For many years history has collected and studied testimonies of the past — archaeological finds, objects from different eras, documents, photographs — in order to compose the most objective historical picture possible. Modern researchers pay attention not only to objective data, but also to what can be called subjective history — various personal records, diaries. What are diaries? The Short Literary Encyclopedia defines a diary as: «a form of narration written in the first person in the form of daily entries. Usually, such entries are contemporary with the events described». With a large volume of such data and by correlating them with other historical sources, we can obtain a more voluminous picture of the past. Diaries and memoirs of ordinary people are of great importance. After all, more often we know the official history, that which is in documents and tells the life of high society — rulers, aristocrats. The memories and diaries of those we call 'ordinary people' — teachers, workers and even peasants (there are some of those too, although significantly fewer) — open up a completely different part of past life for us. Therefore, we are very glad that we discovered in the museum's old acquisitions the personal documents of Ivan Alexandrovich Neklyudov. The collection was formed thanks to his relative, Margarita Sergeevna Kashirina, who brought several of his photographs, documents, diaries, original drawings, and teaching visual aids to the museum in 2005. Of course, the most interesting items in the collection are the personal diaries of I. A. Neklyudov, dated 1917–1974. G. N. Chagin, a professor at PSU, studied them at one time.
Ivan Alexandrovich carried out local history work, was a teacher and a specialist in library affairs. In 2022 it was 120 years since the birth of Ivan Alexandrovich Neklyudov. He left behind an important historical source about everyday life in Cherdyn and its surroundings in the early 20th century — personal diaries.
Ivan Alexandrovich was born on June 8, 1902 (old style) in the family of a townsman, and his grandmother, Elizaveta Fedorovna, was listed as a merchant's wife of the 2nd guild; besides Ivan Alexandrovich's father, she had 5 more sons and a daughter. In 1913 he graduated from the Cherdyn parish primary school, and in 1919 he completed the full course of the real school. After finishing his studies, Ivan Alexandrovich took a job in the zemstvo library. From the 1920s he began teaching, first in rural schools, later in Cherdyn, working at the school of working youth and the pedagogical technical school.
Ivan Alexandrovich Neklyudov on the right
I. A. Neklyudov belonged to the Society for the Study of the Cherdyn Region, which published several collections of local history materials. In the second issue of the collection for 1927 an "Index of books and articles printed in various journals and newspapers about the Cherdyn region" was published. Ivan Alexandrovich carried out extensive research when preparing this index. It contains several thematic sections that include 218 titles of various publications that mention the Cherdyn region. In 1935 he participated in the creation of an economic description of the Cherdyn district.
Ivan Alexandrovich married Maria Fedorovna Selyanina in 1940. Their son Vladimir was born on September 3, 1944, and died in 1945. The Neklyudov family lived in their own house at 47 Gagarin Street. Ivan Alexandrovich died on December 15, 1978. His house has not been preserved.
I. A. Neklyudov began keeping diaries in 1917, while still at the real school. World War I was underway, a revolution had begun in the Russian Empire, and the student began writing diaries in Cherdyn. He recorded the names of steamships that arrived here, how services in the churches were conducted, how many lessons he learned that day and how the grading system in the school had changed, how the Reds arrived, what changed in the lives of Cherdyn residents. These changes in Cherdyn and the country are reported by the young man, not by the texts of official newspapers and decrees. That is the value of personal documents — a private view of events.
1918
January 31. A cloudy day, quiet, snow. Today instruction began in the upper grades, both in the real school and in the gymnasium. The strike has ended. I did not go to school due to illness. Aunt Kanya visited us with Senya; today there were weapon searches at the Bolshie and Malye Aliny. Student Zaparin and earlier yesterday Korovin (a former zemstvo employee and former real school student) and ensigns Vologdin and Yeremeyev were arrested. The town's mood is anxious; those better off have left the town, including the head (official). I read Melnikov. I studied lessons. Night dark, quiet.
