The exhibition of the Iskitim Museum of Arts and History features a painting “Bridge over the Kumir River”. It was created by Ivan Petrovich Popov in 1978. That year, the artist joined an expedition along with students and professors from the Moscow Institute of Environmental Problems of the Biosphere at the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.

The group visited one of the most beautiful rivers in the Altai region, the Kumir, which runs through a picturesque valley. Somewhere between the upper and middle reaches of this river, there are rapids with a steep gradient. Beyond the rapids, this turbulent and fast-flowing river suddenly transforms into a smooth mirror surface reflecting the rocks along its banks. The water is so clear and pristine in this section that one can see the riverbed. Both sections are known as “Maiden’s Reaches”.

There is a legend in the Altai region regarding the name of this place. According to the legend, there was a place in the Altai called Menday. It faced trouble when it was attacked by a group of invaders led by an elderly prince — an evil one-eyed man. All residents except for three women were killed. The most beautiful one of them, Merey, gathered the other two and encouraged them to fight the enemy like true warriors. One woman was too scared and started crying, while the other one, together with Merey, mounted a horse and charged into battle. These fragile female warriors sat in one saddle, picked up swords, and rushed toward the enemy. They decapitated the evil invaders. Even the savage prince admired their courage. However, the warriors came to their senses, and the prince ordered them to capture the women. Merey pulled the horse’s bridle, and the women rode toward a cliff. Both the horse and its beautiful riders fell to the bottom of a deep abyss. At that moment, a swift mountain river emerged in the abyss as the horse turned into a mountain stream, without ever slowing down. A quiet backwater formed in the spot where the women had fallen. When the old prince saw the mountain river, he was captivated by its rushing stream. Unable to resist its charm, he stepped into the abyss. The spot where the prince had fallen is now marked by a swift underwater current with the water bubbling and foaming on the surface above it.