“Preservation of the Russian House in the Russian North”

The “Preservation of the Russian House in the Russian North” Project had been under implementation in 2011-2012 at the expense of the Grant of the American Ambassadors’ Fund for Cultural Preservation and budget funds of the Vologda Region and in 2013-2014 at the expense of Embassy of the United States, Moscow.

This project was directed to carrying out repair and restoration work to restore the kopylov House from Korostelevo village, Syamzha district in the Museum.

In connection with “Vologda and the United States of America have a long history of close and efficient cooperation of a special if not exceptional character.  Travelers from the very heart of the Russian North had made a major contribution in the development of Russian America in the 18th: 19th centuries. Fort Ross, founded by the Russian–American Company in 1812, became the utmost southern point of colonial settlements in North America. It became an attractive point for the current cooperation between our countries. Let us remind that the Russian-American history has moved forward since the times of the Cold War and these relations still keep developing…While the U.S. Mission is preparing for celebration of the 200th anniversary of Fort Ross foundation (log houses of which look quite similar to Vologodian ones), we can’t imagine a better way to renew cooperation with founders of Fort Ross than to help restore a wooden house of the 19th century… A presentable and relatively well-preserved Kopylov House is a special historical artifact, primarily because it clearly shows traditional elements of the architecture of the Russian North. The house was richly decorated and ornamented by wooden carving and other architectural features which show all the richness of the Russian North…… The Semenkovo Open-Air Museum of Architecture and Ethnography is an ideal project partner, because it really is engaged in preservation of wooden architecture memorials…” From the application form for the Grant of U.S. Ambassadors’ Fund for Cultural Preservation of the U.S. State Department; St. Petersburg, 2010.

In 2011-2012 reconstruction of the facade decorations of the residential part of the house had been implemented; the original transported elements were complimented by remade missing elements including chiseled balusters of the balcony fences, vases, paneled pipes, shaped cornice and roofing elements, and the windows.

On August 10, 2012 in connection with completion of the facades restoration and under the frames of celebration of the 200th anniversary of Fort Ross, presentation of the Kopylov House from Korostelevo village, Syamzha District, took place.An interactive sketch “1881: This House Is of Vasiliy Kopylov.”The ceremony of unveiling of the memorial stone telling about the U.S. and Russia’s contributions to the “Preservation of a Russian House in the Russian North” project.V.N. Kopylov, the last owner of the house, said, “Our house, which is very dear to me, is having the second birth.”

In the fall of 2013, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow provided the Semenkovo Museum with a Grant for restoration of the interiors of the Kopylov House and creation of the English version of the museum website. 

October 16, 2014 the reults of the "Preservation of the russian house in the Russian North" directed to the restoration of the interiors of the Kopylov House from Korostelevo village, Syamzha district were setted out.