Koshechkin Boris Kuzmich (Interview with Artem Drabkin) I was born in the village of Beketovka near Ulyanovsk in 1921. His mother was a collective farmer, his father taught physical education at school. He was an ensign in tsarist army, graduated from the Kazan school of warrant officers. We were seven children. I'm second.

Gorbunov Konstantin

The outstanding traveler Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov (1863–1935) belongs to a brilliant galaxy of enthusiastic explorers of Central Asia. When I was on an excursion, I was surprised to learn that this famous traveler lived in our city. It is amazing how much we sometimes know about Columbus or Magellan and how little we know about Russian explorers. Therefore, I decided to find out as much as possible about Pyotr Kuzmich.

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Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov and his amazing

discovery of the dead city of Khara Khoto

(based on materials from the museum-apartment of P.K. Kozlov)

St. Petersburg

2014

1. Introduction……………………………….................................................. ............3
2. Biography of P.K. Kozlova………………………………………………………...4
3. Discoveries and expeditions……………………………………………5-8
4. Discovery of the dead city of Khara-Khoto……………………………...9-12
5. Conclusion…………………………………………………………….13
6. References……………………………………………………14
7. Applications………………………………………………………15-16

Introduction

The outstanding traveler Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov (1863–1935) belongs to a brilliant galaxy of enthusiastic explorers of Central Asia in the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries. A student and follower of Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky, he devoted his entire life to the scientific exploration of the vast territories of Central Asia, little studied or completely unknown to the geographical science of that time. During his expeditions, P.K. Kozlov carefully prepared a geographical description of the area, conducted meteorological observations, ethnographic notes, descriptions archaeological excavations. The discoveries of his expeditions interested me, and I wanted to know more about this traveler - a famous resident of St. Petersburg.

After interviewing my friends, I was surprised to learn that none of them knew anything about P.K. Kozlov. So I decided to find out as much as possible about him and tell my classmates.

Purpose of the work: to study the discovery of the dead city of Khara-Khoto by the expedition of the Russian traveler P.K. Kozlov in Central Asia in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries.

Job objectives:

1. Study the biography of P.K. Kozlov.
2. Study scientific material about P.K. Kozlov’s discovery of the dead city of Khara-Khoto.
3. Visit the museum-apartment of P.K. Kozlov.
4. Prepare photographic materials for the exhibitions of the museum-apartment of P.K. Kozlov.
5. Describe the contribution of P.K. Kozlov in the development of the territory of Central Asia.

“Khara-Khoto is my discovery, my actual conquest for science”

PC. Kozlov

Biography of P.K. Kozlova

PC. Kozlov was born into a poor, illiterate family in the town of Dukhovshchina in the Smolensk region. After graduating from the city six-grade school, he was going to enter the Vilna Teachers' Institute, but the teachers were unable to get him a government scholarship. Pyotr Kozlov had to get a job in the office of a local distillery in the village of Sloboda (now Przhevalsk, Smolensk region). Chance meeting with N.M. Przhevalsky in 1882 in Sloboda, where the famous traveler’s estate was located, radically changed the life of a village youth.

N.M. Przhevalsky saw in young Pyotr Kozlov soul mate and offered to participate in his 4th Central Asian (2nd Tibetan) expedition. To do this, Kozlov had to pass the exam for the course of the Smolensk Real School and enroll as a volunteer in the army, since N.M. Przhevalsky staffed his expeditions exclusively with military personnel. “Przhevalsky was my great father: he raised, taught and supervised general and private preparations for the trip,” Kozlov later recalled. Under the direct supervision of N.M. Przhevalsky’s young man acquired the knowledge and practical skills necessary for long journeys, in particular he learned the art of preparation. Later, working next to N.M. Przhevalsky, P.K. Kozlov formed as a professional traveler-researcher, mastered his extensive-descriptive method of “route reconnaissance” and successfully used it in his research activities.

“From this two-year trip, my first, I returned a different person - Central Asia became the goal of my life,” Kozlov wrote in a short biographical sketch. “This conviction has not been shaken; on the contrary, it has become even stronger after the severe moral suffering associated with the unexpected death of my unforgettable teacher<...>" Bright image of N.M. Przhevalsky - Psheva - inspired Kozlov all his life.

