thing when they build a dam and flood, say, a garden with crops. It's completely different if they live and reproduce where humans have no right to interfere in their beaver life.
— In general, we all need to learn to live in harmony with the forest, on the terms of good neighborliness, — shares Mikhail Ivanovich. — Take foreign hunters who often visited us in pre-coronavirus times. Before going on a trip, they would study the habits of the capercaillie, the specifics of its existence, for a year. And they go not to kill and obtain, but to compete with the animal on equal terms in "military" skill.
The senior gamekeeper has dozens of fascinating hunting stories in store. In the future, he does not rule out writing memoirs. And now he recalls:
— A French hunter, about 85 years old, once came. He dreamed of hunting a moose. The first day of hunting was unsuccessful. The pensioner was upset, and I comforted him: you will definitely be lucky next year. He lamented: what if I don't live to see it?
But the old man got lucky the very next day. He shot a magnificent moose with huge antlers. Overwhelmed with emotion, he kissed the animal right on the ground and apologized for having to shoot it. He left immensely happy.
— Our Belarusian nature is unique, — asserts the senior gamekeeper. — And it demands respect. A couple of months ago, I met a bear in the forest. It was about ten steps away from me. Huge, with a golden sheen of smooth fur sparkling in the sun. Was I scared? Of course. I thought: I'll shout to scare it away. And in the end, I could only whisper something... I still remember the bear's angry gaze: piercing black button eyes literally drilled into me. And I was practically unarmed – only a smoothbore shotgun and cartridges for small birds in my hands. But the beast turned and left...
But Lyubov Fyodorovna herself is a true all-rounder. She has dedicated over 40 years of her life to medicine:
— I started as an operating room nurse. I trained as a midwife, but there were no positions. So, a two-week internship – and to the operating table. I liked the work. Give me any kind of job, but only a live one, on the front lines, not with papers... It was a difficult time, buses didn't run. I used to walk 11 kilometers to the village of Matyrino, where I still live, after my shift.
A little later, Lyubov Avdoshko was sent to her native village to head the FAP (Feldshersko-Akushersky Punkt - paramedic-midwife station). And then a position was found in the maternity hospital, where she worked as a midwife for about 25 years:
— This is my calling, — she is sure. — I haven't counted how many babies I've delivered, we don't usually do that... But almost all the women in my village gave birth with me, and there are countless patients in the district center. They grow up, get married, get divorced. I have delivered babies for my former "infants."
It's very pleasant to realize that you've been involved in the birth of several generations. I come from a large family myself; there were seven of us. We – the triplets Vera, Nadezhda, and Lyubov – are the youngest. So, family values are not an empty phrase for me...
The most diffThe last few years have been difficult and tense. Lyubov Fyodorovna was transferred to the infectious diseases department. And she was the first to receive COVID patients in the district: — They were brought in on the same day — four patients with symptoms of the then unfamiliar coronavirus infection. Of course, it was scary. Not for myself, of course — I was afraid for them. I entered the ward every 15 minutes to make sure there was no deterioration. Now we perceive COVID-19 as an unpleasant, but common occurrence. Anti-plague suits, respirators… It’s difficult, of course, when you are over 60. I work with my peer partner, Alla Severin. There was no one to replace us at the beginning of the pandemic, so we are still working. We have excellent doctors here, good conditions, and the opportunity to send seriously ill patients to Polotsk at any moment. There have never been any interruptions in personal protective equipment, and the department has 12 oxygen points. Lyubov Avdoshko herself did not get sick. Apparently, the coronavirus was afraid of her. And now she has been vaccinated. As, by the way, have all other members of her medical family. Lyubov Fyodorovna shared her observations: — I worked with dozens of COVID-19 patients and noticed: patients aged 80-90 years tolerate the disease even easier than those aged 45-50 years. What does this say? Children of war, accustomed to hard physical labor, are less vulnerable to the virus. Therefore, appropriate conclusions must be drawn. Lead a healthy lifestyle and do not be afraid of work.
— The decision to move was made solely for the sake of the children, — emphasizes Ekaterina. — Not very good ecology, different schools and kindergartens, public transport, traffic jams, many unsafe temptations… We decided together: we will move to nature. We found a cottage, the renovation of which required considerable effort, through an advertisement. Why the Ushaсhy district? It is difficult to find cleaner air than this… And there are many lakes here — a real paradise for children.
