Pre-revolution Russian Manor Houses

Galina is of course quite right. Our families lost everything no matter what stratum of society they belonged to.

Because Galina's grandparents had their cow and house requisitioned, does that mean that my grandparents losses should be considered more worthy of compensation because they lived in Petrograd as their primary residence?

As I have discussed elsewhere, it is precisely for this reason that the aristocracy should not be the only ones who should expect benefits to flow to them.

"All or none and not just some"

In practical terms very few Russian families today would not have a claim to something tangible taken by the soviets. This is why the idea of seeking some form of compensation becomes unrealistic.

How does the present government return one's previous identity? Such intangible elements have been permanently erased, and these can never be replaced, nor forgiven.

All that todays families can do is move on and face todays life challenges.

Such wrongs of the past can never be righted. :-/

As for Manor States, I liked very much "Muranovo" estate near Moscow.
Last seniour of the state was very famous poet Tyuychev.
Why I like this estate?
Because this is only one estate which was completely
saved unchaged since pre-revolution times.
It sounds unbelievable but it is.
This estate is museum now.
It is on the way to Troitse Sergiev Posad ( Zagorsk)

[Zolotoe Kol'tso]

Thanks  hikaru,

Pity I missed it when I drove around the Zolotoe Kol'tso region. It is rare to find an estate untouched either by soviet hands or by the horrors of war.

The estate is noted in Roosevelt's book, but no photograph is provided. It is not mentioned in Lonely Planet Moscow travel guide either. Sadly few tourists living abroad would know of its existence.

Are you able to provide a scan here please?

Thanks  

Hikaru:

Muranovo was last owned by the Tiutchev family?  The poet himself died well before the Revolution.  Was it inherited by his family?

How far from Moscow is it?  Is there a Tiutchev family museum there?

Sorry for so  many questions

Charles

H,I pmed you about other books,didnt want to tie this up,if the books were unrelated to what you are looking for.You may already know about two of the best.

Here is a link to Feodor Tyutchev State Museum – Muranovo.  Thanks Hikaru for letting us know of this beautiful place.

http://www.museum.ru/muranovo/eng_03.htm

It seems that until 1984 the decedents of the pre-revolutionary owners stayed on, managing the property as a museum.  Pretty amazing – a real time machine.  

Hi Hundefreund,

Thanks for providing the delightful hyperlink!

Definitely a museum worth visiting. Such a shame driving straight past it without being aware of its existence.

Ah well next time.  

Before Tyutchev ( who lived in Tsarskoe Selo for a lot of time and the things from the TS apartmetn now in the Muranovo museum), the owner was Baryatinsky - one of the friends of Pushkin poet.

The Muranovo's summer Samovar sounds not bad.

The location is on the way to Sergiev Posad - about 30 km from Moscow. Just near main road .

I am sorry ,  I have no scan.

I am sorry ,  I have no scan.

No problem hikaru.

The link Hundefreund kindly provided has a map and a few images.

I like the Gorki Leninskie estate quite a lot too.
This estate have been conservated completely thanks to .. the Lenin who lived and died there.
But when he died, he had no his own things.
He died on the bed of previous holders and used the previous  holder's things.

Now this estate is uften used in the Cinema about the pre-revolution Russia.

The location of the state is just near to Moscow on the way to the Domodedovo Airport

Here’s a link to images of Gorki Leninskie (in Dutch)

http://www.commietravel.nl/ussr/rusland/gorkileninskie/leninhuis.htm

Lenin chose a nice place; ochre stucco and pressed tin roofs get me every time.  Does anyone have any information on Kokushkino, a remote estate (near Kazan?) of Lenin’s mother’s family to where the family retreated after the execution of Lenin’s brother.  Perhaps that too was preserved as some sort of shrine?

