Merchant Tsarevokokshaisk
A unique atmosphere reigned in Tsarevokokshaisk in the 19th century - trade was booming here and the capital of local merchants and traders was growing. In this article we will take a walk through the cozy streets of the city associated with the names of those who developed trade in Tsarevokokshaisk.****
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Our journey begins in the very heart of the city - at the Tsarevokokshay Kremlin. Today it is the youngest Kremlin in Russia, built in 2009, but it was once home to the famous Market Square - the center of city trade and public life.****
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It was a place where the paths of merchants of different classes crossed. On Market Square one could find trading shops, bakeries, drinking establishments and other points of active trade. Bazaars were held twice a week - on Fridays and Sundays, attracting traders from all over the area. The goods on offer ranged from leather goods and groceries to dry goods and food supplies. The bazaar especially came to life on the eve of Christmas, Maslenitsa and Easter, turning into a noisy and crowded center of city life. However, in 1917, the square was renamed Revolution Square and became a venue for rallies and festive events. Today it houses the modern Tsarevokokshai Kremlin, where cultural and educational events, as well as exhibitions and excursions are held.****
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Let's continue our route along Voznesenskaya Street, where the houses of merchants are located, whose names are still associated with the history of the city. The first of them is the house of Trofim Chulkov, a famous timber merchant. Chulkov was born into a peasant family in the village of Savino and became rich in the timber industry. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he acquired a plot of land in Tsarevokokshaisk and built two houses on it - a wooden one with a mezzanine and a two-story stone one with an outbuilding. The project was carried out by Chulkov’s eldest son, Nikolai. By 1912, Trofim Chulkov was renting out his houses, and they became a temporary shelter for significant figures: police officer Joseph Kamensky and poet Alexander Kotomkin-Savinsky. After the revolution, the houses were nationalized, and the Chulkovs left the city. Now the buildings of the merchant estate house the Museum of the History of Yoshkar-Ola.****
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Further on Voznesenskaya Street you will see the mansion of Matryona Ivanovna Korepova, who, after the death of her husband, continued the family business and was successfully engaged in the trade of grocery, haberdashery and manufactured goods. The Korepova merchant mansion, which is more than 120 years old, has a rich history. The house originally consisted of two separate buildings, which Korepova combined in 1901, creating a spacious commercial and residential space. On the ground floor of the house there was a trading store, and on the second floor there was a postal and telegraph office. During Soviet times, various organizations were located here, including the city hospital and the Fund for the Protection of Architectural Monuments.****
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Moving to Sovetskaya Street (formerly Novo-Pokrovskaya), you will find yourself at the houses of merchants G.P. Naumov and V.F. Bulygina. Naumov's house, built at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, stands out for its architectural design: the first floor is made of stone with arched windows, and the second is wooden, decorated with carvings. The house served as both a living space and a trading store. During the revolution, it was nationalized and used for various needs, including housing the first Mari printing house.****
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Nearby is the majestic white stone mansion of V.F. Bulygin, built in 1835-1836 by merchant Mikhail Talantsev. After Talantsev's death, the house became the property of Bulygin, who gave it to his daughter Maria Vasilievna as a dowry. Before the revolution, the house housed apartments for forensic investigators and foresters, and on the ground floor there was a beer hall and a Rennes cellar. Later, the mansion housed various government organizations, including the NKVD and the fuel industry department. Until 2018, the building housed the Gulag Museum, in the basements of which cameras from the times of repression were preserved.****
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Completing our route, we return to Voznesenskaya Street, where the house of Ivan Andreevich Pchelin stands - one of the most mysterious places in the city. This unique architectural monument of the 18th century belonged to a merchant of the first guild, who became famous for his wealth and mysterious legends. According to stories, Pchelin could have been a warlock, robber or sorcerer, which adds to the mystery of his story. After his death, the house passed to the Tsarevokokshay zemstvo and was used as one of the first schools in the Mari region. Legends about ghosts, underground passages and hidden treasures still envelop this house, making it one of the most mystical places in Yoshkar-Ola.****
