The secrets of Sodom and Gomorrah. Researcher Yuri Kudinov discovered the remains of biblical cities. History on-line Kudinov Yuri Borisovich Ministry of Economic Development

“AiF”: - Yuri Borisovich, did you really find Sodom and Gomorrah?

Having explored a small area of 100 by 100 m in the Dead Sea and then deciphered the recording, we discovered the ruins of an ancient settlement. Perhaps these are the remains of an ancient Roman port. It is quite possible that these are the ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah. Still, to get a good visual image, you need to lower the camera under water. But this requires a separate permit. The difficulty was that in the Dead Sea, according to the intergovernmental agreement between Israel and Jordan, navigation is officially prohibited. And the water there is so salty that it looks like liquid crystal. It is difficult to swim along it, and it is generally impossible to dive under water with scuba gear. Fish that enter the Dead Sea from the Jordan River immediately die. There is nothing living in the sea except 5 types of bacteria. We were aware that if something was preserved under the thickness of salty water, then everything was covered with a huge layer of salt. First, we took pictures from space, in which, unfortunately, almost nothing is visible. And then they made an official request to the Jordanian Department of Antiquity to carry out work to study the bottom of the Dead Sea using a sonar system. The acoustic survey we carried out with a sonar was made using sound. In the near future, we will continue to study the remains of the structures we discovered. First, we will try to go with a sonar across the surface of the entire sea, and then we will film it using a video camera. There is no other way. In Jordan, by the way, we have outlined many projects, including the search for the tomb of Moses.

Our pyramids

"AiF":- Where else did you manage to visit with the expedition?

We've traveled a lot unique places. We also visited the Nazca Desert in Peru, where there are famous giant drawings that can only be seen from a bird’s eye view. Having examined one of the lines, similar to a runway, we discovered the remains of a foundation underneath it. Perhaps there were also some buildings there, most likely destroyed by the earthquake. We came up with a hypothesis that drawings were applied on top of them in order to preserve the memory of the buildings, at least in this form. There are different versions of the origin of these drawings: and what is it ancient temple, and that in this way they collected water. Some scientists say that these are burial grounds and even astrological maps of the starry sky. There is also a hypothesis that these are landing strips for UFOs. We managed to talk with one of the followers of the German explorer of the Nazca desert, Maria Reiche. He told us that they were able to establish the method by which all this was created. But why the drawings were made is still a mystery.

"AiF":- Are there any mysterious places in Russia?

Undoubtedly. One of them is the site of the fall of the Tunguska meteorite. Until now, this phenomenon has not been thoroughly studied. Some scientists believe that it was an icy comet that exploded in the air, but melted on Earth. We explored both the Suslov funnel and the lake, which is located near the site of the meteorite fall. According to one version, the remains of the meteorite allegedly lie at its bottom. We passed this lake using a sonar system. In the Suslov funnel, the device showed a small object, but there is swampy terrain and unstable soil, so it is quite difficult to conduct research. We were also at Kola Peninsula to explore the pyramids as tall as a five-story building. They are made of round stones, but it is clear that, like the Egyptian ones, they were created by human hands. There are voids inside the pyramids, which have led scientists to believe that these are ancient burial grounds. But it may turn out that this is not the case. Actually it's amazing place: endless tundra, almost no vegetation. And in the middle of it rise these two pyramids, connected by a lintel.

We also had an interesting expedition to Krasnodar region to Taman, where the remains of ancient Greek cities that were part of the Byzantine Empire are located. We tried to find the grave of King Mithridates, but, alas, we did not find it. But during excavations of ancient mounds, scientists find fragments of stone panels depicting Amazons fighting with the Scythians.

We're not looking for treasure

"AiF":- Have you ever looked for treasures?

This is not our profile. We are more interested in conducting scientific research. On the one hand, this is an adventure. After all, you can spend your vacation lying on the beach for 2 weeks, but it’s much more interesting to go for a drive and explore something interesting. And we shoot the film, and we get a scientific result. Even though it may not be so significant for science, it is a small grain in one big common cause.

"AiF":- This is a lot of money, who finances you?

We always chip in for these trips ourselves. They cost no more than a regular tour.

"AiF":-Where can I see your films?

They are shown quite often on television. We also exhibit at film festivals. Last year we took part in the St. Petersburg International Festival: our film received prizes and I was awarded “For the development of documentary filmmaking.”

