Science city Protvino: city-forest and automobile dreams

It is generally accepted that Soviet architecture is monotonous and boring. This is especially true about the residential areas of the late USSR, with their poor planning and landscaping, shabby walls and poor entrances.

But Soviet architecture is different. Where the project was influenced not only by foremen, but also by architects, there are interesting solutions. For example, in the city of Protvino - a science city a hundred kilometers south of Moscow, which literally stands in the middle of a forest. Now its residents are trying to save their historical heritage from poor amenities and a “comfortable urban environment.”

City in the forest

In the early 1960s, the USSR decided to build the U-70 proton accelerator, the largest in the world at the time of its launch. They were looking for a place for it in the Moscow region. We stopped at the Protva River, from which the city got its name. The Institute of High Energy Physics was built here, whose employees worked with the accelerator. In the 1980s, they began to build a domestic hadron collider nearby, but due to lack of money it was mothballed.

Photo: trowel.zhzh.rf

Together with the institute, they began to build a city, right in the forest. The country has already adopted a resolution “on excesses”; deadlines and builders, rather than quality and architects, have become king. But at the same time, the concept of academic towns was emerging: unable to influence the shape of buildings, architects began to work more closely with landscaping and landscaping, and forests began to be purposefully introduced into their environment.

Story

During the Great Patriotic War, the front line passed near Protvino. At the beginning of December 1941, here the forces of the 49th Army stopped the advance of the 13th Army Corps of Army Group Center of German troops in the direction of Moscow. In the vicinity of Protvino, remains of dead servicemen and fragments of military equipment and weapons continue to be found. In the forest belt within the city, craters formed as a result of shell explosions have been preserved.

The name of the city is derived from the name of the Protva River. It was founded as a working village simultaneously with the start of construction of the U-70 proton accelerator in 1960 (this scientific instrument was the largest in the world until 1972).

Initially, the new settlement was named after its postal code - Serpukhov-7 and was a secret facility (not indicated on the map or road signs), access to which was possible only with a pass. On January 22, 1965, the status of an urban-type settlement was received and a new name: Protvino.

In 1963, the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) was organized to conduct research in the field of elementary particle physics, headed by theoretical physicist A. A. Logunov. This institute today is one of the largest physical scientific centers in Russia, and in Protvino it serves as a city-forming enterprise.

In Protvino, greenhouse conditions were created for the living and work of Soviet and foreign physicists: housing of improved series was built, stores were supplied with products and things unavailable in most other regions of the USSR, a house of scientists operated, in which stars of the Soviet stage, theater and movie.

In 1989, the urban-type settlement of Protvino was transformed into a city of regional subordination.

In the 1990s, due to a sharp decrease in government funding, IHEP’s scientific programs were curtailed, and the work of factories serving the institute and defense orders was paralyzed. Many scientists emigrated. The scientific potential of the city was lost.

On August 18, 2008, by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 624, the city of Protvino was awarded the status of a science city of the Russian Federation.

Architecture

The main role in the city is played by the Institute of High Energy Physics, surrounded by barbed wire. The theoretical building of the institute hosted scientists from all over the world, so the architects tried to emphasize the role of this building as a dominant feature in the city.

Plaster shining in the sun is a characteristic coating for the facades of public buildings in Protvino. This is a mixture of ordinary plaster with granite chips, which shines beautifully in the sun and emphasizes the shape of the facade.

Monumental artists actively participated in the design of city buildings. They lived and worked here in their workshops. For example, the artist Nikolai Stanislavsky created many such metal compositions throughout the city.

The construction was carried out by the Ministry of Medium Engineering, which was responsible for the nuclear industry and could be spent on the city. So, although residential buildings here were built from gray sand-lime brick and were not plastered, public buildings were covered with a beautiful layer of plaster coat with granite chips. And they even partially used facing red brick, which was rare and expensive.

Another object of monumental art, a fountain in the courtyard of the theoretical building, was created by the artist Nadezhda Sapunova. She conveyed the magnetic field lines using different colors of mosaic smalt. Unfortunately, its condition is terrible and requires repairs; as a bonus, there are flowers in pots around the perimeter, which were not included in the project in any way.

Usually, when they talk about how important it is to preserve the original details of buildings, even door handles and old windows, they mean buildings from pre-revolutionary times. But the same applies to Soviet modernist architecture: then there were aluminum windows of a special shape, material and color. They are often thrown out and replaced with ordinary plastic, this spoils the appearance of the house, and the difference is clearly visible from afar and especially close to the building - modernist architecture is more rigid and does not tolerate changes. Here the windows had not yet been broken out and sent to a landfill, but the doors had been thrown out.

New city facilities are no longer anything interesting and look more like warehouses. For the sake of new buildings and parking lots, they cut down the forest, which was carefully preserved here. There is a feeling that they simply forgot about architecture here.

