The petrified Zoya appeared in 1956, right on the New Year holidays. The majority of Soviet citizens, despite the atheistic propaganda of the authorities, still have icons in their homes. Only few people believe in their miraculous power; many perceive images of God and saints as simple pictures. And suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, news comes from Kuibyshev.
Komsomol member Zoya Karnaukhova stands like a pillar in the middle of the room with an icon in her arms. The authorities immediately said that all this was gossip; a feuilleton on this topic was published in the Volzhskaya Kommuna newspaper. However, rumors about this phenomenon only multiplied, and the house where the miracle happened was urgently cordoned off by the police.
Petrified Zoya: the beginning of the story
Zoya celebrated the old New Year with her friends. The young people gathered at the house of Zoya’s fiancé, who had left on business and had not yet returned. Dancing began, couples swirled around the room. Zoya alone sat by the window and waited for her Nikolai. Soon she got tired of waiting. She took the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker from the wall and said: “My Nicholas is gone, so I’ll take St. Nicholas the Wonderworker!” They tried to dissuade her, but she just grinned: “If God exists, he will stop me!” And she spun in a waltz with the icon.
Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed. When the young people came to their senses after the outbreak, a strange picture appeared before their eyes. Zoya stood motionless and still clutching the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. At first no one thought that this was a punishment from God. Everyone started bothering Zoya, because they decided that the girl was just very scared, because a thunderstorm in early January is not normal.
Soon the guys realized that Zoya could not be moved. They called an ambulance. The doctor who arrived tried to give an injection, but the needle bent and did not penetrate the skin. Then they decided to at least take St. Nicholas the Wonderworker out of Zoya’s hands. The girl held the icon so tightly that it was impossible to take it away. Then they decided to put Zoya to bed. And it failed. By the way, many of the guests were involved in sports, and it should not have been difficult for them to lift and carry the girl. People began to gather around the house. The police arrived.
Soon the regular posts were reinforced with mounted militia. Every day a crowd of people gathered. Priests came and could not do anything with Zoya. At night, the police heard the girl scream: “We are perishing in our sins!” One of the law enforcement officers later showed a completely gray head, although he was only 26 years old. Days and months passed. Rumors about the petrified girl did not subside. About a month before Easter, Zoya’s body stopped being so hard, but it was possible to move or remove her icon from the girl’s hands. And on the day of the Holy Resurrection of Christ, Zoya stopped standing. According to the official version, she died three days later.
How it all began?
By historical standards, this miraculous event happened not so long ago. It happened in the middle of the last century in Kuibyshev, now this city is called Samara.
In 1956, on a January day, in one of the houses, namely on Chkalovskaya Street, house number 84, an inexplicable phenomenon occurred. A crowd of onlookers gathered around the house, wanting to see this sign. The news quickly spread among people: for some reason the girl turned into something like a statue. Like a statue, she froze in the middle of the room, but she was alive. Everyone was eager to see this at least out of the corner of their eye, and a detachment of mounted police was on duty here for a week to suppress the unrest.
There have already been many disagreements in this story from the very beginning. So, according to one version, a simple family lived in the house: a mother and her daughter Zoya. That evening, her believing parent went to church, and her daughter had a party, to which she was expecting her fiancé named Nikolai. When the mother returned home, she saw her daughter in a petrified state and lost consciousness. First she was taken to the hospital, and after the woman came to her senses, she returned home and began to pray fervently.
According to another version, Claudia Bolonkina and her son Nikolai lived there. It was he who was Zoya's boyfriend and invited her to visit. She kept waiting for him that evening, but he never came. The rest of the story followed the same scenario.
Was there Zoya standing?
The authorities immediately declared that these were all old wives' tales. There is no petrified girl. And immediately these words were questioned. Firstly, it would be very beneficial for the communist government if there were no standing. After all, at that time religion was no longer oppressed so much, but still the government still convinced people that there was no God. And when the news about the petrified girl spread, thousands of residents of Kuibyshev were baptized and became zealous Christians.
This was unprofitable for the authorities, and they suppressed such aspirations in every possible way. This explains why there is almost no reliable information about Zoya’s standing. They were simply destroyed, fearing that religion would force people to abandon communism.
Secondly, prayer services near the house where Zoya stood. If all this were a lie, it would be unlikely that religious services would take place near the scene of events once a year. Of course, this house burned down in 2014, but still, on the day of the end of Zoya’s standing, a prayer service is held here. The second such evidence is the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the Church of St. John the Warrior. Along the edge of the image there are stamps - a short biography of the saint. There was also a place for Zoya to stand here. However, no documentary evidence has survived, and the eyewitnesses were mainly clergy, who really benefited from this miracle.
Investigation by journalists
Despite the passage of decades, talk about this event does not subside. During the journalistic investigation, it was concluded that there was no miracle. But what really happened at that time? The fact that a huge crowd gathered near the house in those January days, attracted here by rapidly spreading rumors, was not refuted by anyone. But did a real miracle take place then?
The reason for this pandemonium, according to experts, was the so-called mass psychosis, fueled by certain social conditions that existed in the country at that time. During that period, the government changed, the cult of Stalin was becoming a thing of the past, and the powers that be made concessions in relation to the church and believers.
