Call of ancestors or history of the city of Kamyshin

In summer, everyone goes abroad and south. I have a special story. I have been in Volgograd for 10 years. There is a small town, it is all day round. Small, provincial, but so important to me. It's called Kamyshin. My great-grandfathers lived there, my grandfather was born and grew up. Dad and his brother went there for the summer. Just as I was sent with my brother to Tyumen, to visit relatives.

This is the land of my ancestors, my homeland.

Night on the train, rhythmic knocking, hot tea in a cup holder. Outside the window of forests, fields and rivers - beauty.

I got off the train and into another world. Quiet, measured, wonderful. What is interesting is that there is no such thing as this endless and crazy race of big cities. The unhurried course of life, everything is easy and calm. As if Volga herself taught people living near her not to rush anywhere.

When I was little, every summer my whole family spent in the town of Yeisk near the Sea of Azov. As I walked through the streets of Kamyshin, I felt like I was seven years old again and now it was time to go to the procedures. These two towns are so similar, like I have a flywheel of time.

But mostly there, just like everywhere else. Cars, shops, housewives, grandmas at the entrance. Lovers who occupied the Volga embankment and all the parks in the city. A punk on bicycles and skateboards, shooting cigarettes at passers-by. Whatever you say, Russia will always be itself. Good-natured, broad, smart and hospitable.

Did you know that Alexei Meresyev, the one with whom Boris Poleva wrote the main character of his work “The Tale of a Real Man” was born in Kamyshin? On the monument opened for his anniversary, carved the words of the famous pilot about how looking into the clear sky of his native city, he realized that he wants to fly.

Another famous native of Kamyshin is musician Evgeny Martynov. This man wrote music for the numbers of Anna Herman and Maya Kristalinska. His works form part of the golden fund of the musical heritage of the Soviet Union.

In every city of Russia there are monuments to those who did not return from the Great Patriotic War. The reed is no exception. On his Alley of Heroes are busts of the most famous Kamyshan warriors.

And the pupils of the cadet corps to this day swear allegiance to our Motherland near them. Once, in the best days for military units of Kamyshin, balls were given in these military schools, girls were invited, met, and had fun.

And now even the famous Kamyshin sports team has lost ground.

But despite everything, I was very happy to visit this city, to see strangers before, but my relatives, to bow to the graves of my ancestors.

This small, quiet, leisurely city has helped me gain strength and understand who I am and where I belong. I'm not just a girl anymore. I am part of a huge world of wonderful people. And it's a wonderful feeling.

Author of text and photo: Elizaveta Chizhikova