LEGEND ABOUT THE BIGGER KOROVIN (Sapozhkovsky district, Ryazan region)

THE LEGEND ABOUT THE BIGGER KOROVIN

(Sapozhkovsky district, Ryazan region)

In ancient times, the Ryazan land, in addition to the beauty and richness of nature, sheltered in the depths of its dense forests many dashing people, greedy for other people's goods. Songs and tales about famous robbers were not born out of nowhere; their heroes had real prototypes. Some of them were brought to us by folk memory through the centuries in the form of legends and even left a historical trace in the names of villages. Today’s story will be about one of these places…

“NEST OF OLD BELIEVERS”

There is a quite quiet, calm village called Korovka in the Sapozhkovsky district of the Ryazan region. The village is located near the Korovka River, a right tributary of the Pozhva River. The village is mentioned in the Sapozhkovsky land survey books of 1627-1628. It is considered an ancient settlement, as it was once an integral part of the Sapozhkovsky settlement, which included Sapozhok (fortress) and the villages of Korovka and Maly Sapozhok.

The majority of the population of Korovka belongs to the Old Believer culture; the village was considered a “nest” of schismatics, popularly known as Kulugurs (Old Believers, non-priests). The Old Believers themselves did not call themselves Kulugurs. This name had a disparaging negative meaning in relation to the Old Believers even under the Tsar. In the village they grinned about this, saying that what can be taken from them, after all, they are Kulugurs. Bespopovtsy do not have a church hierarchy; they believe that a person does not need a mediator in a conversation with God. They adhere to the customs of not smoking, not drinking alcohol, not swearing, and strengthening the spirit and body with prayers and labor by the sweat of their brow. Marriages among Old Believers take place according to the canons of Domostroy. Collectivism and mutual assistance are developed.

By the way, during the time I collected bits of information to write this article (from 2014 to 2017), I was able to communicate in detail with the local residents of Korovka only a few times. The old-timers of the village are extremely reluctant to make contact. Apparently people became secretive and uncommunicative with strangers due to constant persecution throughout the long tragic history of the persecution of the Old Believers. That is why, by the way, most adherents of the old rite hid in the forests, where they set up their settlements.

In general, the region is actually quite interesting. They say that somewhere in the forest near the village of Korovka there is even a temple preserved…

And then – more! All the old residents of Korovka are convinced that the name of the village comes from the robber Korovin who once lived in these places. As evidenced by several existing legends and traditions.

THE ELUSIVE ATAMAN

Indeed, in the 16th-18th centuries in Russia there was a golden time for dashing people. Knife and ax workers hid in the forests in huge numbers. The territory of the Ryazan region was also divided into zones of influence of certain groups of robbers, who accordingly had their own leaders. Just like in the 90s of the 20th century!))) Some were more famous, some less. The most famous leader of the villains in the Sapozhkovsky region was Ataman Korovin (in different interpretations of legends he is also referred to as Korovkin or Korovka).

It is unknown what Korovin looked like and what his disposition was. This information was not preserved in the memory of folk tales. Moreover, unfortunately, even the name of the ataman has already been lost in history.

We can only say with confidence that he was a successful and savvy robber. He went out with his gang to rob the highway, and also attacked boats sailing along the river. For a long time, Ataman Korovin managed to terrify merchant convoys and successfully hide from justice in the Sapozhkovsky forests.

Several times Korovin and his gang made daring raids on landowners, taking away their unjustly acquired property, for which he gained the love and respect of the peasants.

There was also a robber town somewhere, perhaps on the site of the current village…

Rumor has it that Korovin had four wives, from whom several children were born, and that supposedly the descendants of the ataman still live in the village, knowing about their famous ancestor, but they do not want to talk about it.

It should be noted that Korovin’s robbers had many hiding places. They say that in the local forests there were equipped spacious dugouts where elusive bandits hid, feasted and shared the loot. And according to local legends, one of these dugouts was even found!

One day, peasants were cutting down a forest to clear an area for future crops. Tired, we decided to rest and lie down under a bush with berries, where we discovered a strange depression in the ground. Having dug out the hole with axes, they realized that this was the entrance to some kind of dungeon. Curiosity overcame the fear of the peasants and they climbed inside. It turned out that this was a dugout, which was a large, decorated room, where various weapons were hung on the walls, and skeletons of the dead in half-decayed clothes sat on chairs at the table. Very frightened, the peasants rushed to run away from there. Their fear was so great that later they were never able to find this place again.

WHOSE MONEY WAS THE CHURCH BUILT WITH?

According to official sources, the Trinity Church in the village of Korovka, Sapozhkovsky district, was built in 1771 through the efforts and funds of parishioners – state peasants.

The church building and the separate bell tower were wooden, covered with iron and painted with copper. Due to the dilapidation of the wooden church, a new stone church was laid in 1907; by 1914, it was finished on the outside and covered with an iron roof.

A wooden chapel was assigned to the Trinity Church and belonged to it. This chapel was located “to the west of the church.” Inside the chapel there was a well lined with oak wood.

From the moment of its creation, the temple functioned until 1939. In July 1939, the Trinity Church was closed, and the existing shrines and church utensils were looted. Until 1993, the church building was used as a granary. The temple is currently being restored.

But there is an alternative version, with whose money the Trinity Church was built, according to which Ataman Korovin, repenting before his death, donated part of the looted wealth and ordered a church to be built on his grave so that people would atone for his sins and thereby help save the soul of the famous robber.

TREASURES AND UNFOUND TREASURES

According to folk legends, the surroundings of the village of Korovka are, one might say, simply dotted with treasures. In these lands, the countless treasures of the robber chieftain must be hidden somewhere.

According to legends, Korovin, for example, ordered a chest with gold and silver coins to be lowered into a well, over which people subsequently erected the wooden chapel mentioned earlier in the text. By the way, maybe because of the silver ions, the water in this well had healing properties, and the well itself was considered a holy spring.

At the behest of the ataman, a whole boat with gold was allegedly sunk in the Korovka River near the bandit town. Korovin also buried several barrels of wealth somewhere in one of his secret dugouts.

In addition to the ataman’s hidden treasures, many merchants and landowners also buried their savings in these places so that their property would not fall into the hands of robbers.

From time to time, information appears in treasure hunting circles about interesting finds near the village of Korovka. For example, in 2003, a treasure with 140 Tatar dirhams of the Golden Horde was found in a nearby forest. And relatively recently, in 2014, instrumental search enthusiasts discovered somewhere in these places a clay pot with silver coins of various denominations from the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna and Catherine II in the amount of 458 pieces. And this is only a small part of what we managed to find out. And only God knows how many such pleasant finds have been found!

Author of the article: Denis Shibaev (StareC)

October 30, 2017