Red May Vyshny Volochek Museum. The Lost Factory and the Kremlin Stars

Such a wonderful story about the Kremlin stars, and the plant at which they were made, their glass part, to be more precise, was written by Mikhail Letuev - nord_traveller . Due to a little confusion and a glitch in LiveJournal, the authorship was initially indicated incorrectly. Now I'm fixing it. Here is a link to the original post - Part 1. Say a word about the Kremlin stars. And there is another continuation, no less interesting - Part 2. Is it too late for us to stop? .

Tver region Vyshny Volochek village Red May, Glass Factory - where the Kremlin stars were made.


The coming year could be marked by two dates - albeit not jubilees, but significant in their own way: the 157th anniversary of the founding of a chemical plant near Vyshny Volochok and the 87th anniversary of the day when this plant received its last name, under which it is all they know - “Red May”. They knew. Today, instead of a unique enterprise, once famous for its crystal, there are only ruins. However, there is also round date– exactly 70 years ago, stars made of glass made at Red May shone over the Moscow Kremlin. Once upon a time the plant was famous throughout the USSR. Still would! "They shine over the whole country Kremlin stars, made by the hands of Krasnomaysk craftsmen,” I read a guidebook from 1988. Of course, not entirely: the ruby ​​tops of the tower spiers are a complex engineering structure, on the creation of which dozens of enterprises and research institutes worked. But the laminated glass manufactured at Krasny May is far from the last part of this structure. Therefore, the words of almost thirty years ago, despite the pathos, are close to the truth. What remains of that pride? Destroyed workshops that are unlikely to ever be rebuilt. Yes, a museum that survives on only one honestly. A few kilometers from Vyshny Volochyok towards St. Petersburg is the village of Krasnomaysky. Is it true, local residents it is not called that; this toponym exists only in official documents. “I’ll go to Red May”, “I live on Red May” - when people say this, they mean the village, not the plant. IN mid-19th century, here was the village of Klyuchino, where in 1859 the future flagship of the glass industry arose. First as a chemical. Its first owner, titular councilor Samarin, has further development production did not have enough funds, and three years later the plant was bought by the merchant of the second guild Andrei Bolotin, who soon built a glass factory in its place. Later, he founded another plant on the territory of the current Vyshnevolotsky district - Borisovsky (now - OJSC Medsteklo Borisovskoe). The first glass melting furnace at the Klyuchinsky plant was launched by the merchant and founder of the Bolotin dynasty of glassmakers in 1873. Also, at the expense of the plant’s owners, a workers’ settlement, quite comfortable by the standards of that time, was built.

By the beginning of the 20th century, the Klyuchinsky plant produced glass pharmaceutical, tableware and confectionery dishes, kerosene lamps, lampshades, fulfilling orders from almost all parts of the empire. Soon the October Revolution broke out, the plant was nationalized and in 1929 received the name “Red May”. A village of 5 thousand inhabitants with a hospital, school, music school, a vocational school that trained, in addition to specialist glassmakers, tractor drivers and car mechanics. Much was written about “Red May” in the regional and central press. Let us remember what newspapers and magazines were talking about then and compare all this with the current remnants of former greatness. “When you look at the Kremlin stars, it seems as if from time immemorial they have been crowning pointed towers: so organic is their flame in unity with the beautiful monument of Russian architecture, so Moreover, the natural inseparability of two symbols in our minds is the heart of the Motherland and the five-pointed star” (“Pravda”, 1985). It just so happened that when we say “Red May,” we mean five ruby ​​finials. And vice versa. That’s why I want to start my story from this page. Moreover, the Vyshnevolotsk stars, which now decorate the Spasskaya, Nikolskaya, Borovitskaya, Trinity and Vodovzvodnaya towers of the Kremlin, were not the first. For the first time, five-pointed stars replaced the symbol of autocratic Russia - double-headed eagles - in the fall of 1935. They were made of high-alloy stainless steel and red copper, with a gold-plated hammer and sickle in the center of each star. However, the first stars did not decorate for long Kremlin towers. Firstly, they quickly faded under the influence of precipitation, and secondly, in overall composition the Kremlin looked rather ridiculous and violated architectural ensemble. Therefore, it was decided to install ruby ​​luminous stars.

