ZHUMUI LIGHTHOUSE

(autotranslated, could have mistakes)

In the middle part of the Onega Bay of the White Sea, two islands lie in one common shallow water - Bolshoy Zhuzhmuy and Maly Zhuzhmuy.

The shores of Bolshoy Zhuzmuy are more elevated and steep to the north-west. Its surface is relatively flat, covered with tundra vegetation on top. The island has a length of 2.5 km in the southeast direction and a width of about 2 km from northeast to southeast. In the middle of the island there is a lake with fresh water.

Small Zhuzhmuy is less high, its surface is covered with forest.

At the dawn of the development of navigation on the White Sea, there was always a busy movement of ships in the area of ​​the islands. Here sea roads ran to the Solovetsky Islands, to the ports of Kem, Onega, Soroka (now Belomorsk), to camps and places of animal hunting.

Explorer of the Russian North S. Morozov, who visited the islands in the middle of the last century, reports: “Long (Bolshoy - Author)

Zhuzhuy on the left is wooded and green, on the right it is rocky and black... Here and there wooden crosses cut through the night twilight, with which almost all the shores and islands of the White Sea are lined.”

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If a stormy wind caught ships at the entrance to Onega Bay, they rushed to the Zhuzmuy Islands, where they could hide from the fierce northern winds and wait out the bad weather. Sailors and pilgrims from Solovki were stuck here for more than one day. When food ran out and hope for salvation faded, they took up axes and built crosses. They were made large and placed in prominent places so that they were visible from afar. It was believed that the larger the cross and the higher it is placed, the sooner the sea will calm down. After the erection of the cross, the old-timers assured, the wind always died down and changed to tailwind. They put crosses on graves, and simply as a sign of thanksgiving to God for deliverance from trouble and for successful fishing.

Among the many of these structures, “navigation crosses” stood out. They were taller than others and their crossbar was always and everywhere installed in the direction of the meridian (see also the essay “Abramovsky”). One of these crosses was built by Peter the Great in 1684 on the shore of the U Neka Bay.

In 1837, the chief commander of the Arkhangelsk port, Vice Admiral A.I. Traverse (son of the Marquis I.I. Traverse, Minister of the Navy in 1811-1827) wrote to the Hydrographic Department: “Nowadays the Pomor residents, according to their frequent

navigation, and in order to protect other sailors from the frequent deaths they recognize as extremely necessary to build a lighthouse in the Onega Bay on the island of Bolshoy Zhuzhmuy... located 270 miles from Arkhangelsk... This lighthouse is very important - up to 50 commercial ships now come to Onega, and navigation in the Onega Bay is fraught with great difficulties. Many islands, reefs and shoals are not marked by anything, the variable currents from the tides change every hour and require great vigilance and caution from sailors even in summer. Ships are exposed to great danger and often perish while rushing home. Bolshoi Zhuzmuy Island is like a wall behind which they hide from winds, fogs and bad weather. Vessels going to Onega currently do not have any identification point necessary at night” [13].

By a special decision of the Admiralty Council (see the essay “Zhizhginsky”), the construction of the lighthouse was planned for 1850. The place for it was chosen by the manager of the White Sea lighthouses, Colonel of the Corps of Navigators G. Nikiforov. In 1846, he explored the island and recommended erecting a tower on a high hill not far from the western tip of Bolshoy Zhuzhmu Island

y.

Despite a special decision of the Admiralty Council, money for construction was not allocated for a long time. In April 1865, the commander of the Arkhangelsk port ordered construction to begin using port facilities. In Arkhangelsk, houses were cut down and disassembled and delivered to the island. In the spring of 1866, assembly began. However, in April, an unexpected order was received from the Ministry of the Sea: “In pursuance of the highest will... it was decided, due to the limited cost rate... no work on the construction of the White Sea lighthouses will be undertaken again and the work that has begun on the construction of services for the proposed Zhuzmuysky lighthouse on this island will not be carried out. The concluded contract with the contractor will be terminated" [14].

For two years, the unfinished lighthouse, guarded by two hired guards, waited for its fate to be decided. When the money to maintain the guards ran out, there was a threat of losing the already built structures. Fearing this, the shipowners of the Kem district sent the following petition to the head of the Maritime Ministry: “Every night, passing by the island of Bolshoy Zhuzhmuy on the way to our villages, due to darkness, we expose our lives and ships to great danger, from which many have already died. The government noted

Oh, that in order to avoid misfortunes, it is necessary to build a lighthouse on this island and its construction has already begun, but, as we hear, it has been suspended due to the lack of money. Having almost no agriculture, we get our means for food and paying taxes from the sea industry, and for us every improvement that the government makes to facilitate navigation is very important, and therefore we earnestly ask Your Highness, order the authorities to complete the construction of the lighthouse on Bolshoi Zhuzhmuy next summer of 1869, so that we can get rid of the accidents that happen almost every autumn” [ibid.].

The Admiral General ordered the Construction Department to find the necessary funds to complete the work. An accommodating contractor was also found - the Arkhangelsk merchant V. Ya. Serebryakov. He agreed to carry out the work on the condition that he would be paid within three years.

