In the middle of the twentieth century, the estate complex, which once belonged to the princes Volkonsky, was transferred to the jurisdiction of the All-Union Association of Architects, and a union rest house was opened in Sukhanovo. Since the 1990s, the estate began to fall into disrepair. At the beginning of the 21st century, it was finally possible to resolve legal issues related to the status of the estate, a new management appeared, and a holiday home was re-opened in the fairly dilapidated historical buildings.
At the present time on the territory of the estate, in addition to the sanatorium, there is also a Lyceum "Perspective", but it cannot be said that its students are making a feasible contribution to the preservation of the estate. Alas, today the position of both the estate itself and its buildings cannot be called safe at all. On the one hand, summer cottages continue to attack the territory from all sides (the borders of the territory of the former possessions of the Volkonskys have more than halved in a hundred years), on the other hand, even what they have managed to defend is difficult to maintain in an acceptable state, and the surviving buildings of "Sukhanovo" look depressing. And if the main house and the mausoleum, albeit blasphemously rebuilt, are still exploited and therefore have not suffered irreversible destruction, then some of the buildings that have not been used in any way for all these years have actually turned into ruins.
Subbotniks, during which students and graduates of architectural universities are involved in cleaning the estate, the Youth Association of the SMA has been holding for the second year in a row. Last year, volunteers came to Sukhanovo almost every weekend of the warm season and managed to cut down self-seeding and dead wood that had accumulated over the years, cleaned of obscene inscriptions and paint the Temple of Venus gazebo, clean the park paths, and partially improve the embankment. This year, a series of subbotniks aimed at improving the territory of the former Volkonsky estate has just begun, but even the very first action brought tangible results: young architects collected last year's leaves and dry branches, burned previously sawn trees, painted another gazebo and removed about a ton of garbage. And in the fall, MOSMA intends to announce an open competition for projects of small architectural forms, which in the future will decorate different corners of the estate.
By the way, in addition to actions aimed at maintaining order on the territory of "Sukhanovo", MOSMA took upon itself the organization of the restoration of monuments and buildings. Thus, an agreement was reached with the Bolars company regarding the restoration of the bridge over the ravine - this company will provide the necessary materials and pay for the installation. The reanimation of the “House of the Clergyman”, also known as “The House with a Tower”, is a more labor-intensive business, and nevertheless, already last year, diagnostics of its structures was carried out and a reconstruction project was developed. In the future, master classes, workshops and other offsite events of the Youth Association will be held in this building.
Preserving the appearance of the legendary estate and filling it with new content is the main task that MOSMA sets itself today, actively involving both sponsors and volunteers from among students and young architects in its solution. And the latter willingly respond to this initiative: in the end, it is they who will work, study and rest in Sukhanovo in the future.
