Numbered LS Bibliography 20260329 Snapshot

 

A numbered bibliography of the works of Leonid V. Solovyov (1906-1962)

About this bibliography and Leonid Solovyov:

The intent here is to document the entire works of LS from the date of the source, thus headings are numeric, indicating the first publication of each work. LS wrote in Russian, but his works have been translated in several languages, even by Moscow based publishers.

The header of each story also includes the name in Russian and in English. The primary author of this bibliography only understands English, and the document is intended for English audiences.

In many instances LV stories were collected to make a larger work following a theme. This is especially true of the war stories.

Sevastopol Stone: Collection contains some stories not available elsewhere.

One outstanding ‘Collected Works’ was published in 2010. It is listed, and in many cases it is the only source of LS works. Thus 2010.1 is important.

Definitions; these follow the standards of FictionMags:

vi (vignette): in the context of FictionMags, "vignette" is always used to mean "short short story", which is typically 1–3 pages (or under 1,000 words)

ss (short story): typically 4–20 pages (or 1,000 to 7,999 words)

nv (novelette): typically 21–50 pages (or 8,000 to 19,999 words)

na (novella/short novel): typically 51–100 pages (or 20,000 to 39,999 words)

n. (novel): typically over 100 pages (or 40,000 words or longer)

additionally we have:

pm poem

pl play

ch chapter: in many cases, stories have become chapters in books, and are listed in databases like LitLife. Where information exists these are expanded upon.

Note that if a title is underlined, eg. 1949.2, it means we have a copy in some digital form.

Леони́д Васи́льевич Соловьёв in English becomes Leonid Vasilyevich Solovyov. Other variations are Leonide, and for the family name ‘viev, vi’ev, etc. There are a number of biographies of the author; several appear in the Stillwoods translations of his works. There are a few errors that appear in those translations.

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1926.01 Месть - Revenge

tentatively publishing in One Love – Revenge 2400 words’ Great adventure story along Syr-Darya.

This is a short story that was published in “World of Adventures” magazine. It won first prize in 1927 results. Illustrated ss

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1927.01 На Сыр-Дарьинском берегу - On the Shore of the Syr Darya

tentatively publishing in One Love – Revenge 8900 words’ Great adventure story along Syr-Darya.

Three hunters—two Russians and a Tatar—live in a hut on the banks of the Syr Darya. A gang led by Rakhmankul, a kurbashi, roams the area, plundering villages and slaughtering and murdering civilians. The hunters and a wounded Red Army soldier engage in an unequal battle with the Basmachi. Illustrated ss

Included in: — magazine "World of Adventures 1927' 8" , 1927.

журнал Мир приключений № 8, 1927 г.

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1928.01 Тёмное дело – Dark Business

tentatively publishing in One Love – Revenge 3000 words’ Great adventure story, Central Asia.

Dark Matter (Dark Business/Affair) illustrated ss

Synopsis -Amidzhan has been working for old Mamed for four years for free, in exchange for the promise of marrying his daughter, Nazakat. The village's richest bey, the fat Boymat, who already has two wives, promises Mamed a whopping 600 rubles in dowry for Nazakat.

from World of Adventures 1928 '3 infosource https://fantlab.ru/work729317

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1929.1 Месть Шашибушана - Revenge of Shashibushan

- Publication: Всемирный следопыт (World Pathfinder) Illustrated ss

- Issue: №9, 1929 - Pages: 671–679

- Publisher: Государственное акционерное издательское общество «ЗиФ», Москва–Ленинград

- Notes: Early satirical short story with Eastern motifs; predates Solovyov’s Nasreddin cycle. Published in a high-circulation Soviet magazine aimed at youth and international readers.