New tops appeared on November 2, 1937. Each of them could rotate like a weather vane and had a frame in the form of a multifaceted pyramid. The order for the production of ruby ​​glass was received by the Avtosteklo plant in the city of Konstantinovka in the Donbass. It had to transmit red rays of a certain wavelength, be mechanically strong, resistant to sudden temperature changes, not discolor and not be destroyed by exposure solar radiation. The glazing of the stars was double: the inner layer consisted of milky (matte, dull white) glass 2 mm thick, thanks to which the light from the lamp was scattered evenly over the entire surface, and the outer layer was made of ruby ​​6-7 mm. Each star weighed about a ton, with a surface area of ​​8 to 9 square meters.

During the Great Patriotic War the stars were extinguished and sheathed. When they were reopened after the Victory, multiple cracks and traces of shell fragments were discovered on the ruby ​​surface. Restoration was needed. This time, the Vyshnevolotsk plant “Red May” was entrusted with the task of making glass. The local craftsmen made it four layers: transparent crystal at the bottom, then frosted glass, again crystal and, finally, ruby. This is necessary so that the star and during the day sunlight, and at night, illuminated from within, it was the same color. “The ruby ​​stars manufactured at the Konstantinovsky plant did not fulfill the task set by the designers. A double layer of glass - milky and ruby ​​- made it impossible to preserve bright color stars Dust accumulated between the layers. And by that time, laminated glass was produced, in my opinion, only at Krasny May (Kalininskaya Pravda, 1987). “I think that readers will be interested to know how prototypes of star glass were made. To produce a multilayer ruby ​​for just one star, it took 32 tons of high-quality Lyubertsy sand, 3 tons of zinc muffle white, 1.5 tons boric acid, 16 tons of soda ash, 3 tons of potash, 1.5 tons of potassium nitrate” (“Yunost”, 1981). The renewed stars began to shine in 1946. And they still shine, despite calls from some public figures to replace them with eagles again. The next reconstruction of the ruby ​​“luminaries” was in 1974, and again Krasnomaysk craftsmen took part in it. Despite the existing experience, the cooking technology had to be created, as they say, from scratch: archival documents from which the “recipe” could be restored have not been preserved.

It must be said that in 2010, a lot was written about the 75th anniversary of the first Kremlin stars in the central media, but the contribution of “Red May” was never mentioned anywhere. Not in 1996, when the plant was still working, at the very least, despite the fact that they began to pay out salaries in vases and wine glasses. Not in 2006 - at least to catch up with the already departed train...

