We continue the project in which we talk about the cities and villages of the Samara region. We talk in great detail - about history and buildings, significant events and how people live.
The task is not easy, and therefore in every city we find assistants - local residents who know a lot and are ready to guide DG journalists to the most significant places. Each time the partner of the trip is the MTS company, which supplies us with communications and gadgets. We test the speed of MTS mobile Internet in the places we visit and share the results.
We want to show you cities through the eyes of very picky tourists who ask a lot of questions, poke their noses into everything, and who care about where to eat, stay, and what to do with themselves besides wandering the streets.
The first story was about Syzran, and today in the issue - Chapaevsk.
general information
You can hear various unpleasant things about Chapaevsk, including that it is a city of death. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, local factories have been producing chemical warfare agents, and this has a detrimental effect on the city’s ecology and human health.
In 2013, Chapaevsk became famous because shells detonated near it, in the village of Nagorny, at an ammunition test site. The explosions thundered for more than a day, 6.5 thousand people were evacuated from the village. More than 50 people were injured.
According to a recent RBC study, Chapaevsk is the leader in population decline in the Volga Federal District among cities with 50 to 100 thousand people - by 2015 the city's population decreased by 26,1%.
The population of Chapaevsk is 72,000 people, the distance from Samara is 43 kilometers.
Sights of Chapaevsk
Chapaevsk is a relatively young city: it received this status less than 100 years ago. Despite this, there are a number of attractions here that you should pay attention to:
- Temple in the name of St. Sergius of Radonezh.
- Monument to Ivashchenko V.P. - the person who founded this settlement.
- Monument to Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev , in whose honor the city is named today.
- The monumental ensemble “Eternal Flame” and a monument to fellow countrymen.
Museum and history
The history of the city began with the construction of the Sergievsky Explosives Plant in 1909. The construction was headed by Major General Vladimir Ivashchenko , after whose name the village built right there was named. In 1927 the city was renamed Trotsk , and in 1929 - already Chapaevsk .
It is better to start getting acquainted with Chapaevsk from the local history museum in the Palace of Culture named after. Gorky - Ordzhonikidze street, 18 . This is not the city center, but since Chapaevsk is small, the distance does not matter much.
Our guides around Chapaevsk were Marina Golubeva and Olga Mityaeva , employees of this museum. Initially, the museum was a factory museum, and the entire exhibition dealt with the history of the chemical fertilizer plant . In the 90s, when the plant slowed down, the museum was converted into a city one, but the corner with the history of the plant was left: after all, Chapaevsk and its factories are a single whole.
Today the museum has an exhibition about the history of the city, a separate corner from the Great Patriotic War with front-line letters from Soviet and German soldiers, an exhibition with household items from the 90s, various old figurines, and items of clothing. There are also paintings by Chapaev artists.
Marina Golubeva , leading us to the “factory stand”, says that in total there were 4 defense factories operating in Chapaevsk. Today, 3 of them are functioning, but not at full capacity.
Since the Palace of Culture named after. Gorky has never been renovated, the museum has its own charm and the smell of antiquity. There is stucco on the high ceiling, wooden floors, dim lighting.
We recommend asking permission from a strict woman guard and walking through the halls of the palace - wide staircases, columns on the ground floor, shabby chairs in the concert hall and a large crystal chandelier under the ceiling - all this creates the mood and helps you tune in to the “Chapaev wave”. Entrance to the museum is free.
Economy and industry of Chapaevsk
Chapaevsk is an industrial center, the main strength of which lies in four large enterprises of the defense complex and the chemical industry. We can mention such enterprises as JSC Promsintez - production of explosives; FPK "Chapaevsky Mechanical Plant" - production of initiation and explosion means for the mining and oil industries; LLC "Promperforator" - production of shaped charges for industries related to oil and gas production.
Among the total number of enterprises operating in Chapaevsk, the following areas are represented in the largest number: manufacturing; construction; trade; real estate; provision of utility, social and personal services.
The recreational resource of Chapaevsk is reduced to a minimum, since the environmental situation in the city leaves much to be desired.
