By the beginning of 19th century Rybinsk became the most important inner port of Russia. It had 9 wharfs [wofs]. In the period of navigation 2 and a half thousands of ships passed through Rybinsk, that’s why our town was also called «the capital of burlaks». Here you can see some kinds of trading ships of 18-19th centuries. All of them can be divided into 2 groups: the ones – bigger – which could take many goods, and smaller, which could pass after Rybinsk by sandbank. All of them had no engines and its had been moved by human power of burlaks. One group of burlaks consisted of 30 to 300 men, it depends on a size of a ship. They put the strings, which were connected with a boat to their shoulders and dragged. This was very hard work.

From the middle of 19th century the situation had changed. Burlaks were replaced by machines.  The first such boats caused panic, peasant thought they are moved by evil [ivl]. But merchants soon realized the profit so the ships spread everywhere. The first Russian tuer-ship also appeared in Rybinsk. Tuer is a boat, which was moved by clinging to a metal chain that laid on the bottom of a river. The chain was huge, it stretched for lots of kilometers. The first tuer-ships were invented in France and the first capitans of such ships in Rybinsk were Frenchmen. 

Loading and reloading of ships still demands working power. That is why instead of burlaks came many loaders. They were also called «hook men» because they used hooks to keep the packs on their backs. The work of hook men was very hard and appropriate only for young and healthy people, but some of them kept their power for years. There is an interesting legend about this painting. It is about old man whose name was Chesmenka. In his youth he worked as a burlak and hook men. And at the age of 82 he met the members of royal family who traveled by the river and showed them his power: he bowed a coin with his fingers, tore a pack of cards and broke an apple into halves by 2 fingers. For that he was painted here. By the beginning of 19th century Rybinsk became the most important inner port of Russia. It had 9 wharfs [wofs]. In the period of navigation 2 and a half thousands of ships passed through Rybinsk, that’s why our town was also called «the capital of burlaks». Here you can see some kinds of trading ships of 18-19th centuries. All of them can be divided into 2 groups: the ones – bigger – which could take many goods, and smaller, which could pass after Rybinsk by sandbank. All of them had no engines and its had been moved by human power of burlaks. One group of burlaks consisted of 30 to 300 men, it depends on a size of a ship. They put the strings, which were connected with a boat to their shoulders and dragged. This was very hard work. 

From the middle of 19th century the situation had changed. Burlaks were replaced by machines.  The first such boats caused panic, peasant thought they are moved by evil [ivl]. But merchants soon realized the profit so the ships spread everywhere. The first Russian tuer-ship also appeared in Rybinsk. Tuer is a boat, which was moved by clinging to a metal chain that laid on the bottom of a river. The chain was huge, it stretched for lots of kilometers. The first tuer-ships were invented in France and the first capitans of such ships in Rybinsk were Frenchmen. 

Loading and reloading of ships still demands working power. That is why instead of burlaks came many loaders. They were also called «hook men» because they used hooks to keep the packs on their backs. The work of hook men was very hard and appropriate only for young and healthy people, but some of them kept their power for years. There is an interesting legend about this painting. It is about old man whose name was Chesmenka. In his youth he worked as a burlak and hook men. And at the age of 82 he met the members of royal family who traveled by the river and showed them his power: he bowed a coin with his fingers, tore a pack of cards and broke an apple into halves by 2 fingers. For that he was painted here.