History of the city of Protvino

Protvino is a scientific center with a population of 37,500 people, located 98 km from Moscow in the south of the Moscow region, covering an area of 2,500 hectares. City status was assigned on November 15, 1989. The status of a science city of the Russian Federation was assigned by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 624 of August 18, 2008. In 1958, a decision was made to build a new, at that time the most powerful in the world, particle accelerator in the USSR. According to the technical design, the accelerator must be on a monolithic base, since the supports of the huge ring magnet, which is the basis of the accelerator, must be very stable. In addition, the area must be seismically favorable, since precise permanent fixation of the axis of the vacuum chamber was required. As a result of a study of 40 sites in 14 regions of the country, including Siberia, the Urals and the Far East, the “Serpukhov option” was adopted. Here, once in ancient times, there was a sea, the former bottom of which, a dense limestone rock, the so-called Priokskoye Plateau, served as the basis for the foundation of the accelerator. In 1960, construction of the Institute of High Energy Physics (SSC IHEP) began. The place where the young city grew is located 17 km from the ancient city of Serpukhov with its rich historical past. It is located in one of the picturesque corners of the Moscow region on the banks of the Protva River, which gave the city its name. From the memoirs of an Honorary resident of the city, local historian N.N. Bochko: “In August 1962, the head of the OKS N.M. Martovetsky, the secretary of the party group M.M. Vizgirt, the head of the personnel department I.K. Bakai and the author of these lines gathered after a long During the discussions, it was decided to name the settlement under construction Protvino, after the name of the Protva River. We wrote a letter to the District Executive Committee, they agreed to name the settlement Protvino Kalinovsky Village Council (before that the settlement was called Serpukhov-7).” On January 22, 1965, by decision of the Moscow Regional Council of Workers' Deputies, Protvino was classified as a workers' settlement.

According to one version, the word “Protva” has old Mongolian roots. Many centuries ago, the advancing troops of the Tatar-Mongol horde stopped on the banks of a deep river. Surprised that the water in it was much cooler than in the Oka, through which they had crossed earlier, the warriors began shouting to each other “pro va, pro va” - cold water. This is how the name of the river appeared, which changed over the centuries.

According to another version, the etymology of the hydronym may be associated with the word “pirt”, which means a piece of fabric, a flap. The name of the river could have been given by the Vyatichi people according to the tradition of rinsing canvases and fabrics in the river. (“Selected toponymy of the Borovsk region and the Protva River basin”, M., 1995)

There are many villages around Protvino that have their own ancient history. Some of them are associated with the life and work of remarkable people: the village of Troitskoye - the estate of the president of two academies, Princess E.R. Dashkova, Polenovo - the house-museum of the artist V.D. Polenov, Dvoryaninovo - the estate of the memoirist and naturalist of the 18th century. A.T. Bolotova. Relatively nearby are: Melikhovo - the museum-estate of A.P. Chekhov, the museums of M. Tsvetaeva and K. Paustovsky in Tarusa, K. Tsiolkovsky in Kaluga, the Goncharov Linen Factory, the museum of Marshal G. K. Zhukov in Zhukov. Nearby is the unique Prioksko-Terrasny Nature Reserve, where to this day you can find more than 50 species of mammals, including bison, sika deer, elk, and deer. Nearby are the “Badsuki” hunting reserve and the protected lands of the “Russian Forest” association. The military glory of the city of Protvino is associated with the defense of the eastern bank of the Protva River during the Great Patriotic War. The front line ran along the Protva River from the village of Kremenki to the village of Drakino. At this point in November-December 1941, fierce and bloody battles were fought. The troops of the 194th Rechitsa Red Banner Rifle Division steadfastly held the defense. The battle was intense during the advance of Soviet troops on the village of Yuryatino. The enemy command saw it as an important point of resistance in their defense system. Long-range artillery firing positions were located here, from where the Nazis fired at Serpukhov and its environs.

Having occupied the mill, soldiers of the 1st battalion of the 470th rifle regiment of the 194th division bypassed Yuryatino from the southwest and rushed into the village with a swift attack. In a hot battle, the enemy garrison was completely destroyed. The destroyed mill became a natural monument to the heroism of Russian soldiers, a symbol of our city and a favorite motif in the work of Protvina artists, as well as a meeting place for authors and performers of amateur songs. In 1978, on the initiative of the Council of Veterans of the Great Patriotic War, according to the design of the architect Lisitsyn, a monument was erected at the line of defense in honor of the soldiers who stopped the enemy. The monument is made in the form of a granite cube, on top of which is placed a laurel wreath cast from cast iron. Nearby, on a pedestal, there is an anti-tank gun. Trenches, communication passages, and artillery positions have been restored.