"AiF": ---Where will you go next?

We plan to finish researching the Dead Sea. The end of the world is “scheduled” this year according to the Mayan calendar. So we are going to fly to Mexico to answer the question: does the calendar continue or does it really end in 2012? And if there is a continuation, then I wonder what awaits us all next according to Mayan forecasts?

A Russian traveler found Sodom and Gomorrah.

He visited the lair of cannibals, looked for traces of the Snow Woman, explored the mysterious Nazca Lines and even discovered the ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah at the bottom of the Dead Sea. “Some people like to spend time on the beach, but I am more attracted to the mysterious places of the Earth,” amateur hiker Yuri Kudinov admitted to AiF.

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF MOSES

“AiF”: - Yuri Borisovich, did you really find Sodom and Gomorrah?

Having explored a small area of 100 by 100 m in the Dead Sea and then deciphered the recording, we discovered the ruins of an ancient settlement. Perhaps these are the remains of an ancient Roman port. It is quite possible that these are the ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah. Still, to get a good visual image, you need to lower the camera under water. But this requires a separate permit. The difficulty was that in the Dead Sea, according to the intergovernmental agreement between Israel and Jordan, navigation is officially prohibited. And the water there is so salty that it looks like liquid crystal. It is difficult to swim along it, and it is generally impossible to dive under water with scuba gear. Fish that enter the Dead Sea from the Jordan River immediately die. There is nothing living in the sea except 5 types of bacteria. We were aware that if something was preserved under the thickness of salty water, then everything was covered with a huge layer of salt.
First, we took pictures from space, in which, unfortunately, almost nothing is visible. And then they made an official request to the Jordanian Department of Antiquity to carry out work to study the bottom of the Dead Sea using a sonar system. The acoustic survey we carried out with a sonar was made using sound. In the near future, we will continue to study the remains of the structures we discovered. First, we will try to go with a sonar across the surface of the entire sea, and then we will film it using a video camera. There is no other way. In Jordan, by the way, we have outlined many projects, including the search for the tomb of Moses.

OUR

“AiF”: - Where else did you manage to visit with the expedition?

We traveled to many unique places. We also visited the desert in Peru, where there are famous giant drawings that can only be seen from a bird’s eye view. Having examined one of the lines, similar to a runway, we discovered the remains of a foundation underneath it. Perhaps there were also some buildings there, most likely destroyed by the earthquake. We came up with a hypothesis that drawings were applied on top of them in order to preserve the memory of the buildings, at least in this form. There are origins of these drawings: that this is an ancient temple, and that they collected water in this way. Some scientists say that these are burial grounds and even astrological maps of the starry sky. There is also a hypothesis that these are landing strips for UFOs. We managed to talk with one of the followers of the German explorer of the Nazca desert, Maria Reiche. He told us that they were able to establish the method by which all this was created. But why the drawings were made is still a mystery.

“AiF”: - Are there any mysterious places in Russia?

Undoubtedly. One of them is the crash site. Until now, this phenomenon has not been thoroughly studied. Some scientists believe that it was an icy comet that exploded in the air, but melted on Earth. We explored both the Suslov funnel and the lake, which is located near the site of the meteorite fall. According to one version, the remains of the meteorite allegedly lie at its bottom. We passed this lake using a sonar system. In the Suslov funnel, the device showed a small object, but there is swampy terrain and unstable soil, so it is quite difficult to conduct research. We were also on the Kola Peninsula to examine pyramids the height of a five-story building. They are made of round stones, but it is clear that, like the Egyptian ones, they were created by human hands. There are voids inside the pyramids, which have led scientists to believe that these are ancient burial grounds. But it may turn out that this is not the case. In general, this is an amazing place: endless tundra, almost no vegetation. And in the middle of it rise these two pyramids, connected by a lintel.

We also had an interesting expedition to the Krasnodar region on Taman, where the remains of ancient Greek cities that were part of the Byzantine Empire are located. We tried to find the grave of King Mithridates, but, alas, we did not find it. But during excavations of ancient mounds, scientists find fragments of stone panels depicting Amazons fighting with the Scythians.

WE ARE NOT LOOKING FOR TREASURES

“AiF”: - Have you ever looked for treasures?

