Zelenchukskaya (Abaz. Zelenchukv, Zelenchukskaya, Karach.-Balk. Zelenchuk, Dzhalandzhuk, feet. Zelenchuksky) is a village, the administrative center of the Zelenchuk region of Karachay-Cherkessia (Russia). It is also the center of the Zelenchuksky rural settlement.
Orientation
Founded in 1859 as a military outpost during the
Caucasian campaigns, the stanitsa grew into a district hub of roughly
19,500 people. Time zone is Moscow (UTC+3). Phone code is +7 87878.
Elevation around the village is about 900-1,000 m; the optical
observatory sits near 2,070 m. The Bolshoy Zelenchuk is fast (often
cited around 20 km/h in the upper reaches), cold, and braided with
rapids. South of town the valley narrows toward Nizhny Arkhyz and then
the modern Arkhyz resort.
Treat Zelenchukskaya as a logistics stop,
not a place to linger for nightlife. Markets, simple cafes, an
autostation, and local guesthouses are here. The scenery and history
start immediately south.
How to get there
There is no airport
and no long-distance rail station in the stanitsa.
By air. Fly to
Mineralnye Vody (MRV). From the airport it is roughly 160-180 km and
3-4.5 hours by car, depending on traffic through Cherkessk and the
valley road. Shared taxis and private transfers meet flights; hotel
transfers from Arkhyz resorts are common. A public bus from Mineralnye
Vody toward Zelenchukskaya exists but is infrequent; do not count on a
same-day tight connection without checking the day’s schedule.
By
train. Nearest useful stations are Nevinnomyssk and Mineralnye Vody.
From Nevinnomyssk continue by bus or taxi into Karachay-Cherkessia.
By bus. Long-distance coaches from Moscow run about 21-22 hours and cost
on the order of 7,000-8,000 RUB one way when available. Regional buses
and marshrutkas link Cherkessk, Karachayevsk, and the valley
settlements. The autostation in Zelenchukskaya sits about 2 km from the
eastern approach (Kardonikskaya side). Waiting facilities are basic: few
benches, short dwell times, simple food kiosks.
By car. This is the
most useful option. From Cherkessk follow the valley south. The road to
Nizhny Arkhyz and Arkhyz is paved and used year-round, but expect
mountain weather, slow trucks, and occasional checkpoints. Rent the car
in Stavropol Krai (Mineralnye Vody, Pyatigorsk) if possible; rental
inside the republic is thin.
Carry your passport. Photocopies are not
accepted at border-zone posts.
Best time to visit
Late May to
mid-June and September: best all-around window. Trails below the high
passes are open, rivers are runnable, skies for the observatory are
often clearer than in midsummer haze, and resort crowds are thinner than
July-August.
July-August: warm valley days (highs often 20-24 C in
the stanitsa, hotter in still air), busiest hiking and rafting season,
afternoon thunderstorms common.
December-March: ski season at Arkhyz
(Romantik / Lunar Glade sector). The stanitsa itself is a cold transit
point, not a ski village.
April and late October-November: mixed.
High trails may still hold snow or already ice; low valley sites stay
accessible.
Nights cool quickly even in summer. Pack a windbreaker
and rain layer year-round.
What to see, in visiting order from
the stanitsa
1. RATAN-600 radio telescope (on the southern edge of
Zelenchukskaya)
This is the reason many science-minded travelers stop
in the stanitsa itself. RATAN-600 is a ring of reflecting panels about
576-600 m across, one of the largest radio telescopes on Earth, at
roughly 970 m elevation. From the road it looks like a long metal wall
or stadium bowl laid on the hillside.
Day tours are offered through
the Special Astrophysical Observatory (SAO RAS) network. Recent
published prices for combined SAO day visits run around 850 RUB adult /
550 RUB child, with preschoolers and some benefit categories free. RATAN
visits typically require advance booking; BTA tours run more regularly.
Working window commonly cited is 09:00-15:00. Confirm current slots on
sao.ru or via Arhyz.Space-style tour desks before you drive out. You
will not “see stars” through RATAN. You will see how a working radio
array is built and used.