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1930.1 Ленин в творчестве народов Востока - Lenin in the works of the peoples of the East: (Songs and tales)

https://fantlab.ru/search-works?q=леонид+соловьев&page=all#:~:text=Lenin and Kuchuk-Adam from 1926

Details

Shelf Number 30-1/82

Library card

Soloviev L. V. (writer) Lenin in the works of the peoples of the East: (Songs and tales) / L. V. Soloviev; With an introduction by A. M. Arsharuni. - Moscow: State Publishing House of the RSFSR Moskovsky Rabochy, 1930 (printing house of Mospoligraf Iskra Revolyutsii). - 125 p., [2] p. advertisment; 17x12 cm.

Author Solovyov, Leonid Vasilievich (writer, 1906-1962)

Editor, compiler etc. Arsharuni, A.M. -- Author of the preface, etc.

Language Russian

Subjects Lenin Vladimir Ilyich -- (1870 - 1924)

Siglas of other libraries RNB

System number NLR01 007209613

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1932.1 Кочевники - Nomads

(Nomadland, Nomadism: A Tale)

first appeared the The World Pathfinder

Shelf Number Mf K1/1707

32-3/749

Library card

Soloviev L. V. (writer) Nomadland: A Story / L. Soloviev; Binding: D. Shmarin. - Moscow; Leningrad: State Publishing House of Artistic Literature, 1932 (Moscow: Krasny Proletary Printing House). - Binding, 166 p., incl. title page, 2 p. advertisements; 20×14 cm. - (New Releases of Proletarian-Collective Farm Literature / Russian Organization of Proletarian-Collective Farm Writers (ROPKP))

Author Solovyov, Leonid Vasilievich (writer, 1906-1962)

Editor, compiler etc. Shmarin, D. -- Others

Series Title

New Proletarian-Collective Farm Literature / Russian Organization of Proletarian-Collective Farm Writers (ROPKP)

Language Russian

Siglas of other libraries RNB

System number NLR01 006973305

1934.1 Поход „Победителя“ - The Victor’s Campaign

(The Campaign of the Winner)

Might be something here, no access https://opac.flib.sci.am/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=410718&shelfbrowse_itemnumber=721104 ...see Copilot report

[Moscow]: GIHL, 1934. - 176 p.; 20 cm. a collection of novellas and short stories including:

The Victor’s campaign (1934)

The One Hundred and Twelfth Experiment (1934)

1934.03 Герой Труда - Hero of Labour

Done thanks to Ludmila 20260224.

1934.04 Отец - Father

The Wheel (1934)

New House (1934) https://litvek.com/books/243890-kniga-leonid-vasilevich-solovyov-novyiy-dom

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1936.01 Блудные сыновья - Prodigal Sons

Leonid Solovyov in The Bolshevtsi Collection – 1936

(I have this story and it is published in one of my books. Source file was in LitLife and is saved in folder..)

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0000.01 Одна любовь - One Love

I have this story, but I have no idea of source! I have a picture of the rerelease cover.

• One Love “Reproduced in the original author's orthography of the 1921 edition (Petrograd Publishing House

Подробнее на livelib.ru:

https://www.livelib.ru/author/27187/top-leonid-solovev/~2” dubious?

One Love is listed as a title (ss) within the Sevastopol Stone: Collection 1959 https://fantlab.ru/edition248537

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1938.1 Высокое давление: Роман - High Pressure

Details

Shelf Number 38-2/402

Library card

Soloviev L. V. (writer) High pressure: [Novel]. - Moscow: Goslitizdat, 1938 (1 type. Transzheldorizdat). - 216 p., 1 incl. f. ill.: ill.; 17 cm.

Author

Solovyov, Leonid Vasilievich (writer, 1906-1962)

Language Russian

Siglas of other libraries NLR

System number NLR01 007073806

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1939.1 Stories

Details

Shelf Number 39-2/1

Library card

Solovyov L. V. (writer) Stories. - [Moscow]: Sovetsky pisatel, 1939. - 264 p.; 17 cm.

