DISTRICT / AIMAG
Troitsky District
REGION
Altai Krai
Yuzhakovo
The village of Yuzhakovo, founded in 1789, is situated on the banks of the Borovlyanka River in Troitsky District, Altai Krai, and is part of the Yuzhakovsky rural council (selsoviet). In the past, Yuzhakovo was significant as a centre of Old Believers.
A historical photograph, village view, landscape, or related heritage object will be displayed here at a later date.
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EN Historical background
The village was founded in 1789. The village of Yuzhakova emerged in 1870 on the right bank of the Borovlyanka River — on the site where the villages of Nizhne-Borovlyanskaya and Verkhne-Borovlyanskaya had previously existed; as of 1893, the village of Yuzhakova in Biysk Volost had 769 residents in 154 households. In 1926, the village had 415 households and a population of 1,835 (854 men and 981 women); the ethnic composition was predominantly Russian; Yuzhakovo was the centre of the Yuzhakovsky selsoviet in Bolshe-Rechensky District, Biysk Okrug, Siberian Krai. As of 14 April 2026, the population was 54. A notable figure is Iosif Ivanovich Samokhvalov (1918–1981), Hero of the Soviet Union, commander of a squadron of the 825th Assault Aviation Regiment; born on 17 April 1918 in Yuzhakovo to a peasant family; from January 1942, he participated in the Great Patriotic War, fighting on the Southwestern, Stalingrad, Southern, North Caucasian, and Leningrad Fronts; in 1943, he rammed an enemy aircraft in an Il-2, for which he was awarded the Order of Lenin; by August 1944, he had completed 710 combat sorties; on 26 October 1944, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union; after the war, he graduated from the Air Force Academy (1954) and worked as director of a sovkhoz in Zernograd, Rostov Oblast; he died on 8 August 1981; in late September 2021, a pedestal with an An-2 propeller blade, an Il-14 steering wheel, and a plaque in memory of the Hero was installed at the entrance to Yuzhakovo; the idea came from polar pilot Sergey Mikhailovich Razarentsev. Also mentioned is Semyon Karpovich Tyurin — a native of the village, a private signalman, conscripted in 1941 and participating in the war against Japanese invaders in 1945.
Place, memory, heritage
Historical and cultural legacy
The village has MAOU Secondary School No. 2 (Municipal Autonomous General Education Institution) and the Yuzhakovsky House of Culture (Sovetskaya Street, 11), built in 1970–1971 on the initiative of the director of the Yuzhakovsky sovkhoz, K. V. Okunev; on 12 November 1971, the new two-storey house of culture opened its doors: it had a dance hall, a library, an auditorium for 330 seats, and a widescreen cinema installation; in 1991, the sovkhoz was reorganized, and in 1999, the house of culture was transferred to municipal ownership; in 2021, it celebrated its 50th anniversary. The mass grave of partisans who died fighting for Soviet power is located at Tsentralnaya Street, 2a (by the club building); date of installation — 1922; a monument of history of regional significance.
Natural surroundings
The village is situated on the banks of the Borovlyanka River, a tributary of the Bolshaya Rechka. The surroundings feature floodplain meadows, partly waterlogged, with rich herbaceous and grass vegetation; along the bank of the Bolshaya Rechka, floodplain forests of predominantly black and white poplar are located. The territory associated with the village includes parts of the Bolsherchensky State Natural Complex Reserve of krai significance. The climate is continental: with a long cold winter and a short warm summer.
Historical and cultural legacy
The village has MAOU Secondary School No. 2 (Municipal Autonomous General Education Institution) and the Yuzhakovsky House of Culture (Sovetskaya Street, 11), built in 1970–1971 on the initiative of the director of the Yuzhakovsky sovkhoz, K. V. Okunev; on 12 November 1971, the new two-storey house of culture opened its doors: it had a dance hall, a library, an auditorium for 330 seats, and a widescreen cinema installation; in 1991, the sovkhoz was reorganized, and in 1999, the house of culture was transferred to municipal ownership; in 2021, it celebrated its 50th anniversary. The mass grave of partisans who died fighting for Soviet power is located at Tsentralnaya Street, 2a (by the club building); date of installation — 1922; a monument of history of regional significance.
Living culture and memory
Residents observe national holidays of the Russian Federation and district celebrations; the Festival of Small Villages is held in the village. In the past, Yuzhakovo was significant as a centre of Old Believers: the first Old Believer settlers engaged in arable farming, cattle breeding, and crafts — from glass and mirror production to furriery and bread baking; local confectioners were especially renowned, their secrets passed down from generation to generation. The village school museum has an exposition dedicated to the history of local Old Believers, as well as photographs of Old Believers with orders and medals who participated in the Great Patriotic War. The women's club "Ryabinushki" (Rowan Trees) and other local creative groups operate in the village. The prevalent religious tradition is Orthodoxy; the gastronomic culture is represented by Russian cuisine.
