Khomutovskaya steppe is the former central branch of the Ukrainian State Steppe Natural Reserve. Botanical reserve. The Khomutovskaya Steppe received the status of a nature reserve in 1926 and by resolutions of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR No. 311 on July 22, 1983, No. 805 on June 25, 1964.

The reserve is located in the Novoazovsky district of the Donetsk region on the left bank of the Gruzskaya Elanchik River.

The territory of the reserve is located on the Azov coastal plain and descends from north to south.

Area - 1028 hectares.

The steppe has survived to this day almost unchanged. The reserve has relict plants; plants of the forb-feather grass, fescue-feather grass, and meadow steppe groups have been preserved and protected.

Narrow-local Azov and Azov-Donets endemics grow in the reserve: capitate paronychia, ephedra bispica, unusual feather grass (known only in the Khomutov steppe), Azov feather grass, Brauner feather grass, rough feather grass, Azov stars, Speedwell of Azov.
There are also other very rare plants: bright red delphinium, Volga kalofaka, Tatarian katran.

The flora includes 604 species of vascular plants, 59 bryophytes, 65 algae, 46 lichens, 283 fungi (including micromycetes). 26 species of flora are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine. There are 38 species of mammals, 190 of birds, 7 of reptiles, 5 of amphibians.
When walking around the reserve, you need to carefully look at your step, as you can meet a viper, which is poisonous.

Fundamental base scientific research. There is a museum in the reserve.

At the beginning of May, the flowering period of wild peonies (“piwonia”, as the locals say) begins. The entire steppe is covered with bright red spots of flowers and becomes like a swaying red sea. The territory of the steppe where peonies grow is gradually expanding, by about 300-500 m per year.

Commemorative stele at the filming site of the film "Steppe" in the Khomutovskaya steppe

Historical meaning

On the territory there are 3 mounds and clusters of old marmot settlements.

In the Khomutovskaya steppe, Sergei Bondarchuk filmed an adaptation of “The Steppe” by A.P. Chekhov.

Some tips:

The best time to visit the Khomutovskaya Steppe Nature Reserve is the end of May - beginning of June. Bright colors, a light breeze and a flowering steppe - all this is only available at this time.

On the territory of the Khomutovskaya Steppe Nature Reserve, a whole herd of horses is raised that you can ride. At the very least, be sure to check them out. Amazingly beautiful animals!

Visit the museum room of the Khomutovskaya Steppe Nature Reserve. Despite small size, it features several dioramas dedicated to different times years in the steppe. In addition, the museum room contains stuffed animals and birds that live in the reserve.

Pay attention to several bird aviaries equipped on the territory of the Khomutovskaya Steppe Nature Reserve. Peacocks, pigeons, and royal pheasants will surely delight your eyes and lift your spirits.

Be sure to talk to the director of the department; it will be better if you persuade him to personally conduct a tour. A very pleasant, knowledgeable and passionate person.

Photo: Yulia ANDRIENKO

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When the news makes you want to crawl under your pillow, and the urban landscape, even in autumn, seems like the wretched work of a half-educated apprentice, you need to drop everything and go somewhere. It’s best to go where the horizon is not lined with houses and the endless steppe is open to your eyes.

It is there that you will feel your closeness to the nomads, the textbook Scythians, Pechenegs, Sarmatians will suddenly be resurrected in your head, you will hear the clatter of the hooves of a rushing herd and your lungs will be filled with a wind soaked in thyme and wormwood.

The island of the Wild Field is an hour's drive from civilization

An hour's drive from Donetsk, in the Novoazovsky region, near the border with the Russian Federation, lies the Khomutovskaya steppe - a virgin island of the Wild Field, never touched by the plow, undisturbed by the hand of man. The reserve is located on the left bank of the Gruzsky Elanchik, a shallow river slowly flowing with its slow waters. Here, in general, everything is leisurely, there is a wise mind in everything and some kind of deep understanding of the laws of life.

During its history, the Khomutovskaya steppe changed its subordination several times, while maintaining its protected status. In 1926, the Mariupol District Executive Committee decided not to plow the steppe, but to transfer it to the jurisdiction of the Mariupol District Museum of Local Lore. In 1947, the Khomutovskaya steppe became a nature reserve of Republican significance. Until 2014, the steppe was the central branch of the Ukrainian Steppe Nature Reserve. And since June 3, 2015 - this is a branch of the Biosphere Specially Protected natural area republican significance.

