Mount Blagodatka, the mine where the first eight Decembrists convicted for their participation in the uprising served hard labor from October 1826 to October 1827

«1. Location of the monument: The Blagodatskoye lead-zinc deposit is located near Gorny Zerentuy Village in Nerchinsk-Zavod District, lying on the southeastern slopes of the Klichkinsky Ridge within the watershed between the Argun and Nizhnyaya Borzya rivers.

2. The deposit in its entirety. The region features a mid-mountainous, with relative elevations ranging from100 to 250 m. Within the deposit’s ore field, prominent negative topographical features are present (hollows: Blagodatskaya, Maly Zerentuy, and Bolshoy Zerentuy). The Blagodatskaya hollow divides the deposit into two sections: the Blagodatsky proper and the Yekaterino-Blagodatsky (located south of the hollow). The hollow has a trough-shaped transverse profile and a flat bottom (up to 200 m wide). A stream runs along its base. The Blagodatskaya hollow cuts through the left slope of the Maly Zerentuy hollow, the latter of which has a length of 12 km.  Open-pit mining was conducted at the deposit, with operations extending to depths up to 37 m starting in 1795. In 1815, a new adit was constructed because ‘water drainage had became an insurmountable obstacle’. The new adit spanned over 500 m. Currently, there are no visible traces of the adits. The mountain slopes are overgrown with vegetation (pine, birch forest, aspen)».

Mount Blagodatka, the mine where the first eight Decembrists convicted for their participation in the uprising served hard labor from October 1826 to October 1827 // EGROKN. URL: https://opendata.mkrf.ru/opendata/7705851331-egrkn/63/417078  (accessed: 30 September 2025).

«Blagodatka, once an independent settlement (now part of Gorny Zerentuy Village), located 21 km from Nerchinsky Zavod Village. Founded in 1745, it owes its name to the discovery of the Blagodatskoye silver-lead ore deposit at Mount Blagodatskaya.  In 1800, F.I. Baldauf was born in Blagodatka. From 1826 to 1827, the first group of exiled Decembrists served hard labor at the mine: S.G. Volkonsky, V.L. Davydov, A.Z. Muravyov, A.I. Yakubovich, Ye.P. Obolensky, A.I. Borisov, P.I. Borisov; starting in 1827, the Decembrists’ wives — M.N. Volkonskaya and Ye.I. Trubetskaya joined them. During the Soviet era, the Blagodatsky mine was part of the Nerchinsky Polymetallic Combine (named after the 50th Anniversary of the USSR), which ceased its operations in 1993. Mount Blagodatskaya isa historical and cultural monument–a site of historical significance (Decree of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR No. 495, dated 7 September 1976). A memorial plaque was installed at the mine to commemorate the Decembrists who served hard labor there».

Morozov I.V. Blagodatka // Encyclopedia of Transbaikalia: Chita Region: Vol. 2: A–Z / ed. by R.F. Geniatulin. –  Novosibirsk: Nauka, 2004. – P. 122.

1. Mount Blagodatka, the mine where the first eight Decembrists convicted for their participation in the uprising served hard labor from October 1826 to October 1827 // EGROKN. URL: https://opendata.mkrf.ru/opendata/7705851331-egrkn/63/417078  (accessed: 30 September 2025).

2. Morozov I.V. Blagodatka // Encyclopedia of Transbaikalia: Chita Region: Vol. 2: A–Z / ed. by R.F. Geniatulin. –  Novosibirsk: Nauka, 2004. – P. 122.

3. On the Establishment of Boundaries of Territories and Legal Regimes for the Use of Land Plots within the Territories of Cultural Heritage Sites. URL: https://docs.cntd.ru/document/428595601/titles/MLL7UU (accessed: 30 September 2025).