Bezvodnoye is a selo (a larger village) in Kstovsky District, Nizhny Novgorod Region, located on the right bank of the Volga, about a 30-minute drive from Nizhny Novgorod. The selo is divided into two parts: Upper Bezvodnoye and Lower Bezvodnoye. According to indirect evidence, it was founded around 1130. Historically it has been known for its developed metalworking handicraft trades, above all the production of fishing hooks.
History and Trades
The emergence of the trades in Bezvodnoye is explained by natural conditions: the soils here are infertile, and the presence of several ravines creates a microclimate with less precipitation than in neighboring villages, which made farming an occupation for only a few. According to the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (1890–1907), the selo had about 3,000 inhabitants; they made metal sieves and screens, wire mats, fishing hooks, clothing hooks, small chains, and also anchor chains — a test press was used to check the strength of the latter.[2]
The oldest and most enduring of the Bezvodnoye trades is considered to be hook-making — the manufacture of fishing hooks. The trade flourished from the 18th to the early 20th century; from the mid-20th century, handmade hooks were gradually displaced by factory-made products, which led to the trade's decline. Production ceased in early 2008 — the last master was Sergey Ivanovich Kryzhenkov.
From ancient times until the mid-20th century, Bezvodnoye hooks were used for fishing all along the Volga and in the Caspian fisheries. They differed by use: catfish hooks, sea hooks, ide hooks, pike live-bait hooks, shashka hooks, forged hooks (or beluga hooks); hooks for small fish were called Volga hooks. The trade was practiced both by individual craftsmen and by artels with a division of labor. The products were sold, among other places, through the Nizhny Novgorod Yarmarka.
Archaeology
In the late 20th century, archaeologists discovered 18 sites dating from the 7th to 2nd millennia BCE in the area of Bezvodnoye, as well as Bronze Age sites.[1]
Present Day
The last specimens of Bezvodnoye hooks are kept in the Nizhny Novgorod State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve (NGIAMZ). The selo stands directly on the Volga — the riverbank is 70 meters from the lower part of Bezvodnoye.
Links
- Wikidata (Q4080831 — entry in the free knowledge base)
Sources
- dic.academic.ru — Bezvodnoye — what is it? What does Bezvodnoye mean? (archive)
- nn-region.afy.ru — 180 sq. m cottage on a 4-sotka plot, buy a house in Bezvodnoye, Kstovsky District, listing ID
- app.nne.ru — 25 conscripts received the sacrament of Baptism at a military unit — Nizhny Novgorod Metropolia