From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

peace pipe- one of the cultural symbols of the North American Indians, which has become a global term. Expression " smoke the peace pipe” means “to conclude peace agreements” and comes from the Indian rite of the end of the war, when the warring leaders and representatives of the tribes sat next to each other and passed a smoking pipe in a circle. This custom has become well known largely thanks to books and cinema.

General information

Another commonly used name for the peace pipe is "calumet". It was used by French settlers in Canada to describe the ceremonial pipes of the region's indigenous peoples.

It was believed that the peace pipe was a sacred object not only for this tribe, but also for everyone around. The head of the pipe was made from sacred red pipestone (katlinite), which was quarried from the vast Cote de Prairie plateau, eastern South Dakota, southwestern Minnesota, and Iowa. These quarries traditionally remained no-man's-land among the warring tribes, and people of various nationalities traveled to the quarries for the sacred pipe stone.

Ritual use

The Peace Pipe is a well-established but misleading name for calumets and other Native American ceremonial pipes, and, in fact, reflects the meaning of only one type of pipe and one of the rituals where they were used. In many North American indigenous cultures, there were numerous types of ritual pipes, styles of their manufacture, mixtures for smoking, and the ceremonies themselves were unique, because they belonged to the disappeared religions and beliefs of those tribes. There were pipes for everything: war and peace, commerce and trade, social and political decision-making.

Raw and cut pieces of red pipe stone from Delta, Utah.

During his journey down the Mississippi River in 1673, Father Jacques Marquette documented the universal respect shown to the "pipe of peace" by all the indigenous peoples he met along the way, even those who were at war with each other. He argued that the appearance of a pipe during the battle could have stopped the battle. It is for this reason that the people of the Illinois tribe gave Marquette such a pipe as a gift to ensure his safe journey through their lands.

When used in rituals, smoke is believed to draw the attention of the Creator and other powerful spirits to those who pray. Lakota tradition claims that the White Calf Woman brought people chanunpu(the name of the sacred pipe in the Sioux language), and taught them its symbolism and ceremonies.

According to oral tradition, amply attested by pipes made before contact with Europeans and kept in museums, tribal and private vaults, some ceremonial pipes were decorated with feathers, fur, human and animal hair, beads, carvings and other items of importance to the owner. And some pipes looked very simple. Many pipes belonged not to one person, but to a whole medical or religious community.

Variety of tubes

Ritual pipes were used by several tribes of North American Indians, and the materials for making them differed depending on the tribe and place. Here are some types of stones and materials used to make pipes:

Clay- the pipes of the Cherokee and Chickasaw Indians were made from baked clay and river reed.

Red pipe stone- catlinite, an iron-rich soft red-hued mudstone that occurs between layers Siuk quartzite. It is usually mined below the water table, as it is quickly destroyed by wind and water. Red pipestone was used by the Woodland Indians, the Great Basin Indians, and the Great Plains Indians. At the same time, the stone is available in Tennessee (south of the state center), Minnesota (the city of Pipeston) and Utah (Delta, Uinta). But the sacred pipe stone was mined in Pipston. The stone from this deposit is softer and easier to work than the catlinites from other places. The quarry itself is located north of the city. Nowadays, stone mining in this quarry is allowed only to the indigenous population of America.

Blue pipe stone- another type of catlinite, used for the manufacture of pipes mainly by the tribes of the Great Plains. The deposits of this stone are located in South Dakota. The beginning of the use of blue pipestone coincides with the appearance of horses among the Plains Indians.

blue stone ( Bluestone) - hard green-blue quartzite, mined in the southern Appalachians. After processing, it takes on a greenish tint. This stone was used to make pipes by several tribes in the eastern Woodland. Cherokees, Creeks, and Chickasaws made pipes from this breed. Several ancient bluestone pipes from the Mississippian culture have also been found.

Utah pipe in orange alabaster with mouthpiece.

Green pipe stone- green with white veins with copper-bearing marble rock, mined in

(Kirchner, Otto Eckartshausen 1887 - 1960)

From the moment of its invention, the smoking pipe was considered a privilege of men, as it symbolized self-confidence, masculinity and high social status. Antique smoking pipes are associated with people who love comfort and do not tolerate fuss.