According to tradition, on the eve of Victory Day, veterans, internationalist soldiers, and the younger generation go in a torchlight procession to the line of defense to honor the memory of those who died for their homeland, laying wreaths and flowers. On the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow, June 22, a rally dedicated to this tragic date is held at the “Border of Defense” memorial. Since 2007, a ritual of ceremonial burial of the remains of soldiers of the Soviet Army who died during the Great Patriotic War on the outskirts of Moscow has been held at the turn. In 2007, 12 soldiers were buried, and in 2008 - 15. Searchers from the Memorial detachment, cadets and officers of the Serpukhov Military Institute, including a salute group and a brass band, representatives of the clergy, military leadership, and war veterans participate in the mourning events. , city administration and residents of Protvino. The birthday of the city of Protvino is considered to be April 19, 1960. It was on this day, just three months after the start of excavation work to build a pit for the accelerator (January 10, 1960), that the first pegs were driven in for the construction of the future city of physicists. The first peg for the foundation of a residential building was driven by foreman F.Ya. Korkiainen. In the spring of 1961, new residents moved into the first residential building (8 Shkolnaya St.).

Protvino was originally created as a city as convenient as possible for residents. It is no coincidence that the chief architect, creator of the master plan for the construction of Protvino, Dmitry Mikhailovich Korin (1928-1985), was awarded the VDNH gold medal, and the design team was awarded a diploma from the Union of Architects of the USSR. The name of the architect is immortalized in the name of one of the city passages.

The city is located in a pine forest, in one of the most environmentally friendly places in Russia. The builders tried to preserve every tree. Pine trees remained not only along the sidewalks, but also in the courtyards, between houses. Pedestrian paths made of concrete slabs are laid in the most convenient places. Both in the city center and inside residential areas, the forest is a component of the artistic and architectural design of Protvino. Here is what the magazine “Science and Life” wrote in 1971 in the article “City of Physicists”: “Behind the trees that stand as a dense wall in the middle of the street, houses on the opposite side are not visible. Alley or street - what is primary, what is secondary? The main question of philosophy in this case is resolved in favor of the alley. It was once a piece of forest, and the street built through the forest did not erase it. Paths made of concrete slabs respectfully avoid the trunks of birch and pine trees...”

There is a pine tree in the city, which is called the Tsarevsky pine - the first head of construction of Protvino. There is a pine tree in the middle of the sidewalk opposite house No. 10 on the street. School. Old-timers say that when they laid the sidewalk, they wanted to cut down this pine tree. At this time, M.M. Tsarevsky was passing by, stopped and said: “There is no need to demolish such a centuries-old beauty. It’s not on the road, but on the sidewalk, and people will go around it.” The pine tree still stands today; pedestrians walk around it, admiring the majestic beauty. Additional planting of trees and shrubs was carried out in the city. Thus, many streets received their “own” plant: hawthorn predominates on Lenin Street, golden currant on Mira Street, acacia on Shkolnaya, lilac on Moskovskaya, chokeberry on Gagarin, and jasmine on Druzhby Street. Spiraea, Japanese quince, snowberry, and rose hips are planted along the sidewalks. Birch, maple, rowan, linden, and willow grow in abundance in the courtyards; bird cherry, larch, and horse chestnut are also found. When developing the city, architects sought to create a wide variety of neighborhoods and residential streets. The erected buildings are distinguished by their volumes and artistic and decorative elements of facade decoration. Various materials were used for the exterior decoration of facades and interiors of public buildings: decorative plasters with marble chips, composed of colored cements, elements made of wood and aluminum, and stained glass windows.

A group of five-story buildings is, so to speak, “old Protvino.” The houses in this microdistrict were built in the early sixties. Later, residential buildings were built only with higher storeys. Already the opposite side of Pobeda Street attracts attention with the spectacular combination of a shopping center, high-rise residential towers, and the green caps of pine trees located between them. The combination of three heights - multi-story residential buildings, one-story or two-story buildings of shops, cafes, institutions and forests - makes the city especially attractive, cozy, and gives it a special individual look.

The main and “oldest” street runs through the entire city - Lenin Street, going north and connecting the old and new districts. It houses the city administration building, a local history museum, an exhibition center, a clinic, the Samokhval shopping and entertainment complex, and an automatic telephone exchange. At the beginning of the street there is the “gate” of the city and the road to the accelerator. And in the evenings, the stained glass window of the brightly lit House of Culture stands out against the dark background of the forest. Its facade is decorated with a mosaic panel, symbolizing the development of matter and the process of nuclear decay. The road leading from the accelerator to the city turns into Victory Street. The first thing you notice when entering the city is the modern two-story building of the Impulse Sports Palace. A magnificent sports palace that meets international requirements was opened on March 13, 2008 and is intended for mass recreational activities of the population based on hand games, swimming, aerobics, training on simulators, holding competitions: local level in wrestling, regional level in basketball, volleyball, hand ball, mini-football. The opening ceremony was attended by the Governor of the Moscow Region B.V. Gromov.