“Yesterday, a batch of parts made of colorless and milky glass for lighting fixtures at the Moscow Conservatory named after P. I. Tchaikovsky was sent from the Vyshnevolotsk “Red May” plant. It was not easy for glassmakers to repeat the bizarre shapes of ancient chandeliers and sconces that have illuminated the halls of this musical for more than a hundred years. educational institution"(Kalininskaya Pravda, 1983). “Several years ago, the craftsmen of the Vyshnevolotsk glass factory “Red May”, at the request of Bulgarian friends, made ruby ​​glass for the friendship memorial built on the famous Shipka. And here is a new order from Bulgaria - to make four-layer glass for the star that will crown the Party House in Sofia. The teams of craftsmen N. Ermakov, A. Kuznetsov, N. Nasonov and A. Bobovnikov were entrusted with executing the export order” (“Pravda”, 1986). “A beautiful garden village with asphalt roads, comfortable cottage houses, a club, a school and other public buildings, with a factory-garden in the center, from where almost two thousand items of products are distributed all over the world” (“Kalininskaya Pravda”, 1959) . “Yesterday, a joyful message came from Moscow to GPTU-24 of the Vyshnevolotsk plant “Red May”. Resolution of the Main Exhibition Committee of the VDNKh USSR for the development and participation in the production of the “Jubilee” and “Cup” vases presented at the All-Union Show artwork vocational schools, masters were awarded bronze medals industrial training T. Orlova and T. Shamrina. And students Irina Yarosh and Eduard Vedernikov were awarded the medal “Young Participant of the Exhibition of Economic Achievements of the USSR” (“Kalininskaya Pravda”, 1983). For comparison. The garden village is an ordinary outlying village, of which there are thousands. It doesn’t seem to be abandoned, but there’s also no hint of being well-groomed. The cottage houses are apparently wooden two-story barracks that still have cesspools. The factory-garden now has pipes rising above the ruins of the workshops, a rusty honor board, like a ghost from the past. On the territory itself there is some small business: car repair, warehouses. Even in former factory premises old furniture There was nothing left, only heaps of construction waste. The railway line, with the exception of a few sections, has been almost completely dismantled. GPTU also keeps up with the times. Back in the mid-2000s, the specialty of tractor driver, once the most popular among teenagers, was closed there. And not the most hopeless one in life. Is there really no need for tractor drivers anymore? Naturally, there are no blowers or glass grinders either. “A glass is a seemingly simple product, but its manufacture requires great skill. The glassmakers of the Vyshnevolotsk plant “Red May” are fluent in this skill. Two types of glasses produced here in millions of copies have been awarded the State Quality Mark. A vase for berries, a rosette for jam, and an ashtray made of zinc sulfide glass received the same high praise" (" Soviet Russia", 1975). In the workshops of the plant, by the way, the third largest after similar ones in Gus-Khrustalny and Dyatkovo, not only crystal products and ruby ​​stars were produced.

Glass Museum of the Red May Factory in Vyshny Volochyok January 8th, 2018

Sometimes, when you are a little desperate or disappointed, it can be very pleasant to unexpectedly stumble upon something beautiful and beautiful. Such that at one moment it will block the gray previous emotions and impressions. This is what happened to me when, after getting our feet wet up to the knees from the uncleaned snow-covered paths, we went to the stunning glass museum of the Red May factory. Let's see what colors were able to warm up and charm?

In 1859, in the village of Klyuchino, Moscow entrepreneur Samarin founded a chemical plant, where products such as vitriol and oil of vitriol, lamp oil and ammonia, strong vodka and other various acids were produced. Samarin, unfortunately, did not have enough funds to develop production and in 1873 the plant was sold to a wealthy Vyshnevolotsk merchant. A.V. Bolotin became the leader and founded glass production on the basis of the plant.

That same year, the new owners built the first furnace and began producing glassware and lampshades.

The real flourishing of production began with the arrival of experienced glassmaker Vasily Vekshin at the plant - the owner of the secret of leaving a charge for melting colored glass.

The plant began producing colored glass with a varied color palette.

In 1882 and 1886, the plant's products were awarded gold and silver medals at various exhibitions. In 1920, the plant was nationalized, and on May 1, 1923 it was renamed the Krasny May plant.

Until the 1940s, continuous bath furnaces were built. Lamp glass, window glass, and tableware were produced.

In the 30s, an order was fulfilled for the production of lamps for lighting the Moscow metro.

During the Great Patriotic War, glass was produced for the needs of the navy, aviation and medicine, semaphores and traffic light lenses, battery vessels, etc.

In 1944, the company received a government order to produce ruby ​​glass for the Kremlin stars.

The order was successfully completed in 1946, and the plant was awarded the Red Banner of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions and the People's Commissariat of Light Industry for eternal storage.

In the 1950-1960s, products were produced from colored glass, painted with gold, chandelier, silicate paints, as well as a wide range of crystal products.

Since 1959, the Krasny May plant began working with zinc sulfide glass, which was called the “Russian miracle” for its inexhaustible richness of color.