Wagner, Fritz (1872 Munich - 1948 Munich)

19./20. Jhdt. Landsknecht

Kremer, Peter (Zweibrücken 1823 - 1907)

Vries, de Joseph Cohen 1804 Amsterdam

19-20. Century. A. Schroeder, K. Egersdörfer. Signature

Emil-Reher Kuhlman. Reher 1886 - 1957 Brannenburg. Signed and 1924 from Ortsbez. Munich.

Josef Johann Suss the Elder

Defregger, Franz von

Defregger, Franz von

Defregger, Franz von

Teniersou, David (Antwerp 1610 - 1690 Brussels)

Kreitmayr, no more than 20. Century. Self-portrait. Signature.

Choosing the right tobacco and carefully caring for the pipe, the process of smoking brought real pleasure to the owners of the pipes.
Let us remember with what rapture the Indians smoked pipes, smoking the pipe of peace, Zaporozhye Cossacks, Commissar Maigret, Sherlock Holmes, Albert Einstein, Peter the Great, Stalin.

According to historical data, the first smoking pipes appeared three thousand years ago in America. Initially, they were the main subjects in the ritual actions of the Indians. The ancient Indians used animal bones or cane stalks as pipes, stuffing them with tobacco.

A huge number of myths and legends associated with smoking and tobacco, characteristic of pre-Columbian times, have come down to us as part of the ancient traditions of numerous local peoples.

For example, local residents living on the banks of the Missouri River, in Colombia, near the Isthmus of Panama, believe that once there was a legendary country of Dabeida, in the temple of which there was a statue of the goddess of the storm, made of pure gold. This legendary place was the abode of eternal winter, covered with snow and ice. But one day a shaman came, he took a puff on his cigar and blew smoke from his mouth, and this smoke scattered throughout the country, turning it into a land full of warmth and life.

In turn, the legend of the Warayo Indians from Venezuela connects tobacco with the origin of the world. When the "Dawn Bird" (Sun) first rose above the heavens, an imaginary house appeared between heaven and earth, white and round like a puff of smoke. Next, the Bird of Dawn created four Bahanas (as tobacco is called in this region) which form the four elements that make up the character of tobacco.

The four elements of smoke are the Black Bee, which stings painfully when the smoker takes the first puff, the Red Bee, the Yellow Bee, and the Flight of the Blue Bee, whose spirits soar above the person and transfer their power to him.

Calumet or peace pipe.

The rite of Calumet (smoking the pipe of peace) existed among the tribes of the Great American Prairies long before settlers from the far west came into contact with the culture of these tribes.
This ceremony is half magical, half religious ritual; it may also have social, economic or political significance. During this ceremony, people smoked tobacco leaves belonging to the Rustic Nicotiana species (rural, wild tobacco, the only type of tobacco that grew at that time in this region). When all the representatives of the tribes or tribe gathered together, they lit a pipe, with which the guide called on the four main elements of smoke to ask for help from the Prairie God, also known as the Thunder Bird.
After that, the tube was passed around. After everyone contributed to the cloud of smoke hanging over their heads, the discussion of the problems began. Sometimes the subject of discussion was the conclusion of peace between the tribes, in addition, such rituals were accompanied by weddings, business agreements and the entry of adolescents into the world of adults. All these rituals differed from each other, but they had one thing in common - each of them contained tobacco smoke.

Already later, the pipes began to be decorated with bizarre patterns, and they were made from some tree species and stone. The Indians also made extensive use of corn pipes, which were easy to make but had a short lifespan.

From America, tobacco came to European countries with Dutch and Spanish sailors. Initially, Europeans perceived tobacco smoking as a satanic occupation, and therefore the bowls of ancient pipes often took the form of the head of a devil or other wickedness.

In the 16th century in England, pipes began to be made from clay. With the popularity of tobacco smoking, Holland became the center for the production of pipes.

In addition to clay pipes, wood of wild cherry, walnut, beech and other hardwoods was used as a material. For long-term preservation, the inside of the pipe was covered with silver or clay.

The real antiques and masterpieces of art are smoking pipes of the 19th century, which were made in France using briar.

Briar was a dense tree-like growth, its texture was unusually beautiful, because such pipes were in great demand and caused a real boom, which lasted until the beginning of the 20th century.

