Recently, the Russian government has begun to actively support the return to their homeland of compatriots and their descendants who emigrated abroad. As part of this policy, the resettlement of Old Believers from Bolivia and Uruguay to Russia began several years ago. Publications and stories dedicated to these unusual people periodically appear in the domestic media. They look like they come either from Latin America or from our pre-revolutionary past, but at the same time they have preserved the Russian language and ethnic identity.

Russian diaspora in the Americas: numbers, brilliance and rapid assimilation

The successful preservation of one’s language and culture on foreign Latin American soil is very a rare event for Russian dispersion. In the first half of the 20th century, hundreds of thousands of Russian refugees and settlers moved to the New World - white emigrants, religious sectarians, seekers of a better life and refugees of the Second World War, fleeing the return of Soviet power to the territories occupied by the Germans.

Among them were famous technical specialists who made a huge contribution to the development of their new homeland, for example, Igor Sikorsky, Vladimir Zvorykin or Andrei Chelishchev. Were famous politicians, like Alexander Kerensky or Anton Denikin, famous cultural figures like Sergei Rachmaninov or Vladimir Nabokov. Even military leaders like the Chief of the General Staff of the Paraguayan Army, General Ivan Belyaev, or Wehrmacht General Boris Smyslovsky, adviser to the famous Argentine President Juan Peron on anti-guerrilla operations and the fight against terrorism, were present. On the soil of North America there appeared a center of Russian Orthodoxy independent of communism, which fervently preserved the pre-revolutionary tradition.

Not so long ago, Russian speech was common in San Francisco or Buenos Aires. However, today the situation has changed radically. The task of preserving national identity turned out to be beyond the capabilities of the overwhelming majority of Russian emigrants to the New World. Their descendants in the second, or at most, third generation assimilated. At best, they managed to preserve the memory of their ethnic roots, culture and religious affiliation, resulting in the emergence of figures like the famous Canadian political scientist and politician Michael Ignatieff. This rule is also true for the Old Believers from European Russia (merchants and townspeople), who also quickly disappeared among the population of the New World. Against the background of the general fate of Russian emigration, the situation of the Siberian Old Believers communities in Latin America who are returning to Russia today seems unusual and surprising.

From Russia to Latin America: the path of the Old Believers

Latin American Old Believers are the descendants of those who were saved inXVIII - XIXcenturies from religious persecution Russian state in Siberia and later in the Far East. In these regions, many Old Believer settlements were created, in which ancient religious traditions were preserved. The majority of local Old Believers belonged to a special branch of the Old Believers - the so-called “chapels”. This is a special compromise direction, dogmatically equidistant from both the priests and the non-priests.

In chapels, the functions of spiritual leaders are performed by elected lay mentors (“until the true Orthodox clergy appears”). Living conditions in the vastness of Siberia hardened them, forced them to live exclusively on their own farms and made them more closed and conservative than other Old Believers. If in movies or fiction Old Believers are depicted as some kind of forest hermits, then their prototype is precisely the chapels.

The revolution and mainly collectivization led to the flight of the Old Believers-chapels from Russia. In the 1920s and early 1930s, some of them moved from Altai to Chinese Xinjiang, while others moved from the Russian Amur to Manchuria, where the Old Believers settled mainly in the Harbin region and created strong peasant farms. Arrival in 1945 Soviet army turned into a new tragedy for the Old Believers: most of the adult men were arrested and sent to camps for “illegally crossing the border,” and the farms of their families remaining in Manchuria were subjected to “dekulakization,” that is, actually plundered.

After the victory of the Communists in China in 1949, the new authorities began to unequivocally push the Old Believers out of the country as an undesirable element. In search of a new refuge, the Old Believers ended up in Hong Kong for a while, but in 1958, with the help of the UN, one part of them went to the USA, and the other to Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Brazil. In the last of these countries, with the help of the World Council of Churches, the Old Believers received 6 thousand acres of land 200 miles from Sao Paulo.

Exploration of South America

Ultimately, separate Old Believers communities were founded in a number of Latin American countries. Many families of Old Believers managed to live in more than one country until, in the 1980s, most of them finally settled in Bolivia. The reason for this was the warm welcome from the government of this country, which allocated land to the Old Believers. Since then, the Old Believer community in Bolivia has become one of the strongest in all of Latin America.

These Russians adapted to the South American reality very quickly, and now they treat it with imperturbable calm. Old Believers bravely endure the heat, despite the fact that they are not allowed to open their bodies. They are already accustomed to jaguars, they are not particularly afraid of them, they only protect their domestic animals from them. The conversation with snakes is short - a boot to the head, and cats are bred not to hunt mice, but to catch lizards.

In Bolivia, Old Believers are mainly engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. Of the most popular crops they grow, corn, soybeans and rice rank first. At the same time, it should be noted that the Old Believers succeed in this better than many Bolivian peasants who have lived on these lands for several centuries.

Unlike Uruguay, where the descendants of Russian sectarians live in the settlement of San Javier, the Bolivian Old Believers were able to preserve not only their religion and the way of life that developed several centuries ago, but also the Russian language. Although some of them went to big cities, such as La Paz, most Old Believers prefer to live in quiet villages. Children are reluctantly allowed to go to big cities, because, according to parents, to whom they usually listen, there are a lot of demonic temptations.

It is noteworthy that, being at such a distance from their historical homeland, the Bolivian Old Believers retained their cultural and religious customs even better than their fellow believers living in Russia. Although, perhaps, the distance from the Russian land was the reason that these people fight so fiercely for their values ​​and traditions.

The preservation of traditional values ​​is greatly facilitated by the fact that Latin American Old Believers do not allow their children to marry people of a different religion. And since about 300 Russian Old Believer families, each with at least 5 children, currently live there, the younger generation has quite a large choice. At the same time, it is not prohibited to marry a native Latino, but he must definitely learn the Russian language, accept the faith of his spouse and become a worthy member of the community.

Old Believers in Bolivia are self-sufficient communities, but they are not cut off from the outside world. They were able to perfectly establish not only their everyday life, but also their cultural life. For example, holidays are celebrated there very solemnly with dances and songs, but with songs that do not contradict their religion. Despite the fact that television, for example, is prohibited, they are never bored and always know what to do in the evening. free time. Along with studying at a local school, where all classes are held in Spanish and where they communicate with local population, they also study with their teachers, who teach them the Old Church Slavonic and Russian languages, because the holy books are written in them. It is interesting that all Old Believers living in Bolivia speak without a Spanish accent, although their fathers and even grandfathers were already born in Latin America. Moreover, their speech still bears clear features of the Siberian dialect.

