In the vestibule of the house-museum, there is a tax notice for 1888 in a frame — a notice of the tax amount. It is located above the plan of the house.

The tax specified in the tax notice was called “oklad” in Russian. The tradition of paying the real estate tax existed in the 19th century. Money went to the city treasury of Yekaterinburg.

The tax notice was made in the form of a table. At the bottom were the signatures of the board member and the desk clerk.

In the spring of 1885, the writer Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak bought house number 27 on Sobornaya street (now Pushkina street). Back then, the building was a typical four-room wooden hut with cold seni (mudroom) and a kitchen. Before that, the house belonged to a local resident, the widow Anna Sushina.

Mamin-Sibiryak paid 2,400 rubles for the hut. However, the tax notice shows a different amount — 500 rubles. It was an analogue of the modern cadastral value, an independent appraisal of housing.

The writer knew from the beginning that there was not enough room for the whole family. Therefore, as early as of December 2, 1885, a few months after the purchase, he wrote a letter to his mother. The writer consulted with her on how to rebuild the hut and drew a possible plan himself.

According to the documents, in 1888, the owner paid a tax of five rubles five kopecks — it was a big sum for the Mamins. A cow could be bought for this sum. Researchers were able to compare the cost thanks to the expense book kept by the landlady of the house, the writer’s mother, Anna Mamina. She wrote down all the prices: then the ticket “to the opera” cost a ruble 50 kopecks, a pound — about 400 grams — butter sold for 30 kopecks, and veal cost 4.5 kopecks per pound.

The tax notice also contained the information about the houseowner’s social class. The writer Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak is designated as “hereditary honorary citizen”. This title in pre-revolutionary Russia was assigned to those who did not come from nobility, but achieved great success in art, politics or education.

The fund of the United Museum of Ural Writers in Yekaterinburg also contains a tax notice for 1903. By this time the house was clad in stone and brick, so its cadastral value increased to 600 rubles.

Полное наименование: Tax notice on the assessment fee for immovable property in the city of Yekaterinburg in 1888
Дата создания: 1888
Размеры: 21×39 cm
Коллекция: United Museum of Ural Writers (UMUW)
Правообладатель изображений: United Museum of Ural Writers (UMUW)
Техника: paper, ink
Место создания: Yekaterinburg

In the vestibule of the Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak Museum, on the left wall, there is a plan of the house number 27 on Sobornaya Street (now Pushkina Street) in Yekaterinburg. The document was executed during the purchase and sale of the property in 1885.

The plan was kept in the writer’s family, and in 1948, Boris Udintsev, Mamin-Sibiryak’s nephew, handed it over to the museum. The document was made on dense yellowed paper and placed in a thin brown frame of 34 by 49 centimeters. The plan had been stored in a folded form for a long time; there are marks and scuffs on its folds.

The paper shows where the house is located, what buildings are on the property, what the facade and gates look like. There is also a plan of the rooms. It shows where the windows, doors, and stoves are in the house.

The drawings were made with a ruler, a pencil and writing ink, and the inscriptions were made by hand. Some details are marked with colored pencils: the river nearby, plot limits, windows and houses on the street plan.

In addition, information about the previous owners of the property was added to the plan. Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak bought the house number 27 from Anna Sushina. This is evidenced by the inscription in black writing ink:

In 1891, Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak moved to St. Petersburg. His mother Anna Mamina, two brothers and his sister, Yelizaveta Udintseva, remained in the Urals. The writer sent them letters, remittances, and congratulatory postcards. He called house No. 27 “his native corner in Yekaterinburg” and often visited it.

In the 1890s, the Mamins-Udintsevs required additional rooms, since their sister became a mother. So, the house was reconstructed: the cold seni (mudroom) were insulated and turned into a dining room, and two new rooms made of stone were added. Now they house exhibits that show the vestibule and the room of the write’s older brother, Nikolay Mamin.

In 1903, Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak was visiting his relatives from St. Petersburg. He stayed in a hotel, but every day he came to visit. The writer approved the remodeling of the house. Elizaveta Udintseva’s family lived in this building until 1919.

Полное наименование: Plan of the house on Sobornaya Street, bought by Dmitry Narkisovich Mamin-Sibiryak in 1885