Don reigns on our land

The Shaidulin family conceived the idea of ​​building their house in the most beautiful place – 80 kilometers west of Volgograd, on the left bank of the Don. It is here that the small, but significant for its deep and turbulent history, the town of Kalach-on-Don is located.

– Authoritative people told me that there were once Greek colonies at the mouth of the Don. Perhaps they were located here. Of course, time and natural disasters ruined them. But traces were to remain. You can dig deeper into this question. But I know for sure about the events of later times, when the Cossack farm Kalach was simply on the site of our city, – says Vera Shaidulina. – There is a legend that Peter the Great himself gave the name to it. He ferried ships along the Don to Azov, which were being built in the Voronezh region. This path was long, tiring, and Peter I came here to rest. Local residents treated him to local pastries – kalach. It was so lush, fragrant and tasty that the tsar wished to call the farm Kalachevsky. And according to another version, Kalach-on-Don, like its namesake city in Voronezh, got its name because of the special bend of the river in this place. The Don here flows along a steep bend – as if wrapping it in a ball.

Eagles are circling above us

Artur Shaidulin joins the conversation.

– Here we have not only bewitching nature, but also heroic places. The Red Army in these parts held back the advance of the Wehrmacht to Stalingrad for a month. Volgograd is not far from us. The felling during the Great Patriotic War was terrible here, so many people died – a terrible figure. Every year, search engines find the remains of fallen soldiers in the Don steppes, says Artur. – At the end of November 1942, it was in our area that the famous junction of fronts took place. Paulus’ army was surrounded here. And now at this very place – Karpovskoye reservoir. Almost 72 years ago, the once working settlement of Kalach-on-Don received the status of a city. A year later, the Volga-Don shipping canal was built in these parts. By the way. there are always many eagles circling over Kalach. Probably looking for prey. The harvest this year was a success, which means that there will be a lot of all sorts of rodents that will covet it. And the main attraction of our city is always near us. This, of course, is the Don River. As you know, its right bank is very steep. And from there, our entire city is visible at a glance. My profession is also related to water: I work as a minder-helmsman on the Vartan Chmshkyan tug-pusher-raft-tow. The tugboat received this name in honor of the first head of the Volga-Don shipping canal, Vartan Arsenovich Chmshkyan. Previously, the ship was called “Perekat”. I can talk for hours about my work, which I love.

And the plans are huge!

Vera Sergeevna was used to waiting for her husband from flights. The Shaydulin family is still small – only two children, Artem and Zhenya.

We started building in 2020. At that time, my youngest was just born, and I dreamed of expanding our area. But the construction of a new house was completed only in 2022. In September, the building was registered as a residential building, and social gasification arrived in time as ordered, – says Vera Shaidulina. – About 10 years ago, I heard different stories of connecting to a gas pipe, when the program was not yet working. And even then it seemed to me that such a luxury is available only to millionaires. We have a difficult terrain here, a lot of water arteries. After all, the Don River reigns on our land. She defines the area. Therefore, pulling gas pipelines over long distances, and even overcoming such obstacles, is a huge cost. But still, gasification in our area was carried out. People connected and at high prices. For example, when we started a family, we planned to save money for such serious issues as bringing gas into the house. But you see how everything turned out well – the preferential program started working. And most importantly, it is indefinite. It was possible to apply for social gasification in different ways: through the website of the single gasification operator “connectgas.ru” or through the website of the company “34gaz.ru”, through the MFC or the public services portal. But we chose another option – we went to the office of the gas organization. There you can also ask non-standard questions, clarify all the nuances in relation to your situation and learn about benefits. I was surprised how quickly everything was done. Planned for a month, but met in 3 weeks. Arthur and I decided to make both underfloor heating and radiators in the house. One completes the other. And you can adjust the temperature of both. For example, set the radiators to 40 degrees and 30 degrees for underfloor heating. In the spring, with such parameters, it was very comfortable in the house, and the gas consumption was small. In the future, you can do an extension. I recently went to work. So it will help to our family budget.

Artur believes that the Volgograd region is one of the most gasified.

– When the presidential program began to work, the former gas distribution stations (GDS) in our region began to be modernized. Because people have suffered applications, there are many applications, but there is not enough capacity. We have several gas distribution stations in Volgograd being re-equipped, now they are reconstructing the Alekseevskaya and Volzhskaya gas distribution stations, – says Artur. – Gas pipelines are also being reconstructed. Work in our area is in full swing. And when our governor Andrei Bocharov increased the amount of compensation for privileged categories from 50 thousand to 100, there were also more applicants. After all, the work itself inside the house, on the site and the purchase of gas equipment are also costs. With compensation in this regard, it’s more fun. I generally heard that the level of gasification in our region is the highest in the country: almost 90%. It turns out that we all surpassed, according to official data. And judging by my friends who now use gas in their homes, this is true. The gas workers have grandiose plans today. I heard that they want to build about a hundred more gas pipelines between the settlements.

Photo from the archive of the heroes of history

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