Henri Charles Antoine Baron

Around the same period, original handmade pipes made of a white porous mineral, decorated with carvings, appeared in Turkey. These pipes had wooden or amber mouthpieces.

And in Denmark and Germany, the production of porcelain smoking pipes was established at a factory at the royal court.

Spain, Portugal and France laid the foundation for tobacco smoking in the Eastern Hemisphere, from here the pipes came to Asia. Ancient pipes of the East were made of clay, and their bowls were increasingly round in shape.

Smoking pipes spread especially quickly in China and became as common a household item as dishes: pipes were always offered to restaurant visitors along with alcohol.

The largest smoking pipe in China

Today, pipes are used by real gourmets who enjoy the taste of tobacco. Antique pipes now more often adorn collections of various antique items and can satisfy even the most demanding collectors of antiquity with their elegance.

Privateer Jean Bar could not part with his pipe even at an audience with Louis XIV.

How Columbus searched India and found tobacco.

It is believed that the modern history of tobacco began in 1492 and is inextricably linked with the name of Christopher Columbus. It is known that Columbus was an admiral of the Spanish fleet, and in his search for India, accidentally discovered America by mistake. But even on the way to India, or rather, to America, he managed to drop in with his team on a group of islands, which was called the West Indian Islands.
When he landed on these islands, among other curious things, he discovered that the natives, whom Columbus called the Indians - because he had no idea where exactly he actually ended up - smoke something somewhat similar to modern cigars. Of course, then he did not know the word "smoking" or the word "cigars", but in this case it is not very important.
Of course, what the Indians smoked then was quite far from what we call cigars now. These impressive-sized contraptions were twisted from raw, unprocessed tobacco, which, definitely, was not dried in the shade, not in the sun, and in no way at all. These "primordial" cigars, for the most part, were not even just big, but were rather huge in size. The Indians themselves called them "tabaccos".

The captain of one of the ships of Columbus, Rodrigo de Jerez, ventured to take a couple of puffs of "tobacco" and, thereby, became the first European in history to try a cigar.
Sailing from these islands, Columbus took with him to Spain a certain amount of tobacco leaves, where Rodrigo de Jerez, who managed to become addicted to tobacco during the trip, tried to demonstrate his skills, for which he was immediately punished with three years in prison.
Yes, already in those days, smokers were persecuted by the first anti-tobacco organization, the role of which was played by the Spanish Inquisition.
However, cigar smoking soon became extremely popular among the upper classes of Spanish and Portuguese society. Due to the exorbitant high cost, tobacco was a pleasure available only to wealthy people. It must be said that smoking hand-rolled cigars has still retained this image.

Jean Nicot

Jean Nico was born in Nimes (France) in the family of a poor notary. He spent his school years in his native city, and then moved to Toulouse, where he devoted himself to studying history and literature.
In 1558, Queen Catherine de Medici sent Nico to Italy on some special mission. Niko coped with the assignment remarkably, after which he was appointed to an important post in Lisbon.
The Portuguese period of Jean Nico's life turned out to be decisive for his career, and indeed for his entire future. The indefatigable curiosity of the researcher, the scientist, led him over time to observe the flora taking place in the gardens of the palace at the Lisbon Court, where he began to spend a lot of time. In one of these gardens Niko came across tobacco growing there.
The director of the garden presented him with tobacco seeds, and returning to France, Niko began to grow tobacco himself and experiment with it in various ways. When he began these experiments, he was already a well-known person in history, literature and science.
Jean Nico was a savvy man and knowing perfectly well the needs of his time, as well as the healing effect of raw tobacco on the Indians, he decided that this was his chance to become famous and rich.
One of his acquaintances, a young man suffering from diseases of the nose, Niko cured with compresses from crushed fresh tobacco leaves. Then he successfully cured a lady with facial skin defects, a gentleman from a noble family got rid of an abscess on his cheek by applying fresh tobacco leaves.
The society formed under the influence of these and similar cases supported Niko in his belief in the healing effects of tobacco.