Leaving Latin America

During the stay of the Old Believers in Bolivia, many presidents changed in this country, but the Old Believers never had any difficulties in relations with the authorities. Serious problems for the Bolivian Old Believers began with the coming to power of President Evo Morales, one of the main figures of the “left turn” in Latin America and the first leader of Bolivia to visit Russia. This politician acts as a champion of the ideas of socialism, anti-imperialism and defender of communities in which many Indian tribes continue to maintain their way of life from ancient times.

At the same time, Morales is an Indian nationalist who, based on the ideas of Latin American pochvennichestvo, seeks to expropriate and squeeze out all “alien elements” from the purely Indian state he is creating, including foreigners and white Bolivians, which include Russian Old Believers. It is not surprising that under Morales, “problems” suddenly appeared with the land of the Old Believers.

It was after this that the process of the return resettlement of Old Believers to Russia intensified, first from Bolivia, and then, following their example, from other Latin American states, primarily those where left-wing populists are in power, who are members of the “Bolivarian Alliance” or sympathize with it. Today, the Russian Foreign Ministry is helping the process of repatriation of Old Believers, although many of them prefer to go not to Russia, but to their fellow believers in the United States.

Having little idea of ​​the realities of Siberia and naively taking domestic officials at their word, many Latin American Old Believers found themselves in a very difficult situation during the first stage of resettlement in 2008-2011. As a result, not all repatriates remained in Russia. However, the repatriation process has gradually improved, and today we can hope that for the majority of these Old Believers, their odyssey will sooner or later end in their historical homeland.

There are polar opinions about the chapel Old Believers living in both Americas, and even in Russia itself. Some consider them archaic Russian Amish, others see in their communities a fragment of the bygone “Holy Rus'” and therefore choose their way of life as an object to emulate.

Of course, comparing the descendants of Siberian Old Believers in Latin America with the Amish is incorrect. Absolutely all Russian Old Believers use technology, electricity and even the Internet as needed. In Bolivia, for example, none of the chapel Old Believers would have thought of giving up tractors and combines; the only prohibited piece of equipment remains, perhaps, the television.

The idealization of this group of Old Believers is also not justified. The opinion of the author of this article, based on personal communication with Latin American Old Believers, is that these people are simply a copy of the beginning of peasant Russia that has survived to our timeXXcentury with all its good and bad qualities. If to positive traits One can include hard work, a focus on preserving one’s identity and commitment to family values; negative traits include a low level of education and a narrow outlook, which very often prevents the Old Believers of Latin America from making adequate decisions in modern world.

“Here in Bolivia, the Old Believers perfectly preserve the Russian language”

This is just a photojournalist’s dream: the jungle, “many, many wild monkeys” and against this outlandish background - she, a blue-eyed girl in a sundress and with a brown braid to the waist.

And here is a village where blond boys in embroidered shirts run through the streets, and women always wear their hair under a shashmura - a special headdress. Except that the huts are not made of logs, but instead of birch trees there are palm trees. The Russia we lost remains in South America.

There, after long wanderings, the Old Believers found refuge in their desire to preserve the faith and life principles of their ancestors. As a result, they managed to preserve not only this, but also the Russian language of past centuries, which, like a treasure, South America linguists are coming. Senior Researcher at the Russian Language Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences Olga Rovnova recently returned from another, already ninth expedition to South America. This time she visited Bolivia, village of Toborochi, founded by Old Believers in the 1980s. The linguist told the Russian Planet portal about the life of the Russian language on the other side of the earth.

Tell us in a nutshell, how did the Old Believers end up in South America?

Their ancestors fled from Russia in the late 1920s - early 1930s to China from Soviet power. They lived in China until the end of the 1950s, until they began to build communism there too and herd everyone into collective farms.

The Old Believers left again and moved to South America - Brazil and Argentina.

Why did they move to Bolivia?

Not everyone was able to settle down in Brazil on the lands that the government allocated to them. It was a jungle that had to be uprooted by hand, plus the soil had a very thin fertile layer - hellishly difficult conditions awaited them. Therefore, after a few years, some of the Old Believers began to look for new territories. Some went to Bolivia and Uruguay: here they were also offered areas of the jungle, but the soil in Bolivia is more fertile. Someone found out that land was also being sold to the United States, in the state of Oregon.

They sent a delegation on reconnaissance, they returned with the most favorable impressions, and some of the Old Believers moved to Oregon. But since the Old Believers have large families and they need a lot of living space, they eventually went from Oregon to Minnesota and further to Alaska, where a certain amount of the Russian population had long lived. Some even went to Australia. The proverb “Fish seeks where it is deeper, but man seeks where it is better” suits our Old Believers very well.

What are they doing in their new places?

In Bolivia and Latin America in general - agriculture. In the village of Toborochi, where we visited this year, they grow wheat, beans, corn, and raise Amazonian pacu fish in artificial ponds. And you know, they are good at it. Labor on the land gives them a good income. Of course, there are different situations, but, predominantly, Latin American Old Believers are very wealthy people. In the USA, the situation is a little different - some families there work in factories and in the service sector.

What is it, the Russian language of Latin American Old Believers?

It is a living dialectal Russian language spoken in Russia in the 19th century. Clean, without an accent, but this is just a dialect, not a literary language. This is a rare situation: linguists are well aware that in case of emigration people lose native language already in the third generation. That is, the grandchildren of those who left usually no longer speak the native language of their grandparents. We see this in the examples of both the first and second waves of emigration. And here, in Bolivia, the Old Believers perfectly preserve the language: the fourth generation speaks pure Russian. This time we recorded a 10-year-old boy. His name is Diy, he studies in Spanish at school, but at home he speaks a Russian dialect language.

It is important that the language of the Old Believers is not conserved. He is alive, he is developing. True, in isolation from Russia it is developing in a different way. Their speech contains a lot of words borrowed from Spanish. But they integrate them into the Russian language system - lexically, morphologically. For example, they call a gas station “gasoline” from the Spanish word gasolinera. They don't have the phrase " Agriculture“, so they say to themselves: “We are engaged in agriculture, we are agriculturalists.” And these borrowings are mixed in their speech with outdated words, which can no longer be found in our language. For example, their tree is a forest.