February 4. A clear day, sun, quiet, frosty -28. Matins from 8:30 to 10:30 with a deacon, without chanters. I served. I. O. Romanovsky. I studied lessons. I went to school to exchange books; there was a search at the school. In the evening 150 Bolshevik soldiers arrived and occupied the real school. Papa and mama visited M. D. Protopopov. Serafima and Shurochka went to the play "A Heavy Fate" arranged by seminarians and gymnasium students. It began at 6 p.m., ended at midnight. After the play there was dancing. Night clear, quiet, starry, moon not very bright, frosty.
February 10. A clear day, sun, quiet, melting in the sun. Valery and I finished the reel and watered it. Today, due to the transfer of power in the city of Cherdyn to the Cherdyn Soviet of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies, there was a demonstration from 10 a.m. from the City Administration. About 100 soldiers, workers, captured Austrians, and small boys took part in the demonstration. None of the educated residents took part. In the evening I went to the all-night vigil at Bogoyavlenie. From today after the Gospel the prayer "Open to me the doors of repentance, O Life-giver" (Tone 5) is sung. Night very clear. We had guests uncle Pavel and M. G. Fratkina.
The diaries are homemade rectangular notebooks of small size, assembled from separate sheets of school exercise books and stitched with thread. At first his diaries are very detailed; the later ones, from 1949–1978, contain more information about the weather. The diaries from the 1930s have not yet been found.
From the album of I. A. Neklyudov, 1918
In the earliest diaries there are notes about how the grading system changed after the revolution: a two-point grading system was introduced and discipline was relaxed. Neklyudov wrote: 'It was allowed to form a union of pupils of the real school, the gymnasium, the city male school and the seminary and many other things that were forbidden under the old regime. But this very badly affected the young pupil generation. But then the students got used to it, and everything settled down.' From the entries we learn that educational institutions of the old type were abolished, and labor schools of the 1st and 2nd stages were created. The vocational school was abolished entirely, and the teachers' seminary became a vocational school.
1918
January 24. A cloudy day, windy. Papa went for hay to Nassonov. We had 3 lessons, 2 were: History, Literature and German. The school was cold so some pupils sat in class in coats. In History only V. A. assigned the lesson, and then for 3/4 of the lesson they talked; in Literature they took notes; for German everyone refused (although any two knew the lesson), and they made a noise; the German teacher left the class and the rest of the lesson was spent doing nothing. Until 6 o'clock I studied lessons, went to the shop and to Zyryanov for 2 liters of kerosene. At 4 o'clock there was a general meeting of secondary school students (in the gymnasium from grade 5, in the real school from grade 4, and in the seminary all classes except preparatory) at the real school regarding the conflict between the headmistress and the teachers, and the dismissal of 15 teachers who resigned because of the headmistress. The gymnasium students asked for support so that the teachers would return and continue classes (which had been stopped); some supported them. At 7 p.m. in the cobbler's workshop I stretched insoles on lasts. Uncle Pavel sat with us. I studied lessons and read Ostrovsky: "A Profitable Position". Mama went to a parent meeting at the gymnasium. Night overcast and drifting snow. I went to bed at 1 a.m.
February 21. Church services in schools abolished. No directors or inspectors, all teachers offer Father Nikolai 2 lessons of history per week for 10 rubles a month. I don't know whether the upper classes will open or not, since from class B 8 people have enrolled in the Red Guard… The Red Guard headquarters is in the house of I. S. Shchegolikhin (former Fedorov) at the Assumption. Today 50 men of the Red Guard were sent to the front, including real school students. Some real school students left for Vishera. Papa, uncle Misha, Kolya Nassonov and another unrelated man went with 4 horses for hay to Sorovchiha. Day cloudy, sun, wind, melted well in the sun. I went to school to copy the exam program. In the evening I went to the public library and at 7 o'clock saw the following phenomenon in the sky: a large luminous circle with a star in its middle; the phenomenon lasted no more than 1 minute. In the evening uncle Pavel and uncle Petya were at our house. Tonight uncle Pavel stayed over. I read a little. Night dark, windy, at first starry then overcast.
