Anavgai (Koryaksk. Anavn'ai - larch resin) is a village at the confluence of the Anavgai and Bystraya rivers, a national settlement in the Bystrinsky district of the Kamchatka Territory of Russia. It forms Anavgayskoye rural settlement.
The distance to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is 495 km. The village is located on the territory of the Bystrinsky Natural Park, included in 1996 in the UNESCO World Natural Heritage List, in a picturesque place, surrounded on all sides by hills, at an altitude of 330 meters above sea level.
The climate of Anavgai, which is isolated in the spurs of the Sredinny ridge, is continental, with frosty winters (lasts 160-170 days) and short summers. The average January temperature is -19 ° C, the absolute minimum is -45-50 ° C. Summer (temperature transition through + 10 ° C) is relatively warm, starts from the third decade of June and lasts until the end of August, when the first frosts are noted. In July, there are often days with temperatures up to +30 ° C, the absolute maximum is +34 ° C. The first snow falls in mid-September. In mid-October, the snow cover falls, which melts only at the end of May. The average height of the snow cover is 1 meter. The number of hours of sunshine is about 1600 hours. Average rainfall is 400 mm (maximum in July-August). This is one of the driest places in Kamchatka. The last frosts can be delayed until June 27, and the first ones begin on August 21.
All rivers in the area of the village are mountainous with rather
high flow rates and narrow valleys. Loach and grayling are found in
the rivers of the natural park. It is believed that V.V. Atlasov
with his detachment, going down the valley of the Anavgai River,
went for the first time to the Kamchatka River. It was in the upper
reaches of the Anavgai River that the Cossacks left their reindeer
with the Yukaghirs and made their descent from the ridge into the
valley of the Kamchatka River.
In the valley in the middle
reaches of the Anavgai River on the northern slope of the Chempura
volcano there are the Oka and Apapelsky hot springs.
The history of the origin and development of the village of Anavgai
dates back to the early thirties of the last century and is
inextricably linked with the Soviet transformations in the region.
It is difficult to determine the exact date of the foundation of the
village, the existing information is contradictory.
On
February 8, 1926, at a meeting of the Anavgai clan, it was decided
to create a tribal council (chairman - Indanov Ivan Markovich,
members of the Council - Gilkanov Innokenty Ignatovich and Cherkanov
Sergei Gavrilovich) and unite with other Even clans: Lauchansky and
Kekunaysky. At that time, the village was not like this, there were
several winter roads on the site of the modern camp "Menadek".
By a decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of
January 10, 1932, the Bystrinsky national (Evensky) region was
formed with the administrative center in the village of Onovgai
within the existing borders of the Bystrinsky Lamut native region. Later, the village of Esso became the administrative center.
On December 24, 1934, on the day of elections to the local
Soviets of Working People's Deputies, Anavgai officially became a
village. At the same time, the settlement was not constantly in one
place, the local Even inhabitants lived in tents and they slowly
wandered along the Anavgai river from the source to the mouth of the
Bystraya river.
By the decision of the executive committee of
the Kamchatka Regional Council of April 25, 1941, a plan was
developed for settling the nomadic population in the Tigil and
Bystrinsky regions. According to this plan, Anavgai became the
economic center of the partnership. Molotov. During the war years,
the first elementary school of 2 classes was built with the number
of students 24 people, a nursery, a post office, a first-aid post, a
shop, a canteen, and a bakery. On the 47th kilometer of the road, at
the hot springs, first a parking lot was arranged, and then a
recreation center. There were also grasslands.
In the 1960s,
the population of the village increased in connection with the
course towards consolidation of collective farms, when the
“unpromising” villages of Lauchan in 1960, Tvayan in 1964, Bystraya
in 1969 were liquidated. In March 1969 the Anavgaysky state farm was
established.
In 1967, a nursery garden with a round-the-clock
group for Even children was opened in the village, but there were
children who were in the herds. Since the mid-60s, education at the
school has been conducted in Russian, which negatively affected both
the academic performance and the culture of the Evens. Children were
more and more detached from their families. They only get into herds
in summer. Gradually, the continuity in traditional occupations
began to be lost.
The Anavgay settlement acquired its modern
look in the 60s-70s of the XX century. This time is the peak of
socio-economic development. Residents received new housing, stable
earnings. Thermal and cold water was supplied to the village. In
1978, an eight-year school was opened in the village, and later a
secondary school. In 1980, a two-story building of an 8-year
boarding school was built, since 1985 the school has been
transformed into a secondary boarding school. The House of Culture
appeared.
Socio-economic upheavals of the 1990s. heavily affected the life
of Anavgai. In 1992, the state farm was reorganized; instead, the
Rassvet peasant farm and Anavgai LLC were created. The village
council was reorganized into a village administration. There was a
sharp decline in employment, unemployment, as a result, drunkenness.