Artists at the enterprise created unique decorative compositions from this glass, which were very successfully demonstrated at exhibitions not only in our country, but also abroad.

Brussels, New York, Montreal, Paris, London appreciated Krasnomay glass.

In 1974, in connection with the reconstruction of Red Square, the plant again fulfilled an honorary order for the production of ruby ​​Kremlin stars.

In 1980, the Krasny May plant was awarded the honorary Order of the Red Banner of Labor.

In 1983, the company completed a large order for the production of lamps from transparent and milky glass for the Moscow Conservatory. P.I. Tchaikovsky.

In 1986, at the request of the Bulgarian government, ruby ​​glass was made for the Friendship Memorial on Shipka and for the Government House in Sofia.

In 2001, the Red May glass factory was closed and gradually turned into ruins.

But the memory of its history and great talented masters and artists is still alive in the collection of art glass, which was collected and opened for viewing back in 1968 and is now on display in the new glass museum in Vyshny Volochyok.

Visit this museum if possible.

Well, what if you find yourself in Volochyok and want beauty and bright colors?

Museum address: Vyshny Volochyok, M. Magomaev Street, building 17. Open daily, except Mondays, from 10 to 18.

And finally, some more helpful information and gratitude for the rich tourist information tour. Our trip to Vyshny Volochyok certainly would not have taken place without the long-standing and fruitful friendship of the community travel_russia with the cruise company "Mosturflot". It is famous not only for river cruises. During the season between navigations you have unique opportunity visit various parts of our country, including the Vyshnevolotsk region, on exciting bus cruises. I guarantee and promise that on these trips you will get a lot of unusual, bright and interesting things. After all, it cannot be otherwise, if the program director of Mosturflot, Vladislav Viktorovich Khasikov, takes you towards new discoveries. I also thank our guide, Vyshnevolotsk local historian Denis Ivlev, the regional administration and all the tour participants for the excellent company.

Glass Museum of the Red May Factory August 5th, 2011

(This is my first post, so please don't judge too harshly.)
This summer in July I was on vacation with my family in the village. Krasnomaysky, Vyshnevolotsk district, Tver region. This is not the first time I have been there, and I know about a glass factory that has not been operating for a long time. I knew from my wife that there was a museum of historical exhibits at the plant and modern works glass art. I was sure that the museum no longer existed, because... The plant has been bankrupt for many years; the remains of equipment are being hastily cut up for scrap metal on its territory. And so, from one friend I heard that someone visited the museum quite recently. I decided to try my luck too, and went to the factory entrance to find out information about opening hours.

Arriving there, I learned that you can get to the museum from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on any day except Saturday and Sunday. Since it was already late, I postponed the trip to another day.
The next morning I stood at the entrance at 9am like a bayonet. The woman who runs the museum was not there yet, so I looked around the hall. There were some slot machines, a whole warehouse, some scooters, ATVs, and a lot of other things in a bunch. The handle of the front door caught my attention. Apparently Entrance door made of thick glass has been preserved in its original form.

Soon the head of the museum came. I think her name is Svetlana (I don’t know her middle name). A friendly woman of about thirty-five (in my opinion). She immediately led me through the factory territory to the museum building. By the way, the path to the museum was all overgrown with grass, which Svetlana complained to me about later.
Having opened the lock on the door, we went up to the second floor of a separate building. Showcases and shelves full of exhibits appeared before my eyes. I have not seen such a cluster of glass objects for a long time!!! Having secured permission, I began taking photographs as I walked further into the hall.

