Read the famous notes Englishman Jerome Horsey, Dating from the end of XVI century. In 1589 he once again goes to Russia. We must remember that 100% of the foreigners coming to Russia, and Russia later, were not only merchants or ambassadors for documents, but also foreign agents. Spies, simply put. Either papal throne, or of any European monarch. And their notes is the kind of reports in the centre. Now what does this Horsey. (Quote from: Jerome Horsey. Notes about Russia. XVI - early XVII century, M: MSU publishing house, 1990.)

There is still a lot of idolaters, who feed at home as if the Penates, some snakes with four short legs like lizards with black and fat body...

Reptiles tore spears

"I left Warsaw in the evening, moved across the river, where on the shore lay poisonous dead crocodile, crocodileserpent, which my people broke spears belly. When this horrible stench spread that I was poisoned and sick in the nearest village, where he met such compassion and Christian aid me, a stranger, that miraculously recovered".

That is, in the area of modern Belarus, Western Russia, this experienced agent, the high-ranking employee of English trading company which has already traveled to Russia and knew the ground, detects unknown animal.

Next, take notes even more authoritative in historical science of man, also a professional spy, Sigismund von Herberstein, Austrian and papal envoy. He was in Russia twice. Before Horsea. In 1517 and 1526. His analytical review "Notes on Muscovite Affairs" is considered by many scientists are fairly reliable. Now, there he wrote again about the region of Western Russia.

"This area is replete with groves and woods, which you can observe the terrible phenomenon. There is still a lot of idolaters, who feed at home as if the Penates, some snakes with four short legs like lizards with black and fat body, having no more than three spans in length and called giveittome (Givuoites). In the required days people clean their home and with some fear and all her family reverent worship them, creeping toward the food. Unhappiness is attributed to the fact that the deity of the serpent was poorly fed".
(Quoted by: Sigizmund Herberstein. "Notes on Muscovite Affairs". St. Petersburg, 1908.)

Three span is about 60-70 centimeters. "Penaty", mentioned Herberstein, this deity, patrons of the home of the ancient Romans, that every educated person brought up on Greco-Roman mythology, it was then clear.

What we have read the reports of two foreign agents on travel to Russia? In the XVI century in the West of the country was inhabited by strange creatures like the contemporary crocodiles or huge lizards, monitor lizards. Fiction? Hardly.

"Many people Pagosa"

And what we wrote in those years about these mysterious animals?

If you open the "Complete collection of Russian Chronicles", there is a section Pskov Chronicles under the year 1582, you can find amazing write: "In the summer 7090 (1582), according to it, fierce corcodile came animals from the river and the path of zatvorite, many people Pagosa, and ugaasaa people and MOLISA God of the whole earth; and again spryatalas, and other izbica. The same year died there tsarevitch Ivan, in the Settlement, November 14 day".

So again, Western Russia, again unknown "crocodiles", only they don't hand, "house of God", and vicious predators, attacking people!

The most authoritative Russian scientist, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and then Russian Academy of Sciences, historian Boris Rybakov was firmly confident in existence in ancient times crocodiles on the territory of Russia. He cites another chronicle example. Also from the same place.

In Mazurencko chronicle has an amazing story of transformation Volga (Magi, Volkhov), son of Prince sloven, the founder of the city Slovenska, now of Great Novgorod. So, the Prince calls one river flowing into the lake Ilmen, the name of his wife, Saloni and the other arising from the lake and later flowing back, Volkhov, in honor of his son. Which becomes a werewolf.

"Bolshe son thereof Prince sloven Volkhov befogady and the sorcerer fierce in ludej then was, and devilish tricks and dreams of creating and preobrazyatsya in the form of a fierce beast of corcodel, and zalagasa in the Rotz the Volkhov river waterway and neoclassica him new poiras, new spewing photoplate; this for the sake of the people, then neviglas, who is God-damned in naritaku and Thunder it, or Perun, maracosa".

