I would never have believed that a desert could exist on our northern peninsula. Of course, it's all kind of a desert, at least in winter, when everything here is covered with a dense layer of snow. But now I mean a real, classic desert consisting of billions of grains of sand, not snowflakes.
This desert is small, 7 km long and 1.5 km across, but it continues to grow annually. Walk from it to the north for only 30 km and here you are again in the Arctic Circle. A small mockery from nature, which brought sand dunes here, but did not dare to cross a certain line of the possessions of invisible forces. Although, of course, this is not the work of Mother nature, but of man. How often it happens.
Just 50 years ago, this place was part of the picturesque Tersk coast, with dense coniferous forests, bright undergrowth full of berries and mushrooms, and carefree forest animals. But the Soviet country needed resources, a lot of resources, including salt. Residents of the local village began its active extraction by evaporating salt from seawater. It requires fuel, so large-scale deforestation has begun.
Even decades after tree felling stopped, the desert continues to grow. There are no effective barriers for her, and the north winds only help expand her possessions. So, here, in the most unexpected place for this, a piece of the Sahara appeared. This is not all that people have changed in these parts…
What strikes even more lazily moving dunes are wild horses. It would be more accurate to say feral horses. Oh, yes, I came here for them, because in school lessons we were always told that there are no horses so far north, only reindeer. But here they are, in front of me.
They are strangers here, their homeland is thousands of kilometers from these shores. In the 1980s, Soviet breeders decided that it would be a good idea to bring 18 horses from Yakutia to these places. They believed that this frost-resistant breed would be able to withstand the harsh climatic conditions of the Arctic. Well, they were right…
With the onset of dark times after the fall of the country, horses became useless to anyone and scattered around. The locals were not worried about the problems of animals, everyone was fighting for their own survival. Everyone believed that with the arrival of winter, horses would die out, especially since the desert was already here, and the lack of foot food definitely didn’t leave a chance for horses.
However, in spite of everything, they survived, and stayed here, in the desert, in the far north. In summer it is a sandy desert, and in winter it is snowy. The horses in the photos are the 6-7 generation of the same animals imported from Siberia and abandoned here 40 years ago. They will not leave these parts. This breed is not characterized by relocation, only if the herd becomes too large for the territory. The situation is reversed here. At the beginning there were 18, 16 stallions and 2 mares. Today there are only 9 of them left. A couple of years ago, a young stallion decided to leave the herd and died.
There is another reason why they stay here and how they continue to survive given the expansion of the desert - modern locals feed these inappropriate migrants in winter. Or the horses themselves feast on scraps from the trash. Although the 80 remaining residents here can't give them too much food.
In summer, horses have a paradise, almost any tourist who comes to our region tries to get to these places to see the sands and their strange inhabitants. And everyone knows that you should not come here empty-handed. These horses are very cheeky, like seagulls. Be sure that each of them will persistently push you with their muzzle and stick their head right into the car window until you feed the beggar.
It is hoped that, given the tourist interest, local authorities will take care of these animals, but this is unlikely, especially in the current political situation.
So far, these horses wander through this small and strange desert, sometimes entering the village to beg for food from the locals, or to catch the next tourists.
Anyway, leaving these amazing sands, we were not sad, but believed that these stubborn animals would cope with any difficulty, and still surprise us all. And we will try to visit them more often and bring more delicious food. If you find yourself nearby, pay a little attention to them, you won't regret it.