Another equally highly respected teacher and patron of Kozlov for many years there was a famous geographer and traveler, vice-chairman of the IRGO P.P. Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, who greatly contributed to his expeditionary activities after the death of N.M. Przhevalsky.

PC. Kozlov spent a total of almost 17 years traveling. The unusually harsh climatic conditions of the Asian highlands and deserts could not but affect his health. Physical strength was running out, but the tireless researcher continued to lead an active lifestyle - he often gave lectures, wrote articles, and participated in the work of the Russian Geographical Society and the Academy of Sciences. In 1928, the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR elected him as a full member.

In the early 1930s, Kozlov settled in the village of Strechno, 60 km from Staraya Russa, deep in the Novgorod forests. Here, far from the bustle of city life, he could work calmly in close communion with nature. He often went into the forest to hunt. In mid-1934, however, his condition deteriorated noticeably due to a serious heart ailment. PC. Kozlov died on the night of September 26-27, 1935, while in a sanatorium in Old Peterhof. He was buried in Leningrad at the Smolensk Lutheran cemetery.

Discoveries and expeditions

From 1883 to 1926 PC. Kozlov made six large expeditions to Mongolia, Western and Northern China and Eastern Tibet, three of which he led personally (1). His talent as a traveler-naturalist was especially evident during the first independent Mongol-Kama expedition of 1899–1901. Its scientific results exceeded all expectations - Kozlov brought to St. Petersburg a huge and unusually diverse natural history collection, interesting ethnographic information about the nomadic tribes of Tibet, and valuable data on the zoogeography of completely unexplored regions of Central Asia. As a result of this expedition, which covered more than 10,000 km, the largest ridges in Eastern and Central Tibet were mapped (the ridge of the Russian Geographical Society, the Watershed ridge (of the Huang He and Yangtze basins), the Rockhill ridge, etc.). Kozlov's research was highly appreciated by the world scientific community. The IRGO, which equipped the expedition, awarded the traveler for his outstanding contribution to the study of Central Asia with its highest award - the Konstantinov gold medal.

Kozlov’s next expedition – the Mongol-Sichuan expedition (1907–1909) – glorified him with unique archaeological finds made during excavations of the “dead” city of Khara-khoto on the river. Edzin-gol, in the sands of the southern Gobi. In one of the cult buildings - the suburgan-reliquary, called “famous”, P.K. Kozlov was lucky to find a rich collection containing thousands of books and manuscripts in the Tangut, Chinese, Tibetan and Uyghur languages, hundreds of sculptures and icons, shrines from Buddhist temples, etc. Materials from the “famous” suburgan allowed scientists to restore the history of the forgotten Tangut state of Si- Xia, which existed for about 250 years (982–1227) in the territory of modern northern China.

The discovery and sensational excavations of Khara-khoto received great resonance in scientific world what brought Kozlov highest awards Italian and London Geographical Societies, prize named after. P.A. Chikhacheva French Academy Sciences, and the IRGO and the Hungarian Geographical Society elected him an honorary member in 1910 and 1911, respectively.

Kozlov's Mongol-Kama and Mongol-Sichuan expeditions enriched Russian museums with numerous natural scientific and artistic treasures and at the same time significantly strengthened Russia's priority in the study of the Central Asian region.

Another important event in Kozlov’s life of this period was his acquaintance with the spiritual and temporal ruler of Tibet, the Dalai Lama XIII. Their first meeting took place in 1905, in the capital of Outer Mongolia, Urga, where the Dalai Lama was forced to flee due to the British invasion of Tibet. Captain Kozlovgreeted the Tibetan high priest and presented him with gifts on behalf of the IRGO for the hospitality provided to the Mongol-Kama expedition in 1899–1901, and also, on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the General Staff, discussed the possibility of Russia providing assistance to Tibet. Kozlov’s meeting with the Dalai Lama, which took place at such a dramatic moment for Tibet, marked the beginning of their warm friendly relations that lasted for many years.