Author Solovyov, Leonid Vasilievich (writer, 1906-1962)

Language Russian

Siglas of other libraries RNB

System number NLR01 006871134

also...Note that these are different contents

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1939.2 Stories

Shelf Number

39-8/3227

Library card

Soloviev L. V. (writer) Solar Master; [The Ninety-sixth Woman]: Stories / L. Soloviev. - Moscow: Pravda, 1939. - 48 p.; 14 cm. - (Ogonyok Library; No. 55)

Author

Solovyov, Leonid Vasilievich (writer, 1906-1962)

Series Title

Ogonyok Library, No. 55

Language

Russian

Siglas of other libraries

NLR

System number

NLR01 007073807

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1940.1 Возмутитель спокойствия - The Troublemaker

(Disturber of the Peace)

Source is the Afterword from Mid-life Stories, D. Moldavsky. ( now adjusted with fantlab links to cover.)

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1940 (cover photo available in dropbox)

Повесть о Ходже Насреддине (The Tale of Hodja Nasreddin).

Moscow publication

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1944.1 The Merry Sinner

(play) Details

Shelf Number

L30 G-8/89

Library card

Solovyov L. V. (writer), Vitkovich V. S. The Merry Sinner: Comedy in 4 acts, 9 scenes / Leonid Solovyov, Viktor Vitkovich. - Moscow: All-Russian Directorate for the Protection of Copyright, Distribution Department, [1944]. - 52 p. ; 28 cm.

Author

Solovyov, Leonid Vasilievich (writer, 1906-1962)

Vitkovich, Viktor Stanislavovich (1908-1983)

Language Russian

Notes

Glass-glass ed.

Siglas of other libraries RNB

System number NLR01 006938185

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1944.2 Long Voyage

Details

Shelf Number L30 G-2/1115

Library card

Solovyov L. V. (writer) Long Voyage: A Short Story / Leonid Solovyov. - Magadan: Publ. and printing house "Sov. Kolyma", 1944. - 16 p.; 14 cm.

Author Solovyov, Leonid Vasilievich (writer, 1906-1962)

Language Russian

Siglas of other libraries RNB

System number NLR01 006938188

This may be a chapter from Sevastopol Stone

• Tales of Boatswain Vasyukov Book Stories of Boatswain Vasyukov — Leonid Solovyov is Sevastopol Stone novel

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1944.3 Черноморец - Chernomorets

You can purchase a full copy of this through NLR:

Details

Shelf Number

ONL Komi-z./2-112

Library card

Solovyov L. V. (writer) Chernomorets : novel / Leonid Solovyov ; [transl. with rus. D. V. Konyukhov] - Syktyvkar : Komigiz, 1944. - 114 s. ; 20 cm.

Author

Solovyov, Leonid Vasilievich (writer, 1906-1962)

Language Come

BBK

Sh6(2=Ko)-91R7-4

Siglas of other libraries

RNB

System number NLR01 01020615

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1944.4 Black Sea Sailor

Published only in English, it could be an adaptation of Tales of Boatswain Vasyukov

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1945.1 Пропавший пост - The Missing Post

Рассказ, 1945 год

(short story, illustrations by G. Balashov), pp. 10-12 magazine Shift No. 6, 1945

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1946.0 Imprisoned in Gulag, Dubravlag labor camp (Mordovia), to 1954

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1946.1 Рассказы боцмана Васюкова - Tales of Boatswain Vasyukov

ch The Legend of the Black Sea [= Sevastopol Stone] (1944)

ch Long Voyage (1944)

ch Soul of the Ship (1944)

ch Tomb of the Unknown Pilot (1944)

ch The Order (1944)

ch Alyonushka (1944)

ch The Return (1944)

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1956.1 Очарованный принц - The Enchanted Prince

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1956.2 Повесть о Ходже Насреддине - The Tales of Hoddja Nasreddin

(both books as one volume)

Возмутитель спокойствия (The Disturber of the Peace, sometimes translated as Adventures in Bukhara or The Beggar in the Harem).

I believe this is in error. It should be ‘The Enchanted Prince’ and the above refers to the collection.

