A person paints a place

In large and small cities throughout Russia, residents restore old houses for free. Their own and strangers

When Andrei Kochetkov was small, dad often took him to walk around the old city in Samara. Together they stared at carved platbands of wooden houses, on patterns hanging from the cornices. It seemed to Andrei that from the world of ordinary gray city, he fell into another, magical.

But when Andrei grew up, the magical world began to crumble in front of his eyes - the houses were cut off, they were demolished, the city was built up with high -rises. I really wanted to save him, but what could he do? In 2015, Andrei came up with Tom Soyer Fest with colleagues-journalists. He could not imagine that the idea of ​​painting three houses would result in a whole movement to save the historical environment throughout Russia. And that even in the smallest cities there live people who are ready to do a lot to preserve heritage.

Not trash, but wealth

Khvalynsk. In 2017, one house was transformed

Ira Poyyagina left Molkoye Khvalynsk (10 thousand inhabitants) at 16 years old. I learned for a lawyer, lived in Moscow, in Brazil, in Spain. And at 27, she returned home. I got a job in the Sosnovy Island Heritage Fund and, together with its director Alexei Naumov, launched in Khvalynsk Tom Sawyer Fest. Since mid -June, Ira almost every evening with the townspeople restores a beautiful merchant house on a mountain with a thread in the form of grenade flowers.

Before the house was painted, it was gray and invisible, and today passers -by stop and take pictures.

At first, neighbors and residents of the house were distrustful. It was a shame when a man left the neighboring house and began to shout that Ira was washing state money. What she does is not restoration, but a shame. That it would be better if they inserted the windows and covered the house with siding, and not painted a rotten tree. Ira tells that she is tired. That she dreams of a house, and sometimes she accidentally calls a taxi to him instead of her native address. With silts are given by people who help.

Irina Poyagina near the restored house photo: Evgenia Volunkova

Once Ira tried to pull a rusty nail out of the house with a nail. The 11-year-old kid Vitya was walking past. "Can I try?" - asked and took the instrument from Ira. He pulled out a nail. He asked Ira why this is all. And he remained to skin the house. The next day he brought friends. Everything turned out, like Mark Twain: Vitya and other guys worked all summer. Ira also remembered how one day a letter with Skittles candy and thanks was discovered in the window opening.

But most of all Ira touched that an elderly resident of the house Valentina Pavlovna went out to help volunteers. Actually, my grandmother saved money for siding, but when, thanks to fresh paint, she saw a rich thread on her own house, she was stupefied and realized that there would be no siding. And there will be the most beautiful carved house on the mountain. So in Little Khvalynsk, one person suddenly fell in love and understood his house. In this, says Ira, and there is the salt of the festival: to convince people that old wooden houses are not trash, but wealth. They must be protected and showed to the world, and not hide in a soulless siding.

One warrior in the city

Buzuluk. In 2016, volunteers restored one house, in 2017 another will be restored.

Anya Melnikova is a designer, a photographer, a photographer and mother. She lives in Buzuluk (87 thousand inhabitants), although most of her friends and relatives in Samara. The main attraction of the city is the incredible beauty of stone and wooden houses in the Art Nouveau style. Some of them are monuments of cultural heritage, others do not have such an important status. But they all look sad today. The peeling paint, the lost carved details, the rickety wings - the beauty will fade every year, and today the townspeople do not notice it. But not Anya. Anya is in love with the architecture of her city. Every time she walks along the street, she looks at home. Last year, she photographed architecture for the book “100 details of Buzuluk” and noticed how quickly the buildings are unusable. A year ago, this door was decorated with beautiful carvings, but today it is no longer there. More recently, this house stood and pleased the eye, today it is no longer ... Anya told on the Internet about the uniqueness of Buzuluk architecture, but most residents did not understand what she was writing about. People believed that the houses that Anya speaks of is not beauty, but a junk. That there is nothing to save in Buzuluk and there is no need. And then Anya found out about Tom Sawyer Fest and realized that he was, the chance to save what was left, and show people the real appearance of the houses. You just need to put your hands and brushes to them.

Anya Melnikova Photo: Evgenia Volunkova

Together with four friends, Anya last year put one house in order. They worked in the summer and autumn. And even when it was snowing. The shabby facade has become bright, blue and white. The house blossomed and straightened.

