On Wednesday, May 27, Konstantin Vladimirovich Malinovsky passed away.
I stand in front of the bookshelves, look at his books "Mikhail Ivanovich Makhaev", "Giacomo Quarenghi", "Tessino architects and craftsmen in St. Petersburg", I remember his other books - about Domenico Trezzini, about Bartolomeo and Francesco Rastrelli and I can't believe that I will never again meet with him in his St. Petersburg apartment, I will never hear his amazing living stories about the architecture of St. Petersburg and its creators. Konstantin Vladimirovich was fluent in several languages, possessed tremendous knowledge and talent as a researcher, he himself found in the archives, translated and published in his books unique materials: letters and documents, skillfully weaving them into fascinating narratives.
When you read his books, a clear picture of bygone times comes to life, so well you begin to understand how they worked, what difficulties and joys these, in general, ordinary people, contradictory personalities-architects, whose names we perceive today as sacred symbols, experienced difficulties and joys.
The books of Konstantin Vladimirovich Malinovsky are the best memory of him. I urge everyone, architects and non-architects, who simply love our Petersburg: "Find and read Malinovsky's books!" Reading them, I realized for the first time that my hometown was created in the past not by aliens who flew away from us forever, but by living people, thoughts so understandable to us, whose sorrows and desires turned into unique works of architecture by the power of their talent and skill.
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K. V. Malinovsky was born in 1937.
Books by K. V. Malinovsky at labirint.ru, at ozon.ru.