The path to fame for Niko was open. In addition, in France, after the early death of her son, Catherine de Medici came to power. Suffering from migraines, she turned to Niko, who recommended powdered tobacco leaves to her as a remedy. According to his prescription, she had to take the powder with her fingers and put it in her nose, and "the runny nose and sneezing that came from this" were supposed to free the queen's head "from the bad" coming out along with a runny nose and sneezing. Oddly enough, such treatment helped the queen, tobacco "came to taste" and now the whole royal court began to diligently sniff tobacco, regardless of migraines and other ailments.
Catherine de Medici gave Nico great support in his tobacco endeavors, and soon tobacco began to be grown in all the Royal Gardens, and a little later in many others.
After the death of Jean Nicot, when tobacco was already known and distributed throughout France, it gradually occupied the whole of Europe, and France began to be called the birthplace of tobacco.

How people live in the diamond capital of Russia

In the very north of the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere, in the Republic of Sakha, is the city of Mirny. In 1955, a diamond deposit was discovered here - the Mir kimberlite pipe. “We lit the pipe of peace. Tobacco is excellent, ”the then Soviet geologists Avdeenko, Elagina, Khabardin reported to Moscow with such a radiogram about the discovery of the richest diamond deposit at that time. “We didn’t have a special code for this case,” said Yury Khabardin, head of the geological party. - And we composed the text so that it was clear what we found - "lit a pipe" and gave it a name - "Peace". The phrase "excellent tobacco" spoke of the rich content of diamonds.

Mirny is the third largest city in the republic after Yakutsk and Neryungri, the population is 35.4 thousand people. The national structure of the population of the region: Yakuts (45.5%0, Russians (41.2%), Ukrainians (3.6%), Evenks (1.9%), Evens (1.2%), others (6.6%) %).

In 1957, diamond mining began, and a city began to grow around the quarry. Today Mirny is considered the diamond capital of Russia. The rights to the deposit belong to AK ALROSA (ranks first in the world in terms of diamond production in carats and in monetary terms, its share in the world diamond production is 30% by production value; it produces 94% of all diamonds in Russia). According to the company, the total proven reserves of the Mir Trubka deposit are 74.1 million tons. The annual production level is 1 million tons. ALROSA.

Lyubov Gerontievna, 79 years old, lives in Mirny for 62 years. Poetess, sings in the team of veterans of ALROSA "Vstrecha". She came to Mirny in the mid-1950s. “It was in 1956, there was no diamond yet. We lived in a forty-seat tent, worked. There were no roads, of course. We were moving along marsh bumps, and one day I fell right into the swamp. Somehow they pulled it out, only one boot remained there for life. During the construction of the village, there were a lot of wild animals, she somehow met a huge bear on the other side of the river - she ran away. In general, animals in that period gnawed a lot of people. In winter it was colder: minus 50, minus 60 degrees. It was necessary to work at a temperature of minus 48,” Lyubov Gerontievna said.

The Mir quarry with a depth of 525 m and a diameter of 1.2 km, contrary to popular belief, is not the largest. In terms of total reserves, Mir is significantly inferior to another Yakutian field discovered in 1955 - the Udachnaya open pit. It was developed until 2001, after which open-pit mining was discontinued. In August 2009, the Mir underground mine was put into operation.

The planned construction of the city began with the commissioning of a semi-detached residential building on May 1, 1957. Today there is a local history museum. In 1974, in Mirny, the first multi-storey buildings on permafrost were built before anyone else in Yakutia. In Yakutsk, they appeared a few years later.

Interestingly, the monuments to Soviet leaders in Mirny appeared only after the collapse of the USSR. So, in May 2005, at the request of veterans of the Great Patriotic War, a monument to Stalin was unveiled. In July 2005, a monument to Lenin was unveiled in Mirny in honor of the city's 50th anniversary.

In Mirny there is a theater and the House of Culture, which has a lot of activities for young people: ballet, aircraft modeling, ice skating, hockey, diving, fashion theater, drawing and much more.

The main type of employment for city residents is work at mining enterprises. Like 60 years ago, the city feeds the quarry. In addition, oil and gas are produced here. The average monthly salary of employees of city enterprises in 2016 amounted to 29,504 rubles. As of January 1, 2017, the number of unemployed in the city amounted to 534 people, such data are provided by the administration of the city of Mirny. The average pension amount reached 23,567 rubles, which is 11% more than the value of the previous year. The average subsistence minimum per capita amounted to 15,742 rubles. and increased by 5.3% compared to 2015.

