Тайна острова Буяна – раскрыта!?

The Mystery of Buyan Island – Revealed!? In Russia, everyone has heard of the fairytale island of Buyan since childhood. The poet Alexander Pushkin's lines, "...past Buyan Island, to the kingdom of the glorious Saltan," are familiar to every Russian since infancy. This island is also frequently mentioned in Russian folklore. However, most ordinary Russians are accustomed to perceiving Buyan as part of a fairytale world, completely unrelated to the real world. However, many researchers and historians have long since concluded that the depth and archaism of the plot suggest that "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" reflects a real ancient legend heard by Pushkin. After all, the tale was undoubtedly based on a legend telling of a wealthy island state, consisting of a fortified city with numerous churches, protected by a coast guard, and engaged in international trade. That's why numerous researchers and historians today are convinced that the mythical island of Buyan really existed, but accounts of its exact location differ greatly. Some researchers suggest that Buyan is Berezan Island, located in the Black Sea, 8 kilometers from the town of Ochakov. Other researchers insist on a more original theory: Buyan is the modern German island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea. Still others hypothesize that Buyan is the Solovetsky Islands. Still others sincerely believe that it is the city of St. Petersburg, spread across the numerous islands of the Neva River. And so on. These are interesting theories, and each has its numerous supporters. But I resolutely reject all of these and many others. And here's why. Firstly, Berezan Island in the Black Sea was never home to anything other than primitive dugouts and fishing shacks. This has been confirmed by numerous archaeological excavations in the 20th and 21st centuries. On the island of Rügen, a small pagan wooden settlement was destroyed in the 12th century, and the island never developed in the following centuries. The island never had a full-fledged city, a fortress, stone chambers, a huge pier, or golden-domed churches. Nothing that could have been described in the epics. A very interesting version about St. Petersburg. It was founded on islands, on the ruins of some other ancient city, and even had its own Buyan. Let me remind you that Buyan wasn't just a hill. It was the name given to trading wharves until the 19th century. St. Petersburg also had its own Buyan. But modern-day St. Petersburg isn't located on an island in the sea or ocean, but in a river delta. Which, you'll agree, isn't the same thing. But that's beside the point. The main thing is that all these numerous versions don't correspond to Pushkin's description, Russian folklore, or other reference points in various folk legends and myths. Nothing. And here's why! Everyone stubbornly forgets or pretends not to notice what the merchant shipmen say. They say the journey to Buyan Island is very long and arduous. The island is practically on the other side of the world. Further, some important clarifications from folklore. According to legend, Buyan Island was located somewhere very "far to the east, beyond the Khvalynsk Sea, in the eastern sea-ocean." But the Khvalynsk Sea is the Caspian Sea. This means the island was located much further east than the Caspian Sea. And even in the 19th century, the eastern sea-ocean referred specifically to the waters of the Pacific Ocean or the Oponskoye Sea, also known as the modern Sea of ​​Japan. Furthermore, folk tales often mention that Buyan Island is located "On a distant sea, on the ocean, in the middle of the White Sea." Today, we're accustomed to thinking of the White Sea as an inland sea, in the north of European Russia, home to the Solovetsky Islands and the city of Arkhangelsk. But back in the 17th and 18th centuries, the White Sea-ocean was also the name for the Oponskoye Sea, today's Sea of ​​Japan, in the area of ​​the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. Therefore, it's funny when explorers search for a fairytale island in the south of the Black Sea, in central Russia, or in the west of the Baltic Sea. Even though it's clearly stated: the island is located somewhere far to the east. Sources: 1. Sergey Goryunkov. "The Hermeneutics of Pushkin's Fairy Tales." St. Petersburg, Aleteia, 2009. 2. A. N. Afanasyev. "Pagan Legends about Buyan Island." Vremyanik (Vremya) of the Society of Russian History and Antiquities. Moscow, 1851. 3. Vadim Nikolaevich Burlak. Voyage to the Cold Seas. AiF Print. 2004. 4. Dikov, N. N. Ancient Fires of Kamchatka and Chukotka: 15,000 Years of History, Magadan: Book Publishing House, 1969. 5. Yudin, A. V. Buyan // Russian Onomastics and Onomastics of Russia. Dictionary / Ed. O. N. Trubachev. Moscow: Shkola-Press, 1994. 6. Chistov, K. V. The Legend of Belovodye // Transactions of the Karelian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Petrozavodsk, 1962. 7. Beloslyudov, A. On the History of Belovodye // Notes of the West Siberian Branch of the Russian Geogr...