“The most precious thing left is silence,” Grisha Ivanov shoots back, without giving much thought to the advantages of his native Cossack. But he hastens to add, “The good thing is that we are close to the city. One cigarette a man can’t smoke and he reaches the centre.”
Almost the 61-year-old man’s entire life has passed here, 10 miles from Varna. On his father’s side, his family is from Cossack, and on his mother’s side – from the village of Silistra – Tataritsa – also inhabited by Don Cossacks. “Cossacks used to be allowed to marry only Cossacks. When you can’t find a wife from your village, you go to the next village. When you can’t go there either – to Romania, where there are many,” the man points with his hand, as if to indicate north in the distance. But traditions change, even for a rooted old believer like Grisha. International marriages are no longer rare in Casasco. Among the most exotic are those between a native woman and a Jordanian. But they even have an Australian brother-in-law.
Unlike his grandfather and father, Grisha is bare-bearded. And he doesn’t fish, the traditional livelihood of the men of the village.
“Life has changed so much that fishing has almost disappeared. Before, almost 90% of the people had boats. Now if there are 5-6 – I don’t know… And the ones that are left are just for cruising. There’s no point – the fishing tax is high, and there are no fish,” he looks up from under his eyebrows, as if it’s pointless to continue the topic.
Plastic bottles, disposable coffee cups, cigarette boxes, cigarette butts, and even cow masks are strewn on the lake shore. Traces of fire are clearly visible on the blackened in a circle noise. It is unlikely that anyone has made a bivouac… Rather, they have been burning waste. Right here it’s not only not a good idea, it’s forbidden. Because we are in a protected area “Kazashko”
The vegetation here is mostly grass and reeds. This type of bonfires can cause a chain effect and ignite the entire protected area, says environmentalist Ivaylo Ivanov.
Part of the 125 hectares of the area is located in the village of Kazashko. But the connection between the locals and the lake seems to be getting weaker. What once brought them livelihood and was their main livelihood and entertainment, today just remains a beautiful view from the village.
“There is life in Kasashko, but it is not what it used to be. Once upon a time, when Friday came, the village was deserted, moved to the coast. Along the whole village there was a beach, 4-5 meters wide,” Grisha Ivanov recalls. And his eyes shine.
As the Sea-Lake Canal was built, the movement of ferries and container ships gradually sucked the beach into the water basin. With the growth of the Devne industrial complex, most of the fish, prawns and mussels are disappearing.
They are gone and the boathouses of the Lipovans – the Cossacks of the same time. Most of the coast today is densely overgrown with reeds. But the water part of the protected area “Cossack” remains extremely valuable for fish breeding. Here it comes to spawn in spring.
As a protected area of the Natura 2000 network
Kazashko is declared for the nesting of the great water bull. Together with the little water bull, herons and waders, it is one of the key species breeding in the reed beds.
In autumn and winter, Kazan becomes a very important stopover for the migration of almost all waterfowl passing through Bulgaria. During the wintering season, it hosts species such as the Lesser Cormorant, the Dark-tailed Duck, various ducks, grebes, pelicans… Kazansko is the reason why Varna Lake still has life underwater, ornithologist Ivaylo Ivanov is adamant.
The closest protected area to Varna was declared such in 1995. It covers the largest reed array in Varna Lake, also called the the only lung of the lake because it acts as a natural filter and purifies its waters. In fact, it is one of the few remaining wilderness areas along the lake shore.
The designation of the protected area prohibits construction, quarrying, ploughing and logging. Extension and filling of the water area and pollution of the waters are not allowed. Hunting and ringing of nesting or migratory birds and fishing, except for sport fishing, are prohibited. Burning and mowing of reeds is not permitted unless agreed with the Ministry of Ecology.
The protected area falls within the protected area for the conservation of wild birds “Varna-Beloslav Lake”. The problems of the area are related to overdevelopment, which should be regulated by the General Spatial Plan of Varna Municipality, the Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Water (RIEW) in Varna told Ecovarna.info. In a little more than a year (January 2023 – March 2024) for the territory there have been issued 10 decisions for coordination of investment proposals
and 17 – for plans, programmes, projects. They are outside the boundaries of the Kazashko MPA and the land of the village, the Inspectorate specifies.
Not only the law but also the geography of the area isolates it from the possibility of being developed as productive land. Sandwiched between the lake and the railway, it is a mainland island that is difficult to access by land. To get here, you have to go through a single railway crossing, and then through the narrow streets of the hamlet. This makes it inconvenient for large transport vehicles to enter by land and is one of the reasons why some of the investment plans have been frustrated.
