The article is devoted to the characteristics of pimocat fishing in Russia as a whole and in the Altai region. It describes the history of the origin and development of pimokat production in the cultural frontier zone of the Volga region, and provides evidence of the formation of pimokat production in the Altai region in the late XIX-early XX centuries in connection with the migration movement. Based on field materials, a description of the home production of felt boots is given. Currently, according to available materials, the Altai pimocat field is declining. The development of the region's craft traditions needs support focused on preserving cultural heritage.

Keywords: peasant crafts, migration movement, pimocat fishing in Altai, local differences.

In the Volga region, they are called wire rods, in the Oryol region-valenukhs, in Siberia-pims. It would seem that there is nothing more native Russian than felt boots. However, felt shoes appeared in Russia only at the end of the XVIII-beginning of the XIX century, although non-woven wool material has been known in Eurasia since ancient times. It was invented by nomadic pastoralists of the mountain belt of the continent. Technologies for making felt products were known from the Scythian era (VI-V centuries BC). Gradually, they entered the cultural fund of the entire world community.

In Russia, felt has long been used for making utensils and clothing. It is believed that soft felt stockings (traditional for pastoral peoples) preceded molded, heat-treated shoes. At first, felt boots were composite: the top was attached to the head. Over time, with the help of a high composite pad, it was possible to create a solid shape.

It is generally accepted that Russian felt boots were invented by masters of the Volga region in the frontier zone of nomadic pastoral and agricultural communities. The homeland of felt boots is most often called Semenovsky uyezd of the Nizhny Novgorod province. Here, in the XIX century, one of the most famous fishing centers of the Volga region was formed. In the course of cultural synthesis, an original form of footwear appeared-light one-piece boots made of pressed wool with a high top, round toe, flat sole, ideally adapted to peasant labor, the harsh climate and long winters of Russia. Felt boots were made from sheep's wool

wool on the basis of processing it in hot water with the addition of alum. They were formed into one block (without distinguishing between the right and left legs), made gray, black or white, with a pile (combed) and smooth. In the north-east of European Russia and Siberia, Kukmor felt boots were famous - white with red garus embroidery, they were made by masters of the village. Kukmor, Kazan Province, where a workshop and later a felting shoe factory of the Komarov brothers operated in the mid-1860s. Since the end of the XIX century, the secrets of Kukmor pimokats (the use of rolled embroidery) were mastered in the Perm and Ufa provinces.

The formation of pimocat production in Russia continued throughout the 19th century. There were regional differences in technologies, tools, styles and terms. Professional jargon was introduced. Kostroma pimokats became the authors of the "gibberish language". They called themselves "zhgons" and corporate slang "zhgonka" (Makaryevsky Vestnik, 2001). At the same time, the Russian language included expressions: "simple as a felt boot", "roll a Roly", "do not wash so roll". At the beginning of the XX century, the Gypsy dance song "Valenki, valenki, oh, yes, not hemmed, old ..." became popular in Russia. 30 years after the first recording, in the war of 1943, it was reproduced on a gramophone record by the great singer Lydia Ruslanova and already in her performance became one of the symbols of Russia, like the valenki themselves.

At first, felt boots were fashionable and quite expensive shoes. In the first decades of the 20th century, the pimocat industry experienced a flourishing period. In the country of rabo-

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There were 41 factories; several tens of millions of pairs of shoes [Levints] were produced here.

In Siberia, the development of the production of felt boots was associated with the growth of the migration movement. According to rough estimates, in 1861-1891, about 450 thousand immigrants settled in the region, of which about 350 thousand went to Western Siberia [Istoriya Sibiri, 1968, p. 24]. In 1861-1897, the population of Altai increased 3 - fold: from 432 to 1,326 thousand people. [History of Altai, 1995, p. 199]. In the XIX century. the region was one of the main agricultural regions of Siberia, focused on grain farming, animal husbandry and crafts.