Photography rules can be strict around the
dish. Follow staff instructions.
2. Nizhny Arkhyz (Lower Arkhyz)
settlement and the three Zelenchuk temples
About 20-28 km south of
the stanitsa, along the Bolshoy Zelenchuk, lie the ruins of a major Alan
Christian center of the 10th-12th centuries, often identified with the
medieval town of Magas or a related episcopal seat. Three stone churches
survive in recognizable form: Northern, Middle, and Southern Zelenchuk
temples. They are among the oldest standing Christian churches on the
territory of the Russian Federation. Interiors are largely bare; some
traces of fresco survive in places. There are also chapel ruins, street
lines, a stone solar calendar, and scattered Alan-period masonry.
A
modest entry fee is charged at the museum-reserve gate (figures around
100 RUB per person have been quoted in recent years; confirm on site).
You can walk the site or, in some seasons, drive the internal track.
Allow 1.5-3 hours. Combine with the Face of Christ on the opposite bank
the same half-day.
Dress modestly. These are both archaeological
monuments and pilgrimage sites.
3. The Face of Christ (Lik
Khrista)
On the left bank of the Bolshoy Zelenchuk, on a cliff of the
Mitseshta / Matseshta ridge, a painted or mineral-pigment image of
Christ (about 140-180 cm high) sits in a shallow grotto roughly 100 m
above the river. It was documented for modern visitors in 1999. Scholars
treat it as a handmade icon, possibly medieval and related to the nearby
Alan churches; local tradition often calls it acheiropoietos (not made
by hands). You view it from a platform behind protective glass, not from
the grotto itself.
Access: park near the modern Church of the Holy
Face at the foot of the slope, then climb a metal stair of 526 steps
(about 260-300 m of developed path, 90+ m of height). Benches sit on
landings. Plan 45-75 minutes up and down depending on fitness. Morning
or late afternoon light shows the face more clearly than harsh midday
sun. The climb is free and open in daylight. Not suitable for anyone
with serious knee or heart issues without pacing and rests.
From the
platform you also look down on the Alan settlement across the river.
That pairing is the classic photograph of the valley.
4. BTA-6
optical telescope (SAO RAS, Mount Pastukhov / Semirodniki)
From
Nizhny Arkhyz a 10 km mountain serpentine climbs to about 2,070 m, where
the 6-meter Bolshoi Telescope Alt-azimuthal stands under a 17-story
dome. From 1975 into the 1990s it was the largest optical telescope in
the world; it remains the largest in Eurasia. Day tours explain the
instrument and the site. Night programs with smaller telescopes are
sometimes offered when the sky is clear. Book ahead. The road is steep;
winter ice and summer cloud can cancel visits.
Nizhny Arkhyz also has
the SAO campus nicknamed Bukovo, with a planetarium that has been listed
around 500/250 RUB in some recent writeups. Hours and cash-only rules
change. Call the observatory number posted locally (+7 878 784-63-36
appears in regional listings) or use the official SAO site.
5.
Arkhyz resort and the upper valley
Another 10-15 km beyond the old
village of Arkhyz is the modern all-season resort (Romantik, Lunar
Glade), open since 2013, with lifts on two ridges, hotels, and marked
summer trails. From here you stage day hikes to Sofia waterfalls and
lakes, Dukka lakes, Cossack (Kazachy) waterfall on the Kizgych, and
other Teberda reserve sectors. These are separate full days, not add-ons
to a RATAN morning.
6. The river itself
Rafting and kayaking
on the Bolshoy Zelenchuk start near Arkhyz. Early rapids (Kosmonavtov,
Vzryvnye, Pushka) are serious. Commercial day trips exist in season; do
not freelance Class III-IV water without a local outfitter. Fishing
(trout and other species) is popular but check current permits and
reserve rules.
Nearby but usually a separate drive: Shoana Temple
above the village named after Kosta Khetagurov, and Senty Church near
Nizhnyaya Teberda. Both are 10th-century Alan churches and pair well if
you are looping via Karachayevsk.