Where to go, what to see
The area near the Gorky Palace today looks deplorable: of the many interesting sculptures, only one has survived - an elephant with a baby elephant, and only half of it: the elephant has no trunk, and the baby elephant has no head. To the right of the entrance is a rusty children's slide - all that remains of the amusement complex.
Olga Mityaeva says that there were also monuments to Chapaev and Marx and Engels here - they were resettled in different streets.
Despite the distance from the city center, there is a fairly vigorous MTS mobile Internet in 3G - 5 Mbit/s. You can easily write a post on FB about how sorry you are for broken elephants and add a photo.
Opposite the cultural center, across the road, you can look at the famous communal house - the first high-rise building in the residential area of Chapaevsk. It was built in the late 20s in the constructivist style and was unique for the area. (Communal houses are a form of housing, the main idea of which is to accustom people to collectivism, to free them from the burdens of domestic work, family ties and other vanity). The house had central heating, a kitchen, laundry rooms, and toilets. The first floor housed a nursery-kindergarten, and the third floor housed playrooms for children of different ages. There, under the supervision of a teacher, the children read books and listened to radio broadcasts.
The building also housed a post and telegraph office, a savings bank and a tailoring and clothing repair shop. There was a grocery store in the basement of the extension.
For a long time, this architectural monument was abandoned, and recently the communal house was reconstructed, slightly changing its appearance. Thus, a slope appeared from the roof and the once visible inscription “Workers of all countries, unite” disappeared. The remains of the “House-Commune” inscription were also covered over.
Olga says that, to the delight of tourists, all the main attractions of the city are located in its historical part - in the area of Kuibysheva Street. From the communal house to the center it takes five minutes by car. You will walk for about 15 minutes.
While we are driving, the same type of low-rise buildings flash outside the window, the eye catches absolutely nothing. Our guide says that today Chapaevsk is cleaner (thanks to the new mayor), but there are few jobs in the city. Factories are working at half capacity and, despite the fact that a new plant has opened where they produce harnesses for cars and a plant for the production of building mixtures is about to open, many have to earn their bread and butter in neighboring Novokuibyshevsk and Samara. In the morning by train from the city, in the dark - to the city. So the residents of Chapaevsk have little reason to be happy.
To start your walk through the historical center, you can get off at the Luch stadium. In winter, the skating rink is filled here, and therefore life is in full swing, but today the deserted stands are sprinkled with fresh snow and there is not a single living soul. Since there is strong 4G here, you can fool around in a deserted stadium on camera and know that every second of your unbridled fun will be seen on the Internet, but the residents of the city will definitely not notice.
If you leave the stadium and walk through the Chapaev recreation park , you may come across a snow-covered swing-carousel. We wanted to pass by, but a grandmother in a woolen scarf emerged from the guard booth and said that, in fact, she was here for a reason. Actually, the carousel swing works. We were surprised and asked what she would advise us to try. “The panic room,” the grandmother smiled slyly and added: “60 rubles.”
We decided that visiting Chapaevsk and not looking into the fear room would be wrong. They paid in hard-earned money and climbed into the dark trailer. “You’ll go ahead when I turn everything on,” said the grandmother and disappeared. A second later, my ears were paralyzed by howling and grinding, so strong that my consciousness died away. Stunned, we made our way in pitch darkness along the narrow corridors of the trailer, in the walls of which someone’s muzzles and inscriptions flashed every now and then: “You are a corpse,” “Fear is in your eyes,” and other pleasant things.
It was all over quickly – it seemed like in a minute. We fell out of the trailer, a smiling grandmother was already standing next to us. "More?"
We didn't want it yet. But the day of the old lady, who shared that in winter almost no one rides on carousels (who would have thought!), was not lived in vain.
If you go a little further forward, to the Eternal Flame , you can stumble upon a monument to Chapaev . Very curious - firstly, in fact this is not a monument, but a garden sculpture. And secondly, the plaster Chapaev stands with his arms akimbo, as if about to start dancing. You just want to take a selfie next to him. The photo will appear on Instagram in less than a second - the mobile Internet speed here is quite sufficient: about 46 Mbit/s in 4G and 4 Mbit/s in 3G.