In 1909, the traveler paid a new visit to the ruler of Tibet - this time in the Buddhist monastery of Gumbum (in the province of Amdo, in Eastern Tibet). Establishing close relations with the Dalai Lama and his entourage was not only of great political importance, from the point of view of strengthening Russian-Tibetan ties, but was also very useful in on a personal level, because it opened the doors to Lhasa, forbidden to Europeans, for the inquisitive researcher.

Kozlov tried to take advantage of this circumstance in 1914, starting preparations for a new big journey. The expedition was designed as a Mongol-Tibetan expedition. Her goal was to be additional research ruins of Khara-khoto and study of the Tibetan Plateau, mainly the upper reaches basins three great the rivers of Asia - the Yangtze, Mekong and Salwen. At the same time, Kozlov secretly hoped that he would finally be able to fulfill his and his teacher’s cherished dream - to visit Lhasa. But his plans were unexpectedly interfered with world war. As a result, Colonel of the General Staff P.K. Kozlov went to Southwestern Front, where for some time he served as commandant of the cities of Tarnov and Iasi. And then in 1915 he was sent to Mongolia at the head of a special government expedition (“Mongoleks”), which was engaged in the purchase of livestock for the needs of the army.

Kozlov perceived the October Revolution ambiguously, but did not refuse cooperation with the Bolsheviks. His demand played an important role in this. new government. Already in November 1917, the Russian Academy of Sciences appointed Kozlov as commissioner to the famous Crimean acclimatization zoo-reserve Askania-Nova. This appointment was not accidental: well acquainted with the zoo itself and its founder F.E. Falz-Fein, Kozlov, even before the war, energetically advocated the speedy nationalization of this unique corner of nature. And in the new political conditions, he continued the fight to preserve the zoo from looting and destruction, the result of which was a government decree Soviet Ukraine about the “saving” of Askania-Nova in April 1919

Happy ending civil war there was hope for the resumption of research activities, for a new trip to my beloved Central Asia. On August 22, 1922, Kozlov made a report to the Council of the Russian Geographical Society, in which he raised the issue of reviving the failed Mongolian Empire. Tibet expedition, on the same basis and with the same program scientific research, which was proposed to the Society in 1914. The leadership of the Russian Geographical Society warmly supported Kozlov’s plans, hoping with the help of a new large expedition to raise the prestige of the Society and revive its former glory as the main organizer of expeditionary research inside and outside Russia. Immediately after its meeting, the Council of the Russian Geographical Society sent a petition to the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR for permission to conduct a 2-3-year expedition to Mongolia and Tibet. In a letter from the leaders of the Society, this expedition was presented as something completely exceptional, “a one-of-a-kind enterprise,” “a most important geographical feat.” At the same time, it was emphasized that not only “brilliant scientific results” were expected from it - Kozlov’s expedition could, in addition, have “important practical results by establishing new, closer relations with the peoples of Central Asia.”

This permission was obtained without much difficulty. On January 26, 1923, the expedition project was considered by the Provisional Committee of Science under the State Planning Committee, which decided to “allocate 50 thousand rubles in silver lans and 50 thousand in gold in Soviet signs for the equipment of Kozlov’s expedition to Tibet.”

The political situation of that time - the aggravation of Anglo-Soviet relations - did not allow, however, P.K. Kozlov to travel to Tibet, which at that time was in the sphere of English influence. The scientific program of the already approved expedition was radically revised - P.K. Kozlov refused a trip to distant Tibet, concentrating his efforts on exploring Mongolia, adjacent to the USSR. And here again he was lucky. In 1924–1925 The expedition excavated ancient burial mounds north of Urga (modern Ulaanbaatar) in the Noin-ula mountains. These excavations brought a sensation - a large number of perfectly preserved objects were found in the mounds: fabrics, felt carpets with images of mythical animals, women's braids, saddles, bronze items, coins, ceramics and much more. Subsequently, scientists established that the burials belong to the Huns of the Han era of the 3rd–1st centuries BC. e.

