A large wooden chest is the oldest exhibit in the House-Museum of the famous Ural writer Pavel Petrovich Bazhov. In the household, it replaced two separate furniture pieces. First, it functioned as a roomy wardrobe, in which most bulky garments were stored, including the wedding dress of Valentina Alexandrovna, Bazhov’s wife. Second, the chest was used as a sofa during the day and as a bed for guests at night.
During the Great Patriotic War, the Urals was an evacuation center, and many writers and poets from Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk and other cities were moved to Sverdlovsk. At that time Bazhov held the position of chairman of the Sverdlovsk branch of the USSR Writers’ Union. Due to the general lack of facilities and working spaces, meetings of the organization were often held at the chairman’s house, namely in the dining room, where the chest stood. At various times, everyone who visited Bazhov could sit on this “sofa”: Agniya Barto, Feodor Gladkov, Alexander Fadeyev, Olga Forsh, Yevgeny Permyak, Oksana Ivanenko, Lev Kassil, Marietta Shaginyan, Konstantin Simonov, and Boris Polevoy.
In 1944, the poet and journalist Alexey Surkov came to Sverdlovsk on a work trip for the editorial office of the newspaper “Krasnaya Zvezda” (Red Star). For one of the meetings Surkov visited the house of Pavel Petrovich. The writers discussed the war and the events at the front, Bazhov talked about the Urals and the peoples that live there, about his life and work. According to the memoirs of Bazhov’s youngest daughter, Ariadna, this conversation lasted until morning, and the guest did not get to his hotel — he dozed off on the old chest.
Initially, this piece of furniture belonged to Augusta Stefanovna, the writer’s mother. It was the largest of the stacked dowry chests at the wedding of Bazhov’s parents. When moving to Yekaterinburg to her son, August Stefanovna took the chest with her. After her death, the chest along with many other of her possessions were kept and used by the family of the Ural author. The rest of the chests remained in Sysert, in his parents’ house, which in 1982 also became a museum dedicated to the life and work of Pavel Petrovich Bazhov.
During the Great Patriotic War, the Urals was an evacuation center, and many writers and poets from Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk and other cities were moved to Sverdlovsk. At that time Bazhov held the position of chairman of the Sverdlovsk branch of the USSR Writers’ Union. Due to the general lack of facilities and working spaces, meetings of the organization were often held at the chairman’s house, namely in the dining room, where the chest stood. At various times, everyone who visited Bazhov could sit on this “sofa”: Agniya Barto, Feodor Gladkov, Alexander Fadeyev, Olga Forsh, Yevgeny Permyak, Oksana Ivanenko, Lev Kassil, Marietta Shaginyan, Konstantin Simonov, and Boris Polevoy.
In 1944, the poet and journalist Alexey Surkov came to Sverdlovsk on a work trip for the editorial office of the newspaper “Krasnaya Zvezda” (Red Star). For one of the meetings Surkov visited the house of Pavel Petrovich. The writers discussed the war and the events at the front, Bazhov talked about the Urals and the peoples that live there, about his life and work. According to the memoirs of Bazhov’s youngest daughter, Ariadna, this conversation lasted until morning, and the guest did not get to his hotel — he dozed off on the old chest.
Initially, this piece of furniture belonged to Augusta Stefanovna, the writer’s mother. It was the largest of the stacked dowry chests at the wedding of Bazhov’s parents. When moving to Yekaterinburg to her son, August Stefanovna took the chest with her. After her death, the chest along with many other of her possessions were kept and used by the family of the Ural author. The rest of the chests remained in Sysert, in his parents’ house, which in 1982 also became a museum dedicated to the life and work of Pavel Petrovich Bazhov.
