The Bandit - who is it? What does the Kostya-sailor and Odessa mean?

Each watching the movie "Two Fighter" probably remembered the song about Kostya the sailor. And everyone remembers the phrase: "And all the bandyuzhniki got up ..." And the bandyuzhnik - who is this? And what do these people have to the beer, Odessa and sailors? Let's figure it out.

Let's glance at the dictionary

For example, Dal's dictionary does not say exactly what the meaning of the word "bindyuzhnik" is. However, it gives a precise definition of the word "bandyuh". It means a large cart that could carry up to a hundred poods of cargo. In another way, it was often called a rydvan or simply a wagon. From this word and there was a bandit. Who is it? Yes, this is the usual cabman, who ruled in the nineteenth century with large carts and transported heavy and oversized cargo.

Why in Odessa?

Why does the song mention the city of Odessa? As historians say, at that time it was this city that made the biggest turnover. The seaport of Odessa was considered the largest in the whole of Russia. According to estimates of specialists, the Odessa port outpaced the harbor of St. Petersburg for cargo transportation by half.

All ships that arrived in Odessa, it was necessary to unload and load in record time, because on the threshold already appeared another ship. It was in order to cope with such a huge flow of traffic, and needed a binder. Who is this for the port city? As it was then believed, this is the most important helper, at times even a savior, ensuring fast unloading and loading of goods onto the ship.

Goods from the ships, of course, were demolished and loaded by loaders. But their work was completely inadequate. Huge piles of goods piled up on the port quay should be quickly delivered to destinations. That's where the binders came in.

At the time, it was believed that Odessa bandyuzhniki - people are one of the respected and sought-after occupations. From the early morning until sunset, they labored, exhausting themselves and their horses. For wagons specially selected exceptionally heavy, sinewy and powerful horses, able to work out a full day.

Truckers of the 19th century

If you ask a question to historians: "The Bind Belt - who is this?" - then for sure many will say that these are truck drivers of the nineteenth century. And it should be noted that anyone was not taken to such a job. At a set always special requirements were put:

• Increased stamina.
• Good physical form.
• The presence of certain skills in working with horses and "transport".
• High growth (this was necessary in order to reduce the percentage of efforts made during the work).

Demand for services

In Odessa at that time there was an increased demand for transport services. Especially at the time of the wheat boom, when the harvest began and it was required to transport a large amount of cargo. It should be noted that only Odessa bandyuzers were allowed into the city (from "freight transport"). The authorities tried to limit the number of wagons and, consequently, horses on the streets of the city. Nobody wanted Odessa to drown in a pile of horse dung. Since most of the streets were rather narrow, the bandits had special transport - long and capacious trucks. They could carry the load unhindered on narrow roads and at the same time withstand a heavy load.

I must say that the cost of the work of the bandits was quite high. Of course, in a quiet time, when the wheat boom was coming to an end, the work was boiling at a normal price. But at the moment of demand the price of transportation for a quarter of wheat reached seventy-five kopecks. If you imagine that a wagon could fit up to twenty-five quarters of wheat, then the amount for one transportation turned out to be quite impressive.

And when the season was over, all the bandyuzhniki went to rest. Where? Of course, in the pub. Here from here and the sailors in the song, and the bandyuzhniki, and the pub.