The most interesting items in the collection are the diaries dated 1917–1922. They contain drawings, some with notes. Drawings of churches, chapels, architectural decorative elements, steamships, natural features and even caricatures ("illustrations left"); the drawing of the chapel of Peter and Paul that stood beyond Kolva gives an idea of how the chapel looked. It was destroyed in the 1930s; no photographs of it have been preserved. The drawing on the left is the only visual representation of it.
Or, for example, the drawing on the right of the church in Bigichi. This was the last church built before the establishment of Soviet power. Today, a reconstruction of this church stands in the very center of Cherdyn on Trinity Hill. Ivan Alexandrovich and his mother attended the consecration of this church, which is recorded in his diaries.
1918
June 29. The day of Peter and Paul. Name-days: Petr Mikhailovich Kuznetsov, Petya Golovin. Today there was the consecration of the church in the name of the Prophet Elijah. Matins was at 5 o'clock; after matins the consecration, then the liturgy, and everyone left at 1 p.m. We went home at 2 p.m. and arrived home at 8 p.m. Day clear, sun, wind, evening quiet. Night overcast, small wind and warm.
Neklyudov describes interesting city events: religious processions through the town, the Prokopyev Fair, church Sunday or festive services in which he took part. I. A. Neklyudov evaluates the singing of various church choirs. All this was before the persecutions against the church and before their closures in the late 1920s. He also describes cultural city events. There are entries about various household and farm matters. For example, in 1925 a hydroplane flew to Cherdyn. Besides a newspaper clipping, we can read an eyewitness account of the event in I. A. Neklyudov's diary:
1925
August 7. Today a hydroplane arrived in Cherdyn at 8 p.m. It flew past our hayfield while we were pitching hay. The writer Boris Pilnyak arrived on the hydroplane.
August 9. Today the hydroplane made several flights.
August 11. The hydroplane flew to Ust-Kamchik (Ust-Kamensk).
In Ivan Alexandrovich's albums there are a large number of entries about Cherdyn's steamship traffic. Sometimes he recorded information about the arrival of steamships almost daily: time, name, berth and how long they stayed at the station.
This information is important for studying and preserving the history of the development of water transport communication in the territory of the "Cherdyn interfluve".
Hydroplane on the Kolva
1917
April 18 (new style May 1). Today we had no classes; we read about the workers' holiday at 10 a.m. then there was a prayer service for workers since today is the workers' holiday. Snow fell at night. The morning was clear, sun, wind. Today at 11:20 a.m. the first steamship "Solikamsk" arrived and left for Perm at 12:45 p.m. In the evening overcast; papa went fishing.
May 9. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The archbishop served in the Transfiguration Church. At our Assumption feast they go with the cross. The liturgy was from 8 to 10:30 a.m. Day gray, quiet and warm; in the morning there was sun until 12. For the summer three professors arrived in Cherdyn and read lectures during the summer. Today there was a good steamship "Dobryanka". In the evening rain, quiet and warm. At night rain, very warm.
May 24. A clear but cloudy day, quiet. Papa, mama and Lyubov went to the consecration of the church in Savina, they returned at 6 o'clock. There was the steamer "Solikamsk". Toward evening wind. At night a light breeze.
The diaries of I. A. Neklyudov provide a coherent description of city and family events over a fairly long period and serve as a valuable historical source for studying the social, cultural, and political aspects of the life of Cherdyn's population from the establishment of Soviet power in 1917 up to the 1970s.
The drawings from the diaries inspired art-residence participant, artist Alexander Savvov, who, based on Ivan Alexandrovich's sketches, created an animation — bringing to life images of century-old Cherdyn and the Kolva.
Note: in the quotations the author's spelling and punctuation have been preserved.
Authors of the article: I.N. Trofimova, E.P. Kurtenok. Author of the video tour — I.N. Trofimova,
filming — M.N. Vedernikova, animation — A.G. Savvov.