Practical visiting tips
Stay
where it serves your days. Sleep in Zelenchukskaya only if you have an
early RATAN slot or a late arrival. For temples + Face of Christ + BTA,
Nizhny Arkhyz or Arkhyz village cuts driving. For hiking and skiing,
stay in the resort clusters. Guesthouses and small hotels in the valley
are simpler than Arkhyz resort stock; book summer weekends and New Year
well ahead.
Cash. ATMs thin out south of Cherkessk. Observatory
tickets and reserve gates have often been cash-only. Carry small bills.
Food. Expect homestyle Caucasian and Cossack cooking: grilled meat,
khychin, ayran, river fish, mountain honey. Italian-European spots exist
in the resort belt (Tripadvisor lists places such as BONO). In the
stanitsa, eat simply and early.
Clothing and gear. Modest clothing
for churches and village streets. Trail shoes for the 526 steps and
temple paths. Sun hat and SPF in summer; the valley reflects hard light.
Layers for the BTA road. Headlamp if you might finish the Face of Christ
descent near dusk.
Weather and altitude. Valley days can be mild
while Pastukhov is in cloud or wind. Do not assume a booked night-sky
session will run.
Border zone. Zelenchuksky District includes a
frontier belt toward Georgia and Abkhazia. For ordinary visits to the
stanitsa, RATAN, Nizhny Arkhyz temples, Face of Christ, BTA, and the
main Arkhyz resort, a Russian internal passport is normally enough. If
you push onto high trails toward the main ridge and the 5 km strip at
the state border, Russian citizens without local registration need a
border-zone pass from the FSB Border Directorate in Cherkessk (ul.
Dovatora 84b; pu.kcherkes@fsb.ru). Foreign visitors should assume extra
paperwork and apply early through a licensed operator. Enter only at
marked points and in daylight.
Conduct. Karachay-Cherkessia is
multi-ethnic (Karachay, Circassian/Cherkess, Abaza, Nogai, Russian
Cossack). Alcohol is discreet in villages. Ask before photographing
people. Do not fly drones near telescopes or border terrain.
Safety.
The tourist core is calm. Risks are ordinary mountain ones: sudden
weather, river current, unprepared stairs, icy serpentine in winter, and
fatigue on the 526 steps. Use registered taxis or pre-arranged transfers
at night. Mountain insurance that covers hiking is worth having if you
leave the paved valley.
A realistic 2-day plan from Mineralnye
Vody
Day 1. MRV to Zelenchukskaya. Afternoon RATAN tour if booked.
Overnight in the stanitsa or push to Nizhny Arkhyz.
Day 2. Face of
Christ stairs in morning light. Cross to the three temples. Afternoon
serpentine to BTA if the tour slot is open. Continue to Arkhyz for the
night, or return north.
Add a third day only if you want Sofia lakes,
Dukka lakes, or a river trip. Those are not “Zelenchukskaya in an
afternoon.”
The village of Zelenchukskaya is
located at the confluence of the Khusa-Kardonikskaya river into
Bolshoy Zelenchuk, approximately 60 km south-west of Cherkessk. 9 km
to the west is the village of Storozhevaya, 6 km to the east -
Kardonikskaya (road distances). The main part of residential
development is concentrated in the interfluve of Bolshoy Zelenchuk
and Khusa-Kardonikskaya, on the right bank of Bolshoy Zelenchuk, a
smaller part on the left bank of the river. Several streets are
located on the right bank of the Khusa-Kardonikskaya, on the eastern
and northern outskirts of the village of Zelenchukskaya.
The
settlement is located in a low-lying basin, bounded from the north
by the treeless southern slopes of the Rocky Range. Directly to the
north of Zelenchukskaya in the ridge there rises a peak 1609.9 m
high, with a steep western slope called the "Jissa rock" (Shissa).