Near the Sports Palace, two buildings of the Protva Hotel, where guests of Protvino stay, soared up. It was here in 1981 that the 39th session of the CMEA Commission on the Use of Atomic Energy for Peaceful Purposes was held. The hotel with 268 beds was opened in 1980. The hotel has a conference room, a restaurant with a banquet hall. The interior decoration of the hotel interior was made by artist V. Khudyakov from wood in a restrained manner, which gives it nobility and creates a special atmosphere of warmth and comfort. In the neighboring building there is a dispensary where IHEP employees, as well as Protvino guests from other cities, improve their health.

On Pobeda Street there is the first Protvinsk cafe “Orbita”, which opened in 1965. At one time they wrote about it: “On the wall of the cafe there is a knot of electronic orbits. This design detail is not a simple tribute to modernity. This symbol is very appropriate on this wall. Firstly, because it is a literal translation of the name of the cafe into the language of the drawing. The cafe is called "Orbita". Secondly, because this cafe is a physicists’ cafe. It is located in the city of physicists, Protvino” (Science and Life, 1971, No. 3). The film “Cafe Isotope” (1977) was filmed here. On Victory Street there is the Mirabell Park, named in honor of the 30th anniversary of the installation of the French Mirabell hydrogen chamber at the accelerator (in 1998). In 2008, the Alley of Entrepreneurs was founded in the park. During the first 10 years of its existence, the city grew not only in breadth, but also in height. Since the late 60s, 9-14-story buildings have been built. The first 9-storey building (Lenina St., 3) appeared in 1968. At various times, non-serial multi-storey buildings were built, made according to individual architectural designs. Two houses on Lenin Street create a jagged line with the originality of their design, for which they are popularly called “saw”. A merry round dance is formed by tower houses on Moskovskaya Street. The houses on Central Passage are called “swallow’s nests” due to the semicircular shape of their balconies. The houses on Lesnoy Boulevard, which were built for young families and therefore have only one-room apartments, are called “anthills” by the provincials. In the early 2000s, construction of elite club-type housing began in the city.

A very original one-story building of the House of Scientists, which opened in 1972. This is a magnificent complex consisting of a concert hall, a cafe, a bar, and a fireplace room. The most famous people visited here at different times, among them: French President Georges Pompidou, scientist and public figure Andrei Sakharov, actor and poet Vladimir Vysotsky, poet Arseny Tarkovsky and many others. Some buildings in the city were awarded diplomas of the USSR State Construction Committee of the 1st and 2nd degrees - the House of Scientists, Lyceum No. 2, houses No. 9, 18 on the street. Lenin. The city landscape is greatly adorned by the elegant sculptural composition “Weather Vane,” installed opposite the “Start” sports complex on Lesnoy Boulevard. It intricately combines waves, wind, and windsurfing. The author of this original composition is Protvinsk artist Nikolai Stanislavsky. His works can also be seen on the facades of the IHEP theoretical building, the music school, the House of Culture, and in the banquet hall of the Protva restaurant.

The highlight of the city is the Skazka children's park, a favorite place for several generations of children. The entrance to the “Fairy Tale” is guarded by wooden heroes, darkened by time. The park is decorated with wooden sculptures of animals and fairy-tale characters: the three-headed Serpent Gorynych, the Fox, the Squirrel. The “Fairy Tale” would not be complete without a tower – small, cozy, with a slide for kids. Instead of a magic carpet, there are wooden cars in which children can steer. There are different types of swings in the park - for children, for teenagers and “romantic” - for two. And in the center of the park, a favorite Russian pastime is a carousel for older children. On June 12, 2007 - on Russia Day - a ceremonial launch of the light and music fountain took place on the square in front of the Proton cultural center. The right of its grand opening, together with the head of Protvino V.Yu. Dmitrovsky, was given to the director of the Stroybetonservis enterprise, Nikolai Gaevoy, for the greatest contribution to the reconstruction of this facility. The modern history of Russia is reflected in the monuments erected in Protvino in the early 2000s. Protvino is the second largest city in Russia, where liquidators of the devastating consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident live. Participation in work at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant cost the lives of 29 provincials. On April 26, 2001, a memorial stone was laid in the park near the Proton cultural center in honor of the victims. And in November 2003, a monument to the victims of radiation disasters was erected on this site. The author of the project is Vladimir Mikhnenkov, Honored Cultural Worker of Protvino. The monument is made in a cosmofuturistic style. The main idea of the composition is this: life and death go side by side, and their confrontation often turns into tragedy. Every year on April 26, a funeral meeting is held here. To perpetuate the memory of internationalist soldiers, on the initiative of the Protvinsky branch of the all-Russian movement “Combat Brotherhood”, on August 22, 2005, at the intersection of Lenin and Druzhba streets, a foundation stone was opened for the future monument. Away from residential areas, surrounded by pine trees, stands the Church of All Saints in the Russian Land Who Shined Away. The church is single-domed with a three-nave layout and a belfry. It was built in 1990. The architect of the church building is a resident of Protvino, Sergei Kagramanov. The interior decoration of the temple was made in the style of the 17th century by the Moscow icon painter A. Artemyev. In 1993, priest Viktor Shkaburin began holding regular services on Fridays. A Sunday school was organized for the children. In the spring of 1993, Priest Alexander Loban was appointed rector of the temple, and from November 27, 1993, Archpriest Pavel Pidanov. On August 3, 1997, the consecration of the temple in honor of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos was carried out by Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsky and Kolomna. The locally revered shrines of the temple are the “Tikhvin” and “Inexhaustible Chalice” icons of the Mother of God. In the church there is a rare icon of the martyr Uar, to whom the provincials pray for their unbaptized loved ones. The city is recognized as one of the most comfortable small towns in the Moscow region and Russia.