In the summer of 1925, upon completion of the excavations, the expedition was divided into two parties - one, under the leadership of S.A. Glagoleva, headed to the Mongolian Altai and from there to Khara-khoto for additional excavations and drawing up the site plan; the other, led by Kozlov himself, set out in the direction of Southern Khangai. Having finally broken out into the “bright scientific expanse of Asia,” Kozlov conducts intensive archaeological exploration, is engaged in route surveys, and replenishes botanical and zoological collections. For about five months, his detachment was in the foothills of Khangai, in southern Mongolia. Here the scientist started new excavations in the Olun-sume tract on the site of the ruins of an ancient monastery, which brought many new valuable finds. Final stage expeditions (spring-summer 1926) - these were paleontological excavations near the Holt River, ornithological observations on Lake Orok-nor, led by the traveler’s wife E.V. Kozlova, visit to Khara-Khoto on Edzin-Gol.

Summing up the results of the three-year activity of the Mongol-Tibetan expedition, it should be said that it owes its scientific achievements not only to P.K. Kozlov, its organizer and leader, but also his young, energetic and, of course, talented companions. A particularly large contribution to the work of the expedition was made by E.V. Kozlova, N.V. Pavlov and S.A. Kondratiev. The first was exclusively fruitfully engaged in ornithological research, which was continued in subsequent years and culminated in the publication of a consolidated work: Birds of Southwestern Transbaikalia, Northern Mongolia and Gobi (L., 1930). The works of N.V. also deserve mention. Pavlova, related to the study of the flora of the high-mountain Khangai. Finally S.A. Kondratiev, who led the excavations of the first Noin-Ula mound, which brought the most valuable finds, and at the same time, with great success, collected and studied musical Mongolian folklore. These two directions in his research activities also left their mark on science.

Expedition P.K. Kozlov to Mongolia in 1923–1926. turned out to be his last Central Asian trip. Despite the resounding success of the Noin-Ula excavations, the researcher still experienced considerable disappointment because he was unable to fulfill his main task, bequeathed to him by the great N.M. Przhevalsky - to visit the most inaccessible parts of central Tibet, primarily Lhasa.

P.K. Kozlov participated in the 4th Central Asian expedition of N.M. Przhevalsky 1883–1885, Tibet expedition M.V. Pevtsov 1889–1890, Tibet expedition V.I. Roborovsky 1893–1895; headed: Mongol-Kama expedition of 1899–1901, Mongol-Sichuan expedition of 1907–1909. and the Mongol-Tibetan expedition of 1923–1926.

Military career of P.K. Kozlova was as successful as her research. After graduating from St. Petersburg infantry school in 1888 he rose from second lieutenant to major general (the latter rank was awarded at the end of 1916).

Based on materials from an article by A.I. Andreeva and T.I. Yusupov, website: http://kozlov-museum.ru

Discovery of the dead city of Khara-Khoto

Legends about the mysterious Khara-Khoto, lost in the sands of the southern part of the Gobi Desert, have always excited the imagination of Russian travelers. Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov also became interested in them. He dreamed of unraveling the secrets of this dead city. In November 1907, at the head of the Mongol-Sichuan expedition, he went to Mongolia. The Chinese and Mongolian administrations carefully concealed the location of the ancient ruins from the Russians. However, Kozlov managed to enlist the support of the local prince of the Torgout-Beile tribe, and with the help of a guide named Bata, on March 19, 1908, the expedition finally approached the dead city, located in a bend of the Etsing Gol River.
A high fortress wall appeared before the travelers, forming a square along the perimeter. On the western side, there were two suburgans (mausoleums), one of which was almost completely destroyed. The walls, except the western one, were covered with sand to the very top.

Archaeologists have begun excavations. Already in the first days, the expedition discovered unique things: books, letters, metal and paper money, women's jewelry, household items... All this was transported with the greatest precautions to St. Petersburg, to the Russian Geographical Society.