Olga says that at first there should have been another monument in Chapaevsk. The same one that today decorates the square of the same name in Samara near the drama theater. The Samara authorities decided that he was too chic for Chapaevsk, and took him for themselves. After this, the residents asked to make them another monument to the commander of the Red Army, a simpler one, so that no one else would covet it.
“The monument was made by sculptor Vasily Akimov ,” says Olga Mityaeva. — Alexander Chapaev, the son of Vasily Chapaev, posed for him. Since the monument was created during the Great Patriotic War, there was a shortage of copper and bronze. And the monument was made of plaster, covered with adhesive and durable paint. Chapaev was identified in 1949. But things didn’t work out with him either.
According to Olga, before installing the monument, it was necessary to write a petition to Moscow. The authorities of Chapaevsk bypassed this procedure. And when Moscow learned that a monument had been erected in Chapaevsk without their knowledge, the country’s ideologist Mikhail Suslov became furious and ordered Chapaev to be demolished. A commission from Moscow came to the city to supervise the demolition. But one of the leaders of the city party committee received the Moscow delegation so well that it changed its anger to mercy - it allowed Chapaev to remain, only to rename him a landscape sculpture.
A huge number of people gathered for the opening of the monument. Someone from the crowd shouted: “What a bandit face!” They say it was Alexander Chapaev himself - maybe a story, maybe not.
Across the road from the monument there is another palace. Guess whose name? Yes, of course, Chapaeva. Unlike the palace. Gorky, Chapaev's palace was recently restored. Since it is also located in the city center, the cultural life of Chapaevsk is concentrated there.
The palace was started to be built by the architect Dmitry Verner as the People's House.
From DK im. Chapaev you can easily walk to Kuibyshev Street and look at the bust of the city founder Vladimir Ivashchenko , installed next to the Schoolchildren's House. But what’s interesting about this place is not so much the bust as the two houses opposite.
Two one-story buildings built in 1909 are the same age as the city. They were built as houses with two apartments for officers and at that time were considered very modern. They had sewerage and electric lighting from the factory power plant. For each family there is a dining room, a living room, a kitchen, and an office. Each house had a vegetable garden and sheds for storing supplies. A green fence surrounded the house, and Canadian poplars grew nearby.
From the newspaper “Voice of Samara”, September 1911:
“Rows of alleys, straight highway streets and paths, porches and balconies of houses pleasantly caressed the eye... As if at the behest of a pike, this comfortable city with water supply, sewerage and electric lighting, straight beautiful streets with two rows planted on each side grew out of the ground already quite large poplars..."
Overall, it was a beautiful place. But today the houses are occupied and look shabby.
Despite the fact that there is talk that the local history museum will be moved here, you can easily go inside. This means there is a high probability (pah-pah) of a fire. We looked into one of the houses in the hope of admiring the interiors, but they were not preserved - the usual Khrushchev renovations remained from the residents.
By the way, MTS mobile Internet works very well here - 45 Mbit/s in 4G and 8 Mbit/s 3G - you can, wandering through the deserted halls of an abandoned house, conduct a video report online.
If you drive along Kuibysheva through Lenin Street , you can get to Proizvodstvennaya Street . Here are the building of the former Military Assembly and the ruins of the house of that same General Ivashchenko .
“They also wanted to move the museum to this house,” says Olga. — The commission considered that the house should be demolished, but the city authorities preserved it. So it stands, half collapsed.
According to our guide, a tragedy occurred in Ivashchenko’s house - his son committed suicide out of unrequited love. There are no hot details, we only know that the object of his desire was a married lady and did not want to change anything in her life. Here he is...
But the building of the Military Assembly was more fortunate. Today, the plant management of Promsintez OJSC and Sberbank ATMs are located here. Both the house and the grounds are well-groomed, the fluffy Christmas trees are pleasing to the eye.
