Afghanistan and Africa Valery Shakirov “In Afghanistan, we were in the 40th Air Force,” recalls Valery Rifatovich. “However, we worked under the brand name of the 226th flight detachment of Sheremetyevo Airport. The uniforms of the pilots and the identification marks on the planes were “Aeroflot.” However, the guns from the aircraft They didn’t take pictures and if something happened they could take the fight.” At that time, each Soviet squadron in Afghanistan had a special aircraft, popularly nicknamed the “black tulip.” He delivered the bodies of dead soldiers or, in military terms, “cargo-200” to their homeland. It was on such a “black tulip”, based at the Bagram airfield, that Valery Shakirov had the chance to fly. Every day, the crews made flights to the Tashkent-Eastern military airfield, from where the remains of soldiers were transported throughout Soviet Union . Sometimes the “black tulip” carried two “cargo-200”, sometimes 12 or 15... The documents of the killed soldiers were with the navigator, and Valery Rifatovich always looked through them during the flight. He didn’t have to bring fellow Resurrectionists on this sad flight, but he did come across guys from other cities near Moscow. Whether the pilots were on the ground or in the sky, the war constantly made itself felt. “In Bagram, the shooting did not subside either day or night,” says Valery. “At first it always seemed that one of the bullets would certainly hit you now. It was an eerie feeling. But after a week we got used to it. In the air, we were in danger of being shot down by a missile.” Stinger." These man-portable anti-aircraft missile systems were in abundance among the dushmans. Even before I went to serve in Afghanistan, one of the planes of our squadron crashed here along with the crew and a large number of fighters. As they say, God had mercy on me, but to see "Stingers" fired at helicopters more than once. We lost two planes during the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. Military equipment and personnel had to be removed from Kandahar. The airfield was located in the mountains, the landing system was very complex. In addition, the surrounding heights were occupied by spooks , who kept the city under fire. All flights were carried out exclusively at night. The airfield was not illuminated, they landed with headlights and side lights turned off - only using instruments! One of our aircraft, controlled by an inexperienced commander, fell into a hole with its front landing gear when taxiing to the parking lot and became inoperable. They did not pull it out and repair it under fire. The commander of another crew, having come under anti-aircraft fire, hurriedly landed the board with such an overload that his tail broke off! A similar situation is shown in the sensational Soviet action film "Crew". Fortunately, in both cases no people were injured. At that time, I also had the opportunity to take part in the withdrawal of troops and transport more than one hundred soldiers and officers to their homeland." After Afghanistan, Valery Shakirov was sent to eliminate the consequences of the earthquake in the Kuril Islands (more on that below), and then ended up in war again. At this time once - to the African country of Angola. “Here we again worked under the guise of supposedly civilian pilots from the 226th Sheremetyevo detachment,” says Valery Rifatovich. - Based in Luanda, the capital of Angola. Since military operations were carried out far in the jungle, not only the guns were removed from the planes, but also the anti-infrared shells, which served as reliable protection against the Stingers. Not without irony, we called our An-12 “dove of peace.” Meanwhile, the Angolan militants had anti-aircraft systems, and we fully felt the danger of being shot down. I had to work a lot in Africa: 4-5 flights a week, 8 hours in the air for each flight. The tropical heat and high humidity literally drove us crazy. In Luanda, according to written and unwritten laws, from 12 to 16 o'clock no one works, everyone sits at home. And only Soviet pilots, true to their international duty, bravely took off on hot planes into the sultry African sky... We didn’t have a chance to get to know the Angolan capital properly: from the airfield we were immediately taken by bus to the hotel (by the way, previously there was a brothel there, which was the reason for constant jokes and teasing), from the hotel - back to the airport. Two pilots from our detachment were bitten by malaria mosquitoes and became seriously ill. For the purpose of prevention, we were constantly given tonic containing quinine, and at night we were poured 50-70 grams of gin. That’s how they were saved.” Kuril Islands and Chechnya In the interval between business trips to Afghanistan and Angola, as we have already mentioned, V.R. Shakirov participated in the liquidation of the consequences of the earthquake in the Kuril Islands. “The only airfield “Burevestnik” remained in the disaster zone,” recalls Valery Rifatovich . - Its runway is barely long enough for the An-12 to fly, so only experienced crews were sent there. The work was exhausting: they landed, quickly unloaded food, medicine and other cargo, picked up refugees with bundles and suitcases - and off they went. And the second plane is already landing, followed by the third..." The last "hot spot" in the flight biography of the resurrectionist Valery Shakirov turned out to be Chechnya. And again he had to become the navigator of the "black tulip." "We were based in Mozdok, from there we flew to Grozny , picked up the “cargo-200” and delivered it to Rostov,” says Valery. “I was unpleasantly surprised that the bodies of the dead here were simply wrapped in plastic, and not placed in zinc coffins, as in Afghanistan. The smell on the plane was very strong. The most terrible flight happened when Russian soldiers were ambushed near Shatoi. Never before have we had to carry so much “200 cargo” at one time! 53 corpses were laid on top of each other in three rows in the cargo compartment of the An-12 - I hope the Lord will forgive us for such forced treatment of the bodies of fallen soldiers. On approach to Rostov, we, as expected, reported to the ground about the amount of “cargo-200” on board - and there was dead silence on the air for a long time...” Having completed his business trip to Chechnya, Valery Shakirov returned to Zavitinsk, and from there he was transferred to Ulan -Ude. Being a squadron navigator with the rank of major, he began instructor work - teaching young lieutenants navigation skills. Now, having retired, Valery Rifatovich works in his native Voskresensk at the headquarters for civil emergency affairs. “The openly negative attitude of today’s youth, and society as a whole, towards military service is sometimes upsetting,” he said in conclusion. “But even in the current conditions, if I had to start my life over, I would still become a military pilot.”

