The book ‘From the Wellspring of BashkIr Oil’ was written and independently published by Ishimbay oilman Pyotr Sabodashchuk in 1993. It is a unique exhibit that is showcased as part of the exhibition ‘At the Wellspring of BashkIr Oil.’ This 1,222-page book covers its author’s entire life, which had always been closely tied to BashkIr oil fields.
Over the course of ten lengthy chapters, Sabodashchuk tells about life during the boom of Bashkortostan’s oil industry. He pays particular attention to oil workers: in particular, he gives much recognition to the entire drilling crew of bore well No. 702, which is famous for producing BashkIria’s first commercial oil in 1932. Many pages of his book are dedicated to outstanding specialists who devoted their lives to the establishment and development of BashkIria’s oil industry.
Naturally, Sabodashchuk’s book contains a multitude of amazing stories from real life. For instance, he gives a detailed account of how the remarkable oilman and Hero of Socialist Labor Ivan Kupriyanov found himself at the 70th anniversary of Joseph Stalin. In early 1949, the 39-year-old drilling foreman Kupriyanov, who worked in the newly-founded town of Oktyabrsky at the time, was summoned to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union City Committee. There he was informed that he had been invited to Stalin’s anniversary.
Kupriyanov was sent to Moscow by train. He was received with a grand welcome at the very Kazansky railway station, after which an expensive car drove him to the high-rise building of the luxurious Hotel Moscow. After checking in, the common oilman was offered a personal car with a driver, who, of course, also turned out to be a talented guide to Moscow. With him, Kupriyanov toured the capital’s shops, museums, and theaters, as well as visited a number of avenues and garden squares in the center of Moscow.
On the day of the anniversary, Kupriyanov personally presented Stalin with a huge flower bouquet on behalf of the oil workers of Bashkiria. This is what he told his colleagues about the anniversary party: “I sat next to Marshal Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov. We spent the evening talking to each other. The Marshal is a humble and down to earth man. He probably has two stone”s weight of military decorations. How does he manage to wear them all? And he is four-time Hero of the Soviet Union. While I was only awarded the title once. He was the first to introduced himself; he shook my hand asked me who I was.”
The next morning, Kupriyanov met Stalin’s assistants, who offered him a gift of his choice. He asked for a car. Soon after his return to Bashkiria, a passenger car arrived there from Moscow. Like that, an Ishimbay oilman, driller, Stalin Prize winner, Hero of Socialist Labor Kupriyanov found himself at Stalin’s anniversary. He considered his encounter with Marshal Zhukov to be the greatest gift of fate.
Over the course of ten lengthy chapters, Sabodashchuk tells about life during the boom of Bashkortostan’s oil industry. He pays particular attention to oil workers: in particular, he gives much recognition to the entire drilling crew of bore well No. 702, which is famous for producing BashkIria’s first commercial oil in 1932. Many pages of his book are dedicated to outstanding specialists who devoted their lives to the establishment and development of BashkIria’s oil industry.
Naturally, Sabodashchuk’s book contains a multitude of amazing stories from real life. For instance, he gives a detailed account of how the remarkable oilman and Hero of Socialist Labor Ivan Kupriyanov found himself at the 70th anniversary of Joseph Stalin. In early 1949, the 39-year-old drilling foreman Kupriyanov, who worked in the newly-founded town of Oktyabrsky at the time, was summoned to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union City Committee. There he was informed that he had been invited to Stalin’s anniversary.
Kupriyanov was sent to Moscow by train. He was received with a grand welcome at the very Kazansky railway station, after which an expensive car drove him to the high-rise building of the luxurious Hotel Moscow. After checking in, the common oilman was offered a personal car with a driver, who, of course, also turned out to be a talented guide to Moscow. With him, Kupriyanov toured the capital’s shops, museums, and theaters, as well as visited a number of avenues and garden squares in the center of Moscow.
On the day of the anniversary, Kupriyanov personally presented Stalin with a huge flower bouquet on behalf of the oil workers of Bashkiria. This is what he told his colleagues about the anniversary party: “I sat next to Marshal Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov. We spent the evening talking to each other. The Marshal is a humble and down to earth man. He probably has two stone”s weight of military decorations. How does he manage to wear them all? And he is four-time Hero of the Soviet Union. While I was only awarded the title once. He was the first to introduced himself; he shook my hand asked me who I was.”
The next morning, Kupriyanov met Stalin’s assistants, who offered him a gift of his choice. He asked for a car. Soon after his return to Bashkiria, a passenger car arrived there from Moscow. Like that, an Ishimbay oilman, driller, Stalin Prize winner, Hero of Socialist Labor Kupriyanov found himself at Stalin’s anniversary. He considered his encounter with Marshal Zhukov to be the greatest gift of fate.