I’m still pondering Muranovo – there must be some story behind how Tyutchev’s descendants were allowed to stay on the estate until 1984.  I know Tyutchev is highly respected poet.  It’s not so surprising that the state would preserve his house – like Tostoy’s and Turgenev’s.  But that his descendants were allowed to stay on contradicts much that I’ve been reading (thanks to the helpful recommendations of AP members here) about the fate of estate owners and their properties after the revolution.  How did they survive Stalin and the Nazis?  Any insights?

As for Muranovo,
I think that the point is not in the permission of the state: after revolution , a lot of the estates were destroyed not for the state's order, but for the peasants 's desire.
In the estates which were not destroyed, the museums were opened. It was common thing that the previous owners became the heads of such museums.  
But in 1930ties a lot of such museums were transfered to something else and the previous owners were killed.
Muranovo were untached, as well as Chaykovsky's house in Klin.
By the way, the Chaykovsky's house director for a long time was his nephew: Davydov.
Maybe the Tyutchev's name saved this estate.
I have found  the following verses of Tyutchev (in translation of English) :
Russia is baffling to the mind,
Not subjiect to the common measure
Her ways of a pecular kind...
One only can have faith in Russia.

As for Gorki: this is super estate renewed in the beginning of the 20th century for the Mayor of Moscow , Reinbolt and then for the Morozov's family( who was the richest merchants in russia) with unique furniture.
The Lenin's Rolls-Royce which was adapted for use in heavy snow by the addition of caterpillar tracks, is unique too.

As for the comlete information of the estates near Moscow, I can recommend the following book:
Informations Moscow Country Road Book by
Jennifer Louis  1997
Printed by Jupiter Associates Limited,  21 The Waldrons , Croydon , Surrey CRO 4HB, England.

I saw the Dutch site.
Unfortunately, the photos is about Lenin's things and you could not the realize the estate's things.

As for Kokushkino:
you can not compare the house of Kokushkino with the Gorki's one.
Kokushkino is a kind of russian izba, but big one.
(only one floor building ) . One difference from izba is that there is the fabric furniture inside.
In 1987 it was completely in perfect condition.
I was in 2002 in Ulyanovsk and saw Lenin house there.
It was in good condition (we did not go to the Kokushkino).
Now, it is quite interesting to visit Lenin's places and to see it from another angle.
I think that in some years the interest to such places will be increased.
The pictures of Kokushkino you could find in the quide books of Soviet Era about USSR.

Dear colleagues:
Russian manor renascence Fund’s mission is protection, reconstruction and effective modern use of the unique objects of native manor and parkland culture. The Fund’s activity is based upon the integration of social and private initiatives and the public policy of historical and cultural heritage management and protection.
Since October 2000 Russian manor renascence Fund has been developing and realizing concrete projects of the restoration of manor architecture objects, while reconstructing them for the modern utilization. Among the other trends of the Fund’s successful work are the informational and popularizational acitivity, exhibitions, scientific research and publishing. The Fund effectively cooperates with scientific, industrial and social organizations. Among the parnters of the Fund are federal, regional and local authorities; famous museums, archives and libraries; public organizations of scientists and cultural workers; leading manufacturing, financial and trading companies.
Russian manor renascence Fund is highly interested in international cooperation and attracting off-budget investment to carry out the projects on restoration and protection of Russia’s manor and parkland culture rarest samples, which namely are Uzkoye, Cheremushki, Znamenskoye-Sadki, (inside Moscow), Arkhangelskoye, Nikolskoye-Prozorovskoye, Vinogradovo (Moscow city region), Suda (Novgorod region) and many other. The Fund invites volunteers to its restoration and preservation projects in the above-named manors and parks.
The Fund is willing to render the information on the manor ensembles, projects of modern use of these manor complexes, as well as the necessary information on those Fund’s activities which require sponsorship investment.
We hope for fruitful and effective collaboration with specialists in this domain and enthusiasts interested in this problem.


Sincerely yours,


President of the “Russian Manor
Renascence Fund”                                        Potapov S.I.

“Russian Manor Renascence Fund”
Contact phone: (095) 209 62 65
e-mail: usadba@fovrus.ru  
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