Products made from natural pearls have been valued since ancient times and are considered exquisite jewelry. The high cost of pearls is explained by their long maturation and difficulties in obtaining them.

The cost of pearls depending on the type

Natural natural pearls. This type of pearl is produced by shellfish from start to finish, without human intervention. It is mined in the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf. The cost of one natural pearl can range from $1,000 to $10,000.

Natural sea ​​pearls, cultivated by man. Such pearls mature inside the mollusk for up to two years. Human participation comes down to starting and controlling the process. The advantage of such pearls is the ability to control the size, shape and color of the pearl. Although cultured pearls are much easier to obtain, the cost of one pearl varies from $100 to $600. Black cultured pearls costs from $1000 for one pearl.

The characteristics of natural cultured pearls grown in river water are lower compared to sea pearls. Therefore, it costs much less: from $20 to $100 per pearl.

Cultured pearls are considered when their formation does not require the participation of living organisms. It can be made so well that at first glance it is difficult to recognize the original. Regardless of quality, artificial pearls are several times cheaper than natural ones.

How to distinguish natural pearls from artificial ones

By what criteria can you distinguish real pearls from artificial ones, so as not to fall for the tricks of scammers?
One way is to check the roughness of the pearls. Its disadvantage is that it allows you to identify only natural pearls. Natural cultured pearls can be perfectly smooth, since people monitored their formation.

Natural pearls are heavier than artificial pearls, because the pearl is not hollow inside. Weigh the pearls in your hand before purchasing.

Drilled holes in the pearls are also an important criterion. When drilling artificial pearls The top coating may chip. When you carefully examine each pearl, you will notice the plastic showing through.

If the jewelry has already been purchased, you can check its naturalness using a lighter. Carry pearls over the fire natural pearls will remain unchanged, but the fake will melt.

In order for pearls to become a profitable investment and last for hundreds of years, being passed on by inheritance, it is recommended to store them in a bag made of soft fabric(velvet, velor, etc.). After contact with skin, you need to wipe the pearls with a soft cloth to remove sebum, cosmetics and perfume.

IDELBAEVS
When we flew around the Union on the AN-12 military transport aircraft in the 1980s, I met many Idelbayevs. In Kazakhstan - the Idelbayevs - Kazakhs. In Tatarstan, the Idelbaevs are Tatars. In Bashkiria, the Idelbaevs are Bashkirs. In 2000, I ran for the position of mayor of Orenburg, and journalists, through the archives of Ufa, Kazan, and Orenburg, “unearthed” the following:
218. Idelbaevs. In the first half of the 18th century. service Tatars
The Idelbaevs lived in the village of Malye Shyrdan on the mountain side of Kazan
district (now Zelenodolsk district of the Republic of Tatarstan)
Murza Idelbaev (warrior), by order of the Tsar, in 1740, together with his family from the village of Verkhnie Shyrdany near Kazan, arrived in Orenburg to protect the Russian border from raids by nomads. He was allocated a section of the border along the right bank of the Ural River between modern Kuvandyk and Mednogorsk. Land was allocated for the founding of the village of Idelbaevo.
The village of Idelbaevo still exists. At that time, the Tatar warriors of Murza Idelbaev, defending the borders of Russia, cut down both Bashkirs and Kazakhs. Years and decades passed. In order not to fight, you need to become related. This is how they appeared mixed marriages between the Idelbavy Tatar warriors and the Usargan Bashkirs and nomadic Kazakhs. This is how the Idelbaevs split into three branches: the Idelbaevs - Kazakhs, who migrated to Kazakhstan, the Idelbaevs - Bashkirs, who went to the mountains of Bashkiria, and the Idelbaevs - Tatars, who returned to Tatarstan. They found a Tsar's Decree on the transfer of serving Tatars on the Orenburg border to the category of Bashkirs, due to their complete assimilation with the Usargan Bashkirs. The Idelbaevs, Alchenbaevs, Abdulins, Gaisins, Ibragimovs, Ramazanovs were included in the Decree. These are our ancestors!