The building was built as one of the first facilities in the plant's economic area. The first floor was occupied by the factory office, the economic committee, and the mechanical and architect's drawing rooms. The military assembly, which at that time was the center of the social and cultural life of the village, occupied the entire second floor. Actually, behind this house the factory territory begins, this is where Chapaevsk came from.
When there are already a lot of impressions, it makes sense to complete yourself by contemplating the most important and most beautiful Chapaevsk attraction - the Temple of St. Sergius of Radonezh . First of all, the temple is simply very beautiful. Secondly, he has a difficult fate and an interesting history.
“Here he is, our handsome man,” says Olga when we reach the intersection of Lenin and Pionerskaya streets and the temple rises ten meters from us.
Handsome, yes. There is no other way to say it.
The temple was built by the same architect Werner. The building has an unusual architectural compositional form and elegant decorative treatment of the facades - for decoration, Werner used a large amount of decorative facing material, natural stone and colored glazed ceramic tiles. Along the entire perimeter of the wall there are mosaic panels on biblical themes. There is no such amount of decor with so many panels in the Samara region on any building, and therefore the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh is unique. And it’s very useful that the MTS mobile Internet speed next to it is good: 6 Mbit/s in 3G and 40 Mbit/s in 4G. Here you want to photograph every tile, every meter of wall decorated with mosaics. And brag on the Internet.
Built in 1918, the temple existed until 1929. And then global changes began - it was converted into the House of Defense . Since the city was home to defense industry enterprises, it seemed logical to many that this beautiful building would belong to the military. Defensive bunkers appeared around the temple, anti-aircraft guns were installed on the belfry, and shells for them were stored in the basement.
During the Great Patriotic War, soldiers were on duty around the clock on the roof of the House of Defense, ready at any moment to repel attacks by enemy aircraft. And then the war ended, and the Defense House ceased to be needed. The temple acquired a new status - the Palace of Pioneers . A red star appeared on the surviving spire, and sculptures of pioneers were installed on the turrets instead of domes.
There were many children’s clubs in the building: radio engineering, dance, photography, drama, vocal, guitar clubs... There weren’t enough rooms for all the clubs, and therefore another building was given to the needs of the children, and they finally decided to use the building of the former church for its intended purpose.
Three appearances of the temple in different years:
Temple of St. Sergius of Radonezh, 1919
House of Defense, 30s
Palace of Pioneers, late 50-60s
By this time, little remained of the beauty of the temple - there were no domes, the mosaics and tiles were covered with a thick layer of lime.
Restoration work of the temple has been going on for more than 10 years, which requires a colossal amount of money, and it will not end - there is no money all the time. But today you can walk around the building in circles with your mouth agape - everything that has been brought back to life is so impressive.
Here, in fact, are all the main attractions of Chapaevsk.
What else to see
exhibition in Chapaevsk (to the right of the temple) . Inside on the second floor there are reproductions of paintings by famous artists. The Roerich Hall, the hall with Italian artists of the 15th-16th centuries, the halls of Aivazovsky, Nesterov and many others.
The guide Elena Butyrtseva , is a pleasant, talkative woman. He happily takes us around the halls and tells us how visitors are always surprised that in such a small city “we have a corner of culture where you can admire such amazing paintings.”
There is also a room with minerals - very beautiful, collected both locally and brought from different parts of the country. There is also petrified wood here, which is many thousands of years old. It is customary for locals to touch it and make a wish.
By the way, about desire. The guide tells a story related to a reproduction of Raphael’s painting “The Betrothal of the Virgin Mary.”
“All our newlyweds and lovers come to this painting, which depicts a widower putting a ring on the Virgin Mary. It all started with one couple - the newlyweds came and took pictures near the painting. And a year and a half later they returned to us with a bouquet of flowers and asked to paint again. I was curious, why this particular one? I asked. It turned out that when they arrived after the wedding, they asked the Virgin Mary to fulfill their wish - to help conceive twins, a girl and a boy. And they had twins, a girl and a boy - they came with them, I saw it myself. That's it, from then on the pilgrimage to the painting began.