Closer to the village, between the valleys of Bolshoy Zelenchuk and
Marukha, there are several lower peaks (within 1000-1300 m), which
make up the southern spurs of the ridge. Several streams flow from
the western slope of the mountain along the Borodin gully, which
then flow into Bolshoi Zelenchuk. Downstream of the village, in a
wide river gorge between two sections of the Rocky Range, is the
village of Ilyich.
East of Zelenchukskaya, in the direction
of the village of Kardonikskaya, a slight rise in the relief,
continuing the southern spurs of the Rocky Range, then passes into
moderately wooded, mainly birch-alder foothills (Bashlyk tract,
peaks 1089.5 m and 1100.5 m, further to the south of the height only
grow). To the west of the village, in the direction of Storozheva,
the low-lying plain in the interfluve of Bolshoy Zelenchuk and
Kyafar (the closest to the settlement area of this plain
north-west of Zelenchukskaya is the Mogilka tract) also gradually
passes into the foothills overgrown with rare forest. Two streams
flow from it to Bolshoi Zelenchuk - Maly Karabizhgon (closer to the
village) and Bolshoi Karabizhgon (further to the west). A low ridge
on the right bank of the Small Karabizhgon is called the Smaglin
tract.
To the south, upstream of Bolshoy Zelenchuk, is the
village of Dausuz, upstream of the river Khusa-Kardonikskaya - the
village of Khusa-Kardonik. To the southeast, in the valley of
Marukhi, is the village of the same name. In this area there are
hydraulic structures of the Zelenchukskaya HPP-PSPP, through which
the waters of Bolshoy Zelenchuk and Marukha are transferred to the
Kuban. These are the hydroelectric complex on Bolshoy Zelenchuk in
Dausuz (with a reservoir bounded by a fill dam), a canal to
Khusa-Kardonikskaya, a tunnel to Marukha, a hydrosystem on Marukh
(also with a reservoir and a dam).
On the southern outskirts
of the village of Zelenchukskaya, on the plain between Bolshoy
Zelenchuk and Khusa-Kardonikskaya, the RATAN-600 radio telescope of
the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of
Sciences is located. 4-4.5 km south of it, between Dausuz and the
village of Khusa-Kardonik, already in the foothills, is the
Zelenchukskaya Radio Astronomy Observatory. On the eastern outskirts
of the village, at the entrance to Zelenchukskaya, a geoglyph (more
precisely, an inscription made of trees) "65 YEARS OF VICTORY" was
created in honor of the anniversary of victory in the Great
Patriotic War.
Early history
The area of the modern village of
Zelenchukskaya was inhabited, at least already in the Mousterian era
- a flint flake of the corresponding period was found in the
Kusa-Kardonikskaya valley. Finds that indicate a person's stay in
these places in later eras are represented, in particular, by
artifacts of the 6th-7th centuries. These are things found in a
stone tomb in the area of Bogotobagde in the vicinity of the
village, and clay vessels of the Alan type, discovered during
construction work in Zelenchukskaya itself in the fall of 1974.
Remains of stone fortresses (with stone ramparts) were
discovered in the area of the village. According to some reports,
from the mouth of Bolshoy Zelenchuk to the modern Zelenchuk there
were 6 such fortresses. Found stone slabs, crosses, pillars,
statues, including a male statue without a head, arms and legs, with
a belt and a hatchet on it. On the left bank of Bolshoy Zelenchuk,
on the Batareya hill, opposite the village, there was an early
medieval settlement.
At Zelenchukskaya, small mounds of the
Kabardino-Circassian type were recorded. 3-4 km north of the
village, on the left bank of Zelenchuk, at the mouth of the Bolshoi
Karabizhgon River, there is a burial mound of the Adyghe type of the
XIV-XVI centuries.
Base of the village
The village of
Zelenchukskaya was founded on April 19, 1859, on the same day as the
village of Kardonikskaya, the 2nd battalion of the Lithuanian
infantry regiment, which was part of the Zelenchuksk detachment,
created to build two new and cover the previously built villages
(the cover troops were in the Watchtower). The sites for the
construction of Zelenchukskaya and Kardonikskaya were chosen by the
head of the Urupskaya cordon line, Lieutenant Colonel EF Semyonkin.