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1958.1 Funny Scandal

Details from nlr.ru

Shelf Number 59-2/65

Library card

Vitkovich V.S., Soloviev L.V. (writer) Funny scandal: A play in 3 acts. - Moscow: Iskusstvo, 1958. - 64 p.; 17 cm.

Author

Vitkovich, Viktor Stanislavovich (1908-1983)

Solovyov, Leonid Vasilievich (writer, 1906-1962)

Language: Russian

Siglas of other libraries RNB

System number NLR01 008259903

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1959.1 Sevastopol Stone: Collection

(collection – this may be mixed up with SS original. See 1959 important collection, file, in Biblio folder.

· The Legend of the Black Sea [= Sevastopol Stone] (1944)

· Long Voyage (1944)

· Soul of the Ship (1944)

· Tomb of the Unknown Pilot (1944)

· Alyonushka (1944)

· The Return (1944)

· Briefly about myself (1959)

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1963.1 From the Book of Youth

Shelf Number 63-3/2655

Library card

Soloviev L. V. (writer) From the "Book of Youth" / [Afterword by E. Kalmanovsky; Ill.: V. Alekseev. - Moscow]: Mol. Gvardia, 1963. - 224 p., 1 p. portr.: ill.; 21 cm.

Author Solovyov, Leonid Vasilievich (writer, 1906-1962)

Editor, compiler etc.

Kalmanovsky, E. -- Author of the preface, etc.

Alekseev, V. -- Illustrator

Language Russian

Subjects Uzbek SSR (h. l.)

Siglas of other libraries RNB

System number NLR01 008690739

rc\4649773

63-3/2655

Soloviev. L. V., Leonid Vasilievich (writer) (1906-1962).

From the "Book of Youth" / [Afterword by E. Kalmanovsky; Ill.: V. Alekseev. - Moscow]: Mol. Gvardiya, 1963. - 224 p., 1 p. portr. : ill. ; 21 .

Kalmanovsky. E., author. preface

Alekseev. V., ill.

Uzbek SSR (canvas).

RU [63-33541]

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1964.1 Selected Works of Solovyov L.V.

Solovyov L.V. (writer) [Selected: Vol. 1-3]. - Leningrad: Lenizdat, 1964. - 3 volumes; 17 cm.
Author: Soloviev, Leonid Vasilievich (writer, 1906-1962)

rc\4726473

64-2/2373

Soloviev. L. V., Leonid Vasilievich (writer) (1906-1962).

[Selected: Vol. 1-3]. - Leningrad: Lenizdat, 1964. - 3 v. ; 17 .

[Vol. 1]: From the "Book of Youth"; Stories. - Leningrad: Lenizdat, 1964. - 332 p., 1 p. portr.

[Vol. 2]: The Tale of Hodja Nasreddin: In 2 books, [Book 1. Troublemaker]. - Leningrad: Lenizdat, 1964. - 283 p.

[T. 3]: The Tale of Khoja Nasreddin: In 2 books, [Book. 2. The Enchanted Prince]. - Leningrad: Lenizdat, 1964. - 475 p.

Data from https://webservices.nlr.ru/util/?method=recordFormat&vid=07NLR_VU1&sysid=008444942&format=037&base=NLR01

RU [64-62377]

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1966.1 Сахбо Sakhbo: Notes of my friend

Details

Shelf Number 67-6/1376

Library card

Soloviev L. V. (writer) Sakhbo: Notes of my friend: [For middle age] / Illustration by A. Skalozubov. - Leningrad: Children's Literature [Leningrad Department], 1966. - 48 p.: ill.; 21 cm.

Author Solovyov, Leonid Vasilievich (writer, 1906-1962)

Editor, compiler etc.

Skalozubov, A. -- Illustrator

Language Russian

Subjects

Foreign military intervention and civil war in the USSR 1918-1920 -- Central Asia (d.l.)

