Support The Moscow Times!

Biggest Chunk of Chelyabinsk Meteorite Goes on Sale

The biggest commercially available piece of the celestial body that blew up over the Urals city of Chelyabinsk in mid-February went on sale this week for a modest but firm price of 2.1 million rubles ($65,000).

The charred heavenly stone, offered on the classified ads site Avito.ru with the slogan "a serious meteorite for serious people," weighs 3.36 kilograms (7.4 pounds). It was certified by the Chelyabinsk State University to be, indeed, a meteorite shard and not just a lump of earthly dirt.

The owner, Alexei Usenkov, embarked on a search expedition in the meteorite's wake, personally discovering this and dozens of other, smaller meteorite chunks, which he distributed to friends and relations, local news website 1obl.ru said.

Usenkov wanted to keep his biggest find or hand it over to a museum, but caved in after learning that the ongoing operation to fish out other chunks of the Chelyabinsk meteorite from the local Lake Chebarkul in the Urals is about to yield space rocks bigger than his.

"I think it may serve as a symbol for some Chelyabinsk mall," Usenkov said.

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue

Read more