Terrible sea monster, the heartbreaking medieval ships in the Northern seas, fossil plesiosaurs lakes in Scotland... More recently, a similar pattern could be found only in old prints or in science fiction novels. Today's news is full description of creatures living in the water bodies of Russia. It draws, the journalistic imagination or frightening reality? To tell about relict animals, including the Ladoga Nessie, "Steps" said the traveler, ethnographer Alexei Popov.


- Alexey, is found in Ladoga real dinosaur or unknown nature lizard?

- On lake Ladoga today say and write a lot. Including unknown to science huge monster, supposedly live deep under the water. In Russian scientific-popular magazine "Miracles and adventures" was published a very interesting article by A. Szymanski with the intriguing title "Nessie in Ladoga", I now you will read: "We came from Peter on the Eastern shore of the lake to collect material on the contamination of forest pests. In late June, the weather improved and I became a ritual, take warmed per day boulder to admire the changing colours of evening-glow.

And once occurred something quite amazing: the Bay of the lake between two capes were covered with ripples, and above the surface of zasmeyalas some weight, creating big waves. Closer to the shore over the water, there was a huge head, merging with thick neck. She has published lipase-pitched whistling sound and sank back into the water, it was followed by ophidian torso. The length of this "whangdoodle" was about twenty meters, but moved it swiftly and gracefully. Having come to the camp of the expedition, I told his colleagues about the observed phenomenon, but was laughed at that, in General, I was not surprised. However, local fishermen are also observed some strange creature, who were hunting for fish and raushee their network. They would not confuse it with the seals, which are also a lot of them annoy".

- This testimony is the only one?

Not at all! By the seventies of the last century regards the observation of the strange animals in the village on the island of Mantsinsaari A. S. Konovalov: "in the Summer we hunted on Ladoga lake fish. I remember it was a bright Sunny day. The wind almost was not. Looking at the smooth surface of the lake, in the distance we saw some object, brightly shining on the water. At first thought the boat capsized, but looking more closely, he saw that the subject-live! He sailed along the shore, slowly approaching us. To be honest, I strochnoi we started the car and went to the land. That the lake has a monster, I still have my father told me.

Perched on the shore, we continued observation and found that this is some huge animal. It was approaching, and it was already possible to consider the speakers of the water body parts. The creature was massive, dark grey, length of ten meters, probably. Large head rested on a long neck. His eyes were wide apart, and it all looked like a fair ferocity. Not reaching the shores of several tens of meters monster stopped, then quickly pulled back into the water, raising the cascade spray; then suddenly disappeared. More animal did not appear, although at this point we were still for a long time, afraid to go out into the lake. Such stories in my archive, several dozen!

- Do you have any logical explanation for this phenomenon?

- I would single out three versions. First, intentional false witness the jokers and all sorts of crazy. The second sincere confusion: it seems to people that they have seen a living being. And finally, the most interesting version is unknown animal that lives in lake Ladoga. As I pondered these "explanations", I can not assume that someone, after living a long life in one area, talking to the same people suddenly start telling false stories, becoming a major laughing stock. Need to know the life of the Karelian village to understand: in a deliberate untruth there is no sense, from local residents, it's not customary. But the fact that their ancestors passed "inherited" a similar story, makes me more seriously to the above stories.

- Maybe people have seen, for example, seal or trunk flooded tree...

- The assumption that the observer saw no living creature, and the accumulation of algae or submerged tree trunk, does not hold: the Karelian aborigines, the most part of his life holding on rivers and lakes, are professionalism, observant and excellent knowledge of their fishing places. So there is every reason to believe in the existence of unknown animal in lake Ladoga.

- What about local historical Chronicles about this?

- Surprisingly, the local traditions and legends, connected with the life of the Valaam monastery, indeed often referred unknown animal of enormous size, often devastating the network monks, but had never come. By the way, Ladoga is not the only place in the world where there are such mysterious creatures. In Iceland are still legends about the existence in the lakes mysterious animal scrims, a giant snake. In Canada since the days of the Indians there is a famous legend about the existence in the Okanagan lake huge animal of ogopogo. In Irish waters for more than half a century, there are large unidentified reptiles. Swedish media have repeatedly reported about the mysterious inhabitants in six lakes.

Famous for "dinosaurs" and Siberia, Yakutia. And, of course, it is impossible to bypass the famous Loch Ness "dinosaur"! After analyzing all the available documentary material relating to this phenomenon, management of aerophotographic the UK came to a truly sensational conclusion: "we believe that We are dealing with unidentified living object, living in the lake ness. Even if this mammal, reptile or molluscum some famous science unit, the animal shall be of such dimensions that is of great interest for a thorough examination and classification of scientists. If this animal is still unknown species, from a scientific point of view it is also advisable to ascertain its nature".

- Considering the number of certificates worldwide, the problem of water monsters it is necessary to give the official scientific status.

- You are absolutely right, the more that certain steps in this direction have already been made by British scientists. Now such creatures have a precise definition: Nessiteras Rhombopteryx (Nessiteras Rhombopteryx). This is the name given today Nessie, is quite sufficient to take the animal is under the protection of British law. Imagine something like two decades ago. "Loch ness" was a synonym hoax, but time and unprejudiced study puts everything in its place. Perhaps, in Karelia we are on the threshold amazing discovery.

Interviewed by Dmitry SIWICKI