So if you want twins, go to Rus. Entry to the exhibition hall is free for everyone. Opening hours: from 10 to 16 hours on weekdays . You can't come here on weekends - it's closed.
You can also walk to the nice new building of the School of Art . This is one of the few buildings in the city that doesn’t hurt to look at. Otherwise, Chapaevsk is quite dull, monotonous and sometimes even creepy. Apart from the historical center, there is probably nowhere else to go.
Just for fun, you can take a walk to the Chapaevka River (formerly called Mocha), which flows through the city. For decades, waste from city enterprises was poured into it, and therefore environmentalists recognized the river as the most poisoned reservoir in the Samara region. The content of phenol, organochlorine pesticides and dioxins in Chapaevka water is many times higher than permissible sanitary standards. Local fishermen say that they often caught mutant fish in Chapaevka - eyeless and tailless. However, we will not write about what the ecology of Chapaevsk is like. But if you are interested and want horror stories, take a look at this article. There is a lot of interesting information there, including what measures the city authorities took to save it from an environmental disaster.
Walking around Chapaevsk, we were surprised that there were no cats visible on the streets. Those who had read this very article, which is in the link, decided that animals could not survive here, until they accidentally came across a grandmother with about 15 cats sitting next to her. The grandmother poured water from a can into the cats' bowls and laid out food - dry food and fish, cooked, it seemed, with porridge. The cats ate gratefully, occasionally raising their heads from the ground and looking around to see if anyone was coming to take them away.
We couldn’t resist and approached this strange company.
“I’ve been feeding them twice a day for 14 years,” granny surprised. – I leave the house at the same time, they already know - they flock from all over the area. I spend a lot of money on them; I’m already spending funeral expenses. My relatives don’t help me with money so that I don’t spend it on cats. But I can’t, I feel sorry for them.
"Choice"
Quite by accident, we stumbled upon an island of active life - the youth center for the prevention of the use of psychotropic substances “Choice” . Its specialist Yulia Shumeiko said that since 2006 the organization has been involved in the prevention of negative processes among young people. From her we learned about another problem in Chapaevsk.
— Chapaevsk has long been the leader in the region in terms of the number of people who use drugs. We were one of the top three cities in the region in terms of the rate of spread of HIV infections. In Chapaevsk for a long time, the Palace of Culture named after. Chapaev was closed for restoration, the art school had just been built, and the children had nothing to occupy themselves with. The main form of leisure for them was going to Samara to the cinema. And for many - drugs and alcohol.
To change the situation, a center was opened in the city to save drowning people.
Yulia Shumeiko
In choise"
Yulia Shumeiko with Chapaevsky teenagers
At “Choice” a psychologist works with young people; volunteers organize leisure activities for troubled teenagers - they stage plays, watch films, and hold events, for example, campaigns to combat drug addiction.
Yulia says that over the years of work they have achieved success: today there are no minors registered for drug addiction, and only three are with alcohol addiction.
— In 2009, children easily listed all the names of psychotropic substances, but this year I was faced with the fact that they did not know the names. This is a great success for us.
In “Choice,” Julia and other workers encounter different children and stories.
- We had a boy. Lived in Tolyatti, got caught for drug distribution. His parents, in order to protect him from harm, did not come up with anything better to send him to Chapaevsk. I came to the local college where he began studying, and immediately noticed him: he was sitting so sleek among our locals. The boy not only distributed it, but also used it. We worked with him for a whole year, there was progress. And then I went on a business trip, and he lost it - he got drunk on barbiturates and ended up in a drug treatment center in a coma. But he survived, and after that he quit drinking and smoking. Now he lives in Moscow, earns good money, is married, has a child.
- Or another case. Artyom, a guy from the village. I studied, lived in a dormitory, received a scholarship and sent it to my alcoholic mother. I was starving myself, walking around half naked. We took him under our wing, our employee made sure that he kept his stipend and that he ate. Then she assigned him to the priest - he graduated from technical school, works, everything is fine.
