On the morning of April 15, in Mozhaisk on Nikolina Gora - this is the name of the historical center of the city, where a fortress once stood - a landslide occurred on a steep slope. There would be nothing wrong with this if this landslide was not located so close to the unique architectural monument of the city - Nikolsky Cathedral of pseudo-Gothic architecture.
A large landslide was recorded on the same slope of Nikolina Gora in 1908. Then the landslide was located 37 meters from the cathedral and had an area of about 230 square meters. m. A commission of competent engineers came to the conclusion that nothing threatens the cathedral, and the city authorities limited themselves to installing drainage trays and strengthening the slopes of the hill.
The second known creep on the same slope occurred in 1995. But, as I recall, no maintenance work was carried out at that time. Officials from culture and the Mozhaisk administration did not take any measures to strengthen the hillside. They trusted in God. Indeed, God helped at that time, and the cathedral resisted. He lasted seventeen years.
Now the situation seems to be more complicated. On April 15, the landslide had a width of about 20 meters at the top, but in three days it increased to 30 meters. Its length along the slope is about 40 m and the same width at the bottom, at the foot of the hill. In area, it is about six times larger than the landslide of 1908. Every day, more and more soil is approaching the buildings and private houses of Borodinskaya Street.
It looks like this is just the beginning. There is still snow in Mozhaisk, and the Mozhayka River is just beginning to flood. It will not wash the banks, but will raise the level of groundwater, which threatens with an increase in landslide, or even new ground collapses. And this is already a serious cause for concern - will it be possible to save the New Collegiate Cathedral from complete or partial collapse?
The southwest corner of the cathedral began to collapse. Menacing cracks appeared in the upper part of the building. How long will the cathedral of unique pseudo-Gothic architecture stand? A year, two … or will it start to deteriorate this spring?
How do I see the salvation of the cathedral?
The issue of saving the cathedral was raised by people who are far-sighted and sick of their hearts for their cultural heritage for a long time. About ten years ago, even projects were drawn up for the strengthening of the slopes and the complete restoration of the object. The works were estimated at about 200 million rubles. Even then, it was obvious that the threat of a collapse was close. But the state did not allocate money and local officials, showing surprising indifference to the architectural monument, were inactive.
Now that the threat of collapse has become apparent, some movement has begun. It is expressed in the fact that officials, first of all, began to find out who owns the monument? Previously, it was listed in the register of architectural monuments, then it was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church. But Nikolina Gora remained in the register of archaeological monuments. It seems that one cannot do without lengthy agreements on who should pay for what. For officials now, the main thing is not to save the cathedral, but to solve the question of who should spend huge sums of money to preserve it?
This whole bureaucratic machine is very clumsy and sluggish, so you shouldn't wait for a quick decision. Then a long process of fundraising and obtaining permission for their development will begin. The cathedral may collapse by this time.
Could the Mozhaisk authorities take the initiative and on their own, without resorting to the state, save the Nikolsky Cathedral? I think that this would be the fastest and most worthy solution to the issue.
How can I do that?
First, the district and city authorities could appeal to the residents of the district and the city and propose to save the cathedral by joint efforts, without waiting for the sluggish help of the regional authorities and various departments. It is believed that about 70 thousand and about 200 thousand summer residents permanently live in the area. Fundraising could be organized. Suppose, from children and pensioners 100 rubles each, from the rest according to their material capabilities. If the head of the Mozhaisk region, Belanovich, and the head of the city of Mozhaisk, Sungurov, announced that they were giving 100 thousand rubles each to save the cathedral, then this would serve as an example for all Mozhaisk residents. Including for administrative workers and Mozhaisk nouveau riche. And the money would be collected quickly and in sufficient quantity.
Secondly, you should approach your cultural heritage not only with love, but also with a fair amount of frugality. And how to recalculate the estimates proposed by the designers.
I worked in design organizations and have an idea of how incredibly high estimates for such work are. Previously, there were still control bodies that somehow hindered this process. Now there are no such bodies, and the issue of saving money depends only on the customer and his competence in these matters. I think that half of the amount included in the estimates would be enough to save the Nikolsky Cathedral. And even less.
Thirdly, it would be necessary to rely on the strength of the Mozhais in the restoration work. A large number of competent specialists live in our city. There are architects, designers, geologists, builders, etc. There are construction organizations and construction teams. A headquarters should be created to organize and coordinate the work of volunteers. I am sure that if the residents of Mozhaisk felt in the actions of the administration a disinterested and sincere love for the cultural heritage of the city, many would enthusiastically join the work. In this case, it would be possible to refuse the expensive services of Moscow organizations. It would be both cheaper and more patriotic in relation to their own history. It would be worth giving up the involvement of migrants in these works, since this is a too delicate area. Here, first of all, a person's personal responsibility for his spiritual shrines should be manifested.