The vicinity of the future settlements was a mountainous area
covered with forests. Ramparts were immediately set up around the
stanitsas under construction, and a forest was cut down along the
banks of Bolshoy Zelenchuk.
3 officer families, 61 families
of line Cossacks, 54 - Don, Little Russian families - 78, lower
ranks of the regular army - 108 families were sent to Zelenchukskaya
to settle the village. In addition to the battalion of the
Lithuanian regiment, there were two hundred of the 1st Volga
regiment of the Caucasian linear Cossack army and an artillery
platoon in the village.
Of the two villages founded in 1859,
it was Zelenchukskaya that became the target of attacks by the
mountaineers. Already on May 9, a detachment of 600 mountaineers had
a clash with a hundred Cossacks, who were sent for reconnaissance.
On May 20, an enemy party of up to 1,000 people attacked the camp
where the units that were building the village were stationed. The
garrison of Zelenchukskaya during the battle lost 21 people killed,
drowned (while trying to cross to the left bank of Zelenchuk, to the
rear of a detachment of mountaineers), wounded and captured. The
main target of the attack was the stealing of livestock: a total of
259 horses and heads of cattle were stolen. At the end of May 1859,
a battalion of the Crimean Infantry Regiment arrived in
Zelenchukskaya, replacing in July the Lithuanians who had departed
to a new location in the Melitopol district.
The village in
the XIX - early XX century
In the vicinity of Zelenchukskaya
there were several guard and observation posts: to the south of the
village - the Zelenchuksky post, to the north-west, on the road to
the village Storozhevaya - Karabezhgonsky, to the east, towards the
village of Kardonikskaya, there was a watchtower.
Militarily,
the village was first assigned to the 2nd Urupsky Cossack regiment,
formed in 1858 and part of the 3rd Urupsky brigade, in 1870 it
became part of the Khopersky regimental district, in which the
Khopersky 1st Cossack regiment was based. Since 1869, it was part of
the Batalpashinsky district, since 1888 - the Batalpashinsky
department of the Kuban region.
According to data from
1873-1874, the population of Zelenchukskaya was 2033 people. In
1882, 2,530 people lived (379 households, Orthodox, mainly Little
Russians and Great Russians). In 1915 there were 7695 inhabitants in
1213 households.
The historical center of the village,
according to some sources, was located in the area of the current
secondary school No. 1. In terms of the settlement, it was a
quadrangle, which was typical for Cossack villages at that time. One
corner of the quadrangle, according to unconfirmed reports, is the
intersection of the current Shkolnaya and Sovetskaya streets
(northeastern corner), the other corner is the intersection of
Sovetskaya and Gagarin streets (southeastern corner).
The
villages, as a rule, were surrounded by an earthen rampart and a
deep ditch in front of it. Along the rampart was a fence lined with
thorny bushes. Zelenchukskaya also had a moat 2.5 m deep and 3 m
wide at the top and 1.5 m at the bottom. A thorny shrub to
strengthen the earthen fence was sea buckthorn or tree tree. The
moat started from the river and surrounded the mound on the northern
border of the settlement (now there is a regional hospital on the
mound), then walked along the modern Sovetskaya Street, which had
previously been called "Kanava" in this connection.
The gate with an observation tower (another characteristic
feature of the stanitsa fortifications in the middle of the 19th
century) in the north of the stanitsa was located, according to some
sources, in the alignment of the present Pobeda Street. Some
villages had cannons. The aforementioned mound (in the alignment of
modern Internatsionalnaya Street) had a watchtower with a cannon. In
Zelenchukskaya, according to unconfirmed reports, there were 4 guns
installed at the corners of the settlement, where there were towers
and sheds for guns. On the side of the river there was a gate and a
descent to the water, but there were no fortifications.
The
traditional Cossack dwelling in the village at that time was an
almost square adobe house, covered with thatch or shit. In
Zelenchukskaya and Kardonikskaya houses, as a rule, they whitewashed
with lime. From the side of the entrance - an open veranda, then a
vestibule, from where you can get into the living room - the "hut"
itself, with low ceilings and three protruding beams. A Russian
stove with a stove bench was placed on the side of the entrance in
the corner.