This situation is typical for all Old Believers living in South America. While in the USA or Australia the situation is the opposite. There, the second generation is completely switching to English. For example, if a grandmother lives in Bolivia, and a grandson lives in Oregon or Alaska, then they can no longer communicate directly.

Why is the Russian language better preserved in South America than in North America?

There is a general tendency: the richer the country, the stronger the influence it has on the Old Believers - both economically and linguistically.

In the same Oregon, women are involved in economic activity. As a rule, they work in the service sector or in production. And, naturally, they themselves actively learn the language of the host country. Children go to an English-language school, watch TV on English language. The native language is gradually disappearing.

Not so in Latin America. The task of making money lies entirely with the man. Women are not required to work and therefore have less contact with the local population. A woman's task is to run the household and raise children. They are not only the guardians of the hearth, but also the guardians of the language.

The locality where the Old Believers live also matters. Here in Bolivia, the Old Believers live in their village, completely in their own environment. Their children attend school, where they are taught in Spanish, but what is typical: in both Bolivia and Brazil, Old Believers try to build a school in their village - often at their own expense - and arrange for teachers to come to them instead send children to a foreign village or city. Therefore, the children are constantly in the village, in which - with the exception of school - only Russian is spoken everywhere. By the way, in Russia too, rural women are the custodians of dialects. Men lose dialect much faster.

Still, what dialect of what locality do the Old Believers speak?

Basically, they took with them the language of the area from which they fled abroad. For example, in Estonia, on the shores of Lake Peipsi, live Old Believers who once came from the Pskov region. And the Pskov dialect can still be traced in their speech.

Bolivian Old Believers entered China through two corridors. One group came to Xinjiang province from Altai. The second group fled from Primorye. They crossed the Amur and settled in Harbin, and there are differences in their speech, which I will talk about a little later.

But what’s interesting is that both the Xinjiang people and the Harbin people, as they call themselves, are for the most part Kerzhaks, descendants of Old Believers from the Nizhny Novgorod province. Under Peter I, they were forced to flee to Siberia, and in their speech the dialect of the Nizhny Novgorod province can be traced.

What dialect is this?

I will have to tell you in just a few words about Russian dialects. There are two large groups of dialects - Northern dialect and Southern dialect. The most famous differences in pronunciation are as follows: in the north “okayut”, and in the south - “akayut”, in the north the sound [g] is plosive, and in the south it is fricative, in weak position pronounced as [x]. And between these two dialects there is a wide strip of Central Russian dialects. They are very colorful, but everyone took something from the Northern dialect, and something from the Southern. For example, the Moscow dialect, which formed the basis of Russian literary language, is also a Central Russian dialect. It is characterized by a southern “akan” and at the same time a northern plosive [g]. The dialect of South American Old Believers is Central Russian, but it differs from Moscow.

They also “akat”, but from the northern dialect they took, for example, the so-called vowel contraction, that is, they say “Such a beautiful girl,” “He took such a beautiful girl as his wife.”

Are there any differences in language among different communities of American Old Believers?

Eat. And these differences are due not to who lives in what area now, but to what part of China they left for America. Although their speech is very similar, there are still features in the speech of the Xinjiang people that make Harbin residents smile. For example, the Xinjiang people say [s] instead of the sound [ts]. Instead of chicken they have “syrple”, “sar” instead of the king. And they pronounce [h] as [sch]: sonny, shchainik, lavoshchka. This is very hard on the ears, especially at the beginning of communication. And the people of Harbin, who do not have all this, consider their speech more correct, more similar to Russian. In general, it is very important for Old Believers to realize their closeness to Russia.

By the way, what do the Old Believers think about our Russian language?

They are very worried about him. They do not understand many words that appeared in Russia over last years. A typical example: we were in the same house, and relatives from Alaska came to visit the owners. One of them asks what language is spoken in Russia now. In Russian, I answer. “What kind of Russian language is this if they call a jacket sweater!”

Old Believers do not like television, but they still watch Russian films, and then they start asking me questions. One day they ask me: “What is a mistress?” I explain to them, and they say: “Ah! So this is what we call a “suitor”!” Or a girl who really likes to cook, after looking at our culinary forums, asks me what cakes are - “I know pies, and pies, but I don’t know cakes.”

Indeed, it would seem that Old Believers should avoid all these modern technologies, but they even use the Internet?

This is not encouraged, but it is not prohibited either. They use modern equipment in their work: they use John Deer tractors and combines in their fields. And at home - Skype, with the help of which they keep in touch with family around the world, and also find brides and grooms for their children - in both Americas and in Australia.

I just wanted to ask about marriages, because closed communities are characterized by closely related unions and, as a result, an increase in genetic problems.

This is not about the Old Believers. Without knowing genetics, their ancestors established the rule of the eighth generation: marriages between relatives up to the eighth generation are prohibited. They know their ancestry very well, to such depth, all their relatives. And the Internet is important for them to find new families in conditions when Old Believers have settled all over the world.

However, they also allow marriages with strangers, provided that they accept the faith and learn prayers. On this visit we saw young man one of the locals who was courting a girl from the village. He speaks very interestingly: in dialectal Russian with a Spanish accent.

To what extent do the Old Believers themselves speak Spanish?

Enough to live in the country. Usually, better tongue owned by men. But when I went into the store with one of the women and realized that my Spanish was clearly not enough to communicate with the saleswoman, my companion turned out to be a very smart translator.

What, in your opinion, is the future fate of the Russian dialect language in South America? Will he live on?

I would really like to come to them in 20 years and see what their Russian language will be like. Of course it will be different. But you know, I have no worries about the Russian language in Bolivia. They speak without an accent. Their dialect is extremely resilient. This is a completely unique combination of archaism and innovation. When they need to name a new phenomenon, they easily invent new words. For example, they call cartoons the word “hoppers”, garlands of light bulbs - “beagles”, hairbands - “dress up”. They know the word “loan”, but they themselves say “take for payment”.

Old Believers very widely use metaphors to denote new objects or concepts. For example, I show the boy a tree in their village - it is a large tree with large fragrant bright red clusters of flowers. I ask: what is it called? “I don’t know, my sister calls me lilac,” the boy answers me. Different flowers, a different scent, but a similar shape of the clusters - and here you have a lilac. And they call tangerines “mimosa.” Apparently, for their round shape and bright color. I ask the girl where her brother is. “Fadeyka? The mimosa will be cleaned.” Look, he’s peeling tangerines...