The raw material base for local crafts was the development of sheep breeding. The total number of sheep in Altai from 1861 to the end of the XIX century increased from 300 thousand to 1 million heads. The development of technologies for processing livestock raw materials in the post-reform period contributed to the formation of the sheepskin, fur, leather and pimokat industries [Kuznetsov]. The production of felt boots has taken a significant place in the structure of non-agricultural crafts of the region's population.

Pimokats worked both in the steppe and foothill taiga zones of the region. Migrant settlements were the centers of production. Often artisans went to work in neighboring old-timers ' villages. There were famous Vyatka, Perm, Kostroma masters. Pimokaty-Mordva settlement was famous. Gilev Log of Nizhne-Kulundinskaya vol. (modern Rodinsky district of the Altai Territory). Pimocat fishing was developed in the villages of Pavlovskoye, Sorokino, Tyumentsevo, etc. Pimokat artels existed everywhere. Handicraftsmen rolled felt boots around the huts for the family and for sale, mainly on raw materials given by hand. Production was purely seasonal in nature: it began after the harvest season was over, continued in autumn and winter until Easter, before the beginning of sowing and pasture.

Pimocat fishing is widespread in many regions of the Altai, but it is most widespread in Barnaul and Biysk counties. According to data for 1887, 1122 peasant families in Barnaul uyezd beat wool and rolled pims, and 701 families in Biysk Uyezd. In 1893 in Legostaevskaya vol. There were 14 handicraftsmen, 24 in Berdskaya and 18 in Kosikhinskaya. By the beginning of the XX century in the Barnaul vol. There were 33 pimokats, 127 in Biysk, 127 in Nizhne - Charyshskaya, etc.

Black sheepskin coats,"Barnaul" fur coats and white pims were popular all over Siberia. By 1900, in Barnaul, fur coats and pims were made in the amount of approx. 300 thousand rubles. "Barnaulki "was painted in a special way in black. The dye from willow bark was invented by SI, a local historian and researcher of Altai. Gulyaev. He introduced his discovery to the immigrant peasant Lapin, who set up the production of fur coats.

The sheepskin-fur and pimokat production of Barnaul belonged to a mixed manufactory: it was organized in workshops with hired workers, orders were also distributed to home-made artisans in the city and surrounding villages. The finished products were sold by the largest establishments of Polyakov, Bukhalov, Smerdin. "Barnaulkas" and pims were traded in many cities of Siberia [The history of Altai...].

In Altai, along with large enterprises, there were handicraft and home-made industries. The use of mechanized labor, carding and rolling machines did not change the nature of fishing. In the manufacture of felt boots, which was modernized throughout the XX century, manual labor was still widely used. The uniqueness of the technology lay in its man-made nature. The entire production cycle could be replicated by a single master. The Pimokats of Altai carefully preserved the secrets and tools inherited from their fathers and grandfathers.

Traditions of pimocat production still live in Altai. Famous masters of Togul, Yeltsovka, Tumanov and other villages. There are still old people who are proficient in old technologies. When you look at their work, the well-known saying "simple as a felt boot" takes on an allegorical meaning.

The production of felt boots begins with the preparation of raw materials. The best felt boots - smooth and durable-are obtained from the wool of sheep of the autumn haircut - short, hard, with high shrinkage. Before starting production, wool is sorted, cleared of litter, washed, dried, scratched, and "beaten". For the preparation of "cotton wool" - plates of loose processed wool - wool-beating machines have long been used (since the 1930s with manual drive, since the 1950s on horse traction, since the 1960s with electric motors). But the old masters still have their old-fashioned tools.

The" string " for whipping wool from Pimokats-natives of Kostroma-had a frame structure and was a pole with crossbars, between which a bowstring was stretched. Among the Vyatskys, the "woolen shield" was made in the form of a massive arc; a string of dratva was attached to its wooden base on "blocks". The bow was hung from the ceiling; the string was set in motion by striking a wooden rubel - "katerina". Under the string, a mat was attached, on which wool was laid out. The string vibrated and "sang" under rapid rhythmic strokes, and piles of loose, whipped wool were collected from under it. This technology is still preserved in the Yeltsovsky district of the Altai Territory.

