Kuiva idol, Arctic hysteria and other mystical secrets of the fourth largest lake in the Russian North

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

There are many places on the territory of Russia that are known not only for their beauty, but also for their mystical mystery. They are legendary, which attracts not only thousands of curious tourists and travelers, but also serious scientists and researchers. Specialists manage to solve some anomalies, but some riddles remain unsolved. One of these natural objects that beckon ordinary people not only with their views, but also with mystical stories associated with it, is Lovozero on the Kola Peninsula.

What is it like, Lake Lovozero on the Kola Peninsula

Lovozero is the fourth largest lake in the Murmansk region, covering an area of 200 square kilometers. It is located in the very center of the Kola Peninsula. The lake is surrounded by the Lovozero tundra mountains, which are considered one of the oldest on the planet Earth. If we talk about the depth of this reservoir, then it is relatively small: on average, a little more than 5.5 meters. At its deepest point, the bottom of Lovozero is located 35 meters from its surface. As for the height of the lake above sea level, it is equal to 153 meters.

The Kola Lovozero is fed by 5 local rivers: Afanasiya, Kurga, Sara, Svetlaya and Tsaga. But there is only one river, Voronya, that flows out of the lake and flows into the Barents Sea. The total area of the Lovozero basin together with river arteries is 3 thousand 770 square kilometers. Depending on the seasons and climatic conditions, the depth of Lovozero fluctuates throughout the year by no more than 1 meter.

Lovozero nature on the Kola Peninsula

If we talk about the nature surrounding the lake, then it will be able to satisfy the tastes of even the most spoiled traveler with all sorts of wonders: in addition to the beauty of the coastline, where the tundra alternates with hills almost devoid of vegetation, tourists are attracted by the numerous islands scattered across the reservoir. There are about 140 of them on Lovozero.

The reservoir is interesting and very popular among fishermen. Here you can fish all year round: from the shore, boat, ice. The shallow depth and fairly good visibility allows you to very successfully engage in spearfishing on Lovozero. The main trophies of fishermen in this reservoir and in the river deltas are char, brown trout, burbot, palia, whitefish and pike. The tourist infrastructure is developed just enough to make the vacationer feel as close as possible to the wild, pristine nature.

Local legends

In the Kildin Sami language, a dialect of the local indigenous Lapps, the lake is called Lujavvir, which can be roughly translated as “the settlement of the strong by the lake”. People have lived on the banks of Lovozero since time immemorial. The local nature has always been generous with game, and the waters of the lake and the rivers flowing into it abounded in fish. Like any other place on Earth where people have lived for more than one millennium, the area around Lovozero is surrounded by ancient legends and stories.

Many of them are associated with mystical events or phenomena. So, on the northern shore of the reservoir, on a branch of the Kuivchorra mountain range, a rock rises. Its unusualness lies in the fact that right on top of it there is a huge drawing of a creature similar to a person - about 70 m high and 30 m wide. Lopari call this idol “Kuiva”.

According to the legend of local peoples, once upon a time, an invader from other distant lands arrived in these territories. He tried to attack the Sami in order to enslave them or destroy them. But the gods stood up for people and, using their powers, turned the invader into a shadow on the rock. And this is far from the only legend of local peoples, which concerns a huge drawing, as well as other unusual stone artifacts.

Many of the legends of the Sami and Lapps tell of the former greatness of these places. About the multitude of people who lived in this area and in the immediate vicinity. Some researchers directly associate these legends with the existence in these parts of one of the ancient semi-mythical civilizations, and its cradle - Hyperborea. Which is also often called North Atlantis.

Anomalies on the banks of Lovozero

From the end of the 19th century, information began to appear about the frequent manifestations in the vicinity of Lovozero of the so-called "Arctic hysteria" - measuring. This mysterious phenomenon is characterized by the fact that people who are in a certain place unexpectedly underwent mass psychosis: they simultaneously executed almost any commands, repeated individual manipulations and movements. Moreover, after coming out of this state, the person remembered absolutely nothing.

These mental abnormalities occurred both with local residents during shamanic rituals and with visitors. Moreover, several cases of measuring took place absolutely spontaneously - without any manipulation by shamans or religious rites. All these events forced scientists to seriously study the phenomenon of "Arctic hysteria".

The first Soviet scientific research expedition to study this phenomenon under the leadership of Professor Alexander Barchenko was organized in 1922. In the course of it, scientists discovered a very unusual object in the taiga area - a rather large granite rectangular boulder. The researchers were struck by the fact that the stone had regular shapes, and its edges were strictly located on the cardinal points.

Such stone objects were known to scientists. Similar structures were used by the pagan Lapps, who worship the sun deity, as altars. The next planned stage of research for Barchenko's group was Rogovaya Island on Lovozero. However, the Lapps completely refused to provide the scientists with a boat and generally help in anything. Locals referred to the fact that only sorcerers can visit this island.

An attempt to get to the island by a local priest's sailboat was also unsuccessful. Moreover, the expedition almost died - a sudden hurricane broke the mast and almost threw the boat, driving it away from Rogovoy Island.

Mysticism and naturalness of the Kola lake

In subsequent years, several more scientific expeditions visited Lovozero. Unlike Barchenko's group, they still got to Rogovoy Island and studied its artifacts. Thus, the study of a rectangular stone showed that it is natural and not man-made. And this added to the island and the lake even more mystery and mysticism. However, further researchers were waiting for even more amazing finds.

One of the expeditions discovered many stone objects, which scientists called “the ruins of Hyperborea”. Among these artifacts, researchers have described huge stone arches and slabs of strikingly regular dimensions. In addition, the inventory of “objects” documented a ritual stone well, steps leading to nowhere, sections of walls and the remains of a prehistoric structure, which scientists considered an ancient observatory.

Until the end of the 20th century, Lovozero was seriously considered, if not a supernatural place, then exactly an archaeological monument of the ancient civilization of the Hyperboreans. However, the expedition that visited this place in 2000 dispelled almost all mystical legends and speculations around the Kola Lovozero. So, all stone artifacts, according to scientists, were the result of natural soil erosion and weathering of rocks.

As for the gigantic image of a person - the idol "Kuiva", it is nothing more than a pattern of natural cracks in the rock, which over time have become overgrown with moss. The explanation of accidents on the water - the death of canoeists and the wrecks of light boats, is also by no means mystical. Due to its location, the weather in the Kola Lovozero area changes almost instantly: during complete calm, quite large waves can rise for 2-3 minutes. Locals know about this feature of the lake, but newcomers do not.

It would seem that all the myths around Lovozero were completely debunked, and this reservoir is practically no different from similar lakes on the Kola Peninsula. However, either the denials of the mysterious phenomena were not very convincing, or the legends are more powerful than the evidence of scientists - one way or another, and Lovozero is still considered one of the 7 most mystical and mysterious places in Russia. And this is quite enough so that the flow of tourists to these places over the years not only does not decrease, but also arrives.