Without knowing anything about such a science as sociolinguistics, Old Believers in Bolivia do exactly what needs to be done to preserve the language. They live separately and demand that in the village and at home they speak only Russian. And I really hope that the Russian language will be heard in Bolivia for a long time.

Interviewed by Milena Bakhvalova

Many travelers often call Bolivia one of the most attractive and interesting countries: here you can find unusually beautiful places, strange-looking plants and animals. Everyone who comes to Bolivia certainly becomes hostage to their own unforgettable impressions. But what actually awaits someone who decides not only to travel through the impressive surroundings of Bolivia, but also to stay in a country that is often called the “Tibet” of South America.

To begin with, I would like to note that about 50% of the total population are Indians, who have preserved most of their folk traditions until the 21st century. They do not care about high technology and many signs of civilization - they feel quite well without hot water and a comfortable toilet. This is precisely why you can often find statements that Bolivia is a country where a high percentage of the population lives below the poverty line and does not have a stable income and access to the basic benefits of a developed state. But for many Bolivians, it is enough that they have a roof over their heads, arms and legs to work and food to eat.

Bolivia is a country with a developed industry, but a low standard of living - any foreigner with a sum of several tens of thousands of dollars can freely plunge into a rich life by local standards.

Bolivia is also known to many thanks to coca growing freely throughout the country. It is grown in entire plantations and is freely sold and bought literally on every corner. It is believed that chewing coca leaves has a tonic effect on the entire body, although all tourists are strongly advised to be as careful as possible when consuming coca, especially in the highlands. In addition to the fact that coca is grown under absolutely legal conditions, drug production in this country is one of the most profitable activities, albeit still a shadow branch of the Bolivian industry.

About adaptation in Bolivia

It is interesting that those few who, having visited Bolivia as a tourist traveler, seen enough of its beauty and decided to settle here for permanent residence, subsequently regret their choice. Although this does not mean that it is really difficult to exist normally in this country, it is not for nothing that there is a proverb “everywhere it is good where we are not,” and tourism and emigration should not be confused.

The Bolivians themselves, despite the very significant number of emigrants who have settled here since time immemorial, are not very fond of visitors. Among such striking examples are the Old Believers, who preserved the traditions and customs of their Russian ancestors, creating their own tiny states on the territory of Bolivia, which Bolivians sometimes even perceive as foreign, often without even looking at the places of their settlement.

For the indigenous inhabitants of this country, both the Mennonites, the Old Believers, and the Japanese are strangers who, for a strange reason, live on the territory of Bolivia. By the way, for example, Old Believers, having a Bolivian passport, and therefore citizenship, speaking Spanish, often giving work to people around them and participating in the economy, do not consider themselves Bolivians, so this attitude towards them is quite natural.

A true Bolivian, in fact, can be considered one who, in addition to everything else, was born in Bolivia and loves the country in which he lives, rightfully calling it his homeland. Moreover, it does not matter at all what color his skin is - there are quite a lot of “white” indigenous people in this country.

Today's immigrants often say that even after years of living legally in Bolivia, they feel more like tourists than residents. To the negative factors and difficulties of adaptation in new country It can also be attributed to the fact that many Russians complain of attacks of disgust and discontent. It is possible that the reasons for such an attitude may seem insignificant to someone, but this is only until the time you plunge into such things yourself.

Living in La Paz, many emigrants remember bread sold in vacuum packaging in their hometowns and countries - in Bolivia you can often see an unpleasant picture when splashes of mud from puddles fly onto lying bread, exhaust fumes from rudimentary buses, and dirty the hands of a loader literally throwing loaves of bread onto pitiful-looking counters.

Discourses on poverty in Bolivia

As mentioned above, Bolivia and Bolivians in particular cannot be called poor. In this context, this word is somewhat inappropriate, if only because there are practically no starving people among them.

Travelers unfamiliar with the local way of life may be amazed by the fact that a completely beggar-looking bombshell with a pot in his hands can afford to go into a restaurant to taste hot soup. By the way, it should be noted that there are practically no beggars here, or they look quite wealthy - with gold teeth and a lot of tasteless jewelry.

In Bolivia, even the poorest Indian family allows itself the first, second and third courses at the table. Of course, this does not mean that they live well, but if a person is not hungry, then his existence can perhaps be considered acceptable.

A feature of the “common people” (that is, the majority, since in Bolivia the majority of the population is a category of people belonging to the middle class - they are neither rich nor poor) is that in ordinary Everyday life they look bad because of their shapeless, patched and dirty national clothes. Here it is not customary to dress up when going to the market. All the best clothes and jewelry are saved for the carnival - then brocade skirts and other attributes are fished out.

The same applies to basic living conditions - electricity, hot water, toilet in the house, etc. Not every peasant who is able to improve his living conditions will do this. For a Bolivian, this is not usual, and therefore not necessary.

Another thing that speaks in favor of Bolivia is that most of the buildings are fundamental brick structures with a good roof and windows. Here you will not find shacks built from scrap materials (cardboard, plywood) and more reminiscent of doghouses than normal housing for a civilized person. True, along with this you will not find supermarkets or megacenters.

As one Russian emigrant who lived in Bolivia for more than three years said: “I returned to Russia with a light heart and soul. I rejoiced at this event like a child. I thought that after living in Bolivia, my old life would seem like paradise. But I was bitterly disappointed and suddenly I was drawn back...to the land of color, vivid impressions and too simple-minded inhabitants.”

Lives in a special dimension where the connection between man and nature is unusually strong. In the extensive list of amazing phenomena that travelers encounter in this incomprehensible, mysterious country, a significant position is occupied by Russian Old Believer settlements. The village of Old Believers in the middle of the South American jungle is a real paradox, which does not prevent Russian “bearded men” from living, working and raising children here. It should be noted that they managed to organize their lives much better than most of the indigenous Bolivian peasants who have lived in these parts for many centuries.

Historical reference

Russians are one of the ethnic communities of the South American republic. In addition to family members of Russian embassy employees living in Bolivia, it includes about 2 thousand descendants of Russian Old Believers.

Old Believers or Old Believers is the common name for several Orthodox religious movements that arose in Russia as a result of the non-acceptance of church reforms by believers (17th century). Moscow Patriarch Nikon, “Great Sovereign of All Rus'” from 1652 to 1666, initiated church reforms aimed at changing the ritual tradition of the Russian Church in order to unify it with the Greek Church. The “Antichrist” transformations caused a split in the first, which led to the emergence of the Old Believers or Old Orthodoxy. Those dissatisfied with Nikon’s reforms and innovations were united and led by Archpriest Avvakum.

