Russia (bbabo.net), - Museum complex "Ataman's Compound" of the village of Starocherkasskaya. A gloomy sky, and against its background - church domes and strokes of bare branches. On the wall of the courtyard there is a commemorative plaque with a bas-relief and the inscription: "Turoverov Nikolai Nikolaevich. The largest poet of the Cossack and Russian abroad of the twentieth century, the Don Cossack. He was born on March 18 (31), 1899 in the village of Starocherkasskaya Oblast of the Don Host".

Behind the church are several graves. A birch grows on a small patch. Under it, it is planned to rebury the remains of the Cossack poet, as well as his wife and daughter, who are now buried in the cemetery in Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois near Paris. The solemn reburial is scheduled for the summer of 2022 and will be timed to coincide with the 350th anniversary of Peter the Great.

“The resting place at home, in the village of Starocherkasskaya, was the last will of our Cossack poet Nikolai Turoverov. The place where he will be reburied has already been determined,” said Viktor Vodolatsky, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots.

Nikolai Turoverov is an iconic figure for the Don Cossacks. Already during his studies at the Kamensk real school, young Kolya published one of his first poems "Revelations" in the journal "Toward the Light". But then, of course, he did not suspect what a tragic fate awaited him.

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"My mother didn't recognize me"

The biography and work of the Cossack poet is studied by the Don writer and historian, author of books about Turoverov, an employee of the Starocherkassk Museum Mikhail Astapenko.

- In World War I, Nikolai Turoverov did not want to sit in the rear. In April 1917, he signed up as a volunteer in the Life Guards Ataman Regiment of His Imperial Highness the Heir Tsarevich. Turoverov fought on the Russian-Austrian front, participated in the summer offensive, which, alas, turned out to be unsuccessful. For personal courage shown in battles, Nikolai Turoverov then received the rank of constable. And when the Civil War began, Turoverov fought on the side of the Whites, because he believed that for the Bolsheviks, who dream of a world revolution, the Motherland means nothing. For differences in battles, 18-year-old Turoverov was promoted to cornet, centurion and cavalier, - says Mikhail Astapenko.

After fierce battles for Rostov and the capture of the city by the Whites, Ataman Kaledin decided to expand the front and sent a detachment led by Colonel Vasily Chernetsov to the north of the Don region (this episode is described by Sholokhov). Nikolai Turoverov and his younger brother Alexander joined the Chernetsov detachment as volunteers. But the White unit, which consisted mainly of junkers, was defeated by experienced Red Army front-line soldiers led by Fedor Podtelkov. Moreover, Turoverov saw with his own eyes how Podtelkov hacked to death Chernetsov. Nikolai Turoverov then survived by a miracle. After long wanderings across the steppe, he returned home, but in such a form that his own mother did not recognize him. Subsequently, the poet wrote in the poem "Motherland":

I know it won't be otherwise

Everything has its turn and time, -

No one will scream

won't cry

When I knock at the yard.

Someone else's pasture hut,

Weeds on a fallen fence

Yes, a reflection of the steppe sunset,

Frozen in a wretched window.

And he will say softly and dryly,

That I can't sleep here.

Barefoot old woman in rags,

My mother didn't recognize me.

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"He shot at his own horse"

- A terrible thing was happening on then! In fierce battles, almost the entire white cavalry was crushed. The retreat to the Kuban, to Novorossiysk began. Turoverov described how Cossack women, officers' wives and nurses walked through the frost in winter in summer shoes. Then there was an evacuation to the Crimea. These tragic pictures are reflected in the poet's poems. When you read them, you get the feeling that you yourself are participating in those events. I just want to say: God forbid a repetition of the Civil War in any form! - Mikhail Astapenko shares his impressions.

And the meat grinder of fratricidal war continued. Mounted attacks, hand-to-hand combat, shooting and projectile explosions. Several wounds, awards ... Nikolai Turoverov received the St. George medal of the 4th degree, the Order of St. Anna of the 4th degree "For Courage", St. Stanislav of the 3rd degree with swords and a bow and St. Vladimir of the 3rd degree with swords and a bow . But, of course, no awards could please in that difficult period.

