Oleg Alekseevich is tired of the bustle of the capital. He moved to Yaroslavl. And there was no peace. I went with my wife to look for a place for a country residence. And then a dead end road led him to the village of Vyatskoe. He would have gone to the right, then another town would have been happy. Accident.
– There is a special atmosphere here, – says Oleg Alekseevich. – But the ruin spoiled it. You are traveling in Russia. We saw abandoned villages. Now I understand how stupid I was. He began to buy and repair houses, first in the neighborhood, then in the center. restore them. Open hotels, restaurants, museums. How much did I invest? I do not want to talk.
Now there are 15 museums in the town. Can you imagine how much it costs?
An article about Zharov appeared in Forbes, where the figure of a billion rubles was announced. But the post is old. And the restoration of Vyatka continues. So a billion behind. Every year a new museum opens here. Now there are 15. Can you imagine how much it costs? And they will bring income only in a few years. So it would be nice to go to zero.
… It all started with a forge. The local church father complained that there was no baptismal font. Zharov bought a wrecked forge and rebuilt it into a fountain with a chapel. He then he tried and began a large restructuring in Vyatka. It was 15 years ago.
Lyubov Kazarnovskaya meets us in the restaurant. More precisely, the holographic copy of her. It was filmed on special cameras in the studio. It’s simple-she lives next door. At least during the summer months. She has her own music room here, where world stars gather. She sings for the people. Where before there was a ravine with a garbage dump. Now here is the summer stage.
Vladimir Ivanovich is a refugee from Lugansk. He sews a red archer’s caftan and transports tourists in an electric pleasure car. He invited me to his phaeton for a tour of Vyatka. First of all, he brought the merchant Gorokhov to the store. Here I tried a real delicacy – Vyatka pickled cucumber.
“Vyatskoye is the birthplace of pickles,” Oleg Zharov told me later. – You do not believe me? I have patented this name.
The cucumber was amazing! Too bad I’m driving. Vladimir Ivanovich continues the excursion from him. Here’s an old fire truck with a fireman’s dummy on the tower. Now there are three museums. Opposite – three hotel buildings. Neither give nor receive reduced copies of the “European” from St. Petersburg. Before the revolution, up to 8 brick factories worked in Vyatka. And the workers went to the construction in St. Petersburg. That is why the houses here are made of stone and beautiful. A hand was missing to make them shine in their splendor.
At the stand “The best people in the city” we made a stop. Here and the legendary sniper Hero of the Soviet Union Aliya Moldagulova, and the poet Nikolai Nekrasov, and the famous sculptor Opekushin, and the Kastorsky bass.
But what struck me most was the fate of the first industrial climber in the Rus, Peter Telushkin. The hurricane broke the angel’s wing on the tower of the Peter and Paul Fortress. A peasant from Vyatka Telushkin undertook to arrange this miracle. With the help of ropes, he climbed up the tower and did everything. For this, the emperor gave him a special medal. It was worth showing it in a tavern in any corner of the Russian Empire, since it was immediately served free of charge. He somehow he lost it while he was drinking. He then asked for an appointment with the emperor again and told him of his misfortune. A way out was found – a special tattoo appeared on the right side of Telushkin’s neck. He now he lifted his beard with one hand and brushed at the tattoo with the other. Now you understand where the gesture “isn’t it time we drank?” The vodka killed him. He died at the age of 27.
One of the largest collections of vintage barrel organs, gramophones and organs is on display in Vyatsky. I turned the knob. And as if immersed in childhood. What is there! I just got excited. And in one display, he froze like he was rooted to the ground. The poster and the certificate of the laureate of the State Prize are kept here. Who do you think it was written for? To Oleg Alekseevich Zharov. And he received it from Putin for the creation of a cultural group of federal importance in the village of Vyatskoye. And he didn’t say a word. So Zharov was not a fool.
The owner appeared in the village. King and god of local importance. He employs 120 people. In fact, he feeds Vyatka, giving work. During the summer, he takes on high school students as tour guides, waiters, and handymen. And of course, the town continues to be built.
Only one family is against Zharov’s commitments. They don’t want to sell his property. Or rather, they want, but they put impossible conditions: in addition to money, there are five apartments in Yaroslavl. So the wreck stands among the restored mansions like a rotten tooth in a star’s smile.
– The devastation is in the heads, not in the closets, as the classic wrote. And the village is developing in this regard. I went through the children. When they see astronauts, artists, singers and other celebrities on the street, and then come home, where the folder is drunk, they begin to re-educate their parents. Ashamed! Now you will not see a single cigarette butt on the street (it’s true. – Yu.S.). And the women before going to the store put on their best and even paint their lips. I could not have imagined this 15 years ago. And there are no drunks at all.
– Why do you need all this? I spent so much money. I could live happily ever after in the Emirates or on the Cote d’Azur.
– I was looking for peace. Silence.
– What kind of silence is there? Tourist on tourist. They go and look through the windows. Taking pictures.
– Silence this inmate. I know that everything in Vyatka works. That the workers did not get drunk, that the streets were clean and everything in order. And somehow calmer.
Of course, you can buy a yacht and sail the oceans. Go to expensive restaurants and drive a Maybach. Or you can buy a town and turn it into a fairy tale. Invest in our people, who are not lazy at all and have not yet drunk their conscience. And show everyone your love for Russia. I don’t like the word “patriotism”. But that’s just him.