To which historical era Can we call it a dead city? Who were its inhabitants? These questions haunted the entire expedition. Soon a response came from St. Petersburg. Colleagues congratulated Kozlov on an important scientific discovery. It turned out that Khara-Khoto was once the capital of the Tangut state - the Xi-Xia people, who professed the Buddhist faith. Kozlov was allowed to continue excavations, and in May 1909 the expedition returned to Khara-Khoto and resumed work.

The researchers paid special attention to the suburgan located outside the fortress territory. It was located a quarter of a mile from the fortress wall. This suburgan, who later received the name “Famous,” presented the expedition with a whole library of books (up to 2000 volumes), many scrolls, manuscripts, samples of Buddhist icon painting, painted in paint on thick canvas, on thin silk fabrics and on paper; they came across very interesting metal and wooden figurines, cliches. All finds were well preserved in the dry desert climate.

Subsequently, Pyotr Kozlov recalled: “When we opened the images, marvelous images of seated figures appeared before us, immersed in a soft blue and soft pink radiance. There was something living, expressive, and whole about the Buddhist saints. For a long time we could not tear ourselves away from contemplating them - they were so indescribably good... But as soon as we lifted one of the sides of one or another canvas, most The colors immediately separated, and with it, like a light ghost, all the charm disappeared and only a faint memory remained of the former beauty...”

On the pedestal of the “Famous”, right in the center, there was a vertical pole, around which up to two dozen large, human-sized clay statues stood facing the center. In front of them lay huge handwritten sheets of the letter “si-xia,” hundreds of them piled on top of one another.

The very interesting Tangut letter could have remained one of the secrets if not for a happy coincidence: among the many books, a dictionary of the Si-Xia language was found. Thus, the books were able to be deciphered.

A clergyman was probably buried in the suburgan; his skeleton was in a sitting position. The skull, which was quite well preserved, most likely belonged to a woman aged fifty. As N.K. later recalled. Roerich, he clearly remembered some things from Kozlov’s finds in Khara-Khoto in Mongolia: “I remember a wonderful image of a woman’s head. If such people lived in desert cities, then how far these places were from savagery.”

The collection of Mongolian documents found in Khara-Khoto is varied in content - among them: a book of fortune telling, intended to determine happy and unlucky days. It is compiled according to Chinese models, and at the end there are recipes for preparing medicines for diseases that affect horses. For the Mongolian herdsman who knows Chinese, these recipes represent special interest, and therefore they were recorded in a fortune-telling book, which was in constant use, as evidenced by its severe wear and tear.

One fragment of 14 lines turned out to be an excerpt from the teachings of Genghis Khan. And during excavations of houses inside the city, samples of money from the Yuan dynasty were found, on which the inscription was preserved: “Counterfeiters will have their heads cut off.”

In 1923–1926, Kozlov again worked for two months in Khara-Khoto. While clearing parts of the buildings from sand, his employees discovered beautiful frescoes that decorated all the walls. The colors were dominated by greenish-blue tones, and the designs mostly depicted fantastic birds, such as a two-headed parrot. In one of the niches of the northern wall, researchers were lucky enough to find a whole series of clay heads with different expressions persons These, apparently, in most cases were fragments of figurines of Buddha's disciples.

The folk legend that Kozlov recorded tells of the last days of Khara-Khoto as follows:

“The last ruler of the city of Khara-Khoto, the warrior Khara-jian-jun, relying on an invincible army, intended to take the Chinese throne from the emperor, as a result of which Chinese government was forced to send a significant detachment against him. Having lost a number of battles, the warrior took refuge in his last refuge, the city of Khara-Khoto, which was surrounded.

Unable to take the city by storm, the imperial troops decided to deprive the besieged of water, for which the Entsin-Gol River was diverted from the city, damming the former bed with sandbags. The besieged began to dig a well, but even at 300 meters there was no water. Then the warrior decided to give the enemy his last general battle, but in case of failure, he used a dug well in advance, hiding all his wealth in it, which, according to legend, there were at least 80 carts and carts, 20-30 poods in each - this is one silver, not counting other valuables, and then he killed two of their daughters, and then a son and a daughter, so that the enemy would not abuse them. Having done all this, the batyr ordered a hole to be made in the northern wall near the place where he hid his wealth. Led by the troops, he rushed towards the enemy. In this decisive battle, both Khara-jian-jun and his army, which until that time had been considered invincible, died. The imperial troops, as usual, destroyed the captured city to the ground, but did not find any hidden wealth. They say that the treasures still lie there, despite the fact that the Chinese of neighboring cities and the local Mongols have repeatedly tried to take possession of them. They entirely attribute their failures in this enterprise to a conspiracy orchestrated by Hara-jian-jun himself. The natives believe in the reality of a strong conspiracy especially after last time Treasure seekers, instead of riches, discovered two large snakes, brightly shining with red and green scales.