Smart sidewalks and stupid landscaping

Every city in Russia has the problem of trampled paths. This is a mistake in planning and improvement, but we would rather blame the townspeople themselves for walking incorrectly than admit the mistake. And then they surround the paths with fences, turning yards into cemeteries. But not in Protvina!

Here the architects did not lay out paths through the courtyards and streets in advance. After settling in the houses, people trod out convenient paths for themselves, and the architects laid concrete slabs there. They go around trees and do not interfere with their growth, rising up if necessary. In addition, there is no problem of puddles here: everything flows into the cracks and soil. In general, the slabs have become a feature of the entire city and form its uniqueness.

This solution has one drawback - the slabs are floating, no one has leveled them since they were built.

Instead of simply replacing the dead slabs and pouring sand under the base, they began to throw out the slabs and pave everything. The quality of implementation suffers, which is why the city loses not only its face, but also its functionality.

The peculiarity of the slabs is that they are simply laid on top without tearing out the foundation. When asphalt paths are laid, curbs and a recess into the ground are needed. In general, for the sake of repairing roads, they simply began to cut down the roots of trees. Such improvement will not cause trees to fall immediately, but this often leads to illness, which already leads to the risk of death and falling. Such improvement destroys the city's ecosystem.

Problems with the destruction of Soviet amenities began back in the 1990s: unique playgrounds are being demolished and standard ones that look like mountains of plastic are being installed.

Some remain in ruins or only isolated elements. Residents of Protvino launched a major campaign against the destruction of the heritage of Soviet architects. They call for public improvement competitions to be held so that residents can decide how the city will change.

In general, the plastic-asphalt world won. Was:

Became:

Protvino

In the mid-1950s. The country's leadership was considering the construction of a new particle accelerator in the Soviet Union, at that time the most powerful in the world. In 1956–1957 40 site options were studied in 14 regions of the country, from the Moscow region to the Far East. The technical design provided for the construction of an accelerator on a monolithic foundation, because the base of the accelerator - the support of a one and a half kilometer ring magnet - must be highly stable. Requirements were also made for the region: low seismicity, proximity to the necessary energy networks and communications. In 1958, the decision to build an accelerator was made; of all the options considered, the “Serpukhov option” was approved - in a sparsely populated wooded area, 15 km west of the city of Serpukhov. Once upon a time in ancient times there was a sea here, its former bottom was a dense limestone rock - the Priokskoye Plateau, it could be used as a base for the foundation of an accelerator.

Soon after the decision of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on the construction of an accelerator research complex was made, design work began to create electrophysical equipment for it, and the design of the first houses of a residential village began. The State Specialized Design Institute (GSPI) has begun creating the first project of the future city of physicists.

In April 1958, a GSPI survey expedition, which included surveyors V.V. Grafov, A.G. Zhuravlev and others, arrived at the site of the then “probable” construction. They had to work in difficult conditions; in some places the pioneers literally cut through the forest thickets. Survey work was carried out for several months - topographic surveys were carried out, routes were laid for future utility networks, and a temporary settlement was built.

By order of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR dated August 9, 1958, a large plot of land (1,079 hectares) was allocated in the Serpukhov district of the Moscow region for the location of an accelerator and housing construction. In December 1959, an additional 41 hectares were allocated for the construction industry and highways, then another 176 hectares.

From archival records it is known that on January 10, 1960, the construction of a 1.5 km long circular pit “for the accelerator” began, on this day the first excavation work began, excavator operator A.V. Frolov removed the first cubic meter of soil. The work was carried out using the stripping method. The foundation of the future ring hall of the accelerator was poured with concrete in a ring trench, while the forest around remained untouched. The construction of the Institute of High Energy Physics (SSC IHEP) was underway.