Ivan Goncharov, miner. Born in the Luhansk region, Ukraine. 23 years old. “At the age of 15, there was a chance to go somewhere far away. Without thinking twice, he packed his things, waved his hand, got into the car and drove across the entire mainland to the other side. Here we are building a mine, preparing capital workings, and giving way to miners. The operating mode is in a floating schedule, that is, it changes all the time: night, day, evening. The salary is not to say that it is very high, but still an acceptable level for a person without higher education. For three years at ALROSA, he allowed me to buy a car and start building a house. I took out a loan this year. I hope to finish it, and in five years I will be an absolutely free person. It's hard, of course, - you can not argue here. The work is monotonous, and you don’t find anything particularly interesting for yourself. ”

Restaurant "Geophysicist" in the city of Mirny.

Many cultural events in the city are initiated by the mine administration. The city has a song ensemble and a rock band consisting of miners and labor veterans.

Alexander Sinelnikov has been working in the mines for 40 years. Came to Yakutia in 1982 from Donetsk. Plays and sings in the miner's rock band "Habitat". The group performs regularly at cultural events organized by the mine administration. “Somehow it hit me in the mine with rocks on the head. I lost consciousness, I open my eyes - I feel that there is nothing to breathe. I spent only three days in bed, then went to work, because in the mining industry, sick leave is not welcome. You always have to be in the ranks, ”said Sinelnikov.

ALROSA, which develops deposits in Mirny, makes annual contributions to the city's budget. In 2017, the amount of deductions, according to the budget project, will amount to 249.1 million rubles. (30% of the city budget). In addition, under a 2013 agreement, the company is helping the city with a demolition program for dilapidated and dilapidated housing stock. In three years, five apartment buildings were built, 12 residential premises were purchased on the secondary housing market for resettlement. 168 families received apartments in them.

On October 9, 2012, the backfill material collapsed on an area of ​​20 m at the Mir mine. At the time of the accident, there were 110 people at the mine, one person died as a result of the collapse. 109 miners climbed to the surface on their own. A year later, in April 2013, the situation repeated itself.

Collapses are not the only risk associated with quarries. Near the city there are many ore dumps. According to environmentalists, these accumulations are toxic and adversely affect the environment and the quality of life of local residents.

The Indians of North America had a custom, when making peace, to smoke with the enemy as a sign of reconciliation one, common pipe, the "pipe of peace." So, in the "Song of Hiawatha" by the American poet Henry Wadsworth / pa Longfellow (1807 1882) "Lord of life Gitchie Manito ... ... Dictionary of winged words and expressions

peace pipe- n., number of synonyms: 1 tube (54) ASIS Synonym Dictionary. V.N. Trishin. 2013 ... Synonym dictionary

peace pipe- wing. sl. It was the custom of the North American Indians, when making peace, to smoke a common pipe “pipe of peace” with the enemy ... Universal additional practical explanatory dictionary by I. Mostitsky

peace pipe- a symbol of peace and harmony. The origin of the expression is associated with the custom of the North American Indians, when making peace, to smoke a common pipe with enemies. This custom became widely known after the publication of G. Longfellow's poem "The Song of Hiawatha" ... Phraseology Handbook

a tube- noun, number of synonyms: 54 allonge (5) petrol-oil pipe (1) brand pipe (1) ... Synonym dictionary

A TUBE- PIPE, tubes, female. 1. reduce to pipe in 1 digit Long clay pipe. rubber tube. Roll up the paper. 2. A device for smoking, consisting of a cup for applying tobacco and a mouthpiece. Fill your pipe with tobacco. Cherry pipe. ... ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

A TUBE- Stinky pipe. 1. Unfold Bran. About a dishonorable person. Flg., 354. 2. Ryaz. Bran. About the pig. DS, 565. Clyster tube. Jarg. they say Shuttle. iron. Nurse. Maksimov, 183. There is a nail in every pipe. Psk. Unapproved About a man who... Big dictionary of Russian sayings

a tube- Smoke the peace pipe. reconcile [according to the custom of some peoples, which consisted in the fact that opponents, as a sign of reconciliation, smoked a common pipe] ... Phraseological dictionary of the Russian language

Mir (kimberlite pipe)- This term has other meanings, see World. Kimberlite diamond pipe "Mir" Kimberlite pipe "Mir" quarry ... Wikipedia

Kimberlite diamond pipe "Mir"- Kimberlite pipe "Mir" quarry, located in the city of Mirny, Yakutia. The quarry has a depth of 525 m and a diameter of 1.2 km and is one of the largest quarries in the world. Mining of diamondiferous kimberlite ore was stopped in June 2001. Currently ... ... Wikipedia

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Near the city of Mirny, in the Yakut region of permafrost, on the left bank of the middle course of the Irel River, there is the largest diamond quarry in the world, which is called the Mir kimberlite pipe.