True, the traders said, there were daredevils among us who gathered in company, dug the ground in Khara-Khoto and found something... We came across bronze-golden figurines, silver ingots. But then one day, quite a few years ago, one brave and happy old woman found three strings of large pearls there. Together with her sons, the old woman was looking for the missing horses. They were caught by a storm, fleeing from which the Torgouts unexpectedly came across the walls of Khara-Khoto and spent a cold night under their protection. The next morning the bad weather subsided, but before heading home to Etsin-Gol, the Torgouts wanted to wander around the extinct city. And then the old woman saw silver beads lying openly and shining brightly. At this time, an ordinary Chinese caravan with a lot of different goods arrived at the traders... And the Chinese paid the old woman for the pearls with the contents of their entire caravan.”

About monuments Mongolian writing from Khara-Khoto historian V.L. Kotvich said the following: “After the defeat caused by Genghis Khan in 1226–1227, the Tanguts, or “Xi-Xia,” became part of formed by the Mongols powers. Despite this defeat, the national and cultural life of the country did not fade away, as evidenced by the extensive Tangut literature with its unique writing. The documents found in Khara-Khoto do not have exact dates, but their paleographic features and the fact that they were found with banknotes issued by the Mongols in China give grounds to attribute these monuments to the time of the world domination of the Mongols, that is, before 1368.” April Tsokto Badmazhapov discovered the ruins of Khara-Khoto (1) December 28 Departure of the expedition from Kyakhta (2)

1908 January 25 Departure from Urga (3) March 19 Arrival reconnaissance squad in Khara Khoto. Beginning of excavations. March 21 Discovery of the first Tangut manuscripts. March 30 Discovery of ancient banknotes. Departure to the south. April – June The expedition stopped in the courtyard of Tsokto Badmazhapov’s house in Bayan Khoto. Exploring the Alashan ridge. August 31 – September 9 Sailing on Lake Kukunor, landing on Kuysu Island, depth measurements and taking samples of bottom sediments. December 7 In the Guidui oasis, Kozlov received a letter from the Geographical Society with an offer to return to Khara-Khoto (4)

1909 Night from January 12 to 13 Treacherous attack of the Amdo Tanguts on the expedition (5) February 22 – March 7 Stop at the Gumbum monastery. Negotiations with the Dalai Lama XIII (6) May 22 Return to Khara-Khoto, start of full-scale excavations. May 30 – June 7 Work on the “famous” suburgan; sensational finds. On June 16, the expedition caravan left Khara-Khoto. Autumn Kozlov's archaeological collection was safely delivered to St. Petersburg.

Conclusion

Scientific heritage of P.K. Kozlov is unusually extensive and has not yet been fully mastered by scientists. It includes his expedition reports, articles and books, travel diaries and surviving huge correspondence with colleagues and friends, cartographic and photographic materials. These are new names on geographical maps, and new species of representatives of the animal kingdom discovered by the scientist-traveler, as well as unique rich collections - archaeological, ethnographic, natural history and others, now stored in the best museum collections of St. Petersburg - in the Hermitage, in the Museum anthropology and ethnography named after. Peter the Great (Kunstkamera), Zoological, Botanical Museums and the St. Petersburg branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The memorial museum-apartment of P.K. Kozlov takes you into the wonderful world of the past.

Having visited the traveler’s museum-apartment, I was convinced that Pyotr Kuzmich made a huge contribution to the study of Central Asia. He was a strong, courageous man, dedicated to his cause geographical science. Until the end of his life, he worked tirelessly and devoted a lot of time to educating young people. His works are very valuable to this day.