Mistress of the Khomutovskaya steppe

We are greeted by Mayevskaya Yulia – Deputy Director for Scientific Work at the Reserve. She has only been in charge of this post for a few months, having returned from Russia and taken over the endless Khomutov steppe and a small house without any amenities or frills of civilization - it has no water, no bathroom, no Internet. At the same time there is a feeling of home and warmth. In addition to Yulia, the house is inhabited by: husband Yuri - her right hand on economic issues, daughter Nastya, and also the starling Zhora, a jackdaw, a dog, a cat with kittens, chickens squeaking in a box and melancholic giant snails - Achatina - grazing in the aquarium. Julia brought birds, a cat with kittens, snails and a dog from Russia, where a short time I was leaving the war with my family.

People were carrying trunks with things, and I was carrying animals and birds. Our jackdaw has a wounded wing; she can no longer survive in nature,” says Yulia. – The fact is that since childhood I have felt guilty about birds. Once, while on vacation in Svyatogorsk, my parents and I rescued a chick of a jackdaw that had fallen from its nest, we went out with it, became attached, it already recognized us, but they didn’t allow me to take it with me. We left, and soon found out that he had died. The chick was tame and sociable, was not afraid of people, sat on the shoulder of a drunken tourist and he killed him. I never forgave myself. And when I found out that according to the advertisement they were giving away good hands jackdaw, then she took this bird to herself.

The plans include the creation of a center for the rehabilitation and reintroduction of animals

Suddenly I understand that if there was anyone to entrust the reserve to, it would only be her. For such a person, every bird is a personality and every blade of grass is a value.

There shouldn’t be cats in the reserve, their place is next to people, we try to catch them and give them to people in the village, this animal is not typical for the steppe, and therefore will inevitably upset the balance in the animal world,” Yulia surprises me. I wouldn't even think about this. “We have our cat like this: it was raining, she was lying on the ground under a piece of slate and feeding the kittens, several ducklings were basking on top of them, and a yellow-bellied snake - a representative of the Red Book of Donbass - was dozing on top of the ducklings!

Today excursions are prohibited in the Khomutovskaya steppe; an exception is made for us.

We are not a commercial organization, and therefore do not have the right to conduct excursions, horseback riding, etc. – says Yulia. - Although this money would not be superfluous in such a large farm. The reserve's territory of 1030 hectares consists of unplowed steppe. It includes an absolute zone where no activity can be carried out, and everyone is prohibited from walking there except researchers, and there is a relative zone. This is where you and I are, horses graze on it. Today a draft is being prepared for the Council of Ministers, which will allow partial economic activity. In addition, it is planned to create a center for the rehabilitation and reintroduction of animals that need human help. Children will be able to communicate with them and learn to love all living things.

We are walking through the so-called relative zone. Yulia shows plants that are not typical of the steppe; their appearance here is solely the merit of man.

This plant,” our guide points to a forked yellow leaf, “is a contemporary of dinosaurs, this is Ginkgo biloba. In China it is called silver apricot, it begins to bear fruit at the age of 40, and lives up to five thousand years. Can you imagine? The famous medicine is made from the leaves and fruits of the plant.

It seems that Julia knows absolutely everything about every leaf.

There is also a mini-zoo with inhabitants that are not typical for the steppe: peacocks, king pheasants, guinea fowl. This is more for guests.

Women are different

Julia shows us a corral with horses. Today their number in the Khomutovskaya steppe is 40 animals. Horses are needed for a real steppe, because they eat and trample down those plants that can multiply too much and choke out other plants, which are also very important for the standard steppe. Unlike other ungulates, horses do not cause significant damage to the vegetation of the steppe and in a certain amount - required attribute steppe reserve.

In reality, our reserve cannot handle such an amount. There should be no more than 16 individuals in this area and all under supervision. They graze for ten days in different areas so that the vegetation can recover, because there are a lot of Red Book plants here,” explains our guide.

We go out into the steppe. On both sides of the path among the threads of feather grass there are stone women. Their bodies are covered with colorful lichens and moss. But only to an amateur like me do these sculptures seem like identical gloomy idols.

This is a funeral figure, in her hands is either a cup or nothing,” Stanislav Kochetkov, with whom we came from Donetsk, points with his hand at one of the women. – But this is a typical woman, called a Slav, she was a symbol of fertility, who had signs of pregnancy or developed breasts and hips. If we see careful attention to detail, this is a Khazar tradition.

It’s better not to touch all this with your hands; on their bodies we can see unique types of lichens that are unique to Donbass; you won’t find them anywhere else in the world,” warns Yulia. – In general, you need to behave this way in the reserve so as not to interfere with anything around you. I often recall the words of Professor Preobrazhensky, who said that a scientist should grope in nature, and not put a crown on his head and shout that I am the king of beasts.

