The Ushakova beam from the side of the Sevastopol ship is known far beyond the city. For many years, local residents and guests have spent their free time here.
In summer, under the canopy of the park, one can hide from the heat, in winter, the trees protect from cold north winds. But this park has its own history, which, according to ancient times, dates back to the days of the naval commander Fyodor Fyodorovich Ushakov. It seems that, on his personal instructions, a park has been set up in this beam for the rest of the crews and ship repairers. They say the Admiral even planted several trees with his own hands. And that one of them, the sophora, even sows its leaves in summer. I would like to believe and touch with concern the trunk of an ancient tree. Admiral Fyodor Ushakov died in 1817 in the village of Alekseevka, Tambov province, and commanded the Black Sea Fleet until 1797. Even though he planted a 3-year-old seed or seedling in the last months of its life, today the tree should already be more than 210 years old, even 230.
Some elders of Sevastopol claim that they considered this sophora a tree that was still quite strong and prosperous. All that remains of it is a tall, dry stump, along which a strip of multi-branched living wood has survived. Even specialists cannot determine the age of this tree with great precision, except perhaps if you cut and count the annual rings. The version of Ushakov’s involvement in this tree is very interesting and is not refuted by anyone. But saphora does not apply to long-lived trees.
And now a bit of history. During the defense of Sevastopol in the Crimean War of 1854-1856, the artificial park was used for firewood (winter was terribly cold) and the beam was used to bury fallen defenders. The dense artillery fire of the enemy in the Malakhov Kurgan region left little chance of survival even for a person, even for a tree. The Ushakova beam has again become a wasteland with several trees. After the war, the park was replanted. But the morphology of the park does not exclude self-sowers. A dull pistachio appeared in the park, which no one would have thought to sow. As an ornamental crop, it did not give a special shade to the park, and the seed germination or seedling survival rate is not high. Nevertheless, the Ushakova Balka pistachio plantation is still one of the largest in Crimea. There are about 300 pistachios in the park with a trunk diameter of more than 30 centimeters. There are individuals over 150 years old. A downy oak appeared, which could well have been brought here by acorns. Some of the trees have recovered from the strong root systems of the old plants.
During the Great Patriotic War, a fiery tornado again swept through the lands of Sevastopol. It is enough to look at the photographs of those years to understand that the trees along the entire Ushakova ravine were destroyed. After 1944, the hands of the city’s restorers reached the park areas. The Ushakov beam was again planted with apricot, almond, mulberry, white acacia, satin cedar, oriental plane, honey locust and pointed ash.
These trees now form the main tableau of the Ushakova Balka park with an area of almost 12 hectares. Some of them have already exhausted their vitality and collapsed under the onslaught of the wind. Yet nearly 80 years have passed. The planned clearing of the natural park is currently carried out by the Directorate of Specially Protected Natural Territories of the Directorate of Protected Areas and Forests, under whose jurisdiction the park has been transferred. Rotten trunks have already been cut and removed, which became a source of secondary pest infection. In the near future, pruning of dead wood and dead branches is planned.