Soon, workers began to erect the first residential buildings of the village, which received the temporary name “Serpukhov-7”. At that time, there were 6 post offices in the Serpukhov region; with the construction of the village, a seventh one was organized, hence the name.

The place chosen for the future city is located in one of the most beautiful corners of the Moscow region, on the banks of the Protva, which gave the city its name. As the Honorary Resident of the city of Protvino, local historian N.N. Bochko recalled, today’s name was proposed in August 1962 at a meeting of N.M. Martovetsky (head of OKS), M.M. Vizgirt (secretary of the party group) and I.K. Bakai (head of the HR department), who, after a long discussion, settled on the name Protvino - from the name of the Protva River. A letter was written to the District Executive Committee, where the proposed name was approved.

By the decision of the executive committee of the Moscow Regional Council of January 22, 1965, the settlement with the postal code “Serpukhov-7” received the status of an urban-type settlement and the name “Protvino”.

The birthday of the city of Protvino is considered to be April 19, 1960 - on this day, just 3 months after the start of work on the construction of a foundation pit for the accelerator (January 10), the future city of physicists was founded. History has preserved the name of the foreman who drove the first peg into the foundation of the first residential building - F. Ya. Korkiainen. And in the spring of 1961, new residents moved into this house No. 8 on Shkolnaya Street.

The city of Protvino was originally created to be as convenient as possible for residents. The architect who led the development of the master plan for the construction of the city, Dmitry Mikhailovich Korin, was awarded the VDNKh gold medal, and the team of designers was awarded a diploma from the Union of Architects of the Soviet Union.

It was important for the builders to preserve every tree; as a result, pine trees remained standing along sidewalks and even in courtyards. Pedestrian paths made of concrete slabs were laid in the most convenient places for people. The forest in the city center and in residential areas became part of the artistic and architectural design of Protvino. There is a pine tree in the city, named Tsarevsky pine - in honor of the first construction manager. This pine tree stands in the middle of the sidewalk on Shkolnaya Street, opposite house No. 10. According to the recollections of old-timers, when the sidewalk was being laid, they wanted to cut down the pine tree. M. M. Tsarevsky, who was passing by, stopped and said that there was no need to cut down such a century-old beauty, it was standing on the sidewalk, people would go around it. And the pine tree stands to this day, and pedestrians walk around it, admiring the majestic beauty.

The oldest and main street of Protvino, Lenin Street, runs through the entire city, connecting the new and old districts. It contains: the city Administration building, an exhibition center, a local history museum, a clinic, an automatic telephone exchange, a shopping and entertainment complex "Samokhval", a House of Culture with a facade decorated with a mosaic panel, which symbolizes the development of matter and the decay of the nucleus. At the very beginning of the street there is the Protvino “gate” and the road to the accelerator. The five-story buildings of “old Protvino” were built in the early 1960s. Later, only higher-rise residential buildings were built. Since the late 1960s. 9–14-story residential buildings were built. The first 9-story building was house No. 3 on Lenin Street, built in 1968. At different times, non-serial multi-storey buildings, built according to individual projects, grew up. The combination of multi-storey buildings, two-storey and one-storey buildings of shops, institutions, cafes and forests creates a special attractiveness of the city, makes it cozy, giving it a special individual look.

In 1965, the first Orbita cafe opened on Pobeda Street; in 1977, the film “Isotope Cafe” was filmed here. In 1972, the magnificent complex of the House of Scientists was commissioned, including a concert hall, a cafe, a bar, and a fireplace room. Famous people visited here at different times: Georges Pompidou, Andrei Sakharov, Vladimir Vysotsky, Arseny Tarkovsky and others. In 1980, the Protva Hotel opened for 268 people with a conference hall, a restaurant with a banquet hall, and in 1981 the 39th session of the CMEA Commission on the Use of Atoms for Peaceful Purposes was held here.

The highlight of the city and a favorite place for several generations of children is the Skazka children's park, the entrance to which is guarded by wooden heroes that have darkened over the years. In the 1990s. The Church of All Saints in the Russian Land of the Shining Ones was erected. On June 12, 2007, a light and music fountain was inaugurated on the square in front of the Proton House of Culture.

The city of Protvino is rightfully one of the most comfortable small towns in the Moscow region.

Soviet interiors

In Protvino, like in any science city, there is a hotel. Scientists stayed here and events were held. There are two buildings here, one was built for Soviet guests, the other for foreign ones.

From the street, the hotel building seems typical, but inside you feel like you have moved back 40 years.

The atmosphere is influenced by the preserved interior and details. This preservation is very easy to explain: the hotel is departmental and there was simply no money for a turnkey European-quality renovation. Poverty saved beauty:

Today there are almost no such interiors left. Once upon a time, all this was not valued and was taken to a landfill.