My grandfather Idelbaev Nizam Aisovich, was born in 1902 in the village of Idelbaevo, Usargan canton, Orsk district, Orenburg province. It is known that his father Aisa was 2 meters tall and weighed 10 pounds (160 kg). The horses could not withstand such weight, and a special yurt on wheels was built for him, pulled by 2 pairs of bulls. Although Nizam’s grandfather, according to his recollections, Safa was a lean, active man. Idelbaev-Murza was a wealthy man, he had a large herd of horses, a herd of cows, as well as a flock of sheep and goats. The Idelbaevs roamed along the right bank of the Ural River from spring to autumn. They guarded a designated section of the border from raids by nomads. For these purposes, they received government weapons: guns, cartridges, sabers, daggers. In those days, attacks by nomads on Russian villages were not uncommon. They stole cattle. They stole girls, as well as boys.
My grandfather Nizam had a nickname - Kazakh. I found out about this by accident. Once, as a preschooler, my grandfather sent me to his brother Kunakkuzha to buy a bridle for a horse. I dashingly ran down from the Aryak, made my way through the thickets of nettles, and ran to the house under the mountain. At the creaking of the gate, a huge grandfather turned around with a hard look: “Who are you?, who sent it?” My tongue seemed stuck to my larynx, I hummed, but couldn’t say anything, and only pointed at my grandfather’s house. Ah, I understand, Nizam the Kazakh sent for the bridle, Kunakkuzha the grandfather realized.
Kazakh? Why Kazakh? The question stuck in my head. It was difficult to ask my grandfather because he had difficulty hearing. Front concussion. A few days later I was able to ask my grandmother this question. And here is her story.

Nizam is Kazakh.
This nickname was stuck on due to the fact that Nizam in his youth spoke Kazakh, and spoke Bashkir with difficulty confusing words and pronunciations. The fact is that at the age of about 10 years, Nizam fell into slavery among the Kazakhs, KOL in our opinion. Grandmother said that Nizam spent 5 winters with the Kazakhs. In the old days, the Bashkirs counted winters, because winter is a test and difficulties. Whoever survived the winter survived the year. And summer is a celebration of life for nomads. All weddings and other holidays were held in the summer.
On this memorable tragic day there was a holiday in the village of Idelbaevo. Therefore, young people, including the Nizam, were sent to graze a herd of horses numbering several hundred heads.
The nomads attacked in the morning in two groups. One group stole the herd, and the second group, waiting until the men galloped after the herd, attacked the defenseless children and women of the village.
The Nizam, holding tightly to the horse's mane, as his father had taught him since childhood, stayed in the middle of the herd. The guys who were on horses at the edges of the herd, trying to circle the herd, were knocked off their horses by blows from the nomads with sticks. After several hours of forced galloping, making their way through thickets of bushes, crossing the Ural River by swimming, the herd found itself in the Great Steppe at dawn. There they were overtaken by a second group of nomads with rich trophies. Young girls and boys lay tied up across their saddles. Upon arrival at Stan, BAI distributed the girls to his warriors as wives, and sold the boys to another bai as workers. So, the Nizam became a sheep shepherd on foot.
October Revolution
The revolution in Russia actually freed people from slavery. Those who were able to survive the winter storms and summer heat. After all, cattle were grazed all year round in the steppe; cattle were driven into kashars only during the most severe snowstorms. The bais fled from the anger of the people in one direction, and the farm laborers ran home. My grandfather rode hundreds of miles on a horse, guided by the stars. He swam across the Urals and here he is, his native village. But they didn’t expect him in the village of Idelbaevo. Residents of the village kicked the bai out of the village, and now the Idelbaevs live in the village of Nizhnee Nazargulovo in a mountainous area. After the invasion of the nomads, the Idelbaevs immediately became poor and were hired as shepherds for Bai Alchenbaev, and now grazed his herds. The Nizam also hired himself as a shepherd in the village of Alchenbaevo. Alchenbaev noticed the capable groom Nizam and often invited him to his huge house as a translator when noble Kazakhs came to visit. This is how my grandfather met my grandmother Nabira. He liked the way she played the violin and harmonica. She could read and write. A teacher lived in their house, whom the Bai had sent from St. Petersburg. We became friends and fell in love. But my grandmother Nabira had a physical disability. She had a "duck" gait due to bilateral hip dislocation. However, this did not become an obstacle and the wedding took place. The house was built in the village of Nizhnee Nazargulovo. In the winter of 1920, a large herd of horses was driven into the village and soon Bai Alchenbaev entered the house of Idelbaev Nizam. Live together, be fruitful, the bai said, kissing his grandson. - I’m going to save my eldest son, a military railway worker, he was arrested at Sara station. Then it became known that the commandant of the construction of the narrow-gauge railway senior officer Alchenbaev and his father were shot at Sara station.