Upon the death of the Sorcerer it "with many tears from neviglas the buried there was cursed with great mourn Pohansko, and the tomb of sipala over it velmi the high, that is nasty. And for three days damned in trinida presages earth and pore vile body, corcodilos, and the grave of presupusa over him along in the bottom of hell, who to this day, as I will tell you, the sign of the pit is not your napolnyaetsya". Again the "corcodel"! And on the river Volkhov. The same area. It is clear that this is a beautiful legend and metaphor. But... the concept... Read this stunning information, you begin to think, maybe, the then Russian people something confused?! Where, in General, confusing the word "Krokodil", crocodile?! What they meant by it?

We are dealing with a revived resources?

Russian people knew what he was talking about. We must understand that quite a significant number of Russian pilgrims visited the Holy places of Israel, Egypt and Syria and certainly seen these crocodiles. And calling predatory creatures that appeared near Pskov, "crocodiles", ancestors were well aware of what they say. According to leading researcher of the Slavonic paganism academician B.A. Rybakov in his book, "Paganism of Ancient Russia", in the IV-X centuries the Novgorod Slavs worshiped the mysterious God the lizard in the image of "crocodile".

"Echoes of the ancient cult of the Raptor preserved in Novgorod, where a sanctuary of Perun, created Dobrynia in 983, was preceded by the sanctuary of some of crocodile".

The image of the lizard is common to many among the monuments of culture and archaeology of Novgorod and Pskov lands. Full images of this animal in various household items that time, plates, cups, with the weapon. Academician Fishermen believes that the existence of the "Russian crocodile" no doubt because they have left their traces in the place names of many rivers and lakes in North-West Russia. River Lizard, lake Ashino, settlements Reptiles, Small Reptiles, not far from Klin was even Spaso-Krokodily monastery! Now it is a village of Spas-Crocodilia.

Gradually approaching our time. Here the document is quite official, however, already from Central Russia. He is kept in the archives of the city of Arzamas:

"Summer 1719 June 4 days in the County great storm, and Smerch, and hail, and many cattle and animals died. And there fell from heaven a serpent, God's wrath scorched, and stinking disgusting. And remembering the Decree of God by Sovereign grace of our all-Russian Peter A. from the summer of 1718 Kunstkamera and collection for her wonderful things different, monstruo and freaks no, stones and other celestial wonders, that serpent of this threw in a barrel with strong double wine..."

Signed paper Zemstvo Commissioner Vasily Bayonet. According to the description, stinking monster, fell from the sky, had short legs and a huge mouth full of sharp teeth. That is, by the description of a typical givit seen over 200 years earlier Herberstein, and stinks as dirty as "Krokodil"described by Garzeem!

Now look at this problem through the eyes of modern science. According to the description, the current experts attribute the animal is not among the crocodiles, but rather to ichthyostega. Ichthyostega - rod early tetrapod, who lived about 367-362,5 million years ago and was the first intermediate link between fish and amphibians. Ichthyostega can be considered as transitional forms between lobe-finned fish and land vertebrates. Ichthyostega had feet, but their limbs may not be used for walking. Ichthyostega had a tail fin and some senses, which operated only in water. The body was covered with small scales.

Indeed, ichthyostega very similar to that of a crocodile. But they became extinct millions of years ago. So do individuals lived some 150-300 years ago and the terror of our ancestors? Completely. Remember that another crossopterygii being, which was considered extinct millions of years ago, latimeria, caught the first time only in 1938 in the river Chalumna when it falls into the Indian ocean. It was a sensation, because it was considered impossible to meet the living of the same age of the dinosaur, and known only by the fossilised remains.

Surprisingly, the latest information about the "Northern crocodiles date back to quite a recent time. In the second half of the XIX century when the inventory utensils are one of the churches in Belarus met this form: "As we opened the door to the Church, saw Scilly, very ancient, because they no longer were yellow, and white white. One skill like men, only huge growth, another kind of animal, for crocodiles. Lay side by side, and between them a lot steal scattered".

Minsk historians believe that the last animal caught in the Tatar wetlands - here again the swamp in 1885! And effigies of him for a long time adorned the Zoological office of the Minsk real College. And retired only in the turmoil of the Civil war of the early twentieth century. Now in the Tatar wetlands, it is the center of the city, stands the Palace of sports. And the description is the same "gevity". Black, up to a meter and a very fierce.

Could these animals to survive now? Most of the researchers of this issue, cryptozoologis, say Yes.

Vladimir Kazakov