Zelenchukskaya was originally supplied from the
village of Correct. In the first years of the settlement's
existence, the schedule of economic activities of the inhabitants
was determined by the military authorities, taking into account the
military situation. Farms and settlements of the stanitsa, settled
surrounded by non-peaceful mountain tribes, initially did not have.
At night, residents gathered in the village behind closed gates and
with increased security. During the day, in the absence of a threat
from the mountaineers, it was allowed to go to work in the field,
often with military cover. The men worked with weapons. Later, it
became a practice to spend the night in the field, but in
exceptionally large camps, and not alone. The purpose of the attacks
of the highlanders, among other things, was to take prisoners for
the subsequent ransom.
As of 1882, Zelenchukskaya already had
4 farms in its vicinity (the Cossacks Borodin, Zinchenko, Fisun and
Yaroshenko). In total, the Cossack society of the village owned
23,918 acres of land. In the village there was a church, a school
for boys, 2 shops, 3 drinking establishments, 8 water flour mills.
According to information for 1915, Zelenchukskaya had a village
administration, an emergency room for 6 beds with one doctor, a
paramedic and a midwife, an elementary school, a post office, a
church, a forestry, a mill, a cheese factory and a sawmill. There
were fairs in the village: Nikolaevskaya in May and Pokrovskaya in
October.
Village in the XX century
During the Civil War in
1918, rebel detachments of A.G. Shkuro operated in the area of
Zelenchukskaya and the surrounding villages. Having finally
established himself in the Batalpashinsky department, Shkuro,
according to some sources, organized the construction of a sawmill
in Zelenchuk to restore the destroyed villages.
During the
Great Patriotic War in August 1942, Zelenchukskaya was occupied by
German troops, the headquarters of mountain riflemen was located in
the village. Further south, in the upper reaches of Bolshoy
Zelenchuk, a partisan detachment, formed in the city of Cherkessk,
operated.
During the years of Soviet power, active housing
and social construction was carried out in the village. A number of
multi-apartment houses were built, a hospital, a department store, a
post office, buildings for educational institutions (including a
music school appeared in Zelenchukskaya) and the placement of
regional authorities were built, a wide-screen cinema was opened.
During the collapse of the USSR, within the framework of the
so-called parade of sovereignty (within the borders of the RSFSR),
on August 19, 1991, in some territories of the Karachay-Cherkess
Autonomous Region, the Zelenchuksko-Urupskaya Cossack Soviet
Socialist Republic was proclaimed with its capital in the village of
Zelenchukskaya. On November 30, 1991, the Upper Kuban Cossack
Republic was proclaimed, also with the capital in Zelenchukskaya,
resulting from the unification of the Zelenchuksko-Urupskaya Cossack
SSR and the Batalpashinsky Cossack Republic proclaimed on August 10,
with the capital in Cherkessk. The Upper Kuban Republic united the
territories with the Russian Cossack population within the
historical region of the Upper Kuban and was to, through joining the
Union of Cossack Republics of the South of Russia, become part of
the Union of Sovereign States. These statements did not entail any
real political consequences; at the referendum in March 1992,
according to official data, the majority of the population of
Karachay-Cherkessia spoke out against the division into several
national republics.
In 1992-1994, the 56th separate guards
airborne assault brigade was temporarily based in Zelenchukskaya,
redeployed from the city of Iolotan of the Turkmen SSR (later
departed to the city of Volgodonsk, Rostov region).
In 1999,
during the political crisis in the KChR, provoked by the election of
the head of the republic, Zelenchukskaya became one of the venues
for rallies in support of the so-called "Circassian" candidate S. E.
Derev.
In the post-Soviet period, as part of the revival of
the Cossacks, Zelenchukskaya became the location of the headquarters
of the Zelenchuksky regional Cossack society of the Batalpashinsky
department of the Kuban military Cossack society.