Nizam - come on!

My grandfather Nizam worked on the collective farm of the village of Nizhneye Nazargulovo (Nizhny Bulyar) as a groom and carpenter. In the fall of 1939, the collective farm received an order from the military registration and enlistment office to allocate 10 horses for combat service and deliver them to the Mednogorsk station. They handed over the horses at the station and were about to leave, when suddenly an angry man came running. a mustachioed foreman and demanded that a man be left to accompany the horses. - The horses in the train need to be fed, watered, and the stall cleaned. Why am I the only one who will do this? Leave the man or I won’t sign the paper accepting the horses. So Nizam found himself on a train with horses heading to Karelia. The Soviet-Finnish war raged there. Grandfather stayed with the horses until spring. I returned home just before the sowing season, with money and a medal. But the joy was overshadowed by the claim of the collective farm chairman: “I will deduct the salary for the saddle and bridle, as if it were lost.” And he kept it! And the fact that a person participated in hostilities does not count. Those were the times!
My grandfather learned that the Great Patriotic War had begun only a week later, when he went to the market in the 10th town (Mednogorsk), since at that time there was neither a telephone nor a radio. But they reassured him: “We’ll end the war in a week or two, you 40-year-olds won’t be drafted!” Such was the mood at that time. However, by October it became clear that the German was strong, he was being helped by the entire industry of Europe and the enemy was already near Moscow. At the end of October, Nizam and several other people from the village received an order from the military registration and enlistment office to arrive on horseback in the city of Chkalov. Three days later, already as part of the Chkalov cavalry division, they loaded onto the train at the Menovoy Dvor station, received uniforms and cavalry sabers. Not everyone was given carbines(!). Near Moscow we unloaded, received two bottles of Molotov cocktails and marched towards the roar of tanks and the explosions of artillery shells. Based on the experience of the Finnish war, my grandfather told the Red Army soldiers that there would be a halt and rest at the base. They will study the situation and make a decision. But the division as part of Budyonny’s Reserve Army was thrown into battle on the move, under the advancing German tanks. According to the grandfather’s stories, the snow was knee-deep to the horses, in some places up to the belly. Imagine this terrible picture: thousands of horsemen, sparkling with swords on their heads, galloping towards firing iron tanks. Horses with hundreds of Red Army soldiers lie down in front of the tanks, some throw Molotov cocktails. And the tanks stopped! My grandfather was wounded in the leg by a shell fragment in the first battle and was sent to the hospital. After recovery, Nizam was appointed to the artillery as a driver, i.e. Cannons were carried on horses. And so on until 1945, when in Berlin he ended up in the commandant’s platoon and there he was a driver in a field kitchen. They were glad that they were in the kitchen, well-fed and there was no war. However, demobilization passed by, the troops left, the commandant’s platoon fed not only the soldiers, but also the local population. As the foreman said, the winner is obliged to feed the defeated city. Every morning, the Nizam and the cook Ivan went to the food warehouse to receive cereals. Then they collected water from the nearest river, went to the city park, cut down trees fallen by shells, and cooked porridge. By one o'clock in the afternoon they went to the square, where they were assigned a place to distribute porridge. Our soldiers came up to eat and then German children came out of all the cracks of the broken buildings and from the basements of houses with pots, plates, and cans of porridge. Cook Ivan, while distributing porridge, shouted: “Come on, Nizam, line them up!” And the German children repeated after him: - yes-fay Nizam! And the next day, hearing the creaking of the wheels of the field kitchen, rushing from the basements: - yes-fi, Niza-a-am! This continued until the end of 1945, until cook Ivan was demobilized, and there was no one to write letters to the Nizam’s village. Now Nizam prepared the porridge alone and distributed it in the same place, and it sounded the same: - Niza-a-am, yes-fa-ay! This continued until the summer of 1946. One day, German boys brought a bicycle to Nizam as a sign of gratitude. And the day came when the foreman said: “Thank you, Nizam, for your service, get ready to go home!” You can take the trophy bike with you. By that time, a disassembled leg harness was tied to the bicycle. sewing machine, a radio, several rolls of fabric from the ruins of a sewing workshop. The journey from Berlin to Mednogorsk station was a breeze on a military train, fortunately food points were organized at large stations. At the market I met fellow villagers who reported that his family had moved to the village of Verkhneye Nazargulovo. Yes, just recently in the village a mullah read a memorial prayer for you. They thought that you were dead, because there had been no letters since the beginning of the year. So, pushing his bicycle with trophies along the road and listening to his fellow travelers, the Nizam reached the village.