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Our journey begins in the very heart of the city - at the Tsarevokokshay Kremlin. Today it is the youngest Kremlin in Russia, built in 2009, but it was once home to the famous Market Square - the center of city trade and public life.****
****
It was a place where the paths of merchants of different classes crossed. On Market Square one could find trading shops, bakeries, drinking establishments and other points of active trade. Bazaars were held twice a week - on Fridays and Sundays, attracting traders from all over the area. The goods on offer ranged from leather goods and groceries to dry goods and food supplies. The bazaar especially came to life on the eve of Christmas, Maslenitsa and Easter, turning into a noisy and crowded center of city life. However, in 1917, the square was renamed Revolution Square and became a venue for rallies and festive events. Today it houses the modern Tsarevokokshai Kremlin, where cultural and educational events, as well as exhibitions and excursions are held.****
****
Let's continue our route along Voznesenskaya Street, where the houses of merchants are located, whose names are still associated with the history of the city. The first of them is the house of Trofim Chulkov, a famous timber merchant. Chulkov was born into a peasant family in the village of Savino and became rich in the timber industry. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he acquired a plot of land in Tsarevokokshaisk and built two houses on it - a wooden one with a mezzanine and a two-story stone one with an outbuilding. The project was carried out by Chulkov’s eldest son, Nikolai. By 1912, Trofim Chulkov was renting out his houses, and they became a temporary shelter for significant figures: police officer Joseph Kamensky and poet Alexander Kotomkin-Savinsky. After the revolution, the houses were nationalized, and the Chulkovs left the city. Now the buildings of the merchant estate house the Museum of the History of Yoshkar-Ola.****
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Further on Voznesenskaya Street you will see the mansion of Matryona Ivanovna Korepova, who, after the death of her husband, continued the family business and was successfully engaged in the trade of grocery, haberdashery and manufactured goods. The Korepova merchant mansion, which is more than 120 years old, has a rich history. The house originally consisted of two separate buildings, which Korepova combined in 1901, creating a spacious commercial and residential space. On the ground floor of the house there was a trading store, and on the second floor there was a postal and telegraph office. During Soviet times, various organizations were located here, including the city hospital and the Fund for the Protection of Architectural Monuments.****
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Moving to Sovetskaya Street (formerly Novo-Pokrovskaya), you will find yourself at the houses of merchants G.P. Naumov and V.F. Bulygina. Naumov's house, built at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, stands out for its architectural design: the first floor is made of stone with arched windows, and the second is wooden, decorated with carvings. The house served as both a living space and a trading store. During the revolution, it was nationalized and used for various needs, including housing the first Mari printing house.****
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Nearby is the majestic white stone mansion of V.F. Bulygin, built in 1835-1836 by merchant Mikhail Talantsev. After Talantsev's death, the house became the property of Bulygin, who gave it to his daughter Maria Vasilievna as a dowry. Before the revolution, the house housed apartments for forensic investigators and foresters, and on the ground floor there was a beer hall and a Rennes cellar. Later, the mansion housed various government organizations, including the NKVD and the fuel industry department. Until 2018, the building housed the Gulag Museum, in the basements of which cameras from the times of repression were preserved.****
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Completing our route, we return to Voznesenskaya Street, where the house of Ivan Andreevich Pchelin stands - one of the most mysterious places in the city. This unique architectural monument of the 18th century belonged to a merchant of the first guild, who became famous for his wealth and mysterious legends. According to stories, Pchelin could have been a warlock, robber or sorcerer, which adds to the mystery of his story. After his death, the house passed to the Tsarevokokshay zemstvo and was used as one of the first schools in the Mari region. Legends about ghosts, underground passages and hidden treasures still envelop this house, making it one of the most mystical places in Yoshkar-Ola.****