This year, Anya chose another beautiful house, which broke in front of her eyes. The whole summer, torn between work and son, Anya squeezes the wooden facade. One. This year, friends for various reasons could not join. And every day Anya puts on a helmet, a T -shirt with the logo of the festival and climbs into the forests. Skin to a large house alone and difficult for a long time. After an hour of work, Anya becomes like a miner, over her ears in dust and old paint. Beautiful ladies on stilettos come out of a neighboring cafe. They look at Anya with pity and bewilderment. Anya does not pay attention, she saves the house.

Sometimes she falls into despair. And exactly when you want to give up and burst into tears, people appear. Once a man came up, asked what this happens here. Anya told the man bought her coffee. Another time, volunteers from Samara arrived, helped to work. And there are days when local residents come and help.

In search of money for the festival, Anya wrote to different companies and instances. One businessman responded and bought paint and primer, a local deputy and mayor of the city helped with money. The amounts are not cosmic, but there was enough for everything necessary. Only people are missing. Anya hopes that another transformed house will inspire the inhabitants of Buzuluk, and next year there will be more volunteers. Now that she is walking around the city, he looks not only at home. The festival seemed to open her eyes even wider - Anya sees that even in the city it can be improved. She notices where the garbage is removed, and where not, where the benches are very needed, and where it is worth hanging flowers.

Abnormal

Kazan. In 2016, three houses transformed, in 2017 another four shone.

Kostya Lebedev is 45 years old, and his house is 117. You can give the home as much as the owner, because Kostya takes care of him. He believes that the house is not only that inside, such an attitude was given to him by his father.

Kostya Lebedev with his son Fedor near the house, which they restored at the Tom Soyer Fest festival photo: Evgenia Volunkova

As a child, Kostya saw his dad caring for a house. And when he grew up, he began to help. Previously, several families lived in a two -story building, then they parted, the first floor remained empty. Someone knocked out the window, then one more. Kostya realized that it was necessary to insert the windows, otherwise the rest would knock out. And he did it at his own expense. And at the same time he scraped the window frames, floor and door, so that it was beautiful. He raised the settled attachment, repaired the communications. Bones at home is comfortable and beautiful.

The last time Kostin the house was painted by the arrival of Brezhnev. Then, from the spray gun, it was covered with pink along with the windows. Over the years, the paint has been peeled out, in some places the skin has rotted. Kostya dreamed of doing the facade, but his hands did not reach. And last year, the volunteers of Tom Soyer Fest came and told Kostya that they wanted to paint his house. Kostya was stunned by such happiness and joined. Together with the inhabitants of Kazan, he repaired and painted the facade of the entire building, although only the second floor still belongs to him. This summer replaced the gate and fence.

Costum is called abnormal. Is it normal after a working day to repair and paint the house? He says to understand what drives them, you need to love your housing. When you love , you care and take care. And you do not wait for the other people's uncles to do everything. Kostya loves.

Sarai with an arch

Samara. In 2015, three houses were restored, in 2016 - four. In 2017, four more houses will soon be transformed.

Tatyana Petrova was born in the monument. The hollow of the estate of the architect Alexander Zelenko was built in the Art Nouveau style. “All people are like people, and you are in the monument,” friends laughed at her. And she was proud.

Tatyana Petrova Photo: Evgenia Volunkova

When Tatyana privatized the apartment, she was issued a document that states that she undertakes to protect and save her house as a monument of cultural heritage. And she saved. She regularly painted the stairs in the entrance and walls, changed windows and even a drain pipe. Together with the neighbors, she threw himself to the needs of the house, and thanks to their care, the centenary house was well -groomed and strong. And then he was suddenly recognized as emergency and removed from the register of monuments - the developers needed a place. Tatyana recalls how they and their neighbors fell into fury when they saw the results of the examination. “It was not about our house. There are no walls, there is no roof, there is no foundation. They probably stamp these decisions. And we are very angry. "

People were asked to free apartments, but they decided to fight. "We love our house, we feel good in it, why should we leave somewhere?" We took off their private examination and lawyer. And also for the repair of the second entrance, which is located in the courtyard (that part of the house was not very good, they could complain). The inhabitants of the outbuilding of Zelenko strengthened the foundation, sheathed and painted the walls, knocked down, replaced the wiring. Turned to journalists. And they sued for a long time. “If the technique came to demolish the house, we would have obscured it and not budged,” says Tatyana. But this was not required - in court, Fligel Zelenko was recognized as suitable for living and assigned him the status of a newly identified object of cultural heritage.