12-year-old Alexandra and 10-year-old Larisa support their mother: living in the village is significantly more comfortable, and they can communicate with old friends via the internet. 8-year-old Volodya and 4-year-old Zamir-Sergey are obsessed with fishing, which they could only dream of before. The eldest son, 16-year-old Timofey, is now in the city — mastering the profession of a programmer-designer. It is possible that his knowledge will be useful here in the Ushaсhy district in the future.
— To be honest, I myself was not sure of my abilities and how life in the village would turn out. My husband and I were both born and lived in the city, — admits Ekaterina Sergeevna. — But everything worked out, we coped with everything, we learned everything. It is much freer here — the total area of the house is over 250 square meters. The school bus takes the children to lessons in the neighboring village. We keep a large household. We have a cow, goats, chickens. Dogs and cats — to the delight of the little ones. Recently, we took a bull calf Ryzhik from the farm "for upbringing".
Now, over a hundred calves are under the care of the calf-tender of the agricultural enterprise "Mayak Ushachsky". Ekaterina's husband helps her take care of the animals. And they know all their pets by name. Like in a large kindergarten. Interestingly, the mother of many children's father was a military man, and her mother was a doctor. Katya was born in Murmansk. Ushaсhy Mosar hospitably welcomed her large family.
Ekaterina is very grateful to the state — without support, moving to this pristine region would have been simply impossible.
And now the new rural settlers are already waitingbirth of the sixth baby.
— Here is our garden, — Viktor Nikolaevich shows. — About two hundred dwarf apple trees, cherries, and pears with an excellent harvest. Greenhouses - according to all the rules of agronomy. Now we are growing peppers and tomatoes, and in the spring we sold greens: onions, dill, lettuce, parsley, arugula. A little further away is our apothecary garden…
Oh, what aromas come from lavender, wild and peppermint, thyme, oregano! And here are three varieties of lemon balm, echinacea, sage, and other very useful representatives of flora…
— For now, we make teas and sell them to the public. In the future, we plan to look for outlets to sanatoriums - our products are environmentally friendly, they will be useful for preparing medicinal decoctions in health resorts, — enthusiastically tells the teacher of the Velikodolsky kindergarten - secondary school. — And the guys themselves offer their know-how. By the way, there are many promising ideas!
The young students of mentor Shishov are seriously interested in both botany and related sciences. It's no joke - the agronomist-teacher has already prepared eight prize-winners of subject olympiads. For example, Evgeny Aniskevich has now graduated from the postgraduate program at BSU, a candidate of chemical sciences. He has victories at the world level. Many school graduates go to universities of the agro-industrial complex, medicine, and pharmacy. By the way, both daughters of Viktor Nikolaevich are doctors.
— We are actively engaged in scientific developments, conduct experiments, — our excursion through the school garden continues. — We closely cooperate with professionals, public associations, acceptparticipation in international programs. By the way, the school has not only modern greenhouses but also its own cold storage for apples – there are enough fruits until March. We fully supply the school canteen with potatoes, beets, carrots, cabbage, and other vegetables. As a result, there is considerable savings on food.
An interesting nuance: for two years now, teacher Shishov, having created an educational and production incubator on the school garden, has been the head of the creative project "School of Young Entrepreneurs." He shows children in practice: agricultural business using modern agrotechnologies can be not only profitable but also very exciting. Even in remote areas of Belarus.
— Do not swim beyond the buoys! — a stern voice from the megaphone brings us back to reality. It turns out that nothing escapes the vigilant eye of **physical education instructor, rescue swimmer Vladimir Silvanenko**, on duty on the wooden bridge.
— I recently had to pull an eight-year-old boy out of the water. He was riding a catamaran with his mother and fell overboard, — says Vladimir Ivanovich. — He immediately went under water. But everything turned out fine, we pulled him out in time. We refused the help of medics. The frightened mother only kept asking me to do everything so that the child's father, who comes here on weekends, would not find out about this incident… A little earlier, a four-year-old girl accidentally stepped into the lake right from the pier where she was standing. Apart from fright, there were no consequences. She didn't even have time to swallow water – we pulled her out within a few seconds.
Water is always a danger. And here, on the sanatorium shore, there are its own nuances. For example, a sharp drop-off. The beach area beyond the buoysand unexpectedly goes down to a 6-meter, and then a 20-meter depth. And vacationers constantly try to break the permitted boundaries, relying on their swimming skills. To prevent tragedy, one has to be constantly on guard.