On January 21, 1871, the Hydrographic Department published a notice in the Pilot's Notes that “... In the White Sea in August, it is planned to complete the construction of a lighthouse on the island of Bolshoi Zhuzmuy. The lighthouse building is octagonal, made of logs, yellow with a metal lantern, catoptric lighting apparatus, consisting of 20 lamps. The lighthouse light is constant white and

illuminates the entire horizon. Rising 76 feet from the base and 146 feet from the horizon, the light of the lighthouse is visible 12 miles away. miles. There are no inhabitants on the island, except for lighthouse attendants, but it is planned to have pilots on the island during navigation to guide ships to the sea skerries...” [ibid.].

On August 1, 1871, the lighthouse began operating. It was served by a team: a caretaker - a lieutenant colonel of the Corps of Naval Navigators

Mekhrengin and with him three civilian employees (two retired sailors and an Arkhangelsk tradesman).

Two years later, disaster struck at the lighthouse. In June 1873, the schooner Polar Star, which served lighthouses, went to the Solovetsky Islands, where its crew heard the news of a disaster on Bolshoy Zhuzhmuy - all the people died: they either got into a fight, or died from illness. The commander of the schooner immediately reported what had happened to Arkhangelsk, and he himself headed to the island. It turned out that the caretaker and the entire crew died one after another from scurvy. In the report of the investigation of this accident, it was noted: "The order of death is too clear. The lighthouse journal states that the first to die was the servant Sotnikov on January 18; the journal ended on March 8; therefore, the caretaker died second after March 8. This is also clear from the fact that there were caregivers for him, since he was decently dressed and laid out. The third to die was the one who was lying on the locker, and the last to die was the one who was lying in a prostration position. Cause of death - scurvy... Our stay ended with the burial of the bodies with due honor - three cannon shots were fired from the schooner...” [4].

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Zhuzmuysky Lighthouse

After this incident, a number of measures were taken to improve the lives of service personnel at the lighthouses: the supply standards for food and clothing changed for the better; lighthousemen were allowed

have a weapon for hunting; an annual inspection was established to identify the needs of employees. On Zhuzhmuy itself, where the team stayed all year round, the lighthouse workers were allowed to live as families.

In 1898, a chapel was built on the island and a library was organized. The famous hydrographer of the early 20th century, P.I. Bashmakov, who was the son of a servant of the Zhuzmuy lighthouse, wrote that the library had a rich collection of books, among which was even “History of the Russian State” by N.M. Karamzin.

By the beginning of the 20th century, the wooden tower, which had stood for more than 30 years, fell into disrepair, and it was decided to rebuild it. The White Sea Lighthouse Directorate announced a competition for the best project of a new

Zhuzmuysky lighthouse. It was won by the Putilov plant in St. Petersburg, which developed a version of an inexpensive openwork iron tower in the form of a pyramid with a cylindrical inner pipe in which a spiral staircase and a lifting device were located.

The catodioptric lighting apparatus was ordered from the Parisian company Barbier, Benard and Turenne. Head with

Engineer-Lieutenant Colonel Zatursky was appointed for construction.

In 1909, a new lighthouse, installed at an altitude of about 50 m from sea level, began to operate. It shone a constant white light, providing a visibility range of up to 16 miles. The lighthouse tower with a lantern structure has retained its appearance to this day.

In 1919, new houses for the caretaker and employees began to be built on the island, but the Civil War and military intervention slowed down construction for a long time - there were not enough workers and building materials. As the Office for Ensuring the Safety of Shipping on the White and Barents Seas (Ubekosever) reported in 1920, “only girls and boys can be hired to complete the construction, since peasants from the surrounding villages do not come, and it is prohibited to hire people employed at factory enterprises and in fish and animal cooperatives and in the Soviet service.” Construction was completed only in 1923. Two new residential buildings, a bathhouse and a cattle shed were built.

In subsequent years, the lighthouse's navigation equipment was continuously improved, and the living conditions of the lighthouse workers improved. In 1982, another major overhaul was carried out and put into operation.

installation of a lighthouse and technical building and two new residential buildings.

Of the lighthouse families, the most famous are the Bashmakovs, who served at the lighthouse in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The son of the lighthouse keeper in 1890-1902, Ivan Pavlovich Bashmakov, Pavel Ivanovich, whom we have already mentioned, became a famous hydrographer, professor, and author of a number of scientific works, including on the design and operation of lighthouses. A strait in the Franz Josef Land archipelago bears his name. Two other sons of Ivan Pavlovich became officers.

On the territory of the lighthouse there is the only completely preserved lighthouse cemetery in the North of Russia. In particular, the oldest servant V.A. Ageeva, who lived at the lighthouse for 71 years, is buried there!

Currently, one of the most beautiful lighthouses of the North continues to reliably serve sailors. It shines with a long-flashing white light for a distance of up to 20 miles, ensuring safe navigation in the southern part of the White Sea.