This year, residents took part in Tom Sawyer Fest. They want the Eligel of the Zelenko estate to become even more beautiful. So that no one else occurred to anyone that it can be demolished. The chat in which the inhabitants coordinate their actions are called “a barn with an arch” - this is how their house once called their house at a public hearing. Tatyana is sure that any house can turn into a barn if you do not care for it. Therefore, every free evening after work, she and other residents go out into the yard and return beauty to their house. Remove the old plaster from the facade, cement, paint, level and close up. The house is large and tall. It's hard to work. But they work. And they feed volunteers who come to help.

Tatyana architect. Nina is the director of the pharmacy. Ilona is a cosmetologist. Valentina Ivanovna is 75 years old, she cannot work in the forests. But it sweeps, paints the first floor and sides tea with volunteers. Lena is a housewife, a member of the Council of the microdistrict, her husband is a master in decorative plaster. Tatyana believes that all of them, so different, saved their house because they were able to unite.

The minister painted the fence

Last week, the Minister of Culture of Russia Vladimir Medinsky took part in the festival "Tom Soyer Fest" in Kazan - he painted the fence. Reactions to the festival at the federal level are positive, and officials in cities react differently. Or do not react at all.

In Saratov, the restoration of a historically valuable house is engaged in a member of the Yabloko party, Alexander Ermishin. He makes quietly and outside politics. But the authorities of Saratov did not support his initiative. In another small city, which the organizer of the festival asked not to be called, the mayor decided that the festival was invented in order to discredit power. And he issued a written ban on his holding. I had to reach the deputy governor of the region, who simply broke the prohibiting paper.

In Samara, during Tom Sawyer Fest, the mayor of the city recently even painted a piece of wall on camera. There have been a lot of publications in the media. True, the plots of the festival are served under profitable officials with an angle. For example, the last plot on the local channel spoke about the restoration of the Zelenko estate as a work for the World Cup. In the publication on the administration website, the festival volunteers and residents of the outbuilding of Zelenko are called "specialists". Information is supplied as if the house is being repaired by the city.

Samara. Tolstoy Street 34, it was/became a photo: provided by the organizers of the festival

Samara. Galaktionovskaya Street, was/became a photo: provided by the organizers of the festival

In Buzuluk, Khvalynsk and Kazan, the local government supports the festival and provides all possible assistance - from financial to placement of arriving volunteers.

“ Officials cannot understand why we are doing this,” Kochetkov explains. - The simplicity and understandability of the festival poorly fit into conspiracy metastases, which are full of the brains of many people in power. They think that volunteers drive monetary schemes, political ambitions. We were lucky that federal structures drew attention to us, and the acceptance by local authorities occurred through them. ”

Residents of houses, to whom volunteers come with offers to restore the appearance of the house, are surprised. They are looking for a catch, they are afraid that money will be required from them. Some react indifferently: if you want - paint. They refuse to join: "You need, you do it." Some cursing: "We are waiting for us to be demolished and resettled, and here you are with your brushes!"

Andrey Kochetkov, ideologist “Tom Sawyer Fest” Photo: Evgenia Volunkova

But, for example, in Samara Inessa Mikhailovna last summer asked if the volunteers would repair her house too. The volunteers said that this is not included in their plans. She left. And soon they saw that the grandmother was alone to squint her house. The organizers decided to help Inessa Mikhailovna, whose family lived in this house for a hundred years, and restored her housing.

In Dimitrovgrad, residents of the neighboring house, looking at the volunteers, began to repair their facade. In Saratov, one family joined the work. And several more residents fed volunteers and even built a shower for them in the courtyard.

The organizers of Tom Sawyer Fest understand that the townspeople cannot take it and restore all at home in one fell swoop. The meaning of the festival is not so much to revive the appearance of cities as to instill in people a love for their homes and space around. It seems that they succeed in something.