Olga Voronicheva, deputy director on restoration in the Kirillo-Belozersky Museum-Reserve, told about it and many other things in the interview to the district newspaper “Novaya Zhizn”.
Only lazy or newly-born persons don’t probably know the history of our monastery. Each of us connects his or her life with it anyhow: somebody goes to the church; the others visit it to admire the exhibits and to get to the world of history or just to enjoy the change of epochs. Residents of Kirillov have certainly noticed that the buildings of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery are in scaffolding now and work is in full swing all day long. The Kazan Tower is being restored at present.
- Olga Valentinovna, when did the restoration of this object start and why was it chosen for restoration?
- Work is being constantly carried out on the museum grounds. A lot has been restored over the last years: the Assumption Cathedral with the side-churches, the façades of the Bell-Tower and the central alley, the roof of the House of the Father Superior. Last year it was decided to restore the Kazan Tower – it is the main front entrance and an icon of the monastery. 228000 people visited our museum last year. Besides, a guard post was located there. Policemen were on duty around the clock. And there was a danger that structures would collapse. The brick walls-partitions on the ground floor of the tower and the vaults were ruining. The ends of the original bond timber in the upper tiers decayed, now they are being restored. All wooden rood boarding under the copper roofing completely rotted because it had been initially made of reused material. Now the tower is closed for visitors. They can go to the monastery through the Trinity Gate.
- It is clear that such large-scale work is very expensive. Who is financing it?
- Money is not given from air. We constantly work on this issue with my colleagues: make up drafts of restoration, prepare applications, and join various federal programs every year. The staff of the Restoration Department in the museum is small, but irreplaceable. I want to express sincere gratitude to Marina Smirnova and Denis Shashmurin for their longstanding work. They are real professionals, patriots of their job and reliable people. Besides, we have a new employee now – the architect Yulia Vinogradova.
Competitive tenders for restoration of the monuments were held by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation within the framework of the federal special-purpose program “Culture of Russia”. LLC “Rastr” won them. This restoration company from Moscow has a corresponding license for the activity aimed at the preservation of monuments. A part of the work is being carried out by LLC “Electra” (Cherepovets) and LLC “BISS-STROYSERVICE” (Yaroslavl) as subcontractors. They also have necessary licenses and specialists who have been trained to restore architectural monuments.
- Olga Valentinovna, it is great that specialists are doing it. I would like to ask you about the present stage of restoration work?
- Last year, according to the application of the museum, the Ministry of Culture allocated money for restoration of the following objects: the Kazan Tower, the Church of Transfiguration, the walls of the New Town from the Belozersk Tower to the Kosaya Tower, and the so-called area of the Prison yard.
At present they have already laid the foundation for the walls in the passage of the Kazan Tower. They are restoring the brickwork of the walls and vaults and loopholes. Besides, all modern utility systems are being installed in the guard rooms. Wooden scaffolding was erected inside the tower to restore inner wooden structures. They have temporary dismantled subfloors and marked all elements. Now the rotten parts of the ends of wooden beams are being replaced with new ones. The scaffolding was also put up around the tower to restore its roof and façades. It is planned to complete the main work on the ground floor by the beginning of the tourist season and to open the passage for visitors of the museum. By the way, people will have a chance to visit the Kazan Tower after the restoration.
- It will be really interesting! But one element of the Kazan Tower is missing… Where is the angel?
- The famous weather vane in the form of an angel was dismantled. It is to show the wind direction, but it has stopped to fulfill its direct function over the last time. The angel will be returned to the same place after restoration of its mechanism.
- And how do matters stand with the Church of Transfiguration?
- The church was in the critical conditions before the beginning of work because of the flooding with the water of Lake Siverskoye. The design documentation for it was made in 2008, but we have managed to get financing only now. First specialists have carried out anti-damage and conservation work. They have opened the floors in the church, cleaned the vaults, plastered cracks, and installed additional metal ties. Besides, earth has been excavated and the drainage layer has been made on the ground floor of the church. The roof covering over the refectory and the stone stairs has been replaced and the façades have been cleared. All work planned for 2015 is to be completed in August.
- Olga Valentinovna, what else can you report to our readers? Is there any other museum news? What is about development of infrastructure?
- It is planned to open a cultural and educational centre with exhibition halls and a hotel on the museum grounds, in the so-called Prison yard. Now the Ministry of Culture has allocated money for the first stage of work. I should say that the situation at this section is also rather difficult. The vaults are ruining along the whole second tier of the walls. They were supported with wooden poles in the 1970s; they are still used today. At present the specialists have partly laid the foundations and installed ties. In future, they intend to restore the roof, the fronts, the cells on the ground floor and to carry out anti-damage work on the second and third tiers of the 17th-century fortifications. It is planned to complete this stage in September 2015. There are also plans to restore the other towers, to place a café in the Kosaya Tower, to arrange a convenient parking lot for buses, but it is a long-term prospect.
- But it is not all, is it?
- At present the Government of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Culture of the RF pay great attention to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. The next priority goal is restoration of the walls and towers of the 16th century located along the shore of Lake Siverskoye. Elaboration and coordination of the scientific and design documentation necessary for it will be completed in March. It is planned to begin work on this project this year depending on financing. Besides, it is also intended to continue beautifying the monastery area and restoring the frescoes in the Assumption Cathedral.
- Olga Valentinovna, thank you very much for detailed answers to our questions. We will hope that all plans will be implemented.
Maria Khaustova.
Public and political newspaper of the Kirillov district “Novaya Zhizn” (¹ 12 of February 14, 2015)