“AiF”: - This is a lot of money, who finances you?

We always chip in for these trips ourselves. They cost no more than a regular tour.

“AiF”: - Where can I see your films?

"AiF": --- Where are you going soon?

“I presented all my versions to the investigator”

Yuri Nikolaev is a legendary personality. Cult presenter - that's what it's called. Yes, he made our morning. Sunday, “Morning Mail” - how could you miss this! This is in the USSR. And then, already in Russia, his “Morning Star” rose. This is the kind of man he is - young and early. On December 16, Yuri Alexandrovich turns 70 years old.

“Mommy, daddy, I’ll go to theater school.”

Yuri Alexandrovich, my editor-in-chief, really asked me to do an interview without politics at least once. Okay, I'll respect the boss. Moreover, there is nothing to talk about politics with you: you have never spoken on this topic.

Yes, useless conversation. I am friendly with Zyuganov, and with Shoigu, and with Lavrov...

- But this is all officialdom. And in the opposite direction - not your style?

Not with anyone, not even once. Yes, we are friends with Andrei Makarevich, but I do not share his views. We never argue and we never discuss. And it’s exactly the same with Misha Efremov. It’s not that I turned my back on them, we communicate well, but not on the topic of politics, I’m simply not interested in it.

Well, then, if, out of old habit, I turn the conversation to politics, you wink at me or kick me under the table - I’ll stop right away. Everything is known about you, but your mother was a KGB captain, and your father was a colonel in the Ministry of Internal Affairs...

Dad also worked in the KGB, and then he was transferred. But it was a long time ago. I had a photograph of my father hanging, there was also a uniform with cubes...

That is, with great and pure love between the KGB captain and the MVD colonel, such an interesting result was obtained, that is, you.

This is not for me to judge, but for the viewer and you - the journalist, the critic. For some reason they think that all people in uniform mean discipline, rigor, something needs to be done exactly “from start to finish.” Yes, you need to do it, but I lived in an atmosphere of such love, such kindness! The abundance of these grandmothers who clucked over me... It was a warm and very kind home life - with dad, mom and grandmothers. Another life - on the street, where it was unusual to appear in ironed trousers, in a new shirt...

- Did you go through yard education?

Yes, sure. And the third part of my childhood was the various clubs and sections where we went. “Let’s go sign up for swimming!” - "Let's go to". “Let’s go to sambo!” - went to sambo. “Let’s go to the Palace of Pioneers, there is a “Skillful Hands” club there...” So, changing clubs, I reached the drama club. At first we just studied in the evening, there were stage classes, and then the head of the drama club decided to take the play to stage. They took a very good play by the well-known Oscar Wilde - “Star Boy”, and for some reason...

- “Star Boy” - was that you?

It was me. You can imagine the fame I received after just a few performances - in class, at school... Someone looked at me with different eyes, and someone said: “Wow, the star has gone!” I was about 13 years old. And at the same time I was finishing 7th or 8th grade, then math schools were very fashionable - and then, at the encouragement of my mom and dad, I went to a math school.

- “Theater is not a profession,” did you need something specific?..

Then, after this performance, there was no talk about profession. So I studied at a mathematics school, and with pleasure.

With his wife Eleanor.

- Well, yes, at that time there were “physicists and lyricists,” and you combined both of these in yourself.

Exactly. But all this went on in parallel, because the theater did not end there, television began. They started inviting me on TV.

- When, at what age?

Well, also at the age of 14.

- We saw a cute boy...

The circle is narrow, and there weren’t many programs, especially since they were all broadcast live, not recorded. I had some kind of acting reserve, and a mathematical school. We did our internship at the Academy of Sciences. I remember there were analogues of current computers, called BESM-2 and BESM-4 - a large electronic calculating machine. It occupied approximately ten times more space than this room (we are sitting in a restaurant. - Auth.).

- Yes, our microcalculators are the largest microcalculators in the world!

And when the time came to decide where to go, with all the love for my parents (and mom and dad are always the kindest and most beautiful among us), I said: “Mom, dad, I’ll go to theater school. If I don’t get in the first time, I go to physics and mechanics...” It turned out that I got in the first time, which I don’t regret now. And the parents didn’t regret it later either. It was GITIS, very good course. Olya Ostroumova, Andrei Martynov, Nikolai Merzlikin, Volodya Gostyukhin studied there...