Geographical location has always been both an advantage and a disadvantage, as it crosses the path of many and diverse interests.
Already before 1945, the territory of Casashko was outlined as a good location for the construction of a port terminal near Varna. Both then and now, this vision for the northern shore of Lake Varna has not been abandoned. There is always someone to dust it off and bring it out into the open.
A threat to the future of the protected area is the planned second bridge over the lake. Despite the protest of the environmental community in Varna, this project is still in the unupdated General Development Plan (GDP) of the city.
Environmental bomb,whose impact is yet to be analysed, is the deepening of the sea-lake channel. The disposal of the dredged toxic mass of silt just 10 m from the Kazashko protected area has caused serious concern.
“The impact of the channel widening has not yet been studied. It is related to a strong turbidity of the water, increasing the level of hazardous substances that over the years have accumulated from industry on the bottom. This quantitatively reduces biodiversity in the lake,” Ivaylo Ivanov is convinced. Periodic breakdowns of Varna’s sewerage system also contribute to toxins and nutrients in the water.
Another controversial project in Varna’s master plan – the one for artificial islands in the lake. According to Ivaylo Ivanov, it is a “misunderstanding to say the least”. The idea is to replace the functionality of the “Kazashko” lake and allow its deletion and use for urban-public needs, Ivanov claims. According to him, the construction of such facilities can only have a complementary, but not a substitute, meaning. “The scale of the protected area as a dense continuous reed array cannot be replaced by 9 fragments at the other end of the lake. This is rather a utopia,” the ecologist is adamant.
What is not utopian, however, is the life of the people around the lake and their desire to preserve it in harmony with nature while maintaining their traditions. The history of the smallest ethnic community inhabiting this place has been written about more than once. But you always find something curious.
In the center of the village, next to the community center and the town hall, 5 years ago opened the Cossack Culture Center with a Sunday school. In front of it stands a wooden boat “Lipovanochka”, and the story that the locals here repeat from mouth to mouth is about the rebellious but skilled master – boatman Grandpa Lipolit. The Bulgarian king Boris III commissioned Grandpa Lipolit to make him a wooden boat. However, the king came to him with a cigarette in his mouth, not knowing that the Cossacks called cigarette smoke devilish, just like coffee and potatoes. When the king entered Grandfather Lipolit’s courtyard with the cigarette, he was stopped with the words, “You shall not enter my house.”. This was the only person who dared to keep the royalty out of his house. Because according to the belief, when the devil’s smoke gets into your house, you have to whitewash it all over again. Anyway, apparently the king obeyed, because the boat was made. The village of Varna was founded more than 115 years ago by the Don Cossacks of Nekrasov who moved here from Romania. They settled in our northern neighbour, persecuted by the reforms of Emperor Peter the Great. He made the Cossacks cut their beards, dress fashionably in European style. On the shores of Lake Varna they were drawn by the fishery. They are strongly believing Christians – Old Believers. They are also called Lipovans because they make their icons from lime wood.
In a central place, both in the museum and at the entrance to the village, and next to the fishing village on the lake shore stands… the Christian cross. The Church of St. The Church of the Virgin Mary opens only on holidays. Its last deacon, Grandfather Isaac, did not allow Cossacks to marry Bulgarians or other nationalities there. He forbade divorced people to cross its threshold. And women always had to enter with headscarves covering their long braids. (Just as men were forbidden to cut their beards, women were forbidden to cut their hair.)
The village festival was that of the fishermen. Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker played a huge role in the lives of the Cossacks. He is honored in the old style on December 19.
Most holidays are celebrated twice – both in the old and the new calendar, says the secretary of the Mikhail Sholokhov community center, Khristiana Ivanova. If you live in Kazashko, you will celebrate New Year on both the 1st and 14th of January. Being a child here on the holiday is a privilege because you get presents twice.
The Sunday school in the village opens only in the summer. And the 16 children learn, besides Russian language and religion, songs and dances.
There is life in the village, but it is not what it used to be, Grisha Ivanov shakes his head. The bridge in the lake divides life into two realities – on one side – “Orange County” with yachts and 5-star hotel buildings, and on the other, behind the eight-horse cross itself, are the fishing tents and wooden boats. Will the “devil’s smoke” take over the lake’s unique scenery or will locals and tradition smoke the peace pipe with modern newcomers and industry, only time will tell.
Photos:
Svilena Velcheva, Georgi Krastev