Modern schoolchildren know enough about H. Columbus or F. Magellan, but are very little familiar with Russian travelers. Unfortunately, in school course geography says nothing about the expeditions of P.K. Kozlov, so I decided to prepare a short lecture and deliver it at geography lessons for students at my school.

Website of the museum-apartment of the traveler P.K. Kozlov. Among the items on display in the museum are: archival documents, diaries, letters, books, geographical maps, drawings and photographs, personal belongings of P.K. Kozlov, testifying to great era scientific development Russia in the Central Asian region. Of great interest is the expedition equipment of that time - pack bags and boxes for transporting instruments and collections, gun equipment, compasses, binoculars, photographic accessories. Two items stand out in particular, which were repeatedly exhibited at city and international exhibitions: a men's traveling dining bag with 20 items in a leather suitcase and a folding mahogany desk with full set accessories. Among the exhibits of an ethnographic nature, it is worth noting objects of Buddhist cult - a perfectly preserved monastery gong, as well as several ceremonial scarves - “khadak”. One of them was presented to Kozlov in 1905 by the ruler of Tibet, the Dalai Lama XIII.

Kozlov Pyotr Kuzmich (1863–1935), Russian Soviet researcher of Central Asia, academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR. Expedition participant N.M. Przhevalsky, M.V. Pevtsova, V.I. Roborovsky. He led the Mongol-Tibetan and Mongol-Sichuan expeditions. He discovered the remains of the ancient city of Khara-Khoto, the burial mounds of the Huns, and collected extensive geographical and ethnographic materials.

Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov was born in the city of Dukhovshchina, Smolensk province. He learned to read even before school, where he was sent only at the age of twelve. I read books about travel and adventures, and read geographical literature with great interest. This was the time of Przhevalsky's worldwide fame. Newspapers and magazines constantly reported on his travels and discoveries. The wind of distant wanderings captured the soul of the teenager, who voraciously read books and articles of the great fellow countryman and newspaper materials about his travels in Central Asia.

Work in the office of the brewery, where Petya Kozlov got a job after school, was boring and uninteresting. The romantic clerk's dreams took him to the wilds of the Indian jungle, to the mountains of Tibet and the deserts of Asia, and this certainly happened on expeditions under the command of the great Przhevalsky. But to make his dream come true, he had to study, and Kozlov began to prepare to enter a teacher’s institute. However, it so happened that on one of the summer evenings In 1882 he met with Przhevalsky. The general saw a serious and reliable companion in the young romantic. He settled P.K. Kozlova in his estate and helped prepare for the exam for the full course of a real school. Having a secondary education that differed little from gymnasium, P.K. Kozlov entered the military service volunteered and three months later was enrolled in Przhevalsky’s expedition.

During his life, P.K. Kozlov made six trips to Central Asia, where he explored Mongolia, the Gobi Desert and the Kham Desert (the eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau). The first three trips took place under the leadership of N.M. Przhevalsky, M.V. Pevtsov and V.I. Roborovsky, respectively.

The first trip on an expedition to explore Northern Tibet and Eastern Turkestan was for Kozlov an enviable school of wandering and survival. He received not only the physical and spiritual training necessary for traveling in the difficult conditions of the harsh nature of Central Asia, but also baptism of fire in skirmishes with numerically superior armed gangs of robbers. Returning from his first trip (1883–1885), P.K. Kozlov entered a military school, after which he was promoted to officer.

In the fall of 1888, P.K. Kozlov went on a trip again with N.M. Przhevalsky. But this expedition, interrupted by the death of Przhevalsky, resumed only in the fall of 1889. Kozlov conducted research in the regions of Eastern Turkestan. His works provided a significant share of the rich geographical and natural-historical material that the expedition collected.

The third expedition, of which Kozlov was a participant, was led by V.I. Roborovsky. On this journey, P.K. Kozlov independently, separately from the caravan, carried out surveys of the surrounding area, walking along some routes up to 1000 km, in addition, he collected the vast majority of samples from the zoological collection. When Roborovsky became seriously ill, Kozlov took over the leadership of the expedition and, having successfully brought it to the end, presented the “Report of the Assistant Head of the Expedition P.K. Kozlova."

