In 1922, in the magazine ‘Vostok’ (Orient) of the ‘World Literature’ (Vsemirnaya literatura) Publishing House, Sh. publishes the article ‘Native Antiquity’, in which he determines the dates of the death and resurrection of the god of fertility Dumuzid and connects the rituals associated with this deity with the ritual of releasing birds. First, Sh. quotes Pushkin's poem ‘Little Bird’, written on the occasion of the Annunciation rite of releasing captured birds (March 25, Old Style). Then, he finds an analogue of the Annunciation rite in the Babylonian collection of the spells of the New Assyrian time, where there is a spell to protect the life of the person who released a bird. Comparing these two texts, Sh. establishes a common meaning for them: “The symbolism of the rite, accompanied with the Babylonian invocation, is not difficult to guess. Life and freedom return to the air captive as a ransom for the life of the liberator. This glorious ransom is opposite to the cruel sacrifice rite, in which life is bought at the cost of destruction and death <...> The mythical essence of birds is known: these are souls that have left the land of the dead. The last verses of the poem about the Descent of Ishtar tell that in the days of Tammuz, winged souls are allowed to leave their dark home for sunshine and space. When was this festival of souls celebrated?”. Further, Sh. establishes the main dates for the veneration of Tammuz and connects them with the rituals of releasing birds: “Tammuz is born in Tebet – December - and dies in June, the month of Tammuz's capture.” His underground captivity, equated to the womb life of an infant, ends in Nisan – March. In the mysteries of Attis, the exact date of the resurrection of God is preserved: March 25. This day is at the same time the day of the conception of Tammuz, who was born on December 25, and the day of the annunciation of Ishtar: Tammuz's father, Ea, conceives his son with the words of the announcement transmitted by the messenger of the goddess Papsukkal. Now, I think that the bird of the Babylonian poem is the Annunciation bird of Tumansky. It is not necessary to assume that this bird was inherited by Russia in Orthodoxy. The myth of Tammuz is characteristic for Russian mythology in features that are deliberately neglected by Christianity”.
In Babylonian-Assyrian texts, there are, indeed, records of rituals and conspiracies associated with the release of birds. Moreover, rituals of this type are held on the days of the equinoxes and solstices. In particular, the spell quoted by Sh. refers to the corpus of rituals for the autumn equinox. In the spring, the release of birds is associated with the desire of the clients’ desire to take possession of their boss's will. And in the autumn, it is done by the boss himself (including the king), who subjects himself to trial for the misdeeds of the past six months and even spends several days in a voluntary confinement.
Attention should be paid to the dates that, according to Sh., are associated with the cycle of dying and resurrection of Dumuzid. According to modern research, the calendars of ancient Mesopotamia had three holidays in honor of Dumuzid. The earliest of them was carried out in the spring, in February-March, in Ummah, and was associated with the meeting of young spring grass in the field. From the beginning of the second millennium BCE, the summer holiday of Dumuzid was recorded, which fell on June-July and was associated with the mourning of the god leaving for the underworld. Later, at the end of the second millennium BCE, a winter holiday mentions in the texts. In December-January, i.e. during the winter solstice, Dumuzid was revered among the dead who emerge from the underworld and use the gifts of the living world during the rest of the earth. Thus, Sh.'s hypothesis is confirmed.
Unfortunately, this article by Sh. remained unknown to world researchers. However, it is cited in the book ‘Death and Resurrection of the Savior (Research from the Field of Comparative Mythology)’ by N.V. Rumyantsev (1925).