TO HELL WITH IT IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE
This is one of the few Russian aphorisms whose occurrence is accurately recorded in historical time in connection with a certain place and event, namely, Moscow. Only, to be precise, it is necessary to pronounce: on Kulishki. Sandpipers were called forest glades or islands in a swamp. It was popularly believed that evil spirits liked to settle there. And since such places are often located deep in the forest, far from human habitations, "in the middle of nowhere" has come to mean: very far away.
According to legend, in the church shelter for the old and infirm at Trinity Church, objects flew through the air on Kulishki, people were thrown off the benches, loud blasphemies were heard that none of the people uttered. With prayers and holy water, the local church authorities exorcised the demon. The unclean spirit came out of the Trinity Church. But Muscovites firmly remembered this incident, and from there the fame of it spread throughout Russia. Over time, the origin of the expression was forgotten. They only remembered that somewhere "in the middle of nowhere", that is, very far away, the devil was raging.