Modern Tver is an industrial city and a major transportation hub. The rapid development of infrastructure and factories began with the laying through the settlement of the Nikolaev railway. In addition to the opened railway tracks, a highway of national importance passed through Tver, and water transport was actively used. Such a favorable situation caused a rapid growth of production, one of the most successful undertakings was the textile business.
Tver Manufactory
The first industrialists to unleash in full force, became the Morozov dynasty. They built several production complexes, as well as a working town - Morozov barracks. An eminent merchant and industrialist Savva Morozov and his son Timofey made an investment by buying out the “Tver Partnership of Paper Products Partnership” from a group of merchants. The enterprise was located on the banks of the T'maki River, and Timofey Savvich received the factory under management.
Under his leadership, the company stayed until 1872. During this time, workshops were built where the spinning, weaving, whitening and dyeing factories were opened. In 1872, the company “Savva Morozov & Co.” was divided, the weaving production in Tver passed to the grandchildren David and Abram Abramovich Morozov. A. Morozov began to manage the business, he developed his business successfully and by 1878 the volume of goods released was 212 thousand pounds per year.
He significantly expanded production capacity, which created new jobs and caused an influx of workers. For the residence of employees and their families, approximately in 1870, the construction of the first microdistrict in Russia with its own infrastructure was started. In the future, he received the name "Morozovsky town", today it is the pride and pain of Tver.
Under female management
At the end of his life, Abram Abramovich became poor in health, his wife, Varvara Alekseevna, who came from a textile manufacturer A. Khludov, took charge of the affairs. From 1883 to 1892, she headed the board of trustees of the manufactory. Her labors and cares for factory workers included a hospital, a maternity hospital, a library, an orphanage for orphaned children, a nursery, a house of contempt and an almshouse, a school, a pharmacy, a shelter for chronicles, and a needlework school.
Of the three sons of this branch of the Morozov clan, Ivan Abramovich inherited the entrepreneurial vein. Having received a technical education in Zurich, he returned to Tver in 1890 and stood at the head of the enterprise. Being a man of wide views, Ivan Morozov continued to develop the manufactory and residential complex. Under him, magnificent multi-story and well-equipped buildings for workers were erected, the main achievement in this area was the opening of the People's Theater, a project by architect V. Tersky.
In the late 1890s, the territory of the manufactory expanded, construction of workshops and residential buildings on the left bank of the Tmaki River began. In 1902, a severe fire occurred, causing significant damage to many factory facilities. By 1904, the restoration of the buildings was completed, and several new buildings were built, including wooden ones.
general description
After the revolution of 1917, the town of Morozovs was renamed the Yard of the Proletarians of Tver. In total, the micro district of Tver manufactory was built during the 19-20 centuries. Famous architects of their time took part in the creation of the complex, not only from Russia, but also masters of France and Italy. The microdistrict was built according to a strict, approved plan. The architectural value of each building is undeniable today, but until a hundred years ago, development is more a problem for local authorities than an occasion for pride.
Members of the Morozov family actively adopted the best practices of Western industrialists and introduced innovations in their own industries, including in Tver. The Yard of the Proletariat is an analogue of factory villages that were built by industrialists of America, Germany, Italy. The ensemble includes about fifty buildings, the interior space is divided by the main street, going from north to south.
Caring for workers
The main street of the Yard of the Proletarian in Tver divides the residential complex into two unequal parts. The eastern part was given to administrative buildings, there was a library with a reading hut, a police station, the People’s Theater, a hospital and several shops. Residential barracks for workers were located in the western part of the building.
In the days of Morozov, the town was surrounded by a wall with two gates, some of them can be seen firsthand today, and the second became part of the existing production, and the approach to them is prohibited. On the coast of T'maki, a spinning mill building stood, in front of its southern facade was the central square. The appearance of the Proletarian Courtyard in Tver was designed by Konstantin Tersky, architects A. Fedorov, A. Erichson and V. Nazarov took part in the construction of individual buildings.