From a distance it seems like we are seeing another woman. We come closer, but no, it turns out that this is a memorial stone as a sign that 41 years ago, People’s Artist of the USSR Sergei Bondarchuk filmed a film adaptation of Chekhov’s story “The Steppe” here.

The biggest enemy is man

It is surprising to see rare flowering plants among the feather grass in late autumn, the more beautiful is their meager beauty.

When do fires happen in the steppe? - I ask.

A fire in the steppe, the so-called fire, is a natural phenomenon; the nomads even deliberately set fire to their camp sites and moved on,” Mayevskaya calmly explains. – Plants have a powerful root system and recover. It is only scary if the fall occurs in the spring, when birds nest, young hatch, and plants begin to bloom. But in no case should you make a furrow to prevent a fire, this is much more harm for nature.

Yulia says that there is serious work ahead - we need to restore populations long-eared hedgehog, marmot and many other animals that previously lived in the steppe, this requires creating a food supply typical for them. In addition, the teren grows very much, taking away more and more more territory steppes.

By the way, this is also the influence of a person,” Yulia is convinced. – Near the steppe, people planted trees, the fruits of which the jay feeds on, it hides the fruits in the steppe and plants that have never been here begin to grow. If we leave everything as it is, then in 200 years the Khomutovskaya steppe will disappear as a phenomenon, there will be a forest park here.

Suddenly, in the depths behind the trees, we see a cozy gazebo, as peaceful as everything around. We hide in it from the rain that has begun. The sky, which had previously pleased with rare rays of the sun, suddenly darkened and remembered autumn. It's time to go to Donetsk, and the steppe will remain sighing with feather grass, as it has been doing for hundreds of years, and waiting for us to visit in the spring.

The wild field was famous for its steppe man-made mounds. Few have survived untouched to this day, only the highest ones, to the tops of which once, in the distant past, stone “women” ascended and established themselves for many centuries as stern guards, and close to us they were replaced by new sentries - first wooden and iron trigonometric towers , and then powerful masts of high-voltage lines.

Such mounds are in wild, pristine beauty: they are in thickets of never-mown grass, feather grass on them, like the gray hairs of an old man, on their slopes there is thick wormwood and mighty black grass, belt-length yellow sweet clover, impassable fescue and bluegrass.

With their wildness they remind of the Chekhov steppe, the Zaporozhye Sich and the lands of the Scythians.

But around them are vast fields of wheat, and it is difficult to even imagine the gray, vast steppe untouched by man. And sometimes, to the point of heartache, I want to see it in all its unprecedented beauty, to see it in order not only to admire it, but also to understand: where did your career begin? ancient ancestor, and what have we lost since then, conquering nature?

And there is such a steppe. It's not far from the village Khomutovo, Novoazovsky district, Donetsk region. It spreads over more than a thousand hectares, never plowed or mowed.

The herd steppe has long been a forbidden zone in the land use of the Don Cossacks. No matter what shortages of crops, no matter what hot winds and dust storms hit the Don region, in the Khomutovskaya steppe - no plowing for grain, no mowing grass, no grazing cattle!

Local residents, very old people, claim that only in such difficult times and only by decision of the combined arms Cossack circle were brought to Khomutovskaya steppe Herds of village stud stallions - the beauty and pride of the Cossacks - were brought in in order to preserve in the free steppe the basis of the entire way of life of the steppe inhabitants. And in the open air they survived even the hardest times.

Immediately after the establishment of Soviet power Khomutovskaya steppe became a reserve of local importance, and since 1946 - a state reserve of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR.

Square is 1030.4 hectares, and 90 of them are absolutely protected areas, which have never been touched by a plow and on which no livestock has been grazed or mowed for 70 years. In the territory Khomutovskaya steppe Plants of the group of lowland forbs - fescue - feather grass steppe have been preserved and protected. In the Khomutovskaya steppe 604 species of flowering plants and ferns - grasses, shrubs and trees - sprout. Of these, 19 are endemic, i.e. distributed over a very limited area. In the nature reserve Khomutovskaya steppe 59 species of mosses, 46 species of lichens and over 270 fungi have also been registered. The most typical and widespread representatives of the flora Khomutovskaya steppe are: katran, kermek, feather grass, voloshki, kashka, wheatgrass, brome, tyrsa, adonis, tulip, violets, almonds, gorse, caragana, cornflowers, bluegrass, sage, cutter, scabiosa and hundreds of other plants. Each of them decorates in its own way and in its own time. steppe.