- Yes, powerfully, inspiring! What roles did you play among this constellation?

Of course, I was in their shadow. Olya Ostroumova, in her 3rd year, starred in “We’ll Live Until Monday,” Andrei Martynov, at 26, played a foreman in “...And the Dawns Here Are Quiet,” can you imagine? Yes, there are many accidents in my life, but, as they say, a chain of accidents is a pattern. Probably some star was watching me...

- Then it turned out to be morning.

So I graduated from college, but there were no invitations to the theater.

- So you came to the Pushkin Theater in 1970...

Yes, but I auditioned. I was walking along the boulevard and met my friend: “How are you?” - “No way yet.” And he told me: “Go to the Pushkin Theater, there is now a change of chief director - Boris Ravenskikh is leaving, Tolmazov is coming instead. He brought Mdivani’s play “Big Mama”, and he needs a boy of your type.” I come to the Pushkin Theater, show an excerpt - and they immediately take me to the role, can you imagine? And my colleague - no more and no less - Vera Alentova, beauty and star!

But you served for five years at the Pushkin Theater and left. It happens: a very successful debut in cinema or theater, and then suddenly there are no invitations. Is that how it was for you?

No, it's the other way around. Everything is fine in the theater and in the cinema, where I starred with Kryuchkov in the film “Big Stages”. Ordynsky has already approved me for the role in “Walking Through Torment.” Everything was fine. But at the same time there was television. I was invited to dramatic productions, and I was only 19 at the time. And suddenly the Morning Mail appeared.

- But before “Morning Mail” you had “Forward, boys”...

Absolutely right, a show that I really loved and was very cute. In my opinion, if it were reformatted today, that would also be interesting. At first I ended up in the children's editorial office. Then the music editor noticed me and invited me there. Remember, “Ogonki” was on every Sunday, and I already hosted some of them. But I saw it as...

- Quickie?

Yes, I didn't want to say that word. The salary in the theater was meager, but you had to live on something. There is no apartment, there is nothing, I live in a theater dormitory... By the way, the dormitory also gave me a lot. It was a large three-room apartment on Mira Avenue: the Menshovs lived in one room - Volodya, Vera and little Yulka; in the second - Kostya Grigoriev, such an actor, and the third room was mine. So, the music editor offered me new program called "Morning Mail"...

With Boris Grachevsky.

“Why are you, Yura, minding your own business?”

- Sorry, but can we call you a failed artist?

I do not think so. Still, in a short period of time I played so many roles in the theater and cinema...

- Imagine if television were not nearby, and you had an artistic...

Probably, such a takeoff, of course, would not have happened. It is unknown - maybe I would have been unemployed for years. When I was invited to join the staff on television, I didn’t give an answer for two months. To be honest and frank, I still can’t understand what the temptation was and why I switched.

- Maybe a salary?

Yes, my salary on TV was already twice as much as in the theater - 150 rubles. And if you consider that you could work for five days at the expense of your salary, and in free time to star in “Morning Mail”, I received good fees. By this time, by 1975, I had gotten married. Eleanor received a 35 ruble scholarship. She studied at the Institute of Finance and Economics - she studied very well, graduated with honors... So we had a financial situation - you understand. But television was interesting to me! By the way, when I first saw myself in “Morning Mail”...

"Morning Post". The best years.

- You didn’t like yourself? They thought: what kind of dandy is this, what kind of handsome guy is this?..

No, I thought: “Why are you, Yura, taking on something that’s not your own…” And then I was invited to lead again, and again - and the madness began. Then I stopped understanding what was happening. People look after, admire...

- Yes, you had such fame that film actors never dreamed of. Didn't it hurt your brain?

Well, yes, a little. And there was star fever. I could be late for filming - and the whole crew was waiting. They treated me well and forgave me.

- Do you consider yourself indispensable?

Don't know. An entourage appeared, they said: “Yura, wait, come with us!” And they “covered the clearing” and invited us to the restaurant...

- It’s like the hockey player Gurin in “Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears.” Could this happen?

It could. But it didn't work out. I traveled around the cities, meetings with spectators were very popular, and they gave good money. And they gave energy from the audience, I felt it, I needed it. These flights, filming, working in the announcers department... I’m not exaggerating, but sometimes I didn’t sleep at all for 48 hours. But I remember this time with happy, sweet nostalgia.

