Virgin Steppe Seven Seas Away

People living in the Kherson region joke that, apart from the seas of Azov, Kakhovka, and the Black Sea, they have seas of wheat, sunlight, and hospitality. In fact, this far from exhausts the treasures found in this amazing place where every square foot is an historical memorial. Everything a visitor sees is big — and paradoxical. Nowhere else in Ukraine will you find so many Soviet symbols combined with historic sites. Also, some say that this territory yields the best crops, and the farmlands are the largest.

Things here are described using the superlative degree of adjectives and modifiers like unique. The Kakhovka canal, the largest part of the local irrigation system, is the longest in Europe: 110 km. Here one finds Europe’s largest desert, Oleshkovski Pisky, formed in the ancient basin of the Dnipro, with a chain of lakes in the vicinity. Given an enthusiastic investor, the sand and the lakes (an iodine-bromine, a salt- chalybeate, two fresh water, and one with an increased salt content, challenging the Dead Sea) could become a resort matching Europe’s most advertised ones. In a word, the area teems with places of interest. People will enthusiastically show you even the local concrete plant and the fruit state farm that used to supply a good half of the formerly fraternal Soviet republics. Now the plant’s output is down, but under the Soviets it was three times that of the other such projects. As for the state farm, some Soviet officials at one time came out with the idea of an airport to be built nearby. The idea never came to fruition, but there is a statue, an aircraft taking off, in the center of the state farm’s township, most probably meant to immortalize the lofty initiative.

People’s attitude to all those symbols rates a separate article. The locals seem to respect every monument, regardless of its epoch or ideological implication. The main square in front of the mayor’s office is still dominated by the statue of the leader of the world proletariat, another Lenin towers in Chervony Mayak [Red Beacon], a neighboring village, a short walk from an ancient monastery. Here one finds the world’s only monument to a woman warrior and one to Red Army men (considered the best in the former Soviet republics). The latter is a composition, a strikingly dynamic bronze tachanka rushing into battle: an interesting detail. Commissioned to portray the tachanka employed by Budionny’s Red cavalry, the sculptor ended with its modification definitely used by Makhno’s anarchist army (unlike the Reds, their tachankas were driven by four, not three horses).

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Of course, what attracts serious people to this area are not such nuances, however curious. Its main attraction is history. Of late active archaeological studies have been underway to localize ancient Aryan settlements (the Aryans were a nomadic people from Central Asia, the legendary ancestors of the Indo- European peoples). This area is also associated with the domestication of wild horses in the fourth century BC. From here the Aryans started their campaign against India. It was then the Tauric steppe became the arena of pitched battles and its inhabitants would often change the contemporary map of the world. The North Pontic steppe was the training ground for the Cimmerians, Scythians, Sarmatians, and Goths (they gave the Dnipro its current name and established the first Christian state on the territory of today’s Ukraine) — and since then, also for a number of Turkic peoples, among them Huns, Utigurs, Kutugurs, Avars, Bulgars, Khazars. Later, the area was the crossroads of the interests of Byzantium, Kyiv Rus’, and Pechenegs. Among the militant neighbors were the Kipchaks (also known as the Polovtsians). Reminiscent of that remote historical period are numerous burial mounds and the famous baba huge stone edifices presumably portraying ancient warriors and their wives (the baba “operating instructions” are provided further on). Incidentally, this area is associated with one of the Herculean Labors. herding the three-bodied giant Geryon’s oxen, the hero stopped at Gilea in the lower reaches of the Dnipro for the night. While he slept the horses of his chariot were stolen by a woman-snake. The weird lady returned the horses, but only after giving birth to three sons: Agafris, Gelon, and Scythius. Hercules presented his new “wife” with one of his bows and a belt with a gold cup fastened to it, declaring that either of the sons whom the belt would fit and who would be able to draw the bow would reside in that country. I think it is easy to guess which of the sons met all the requirements and sired the Scythian ruling dynasty.

Ukrainian Cossacks settled here in the fifteenth century and would from then on fight the principal aggressor of the late Middle Ages, Turkey. One is reminded of the Cossack period in Ukrainian history by earth fortifications (in Tsiurupinsk, village of Stara Zburievka), Cossack watch mounds (Ivanivka), remains of fifteenth to seventeenth centuries fortified walls, a wood Zaporozhzhian church, a common grave of heroes of the Crimean War of 1853-56 (Beryslav), site of the Kamianska Sich (perhaps the only one to have endured the ravages of time so well) at the village of Respublikanets, ruins of a palace (village of Kozatske) and a winery (Vesele) of Grand Prince Petr Trubetskoi (currently accommodating a wine-making museum). Among the most memorable sites is the late eighteenth century. Hryhory-Biziukov Monastery at the village of Chervony Mayak. Regrettably, what makes it so memorable is not its beautiful architecture, masterfully decorated interior, but the place’s glaring dilapidation and the attitude of the local authorities which is, mildly speaking, strange. At one time the monastery challenged the Kyiv- Pechersk Lavra in terms of wealth and size of the cloistered community; it owned tens of thousands of hectares of farmlands and pastures, hundreds of thousands of head of cattle. It ceased to exist under the Soviets and lost much of the property. Even though it was revived in 1991, the complex is still to be put in order. Monastery structures stand isolated one from the next, the place is a shambles, and the buildings look as though about to be torn down. Amid this scenery towers the statue of the leader of the world proletariat, a short walk from a typical village “shopping center” organized at the monastery’s refectory. The monks tried to restore the refectory ‘s original status and the local authorities’ response was quite noteworthy: the refectory was inspected to check its condition; if found viable, the shopping center would remain, if not, the premises would be returned to the monastery. In other words, the only positive aspect for the monastery is its picturesque location atop a rock opening on the waters of the manmade Sea of Kakhovka...