There are even ventilation niches that could be opened for additional ventilation! Although most often they are filled with garbage.

Unfortunately, they managed to carry out repairs on several floors, and all this was lost.

City Civic Center

The street from the theoretical building of the institute leads to the public center. Here, around Mirabell Square, there is a hotel, the Proton recreation center and a shopping street. The square was named after the French bubble chamber: it was brought to the city in the early 1970s for research, and they decided to immortalize this event in the toponymy of the city.

On the first floors of the central street, places for trade were created; now it would be called a pedestrian shopping boulevard:

The sidewalk is hidden from the road by a dense green wall of trees and bushes - you can hardly hear cars here:

All logistics were placed underground so that trucks did not deliver goods through courtyards and sidewalks: they went down to the underground floor and unloaded there. Similarly, by the way, business operates in the book-houses of Moscow's New Arbat.

Nowadays, ground floor trade and logistics are a sore subject. Trucks and gazelles arrive late in the evening or early in the morning, make noise, create extraneous traffic in the yard, which leads to conflicts. Only now have some developers realized that this is a problem. Therefore, they began to build a special large garage where the gazelle could drive in. That is, they solved the problem, but on a smaller scale.

New development in Cheboksary

The wall of the entrance to the underground floor was decorated by artist Valentin Pomelov with colored panels. Layers of colored plaster were successively applied to the wall to create a pattern. A few years ago, the wall was painted over with white paint because the panel began to crack. In the image you can see the outline of a peacock with seven feathers. The panel reminds that for the first four years Protvino was called Serpukhov-7, since the coat of arms of Serpukhov also depicts a peacock.

Everything once happened for the first time (the story of Protvino, part II)

The first high-rise buildings in Protvino - st. Pobeda-3, 5, 7, Lenina-3, Molodezhny Ave.-3

The Protvinsk news agency continues publications dedicated to the history of our city. All information and photographic materials were provided by the head of the local history department of the city library, Nadezhda Bakatura.

First teachers

The first primary classes for 30 students were opened in September 1960 in two rooms of the barracks. The teachers of these classes were Zoya Nikolaevna and Evgeniy Sergeevich Barancheev. The first new school was put into operation in two stages: in 1962, the primary school building was put into operation, and the entire complex was put into operation by September 1, 1963. It was a modern building for a thousand students with a sports hall and an assembly hall. The first director of the school was Ivan Petrovich Aksenov, the head teacher was Inna Vasilievna Trushko. From 1964 to 1971, the school was headed by Mikhail Vasilyevich Nesmelov, an honored teacher of the RSFSR, and since 2000, an honorary citizen of the city of Protvino, who worked in the field of education for more than 30 years and headed first school No. 1, and then the new building school No. 2.

Trade and catering have always been at their best

The buildings of the House for the Invalids No. 12 of the Moscow City Department of Social Security, built in 1954, were in great demand by builders - in 1960 they housed a kindergarten, a canteen, a club and a store.

ORS (work supply department) began to be organized in 1960 as a branch of the Moskvoretsky ORS of the Ministry of Medium Machine Building. For these purposes, existing canteen and store buildings in the stadium area were used. The head of the canteen was Nadezhda Vasilievna Stakhanova, the buffet was in charge of Galina Alekseevna Gorlova, and Alexandra Gavrilovna Kulagina was the head of the store. The first head of ORS was Sergei Petrovich Suchkov, then he was headed at different times by: A.A. Borisov, E.M. Golikov, V.G. Lobov, V.A Shabrov. Trade and catering in the city have always been at their best. The management of ORS paid great attention to training, education and selection of personnel.

Urban energy

On December 12, 1963, the Department of the Chief Power Engineer was created at IHEP.

The energy of the newborn city developed rapidly. By the end of 1963 the following were already working:

· boiler room of a residential village (at the intersection of Mira and Shkolnaya streets);

· electrical substation RP-50;

·first stage of treatment facilities;

·the first stage of the Kaluga water intake with a capacity of 5,000 cubic meters of artesian water per day;

· many kilometers of engineering networks, without which this entire economy cannot function.

Around the same time, the construction of the boiler house technical site at IHEP was completed. Hot water and heat from it began to flow by March 8, 1964. The first consumers were the objects of the rapidly developing Institute and the residents of Protvino (several residential buildings on Mira Street, school No. 1, wooden barracks of the “lower” Protvino, where the club, canteen, administration building and others were located). There were no industrial enterprises then.

Forest dance floor

“From Pobeda Street in the old part of the city there is a park beloved by three generations of citizens in a relict pine forest with concrete paths and the famous beautiful dance floor of the 80s under centuries-old pine trees, where Mosfilm, which chose this fabulous place, shot dozens of films,” - so about this place written in materials stored in our library.

