Petr Kasyanchuk, a pensioner from Ryazhsk, Ryazan Region, greens the city streets at his own expense

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

“Along the street where I live, I planted 80 chestnuts and Manchu nuts, five pyramidal poplars, four willows and several lindens; near the church - about 45 trees. And recently I had a like-minded person, and we planted an alley of birches and maples - about 70 pieces - along the footpath that leads to the bridge over the river. I grow seedlings in my country house, in my nursery. I land it myself and give it out to everyone free of charge, while I say: "I'll come and check how you care for them!" True, I have never checked it yet …

About need

Oddly enough, I planted my first trees not because I liked it, but when absolutely necessary. I was born in a village near Vinnitsa. In the post-war years, life was difficult, we lived very poorly. Not far from the house, in some places there were bushes of American maple, and my mother cut them down in order to heat the stove with damp branches. Maple branches burn badly, but there was nothing else to heat with, there was not even dry grass left in the area - everything was collected and burned. And as an eight-year-old child, I set myself the task of planting a large grove in the meadow behind the garden, growing it, so that later I could clean it up, cut the lower branches, dry it and heat the house with this brushwood.

It was difficult to find seedlings then, everything around was cut down for firewood, even young shoots. I collected a little thing from everywhere: I’ll see somewhere a small shoot in the ground, then I’ll ask on a collective farm … And like this: now a birch, then an alder, then a poplar … A few years later a large grove grew, brushwood was collected from it - huge heaps! I had so much happiness: I provided my family with warmth for the winter!

About the result

When I grew up, I went to work on a collective farm as a tractor driver - they ordered firewood once a year. It became easier, there was no longer such an extreme need as before, and the grove grew more and more - the trees are straight, well-groomed, after all, I cut them off every year. A friend later wrote to me in the army: “Your grove is so beautiful! The whole village admires her."

About morals

After three years of service in the army, he went to work in the Kolyma, for new gold mines in the Susuman region. In the 60s, there were no longer camps in those parts - only civilians worked in the mines. I was still wondering how it could be, no one checks anything, access to the mines is free. On the second day after arrival, one comes up to me: "Come on, I'll show you gold!" He takes the lamp, leads me into the mine … Kyle poked at the wall - I look: gold! In about fifteen minutes I got a hand full of nuggets the size of a nut! I say: "Arkady, but what to do with him?" He says, "Throw it out." In those years we did not have such concepts: for ourselves something, to steal, to hide … Well, I just threw the gold where I found it, and we went back.

About family

In Kolyma, I met my wife - she came to visit her sister, met me … and stayed. We got married and lived there until 79, where our oldest daughter was born. Then the couple moved to their homeland, to the Ryazan region. We now have two daughters and three grandchildren.

About trees

Fifteen years ago, I packed a whole backpack of chestnut fruits on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow. Then I didn’t know what I would do with them, but, apparently, my old friendship with trees began to be remembered. I sprouted them in my dacha and I think: “I have to plant them somewhere”. I went to the mayor of Ryazhsk and said: "Can I plant chestnuts in the city?" And he and his deputy say: "How much money will you take for this?" I say: “Not at all. You just let me plant it. " They were surprised and allowed. I planted my chestnuts along my High Street from the hospital to the stadium.

And nine years ago I saw a Manchurian nut in the Ivanovo nursery. I was impressed by his beautiful crown, and his fruits are just like walnuts. I think: wow! "Greek" in our strip bear fruit! I picked up nuts from them, sowed them at my dacha in Ryazhsk - and I sprouted 113 shoots. I planted it on the same street, still at a church in the nearest village, and distributed the rest. Since then I have been planting other types of trees. I coordinate the landing sites with the city administration, the mayor sometimes helps me with equipment where I can't do without it.

About leaving

After all, a tree must not only be planted, but also taken care of: while it is young - loosen the ground, water it, then, when it grows, cut off the branches. But the main problem is irresponsible people who can either break a tree or dig it up in order to plant it on the site. Where a young alley is now planted, dry grass is often set on fire, and as a result the trees are burnt. This is not only done by children - I saw in the spring how a grown man set it on fire. Well, I told him: "What are you doing, so-you-rastak!"

This autumn we planted the alley with my like-minded person, a local journalist and ethnographer, Vladimir Mazalov. So you have to dig up and weed a fairly large space around the trees, so that in the event of grass falling, the fire does not approach them. This is how I save trees, but in my life there were two cases when I saved a human life.

Lives saved

The first time it was in Kolyma in 62. I went to the club in the evening to dance, carried records, frost - about fifty degrees. A drunk man comes to meet him, I to him: "Where are you going?" He muttered something and walked further towards the neighboring village. It is two and a half kilometers before it - the village is small, there is only one mine, and there is no civilization, men came to us from there for vodka.

I came to the club, stayed there for fifteen minutes, then I think: I'll go and take a look. And there the road rises to the hill, you can see everything. I went out onto the porch, I looked: there was no man anywhere. I was running along the road, half-naked … Two hundred meters later I saw: lying - not moving. Well, I took him for his sweatshirt and dragged him to the club. If not for me, another fifteen minutes later, one hundred percent would be frozen to death!

The second case occurred in Ryazan in the early eighties, in winter. It was evening, already dark. I walked near a public transport stop. There, a woman entered the back door of the bus, and suddenly a girl jumped out from behind the bus - the second grade, probably. The driver, apparently, did not notice her in the mirror because of the woman, closed the door and drove off. And she managed to stick her hand with the briefcase. The hand was squeezed and the girl was dragged along the road, along the icy bumps and potholes. I - to run, whistle … In general, I caught up with this bus, the driver noticed me and stopped. The girl turned out to be safe, she got on the bus herself. After that I even wrote a story, called it: "On the benefits of whistling."

About the benefits

I once saw huge linden trees planted during the reign of Catherine II - just think how many people they have seen in different eras! I plant trees because I feel a sense of satisfaction from this, because I create beauty, which for many generations will admire, breathe fresh air.

And I’ll tell anyone: do something, don’t sit at home watching TV - bring at least a little benefit! Someone complains: “Oh, we live badly …” I say like this: “Well, what are you waiting for until they bring you on a plate ?! You hang around the garage all day and night, but have you done anything useful for society? " Everyone loves to scold, but to do something themselves is lazy. But I see that now the internal culture in people is growing with each new generation, so I believe that in a certain number of years everything will be fine with us."