Today, a diamond quarry in Yakutia has the following impressive parameters:

1. Its depth is 525 meters.
2. The volume of ore extracted from the quarry is 165 million cubic meters.
3. The bottom diameter is 160-310 meters.
4. The diameter along the outer ring is 1.2 kilometers.
5. The depth that has been explored is up to 1200 meters.

At first glance, one of the largest quarries in the world, where diamonds are mined, impresses with its scope and amazes the imagination. The formation of a kimberlite pipe is a consequence of a volcanic eruption, when gases under enormous temperature and high pressure through the earth's crust break out of the bowels of the earth. A volcanic explosion brings to the surface of the Earth a rock containing diamonds - kimberlite.

The tube has the shape of a glass and looks like a funnel of enormous proportions. The breed bears the same name with the city of Kimberley, located in South Africa, where in 1871 a diamond was found, the weight of which was 85 carats. Found 16, 7 gram "pebble" gave rise to Diamond Rush.

History of the Mir kimberlite pipe

Back in the early 19th century, rumors began to emerge about the presence of precious stones in the territory of Yakutia and the western lands bordering it. Teacher Petr Starovatov, after the civil war, got into a conversation with an old man in Kempendyai, who told him about his discovery a couple of years ago in one of the local rivers - it was a sparkling pebble the size of a pinhead. He sold the find to a merchant for two bottles of vodka, a sack of cereals and five bags of tea. After a while, another person said that he also found precious stones on the banks of the Kempendyak and Chona rivers. But it was only in 1947-1948 that a targeted search for diamonds began for the first time on the territory of the Siberian Platform. In the autumn of 1948, a group of geologists led by G. Fanshtein launched prospecting work on the Vilyuy and Chona rivers, and on August 7, 1949, the first diamond was found on the Sokolina sandy spit, and subsequently a diamond placer was discovered here. The prospecting work of 1950-1953 was also crowned with success - several diamond placers were discovered, and on August 21, 1954, the first kimberlite pipe in the Soviet Union, called Zarnitsa, was discovered.

Soon, on June 13, 1955, the geological party saw a tall larch with exposed roots, where the fox dug a deep hole. The bluish color of the earth suggested that it was kimberlite. This is how a team of geologists discovered a diamond pipe that turned out to be the largest and richest in the world. The following telegram was sent to the authorities: "They lit the pipe of peace, the tobacco is excellent." By means of this classified radiogram, Soviet geologists reported to the capital about the discovery of the Mir kimberlite diamond pipe. The phrase excellent tobacco meant that diamonds contained a large amount.

This discovery was extremely important for the USSR, since after the start of industrialization, the country experienced an acute shortage of industrial diamonds. It was believed that the use of diamond tools would double the country's economic potential, and soon the Mirny settlement arose, where convoys moved off-road, overcoming 2,800 km of the way. At the beginning of 1960, the USSR was already actively mining diamonds worth $1 billion a year, and the village of Mirny became the center of the Soviet diamond mining industry, and today 40,000 people live here.

The richest diamond mine in the world

The deposit was developed in extremely difficult climatic conditions, and in order to break deep into the permafrost, the earth had to be blown up with dynamite. Already in 1960, the annual production of diamonds was 2 kilograms, and 1/5 of them were of gem quality.

Diamonds, after appropriate cutting, turned into amazingly beautiful diamonds, which were used to create jewelry. Soviet citizens planning to get married could afford to buy exquisite diamond engagement rings, in which diamonds were mined in the Yakut Mir kimberlite pipe. The remaining 80% of mined diamonds have been used for industrial purposes, since according to the Mohs scale of reference minerals, this is the hardest mineral in the world with the highest thermal conductivity, dispersion and refraction.

