Lake Shaitan

Lake Shaitan (Ozero Shaytan) lies in the west of the Urzhumsky district of Kirov Oblast, 39 km from the town of Urzhum and 2 km from the village of Indygoika, right on the border with the Republic of Mari El. The small oval lake, measuring 180 by 240 meters, is known less for its scenery than for its unsettling reputation: real water fountains erupt from it, whole islands drift across its surface, and its very name comes from the Turkic word "shaitan" — devil, evil spirit.

Legends and testimonies

According to legend, two warring tribes once clashed on the site of the lake: one of them worshipped a bright god but was tricked by the spirit Shaitan and, by mistake, slaughtered its own warriors. The blood of the fallen mixed with the tears of their wives and filled the hollow, and the ground collapsed under the weight, giving rise to a lake with dark water. The evil spirit, the story goes, has lived at the bottom ever since.

Because of this tale, locals avoided fishing or bathing in Shaitan for centuries and tried to keep away from the water altogether, believing the spirit sent up fountains when angered. The water does look black, like clotted blood, though those who have visited say it tastes clean. Locals also claim that eruptions happen in winter, leaving thick slabs of ice jutting upward on the frozen surface, accompanied by a dull humming sound that echoes through the forest.

Explanations

The lake is of karst origin, with siphon-type water circulation: sinkholes on the bottom occasionally get clogged with peat and silt. Scientists explain the water columns, which can rise 10 to 12 meters, by this very siphon system of underground karst cavities — water accumulated under pressure suddenly bursts out without warning and disappears just as quickly. Such eruptions are rare and occur mainly during heavy spring snowmelt or after prolonged rain.

The lake's second peculiarity is its floating islands: chunks of peat bog, woven together with roots, moss and shrubs, that break off from the shore as the water level rises. Up to twenty of them can appear on the surface; the sturdiest carry the weight of several people, and some flip roots-up. The islands' drifting was once explained by the tribal-battle legend too, but that version is not supported by science. Scientists estimate the lake's age at no less than 1,500 years. Its measured depth is 12 meters, though some estimates put it at up to 25; the bottom is covered with a thick layer of silt, and the water is murky.

History

The earliest settlements around the lake date back to the early Iron Age. Three kilometers away, near the village of Bolshiye Gari, archaeologists found an ancient hillfort; the village itself later served as a place of exile under Peter the Great. Indygoika, the village where the trail to the lake begins, was founded in the 16th century.

A two-story wooden house once stood in the clearing by the water, belonging to Mosolov, a nobleman and major industrialist who owned the surrounding forest. According to local accounts, he used people's fear of Shaitan for his own purposes: peasants caught illegally logging timber were, on his orders, not fined but taken out to the middle of the lake and dunked in the water by the foresters — after which the logging stopped.

Today Lake Shaitan is a protected natural geological monument of hydrogeological type, with a protected area of 45.67 hectares.

Getting there

The lake can be reached on foot from Indygoika village, about 2 km away, or by car in dry weather. The standard route from Kirov runs along the R-168 highway toward Sovetsk and Lebyazhye, then through the settlement of Okunyovo and the village of Lazh to Indygoika. An alternative route goes through Sovetsky district and approaches Lazh from the Mari El side. From Lazh, it is 2 km across a field and another 2 km along a difficult forest road to the lake; locals advise leaving the car near the forest and walking the rest, since an unprepared vehicle will not make it to the water.

Good to know

There is a parking area on the lake's northern shore, and part of the shoreline is set up for visitors, with gazebos and barbecue spots. Despite its eerie reputation, tourists come here readily — the main draw being the floating islands themselves. The local fauna includes the rare Apollo-mnemosyne butterfly. The border between Kirov Oblast and Mari El runs nearby. Ten kilometers from the lake, in the village of Buyskoye (Arkhangelskoye), stands the Ascension Church, built at the end of the 18th century, and 39 km away, in Urzhum, is the old Trinity Cathedral.