Translated material
Rebels and well-wishers
Social movements in defense of historical monuments are gaining strength
The Moscow City Duma Commission on Culture and Mass Communications reviewed a project proposed by residents of the Moscow Biryulyovo district to revive the historical dacha of the first chairman of the Russian parliament, Sergei Muromtsev, in Tsaritsyn. At one time, the dacha was a beautiful three-story house in the Swedish style, where Ivan Bunin lived for a long time with his wife Vera Nikolaevna Muromtseva, the niece of the first Russian speaker. Many of Bunin's poems are associated with Tsaritsyn, in particular, the most famous - “The Forest, Like a Painted Tower.” The image of “Dark Alleys” in the late work of the writer was also probably inspired by memories of the Tsaritsyn park.It was proposed to create a museum of Russian parliamentarism in the restored house, and to erect a monument to the writer on the territory of the dacha. Tsaritsyno is perhaps the most “Bunin” place within Moscow, believes one of the initiators of the project, a member of the public association “Bunin Heritage” Igor Sergeev.
It is noteworthy that we are talking about Tsaritsyn, on whose territory a grandiose program of historical reconstruction and “completion” of the Grand Palace is currently being carried out. It would seem that such a program would have to include all the historical sites on the territory of the reserve. However, in reality, only the commercially promising central parts of Tsaritsyn came to the attention of the Moscow authorities. As for the “additions” to the program proposed by the residents, which, by the way, were very timely during the period of new development of this territory, they were rejected by the deputies as unrealistic and financially unsupported.
The story of Tsaritsyn is a typical example of a public initiative in the field of preservation and revival of heritage, which, as a rule, serves as a kind of alternative to “official” programs. This phenomenon is acquiring, without any exaggeration, an all-Russian scale. At the end of April, the ceremony of presenting the national award “Cultural Heritage” took place. The founder of the competition is also a non-profit organization - the national foundation “Russian Estate Revival”. The laureates are local historians, public organizations, and private business representatives who, on their own initiative, are engaged in the restoration of historical monuments.
“Increasingly, commercial structures are investing in the restoration of historical monuments. This year, the “Cultural Heritage” competition was supported by the Renova Stroygroup company, which is engaged in the revival of historical sites in Yekaterinburg,” comments the president of the national fund “Russian Estate Revival” Vissarion Alyavdin. -- There are public organizations for the revival of heritage in almost every region. Each estate has its own researcher. Some organizations, such as our foundation or the “Rural Church”, which is engaged in the conservation of abandoned manor churches, implement separate thematic areas. Now on the agenda is the creation of a Russian national trust.”
The capabilities of public organizations, even with many years of experience, are, of course, not comparable to government ones. “Possible forms of public initiative in the field of heritage revival are reflected in the nominations of our competition,” says Alyavdin. -- These are “Popularizer” (for local historians, publicists, journalists), “Dobrokhot” (volunteer organizations today exist mainly in educational institutions, they cooperate with museums, cultural centers), “Restorer” (this year we awarded the “Rural Church ", who saved more than 30 manor churches from complete destruction), "Keeper" (these are primarily museum employees, architects, and local historians) and "Owner" (this year among the awardees is the director of JSC "Mikhalkovo" Arkady Shaks, thanks to whom Today, an ancient estate in Moscow, associated with the names of Princess Dashkova and the Counts Panins, is being revived.” In total, 108 applications from various regions, from Crimea to Chukotka, were sent to the competition, which united representatives of various professions and walks of life.