Previously, this plant was very famous, from the lips of my wife I had previously heard that the Kremlin stars were made at this plant, and I found confirmation of this information in the museum records. Even on one cabinet there are exactly the same glasses as exhibits, here they are, two triangles at the bottom:

I found out that the plant has been in existence since 1859. Founded by the merchant of the II guild Andrei Vasilyevich Bolotin. A little history:
The glass factory "RED MAY" is located on the banks of the Shlina River. One of the largest in the country, it was founded in 1859 as a chemical enterprise by Moscow titular councilor Samarin. But Samarin did not have enough funds for further development of production and the plant was purchased by the Vyshnevolotsk merchant of the II guild, Andrei Vasilyevich Bolotin. In 1873, the owners of the plant - the merchants of Bolotina - built the first furnace, which produced glassware: tableware, confectionery, lampshades. In the same year, an experienced glassmaker - Vasily Alekseevich Vekshin, the owner of the secret of preparing a charge for melting colored glass - came to the plant. And for the first time in Russia, the Bolotinsky plant began to produce colored glass with a variety of colors. Already in 1882 and 1886, the plant’s new products, “absolutely remarkable in their diversity and unexpected grace” (as the once famous professor and “glass expert” A.K. Krupsky assessed them), were awarded two gold and two silver medals of the All-Russian Artistic -industrial exhibitions in Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod for the rich color scheme and for the thoroughness of processing. In 1920, the plant was nationalized and it became state property. On May 1, 1923, a meeting of workers and employees of the plant was held, at which it was decided to rename the plant into the “RED MAY” plant. Since that time, the plant began to expand, and new glass melting furnaces began to be built. During the Patriotic War (1942-1945), the plant produced technical glass in large quantities for the needs of Navy and aviation, semaphore and traffic light lenses, lamp glass, and battery vessels were manufactured. The 40s were a very important period in the history of the plant, when the first government order for the production of ruby ​​glass for Kremlin stars was honorably fulfilled. In 1946, the task was completed successfully. In the 50-60s, cutting glass products with gold, enamel, chandelier, and silicate paints became widespread at the plant. Products made from two- or three-layer glass were also produced. But Krasnomaysk is especially famous for its sulfide glass, which is not without reason called the “Russian miracle” for its inexhaustible richness of color. And it is also called so for its exceptional property of changing color depending on the temperature and duration of processing, which gives the mass product a unique uniqueness. This material was mastered by the plant in 1959, “RED MAY” was, in essence, the only enterprise not only in our country, but throughout the world, where sulfide glass was established as an indispensable glass in the plant’s assortment.

It turns out that kerosene lamps can be like this:

In general, I was amazed by the variety of shapes and colors, and all this glass was in the skillful hands of craftsmen. Here are some more interesting exhibits:
Funny boot:

Abstract vase:

Olympic bear on a decanter)))
Interesting abstract idea by the artist:

Green glass bouquet:
Jug:

Unusual pumpkins)))
What a blessed material glass is in the hands of a master. The flowers are very similar to real, very graceful petals:

This exhibit interested me because... I was born in 1981)))

Petition to the Tver governor for the construction of the plant:

Unfortunately, the photographs were without captions... like all the exhibits in the museum.

This is how the ancient documents and photographs are located (glued to the stand, and the stand is removed behind the exhibits against the wall):

Model of a furnace for melting sand into glass:
In fact, there are a lot of photographs, and anyone interested can go to my Yandex photos page.

Having photographed enough, I decided not to detain Svetlana any longer. Together we went to the entrance, where she said that she was in such a hurry that she forgot to take the fee for visiting. At first I was wary, but when they told me the amount of 30 rubles, I relaxed, because taking a bunch of interesting photographs definitely costs more. This was the end of my trip to the museum. I complain that I forgot to photograph the very inscription on the building “Museum of the Factory”.
The visit to the museum left a mixed impression. On the one hand - admiration for the work, on the other - the depressing state of the plant itself, and the futility of this museum. Upon arrival home, I found out that the plant was put up for sale for 152 million rubles (or $5.72 million). As follows from the text accompanying the announcement: the buildings and equipment are of no value or interest and are subject to demolition. The infrastructure is of interest: ease of access, its own railway line, electricity and gas power. That is, it is interesting for those who decide to build a factory on this territory from scratch.