Old Believers, who did not recognize the corrected theological books and did not accept changes in church rituals, were subjected to severe persecution by the church and persecution by government authorities. Already in the 18th century. many fled from Russia, at first they took refuge in Siberia and the Far East. The stubborn people irritated Nicholas II, and subsequently the Bolsheviks.

The Bolivian Old Believer community was formed in stages, as Russian settlers arrived in the New World in “waves”.

Old Believers began to move to Bolivia in the 2nd half of the 19th century, arriving in separate groups, but their massive influx occurred between 1920 and 1940. - in the era of post-revolutionary collectivization.

If the first wave of immigrants, attracted by fertile lands and the liberal policies of local authorities, came to Bolivia directly, then the path of the second was much more difficult. First in years civil war Old Believers fled to neighboring Manchuria, where a new generation had time to be born. The Old Believers lived in China until the early 1960s, until the “Great Cultural Revolution” broke out there, led by the “great helmsman,” Mao Zedong. The Russians again had to run away from the construction of communism and the mass herding into collective farms.

Some of the Old Believers moved to and. However, exotic countries, full of temptations, seemed to the orthodox Old Believers unsuitable for a righteous life. In addition, the authorities allocated them lands covered with wild jungle, which had to be uprooted by hand. In addition, the soil had a very thin fertile layer. As a result, after several years of hellish labor, the Old Believers set out in search of new territories. Many settled in, some went to the USA, others went to Australia and Alaska.

Several families reached Bolivia, which was considered the most wild and backward country on the continent. The authorities gave the Russian wanderers a warm welcome and also allocated them areas overgrown with jungle. But the Bolivian soil turned out to be quite fertile. Since then, the Old Believer community in Bolivia has become one of the largest and strongest in Latin America.

Russians quickly adapted to South American living conditions. The Old Believers endure even the sweltering tropical heat, despite the fact that it is not permissible for them to expose their bodies excessively. The Bolivian selva has become a small homeland for the Russian “bearded men”, and the fertile land provides everything they need.

The government of the country willingly meets the needs of the Old Believers, allocating land for their large families and providing preferential loans for agricultural development. The settlements of the Old Believers are located far from big cities on the territory of the tropical departments (Spanish: LaPaz), (Spanish: SantaCruz), (Spanish: Cochabamba) and (Spanish: Beni).

It is interesting that, unlike communities living in other countries, Old Believers in Bolivia practically did not assimilate.

Moreover, being citizens of the republic, they still consider Russia to be their real homeland.

Lifestyle of the Old Believers of Bolivia

Old Believers live in remote, quiet villages, carefully preserving their way of life, but not rejecting the rules of life of the world around them.

They traditionally do the same thing that their ancestors lived in Russia - agriculture and animal husbandry. Old Believers also plant corn, wheat, potatoes, and sunflowers. Only, unlike their distant, cold homeland, here they also grow rice, soybeans, oranges, papaya, watermelons, mangoes, pineapples and bananas. Labor on the land gives them a good income, so basically all Old Believers are wealthy people.

As a rule, men are excellent entrepreneurs who combine peasant acumen with an incredible ability to grasp and perceive everything new. Thus, in the fields of the Bolivian Old Believers, modern agricultural equipment with a GPS control system is used (that is, the machines are controlled by an operator transmitting commands from a single center). But at the same time, Old Believers are opponents of television and the Internet; they are afraid of banking transactions, preferring to make all payments in cash.

The Bolivian Old Believers community is dominated by strict patriarchy. A woman here knows her place. According to Old Believer laws, the main purpose of the mother of the family is to maintain the home. It is not appropriate for a woman to expose herself, they wear dresses and sundresses down to their toes, cover their heads, and never use makeup. Some relaxation is allowed for young girls - they are allowed not to tie a headscarf. All clothing is sewn and embroidered by the female part of the community.

Married women are prohibited from using birth control, which is why Old Believer families traditionally have large families. Babies are born at home, with the help of a midwife. Old Believers go to the hospital only in extreme cases.

But one should not think that Old Believers are despots who tyrannize their wives. They are also required to follow many unwritten rules. As soon as the first fluff appears on a young man’s face, he becomes a real man who, along with his father, is responsible for his family. Old Believers usually cannot shave their beards, hence their nickname - “bearded men”.

The Old Believer way of life does not provide for any social life, reading “obscene” literature, cinema or entertainment events. Parents are very reluctant to let their children go to big cities, where, according to adults, there are a lot of “demonic temptations.”

Strict rules prohibit Old Believers from eating food purchased in a store, and, moreover, from visiting public eating establishments. They usually only eat what they have grown and produced themselves. This setting does not apply only to those products that are difficult or simply impossible to obtain on your own farm (salt, sugar, vegetable oil, etc.). Being invited to visit by local Bolivians, the Old Believers eat only the food they brought with them.

They do not smoke, do not tolerate chewing coca, and do not drink alcohol (the only exception is homemade mash, which they drink with pleasure on occasion).

Despite the outward dissimilarity with the locals and strict adherence to traditions that are very different from Latin American culture, the Russian Old Believers never had conflicts with the Bolivians. They live amicably with their neighbors and understand each other perfectly, because all the Old Believers speak Spanish well.

Toborochi

You can find out how the life of the Old Believers in the country turned out by visiting a Bolivian village Toborochi(Spanish: Toborochi).

In the eastern part of Bolivia, 17 km from the city, there is a picturesque village founded in the 1980s. Russian Old Believers who arrived here. You can feel the real Russian spirit in this village; Here you can relax your soul from the bustle of the city, learn an ancient craft, or just have a wonderful time among amazing people.

As a matter of fact, an Old Believer settlement in the vast expanses of Bolivia is an unrealistic spectacle: a traditional Russian village late XIX c., which is surrounded not by birch groves, but by the Bolivian selva with palm trees. Against the backdrop of exotic tropical nature, these fair-haired, blue-eyed, bearded Mikula Selyaninovichs in embroidered shirts and bast shoes walk around their well-groomed property. And rosy-cheeked girls with wheaten braids below the waist, dressed in long, colorful sundresses, sing soulful Russian songs at work. Meanwhile, this is not a fairy tale, but a real phenomenon.

This is Russia, which we lost, but which has survived far across the ocean, in South America.

