Pigeons (a story) That was a fair deal between two men: - You promise to study well. I promise to give you those miserable pigeons. I and my Dad shook on it. - For the life of me, Yurka, I can’t understand why you want this extravagance … When I was a boy, I didn’t fully understand myself why I needed that. How can we always possibly explain why we are dreaming of something? Or are there such words to explain why you are so obsessed with the sky? Anyway, I desperately wanted to have my own pigeons. And I really did my best. While my Mom wondered how a street kit could be so hard-working, she was really happy about my school performance. And she never said a word against a couple of pigeons that found a home in our small kitchen. Naturally, that was not only my joy but my pride – I earned it myself! Let’s face it – I envied myself when I was listening to the birds’ cooing. It did not frighten me that I would have to take care of the birds because my Dad always taught me to get the job done. Some time later, in our street with dozens of pigeon lofts above the wooden buildings a new one appeared – on the roof of my house … Being a kid, I knew nothing about the history or about the world practice of pigeon breeding and did not have a clue that my childhood experience and that first couple of pigeons would be a turning point in my life and pigeons would be a life-long hobby. Pigeons of Salekhard became the ancestors of one of the best pigeon farms in Russia. Here you may find everything that amazed and inspired me many year ago. Do you know when and why people started practising pigeon keeping? How did ancient pigeon lofts look? How a pigeon appeared on iconostasis? What does a tradition mean to release a couple of doves on the wedding? Who and when issued an order to call pigeons out for service? And why is pigeon breeding so interesting and important?