Siglas of other libraries RNB

System number NLR01 0086907411966.1 САXБО - Sakhbo (Saxbo) Notes from my Friend

Illustrations by A. Skalozubov

1st Children's Literature Publishing House

Leningrad 1966

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1971.1 Леонид Соловьёв Повесть О...Leonid Solovyov Story

about Middle Life Fiction

Self owned book

Contents:

Book One. The Disturber of the Peace

Part One 9

Part Two 78

Part Three 128

Book Two. The Enchanted Prince

Part One 210

Part Two 357

Part Three 449

IVAN NIKULIN — RUSSIAN SAILOR (A True Story)

In the Hospital 535

To Great Deeds! 537

The Road 539

To the Front! To the Front! 545

First Battle 548

In the Ravine 550

Junkers from the Vesta! 556

Farewell, Friends! 560

Tikhon Spiridonovich 562

FD-1242 565

Cut off! 597

Marusya's Tears . . . . ... ... . . . '. . 570

Come on, "Fedya"! Push on, "Fedya"! ......... 573

Through villages and farmsteads . . . . . . . . 570

Nighttime Thoughts 582

On reconnaissance . . . 585

Red-haired Pharaoh 589

Destroyed the anchor . . . . . . 593

Military ruse . . 597

Raid, 600

Tikhon Spiridonovich's Feat, . . .603

Our Men Are Advancing. 605

Oath 607

Friends 610

Trial613

Tikhon Spiridonovich's Crime. . 618

The Last Night 622

The Execution of Marusya, 625

The Executioners Flee! 628

At the Crossing 631

Unequal Battle 635

Ivan Nikulin's Immortality.....638

Forward, to the West! 643

SEVASTOPOL STONE

The Legend of the Black Sea. ......649

Long Voyage 653

The Soul of the Ship 661

The Grave of the Unknown Pilot....670

Alyonushka. 678

Return 689

Dm. Moldavsky. Afterword 705

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2010.1 Collected Works

See LSCW folder for details.

Shelf Number

2011-3/3175

Library card

Soloviev L. V. (writer) Collected Works: in 5 volumes - Moscow: Book Club Knigovek, 2010. - 21 cm.

BBK

Ш6(2=Р)7я44

Notes

Lit. adj. Spark

Is Part Of Ogonyok Siglas of other libraries RNB System number NLR01 001727058

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• Eastern Tales –this is informal classification from 2010 collected works

1931.11 В шерганских песках - In the Fergana Sands

Research Notes

The two main libraries in Russia, which serve as the primary national repositories for literature and research, are the Russian State Library (Moscow) and the National Library of Russia (St. Petersburg).

RSL.RU

NLR.RU

Best Russian list of stories:

https://fantlab.ru/search-works?q=Леонид+Соловьёв&page=all

This link might go to LS Collected Works ToC.

"C:\Users\frizz\Dropbox\Solovyov folder\LS Collected Works\LS Collected Works ToC new.doc"

1931.14 Кишлачные Зарисовки - Village Sketches

 

1931.14 Кишлачные Зарисовки - Kishlak¹ (Village) Sketches

by Leonid Solovyov

Organizer Arzi-Bibi

The gunfire in Fergana died down, the Basmachi gangs dispersed. The villages grew quiet.

Yangi-Kishlak began to live peacefully. The Basmachi used to be quite violent there. Young farmers from the neighbouring village of Tyulemen joined the Basmachi, and those from Yangi-Kishlak joined the police.

For this reason, the Tyulemen people disliked the residents of Yanga-Kishlak, and after each raid they left 5-6 corpses there.

And when they stationed police in Yangi-Kishlak, things got tough for the Tyulen residents. They'd attack, and the police would fight them off. You’d see two or three left standing.

When the accursed time had passed, they counted the dead. It turned out that there were 16 people killed in Yangi-Kishlak, and 7 in Tyulemen.