Even today this small village is not on maps, but in the 1970s there was only impenetrable jungle. Toborochi consists of 2 dozen courtyards, quite distant from each other. The houses are not log houses, but solid brick ones.

The families of the Anufrievs, Anfilofievs, Zaitsevs, Revtovs, Murachevs, Kalugins, and Kulikovs live in the village. Men wear belted embroidered shirts; women wear cotton skirts and floor-length dresses, and their hair is tied under a “shashmura” - a special headdress. The girls in the community are great fashionistas; each has up to 20-30 dresses and sundresses in her wardrobe. They come up with the styles themselves, cut and sew their new clothes. The elders buy fabrics in the cities of Santa Cruz or La Paz.

Women traditionally do handicrafts and run the household, raising children and grandchildren. Once a week, women go to the nearest city fair, where they sell milk, cheese, and baked goods.

Old Believer families are mostly large - 10 children are not uncommon here. As in the old days, newborns are named according to the Psalter according to the date of birth. The names of the Toborochin people, unusual for the Bolivian ear, sound too archaic for the Russian person: Agapit, Agripena, Abraham, Anikey, Elizar, Zinovy, Zosim, Inafa, Cyprian, Lukiyan, Mamelfa, Matryona, Marimia, Pinarita, Palageya, Ratibor, Salamania, Selivester, Fedosya, Filaret, Fotinya.

Young people strive to keep up with the times and are mastering smartphones with all their might. Although many electronic devices are formally prohibited in the village, today even in the remotest wilderness it is not possible to hide from progress. Almost all houses have air conditioning, washing machines, microwaves, and in some - televisions.

The main occupation of Toboroch residents is agriculture. Around the settlement there are well-groomed agricultural lands. Of the crops grown by the Old Believers in vast fields, the first place is occupied by corn, wheat, soybeans and rice. Moreover, the Old Believers succeed in this better than the Bolivians who have lived in these parts for centuries.

To work in the fields, the “bearded men” hire local peasants, whom they call Kolya. At the village factory, the harvest is processed, packaged and distributed to wholesalers. From the fruits that grow here all year round, kvass, mash, and jam are made.

In artificial reservoirs, Tobor residents breed the Amazonian freshwater fish pacu, the meat of which is famous for its amazing softness and delicate taste. Adult pacu weigh more than 30 kg.

The fish are fed 2 times a day - at dawn and at sunset. The food is produced right there, in the village mini-factory.

Here everyone is busy with their own business - both adults and children, who are taught to work from an early age. The only day off is Sunday. On this day, community members relax, visit each other and always attend church. Men and women come to the Temple in elegant light-colored clothes, over which something dark is thrown. The black cape is a symbol of the fact that everyone is equal before God.

Also on Sunday, men go fishing, boys play football and volleyball. Football is the most popular game in Toboroch. The local football team has won amateur school tournaments more than once.

Education

The Old Believers have their own education system. The very first and most important book is the alphabet of the Church Slavonic language, which children are taught from an early age. Older children study ancient psalms, and only then - modern literacy lessons. Old Russian is closer to them; even the little ones can read Old Testament prayers fluently.

Children in the community receive a comprehensive education. More than 10 years ago, the Bolivian authorities financed the construction of a school in the village. It is divided into 3 classes: children 5-8 years old, 8-11 and 12-14 year olds. Bolivian teachers regularly come to the village to teach Spanish, reading, mathematics, biology, and drawing.

Children learn Russian at home. In the village they speak only Russian everywhere, with the exception of school.

Culture, religion

Being far from their historical homeland, Russian Old Believers in Bolivia preserved unique cultural and religious customs better than their co-religionists living in Russia. Although, perhaps, it was the remoteness from their native land that was the reason that these people so protect their values ​​and passionately defend the traditions of their ancestors. Bolivian Old Believers are a self-sufficient community, but they do not oppose to the outside world. The Russians were able to perfectly establish not only their way of life, but also their cultural life. They never experience boredom; they always know what to do in their free time. They celebrate their holidays very solemnly, with traditional feasts, dances and songs.

Bolivian Old Believers strictly observe strict commandments regarding religion. They pray at least 2 times a day, morning and evening. Every Sunday and on religious holidays the service lasts several hours. Generally speaking, the religiosity of South American Old Believers is distinguished by fervor and steadfastness. Absolutely every village has its own house of worship.

Language

Not knowing about the existence of such a science as sociolinguistics, Russian Old Believers in Bolivia intuitively they act in such a way as to preserve their native language for posterity: they live separately, honor centuries-old traditions, and speak only Russian at home.

In Bolivia, Old Believers who arrived from Russia and settled far from large cities practically do not marry with the local population. This allowed them to preserve Russian culture and Pushkin's language much better than other Old Believer communities in Latin America.

“Our blood is truly Russian, we have never mixed it, and have always preserved our culture. Our children do not learn Spanish until they are 13-14 years old, so as not to forget their native language,” say the Old Believers.

The language of the ancestors is preserved and instilled by the family, passing it on from the older generation to the younger. Children must be taught to read in Russian and Old Church Slavonic, because in every family the main book is the Bible.

It is surprising that all the Old Believers living in Bolivia speak Russian without the slightest accent, although their fathers and even grandfathers were born in South America and have never been to Russia. Moreover, the speech of the Old Believers still bears shades of the characteristic Siberian dialect.

Linguists know that in case of emigration, people lose their native language already in the 3rd generation, that is, the grandchildren of those who left, as a rule, do not speak the language of their grandparents. But in Bolivia, the 4th generation of Old Believers is already fluent in Russian. This is an amazingly pure, dialectal language spoken in Russia in the 19th century. It is important that the language of the Old Believers is alive, it is constantly developing and enriching. Today it represents a unique combination of archaism and neologisms. When Old Believers need to designate a new phenomenon, they easily and simply invent new words. For example, Toborsk residents call cartoons “jumpers”, and light bulb garlands – “beggings”. They call tangerines “mimosa” (probably because of the shape and bright color of the fruit). The word “mistress” is alien to them, but “suitor” is quite familiar and understandable.

Over the years of living in a foreign land, many words borrowed from Spanish have been incorporated into the oral speech of the Old Believers. For example, their fair is called “feria” (Spanish: Feria – “display, exhibition, show”), and the market is called “mercado” (Spanish: Mercado). Some Spanish words have become “Russianized” among the Old Believers, and a number of outdated Russian words used by the residents of Toboroch are now unheard of even in the most remote corners of Russia. So, instead of “very”, the Old Believers say “very”, the tree is called “forest”, and the sweater is called “kufaika”. They have no respect for television; bearded men believe that television leads people to hell, but they still occasionally watch Russian films.