His first independent journey P.K. Kozlov performed as the head of the Mongol-Tibetan expedition. 18 people took part in the 1899 expedition, 14 of them were Cossacks of the mounted convoy. The route started from the Altai postal station near the Mongolian border, went through the Mongolian Altai, then along the Central Gobi and Kama - the eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau, practically unknown to scientists.

During the expedition P.K. Kozlov made detailed descriptions of numerous physical and geographical objects - Lake Kukunor with a circumference of 385 km, lying at an altitude of 3.2 km, the sources of the Mekong and Yalongjiang rivers (a tributary of the Yangtze), a number of the greatest mountains, including two powerful ridges previously unknown to science in the system Kunlun. PC. Kozlov named them after Dutreil-de-Rance (the famous French explorer of Central Asia who died in these places) and Woodville-Rockhill, an English traveler.

In addition, P.K. Kozlov gave brilliant sketches of the economy and life of the population of Central Asia, including a description of the complex rituals of the Tsaidam Mongols celebrating the most important events in life from birth to death. He collected a huge collection of fauna and flora of the places he passed. During the expedition, Cossacks and travelers more than once had to engage in battles with armed detachments of up to 300 people, set against foreigners by local lamas. For almost two years the expedition could not report itself to Russia, which gave rise to rumors in the homeland about the death of Kozlov’s detachment. The expedition is described by P.K. Kozlov in two big books"Mongolia and Kam" and "Kam and the way back." During this journey P.K. Kozlov was awarded to the Russians geographical society gold medal

In 1907–1909 P.K. Kozlov led the Mongol-Sichuan expedition. This fifth trip for him along the route from Kyakhta to Urga (Ulaanbaatar) and further into the depths of Central Asia brought him fame as an outstanding archaeologist. He discovered the dead city of Khara-Khoto in the Gobi sands, which provided archaeological material of enormous value. Special significance has a library of 2,000 books discovered during excavations at Khara-Khoto in the Tangut language, unknown at that time. The collection of woodcuts (boards for printing books and religious images) discovered there indicates that the East was familiar with printing hundreds of years before its appearance in Europe. Until now, none of the libraries of foreign museums (including the British Museum in London) has a collection of Tangut books of similar importance. The collection of printed paper money from the 13th–14th centuries discovered in Khara-Khoto is the only one in the world. Excavations at Khara-Khoto also yielded a rich assortment of statues, figurines and all kinds of religious figurines and more than 300 Buddhist images painted on wood, silk, linen and paper. All finds in Khara-Khoto, characterizing the culture and life of the ancient Tangut state of Xi-xia, have important historical and cultural significance.

After the discovery of Khara-Khoto, the expedition of P.K. Kozlova explored Lake Kukunor with Koisu Island and the vast territory of Amdo in the bend of the middle reaches of the Yellow River. From this expedition, Kozlov brought back numerous collections of animals and plants, among which there were many new species and even genera. The fifth journey of P.K. Kozlova is described by him in the book “Mongolia and Amdo and the Dead City of Khara-Khoto.”

The sixth journey of P.K. Kozlov took place in 1923–1926 across a small territory of Northern Mongolia. In the Noin-Ula mountains (130 km northwest of Ulaanbaatar), he discovered 212 Hunnic burials dating back 2,000 years. This became the greatest archaeological discovery of the 20th century. Numerous objects were discovered in the burial grounds, which can be used to reconstruct the economy and life of the Huns of those times - artistically executed fabrics and carpets from the era of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom, which then existed in the northern part modern territory Iran, Afghanistan and northwestern India.

Having completed the sixth journey, P.K. Kozlov lived first in Leningrad, and then 50 km from Staraya Russa (Novgorod region), in the village of Strechno. There he organized a circle young naturalists, whom he taught to collect collections, scientific definition and dissection of harvested animals and plants.

Peru P.K. Kozlov owns over 60 works.