— I have everything I need at my disposal — life jackets and rings, binoculars, a light boat that can get you from one bank to the other in a couple of minutes, — says Vladimir Silvanenok. — If only people's good sense were added — and everything would be fine. Unfortunately, the latter is a problem. Carelessness is especially dangerous for those who swim in lakes in unauthorized places. We constantly carry out preventive work among the population.
To Cherish and Protect
A well-worn Toyota jeep pulls up to the edge of a pine forest by the picturesque Lake Vechele, where we agreed to meet. **Senior gamekeeper of the district department of BOOR, Mikhail Podvorny**, is in full uniform, in camouflage. In the trunk are a professional rifle, a call, binoculars, and a tripod for mounting heavy optical weapons.— I carry everything with me, — jokes Mikhail Ivanovich. — You can't do otherwise in our profession: at any moment you can encounter an unforeseen situation. Both visiting poachers and wild animals themselves cause trouble near villages…
Despite the fact that the Ushachi district is rightly called a land of lakes (there are 178 lakes, 18 small and medium-sized rivers here), there are also plenty of remote forests. And it is very difficult to find a more experienced person than Mikhail Podvorny: after all, he is a professional hunter and an experienced ecologist by profession, having spent more than 40 years alone with nature. He worked in both hunting and forestry.
— Neither flora nor fauna like thoughtless interference, — is convinced Mikhail Podvorny. — You might say, toHow can a hunter be so humane? When picking up a rifle, everyone must anticipate the consequences. For example, do you think wolves are going to the villages today out of spite? Not at all. Everything in nature is so balanced that any mistake can have serious consequences. It is also impossible to shoot wolves indiscriminately. If a pack loses its leaders who provided food for the entire "community," this "community" will go to the village because it cannot feed itself. That is why we take only 10-12 individuals from the wild per year. This is enough to regulate their numbers.
Complaints from villagers about beavers are not always justified, believes Podvorny. It's one thing when they build a dam and flood, say, a garden with crops. It's completely different if they live and reproduce where humans have no right to interfere in their beaver life.
— In general, we all need to learn to live in harmony with the forest, on the terms of good neighborliness, — shares Mikhail Ivanovich. — Take foreign hunters who often visited us in pre-coronavirus times. Before going on a trip, they would study the habits of the capercaillie, the specifics of its existence, for a year. And they go not to kill and obtain, but to compete with the animal on equal terms in "military" skill.
The senior gamekeeper has dozens of fascinating hunting stories in store. In the future, he does not rule out writing memoirs. And now he recalls:
— A French hunter, about 85 years old, once came. He dreamed of hunting a moose. The first day of hunting was unsuccessful. The pensioner was upset, and I comforted him: you will definitely be lucky next year. He lamented: what if I don't live to see it?
But the old man got lucky the very next day. He shot a magnificent moose with huge antlers. Overwhelmed with emotion, he kissed the animal right on the ground and apologized for having to shoot it. He left immensely happy.
— Our Belarusian nature is unique, — asserts the senior gamekeeper. — And it demands respect. A couple of months ago, I met a bear in the forest. It was about ten steps away from me. Huge, with a golden sheen of smooth fur sparkling in the sun. Was I scared? Of course. I thought: I'll shout to scare it away. And in the end, I could only whisper something... I still remember the bear's angry gaze: piercing black button eyes literally drilled into me. And I was practically unarmed – only a smoothbore shotgun and cartridges for small birds in my hands. But the beast turned and left...
Not Afraid of COVID
Lyubov Avdoshko brought an entire dynasty of nurses to the central district hospital. Her daughter Anastasia works here now, and her granddaughter Yulia is just starting her medical career after graduating from college. Yulia studied on a targeted referral and plans to get a higher education in the future. In the meantime, she is honing her practical skills during appointments with a pediatrician. Her mother, Anastasia Nikolaevna, also works in the children's clinic – in the next office.But Lyubov Fyodorovna herself is a true all-rounder. She has dedicated over 40 years of her life to medicine:
— I started as an operating room nurse. I trained as a midwife, but there were no positions. So, a two-week internship – and to the operating table. I liked the work. Give me any kind of job, but only a live one, on the front lines, not with papers... It was a difficult time, buses didn't run. I used to walk 11 kilometers to the village of Matyrino, where I still live, after my shift.
