19005 Coast Highway One, Jenner, CA 95450 ■ 707.847.3437 ■ [email protected] ■ www.fortross.org Title: Totma, A Small Russian Town Author (s): Elya Vasilyeva Source: Fort Ross Conservancy Library URL: http://www.fortross.org/lib.html Unless otherwise noted in the manuscript, each author maintains copyright of his or her written material. Fort Ross Conservancy (FRC) asks that you acknowledge FRC as the distributor of the content; if you use material from FRC’s online library, we request that you link directly to the URL provided. If you use the content offline, we ask that you credit the source as follows: “Digital content courtesy of Fort Ross Conservancy, www.fortross.org; author maintains copyright of his or her written material.” Also please consider becoming a member of Fort Ross Conservancy to ensure our work of promoting and protecting Fort Ross continues: http://www.fortross.org/join.htm. This online repository, funded by Renova Fort Ross Foundation, is brought to you by Fort Ross Conservancy, a 501(c)(3) and California State Park cooperating association. FRC’s mission is to connect people to the history and beauty of Fort Ross and Salt Point State Parks. By Elya Vasilyeva Photographs by ~lexander Lyskin Along the banks of the -~-- ... Sukhona River sits the town of TobN, which has the black fox of North otma is the home town of Ivan Kuskov, the founder of Few Russians know about the · Fort Ross, a Russian settlement in northern California. town of Totma, and even The well-preserved house in which he lived can still be seen at the Fort Ross Museum. Kuskov was 24 when he seasoned journalists sometimes left the town and crossed the Pacific with a group of Russian manufacturers. They reached the coast of Amer­ ask, "Where's that?" Be ica in 1789. He spent 33 years of his life exploring and T studying the American continent. In addition to Fort Ross, that as it may, some very he built a shipyard and promoted cattle breeding and interesting pages of Russian farming in the area. For his services in developing "Rus­ and American history are sian America," the Russian Governm.ent awarded him a gold medal and conferred upon him the title of commer­ connected with this small cial adviser. To get to Totma from the regional center of Vologda, provincial town tucked you have to take the same route that Kuskov took more away in the swamps and than 150 years ago when he returned from America; that is, along the wide and gently flowing Sukhona River. Ap­ forests of the Russian North. parently the banks are the same as they had been in his Ill>- time-dark forests, fields and swamps stretch as far as the unusual stone patterns and ornaments. Cartouches, the eye can see. A cold northern sky hangs overhead. which are characteristic of baroque interiors and used for Villages are few and far between. Then suddenly around heraldic bearings, inscriptions and frames for icons or the bend, on a steep bank, his home town appears. It is wall paintings, are everywhere. Cartouches can also be simply beau ti ful . One can imagine how thrilled the newly­ found on old geographical maps, where they encircle the made commercial adviser must have been at the sight of titles. To this day, it after being away for so long. Unfortunately, Kuskov cartouches are sym­ died only a year after returning home. bols of seafaring and geographical discov­ An American Animal on Its Emblem eries. Perhaps it was from nautical maps There seems to be no end to the epithets that people that they were trans­ prominent in Russian culture have given the town. They ferred to the walls of have called it " a magical town," " out of a fairy tale," and Totma's churches. the like. The reflection of the age Totma is older than Moscow or Vologda, which are of great voyages in over 800 years old. People had settled in Totma even chitecture is not a before the Slavs. Archeologists have discovered the en­ new phenomenon in campments of Neolithic people along the banks of the world culture. The Sukhona. Spanish have a During the thirteenth century salt mines were discov­ style called plater­ ered on the outskirts of the town. Scholars maintain that esque. When you the first salterns in Russia were set up here. Thanks to see the flowers, the abundance of timber and fur-bearing animals, and the seashells, crosses development of cattle breeding and various crafts, the and stars around town grew rapidly. A document dated 1623 states that the Totma car­ there were 119 houses and 20 churches within and touches, you 're re­ around the wooden fortress wall with its four watchtow­ minded of Sala­ ers. The people of Totma sold salt, fur, grain, flax, timber, manca, where