The reindeer population has decreased by 3.5 times in 10 years.
In these conditions, the problem of survival has become very
acute. The Anavgays see the solution to it in a return to the
origins, to their culture. This is reflected in the revival of
customs, rituals, in the activities of national ensembles that
attract tourists. Tourism in the future can be considered as an
independent economic direction.
Camp "Manedek"
Camp "Menedek" is a cultural monument of the Koryak and Even
peoples, designed for numerous tourists visiting the area. The
habitat of the indigenous people of Kamchatka is reproduced here. On
the territory of the complex there are Even and Koryak dwellings -
yurts and yarangas, facilities for storing clothes and utensils -
booths and mamychkas. Sacred wooden figures guard the paths,
protecting the sacred hearth from evil spirits. In the village of
Anavgai there are workshops for dressing and processing reindeer
skins, making souvenirs from birch bark and beads, wood and bone
carving.
The outskirts of the village
Anavgay is located
in a picturesque place of the Bystraya river valley, among the
mountains, so there are a lot of places worth visiting. The main
ones are: an observation deck at the Bystrinskaya hydroelectric
power station, an Indian rock, an ecological path along the Kovavlya
river, therapeutic pools at the 47th kilometer, a hike to the
Sleeping Beauty hill, from which an amazing view of the village and
its surroundings opens.
Spring of the 47th km
The springs
are located on the left bank of the Bystraya-Kozyrevskaya River, on
the 47th kilometer of the highway leading to Esso from the village
of Krapivnaya. Once upon a time there was a small dispensary for
forest workers. A swimming pool was built, a bathroom department was
opened. But the foresters soon gave up on preventive work. Preserved
natural outlets of hot water in the marshy lowland. Their
indicators: flow rate - 4 l / s, temperature - 430C, mineralization
- 3 g / l; silicic acid - 0.031 g / l. In addition to the natural
outlet, a well was drilled in 1950 with a flow rate of 2.5 l / s and
with the same chemical indicators. Due to the low total flow rate
and not too high temperature, even in summer, the water in the pool
and baths is cool. The only exception is one bathtub, made in the
form of an ordinary wooden well with a slightly increased
cross-section, at the bottom of which there is a constant natural
exchange of water. It can accommodate three or four people, in a
layer of water of about 30-40 cm, and patients prefer to be treated,
since the relatively high temperature, the presence of silicic acid,
the absolute freshness of the water that has just emerged from the
ground are beneficial.
Dance is the soul of the people
In
the village there are dance groups "Nurgenek" (Dance Festival) and a
children's group "Oryakan" (fawn), which are participants and
prize-winners of many international festivals. Not a single cultural
event in the region and the Kamchatka Territory can do without them.
On the days of the summer solstice,
on the night of June 21-22, a folklore festival "Nurgenek" is
organized, dedicated to the New Year according to the Even calendar.
In early June - the holiday of the first fish. Late February-early
March is the day of the reindeer herder. On this day, deer races
with national costumes, dances, games take place on the Anavgai
field. Guests are offered dishes of national cuisine: reindeer
shurpa and Anavgay herbal tea. In August - the Day of the
Aboriginal, in September - the Day of the Arrival of the Evens to
Bystrinskaya land and the holiday of the Harvest.
Since 1989,
the village has regularly held the folklore festival "Nurgenek",
which attracts both villagers and guests. It includes a number of
events: an exhibition and sale of souvenirs, a dance marathon,
treats, a children's "marathon". Since 1999, Cherkanov Readings have
been held in the village. The years 2001-2005 are characterized by
the appearance of the national holiday "Dyulipki", the restoration
of the New Year's celebrations and weddings.
Beringia
Since 1990, the traditional Beringia dog sled races have been held
in Bystrinsky Park, which were entered in the Guinness Book of
Records in 1991 - the length of the Esso-Markovo (Chukotka) route
was 1980 km. In recent years, the length of the route is 950 km
along the route Esso - Tigil - Palana - Ossora. The day before the
start, the Anavgai - Esso training race takes place, as well as a
children's dog sled race.
The village is a transport hub through which
Koryakia is supplied with food and manufactured goods: all-terrain
vehicles - in summer, heavy vehicles - along the winter road. The
helipad in the village of Anavgai serves reindeer herding units and
is used by ambulance aviation, aviation security, for helicopter
transit of commercial cargo and tourist groups.
A dirt road
passes through the village of Anavgai, connecting the village of
Esso with the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky - Ust-Kamchatsk highway. The
district center of Esso is 25 km away.
In 2014, a 200 km long
winter road Anavgay - Palana was built.