Here's what we learned about the museum's prospects: The new St. Petersburg owners of the plant tried to take the collection to St. Petersburg. And apparently they wanted to “push” the exhibits from the auction, but so far the indignant people and the local press have prevented it. Details in

Getting from the regional center to the village of Krasnomaysky is not difficult: a regular bus goes there every 20 minutes. The third stop after turning off the M10 highway - and you are at the factory entrance. The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. except weekends and holidays. More precisely, it can be open. To get there, you need to call in advance and book a tour. And at the agreed time, go to the entrance, where the caretaker will meet you and lead you to the museum.

All that remains of the entrance

In the museum

“And the kerosene lamps, painted with gold and paints, were also striking in their beauty. It was these lamps, topped with thin, light lampshades, that were awarded a gold medal at the All-Russian Art and Industrial Exhibition in Moscow in 1882.”(“Krasnomaisky glazier”, 1988). By 1990, when the 20th anniversary of the Krasny May factory museum was celebrated, it stored more than three hundred products of pre-revolutionary (Bolotinsky) craftsmen and about 4 thousand samples already Soviet period- both unique exhibits made of colored, applied and zinc sulfide glass, as well as mass products. Many of these exhibits were brought by village residents. That is, like most museum exhibitions, this one was also created literally bit by bit.

The current state of the museum is little better than the enterprise. On the ground floor of the building, where there was once a canteen, there is the same devastation as in the workshops. Only upstairs, where the museum itself is, is there order. Except, of course, for the leaking roof and lack of heating. Formally, the museum belongs to the owners of the former plant - it is clear that such land cannot be owned by anyone. Who they are and what their names are, no one with whom I was able to talk knows. In fact, he is more or less monitored by entrepreneurs located on the territory of “Red May”. The region or the Vyshnevolotsky district may and would like to take the glass museum on its own balance sheet, but they cannot: the law does not allow it to take it and take it away (or, more precisely, save it). Just as they cannot provide financial assistance: misappropriation of budget funds, criminal article. Even if our history is at stake. It's a pity. The moment when it is too late to do anything usually comes unexpectedly. And the owners cannot be reached.

Although, if the authorities really wanted to, they would probably have done everything that was necessary.

All that remains of the dining room

Indeed, a surprise

“Invaluable assistance in collecting materials about the history of the plant was provided by Nikolai Aleksandrovich Khokhryakov, Vasily Maksimovich Semyonov and other comrades. Builders under the leadership of Yuri Dmitrievich Popov, mechanical shop workers led by Leonid Petrovich Vasin, the manufacturer of frescoes from the Bolotino period, Viktor Vladimirovich Rakov, and other comrades made a great contribution to the design of the museum building. It is impossible not to note the great contribution to the creation of the history museum in public principles employee of the Vyshnevolotsk Museum of Local Lore Galina Georgievna Monakhova, who even gave her vacation to this cause”(“Krasnomaisky glazier”, 1988). In the museum you can not only see samples of Krasnomaysk products, but also learn about the people who created them. Lyudmila Kuchinskaya, Victor Shevchenko, Anatoly Silko, Sergey Konoplev, Svetlana Beskinskaya, spouses Elena Esikova and Konstantin Litvin. Tver art connoisseurs do not need to introduce the latter. Esikova and Litvin still work as glass artists and participate in various exhibitions.

"Red May" is the birthplace of zinc sulfide glass. About 30 years ago, the plant began to develop this new Soviet glass. Interest in an unsolved technological innovation helped reveal all the color transformations. By the will of the artist and master, golden glass turned out to be capable of turning into opal, then icy-smoky, and then suddenly flashing with colored patterns or marble stains.”(“Krasnomaisky glazier”, 1988). Sulfide or zinc sulfide glass, painted sulfur compounds iron and zinc, created in 1958 by technologist Leningrad plant art glass (LZHS) Evgenia Ivanova and engineer of the same enterprise Alexander Kirienen. A year later, it was already mastered at the Vyshnevolotsk plant and soon became its business card. Due to its wide range of colors and the ability to change it depending on the temperature and duration of processing, sulfide glass is also called the “Russian miracle”.