The breadwinners are in the land. The poor widows are crying. They're straining themselves with hard work. They have to get things done in the field and at home. Children, sheep, cauldrons, the field. The women are completely exhausted. And no one is helping them.

Everything went to hell, and soon the women would have had to go out into the world if Arzi-bibi, the wife of the murdered Illik-Bashi Rahman, had not started a new business.

Not far from Yangi-Kishlak is the village of Kairagach. It was abandoned long ago by the farmers who fled to the city to escape the Basmachi and famine. It stands empty. The tents are falling apart, and the cultivated land is overgrown.

One day, Arzi-bibi was passing by the village and lost in thought.

Then she walked three more times, and one fine day she set out to visit all the widows.

The women were agitated. They were whispering, walking around, and gathering in groups.

The men are amazed. What are the women up to?

A week passed, then two, and suddenly the village was struck by a surprise: widows were moving to Kairagach...

The women sold their last possessions and bought three horses, plus they had two. The Omachi were left behind by their husbands. It happened in the spring. The women began working in shifts.

The women sowed cotton. The cotton grew well. They harvested it. The old owners found out about this, came, and started driving out the widows.

“Get out of here. Our land.”

The women became worried and scared. What should they do?

The former Kairagach women traders were completely driven out, but one day Arzi-bibi says:

“I'm going to the city!”

Two days later she arrived with a document so big that the traders immediately turned their tails between their legs.

A month later, Arzi-bibi said to the others:

"There are six Basmachi widows in Tyulemen. It's not their fault their husbands were Basmachi. Let's take them in!"

“We'll take it!”

Another 6 people have joined this small commune.

The commune has been in existence for a year and a half now, and things are going well. The women are diligently cultivating the land and producing substantial harvests. They've acquired five more horses and four cows. The commune now has up to 200 sheep.

[600 words]

1What kishlak actually means

- In Turkic languages (Uzbek qishloq, Turkmen gyşlag, Turkish kışlak), the root qış means winter.

- A kishlak is traditionally the winter settlement of nomadic or semi‑nomadic groups.

- The opposite term is yaylaq — the summer pasture.

1931.11 В Шерганских Песках - In the Fergana Sands

 

1931.11 В Шерганских Песках - In the Fergana Sands

by Leonid Solovyov (1906-1962)

In Khodji-Yagon. — Khodji-Yagon — about Kalinin. — Sand fortification. — They cut down the tugai. — Sands —Scourge of agricultural farmland.

A plain white with salt marsh. Here and there it rises up in clumsy, stumpy ridges. Round, dense bushes of yantak and kara-barak are scattered across the plain like enormous gray mushrooms.

A road winds through the salt marsh in an intricate pattern. The arbakeshi (mountain horse roads) are laid it out in winter, when the steppe floods, and, choosing drier spots, they wove the road into intricate loops and patterns.

They drove about 10 miles from Melnikovo station. The Darya River glimmered ahead. Not a single village, not a single person...

Only the gloomy dunes loomed like yellow hills, dimly outlined against the gray sky.

Three miles away, on the steep bank of the Darya, the village of Khodji-Yagon was visible.

The village had only recently recovered from famine and the Basmachi revolt. Now, little by little, it was getting back on its feet. "They were worse than beggars," says Baygut (Uzbek), " and now they've brought in camels and horses again..."

They seat us on brown felt mats with white stripes and begin questioning us. Soon the memankhana becomes completely crowded: the entire village comes running here.

"Is it true that Kalinin came to us?"

"It's true."

"They say he's simple, he accepts everyone's petitions himself..."

"He accepts them," I reply.

"With his own hand?"

"With his own hand."

Baygut is speechless for a moment, amazed, and then slaps himself:

"That's what he's like." And before, you couldn't even submit petitions to the bailiffs themselves. You had to go through a Cossack, but the Cossack demands 'silau.'" A Cossack is called "silau," a police officer is called "silau," a police officer's marja is called "silau"...

They ask about Kalinin. Whose son is he... How old is he... Where did he live... What did he do before, what is he like...

