In preparation for the main winter holiday — during which the city of Kirov, having celebrated its 650th anniversary, will serve as Russia's New Year capital — the renovated unique complex of a traditional Northern Russian izba from the late 19th–early 20th centuries has opened at the Kirov Local History Museum. It features authentic elements of a Russian izba brought from northern territories during ethnographic expeditions.
Upon entering the izba, visitors “meet” its mistress dressed in the traditional costume of a resident of the Russian North. It is sewn from homespun cloth and decorated with bright hand embroidery.
In Kirov’s izba of the Russian North visitors can see how peasant life was arranged: how food was prepared, how they spun and sewed, and how children were raised. The izba includes the so-called “babiy kut” (the women’s corner/kitchen nook), where women spent time doing household work.
The izba exhibition has been supplemented by more than 20 examples of northern peasant house painting — a unique phenomenon of Vyatka folk culture. House painting adorned the main, specially revered places in the home: the front door and the red corner.
Many of the objects on display are characteristic only of Vyatka peasantry. For example, a wooden “sidukha” (a device in which infants were seated, analogous to a modern playpen) or a “charusha” (a woven bowl made from pine root).
An audio guide is currently being developed for tours of the Russian North izba in Kirov. During the New Year holidays interactive programs and puppet performances will take place here, where children and adults can physically touch various objects of peasant life and “visit” the century before last.
