The bell tower on Cathedral Square
Greetings, friends.
Today, I suggest we take a short walk through the center of my city. This year, the city of Slobodskoy celebrated its 520th birthday. But local historians and archaeologists claim that there are artifacts proving that a settlement existed on this site as early as the mid-14th century. But I won't delve into such depths and claim that this is how it was. But I want to say that I have always been interested in ancient history.
So, friends. This morning, I had about 40 minutes to wait for a meeting to deliver a package. I decided that the weather was favorable for a walk and decided that the best option would be a walk through the city center.
I have already told you the story of the construction of this bell tower. It was erected in 1823 in honor of the tenth anniversary of the victory over Napoleon. Initially, it was designed as a triumphal arch, but later the upper tiers and spire were added, and a locally made clock was installed, which still works today and announces the hour to the townspeople with its chimes.
Until 1917, there were two churches on Cathedral Square, but during the Soviet era, religion was rejected in the country, and churches were destroyed or used for other purposes. For example, until recently, the church that remained on the square housed a local history museum. About 10 years ago, the museum moved out of the church, the building became the property of the Russian Orthodox Church, and now it looks shabby. Why? The question is both simple and complex. The leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church does not allocate funds for the repair of the building, believing that it should be restored with donations from church visitors.
Catherine Church
Nearby, about 150-200 meters behind the bell tower, there is another church. This church continued to operate in the city even during Soviet rule. Two years ago, it was decided to replace its domes. Previously, they were multicolored, but now they are gold. According to the townspeople, the church has lost its appearance due to the standard gilded domes.
The longest street in the city, Sovetskaya Street, runs alongside the square.
There used to be shopping arcades near Cathedral Square, but now there are just various shops and shopping centers.
Lenin Street ran parallel to this street. It is surprising that it was not the other way around. Lenin Street has usually been the main street of any populated city since the Soviet era. Incidentally, there is no Lenin Street in Moscow because Tverskaya Street has historically been the main street.
Five years ago, Lenin Street in our city was renamed Rozhdestvenskaya Street. Older people, who were raised during the Soviet era, and even young people protested against this renaming, but now the passions have subsided.
By the way, there are three statues of Lenin on Soviet Street alone in our city. In fact, I have seen five Lenins in our city. That is clearly too many. Apparently, during the Soviet era, local officials tried very hard to please their superiors and therefore built so many monuments to Lenin. For example, in Kirov, there is only one monument on Theater Square.
This Lenin statue has had its arm torn off several times, but the city administration repairs it. Although Soviet power died in the country in 1991, all officials still work with an eye to the Soviet past.
Guides usually tell tourists that this wooden church was built without nails. It was even taken to Paris for an exhibition in the 1970s.
But this legend about the absence of nails in the church is fake, a hoax.
Before the October Revolution of 1917, the city was considered a merchant town. It was home to many businesspeople and entrepreneurs, with industries such as leather and fur processing, woodworking, metal manufacturing, and shoe production. The city was thriving.
The city is associated with the name of Xenophon Anfilatov, the son of a peasant who became a wealthy merchant and rose to the level of a statesman. He organized the first Russian trade expedition to the United States. In 1810, Anfilatov opened Russia's first public bank in this building, which issued loans to merchants, townspeople, and artisans to develop their businesses.
I almost forgot about the Nikolaev Church. Ten years ago, this building housed a children's sports school. Acrobats honed their skills here. But the building was also transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church, and now this church is being restored. The problems are common to all provincial churches—there is no financial opportunity to quickly carry out repairs. The building did not have domes; they were installed a couple of years ago and, of course, made of gold.
The church is located on the corner of Sovetskaya and Nikolskaya Streets. The street is named after the church.
I went down this street to the Convent of the Nativity of Christ, which is located on the former Lenin Street, now called Rozhdestvenskaya Street, in honor of the church located in the convent.
The eastern corner tower and bell tower, which is currently used as an observation point for the fire department. The bell tower was restored five years ago, and a dome was installed on it.
The Christmas Church, which is the main entrance to the monastery grounds. Three years ago, I wanted to walk around the monastery courtyard, but a nun very angrily sent me outside.
Last summer, I was driving home from the regional center and picked up a wandering monk on the way. He was walking from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok across the whole country. We talked about his plans for the night. He replied that he was going to spend the night at this monastery. On his previous similar trips, he also stayed overnight at the monastery. But he said that the abbess of the monastery was very angry and did not like strangers. I thought that I had probably seen her.
Until 2015, there was a military medical unit on the monastery grounds. To this day, some of the monastery buildings are home to ordinary townspeople and a militarized fire department.
This time, I decided not to enter the monastery grounds. I thought, maybe I should invite my wife and daughter to join me on this walk? Or my eldest granddaughter?
Poles and wires are the biggest pests when photographing cityscapes and buildings. They always ruin the whole picture.
A monument dedicated to the liquidators of the Chernobyl disaster. 284 names. These people died from an invisible enemy, from the carelessness of the Soviet management system, and from the fear of telling the truth about the disaster that had occurred. These people were taken from their families, from their jobs, and thrown into the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, which brought invisible death. There was no basic protection from the radiation that was quietly killing people. Some of the liquidators are still alive today. But they were not in the immediate vicinity of the nuclear power plant.
My childhood friend lived only five years after being in Chernobyl. He died of alcoholism; he couldn't communicate with women. Later, I talked to two other men who also drank a lot of vodka. One told me that the doctors had told him to drink alcohol while he still could, because there was no other cure for him.
Chernobyl is a terrible tragedy.
There are many old houses and buildings in our city. Many of them have not been repaired since Soviet times. In the early 1990s, this building housed a bank. One bank occupied the entire building. I even had the opportunity to work there and was involved in computerizing the process.
Now there is also a bank there, but it occupies about one-sixth of the building.
That's where my walk ended. I hope you, my friends, learned something interesting from this walk.
These walks are also beneficial for me. While writing the article, I search for additional historical materials, which allows me to learn more about the history of the city where I live.
Where is my city located? Slobodskoy is located on the banks of the Vyatka River, 35 km east of the regional center of Kirov. Kirov is located 950 km east of Moscow. Yes, this is Russia.
By the way, the location of the city can be seen by clicking on the link to the map in the comments to the article by 
Don’t Worry, Be Happy (C) Bobby McFerrin
Text & Photography by
With love
Good luck and have fun