There are many of these, pulled out from the Chapaev bottom, in “Vybor”. Who knows what would have happened to many young people in this city if it weren’t for people like Yulia.
Where to eat and drink
Let’s make a reservation right away: we didn’t find any normal catering establishments in Chapaevsk. We saw the Japanese restaurant “Hanami” in the center, but didn’t stop by because we wanted some local flavor. And the local color turned out to be specific.
In the center, on Kuibysheva Street, you can have an inexpensive meal at the Venice pizzeria . Here they offer good solyanka for 60 rubles and pizza for 60-65 rubles per slice. There is also tea (in bags), coffee, salads and rolls (“California” costs 200 rubles). Let’s say right away – the interior and service are C grade. You buy food directly at the checkout and take it to the table yourself. The cutlery is plastic, as are the dishes (with the exception of a ceramic tureen).
However, if your goal is to have a quick, inexpensive and edible snack, then “Venice” will not disappoint.
In addition to the tasty and inexpensive solyanka, another plus of the establishment is the fast mobile Internet of MTS. And while the soup is cooling, you can send your colleagues a photo of a delicious slice of pizza (you have to tease!) in a split second - the speed in 3G is 5.14 Mbit/s. And at the same time, look for the addresses of other Chapaevsk establishments at a speed of 4G 44 Mbit/s.
In search of other places, we visited the Orange cafe , located opposite the School of Arts, and were very surprised to find that there were no customers, and in the center of the hall a woman was ironing clothes on an ironing board.
We also went to “Wings” at the end of Zaporizhskaya Street. This place was recommended by locals as a bar for football fans and just a hangout place. At five o'clock in the evening there were only tables and chairs in the large dark hall of the party place. Not a single visitor, not a single waiter, and no one at all. After standing silently in the center of the hall, we retreated.
At the end of Taganrogskaya Street there is the Zhara club . A place where they dance and drink. Having reached the gray brick building, we ran into a locked door: the club is open from 19:00.
The last place where we tried to eat was the Ayan cafe on Zaporizhskaya Street. Downstairs, various pastries are sold - from pizza to kolobos with red fish, and up the stairs there is the cafe itself. Tables in two rows, covered with shabby oilcloth, Dima Bilan in the speakers, a dull dining atmosphere. On display are salads, shish kebab, and chicken baked with potatoes. The devices are plastic, just like in “Venice”. But “Venice” compared to this place is a piece of paradise. We don't recommend it. Maybe just buy some pies.
In general, Chapaevites, tell us where you can eat and drink beer in a cozy atmosphere? I would like to know.
General impression of the city
It’s worth going to Chapaevsk to look at the temple. It's really worth it. All other attractions are not so impressive, but together they will make a walk around the city pleasant. This is if you don’t deviate anywhere from the tourist path.
Otherwise, we repeat, the city is dull and gray. However, in the summer it is probably more fun and prettier here.
DG thanks Olga Mityaeva and Marina Golubeva for a walk around the city. And thanks to MTS for communication and support of the project.
If you have anything to add, clarify or simply tell, write in the comments, we will welcome any opinions. We will also gladly accept the offer to become our guide: invite you to your city!
Photos: Anton Cherepok
Chapaevsk on the map of Russia: geography, nature and climate
Chapaevsk is located 43 kilometers from the regional center - Samara, on the right bank of the Chapaevka River , a left tributary of the Volga .
The city stretches for 9 kilometers from north to south and 7.5 kilometers from west to east, the total area of the urban district is more than 200 square meters. km. On the territory of Chapaevsk there are several reservoirs (lakes and ponds) - in particular, these are lakes Ilmen , Gusinoe and Gusinka . A satellite map of Chapaevsk proves that the city does not have enough green park areas. The forests are predominantly mixed.
The climate in Chapaevsk is continental: however, it is arid and variable from year to year. Summer is predominantly warm, with possible dry periods; winter – with frosts, snow cover can reach half a meter.