Diverse fauna Khomutovskaya Steppe Nature Reserve: wolf, fox, raccoon dog, hare, hamster, bobak, gopher, vole, mice, ferret, weasel, lizard, snake, copperhead, grass snake, steppe viper, toads, frogs, etc. feathered world The Khomutovskaya steppe is represented by more than 80 species of birds. Partridge, quail, pheasant, ducks, bustard, streptus, larks, starlings, harriers, steppe eagle, shrike, warblers, tit, oriole, falcon, kestrel, honey buzzard, warbler, bittern, snipe, lapwing, kingfisher, heron, cuckoo - these are the most frequently encountered birds.

It's hard to recommend when is the best time to visit Khomutovskaya steppe. Most in early spring or when the snow just melts away under the dim and still not hot sun and the steppe glistens under the bluish frame of black earth plows sun rays emerald greens of abundant grasses, blazing with meadows of coltsfoot flowers and red tulips. At the end of May, when hundreds of herbs are blooming and on dozens of hectares here and there feather grass has fluffed up silken strands and, drenched in abundant dew in the morning, it is motionless, and by noon its stems, sensitive to the slightest breath of wind, will begin to bend and roll in gray waves , and all the immense variety of colors will sparkle, sparkle like a blue rainbow, and sage, thyme and wormwood, warmed by the midday heat, will begin to exude such beautiful, unique smells that you will involuntarily exclaim after N.V. Gogol: “Damn you, steppes, how good you are.” !”

And having exclaimed this, you will want to visit here close to the middle of summer, when the grass reaches up to your knees and waist. And here Gogol’s steppe will involuntarily come to mind again. The steppe, when Taras Bulba travels with his sons to the Zaporozhye Sich. You involuntarily look ahead, as if now at the next turn of the road drowned in grasses, making its way through the steppe carefully and leisurely, the hero of the Russian land Taras will loom with the slender and thin at the waist Andrei and the heavy, lop-moustached Ostap.

Taras is calm and wise, from under powerful hand, with her visor attached to her keen eyes, she examines the steppe gullies and gullies: whether a nimble Tatar will unexpectedly appear from them, whether swift Nogai arrows will whistle from there, whether a patrol of steppe nomads will rush towards a Cossack patrol.

The steppe was still full of voices at this time. The roulades of grasshoppers are endless, numerous larks are singing, and the voices of quails are endless. The mature March hares are quietly scurrying along the trails, and the fox cubs are out on their first hunts. Broods of partridges feed on fat Arzhans.

Sometimes it happens that in June a dry wind hits the steppe. Won't fly up Khomutovka a dust storm, but in a week, here too, the heat at noon, even in the shade, will reach forty degrees, in open areas the earth will heat up to seventy, with a melancholy rustle it will begin to crack and crunch underfoot, like salt. The sky will burn out from the heat and fade. Not a cloud. And when a lonely cloud timidly appears at the horizon, gray from the haze, it seems that the fierce sun is attacking it so fiercely that it begins to rapidly melt and after a few minutes, having melted, disappears without a trace. And again the sky is bare, hot. There is no bird in the air.

The gray lark, the incessant singer of the fields and the steppe, unable to restrain himself, sometimes flies up, hoarsely squeezes out a few sounds and falls down like a stone, hiding in the shadow of a thick wormwood. With voices parched from the stuffiness, the quails continuously and anxiously shout: “Drink-drink-drink-drink!” Starlings from the nearby village of Samsonovo do not despair of flying to the steppe; they forage for food near the Gruzsky Elanchik River. Jackdaws from willow groves fly into shallow water and even sit there with their beaks wide open and their wings spread helplessly.

White daisies are blooming quickly and quickly, feather grass and wormwood are turning grey, even Chernobyl is burning out. When burned, the fescue turns yellow, and the bluegrass and wheatgrass become brown and so hard that if you touch them with a scythe, it will ring, as if iron fragments had fallen under its blade.

It's changing before our eyes Khomutovskaya steppe. But no matter how much dry winds rage, no matter how much the wild wind tore and toss, the black tornadoes of a dust storm will not rise above it, and nowhere will the earth be stripped down to hard loam.