During the construction of buildings, new technologies were applied - steel and reinforced concrete structures were used, communications were carried out, electricity was connected. The general style can be described as transitional from neo-Gothic to modern, some experts believe that the style refers to the romanticized modern. The most significant buildings are the central building and the People's Theater.
CHP
To meet the production needs of the factory, Morozovs built a central power station. It is located at: Dvor Proletarka, 1 (Tver), today the oldest city thermal power station is located in this building. In 2012, the centenary of the launch of the first phase of the station was celebrated. The first equipment was two generators, six steam boilers.
In 1932, the first modernization took place, during which a turbogenerator with a capacity of 6 thousand kW was installed, but peat was still the fuel. In 1962, CHPP-1 was converted to gas, and fuel oil became the backup fuel in the event of a gas supply failure. Technical equipment is constantly changing, the station is expanding its capabilities.
"Paris" in Tver
At the address: Yard of the Proletarka, 70, in Tver the central barracks of the town of Morozovs is located, the building is popularly known as "Paris". This house is the pearl of the whole complex and is included in the list of monuments of architecture of federal significance. The house was built one of the last in the working campus, the completion of work was in the 1910s.
The main material for the construction was selected red brick, it was produced at one of the Morozov plants. According to tradition, a chicken egg yolk was added to the cement mortar, which gave all the houses of the Proletarian Yard (Tver) an unprecedented resistance - the walls did not succumb to bombing during the war years or human disorder. Some barracks were built more than 100 years ago, but still give the impression of an unshakable one, although they have never been repaired.
Architects chose the Art Nouveau style for “Paris”, huge windows spectacularly look on the front facades through which light pours onto the stairwells. The tilt of the window repeats the location of the stairs. The barracks has five floors, 215 window openings go to the southern facade. The entrance to the building is made in the form of a vaulted arch, and the original decorations on the upper perimeter of the house decorate the stove heating fittings.
Modernity
The interior of the house has a ceiling height of 3.7 meters, huge windows and thick walls that save residents from the cold during the winter cold, and in the summer from the heat. House "Paris", located in the residential complex Dvor Proletarki, 70 (Tver) - is the only reconstructed hostel. In 1968, the authorities carried out a large-scale redevelopment, making an apartment building out of a dilapidated communal apartment. Today, only residents of this building live in relatively normal conditions.
The rest of the barracks, despite the historical and architectural value, are in disrepair, but people continue to live here for generations. In 2013, the inhabitants of "Paris" widely celebrated the centenary of the house. At the festival, they remembered all the eminent inhabitants of the Proletarian Courtyard - artist Vladimir Zeldin, musician David Goloshchekin, pilot - hero of the Great Patriotic War Evgeny Pichugin, singer Mikhail Krug.
Theatre
In the complex of the Courtyard of the Proletarian Tver is located the once-functioning National Theater. The two-story building was built in 1900 according to the design of K. Tersky. In the initial plans for the development of the house is listed as a "tea room and a hall for performances." The internal premises were divided into two parts - in the first there was a foyer and a tea room, and in the second - a theater stage and a hall for spectators. The architectural style of "modern" was sustained during the construction of the theater. When equipping, the latest technological advances were taken into account - steam heating, electric lighting, lifts and holds for working with decorations were installed. In the lower tier, under the stage, make-up rooms for artists were equipped, and choirs were arranged in the hall.
The urban audience and workers of the Morozov manufactory gathered for performances. At the beginning of the 20th century, the performances of The Queen of Spades, Carmen, and many others were staged on the stage of the Theater of the Courtyard of the Tver. After the revolution, the traditions of opera and theatrical productions persisted, although their subjects changed.