A little later, Lyubov Avdoshko was sent to her native village to head the FAP (Feldshersko-Akushersky Punkt - paramedic-midwife station). And then a position was found in the maternity hospital, where she worked as a midwife for about 25 years:
— This is my calling, — she is sure. — I haven't counted how many babies I've delivered, we don't usually do that... But almost all the women in my village gave birth with me, and there are countless patients in the district center. They grow up, get married, get divorced. I have delivered babies for my former "infants."
It's very pleasant to realize that you've been involved in the birth of several generations. I come from a large family myself; there were seven of us. We – the triplets Vera, Nadezhda, and Lyubov – are the youngest. So, family values are not an empty phrase for me...
The most diffThe last few years have been difficult and tense. Lyubov Fyodorovna was transferred to the infectious diseases department. And she was the first to receive COVID patients in the district: — They were brought in on the same day — four patients with symptoms of the then unfamiliar coronavirus infection. Of course, it was scary. Not for myself, of course — I was afraid for them. I entered the ward every 15 minutes to make sure there was no deterioration. Now we perceive COVID-19 as an unpleasant, but common occurrence. Anti-plague suits, respirators… It’s difficult, of course, when you are over 60. I work with my peer partner, Alla Severin. There was no one to replace us at the beginning of the pandemic, so we are still working. We have excellent doctors here, good conditions, and the opportunity to send seriously ill patients to Polotsk at any moment. There have never been any interruptions in personal protective equipment, and the department has 12 oxygen points. Lyubov Avdoshko herself did not get sick. Apparently, the coronavirus was afraid of her. And now she has been vaccinated. As, by the way, have all other members of her medical family. Lyubov Fyodorovna shared her observations: — I worked with dozens of COVID-19 patients and noticed: patients aged 80-90 years tolerate the disease even easier than those aged 45-50 years. What does this say? Children of war, accustomed to hard physical labor, are less vulnerable to the virus. Therefore, appropriate conclusions must be drawn. Lead a healthy lifestyle and do not be afraid of work.
Family Pastoral
A garden, flowers, a vegetable patch — a real idyll at the two-story cottage of the large family of **Ekaterina Butenkova**. It's hard to believe that only a few years have passed since Ekaterina, along with her husband Alexander and their five children, moved from the regional center to a remote village in the Ushachi district. The family exchanged their three-room and one-room apartments in Vitebsk, built with state support, for a house in Mosar. And most importantly — they do not regret anything. Ekaterina Sergeevna is an accountant by education. In the city, she worked as the head of the archive. Now she is one of the best livestock breeders in the district. She has successfully mastered the profession of a milkmaid and looks after young stock. And she treats the calves with the same love and care as her own children.— The decision to move was made solely for the sake of the children, — emphasizes Ekaterina. — Not very good ecology, different schools and kindergartens, public transport, traffic jams, many unsafe temptations… We decided together: we will move to nature. We found a cottage, the renovation of which required considerable effort, through an advertisement. Why the Ushaсhy district? It is difficult to find cleaner air than this… And there are many lakes here — a real paradise for children.
12-year-old Alexandra and 10-year-old Larisa support their mother: living in the village is significantly more comfortable, and they can communicate with old friends via the internet. 8-year-old Volodya and 4-year-old Zamir-Sergey are obsessed with fishing, which they could only dream of before. The eldest son, 16-year-old Timofey, is now in the city — mastering the profession of a programmer-designer. It is possible that his knowledge will be useful here in the Ushaсhy district in the future.
— To be honest, I myself was not sure of my abilities and how life in the village would turn out. My husband and I were both born and lived in the city, — admits Ekaterina Sergeevna. — But everything worked out, we coped with everything, we learned everything. It is much freer here — the total area of the house is over 250 square meters. The school bus takes the children to lessons in the neighboring village. We keep a large household. We have a cow, goats, chickens. Dogs and cats — to the delight of the little ones. Recently, we took a bull calf Ryzhik from the farm "for upbringing".
Now, over a hundred calves are under the care of the calf-tender of the agricultural enterprise "Mayak Ushachsky". Ekaterina's husband helps her take care of the animals. And they know all their pets by name. Like in a large kindergarten. Interestingly, the mother of many children's father was a military man, and her mother was a doctor. Katya was born in Murmansk. Ushaсhy Mosar hospitably welcomed her large family.
Ekaterina is very grateful to the state — without support, moving to this pristine region would have been simply impossible.
And now the new rural settlers are already waitingbirth of the sixth baby.
