At the beginning of the last century, butterflies fluttered and flowers bloomed here, the Suda and Kemza Rivers flowed in the same leisurely and exquisite way. It was in this wonderful corner that young Igor Lotarev (Igor-Severyanin) drew his inspiration… At that time, no one knew what fate awaited the poet and what would become of this estate, which belonged to his uncle Mikhail Petrovich Lotarev. But time has put everything in its place and now here, in the Vologda region, there is the only literary museum in Russia dedicated to the work of Igor the Northerner – one of the brightest representatives of the literature of the Silver Age.
Confluence of rivers
In 1899, near the village of Vladimirovka, thirty versts from the county town of Cherepovets, engineer Mikhail Lotarev began construction of his estate. Money for the purchase of land and the construction of a house required a lot and they went to the owner of the estate as follows.
Mikhail Petrovich Lotarev worked as a technical director at one of the textile enterprises of Lodz in Poland. The owner of the factory, saving on the health of his workers, did not want to install a ventilation system in the workshops, and textile production is very harmful to the lungs. Then Mikhail Lotarev hung a piece of white cloth in one of the workshops. A week later, it became black with dust, and unrest began at the enterprise. The obstinate director was immediately fired, but under the contract he was paid a penalty – 13 thousand rubles in silver. At that time, the amount was considerable: for example, an iron plow cost 11 rubles, and model ladies' shoes cost 2.5 rubles. Having received the money, Mikhail Lotarev left Poland and came to the Nelazsky parish of the Cherepovets district of the Novgorod province, where his elder sister E.P. Zhurova's estate was located. At the confluence of the Kemza and Suda rivers, on a plot of 2.5 thousand acres of land acquired by him, the Vladimirovka estate appeared, which the Lotaryovs themselves called Suda. Igor is a Northerner
The future poet Igor Lotarev, who was studying at the Cherepovets Real School at that time, often visited his uncle, and he came here to rest later. There are many stories connected with the name of the "king of poets" here. Peasants gathered on logs near the trading shop in the evenings, and Igor Vasilyevich often joined them. They respected the poet very much and turned to him for various advice. It was Igor Severyanin who taught the locals to fish with a fishing rod, before that they used a jail. And for the kids, he organized archery competitions, played small towns with them. The year 1918 became special in the history of the estate, then it was nationalized, and Igor the Northerner left for Estonia. Almost all of the Lotarevs' property was sold at auction. From 1924 to 1996, a sanatorium was located in this house. In 1993, through the efforts of the administration of the Cherepovets district and the staff of the Cherepovets Museum Association, an exhibition dedicated to the poet was opened in the sanatorium. Three years later, the estate complex was transferred to the Cherepovets Museum Association.
To be a museum!
Everything started almost from scratch. The Lotarev summer house had to be turned from a sanatorium into a memorial museum. And the workers of the Cherepovets Museum Association did it. There are many plans ahead for the restoration of the house and the creation of new opportunities for tourist recreation. And the first exhibits appeared here largely thanks to the connoisseurs of Igor-Severyanin's creativity and his relatives. The poet's great-niece Maria Georgievna Rogozin, head of the department of the photo library of the A.V. Shchusev State Museum of Architecture, provided a personal photo archive with pictures of all relatives in the estate. Copies made from photographs formed the basis of the museum's exposition.
Vladimirovka attracts creative people. For many years, artists of the international organization "Sunny Square" have been coming here. Their first open-air was held in 1997. Since then, the estate has been visited by brush masters from many cities of Russia, near and far abroad. Thanks to such plein-airs, the museum has formed a collection of modern paintings and graphics. And Vladimirovka can now be seen on canvases exhibited at prestigious All-Russian and international exhibitions. The nature of this cozy poetic corner really deserves to be depicted on canvas. Near the manor house there is a park and a forest cottage of the Lotaryovs, in which Igor the Northerner liked to spend his free time. The museum has an exhibition "The Life and work of Igor the Northerner", a photo exhibition "Pineapples in champagne", a fairy tale room is open for children; literary holidays, ecological and local history expeditions are held. A few years ago, the park was examined by the associate professor of VSPU Natalia Nikolaevna Repina. She found out that the homestead park in Vladimirovka ranks first in terms of ecological cleanliness among the preserved manor parks of the Vologda region.
Based on poems
Lyudmila Tseluiko, a long-time friend of the museum, is a creative person, the author of more than 30 books, engaged in literary and design activities. Igor-Severyanin's poetry inspired Lyudmila Evgenievna to create installations based on his poems. So at her dacha, which is located just in Vladimirovka, not far from the museum, she created compositions from household garbage. One of her favorite "sculptures" is called "Pineapples in champagne". Romantic gazebos, small fountains – everything is taken from severyanin lines. In addition, Lyudmila Tseluiko organizes events for artists coming to the open air.
Another creative person who is not indifferent to the fate of the estate is the Cherepovets poet Andrei Shiroglazov. He is the ideological inspirer of the "King of Poets" contest, which takes place in Vladimirovka. The main purpose of the event was to assist young, talented poets in promoting their creativity, as well as "return to the past" – creating an atmosphere of the Silver Age on earth, which fed the inspiration of Igor the Northerner. Such holidays are an opportunity to make themselves known to many talented people, and Vladimirovka will turn into a literary living room, gathering poets under the sign of Igor the Northerner.