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Getting to the positive part of the story, the area boasts the unique Askaniya Nova nature reserve. The life story of only one of its founders, Friedrich Falz-Fein, would take hours to recount. The young enthusiasts perceived and developed what looked at the time as a perfectly science fiction idea, a rich zoo in an arid steppe where all the grass is burned by the sun in summer and an arboretum. Tsar Nicholas II awarded him a title of nobility in recognition of his meritorious contribution in the preservation of the environment (the only case in Russian history when a foreign colonist was given the honor). Moreover, the tsar had heard so much about Askaniya that, contrary to protocol, he spent two days and nights at Falz-Fein’s estate on his way to his Crimean summer retreat.

The reserve currently numbers 5,000 representatives of 110 varieties of mammals and birds, 980 ancient and 1,500 varieties of flowers and ornamental greenery. Every such item on display has a unique and eventful history. Thus, an African delegation visiting the park was speechless on learning that there was a canna milker. Back home, cannas are as widespread as cows in Ukraine, but no one has ever been able to milk them. When Przevalsky’s horses became extinct in the Mongol steppe, Askaniya shared some of its stock and the variety was revived. There is no doubt about the reserve’s qualified staff, as evidenced by the flamingo story. These birds appear to feel normal only when living in large flocks. If one numbers less than a dozen, they can even ignore the mating period. In Askaniya, they solve the problem using an optical trick, placing mirrors around a small flock.

The reserve’s greatest attraction is its nucleus, 11,000 hectares of virgin steppe, meaning it has never been touched by a plow. Even at its inception, Friedrich Falz-Fein fenced it off and pronounced it untouchable. Then the Soviets came and he had to surrender the patrimonial estate, yet he wrote countless letters to the Revolutionary Committee of Russia, asking to please pay attention to Askaniya’s unique status and prevent cultivation of the virgin steppe. Fortunately, his desperate voice was heard, so the steppe is spared farm machinery and is instead trodden by artiodactyl varieties, ranging from buffalo to zebra. In fact, you can see them all on a horse ride, except when the animals are in heat and aggressive.

The arboretum is also an unforgettable sight. Falz-Fein hired the French expert Dufresne to plan it and he did, despite the absence of surface water. Before planting the first saplings, the whole area of 28 hectares was plowed a meter deep. When it came to vegetation, the baron bought about a hundred camels and they carried barrels of water from 50 kilometers away. Later, a unique irrigation system was built, relying on a principle discovered five thousand years ago (the baron was even summoned to Paris and awarded a medal for its implementation).

One of the excursion routes at the park is actually part of the famous Chumak Trail [used by Ukrainians to cart salt from the Crimea]. In fact, the old superstition that spilling salt means an imminent quarrel is rooted in history. The chumak wagon men carrying salt traveled a long and perilous road, they could pick up and bring home plague or cholera, too. They were often raided and killed by Tatars. All this made salt an unbelievably precious product and wasting it was regarded as a crime.

Time also allows mention of the Polovtsian statues at the park. Although the mounds are artificial, the babas are genuine. Experts differ on their original designation. Some believe that their being placed on burial mounds, always facing east, means that they were used as landmarks. Others hold that these are just monuments [gravestones of sorts]. Still others maintain that the burial mounds with the statues are tabernacles, as evidenced by the remains of sacrifices unearthed at their feet. Be it as it may, the operating instructions are necessary, for these ancient objects must emanate some kind of energy. They are easy to follow: get rid of all metal objects and place your hand on the cup held by every such statue. Locals say this simple procedure gives you a strong charge of positive energy.

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There was a Soviet song that went, “How can you sing a good song without a button accordion?” By analogy, the Tauric land is unthinkable without its many wineries. The largest of these, the Tavriya Agroindustrial Firm Ltd., has for a number of years won domestic and international contests. Its assortment is topped by 25 year-oldchateau cognac Imperial. Company experts proudly point out that it matches the famous French Napoleon. Honestly, a wine-tasting session in the cellars at the village of Vesele suffices to forget all about shopping sprees, hunting for good wines at street markets (where there is no way to make sure of the quality or manufacturer). One is reminded of the legend about wine as a living thing, that it requires a certain ritual and in return bestows a gustatory sensation long remembered afterward — but only if one observes the ritual.

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— P.S. : This author wishes to express special thanks to the State Tourist Administration for assistance in the preparation of this feature.