the tar, wax and honey. houses are painted with In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the town seashells, seaweed and found itself at the hub of the trade routes linking Russia exotic sea animals. It is with the countries of Western Europe, on the one hand, remarkable that ar­ and Siberia and the Far East, on the other. As many as a chitecture in coun­ thousand river vessels sailed past Totma during the navi­ tries as far apart as gating season. The residents of the town received Rus­ Spain and Russia sian princes, ambassadors from Europe, foreign dealers should reflect the and travelers. Totma merchants traded with Siberia and era of great geo­ Kamchatka, as well as with Europe. They had their own graphical discov­ ships in the Japan and China seas. eries in a similar In 1741 the packet boats of Alexei Chirikov and Vitus manner. Bering reached the coast of America, south of Alaska. Immediately after this expedition financed by the govern­ Kennedy in ment, which yielded information about the rich breeding Totma grounds of marine animals, was completed, private com­ panies rapidly began to develop the Aleutian Islands and Why did the the northwestern coast of America. This ultimately led to Totmayans rebuild the setting up of Russian America. their churches? The vessels of Totma merchants participated in the first Why were they not expeditions to the shores of the North American conti­ nent. In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that satisfiedold ones? w ithWhat the 'liiii~~~~~~ during the second half of the eighteenth century every inspired them to section of the population in Totma, from the peasants to create a style of the town head, was, in one way or another, connected their own? Who with the affairs of Russian America. It's interesting to note built these master- that a state decree dated 1780 endorsed " a black fox on pieces? How a golden field" as the town's emblem. This was none was it that such other than the black fox of North America from the Fox a significant Islands, which had been discovered by a Totma merchant phenomenon of named Pyotr Shish kin. Russian culture had not come to the public notice for so long? A modem engraving of an Russian Baroque Stanislav Zaitsev, a man madly in love with this town, is old portrait of Ivan Kuskov looking for the answers to these and other questions. He (1765-1823). The house in The merchants, traders and seafarers of Totma were drew a large audience when he gave a lecture and which Kuskov spent the last daring, hard-working and self-confident men. They re­ showed his films about Totma at the Polytechnical Mu­ year of his life still stands turned to their homeland not only rich, but hardened by seum in Moscow. His movies, incidentally, have won today in Totma. The privation, cold and hunger, with their ranks sadly depleted prizes and diplomas at nationwide amateur film festivals. embankment of the Sukhona at times. Their profits enabled them to contribute gener­ After Zaitsev received his first film award, he was River is named after this ously to the church in thanksgiving for the happy issue of asked if he was surprised. " No, I wasn't, " he replied. " It great man, and the local their voyages and in commemoration of their dead com­ was only natural because the film was about Totma, and studies museum has a rades. As a result, stone architecture flourished in Totma it's the best town there is!" permanent exhibition during the eighteenth century. Beautiful new churches Zaitsev is quite an unusual person. After he graduated devoted to the major were built to replace the old ones. About 20 specimens of from an institute and received a certificate as a lumber events of his life. Facing Totma architecture from those times have been preserved engineer, he worked in the field for only three years. Then page, top: The famous to this day. he gave up his profession and went to work in a museum, Totma dymniks (decorative These tall white, remarkably elegant churches look like then at a school and later at a theater. He is now working chimney tops). Bottom: sailing vessels against the northern sky. Nowhere else in as an artist, making souvenirs. This incongruity between Thanks to restorers like our vast country can Russian baroque church architecture his job and his real love bewilders many. "Can you imag­ Edward Trofimov, the be seen in such originality. ine? An institute graduate with a good profession, and cupolas of this old church The main distinguishing feature of the architecture is look what he's doing!" ..,_ will glisten in the Sun again. 26 Sometimes he can be a bit aggressive.