Although the Old Believers communicate exclusively in Russian at home, everyone speaks Spanish sufficiently for trouble-free living in the country. As a rule, men know Spanish better, because the responsibility to earn money and provide for their family rests entirely with them. The task of women is to run the household and raise children. So women are not only housekeepers, but also guardians of their native language.

It is interesting that this situation is typical for Old Believers living in South America. While in the USA and Australia the second generation of Old Believers has completely switched to English.

Marriages

Closed communities are usually characterized by closely related unions and, as a result, an increase in genetic problems. But this does not apply to Old Believers. Our ancestors also established the immutable “rule of the eighth generation,” when marriages between relatives up to the 8th generation are prohibited.

Old Believers know their ancestry very well and communicate with all their relatives.

Mixed marriages are not encouraged by the Old Believers, but young people are not categorically prohibited from starting families with local residents. But only a non-religious person must certainly accept the Orthodox faith, learn the Russian language (reading holy books in Old Slavonic language), observe all the traditions of the Old Believers and earn the respect of the community. It is easy to guess that such weddings do not happen often. However, adults rarely ask their children’s opinion about marriage - most often, parents themselves select a spouse for their child from other communities.

By the age of 16, young men acquire the necessary experience in working in the fields and can already get married. Girls can get married at the age of 13. My daughter’s first “adult” birthday gift was a collection of old Russian songs, painstakingly copied by hand by her mother.

Back to Russia

In the early 2010s. For the first time in many years, Russian Old Believers began to have friction with the authorities when the leftist government (Spanish Juan Evo Morales Ayma; President of Bolivia since January 22, 2006) began to show increased interest in the Indian lands on which Russian Old Believers settled. Many families are seriously thinking about moving to their historical homeland, especially since Russian government in recent years has actively supported the return of compatriots.

Most South American Old Believers have never been to Russia, but they remember their history and say that they have always felt homesick. Old Believers also dream of seeing real snow. The Russian authorities allocated land to those who arrived in the regions from which they fled to China 90 years ago, i.e. in Primorye and Siberia.

The eternal problem of Russia is roads and officials

Today, Brazil, Uruguay and Bolivia alone are home to approx. 3 thousand Russian Old Believers.

As part of the program for the resettlement of compatriots to their homeland in 2011-2012. Several Old Believer families moved from Bolivia to Primorsky Krai. In 2016, a representative of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church reported that those who had moved had been deceived by local officials and were on the verge of starvation.

Each Old Believer family is capable of cultivating up to 2 thousand hectares of land, as well as raising livestock. Land is the most important thing in the lives of these hardworking people. They call themselves in the Spanish manner - agricultors (Spanish Agricultor - “farmer”). And local authorities, taking advantage of the settlers’ poor knowledge of Russian legislation, allocated them plots intended only for haymaking - nothing else can be done on these lands. In addition, after some time, the administration raised the land tax rate for the Old Believers several times. The approximately 1,500 families remaining in South America who are ready to move to Russia fear that they will not be welcomed “with open arms” in their historical homeland either.

“We are strangers in South America because we are Russians, but in Russia we are not needed by anyone either. Here is paradise, the nature is so beautiful that it takes your breath away. But officials are a complete nightmare,” the Old Believers are upset.

The Old Believers are concerned that over time all barbudos (from Spanish - “bearded men”) will move to Primorye. They themselves see the solution to the problem in control by the Russian Presidential Administration over the implementation of the federal program.

In June 2016, the 1st international Conference“Old Believers, State and Society in the Modern World”, which brought together representatives of the largest Orthodox Old Believer consents (Consent is a group of associations of believers in the Old Believers - editor's note) from Russia, near and far abroad. The conference participants discussed “the difficult situation of Old Believers families who moved to Primorye from Bolivia.”

There are, of course, plenty of problems. For example, children attending school is not included in the centuries-old traditions of the Old Believers. Their usual way of life is work in the fields and prayers. “It is important for us to preserve traditions, faith and rituals, and it will be a great shame that in a foreign country we preserved this, but in our own country we lose it”, says the head of the Primorye Old Believer community.

Education officials are confused. On the one hand, I don’t want to put pressure on original migrants. But according to the law on universal education, all Russian citizens, regardless of their religion, are obliged to send their children to school.

Old Believers cannot be forced to violate their principles; for the sake of preserving traditions, they will be ready to take off again and look for another refuge.

"Far Eastern Hectare" - for bearded men

The Russian authorities are well aware that the Old Believers, who managed to preserve the culture and traditions of their ancestors far from their homeland, are the Golden Fund of the Russian nation. Especially against the backdrop of unfavorable demographic situation in the country.

The demographic policy plan for the Far East for the period until 2025, approved by the Government of the Russian Federation, provides for the creation of additional incentives for the resettlement of compatriots-Old Believers living abroad to the regions of the Far East. Now they will be able to receive their “Far Eastern hectare” at the initial stage of obtaining citizenship.

Today, about 150 families of Old Believers who arrived from South America live in the Amur Region and Primorsky Territory. Several more families of South American Old Believers are ready to move to the Far East; land plots have already been selected for them.

In March 2017, Cornelius, Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church, became the first Old Believer primate in 350 years to be officially accepted by the President of Russia. During a detailed conversation, Putin assured Cornelius that the state would be more attentive to compatriots who want to return to their native lands and look for ways to best resolve emerging problems.

“People who come to these regions ... with the desire to work on the land and create strong large families certainly need to be supported,” V. Putin emphasized.

Soon a working trip to South America took place for a group of representatives of the Russian Agency for the Development of Human Capital. And already in the summer of 2018, representatives of Old Believer communities from Uruguay, Bolivia and Brazil came to the Far East to familiarize themselves with the conditions for the possible resettlement of people.

Primorye Old Believers are looking forward to their remaining overseas relatives moving to Russia. They dream that their many years of wandering around the world will finally end and they want to finally settle here - albeit on the edge of the earth, but in their beloved homeland.