“Recently, experimental glass melting was carried out at the Krasny May glass factory, the raw material for which was sand delivered from Georgia. Employees of one of research institutes Tbilisi was given the task of testing the suitability of local sand deposits, containing a large percentage of iron, for the production of building glass. They turned to the Krasnomaysk residents for help. Workers from the plant's chemical laboratory, together with the team from the fourth workshop, successfully tested the sand - green, blue and blue building glass were obtained. blue flowers. The results of this experiment will serve as the basis for establishing the production of colored profile glass for the construction needs of Georgia"(“Kalininskaya Pravda”, 1980). The range of products of the plant, as I already noted in the first part, was wide. However, not only a zinc sulfide vase, but also an ordinary glass or the same building glass from “Red May” can be called Russian miracles. This is the specificity of the plant: it was impossible to do anything bad or even mediocre here. Or they didn't know how.

Photo from the magazine "Youth" for 1981

* * *
“In 1995, at Red May they began to pay salaries in crystal vases. The advance, one might say, was received “green”, and all because at the Vyshnevolotsk glass factory they welded the crystal a little with greenery, and the customers refused it. Then it was given to the workers: sell it and earn your own bread... On paydays, glass products were given out to the workshops and also the workshops were assigned places where to stand on the highway. People cried, but closed their mouths: after all, at least some money was flowing.” (“Tver Life”, 2004). In fact, they started selling Red May products on the Moscow - St. Petersburg highway much earlier. In 1992, they definitely stood with vases - men and women, groups and individuals. The “points” were located over more than twenty kilometers from the turn to Leontyevo and almost to Khotilovo. This is how the unique plant survived the turbulent 90s. Survived. At the very least, he survived. Reports about economic growth that accompanied the first steps of the new President Vladimir Putin should have been supplemented by “Red May”. But trouble came from where it was not expected at all.

All that remains of the company store

“And this entire farm now belongs to two St. Petersburg entities - CJSC Holding Company Ladoga (V.V. Grabar) and a certain citizen Mikhail Romanovich Pruzhinin.<…>By coincidence, Mikhail Romanovich is one of the closest and most trusted acquaintances of the Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Tver Region and the former Vyshnevolotsk mayor Mark Zhanovich Khasainov.” (“Tverskaya Gazeta”, 2004). Usually, time is cited as the culprit for destroyed enterprises or collective farms. Confusion. Redistribution But behind every action, as a rule, there are specific people. "Red May" is one of the few examples where these people are called by name. According to the author of the article, in 2002, the new management of the plant requested a loan of $2.2 million from a certain American company to create a line for the production of bottle containers (is a unique enterprise suddenly switching to bottles?) under government guarantees. That is, if “Red May” fails to fulfill its loan obligations, two million “greens” must go overseas. In the end, this is exactly what happened: the scheme had been worked out and debugged for a long time. And no money, no bottles, no crystal.

I don’t remember that any of the people listed in the material brought Tverskaya Gazeta to court. And the fact that Mark Khasainov, over the years of leading Vyshny Volochok, has practically crushed all local economic resources under his control is no secret to anyone. So this version can be considered “working”, albeit adjusted for someone’s “order”: such information can appear in the media only if it is deliberately leaked.

Parts were the city and the region. Now let's look at the two museums of Vyshny Volochok. This is a local history museum, introducing the past of the city, its unique canals and iconic people, and a real Glass Fairy Tale or Colored Dream - a glass museum of the former Red May plant, several times even producing ruby ​​glass for the stars of the Kremlin towers on government orders.