After this treatment, the required amount of wool was measured. Even today, craftsmen weigh raw materials on ancient scales-rockers, using old-fashioned ones

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weights. For a male pair, 2 kg 500 g is required, for a female pair - 1 kg 800 g of wool. It is divided into two equal parts, laid out on a workbench on a fabric basis and begin, nailing a rod, to form a "shelf" - a panel that represents an expanded projection of a felt boot approx. 1.5 m diagonally. Next comes the "dry roll " - the" shelf "is rolled up and rolled into a plate, and then a blank is formed for the future felt boot: the felt plate is folded in half (placing a fabric pad inside) and begins to "splice", wrapping the edges of the other half; additional strands of felt ("supplies")are used to connect and give the product the shape of a huge stocking.

The size of the future felt boot is set by eye: the master determines the length of the head of the male pair by the length of the arm from the elbow to the tips of the extended fingers, and the female pair - to the bent ones.

Wet rolling - "washing" - lasts more than an hour. With the use of rubels (wooden and wire-wrapped) and a metal tetrahedral bar, future felt boots are crumpled and rolled out; if necessary, for better shrinkage, they are again immersed in boiling water. Rolling is performed along the boot. Then the blanks, which are greatly reduced in size, begin to rule on the blanks, forming the heel, "vyzok" (heel notch), toe and boot. Kostroma pimokats call blanks balyami (from "balyasin"), Vyatka-yurki. To form the toe, short biconic wooden blocks are used; the heel and shaft are modeled with long cylindrical blocks. Each master has several dozen blanks, adapted to different sizes: from 14 rooms (children's) to 42 or more (men's). Inserting a blank into a wet and hot felt boot, they begin to beat it off and "court"it. To do this, first use wooden, then cast-iron rollers. This is followed by many hours of "washing": the felt boots are again immersed in boiling water, the blanks are changed; they continue to knock out, ensuring that it tightly "hugs the ball", finds shape, size and hardness.

The new pima scooters have a well-modeled elongated cone-shaped head, a high slightly expanded shaft and a rounded heel protrusion. When forming a "vyazka" and heels on a blank, the masters use a "filly" - a massive wooden rubel with a semicircular recess. To give the heel a perfect rounded shape, a hemispherical recess is made in the workbench, into which a felt boot is inserted during molding.

The final stage occurs after the "washing" is completed. When the felt boot is rolled up to the size of the blank and becomes firm, it is placed on a composite shoe, which is formed by a chiseled toe and flattened upwardly expanding bars for the boot - "back", "middle", "front" and "head" ("bald"). To make the block stand firmly, a wedge is hammered between the bars. The felt boot gets its finished shape during processing with a wooden mallet. It is beaten, straightened on a "filly", ironed on a ribbed metal chopper, and the edges are cut off. Then remove the remaining wool from the raw surface with pumice stone. When the felt boot becomes smooth and smooth, it is sent to dry.

Hearth stoves in the houses of Altai pimokats are not only a tribute to the Russian tradition of house building, but also a production necessity. A felt boot is considered "born", dried and ready when the shoe is freely removed from the shaft socket. Old masters, before giving a couple to the owner, rub it from the inside with boiled potatoes, from this valenki in the cold "get stronger" and wear longer. Valenki from "good hands" serve up to ten years. The master can make up to 15 pairs in a month, and up to 15 thousand pairs in a lifetime.

