On January 31, "Komsomolskaya Pravda" reported: A shop assistant discovered €300,000 and returned it to its rightful owner.

1934

The heroic nonstop flights of Soviet pilots over the North Pole are yet to come, but for now, the records are being set by equally heroic crews of stratospheric balloons (a type of balloon that ascends to heights over 11 km). One such event is reported by "Komsomolka":

“Yesterday at 9:15 AM, the stratospheric balloon 'Osoaviakhim' took off from Moscow. On board were comrades FEDOSEENKO, VASENKO, and USYSKIN.

At 11:42 AM, the stratospheric balloon reached 20,600 meters, setting a new world record.

Due to fog, the landing site of the stratospheric balloon remains unknown.”

The last sentence of this report indeed conveys events in a rather vague manner.

The issue also published a radio exchange between the pilots and Earth. And despite the overall triumphant tone of the release, attentive readers might have sensed an omen of disaster in the final messages from 'Osoaviakhim':

“3 PM.

This is 'Sirius':

...I'm switching to receive. Please repeat what you said…

3 PM 08 min.

This is 'Sirius':

...How do you read us?..”

The connection is lost.

The fate of 'Osoaviakhim' was tragic. After ascending to a record height, the aeronauts began their descent, and gradually the temperature of the outside air and the gas in the balloon equalized, reducing the lift of the balloon, causing the apparatus to fall. The gondola crashed to the ground, and the crew perished. The pilots were posthumously awarded the Order of Lenin, and their ashes were interred in the Kremlin wall.

2007

The story of a simple Russian woman from the Yaroslavl region today will not only amaze but also evoke nostalgia for the times when you could buy T-shirts for your husband and son and a sundress for yourself for 1500 rubles!

So, a souvenir seller found 300,000 euros:

“Actually, it was not she who found the money, but her dog. The owner often walks with Druzhek from their native village of Ananino to the town of Myshkin, where she earns extra money selling souvenirs to tourists. The road passes through a local racetrack, where visitors from Moscow and nearby regions often have picnics.

- My dog was rummaging in the bushes and pulled out a large bag, - Svetlana Bachurina told 'Komsomolka'. - After taking the find from the dog, I opened the bag - there were sandwiches, and underneath - oh my! - tightly packed bundles of euros! And a bag with documents. What to do? Svetlana went to Myshkin to ask a friend, a former policeman, for advice.

- And people have been killed for much less. You’d better return it, - advised her friend.

Svetlana called one of the numbers on the business card. The owner of the bag turned out to be a rather wealthy Muscovite, a bank manager. He was completely astonished by such honesty. Just three hours later, a messenger rushed from the capital.

- The bag was picked up not by the owner himself, but by a person representing him.

- Weren’t you sorry to return it? Even a little?

- It’s not my money - I don’t think it’s right to take it.

When they counted the bills, the bundles didn’t fit on the table - they had to lay a sheet on the floor.

They counted - exactly 300,000!

- Did the banker offer you a reward?

- Yes.

- And what did you say?

- I told him: I’m allergic to currency.

As we found out, the banker offered her 15,000 euros for her honesty.

- All I agreed to was 1,500 rubles to buy new clothes for my younger son and husband. I bought them new T-shirts and myself a sundress.

It seems Svetlana was simply afraid to take money of which she knew nothing about the origin. After all, to this day, it remains unknown who and why “planted” such an amount?

- My acquaintances immediately said: fool! You could have lived comfortably for the rest of your life. But my girls, with whom I work, thought about it and then agreed that I was right. Such money won’t bring happiness, - reflects Svetlana Bachurina. - I will earn for myself.

And indeed, Svetlana’s family has never lived in wealth. Her husband gets by on odd jobs in Uglich, one son works as a cook, another serves in the army, and the third is in the 6th grade.

She herself complains that in winter, sales of souvenirs are almost nonexistent, and she has to stand in the cold all day.

The toy mice souvenirs she sells cost 60 rubles. Do you know how many of them one would need to sell to earn 300,000 euros? One hundred seventy thousand! At least.

Svetlana only told her husband and children about what happened after the money was returned to its rightful owner.

- I didn’t want to, - she says, - to tempt my family.”