Kolobok Goncharov
The famous writer Ivan Alexandrovich Goncharov was born in Simbirsk in 1812 and spent his childhood and youth here. This classic of Russian literature gave Russia and the world the character of Ilya Oblomov, and it is Oblomov, in the form of a Kolobok, who greets us by the Museum of Local History. The building is the Goncharov Memorial House, one of the most striking architectural symbols of Simbirsk-Ulyanovsk. Its foundation was laid in 1912, for the centenary of the writer's birth. It was designed by the well-known Simbirsk architect August Shodé. Goncharov is known as the author of a “trilogy of Russian life,” the novels “A Common Story,” “Oblomov,” and “The Precipice.” Another of his famous works is the travel book “The Frigate Pallada,” based on notes he wrote during a round-the-world expedition on a naval sailing ship. In the center of Ulyanovsk there is a unique Goncharov museum: the future writer was born there on June 18, 1812. The city has many places associated with Goncharov's name, and you can learn about them via the QR code.
Writers of the Simbirsk Land
Before us is a figure reminiscent of Oblomov. Kolobok lies serenely on a sofa. But it is no ordinary sofa: it has an unusual back, holding a miniature library of books bearing the names of Simbirsk writers: Nikolai Karamzin, Ivan Goncharov, Sergei Aksakov, Nikolai Yazykov, Denis Davydov, Dmitry Sadovnikov, Dmitry Minaev, Dmitry Oznobishin, Apollon Korinfsky, Ivan Dmitriev, Abram Novopoltsev, and Nikolai Blagov. The name of Vladimir Dahl, the Russian writer and folklorist, is here too. It was Dahl who, in his Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language, recorded the Simbirsk word kolebyatka, meaning “kolobok.” You'll also find a book inscribed “UNESCO,” since Ulyanovsk is a UNESCO City of Literature. On the pedestal we see an impression of a unique coin bearing the figures 1812, the year of Ivan Goncharov's birth; this is what 19th-century coins looked like. For luck, be sure to rub the coin and make a wish for a successful trip, a good vacation, or simply a carefree rest.
Goncharov's Little Dog
Behind the back of the sofa there is also a little dog. The dog is here for a reason: this is Mimishka, Ivan Goncharov's pet. Goncharov is known to have been a lonely man, and the little dog became his faithful friend. According to some versions, the dog's more formal names were Marfa Polkanovna or Mikha Trezorovna (mock-formal names built from the common Russian dog names Polkan and Trezor). Mimishka helped the famous Russian painter Ivan Kramskoy create his portrait of Goncharov. Kramskoy spent a long time trying to persuade the writer to sit for a portrait, but Goncharov refused. So the artist painted a portrait… of Mimishka. Goncharov appreciated the gift and could not refuse the famous painter's request. Mimishka has taken her place of honor next to the little Kolobok, and it is she who points the way to the next figure: the Kolobok who tells about the first historiographer of the Russian state, the writer Nikolai Karamzin.
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8 points
1 km
1 hour