- Do you remember Levitan?

He worked on the radio, so we met with Yuri Borisovich only once - it turned out to be such a warm meeting. I was so pleased that he knew me! He was an absolutely amazing person! And then one day we went together to the anniversary of the victory on the Kursk Bulge, and he: “Moscow speaks!” Listen to the Information Bureau report!” The entire stadium simply exploded with enthusiastic applause just from this voice.

- And Igor Kirillov, Valentina Leontyeva?..

I am still friends with Igor Leonidovich, we talk on the phone. I love this man. I was at Valentina Mikhailovna’s house, we also had a very warm relationship. No, in the announcers department there are a lot of people with whom I talked and talk: Shatilova, Shilova... Oh, what a beauty!

- But you are out of this circle. Was the attitude of the announcers towards you ambiguous because of this?

Ambiguous. Still, Igor Leonidovich Kirillov took me to the announcers department so that I would first read the program guide, then he hoped that I would read the news... I had conversations with him when I went to Morning Mail, but then he was like a person smart, subtle, realized that the program guide is not my thing. At least I didn’t feel any antagonism on his part - we had a very good relationship. In addition, we are both avid motorists. It was more difficult with the others.

With Nikas Safronov and Elena Khanga.

“The lads treated me well”

- You know, I never missed your “Morning Mail” at all.

A lot of people tell me this. The streets were empty, the cities were empty - everyone was watching. We were especially looking forward to the last issue: who would be there from abroad. First there was Karel Gott, the Friedrichstadt Palace ballet, and then Duran Duran and the Beatles...

You hosted “Morning Mail” from 75th to 91st - in fact, until the end Soviet Union. In this sense, can you be called a mafia? You were the person who decides destinies: who to show, who not to show, who to promote, and who to throw out... Or were you just a performer, a “talking head”?

No, I wrote scripts and directed some programs. But it wasn’t me who decided. I could contrive to propose and persuade someone, but the artistic council still decided.

Well, who did you manage to propose, who, after your “hairy hand,” ended up on federal air, as they say now?

Beat quartet "Secret" - from beginning to end. We made three passes with them. I was in Leningrad and went to the Yubileiny Hall for their concert. I didn't know them at all. They drove onto the stage in a car, and I was surprised at how they were received. I listened to one concert, the second, then we met. They invited me to their home, and our friendship began from there. There was even such a situation: Andrei Zabludovsky was serving in the army at that time, he was not allowed to go to some concert, I went to the head of the unit, talked, explained, asked... And then I finally decided to make my own program.

- Yes, “Morning Star”.

It was 1989. I went to Igor Leonidovich and told him everything. Until then, I was still listed in the announcer’s department, sometimes reading that same program guide. He told me: “Where are you going to leave us? You work in a department where there are the smartest men and the most beautiful women!”

- Yes, Igor Leonidovich didn’t know that in three years there would be no voiceover department at all...

He tried to dissuade me, but I took the risk.

That is, you have identified new opportunities for TV, a business streak has appeared, maybe you have already calculated everything mathematically?

Yes, there was probably already a VD, “Vzglyad,” and I thought: why don’t I create my own production company? I was responsible for the program and came up with the name. I took out a loan. I worked according to a completely different principle of light, and my stage was three-dimensional. And each performer had his own separate exit.

- I know that you were friends with Vlad Listyev, with Albina...

Yes. Recently Albina called me.

- But here it is - the 90s, people in crimson jackets walk around Ostankino, right?

Well, there were several cases - showdowns, let's say.

- Because of which?

I produce a program - therefore, I probably have a lot of money. And the conversation was about me paying for the “roof.” But when they realized that this was not the money... The lads treated me well. It’s also good for Vlad.

- Your version - who killed him?

After the murder, I went to the investigator and told him all my versions. But I still can’t say who.

- Commercial reasons?

- Well, how did you survive the 90s?

There were no such strong showdowns. And if anything happened, I could call people who could fight me off. Even when I came alone, if they had felt that I was afraid, everything would probably have turned out differently. Yes, there were people, mafiosi, as you called me, who resolved the situation and put everything in its place. I can’t say that I was a poor person - yes, I earned above average, but I didn’t have the same money as advertisers or casino owners. But it was important not to be afraid. And I wasn't afraid.