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The owner of Priyutino, Aleksei Olenin,
belonged to the Russian cultural elite. He was an archeologist,
artist and comprehensive connoisseur and collector of antique
and Russian art. His official positions of the director of
the Public Library and president of the Academy of Arts tell
much about him. Famous poets, writers, artists centred around
his home in Priyutino. It is creativity and inspiration, hearty
spirit of the place, intellectual pastime of like-minded people
that attracted people being the pride of Russian culture to
"the Olenin's circle". Aleksandr Pushkin and Aleksandr
Griboedov, Ivan Krylov and Vassily Zhukovsky, Petr Vyazemsky
and Adam Mitskevich, Mikhail Glinka, Orest Kiprensky, Karl
Bryullov and many others were frequent visitors at the Olenins'
estate.
A close friend of the family, Konstantin
Batyushkov - a lyrical poet whose verse simplicity and music
paved the way for Pushkin's poetry, pictured Priyutino as
an "asylum for sincere hearts" open for dear guests.
Another renowned poet and fables writer,
Ivan Krylov, has been visiting the place for 30 years. The
hospitable home has become the birthplace of his many fables.
Nikolai Gnedich, another prominent writer,
literary critic and publicist of the early 19th century, wrote
one of his best poems - "Fishermen" - in Priyutino.
Here he also worked on translation of "The Iliad"
of Homer into Russian that has become his mayor input in home
literature. In his poem "Priyutino" Gnedich values
the place where he "…was seeking for the peace amid the
storms of life".
Several Decembrists (participants of the
nobility plot to establish a constitutional monarchy and abolish
serfdom)- S.Volkonsky, S.Muraviev-Apostol, S.Trubetskoy and
N.Muraviev were among the visitors of the house, sharing opinions
of "the Olenin's circle".
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The interiors of the estate manor reproduce
typical rooms of a country house of those days: a study, a
drawing-room, a dining-room, a bedroom etc. The exhibit also
includes portraits and paintings, books and autographs, documents
and memorabilia reviving life of the owners and guests of
the estate.
Works of the best artists of the early 19th
century: Karl Bryullov, Aleksandr Bryullov, Orest Kiprensky,
Aleksandr Orlovsky, Fyodor Tolstoy - are placed on the walls,
some of the pictures being inspired by cosy nooks of the estate.
Besides literature and fine art, theatre
was another sphere of interest of the family. Known playwrights
(Katenin, Shakhovskoy, Ozerov) and actors (Semenova, Yakovlev,
Sosnitsky) were invited to visit the house and discuss the
novelties of the stage. The home theatre was a place to dramatize
both comedies and dramas when famous people of art joined
the Olenins for home performances.
Children of Aleksei and Elizabeth Olenins
were also prominent people. Their son Pyotr became an artist;
a portrait of him painted by Karl Bryullov, the author of
"The last day of Pompeii", is displayed in his room.
Their younger daughter Anna has nearly become the wife of
Aleksandr Pushkin. The famous poet was heartily supported
by "the Olenin's circle" when he entered the literary
scene of St.Petersburg and one of his first poems - "Ruslan
and Lyudmila"- was published by Nikolai Gnedich to a
graphic design by Aleksei Olenin. When Pushkin came to Priyutino
in 1828 after the long exile, he fell in love with Anna. Several
melodious poems were dedicated to her, the famous "I
loved you…" being among them.
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The park in Priyutino is no less attractive
than the manor. The same old oaks still grow in the section
of the park preserved since the 19th
century, and the stone erected by Aleksei Olenin on the spot
where a young oak had been planted by his son Nikolai
and withered after his death in the war with Napoleon is still
on its place. Every year people come here to commemorate heroes
of the war of 1812.
The dairy designed as a Roman pantheon with
a 4-columned portico and smithy on a pond bank are already
restored. Greenhouses and a guest outhouse are under reconstruction.
On the works done, the estate will acquire
original look and visitors will taste charm of Priyutino in
full.
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