Moscow, share!

We, confused by geopolitics, are losing our origins, our small towns, which, by an unknown craft, still keep particles of our history.

The two old Russian cities of Romanov and Borisoglebsk (since 1918 - the single city of Tutaev), looking at each other from the steep banks of the Volga, were part of a dozen pearls of the Golden Ring of Russia. The tarnished decoration to this day pleases Vladimir and Suzdal, but Tutaev’s wonderful stone fell out of the frame

There are many feats of arms behind the inhabitants of these places: the Romanov squad, having joined the militia of Minin-Pozharsky, participated in the liberation of Moscow. Soviet power came in December 1917, and very soon Romanov-Borisoglebsk, founded by far-sighted princes in the 13th-14th centuries, later equipped by diligent merchants and becoming a single city back in 1822, lost its glorious name. Disputes around the immortalized fighter Ilya Tutaev, who died here under circumstances that were not too heroic, do not subside even today. One can only hope that the cities that have long passed their 700th anniversaries will be returned to their original names.

The Industrial Soviets were distinguished here by a huge engine-building plant: a Komsomol construction site, the breadwinner of the city. Thousands of visitors diluted and pressed the quiet townspeople, and the proletarian right bank - Borisoglebsk - began to arrogantly look at the meager left, the former handsome Romanov. Today, many areas of the plant are leased, but Tutaev residents are proud that their engines are on KAMAZ trucks, always the first on any rally.

There is no bridge across the Volga, of course. In summer, the crossing on enterprising motorboats takes less than a minute, on the ferry a little longer. Payment by Moscow standards is ridiculous - 25 rubles. But in winter ... There is no public transport in both cities, only taxis, always at hand and also cheap - 50 rubles to anywhere. True, with an average salary of 12-15 thousand, the expense is considerable, and therefore the locals walk. On both banks, the parks of the Soviet period have been preserved, but the paths have long forgotten their asphalt past, and the vegetation is represented exclusively by field forbs. But unmowed and with a marvelous aroma. Neat Ilyich is not left with flowers at his foot, but around ghostly plaster pioneers. The picture is mystical, it was thought that such "zones" remained only in Chernobyl. What is surprising: the sculptures are well-groomed and there is no self-mutilation. The lack of destructive enthusiasm lies, probably, in the deep apathy of the Tutayevites: there is only one answer to any question for any reason - I don’t know ...

In the 90s, the temples of both cities were returned to churches. On the right side, in Borisoglebsk, is the beauty and pride of the Resurrection Cathedral. Luxurious facade: frescoes, tiles, arches, platbands. It is so beautiful that the locals say that the Italians had a hand in the cathedral. The left bank, Romanov, hides its temples in centuries-old crowns, the bright Kazan church with a bell tower-candle is especially elegant, well-known, illustrated everywhere. How much work was put into its construction: the coast was strengthened with stones, which were collected not without compulsion. In the absence of dictate today, landslides are observed on the slopes, and the banks are steep, and God knows what will happen to these beauties. 200 years ago, St. Petersburg architects developed an "exemplary" series of residential buildings, of which there are surprisingly many in today's Tutaev, but few have retained the old alignment. Rest…

Therefore, the clean, elegant mansion, the former estate of the Zatsepin nobles, made me so happy in Romanov. We owe the fact that this landmark has been preserved in the city to the Boldovsky family, who once lived in a noble nest in communal cells, and then bought the destroyed building in the early 90s. And what a story it has grown into! A relative of the Boldovskys, Yaroslavl local historian V.B. Novikov, having become interested in the fate of the former owners of the estate, found the descendants of the old family, and together they revived the history of the Zatsepin family and related families (there are more than 200 names in the genealogical tree - from 1632 to 1998). A 600-page, well-published work was published in 2012, but who among the Tutaevites knows about this? The Boldovskys arranged a small museum of urban life on the estate, and this is all the more necessary because the state museum - the mansion on Novinskaya Street was closed, and the exhibits were transported to Yaroslavl. Schoolchildren were taken to the old museum to get acquainted with the life of their ancestors, there was a lot of things here, and most importantly, the spirit of the era, which cannot be conveyed in words. This was also taken away.

Several hotels on the right side easily cope with the influx of tourists, but there is nowhere to stay on the left side. The bewilderment disappears when it turns out that there is no sewerage in the city of Romanov. And never was. Neither under Roman Vasilyevich in 1345, nor under Peter, nor under the Soviets. True, this saves the development from the castles of the nouveau riche, actively built on the right bank, but the gray birdhouses of the M-Zh model in the 21st century and 400 km from the capital? However, Moscow for Tutaev is a mirage and unrealizability, but Yaroslavl is nearby, and everyone who can, strives there: work, leisure, civilization.

We, confused by geopolitics, are losing our origins, our small towns, which, by an unknown craft, still keep particles of our history. Romanovo-Borisoglebtsy once helped Moscow at a decisive moment. Maybe it's time to pay off your debts and not dream for centuries about the 3rd Rome (where, by the way, there were no problems with sewage), but to finally become the mother of Russian cities?

On the site of the Moscow hotel "Russia", which gave the city considerable income, the Babylonian creation is about to begin, which will require huge money for the maintenance of another phantasmagoria. And here's some more news: in early June, Moscow will host public hearings on the "Project for planning a part of the territory of the natural complex object No. 6 of the Central Administrative District of Moscow" Square and park of the Novodevichy Convent, including the adjacent territory of the street and road network, in order to recreate the temple ". A few meters from the Novodevichy Convent, in a quiet green square, there is already a solid foundation stone, on which are the names of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill and the President of Russia Putin. Why in a matter of meters from the old prayerful Novodevichy to raise another remake is an insoluble question. Maybe these tens of millions of Moscow authorities (or - what else is there?) Transfer the city of Tutaev for the most necessary needs? And this will indeed be a righteous and Divine deed.

Elena KAZENNOVA