School of Young Agrarians
By education - an agronomist. By calling - a teacher. How to combine all this? Viktor Shishov from Velikie Doltsy found the optimal solution. After working in an agricultural enterprise as the chief agronomist, he graduated by correspondence from PSU named after P. M. Masherov with a degree in "Chemistry and Biology Teacher". And he went to school. Which he does not regret at all.— Here is our garden, — Viktor Nikolaevich shows. — About two hundred dwarf apple trees, cherries, and pears with an excellent harvest. Greenhouses - according to all the rules of agronomy. Now we are growing peppers and tomatoes, and in the spring we sold greens: onions, dill, lettuce, parsley, arugula. A little further away is our apothecary garden…
Oh, what aromas come from lavender, wild and peppermint, thyme, oregano! And here are three varieties of lemon balm, echinacea, sage, and other very useful representatives of flora…
— For now, we make teas and sell them to the public. In the future, we plan to look for outlets to sanatoriums - our products are environmentally friendly, they will be useful for preparing medicinal decoctions in health resorts, — enthusiastically tells the teacher of the Velikodolsky kindergarten - secondary school. — And the guys themselves offer their know-how. By the way, there are many promising ideas!
The young students of mentor Shishov are seriously interested in both botany and related sciences. It's no joke - the agronomist-teacher has already prepared eight prize-winners of subject olympiads. For example, Evgeny Aniskevich has now graduated from the postgraduate program at BSU, a candidate of chemical sciences. He has victories at the world level. Many school graduates go to universities of the agro-industrial complex, medicine, and pharmacy. By the way, both daughters of Viktor Nikolaevich are doctors.
— We are actively engaged in scientific developments, conduct experiments, — our excursion through the school garden continues. — We closely cooperate with professionals, public associations, acceptparticipation in international programs. By the way, the school has not only modern greenhouses but also its own cold storage for apples – there are enough fruits until March. We fully supply the school canteen with potatoes, beets, carrots, cabbage, and other vegetables. As a result, there is considerable savings on food.
An interesting nuance: for two years now, teacher Shishov, having created an educational and production incubator on the school garden, has been the head of the creative project "School of Young Entrepreneurs." He shows children in practice: agricultural business using modern agrotechnologies can be not only profitable but also very exciting. Even in remote areas of Belarus.
Rescuers are not born
There are many vacationers on the beach of the "Lesnye Ozera" sanatorium. Beautiful sand surrounded by a pine forest, clear water, hot sun: who would refuse such a pleasure? It's time to relax and surrender to the waves...— Do not swim beyond the buoys! — a stern voice from the megaphone brings us back to reality. It turns out that nothing escapes the vigilant eye of **physical education instructor, rescue swimmer Vladimir Silvanenko**, on duty on the wooden bridge.
— I recently had to pull an eight-year-old boy out of the water. He was riding a catamaran with his mother and fell overboard, — says Vladimir Ivanovich. — He immediately went under water. But everything turned out fine, we pulled him out in time. We refused the help of medics. The frightened mother only kept asking me to do everything so that the child's father, who comes here on weekends, would not find out about this incident… A little earlier, a four-year-old girl accidentally stepped into the lake right from the pier where she was standing. Apart from fright, there were no consequences. She didn't even have time to swallow water – we pulled her out within a few seconds.
Water is always a danger. And here, on the sanatorium shore, there are its own nuances. For example, a sharp drop-off. The beach area beyond the buoysand unexpectedly goes down to a 6-meter, and then a 20-meter depth. And vacationers constantly try to break the permitted boundaries, relying on their swimming skills. To prevent tragedy, one has to be constantly on guard.
— I have everything I need at my disposal — life jackets and rings, binoculars, a light boat that can get you from one bank to the other in a couple of minutes, — says Vladimir Silvanenok. — If only people's good sense were added — and everything would be fine. Unfortunately, the latter is a problem. Carelessness is especially dangerous for those who swim in lakes in unauthorized places. We constantly carry out preventive work among the population.
Vladimir Ivanovich has been working at the sanatorium for about 25 years, so he is ready for any surprises as a rescuer. And — for any victories as an instructor. He conducts therapeutic physical culture, organizes various sports competitions: swimming, billiards, fishing, tennis, volleyball, checkers, and chess. And he is also the chairman of the trade union committee and simply the soul of the team.Sanatorium employees claim: it is simply impossible to find another person who is so kindly enthusiastic and happy, who could so harmoniously turn his hobby into a profession.