Spas-Ugol village
Spas-Ugol is a small village near Moscow, where the museum of the famous writer Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin is located. It is believed that the village appeared in the 16th century. Nowadays, Spas-Ugol belongs to the Taldomsky district of the Moscow region.
.At the end of the XVIII century, thanks to the grandmother of the future satirist Nadezhda Nikolaevna Nechaeva, the Spaso-Preobrazhenskaya Church was built in this place. According to this temple, the village was named Spas. In it Saltykov-Shchedrin was born and spent his childhood. As an adult, he vividly described his personal impressions in the satirical works “Poshekhonskaya antiquity” and “Gentlemen Golovlevs”, detailing the peculiarities of the life of landlords and serfs belonging to them. The last time the writer visited the village was in 1874, having come to Spas-Ugol to bury his mother.
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The idea to create a memorial exposition in the village arose in the 1960s. In honor of the one and a half century anniversary of the writer, 1976 was declared the year of Saltykov-Shchedrin by UNESCO. After that, it was decided to recreate the Saltykov family estate, and soon Spas-Ugol hosted the First Literary Shchedrin Festival.
The doors of the museum opened in 1986, when the 160th anniversary of the writer’s birth was celebrated all over the world. Today in the museum halls you can see memorial exhibits, old furniture, rare photographs and paintings based on the works of Saltykov-Shchedrin. In the village of Spas-Ugol visitors can also visit the ancestral necropolis with the Saltykovs’ burials, visit the Jordan spring and walk along the ancient alleys.
History of the village
The village of Spas-Ugol used to be owned by the noble family of Saltykov. In 1826 in the landowning family was born the sixth child – Michael. The first teacher of the little Saltykov became a serf Pavel Sokolov, and then the boy’s education was alternately conducted by his older sister, a priest, a visiting governess and a student who came to Spas-Ugol from Moscow.
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At the age of 10, Mikhail was enrolled to continue his education at the Moscow Institute of Nobility, and two years later was transferred to the prestigious Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. There the young man began to compose poetry, and then prose. During his life, the writer came several times to Spas-Ugol to visit relatives.
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In the XX century, the noble manor fell into disrepair. After nationalization it was abandoned, the main manor house burned down, the ponds became overgrown, and many old trees died. In the 1980s and 1990s Spas-Ugol was partially restored, and the museum exposition was placed in the restored refectory of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior. This was thought to have been done temporarily, but to this day no suitable building has been found for the museum.
.Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior
The picturesque church on the northern outskirts of the village of Spas-Ugol was built at the very end of the XVIII century in the traditions of early Russian classicism with elements of baroque. The stone church has a composition “octagon on a quatrefoil”. The main volume of the church is adjoined by a high bell tower and a spacious one-story refectory.
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During the years of the Soviet struggle with religion, the bells were thrown off the church, the building was used for household needs. Until the 1970s, a potato warehouse was kept here. In the 2000s there were no funds for new bells, and instead of them temporarily hung large gas cylinders. Since the necessary money was never found, gas cylinders “decorate” the Transfiguration Church and nowadays.
.Not far from the church, near the village store, there is a monument to M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. In 2012, the residents of the village of Spas-Ugol managed to restore the chapel on the Fair Meadow, consecrated in honor of the Mother of God of Korsun.
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Memorial Museum
Nowadays, the museum exhibits a model of the Saltykov estate, portraits of the writer’s relatives, their personal belongings, old photographs, manuscripts and books by Saltykov-Shchedrin. Here you can see the coat of arms of the noble family, the writer’s father’s smoking pipe and old calendars and monthbooks. The museum section “Poshekhonskaya antiquity” is of special interest. It exhibits clothing and household items used by landowners and villagers in the late XIX – early XX century.
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The museum in the village of Spas-Ugol is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10.00 to 16.30. To see its expositions can be independently or as part of a tour group. There are not many guests in the museum, so often the staff conducts excursions even for one visitor. It should be borne in mind that photography and videography here are paid.
.How to get there
Spas-Ugol is located in the Taldomsky district, 135 km from the capital. You can get to Taldom by train from Savelovsky railway station or by shuttle bus No. 310, which departs from Savelovskaya metro station. From Taldom to the village of Spas-Ugol there is bus No. 27.
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