If the summer was without a dry wind, Khomutovka good in late autumn. The hot summer scorched the moisture-loving grasses - they withered, turned yellow, dropped leaves and grains, but the variegated grass is still thick and bright: they bloom round balls tumbleweeds, katran and kermek, the sweet clover is turning yellow, thickets of sage and bruise stretch out like blue thawed patches. The smells of wormwood and thyme are still strong, the infusion of the steppe air is thick and bitter, and in many places, under the yellow cover of the herbs that have become obsolete this year, there is new greenery.

In abundance snowy winters Khomutovskaya steppe also in sight. Tall Chernobyls and wormwoods color it from end to end, turning the snow blue and black. A powerful grain crop stands above the snowdrifts, unbroken by either autumn weather or blizzards. At strong winds balls of tumbleweeds and katran rush along it, but this is not to their detriment: more seeds will be scattered across the steppe. It’s only alarming at such a time for the gray side-eyed one to lie, it seems that a fox, or even a wolf, is rushing towards him. It happens that his nerves cannot stand it, he breaks down and throws himself away from the ball rushing towards him. Then they rush to catch up.

But not only pristine beauty is useful to humans Khomutovka. It contains almost four hundred species of different plants, among which there are many medicinal herbs. The reserve team is doing a lot of work, selecting the most resistant and productive herbs from the wild ones, and testing them in experimental plots.

Some tips:

Best time to visit Khomutovskaya Steppe Nature Reserve is the end of May - beginning of June. Bright colors, a light breeze and blooming steppe - all this is only available during the specified period. Later everything will fade and fade.

In the territory Khomutovskaya Steppe Nature Reserve There is a whole herd of horses being raised that you can ride. At the very least, be sure to look at them. Amazingly beautiful and well-groomed horses.

Visit the museum room Khomutovskaya Steppe Nature Reserve. Despite its small size, it presents several dioramas dedicated to different seasons of the year in the steppe. In addition, the museum room contains stuffed animals and birds that live in the reserve.

Khomutovskaya steppe, nature reserve

Khomutovskaya steppe is the central branch of the Ukrainian State Steppe Natural Reserve. Botanical reserve. Located in the extreme southeast of the Donetsk region, almost on the border with the Rostov region, 20 km from the coast of the Azov Sea.

In 1926, the Mariupol District Executive Committee adopted a resolution “On the organization of the local reserve “Khomutovskaya Steppe”. Then it was transferred to the Mariupol Museum of Local Lore, and in 1936 the Khomutovskaya Steppe became a reserve of regional significance, in 1947 it received the status state reserve republican significance.

The Khomutovskaya steppe is all that remains of the once immense wild field occupied the southern part of Ukraine. In its expanses, various peoples appeared, developed and disappeared - Scythians, Pechenegs, Polovtsians, Sarmatians and many others, who rolled over the endless steppe in waves, leaving time sentinels on the mounds - stone women. But these idols of the past could not protect the fertile steppe from the man who plowed the land. Today, the area of ​​the reserve is 1030.4 hectares, and 90 of them are absolutely reserved areas that have never been plowed and on which no cattle have been grazed or mowed for 70 years. The territory of the reserve is a section of the undulating Azov Plain, which gradually decreases towards the valley of the Gruzsky Elanchik River. The terrain is cut by branched gully Brandtova, Klimushevskaya, Krasnaya.

The Khomutovskaya steppe serves as a natural standard for the study of soils, flora and fauna. There are 560 plant species, of which 50 are rare and endemic, 15 of which are listed in the Red Book. The most typical representatives of the flora are: katran, tulip, violets, almonds, kermek, feather grass, wheatgrass, brome, tyrsa, forget-me-nots, porridge, adonis, gorse, caragana, cornflowers, bluegrass, sage and hundreds of other plants. At the beginning of May, the flowering period of wild peonies begins ("pivonia", as the locals say). The entire steppe is covered with bright red spots of flowers and becomes like a swaying red sea.

The fauna of the reserve is also diverse: wolf, fox, raccoon dog, hare, vole, copperhead, snake, steppe viper, mice, ferret, weasel, lizard, hamster, bobak, gopher, snake, toads, etc. The feathered world of the steppe is represented by more than 80 species of birds: partridge, quail, pheasant, ducks, bustard, larks, starlings, shrike, warblers, tit, harrier, steppe eagle, oriole, falcon, kestrel, honey buzzard and others.

Currently, in the Khomutovskaya steppe, as part of a scientific experiment, work has begun on breeding horses and grazing them. This is due to the problem of accumulation, especially in areas with an absolutely protected regime, of litter from a thick layer of dead plants.

In the Khomutovskaya steppe, Sergei Bondarchuk filmed an adaptation of “The Steppe” by A.P. Chekhov.