Today, a completely different life is being conducted in the former theater. On one of the walls there are memorial tablets. One of them is dedicated to the speech of Comrade Kalinin, the second tells that for some time the first council of the working deputies of Tver and the strike committee were housed in the building. Also in the theater in 1929, an agreement on socialist competition was signed, called the “Agreement of Thousands” between the three provinces - Moscow, Ivano-Voznesenskaya and Tverskaya. Now in the building of the former theater a swimming pool and a gym are arranged, where children and adults go to classes.
Dormitories
After the nationalization of the Morozov manufactory, the factory received the name "Proletarka", the constructed barracks passed into national ownership and became known as the Yard of the Proletarian Tver. For a long time, the buildings and internal premises were kept in a residential condition due to the reliability inherent in the construction, but without support, any building tends to collapse.
To date, out of 50 constructed buildings, only 7 remain inhabited, where about 700 families live. Of all the houses, only “Paris” can be called housing, the rest of the hostels are emergency. Once advanced in terms of technical equipment, housing fell into complete decline. In 1900, the current Courtyard of the Proletariat easily won a grand prix at the World Exhibition in Paris, as the best working town. The ambitions of the Morozov family were satisfied and moved them to new improvements.
You can see hints of the former surroundings today. The interiors are arranged according to the corridor type, on each floor there is an extensive kitchen and one bathroom for all. Spans of floors are connected by cast-iron cast-iron staircases, ornaments - balusters are preserved in some places, but all these rare and very neglected beauties are found only in those houses where there are residents. The city of Tver - the Yard of the Proletarian (index 170001 and 170004) is a significant place, but the authorities do nothing to preserve the historical and architectural heritage, referring to the fact that the monument is under federal jurisdiction.
Local disasters
The facades of many houses, undermined by time and lack of repair, begin to crumble, many are already supported by metal structures. So at the end of 2017, the facade of the hostel in house No. 119 collapsed. The brickwork fell off at the location of the household premises - toilets and sinks from the 4th to 1st floor. Employees of the management company left for the place and closed the toilets, simply blocking the entrances with tape. Residents continue to use emergency bathrooms - there are no other places for these purposes.
Earlier, in 2009, the dormitory received the emergency status at the address Dvor Proletarka, 47 (Tver), but even today, people continue to live in it. The target program for the resettlement of the town, which was first held in 2005-2010, did not receive proper implementation. Local authorities claimed that the failure of the program was due to the lack of the required number of free apartments. The new program has been adopted, but so far no results.
In connection with the decision to resettle the residents of house No. 47 and the lack of funds in the city budget, reconstruction of the building was stopped, and there is no money to resettle the remaining 122 families. Residents of the upper 4 floors of this house were “lucky” a little more - they were provided with “new” housing, but in other hostels of the Proletarian Courtyard.
Residents of the town say that living in houses is associated with great inconvenience and risks - they often turn off the water due to pipe breaks, mold spreads on the walls, stucco collapses also happen often. Firefighter often visits the Yard of the Proletarian Tver - electrical wiring, which has outlived several extreme service life periods, causes fires and lack of light. No less troubles are also brought by marginal elements, settling arbitrarily in emergency barracks and setting fires.
An example of a single house
At the beginning of 2017, the Tver Administration approved a plan for the reconstruction of several houses of the Proletarian Courtyard, house number 47 is also on the list. There are no movements to absorb funds yet. On the territory of the district there is a building completely renovated, under the Morozovs it housed the training complex of the Tver manufactory.
Barracks No. 15 was transferred to the gratuitous use of the Tver diocese, as compensation for the educational institutions that had once been taken from the church. Now the building houses an Orthodox high school. The barracks was completely transformed, the restoration work carried out gives an idea of what the Yard of the Proletarian should look like if efforts are made to restore it.
But until the situation has changed, the city authorities are engaged in the planning of repairs and restoration, rarely getting down to business. Residents can only hope for better housing conditions, relying on the powers that be or taking the situation into their own hands. Currently, in addition to residents, numerous private companies are located in dormitories and the former industrial zone.
