Belaya (White) is a village in the Veliky Ustyug district of the Vologda region. It is located on the opposite bank of the Sukhona River opposite the village of Poldarsa.
Currently ten people live in the village. It is understandable - in the winter you can get to the village by car on the ice crossing, and in the summer only by boat. At the time of logging development, a ferry went from shore to shore, and now there is almost no one to carry a boat.
Snow-covered roofs of houses are visible from the high bank of the Sukhona in the village of Poldarsa. The name of the village comes from the white coast. In this place, overlying limestone rocks are emerging.
The ice crossing is equipped according to all laws and regulations, but we got after a heavy snowfall, so we had to walk. There was an attempt to drive a passenger car, but it did not succeed.
The shores of Sukhona are high and even climbing on foot, one has to stop to take a breath.
The inhabitants of the village of Belaya say that more people gather at Shrovetide and other holidays than in the village itself! And in the summer, many relatives and former residents come, who organize a big holiday here for the village.
In winter, there is a feeling that the village is completely uninhabitable.
In winter, people live here in snow captivity. Clearing the streets and adjacent areas of snow, according to local residents - this is almost their main occupation.
Well, the technique, of course, corresponds to the surrounding landscape.
On the streets there are echoes of the once logging life.
In Belaya there are a lot of canned houses.
A local resident tells us how to find the village headwoman.
In the distance, the village of Poldarsa is visible, to which it seems like a stone’s throw away.
The houses here are the most common, there are no huge old five-wall houses.
Dogs always accompany in any settlement.
It's like the guardians of the terrain and a kind of guides.
At first they can meet you aggressively, but then they gladly accompany you to the very end of their stay in the village. So it was with me in all cases, without exception.
Another type of transport is a motorcycle. It is convenient for trips to neighboring villages for short distances and does not depend on weather conditions.
If it were not for the dogs, the village would have seemed extinct. And only our presence somehow enlivened this place.
There are completely abandoned houses in which even in summer no one will live.
In fact, this is not how it seems! Everything is a little better! It's just my eyes trained on the abandonment of my eyes looking for the worst.
Sketch in yellow tones. In this house lives the village headwoman. A woman has received such status quite recently, but deservedly so.
For many years she works as a postman, carries letters and receipts in the village on her site, and also serves her and the neighboring villages. Enjoys prestige, helps people, conducts housekeeping.
Yellow color again.
The husband of the village headwomen agreed to give us a lift to the village of Sukhonsky, which is located a couple of kilometers from the village of Belaya.
And the dog with joy once again showed us the way.
To be continued...