After the final defeat of the Whites, the evacuation from the Crimea began. It was November 1920. The Don Corps was leaving Kerch, and it was there that Turoverov saw a picture that struck him to the core. The Cossacks sailed on the ship, and the horses left on the shore suddenly rushed after them into the water. From this came the poignant poem of Turoverov:

We left the Crimea

Between smoke and fire

I'm from the stern all the time past

He shot at his horse.

And he swam, exhausted,

Behind the high stern

All without believing, all without knowing

That says goodbye to me.

How many times one grave

We expected in battle ...

The horse was swimming, losing strength,

Believe in my devotion.

My batman did not shoot past,

The water turned a little...

The receding coast of Crimea

I remember forever.

"Bury me... in the steppe closer to the Don"

For about half a year, the Turovers with their wife and brother lived in a tent camp on the Greek island of Lemnos, which was under the control of French troops. Then the poet moved to Serbia, where he worked as a miller and lumberjack. And in 1922 he moved to Paris. At night, he worked as a loader, and during the day he studied at the Sorbonne University. Later, Turoverov got a job in a bank. And all the while he wrote and wrote.

In Paris, Turoverov became the curator of the Museum of the Life Guards Ataman Regiment. Then, in disputes, he often opposed the separatist Cossacks, who called for the creation of their own state, not connected with Russia. "Without Russia and outside of Russia, the Cossacks did not have, do not have and cannot have roads!" the poet thought.

By the way, in the 30s Turoverov corresponded with Krasnov. But when World War II began, the poet, unlike the general and chieftain, did not support Hitler. Turoverov served in the 1st Cavalry Regiment of the French Foreign Legion, where he commanded a squadron.

In 1947, Nikolai Turoverov became chairman of the Cossack Union. On September 23, 1972, the poet died. According to eyewitnesses, despite the fact that the funeral took place on a weekday, a huge number of people gathered in front of the cemetery in Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois.

However, the last will of Turoverov is still not fulfilled. The desire to be buried on the Don, in his native village, he expressed in his prose poem. There, in particular, there are such words: "... you bury me ... in the steppe closer to the Don, to my village, to Old Cherkassk ... And put a cross of wild stone ..."

Afterword

Attempts to rebury the remains of Turoverov have been made repeatedly. But things got off the ground after Inga Abgarova, the publisher and editor-in-chief of the Greek weekly MIR i OMONIA (Peace and Harmony), took the initiative.

Once she first heard Turoverov's poem "We left the Crimea ...". Since then, she began to study the work of the poet. She visited Starocherkasskaya and learned from Astapenko about the poet's will. "How can you fulfill his last will?" - asked Inga.

It was explained to her that it was very difficult to do this. It is necessary to find Turoverov's living relatives in France, get their consent to the reburial, find the necessary funds ... So far, nothing has worked. "And now it will work!" - firmly decided Inga Abgarova.

- I found Turoverov's nephews, wrote them a heartfelt letter stating that much has changed in Russia, that one must believe in it and one should not be afraid to rebury the remains of the great poet, who is honored on the Don. Nikolai Aleksandrovich called me back. He said that he and his brother, in principle, are not against reburial, but they are afraid that the grave would be defiled. I reassured them and promised that this would never happen. And I got consent, - says Inga.

Since Turoverov was buried with his wife and daughter, the poet's nephews did not want to separate them. Preparations began for the reburial of all three. Inga received the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she solved financial issues. A date was set and the whole procedure was scheduled.

But unexpectedly, the ex-wife of one of the nephews opposed the reburial, which was not agreed with her. She eventually lost the courts, but precious time was lost. The pandemic hit and the reburial had to be postponed.

- I was at the grave of Turoverov in France. You have to pay for it every year. In addition, it is necessary to constantly look after the burial. And Turoverov's nephews are already elderly people. At the same time, in Starocherkassk, the grave will be adequately maintained. And most importantly, the last wish of the poet will come true, - Inga Abgarova is convinced.

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