According to the staff of Vladimir Konstantinovich Nebylitsyn, I was not in the crew. But it so happened that we had to fly “right now.” But it was after lunch and a significant part of the personnel “dissolved” in anticipation of the evening formation. There were no classes. This wonderful time was designated in the schedule as filling out flight documentation. Comrades in arms hid from the heat.
And I apparently ran past. Past Nebylitsyn to your misfortune. Apparently, I also wanted to hide from the sun, but I didn’t have time.
“You live in a hotel?” Konstantinich stopped me.
“Yes,” I answer.
“Go get your clothes, we’ll quickly go to Moscow. There is no time to look for another pilot now. Departure today, now. Don’t forget the sales certificate, and I’ll take care of the travel certificate myself,” Konstantinich puzzled.
This was not part of my plans. Suddenly and not with his crew. I didn't like such surprises. There is nowhere to go. Kom ae confirmed Konstantinich’s installation.
Seeing my sour face, Konstantinich encouraged:
“Don’t worry. For a couple of days maximum. They will puzzle us in Chkalovsky. Someone there needs to be taken to Orenburg. That’s it, let’s get ready quickly.”
Let's fly. The navigator was Seryoga Bely. We flew to Moscow as usual.
In Chkalovskoye, Konstantinich drove to the dispatcher and returned thoughtful.
Everything is like in the army. It was no longer possible to simply “get away quickly.”
The cargo was delivered. One and a half tons of equipment. Boxes with heat traps. There were several accompanying people. They introduced themselves as scientists. And they carried with them a simple American Stinger. Our task has changed. We not only had to transport all this stuff, but also take part in the process, so to speak.
Konstantinich did not lose optimism here either. Well, they say, we’ll get it done in five days.
And we arrived here
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/ ...
A dirt strip, a military town and that’s it.
Scientists covered the Stinger with all sorts of sensors, took readings, and we were given the role of a conditional target. They aimed at us, and the equipment recorded everything.
“Can you do that? How about this? What about lower? And even lower? How about a bigger roller?” they asked from the ground.
We didn't refuse. All this was accompanied by the shooting of heat traps in different modes.
The first week was even interesting, I would say. They flew from the heart, without restrictions. And we could spend our evenings quite like officers. Without financial fear we visited the grocery store and the local chip shop and bathhouse. And then it started to rain. It was at the beginning of September. And the strip is dirt. Flying became rare. Our scientists have not finished their tests.
And our financial resources have almost dried up. We were only going for a couple of days. We were sad.
The route of movement was limited to the flight canteen and hotel.
We spent almost a whole month there! That’s how we “quickly hit the road” on a business trip. And even Konstantinich became depressed.
In the end they went completely wild. We signed up for the library of the local club.-) .
No, there were, of course, other interesting moments of our existence, but I will keep silent about them for now.
Our tormentors (part-time scientists) finally finished their work and sent us home. First, of course, we returned them to Moscow. The results of their research, by the way, were very disappointing for us, for pilots. And this despite all our tricks. The scientists promised to come up with something to protect us from enemy missiles.
A kind-hearted man, Vladimir Konstantinovich, for a long time later, after this protracted business trip, when he saw me, he joked: “Get ready to fly to Donguz again, just for two days.” He joked and laughed contagiously.-)
Well, just a darling, not a commander.-))