Curious facts

• The traditional Old Believer family is based on respect and love, about which the Apostle Paul said this in his letter to the Corinthians: “Love endures for a long time, is merciful, love does not envy, does not boast, ... does not act outrageously, does not think evil, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; love covers everything, believes everything, ... endures everything.”(1 Cor. 13:4-7).
• There is a popular proverb among Old Believers: “The only thing that doesn’t grow in Bolivia is what isn’t planted.”.
• When it comes to driving, men and women have equal rights. In the Old Believer community, a woman driving is quite commonplace.
• The generous Bolivian soil produces crops up to 3 times a year.
• It was in Toborochi that a unique variety of Bolivian beans was developed, which is now grown throughout the country.
• In 1999, city authorities decided to celebrate the anniversary of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Pushkin, and a street named after the great Russian poet appeared in the administrative capital of Bolivia.
• Bolivian Old Believers even have their own newspaper - “Russkoebarrio” (Spanish “barrio” - “neighborhood”; La Paz, 2005-2006).
• Old Believers have a negative attitude towards all barcodes. They are sure that any barcode is a “sign of the devil.”
• The brown pacu is famous for its eerie teeth, which are strikingly similar to human teeth. However, human teeth are not capable of inflicting such terrible wounds on the victim as the jaws of a predatory fish.
• For the most part, Toborsk residents are descendants of Old Believers from the Nizhny Novgorod province, who fled to Siberia under Peter I. Therefore, the ancient Nizhny Novgorod dialect can still be traced in their speech today.
• When asked who they consider themselves to be, Russian Old Believers confidently answer: "We are Europeans".

Three women with completely different destinies. Nana, Sveta and Natasha.

RTW 2006-07: 18-19.04 sucre

Uyuni with a salt lake - Potosi with dynamite - and we arrived in Sucre, a city with a Russian hairdresser.

It's warm here. The altitude is only 2000 m above sea level.

What I remember most in the whole city was Central Market. A huge indoor space, filled to capacity with trays of fresh fruit, smoothies, salads, juices and cakes. A mug of fruit cocktail with juice costs 4.5 rubles, a cup of fruit salad costs 3.5 rubles. Lunch - $2 for two, with meat and soup.

But our acquaintances became much more significant. In Sucre we met three Russian women who had been living in Bolivia for a long time.

Three women with completely different destinies.

Natashin Our friends from Moscow gave us the phone number. She met us in her own car, with two children. Natasha is married to a Bolivian. He works in La Paz, but she doesn’t like the noisy and dirty city, and they live in pleasant and clean Sucre with her husband’s parents. She just opened her own furniture showroom. Dreams of creating a Russian settlement (Russian district). She also publishes a newspaper in Russian and sends it to the Russian embassy.

We first sat in the park with ice cream, then in Natasha’s salon. Sveta looks great, she has enough money to realize a wide variety of ideas. And yet she didn't make an impression happy woman. Maybe it was just our imagination, but everything in her stories “seemed not bad.” I don't even know how to describe it. No, she was not trying to look very successful and unnaturally pleased. Rather, on the contrary, she seemed quite honest about everything. And some slight dissatisfaction was evident in all the stories.

Having asked Natasha for advice on where to get a haircut, we immediately found our next friend. to the world. Sveta is studying to be a hairdresser and works in a salon. Or rather, there is only one real salon in Sucre. But the one where Sveta works will soon be supplied with equipment, and there will be a second salon in the city.

On the way, the taxi driver asked us what to see in Russia, if he ever gets there, whether he can work there, and whether he needs to speak Russian (are Russian and Spanish so different? They won’t understand me there? Why, Russians don’t do they speak Spanish?).

Sveta is Natasha's friend. She is also married to a Bolivian. He studied in Ukraine, so he brought his wife with him. There it was very difficult for Sveta and it was not clear what to do and what to do next. So she actually ran away. It's not easy here either. Not a lot of money. If Natasha can afford to open a furniture salon that is not yet profitable, she has to study and work about Sveta. Uncertainty shines through Sveta’s words. Maybe something would have worked out at home? Or maybe it would be worse. She doesn't look very happy either. Not unhappy, no. But not entirely happy either. The most difficult thing in Sveta’s life is her relationship with her husband’s parents. For Natasha, too, in this regard, not everything is ideal, although she completely voluntarily lives in Sucre with her husband’s parents.

We spent the evening with new friends at the Joyride cafe in the very center of the city. Cool place. Good and not cheap. Or rather, not cheap by local standards. For us, $1.5 for an alcoholic cocktail... well, you get the idea.

In general, we feel very strange in Bolivia. We look like homeless hippies in our travel-worn clothes, old shoes, and backpacks torn by travel. And at the same time we can easily afford to pay for well-dressed local girls. We are even uncomfortable with the realization that here we can afford everything. Land and apartments in Bolivia cost almost nothing. But it’s very difficult to earn anything here. We honestly told Natasha and Sveta that in 8 months at home we saved up $20,000 for the trip, and in 6 months we spent $12,000 on the trip. And they were the first to be amazed by these amounts. Or rather, until now everyone was also amazed, but in the vein of “you spent so little.” Now the situation was reversed.

We go to the hotel again by taxi. Bargaining is easy here.
You get into a taxi and already on the road you start a dialogue:
-How much will you take?
-4 bolivianos per person ($0.5).
-Is it possible for 3? Oh please!
-You can do it for 3.

Here I’ll also tell you about Nana, the owner of a Georgian cafe in the town of Oruro. Nana is from Tbilisi, but has been living in Bolivia for 11 years. I came here to pick up my daughter after the death of her husband. The daughter is married to a Bolivian. Nana has a good relationship with her daughter’s husband’s family. But, of course, she misses Tbilisi, you can even see it in her eyes. It's difficult to get used to the new rules. But he does what he can. So, she opened a cafe, from 5 to 9 pm she bakes cakes and eclairs, pancakes and khachapuri.

Nana, Sveta and Natasha. Very pleasant and not very happy. I would like to believe that they are simply not very good at managing life, and being in Bolivia was a good solution for them, and it would have been harder at home.

But let's return to the city of Sucre. Sucre is the official capital of Bolivia.

Its real capital is busy, noisy and dirty La Paz. Sucre looks more like a village seat of government. Historical, sophisticated, green, with wooden balconies and bright houses. With one whole supermarket in the whole city back in 2007.

The main attraction of the surrounding area is dinosaur tracks.

Once upon a time, near Sucre, they began to mine cement and dug up a layer with dinosaur tracks. 68 million years ago this was the bottom of a lake. But then, due to tectonic processes, the lake reared up, and now its bottom has turned into a quarry wall.

The workers were driven away and the tourists overtook them. They made something like a park. Very weak park. With a couple of dinosaur figures, a 15-minute tour and ice cream.