Man-made products of pimokats are still in demand in the villages of Altai. However, it is very difficult to establish and maintain the production of felt boots in a modern village. Such production facilities were widespread in the 1930s-1950s. In the 1970s, they were transferred to local consumer service plants, and by the end of the 1970s, pimokatni factories in the region practically ceased to exist. Today, there are only a few such workshops in Altai, they are unprofitable. Folk art is dying out. Old masters are ready to pass on the tools, technologies and passion of creativity, but there are no those who can inherit their strength and talent, the desire to engage in painstaking work. The Altai pimocat fishery needs support.

Valenki-one of the national symbols of Russia-cannot disappear from everyday culture. They have long been the subject of public concern and attention. In 1963, fashion designer Vyacheslav Zaitsev first brought beauties in felt boots to the catwalk. Since then, Russian felt shoes have entered the arsenal of world fashion. In 2000, the "Valenok Museum" was opened in Myshkin, Yaroslavl region.Since 2001, the "Russian Valenki"museum has been operating in Moscow. In 2005, Russian fashion designers and designers organized an exhibition of felt boots at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. In 2007, Gatchina hosted the world's first Russian felt boots fashion week.

Currently, more than 30 Russian companies produce felt boots. They are found in Vyshny Volochyok, Yaroslavl, Kashin, Tyumen, Tatarstan, Leningrad, Kostroma, Sverdlovsk, and Chelyabinsk regions. The largest factories remain the Kukmorskaya (Tatarstan), Yaroslavskaya and Troitskaya (Chelyabinsk region) factories, whose history began at

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the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. Pimocat fishing still exists in Russia today. Its Altai centers have prospects and chances for existence.

Acknowledgements

The Directorate of IAET SB RAS and the participants of the 2009 expedition express their gratitude to the employees of the administrations of the Tyumentsevsky, Yeltsovsky and Soloneshensky districts of the Altai Territory, heads of rural administrations, heads of folklore groups and museums, heads of Orthodox parishes and residents of the villages of Tyumentsevo, Yeltsovka, Verkh-Nenya.

List of literature

The history of Altai. Barnaul: Alt. State University Publ., 1995, Part 1, 478 p. (in Russian)

The history of Altai from ancient times to the present day. -URL: http://www.althisto.ru/promyishlennost-v-xix-veke/

pervyiy-vinokurennyiy-zavod.html (accessed on 27.08.09).

Istoriya Sibiri [History of Siberia], Nauka Publ., 1968, Vol. 3, 530 p.

Kuznetsov V. V. The Rubtsovskaya Land: Events. Evidence. People. -URL: http://www.rubtsovsk.ru/history/ruarea01/index. htm (accessed: 27.08.09).

Levintov A. History and geography of felt boots. - URL: http://www.redshift.com/~alevintov/2006/nov/wal.htm (accessed on 27.08.09).

Makarievsky Vestnik (September 4, 2001). - URL: http://www.oldtowns.ru/mak_nepridum02.shtml (accessed on 27.08.09).

Osadchiy A. N. Distribution of pimocate production in Altai in the second half of the XIX century // The history of Altai. - URL: http://www.ialtai.ru/regionalnoe-kraevedenie/rasprostranenie-pimokatnog o-proizvodstva-na-altae-vo-vtoroj-polovine-xix-veka-anosadchij/ (дата обращения: 27.08.09).

* * *

Photo report prepared by Igor Lagunov.

I. Lagunov was born in 1983 in Kamensk-Uralsky. Since 1990, he has been a member of the Union of Photo Artists of Russia and the Union of Photographers of the Urals "Stone Belt". He takes part in international and Russian exhibition photo projects. International and Russian awards were awarded to the author's series: "Collective farm" Path to Communism "(1996-1998), " From the life of a rural prayer house "(1996-1998), " Another Life "(2000-2002), " Valenok Factory "(2004-2005). Works I. Lagunova has been represented at exhibitions in Russia, Germany, Denmark, Italy, the Czech Republic, the USA, etc.