I think that the implementation of this small program would not only save the architectural monument, but would also significantly bring the people and the authorities closer together.
But, unfortunately, all this is from the realm of fantasy. All these plans provide for one essential detail - the high authority of the authorities in the eyes of the district residents. Moreover, the authority is not administrative, but moral. And over the past four years, the authorities have lost their authority in the eyes of the Mozhais to such an extent that no noble appeals can restore mutual trust. Few will respond to the call for fundraising and the proposal for friendly collaboration with the administration. And not because the Mozhais are greedy, indifferent and lazy, but because we simply do not believe them.
But this situation is not hopeless either. Our Mozhaisk bureaucrats are now at various events talking with delight and affection about pre-revolutionary traditions, about noble and merchant word of honor and disinterestedness in deeds. Now is the time for them to remember the traditions of patronage, which were strong in the society of that time. And donate part of your fortune to save the Mozhaisky Cathedral.
Fr. Daniil (Zhirnov), Dean of the Mozhaisky District. Several months ago, on the occasion of solemn events on the Borodino field, he generously distributed Patriarchal jubilee medals in honor of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino to Mozhaisk officials and entrepreneurs on behalf of the Church. Now is the time to make sure whether those awarded are worthy of such a high honor, and whether they can justify the aspirations and hopes of Fr. Daniel. In other words, donate part of your property to a good cause.
Suppose you could sell this store under construction in the city center:
Its owner, if he were a patriot of his city, would sell the building with land, and with the proceeds he would save a unique architectural monument! There are dozens of such shops in the city, but St. Nicholas Cathedral is one. And the residents of Mozhay, seeing such disinterestedness, would quickly respond to a good deed and would do part of the work free of charge.
The Mozhaisk Historical Society could disinterestedly undertake the geodetic support of the works. If it is a pity to sell a store, then this undeveloped plot of several hectares, located in the city center, could be sold.
But, unfortunately, the owner of this store and this site will not make such sacrifices! The Mozhay people have been convinced of this for the past four years. Mayor of the city and holder of church awards V. Sungurov owns this property. And as life has shown, he willingly accepts awards, but for his city he is not capable of noble deeds. It was only citizen Minin who sacrificed all his property for the sake of holy goals. And Sungurov is not of that breed.
Apparently, you need to contact the district officials. Moreover, D. Belanovich, the head of the district administration, was also awarded a church award. Now is the time for him to please for the crumbling cathedral.
Thinking speculatively, you come to the conclusion that the district has money. Over the past four years, with the tacit consent of the district administration, about 8,000 hectares of Mozhaisk land have been sold for dacha construction (no one knows who and who knows!). Including on the Borodino field. And there the land is the most expensive. They say that the cost of one hundred square meters of land in the most prestigious places reaches 10-20 thousand dollars (from 300 to 600 thousand rubles). In this case, the cost of a hectare can be from 30 to 60 million rubles. I think that the money from the sale of 20-50 hectares (this is about 0.5% of all sold land) would be quite enough to save not only St. Nicholas Cathedral, but also many other historical sites in the area. But only if you don’t put them in your own pocket and don’t send them to foreign banks, but give them to save the cultural monument.
But even these hopes seem to be groundless. The value of land sold in the region in recent years is estimated at several billion rubles (if not tens of billions!). But this money did not turn our area into an oasis of stability and prosperity. And they did not save our historical heritage. This money is simply not there. And the head of the district is unlikely to follow the example of citizen Minin and give up his acquired …
And since there is no money and no selfless patriots, the future of the Nikolsky Cathedral begins to take shape with particular clarity.
April 18 Pictures
Stones began to fall from the walls of the cathedral. Still in small numbers, but this indicates that the foundation is moving.
Here the destruction is more serious. Some of the compassionate ministers of the temple put down a wand to hold the falling bricks. It helped. But, for how long?
Although this is an old crack, it has widened noticeably.
This is a new crack.
The top of the landslide begins at the northwest corner of the cathedral and is only 8 meters away. Two days ago, this distance was equal to 15 meters.
Landslide bottom view.
The upper part of a stone buttress that has kept the ground from slipping since 1804. How long can he hold out?
This spruce has leaned heavily over the past year. It grows just under the buttress. The ground shifts noticeably.
Vladimir Kukovenko, Chairman of the Mozhaisk Historical Society