The active development of the Mir kimberlite pipe was of most concern to the South African company De Beers, which was forced to buy Soviet-made diamonds in order to control prices on the world market. The first persons of the company, after negotiations with the Soviet leadership, agreed on the arrival of a delegation from their side in the village of Mirny. A positive answer was given, but with one condition - a delegation from the USSR, in turn, would visit diamond quarries in South Africa.

The delegation of the South African company in 1776 arrived in Moscow with the aim of further flight to the village of Mirny, but it was deliberately delayed, arranging endless meetings and banquet feasts. When the delegation nevertheless arrived in Yakutia to inspect the Mir kimberlite pipe, they had only 20 minutes to inspect it. Despite this, the De Beers specialists were strongly impressed by the scope of what they saw, and were surprised that the Soviet specialists did not use water when processing the ore. Given that this region has been experiencing sub-zero temperatures for 7 months, it is simply impossible to do this.

Today, the city of Mirny has turned from a small tent settlement into a modern industrial city with asphalt roads, developed infrastructure and nine-story high-rise buildings. There is an airport, two diamond processing factories, a city park, bars, restaurants, an art gallery, swimming pools, a stadium, 3 libraries, an art school, a modern Palace of Culture and a 4-story hotel. For a provincial town, there is a rather high intellectual potential here. The research institute "Yakutniproalmaz" has been working here for many years and the Polytechnic Institute is open to applicants.

For 44 years of operation of the Mir quarry (between 1957 and 2001), diamonds were mined here, the cost of which amounted to $ 17 billion. The scale of the quarry increased to such latitudes that trucks had to travel almost 8 km along a spiral road in order to rise from the bottom of the quarry to the surface.

Today, the diamond quarry is owned by the Russian company ALROSA, which in 2001 stopped mining ore in the Mir quarry using open pit technology. The main reason is low efficiency and danger.

Research by scientists has shown that diamonds lie at a depth of more than 1,000 meters, and in order to establish effective mining, not a quarry is needed, but an underground mine. The design capacity of such a mine, according to the plan, will be about a million tons of ore annually. The total period planned for the development of the field is 34 years.

Interesting facts about the kimberlite pipe

1. Helicopters are strictly prohibited from flying over the deep quarry. The reason is as follows - a huge funnel causes turbulence in the air masses, in which aircraft cannot maneuver safely.
2. The walls of the quarry are incredibly high, and they are dangerous not only for helicopters. There is an increased risk of landslides here.

According to rumors, local residents are afraid that one day a huge quarry can absorb the territories adjacent to it, including those that are built up for human habitation, but these are just urban legends of the Mirny village.

Ecological city of the future on the site of a former diamond quarry

Today, an empty huge pit is of interest to scientists, and ideas are already emerging to create an eco-city in this funnel. The head of the architectural bureau of Moscow, Nikolai Lutomsky, shared his plans for an incredible solution. “The main part of the project is a huge concrete structure, which will play the role of a kind of plug, bursting open the quarry from the inside. A light-transparent dome will cover the pit from above, and it is planned to install solar panels on it.

Despite the harsh climate of Yakutia, there are a lot of clear days a year, and the batteries can generate about 200 MW of electricity. It will be enough "with a head" to meet the needs of the future city. In addition, you can use the heat of the Earth, and if in winter the air temperature is minus 60 degrees Celsius, then the temperature of the soil at a depth below 150 meters will be positive (below permafrost). This fact adds energy efficiency to the future project. The city is planned to be divided into three parts:

1. Upper will be used for permanent residence. It will contain residential buildings, buildings and structures of socio-cultural and administrative significance;
2. middle tier- a zone where a forest and a park zone will be spread, designed to purify the air in the city;
3. lower tier will be a so-called vertical farm - agricultural products will be grown here to meet the needs of the city.

The total planned area of ​​the project is 3 million square meters. The city will be able to accommodate up to 10,000 tourists, farm workers and service personnel.

On August 21, 2009, a new significant date in the history of diamond mining, the Mirny underground mine was launched. This is the pinnacle of many years of work of thousands of people, a powerful production unit of AK ALROSA, which makes it possible to extract about 1 million tons of ore containing diamonds. In recent years, Russia has confidently held the palm in diamond mining, thanks to ALROSA. During the year, diamonds were exported in the amount of 1.7 billion dollars, and most of them are in European countries.