Currently, there has been no music on this dance floor for a long time, bushes are growing through the marble slabs of the covering, the walls are painted indecently and artlessly by hooligans... Well, due to the active development of the microdistrict, it seems that the next generations may not see this object there anymore.

However, this is the first dance floor in Protvino. It appeared around 1975–1977. This was precisely the time when dance verandas were built everywhere. It was designed at GSPI under the leadership of architect N.D. Lisitsyn.

Physicists' Cafe

In 1965, the first Protvinsk cafe “Orbita” opened on Pobeda Street. In the magazine “Science and Life” (No. 3, 1971) they wrote about him: “On the wall of the cafe there is a node of electronic orbits. This symbol is very appropriate on this wall. Firstly, because it is a literal translation of the name of the cafe into the language of the drawing. The cafe is called "Orbita". Secondly, because this cafe is a physicists’ cafe. It is located in the city of physicists, Protvino.”

A square where flowers grew

In 1968, master V.A. Nikolenko together with foreman A.I. Petrakov, the future Minister of Construction of the Moscow Region, designed a park on Pobeda Street, where flower beds, benches and small architectural forms, pools and ponds with mosaics and fish were erected. People called it “a square in pants”; in honor of the 30th anniversary of Russian-French cooperation, it was named “Mirabelle”.

First fountain

It was built in the city in the 70–80s on the square near the recreation center (square).

On June 12, 2007 - on Russia Day - a new fountain was opened on the square in front of the Proton cultural center. A musical and water structure with beautiful lighting, built with funds from a number of enterprises and private entrepreneurs of the city on the site of a fountain that functioned in the 70s and 80s, was named “Tenderness”. The source of natural coolness has become a favorite vacation spot for residents and guests of the city, especially young people.

JUST THE FACTS

1962 services , a post office, and the “Serpukhov - Protvino” bus appeared (people used the expressions about it “to travel in its own juice”, “a bus as rare as happiness”).

January 2, 1963 – the bathhouse opened.

July 1, 1965 – the first bookstore “Knowledge” opened on the street. Victory-6. Director – Lyubov Dmitrievna Kairova.

1968 – the first run “Protvino – Serpukhov”, organized by A.N. Golovanov.

October 14, 1988 – the first issue of the large-circulation IHEP newspaper “Accelerator”. The first editor is Evgeny Mashkov.

Source:

https://inprotvino.ru/novosti/gorod/vse_kogdato_bylo_vpervye_istoriya_protvino_chast_ii_730824

House of Culture "Proton"

The Palace of Culture was built according to a standard design. Although similar buildings were built throughout the USSR, only a few have survived to this day in good condition. Proton was in almost perfect condition a year ago, but then reconstruction began. Residents protested, but were unable to stop the destruction of the external and internal appearance.

Fortunately, it was possible to preserve the unique mosaics - the first joint work of artists Eleonora Zharenova and Vladimir Vasiltsov. They are famous for their work “Möbius strip” or “Ear” on the facade of the building of the Central Institute of Economics and Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The mosaic is the most valuable monumental composition in the city. She was put under guard.

House of Scientists

The building of the House of Scientists, built according to an individual design by architect Lev Lilje, is one of the most expressive in the city. Cultural events were held here and foreign specialists were met.

The façade of the building is surrounded by concrete pilasters that support a massive roof.

The courtyard façade was decorated with ceramic panels by artist Lyubov Nenasheva. She made the slabs herself at a building materials factory. The architect asked to make the panel as abstract as possible: at that time the Soviet government did not support such a style, but considered it appropriate for a science city.

The panel, like the building itself, is in a deplorable state: some of the elements were knocked down, and the facades were painted with gray paint, which is why they lost the shine that granite chips gave.

Separation of cars and pedestrians

The second half of the 20th century was a time of urban planning experiments all over the world. Many city planners tried to create a garden city, to make personal cars and pedestrians friendly, and assigned strict functions to the districts (sleeping, administrative, production, etc.). The same applied to traffic flows: the architects dreamed of separating cars and everyone else. Some ideas were even implemented, for example, you can remember the Barbican in London:

Soviet architects did not know the problem of a mass-produced car, but they wanted to do it like everyone else. In Protvina, they decided to build a ring highway, buried relative to other streets, and make the old streets completely pedestrian. Cars had to go straight into underground garages, and motorists into their apartments, bypassing the streets. The project suffered greatly due to the high cost; only a small part was completed.

Such ideas existed all over the world, the USSR was no exception. And everywhere architects faced one problem - there was not enough money. Thus, in Protvina, officials gradually proposed abandoning various elements of the project until it died. They managed to complete one section of the deepened route, but the pedestrian bridges were never completed. Now people have to go down and cross the buried zebra crossing.

A small section of the pedestrian alley remains behind the house as a monument to these ideas.