Solvychegodsk

Solvychegodsk is one of the smallest cities in the modern Russia. On the ferry, crossing slowly the River Vychegda it would be hardly visible, unless the grandiose stone cathedrals, the witnesses of the once great Stroganoff dynasty. Trade success on both sides of the Ural Mountains and in Europe, exploratory expeditions to Siberia, tremendous possessions in Perm the Great, on the Kama and Chusovoy, control over entire international trade on the White Sea, and even financing of the Russian tsars themselves — these are the pages of the history of Solvychegodsk.

photo: Nikolay Gernet

Usolye, Sol Vychegodskaya, Solvychegodsk, in any name of one of the oldest settlements in Russia, one can predict that the main occupation of its inhabitants was salt, its production and sale. A settlement near the Salt Lake appeared in the 14th century, and at the beginning of the 16th century, salt production on the Vychegda River were granted to the Stroganovs. The further history of the city is closely connected with this dynasty, the founder of the Usolsky branch of was Anika Stroganov.

In the XVI — XVII centuries, Salt Vychegodskaya became not only one of the main centers of salt production in the Russian North, but also the center of the Stroganovs business empire. It seems that all, without exception, natural resources of the northern region from the Kola to The Ob River were the asset of their business turnover and were traded in Moscow and abroad. Ivan the Terrible turned to the Stroganovs for the most valuable varieties of furs, Anika had to control the foreign merchants follow the rules of trade on the White Sea, and his sons bought captive foreigners in Moscow to appoint them as their clerks to trade with Europe. The Stroganovs managed the preparation of Yermak’s campaign to Siberia and even made plans to find ways to China.
At the end of the XVII century in Solvychegodsk a special mastery of painting was developed — Usolskaya enamel. Colorful strokes of poppies, tulips and mysterious plants were painted usually on white off background, seem to open their fantastic buds right in front of the viewer. The craftsmanship of the Usolyans had a significant impact on the development of enamel art in other territories, namely the Great Ustyug and Moscow enamel.

photo: Maria Chernykh

Usolskaya enamel developed, in its turn, under the influence of the famous Stroganov icon-painting school, distinguished by its subtle details, richness of ornament, shining with clear colors and landscape panoramas. The best masters of this school were icon painters of Moscow tsarist workshops, performing work for the temples of the Stroganov dynasty.

The Annunciation Cathedral — one of the oldest stone churches of the Russian North, was built at the end of the XVI century. This is the Stroganovs family church — with workshop frescoes, a luxurious iconostasis and ornate royal gates. Many icons for the church were painted by the icon painters of the Moscow Kremlin. The cathedral houses an exposition of the Solvychegodsky Museum of History and Art , where the works of Stroganov’s icon painting, pictorial embroidery, products from Solvychegodsk silver masters, the rarest examples of miniature bone, stone and wood craving are presented. The family tomb of the Stroganoffs is located near the cathedral.
The second monumental temple of Solvychegodsk is the Vvedensky Cathedral of the 17th century, the first and brightest species of the «Stroganov Baroque» with lush outdoor decor and tiles. The carved seven- tier iconostasis, amazing and innovative icons for its time, decorative elements from white stone were made by Moscow masters.

photo: Maria Chernykh

In addition to the cathedrals in Solvychegodsk, stone merchant houses of the late 18th — early 19th centuries have been preserved. Joseph Dzhugashvili-Stalin lived in exile in Solvychegodsk as well as Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin’s cousin — for sympathy with the Decembrists. In total , at the beginning of the 20th century, more than four hundred exiles lived in the city. Themed museum exposition tells us about this page of the history. In the twentieth century, a balneological resort was founded in Solvychegodsk. For the procedures, mineral water and silt mud of the Salt Lake are used.

The surroundings of Solvychegodsk were chosen by Alexei Tolstoy and the Zhemchuzhnikov brothers as the homeland for the author of satirical poems and aphorisms Kozma Prutkov — the famous literary mystification of the XIX century. Now in Solvychegodsk the annual festival of talents named after Kozma Prutkov

photo: Nikolay Gernet

Solvychegodsk is a small town with a rich past, a significant page in history, the whole story can not be complete without. Having lost its former significance, it still retains the memory of the majestic Stroganov era and remains one of the most interesting hot spots to visit in the Arkhangelsk region. As Kozma Prutkov used to say: «What is better? Compare the past and the present».

In October 2020, Solvychegodsk was included in the Russian Association of the most beautiful villages and towns. 

Photo in the upper block: Vladimir Arkhipov, Maria Chernykh, Alexey Shekhonin