I. Lagunov constantly collaborates with the following publications: Rodina, Ogonyok, Stolitsa, Russian Reporter. He is the winner of a scholarship for cultural figures from the Union of Photo Artists of Russia for the author's program "Traditions and Rituals of the Russian Hinterland", the first prizes of the Press Photo of Russia contest (2000, 2007, 2008), the Golden Lens international photojournalism contest (2004, 2006), the third international photo show "Siberia-2004". In 2007, he was recognized as the "Photographer of the Year" in Chelyabinsk.

In 2005 - 2009 I. Lagunov took part in the expeditions of the Institute of Electric Power Engineering of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the Altai. Photo materials from 2005 were awarded the Grand Prix of the ITAR-TASS Photojournalism Contest 2006, the 1st Prize of the Press Photo of Russia Contest 2007, and the 1st prize of the Karl Bulla International Competition 2007.

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1. Valenki-an attribute of home life, Cherny Anuy village, Ust-Kansky district of the Altai Republic, on the border with Soloneshensky district of the Altai Territory. Winter 2006

Valenki entered the peasant rural culture by the beginning of the XIX century and became part of everyday life. In the Russian rural hinterland, they remain working and everyday shoes. They keep you warm, treat you for diseases, and keep you cozy.

2. Shop for the production of felt boots in the village of Tumanovo Soloneshensky district of the Altai Territory. Winter 2006

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3. Processing of wool. In the workshop of N. V. Sysolyatin, Verkhnyaya village, Yeltsovsky district, Altai Krai. 2009

Hereditary pimokats N. V. Sysolyatin and A. I. Elesin inherited from their fathers the tools and technologies for the production of felt boots. Old scales and pads are kept in their workshops, reminding them of the traditions and artels of the Altai pimokats of the early XX century.

4. Hanging wool for felt boots. In the workshop of A. I. Elesin, Yeltsovka village, Yeltsovsky district, Altai Krai. 2009

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5. The layout of wool on the billet for felt boots. In the workshop of N. V. Sysolyatin.

The production of felt boots begins with the hanging and laying of wool. By eye, dividing a pile of wool, the master is not mistaken in the volume. Repeated from month to month, from year to year, the same operations become the yardstick of life. The master can make up to 15 pairs in a month, and up to 15 thousand pairs in a lifetime.

6. In the workshop of A. I. Elesin. Prepared for roll-out" shelf " for felt boots.

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7. Rolling out the blank for the felt boot. In the workshop of N. V. Sysolyatin.

"We take it out," the masters say about the production of felt boots , " and roll it out "on dry" for 30 minutes, then put it in alum (a solution of sulfuric acid) for six hours. How everything drains - on a string and in boiling water for about five minutes. We took it out and start crimping it. We stroke, we beat, we court". This is how a felt boot is born from a shapeless mass.

8. "Stocking" - formed blank for felt boots. In the workshop of N. V. Sysolyatin.

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9. A billet for a felt boot that has been "washed". In the workshop of N. V. Sysolyatin.

Felting a felt boot is a long and complex procedure. Technological operations, obeying a rigid rhythm, take place at a very fast pace. In the hands of a good pimokat, a felt boot "dances" on the workbench. It takes 8 hours to make one pair.

10." Chipping " a felt boot on a blank. In the workshop of N. V. Sysolyatin.

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11. "Chipping" of felt boots. Shop for the production of felt boots in the village of Tumanovo Soloneshensky district of the Altai Territory. Winter 2006

Private workshops and production workshops are still the main form of existence of pimocat fishing in rural areas of Altai. But the modern economy, which is subject to the laws of competition, makes the preservation of fisheries problematic.

12. Shoe for making felt boots. In the workshop of N. V. Sysolyatin.

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13. Ready-made felt boots. In the workshop of N. V. Sysolyatin.

Valenki, despite all the changes and technical innovations, remain a part of rural life. But the old masters have no heirs who have a taste for hard, painstaking manual work.

14. Interior of a peasant house in Iskra village, Soloneshensky district, Altai Krai. Winter 2006

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