1. Glass production near Vyshny Volochok appeared in the second half of the 19th century, when a local merchant bought a chemical plant and based it on the production of tableware, lampshades and kerosene lamps

2. A little later, the production of colored glass appeared, when an experienced glassmaker who knew the secret of the technology came to the plant

3. The plant’s products received high awards at pre-revolutionary exhibitions

8. And the little animals, ahah, look what they are!

11. After the revolution, the plant was nationalized, renamed "Red May", expanded and modernized production. Lamp glass, window glass, dishes, lamps for the subway - all this was made here. High-quality color products, which, as in tsarist times, occupied high places in the international exhibitions, nicknamed the "Russian miracle"

12. In the 1940s and 1970s, the plant carried out probably the most important task in its history - a government order for the production of ruby ​​glass for the Kremlin stars. Here are his pieces

Having visited this museum, I was already dreaming of how I would get to the production site and make a report, but fate did not. In 2001, the Red May glass factory was closed. Let’s face it, a huge era has passed and a whole page has been torn out of the book on the history of our country, but the memory remains. Just for the sake of this museum, to visit here again, I would return to Vyshny in the summer on a Mosturflot cruise or in winter as part of bus tours, the so-called “winter cruises” of this company.
It would seem that there has been no plant for almost 17 years, but a residue from this fact still remains inside.

13. And this is already Museum of Local Lore Vyshny Volochok. To be honest, I don’t really like these, but I didn’t regret visiting Vyshnevolotsky. It is already more than 80 years old, but the exhibitions do not smell like a layer of museum dust and you don’t need to bring a pillow with you to sleep out of boredom. Not so long ago everything here was also reconstructed.

Local guides are true professionals in their field, enthusiasts, ready to talk for hours about every detail, about every exhibit as if it were about a person dear to them personally and an old friend. No memorized phrases from guidebooks, no “tell me and finish quickly.” So I highly recommend the museum to everyone!

14. In the Petrovsky Hall you can not only learn about the activities of the Tsar, who made the Vyshnevolotsk waterway truly navigable (thus connecting the Baltic and the Caspian Sea and opening up many new opportunities for the development of Russia with the help of Vyshnevolotsk), but also see cannons raised from the bottom of the canals , cannonballs, hooks - witnesses of that era

17. The Dutch, who built canals for Peter in Vyshny Volochyok, messed up. They were used to working with the sea and did not take into account the peculiarities of our area. In the summer, lakes and rivers became shallow, canals became dehydrated, traffic along the canals stopped and famine set in in the cities.

The Novgorod merchant M.I. Serdyukov undertook to correct the situation and improve the waterway. He, a self-taught hydraulic engineer, devoted a third of a century to the water system of Vyshny Volochok. Locks, beyslots, the Tsninsky Canal, the reservoir - all these are the results of his labors

18. Model of the Tsninsky lock, built by Serdyukov

19. Plan of hydraulic structures in Vyshny Volochyok, presented by Serdyukov to Emperor Peter

20. And modern map.
After visiting the museum, I wanted to visit all the buildings in the summer, including those almost destroyed by time and man, to see everything in person and get to know in more detail the water artery that was once very important for Russia

21. Model of Vyshny Volochok from the time of Peter the Great. Now, if museums have models, that’s very cool)

22. Look how handsome he is!
Frigate "Pallada". Its first captain was Nakhimov. Subsequently, the frigate visited many voyages, including Japan. With the beginning Crimean War due to fear of capture by the British, it was sunk.
Over the years, Vyshnevolotsk and Tver nobles served on it.

23. The canals of Vyshny Volochok were the most important freight routes. Here is a model of a cargo barque, made according to a 19th century drawing. How do you like the fact that the barge lifted up to 130 tons of cargo? I didn't believe it at first)

In Vyshny, in connection with the transition from lifting to rafting, the vessels were re-equipped. The rudders and masts were removed, platforms were set up, on which stood people operating 4 huge oars - potes. A pilot and 10 workers were placed on each barge

24. Remember in the first part there was a chapel on the site of the 18th century Kazan Cathedral, where Catherine’s decree was read, granting Vyshny Volochok the status of a city? This is what this cathedral was like, blown up in the 1930s