I take out a newspaper with Kalinin's portrait and give it to them.

The newspaper passes over dozens of tanned hands.

“So that's what he's like... Lenin's right hand...”

* * *

A cruel enemy is advancing on this area—the sands.

God's punishment, the residents say. - We're still okay, but Andarkhan, Potar, Yanka-Tirak, Kana-Yanga are perishing. It's a little better now, though. They're securing the sands. Over there, on Sary-Kamysh Island, Urtak Belyaev lives; thank him, he's saving us little by little. He's the commander of the sands here. The headquarters of the sand-protection district. European-style houses firmly planted in the ground, a pile of stacked yantak, prepared to protect the land from the sand.

Two newly renovated houses. A bathhouse, storage rooms. Everything is whitewashed and cheerfully gleams with new window glass.

A brilliant crimson-yellow moon lazily emerges from behind the dunes. A fresh breeze blows from the Darya River. High in the dark sky, geese fly past, cackling.

A soft knock comes from the tight place and is drowned in the dense evening darkness.

“They're cutting down the tugai again,” says Belyaev, head of the sand protection department. “Nothing can be done; the farmers are cutting down the tugai, and the result is bare, unprotected sand.”

“Catch them.’

“We’re catching them. But is that really helping? We need to explain that the tugai is the main defense against the sand. They say the sand is Allah’s punishment, and so there's no point in defending ourselves.”

In the morning, we set off for the sand stabilization work. The enormous ruins are covered in a thin crust of ice. The horses are stuck in the liquid, sticky salt marsh. A fine dust of sand hits our eyes. The distance has turned a dim white.

“It’s from the sand,” says my companion.

The sky is thick with damp, dark clouds, their edges piling up on top of each other. A tiny spot in the sky, just beneath the sun, is barely visible.

“We’re working in Potara now,” says Belyaev, “we’ll go first to the sands, and then to the village.”

We soon enter the sands. We come across several sheltered dunes.

“Our work from last year,” Belyaev says proudly.

The reed barriers on the dunes stand firmly erect, not leaning at all, holding back the mighty onslaught of sand and wind.

And nearby, as if by way of contrast, are the dunes protected by the railway: sparse, weak, timidly and hastily erected protections, leaning to one side and gradually being covered by sand advancing onto the rails.

The village of Potar is surrounded by mighty, enormous dunes reaching 10-15 fathoms in height. People crawl across the dunes like bugs, digging in reed shields.

“Our task,” says Belyaev, “is not only to strengthen the sands, but also to plant a forest in their place.”

We’re going to watch the dunes bury the fertile soil. A colossal dune has already entered the jutar field with its horns. Its roots stick out sadly from the sand.

"The work is colossal. We need the full support of the authorities, otherwise the farmers in the surrounding villages will lose their land entirely. We have limited resources."

— And how do the population feel about the sands?

“Everything is Allah. Now, however, some villages are defending themselves. Interesting phenomena are occurring. For example, the leeward boundary of the sands in the Yakka-Terek village lies above the lands of Andarkhan. The dunes are overgrown. The Yakka-Terek people are using the vegetation for fuel, and for Andarkhan, this threatens the destruction of their lands. As soon as the dunes become exposed, they will immediately move and bury the lands of Andarkhan.

This is the source of centuries-old feuds. There have been fights. Complaints are filed constantly. Sometimes Andarkhan against Yakka-Terek, sometimes Yakka-Terek against Andarkhan.

We’re heading to Potar. The so-called ash pillars catch our eye. These are pillars, sometimes up to a fathom high, formed by soil weathering. The weathered soil formed dunes.

We spend the night in Potara, a small village. In the evening, we chatter, mostly about sand. Sand in this area is the bane of agriculture.

[1000 words]

[Keywords: Syr Darya, memankhana – a guest house. Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin was a prominent Bolshevik leader and the formal head of state of Soviet Russia and later the USSR from 1919 to 1946.