The Empire-style table clock was produced under the branding “Vladimir”. It was made at a former textile factory, which later became a gramophone factory and during the war was manufacturing equipment for the military. Afterward, it mass-produced household goods. The clocks became the main assortment of the factory in 1947 and were kept in many Soviet households.

In the Pavel Bazhov House-Museum, this clock is a memento of a poignant moment. On December 3, 1950, at the age of 72, the writer died in Moscow at 8:55 a.m. In Sverdlovsk time, it was 10:55, which is what the hands of the clocks in the office and in the dining room show.

Bazhov was gravely ill for the last months of his life. He was diagnosed with lung cancer. At first, he was treated at a Sverdlovsk hospital, then he was taken by train to Moscow.

According to those who witnessed the events, Bazhov had a premonition that he would not return:

He was right.

On December 6, a public memorial service was held on the premises of the Writers’ Union building, Moscow fans came to say goodbye to the author of the famous tales. That same evening, Bazhov’s coffin was sent to Sverdlovsk from the Kazan railway station. Two days later, the train stopped in Krasnoufimsk, where a memorial service was held right at the station: Pavel Petrovich was twice elected to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR from the Krasnoufimsky district, the locals loved and respected him.

On December 8 and 9, Sverdlovsk said its goodbye to the beloved writer in the Philharmonic. Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, Marshal of the USSR and a close friend of the Bazhov family, stood as guard of honor at the coffin. The flow of people did not stop until the very night, more than 100,000 people came to see the writer off on last journey. Thousands lined up on the morning of December 10 along the central streets of the city, when Pavel Petrovich was taken to the Ivanovo cemetery, where he was buried.

The first days after the funeral, Valentina Alexandrovna Bazhova came to the cemetery every day and sat for a long time at her husband’s grave. For the family, Pavel Petrovich’s death was a difficult ordeal. But thanks to the efforts of Bazhov’s widow, the house, which remembers its owners and preserves the atmosphere of their presence, is now a unique memorial museum.