The Big Triangle: The Gold Rush in Russia

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

In the first half of the 19th century, a gold rush began in Russia. Merchants and industrialists from all over the country, as well as from abroad, rushed to the Urals to mine gold. It was then that the famous "Big Triangle" was found - a huge nugget worth tens of thousands of the then rubles.

He was discovered by a young serf. But the boy was much less fortunate in life than his merchant owners.

A folk legend is associated with the beginning of active gold mining in the Tomsk province. According to her, on the river Sukhoi Berikul one Old Believer lived with his pupil, whose name was Yegor Lesnoy among the people. Once a man found gold on the river, but threw it away and did not begin to tell anyone about his discovery, except for the pupil.

However, the latter did not keep her mouth shut, and rumor spread among the people, which reached the ears of the Popovs, wine merchants. They sent their people to the Old Believer to find out about gold. However, Yegor did not tell them anything, for which he lost his life, and Yegor's pupil told the merchants the secret of Tomsk gold.

From the very beginning, gold mining at Sukhoy Berkul began to bring Popov a solid income. The number of mines grew with each new year. True, the merchant brothers themselves did not live long after this.

One died in 1832, and the second in 1833. Nevertheless, their relatives continued to mine gold. After 10 years, the family already had more than 100 mines, and a real gold rush began in Russia. As a result, the Popovs became so rich that they began to look for gold throughout the Urals.

The largest gold nugget was found during this fever. It happened in the Urals in 1842 at a mine near Miass. The lucky one to find a natural treasure was a 17-year-old serf who worked in the field. His name was Nikifor Syutkin … Despite his young age, the guy had ingenuity and experience. Having dug a three-meter hole, the boy immediately recognized gold in a huge cobblestone.

Having washed it from earth and clay, Nikifor handed the nugget to the master. They called it the "Big Triangle". The nugget weighed 2 pounds 7 pounds (36.2 kg) and had dimensions of 25x20 cm. It was estimated at 28 146 rubles at that time. The find immediately began to travel to exhibitions and museums. 179 years after its discovery, the "Big Triangle" is kept in the Diamond Fund of Russia in Moscow.

As for the boy, his life was frankly bad. To celebrate the discovery, the Popovs released Nikifor Syutkin from serfdom and even gave him several hundred rubles - a huge amount of money at that time.

True, Nikifor could not find a use worthy of him and himself. For several months the young man walked on a grand scale in taverns and taverns, until he was flogged to death for immoral behavior, brawl and disorderly conduct.