ИСТИНА

Kapova Cave is the one of the most known caverns of Russia, situated on the Southern Ural. In 1959 the masterpieces of the Cave Palaeolithic were found in this underground cavity (the pictures of animals and different geometric signs). As for today the unique Palaeolithic scenery of Cave Kapova is in the danger of degradation in relation with the influence, on one hand, of the man-made and, on other hand, of the natural negative factors. The man-made factors are caused both by unregulated visits of tourists, leaving the recent graffiti directly over the Palaeolithic masterpieces, and by the artificial opening of paintings. The natural factors are due to, mainly, by the microclimatic and hydrological peculiarities of underground cavity. In 2003 a free access inside to the cave was stopped: the tourist path by the length of 230 m was elaborated including the review of Palaeolithic scenery copies. Concurrently some measures diminishing the negative actions of natural factors to the Palaeolithic decorations were carried out: the tamponage of ponor in the canyon Shulgan-Tash, the creation of summer polyethylene screen between first and second levels of underground cavity, etc.