This incident was even discussed at a party conference held in the city at the end of January. A transcript has been preserved, which contained statements by the secretary of the regional committee of the CPSU. In it, he denied the reality of what happened.
One old woman said that in that house a girl was petrified, who was thus punished for blasphemy. Rumors began to spread quickly. In addition, the police, then assigned to maintain order, attracted the attention of the people even more, causing a stir. When the law enforcement agencies left there, the crowd of onlookers scattered along with them, eager to look at the “miracle.” According to eyewitnesses, only an old woman lived in that house, and there was no question of any girl.
Based on the investigation, it turns out that this was an invention of the same Bolonkina who released the false information. The documentary “Stone Zoya” tried to shed light on the reliability of the facts.
Petrified Zoya and the appearance of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
One day, an old man approached the police cordon and asked permission to go to Zoya. They didn't let him in. The next day he came again. And again I was refused. On the third day, the old man waited for the right moment and entered. At the entrance he asked: “Are you tired of standing, honey?” The policemen immediately rushed after the old man. There was no one in the rooms except Zoe. Those who are familiar with this story assume that the old man is none other than Nicholas the Wonderworker himself. He appeared to forgive the sinner. And I forgave. From that moment on, Zoya’s body began to slowly soften, and by Easter the girl was able to move.
Arrest of the main witness
A case was then fabricated against Father Demetrius (Seraphim), and the authorities ordered not to disclose the miracle to everyone who saw it. The priest was sentenced to several years in prison. After serving his sentence, he was sent to serve in a remote village. In the Intercession Monastery, many years later, Archimandrite Seraphim said that after he took the icon, he was arrested for several years, but the Lord brought him out after 40 days.
Thus, in Samara, long-past events are now immortalized, in which Father Seraphim and that same stone Zoya appeared. The photo of the monument in Samara clearly demonstrates this to us.
What happened to Zoya?
Illness, God's punishment, deception... There are many assumptions about what happened. All of them are argued in some way, but none of them has been proven.
Tetanus
The very first assumption made on the first day of standing. It was immediately received with hostility and refuted, but it still has followers to this day. People with tetanus lie down, not stand. You can give an injection. And there was no place for Zoya to catch the virus. She didn’t work in the field, but in a factory.
Catatonic stupor
This theory is the official version. With catatonic stupor, a person really looks stiff, is silent, and does not move. This disorder occurs against the background of depression and diseases of the nervous system. Catatonic stupor lasts from several days to many months. But this disease is most often treated with injections, and in the case of Zoya, such treatment was not possible. With a catatonic stupor, a person can be moved or given a certain position. But in this case, nothing like that could be done.
Is Petrified Zoe an Urban Legend?
This version is one of the most popular. Its main support is the lack of documentary evidence of Zoya’s standing. The police archives burned down in the 90s, most of the witnesses had already died, the house burned down. In addition, it is unlikely that a person can live without food and water for so long.
God's punishment
Compared to others, this version is the most consistent, especially from a religious point of view. At the beginning of January, Christians fast. As you know, during Lent one should not organize holidays, but pray and repent. Already a sin. Then there is disbelief in God. An even more serious sin. That is, Zoya committed two sins in a very short period of time.
And she was punished for mocking the saint with whose icon she danced. This also explains the night screams. The old man is really Nikolai Ugodnik, who came to forgive the repentant girl. The inability to give an injection and the lack of food and water during the stay are also explained by God’s providence.
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KGB: IT WAS A RUMOR
With the help of the press center of the regional FSB department, we managed to find an eyewitness to those events from the KGB.
Mikhail Egorovich Bakanov says:
“At that time I was a senior commissioner of the KGB. The authorities sent me to look into that very house on Chkalovskaya. There I saw cunning men who, for a chervonet, promised to take those who wanted to the house and show them the petrified maiden. Yes, no one stopped them from entering. I myself led several groups of curious people into the house, who confirmed that they had not seen anything. But people did not leave. And this outrage continued for a week. I don’t remember whether I talked to Zoya herself or not. So many years have passed."
Another eyewitness, an employee of the Samara Labor Inspectorate Valery Borisovich Kotlyarov, considers all this an invention of the “churchmen”: “I was a boy then. We boys were not allowed into the house. And the police brought in 10 adults. When they came out, they said: “There is no one there.” But the people did not leave... I saw a truck with pipes driving down the street and, when turning around, injuring several people with its load. And the pilgrims gossiped: “This is God’s punishment...”
PARTIES: THE POLICEMAN GOES GRAY FROM FEAR
Many believers in Samara know pensioner A.I. Fedotova.
“In those days, I was near Zoya’s house twice,” says Anna Ivanovna, “I came from afar. But the house was surrounded by police. And then I decided to ask some policeman from the security about everything. Soon one of them - a very young one - came out of the gate. I followed him and stopped him: “Tell me, is it true that Zoya is standing?” He replied: “You ask exactly like my wife. But I won’t say anything, it’s better to see for yourself...” He took off his cap from his head and showed his completely gray hair: “See?!” This is truer than words... After all, we gave a subscription, we are forbidden to talk about it... But if you only knew how scary it was for me to look at this frozen girl!
