The Russian Village Historic District, also known as Churaevka (russian: Чураевка), is a historic summer colony founded by

George Grebenstchikoff George Dmitrievich Grebenstchikoff (russian: Георгий Дмитриевич Гребенщиков; 6 May 4 April Old Style1883 – 11 January 1964) was a writer and professor of Russian literature. Personal life Grebenstchikoff was born in ...

and

Ilya Tolstoy Count Ilya Lvovich Tolstoy (; 22 May 1866 – 11 December 1933) was a Russian writer, and the third child and second son of Leo Tolstoy. Early life Ilya was born at Yasnaya Polyana and spent most of his young life there, until the family took ...

Southbury, Connecticut Southbury is a town in western New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. Southbury is north of Oxford and Newtown, and east of Brookfield. Its population was 19,879 at the 2020 census. Southbury comprises sprawling rural country areas, sub ...

. The colony was founded in the 1920s by Russian emigres, and retains distinctive Russian touches in the architecture of its houses, as well as a small chapel designed by

Nicholas Roerich Nicholas Roerich (; October 9, 1874 – December 13, 1947), also known as Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh (russian: link=no, Никола́й Константи́нович Ре́рих), was a Russian painter, writer, archaeologist, theosophi ...

. The colony was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1988.

Description and history

The area now known as Churaevka or Russian Village in southern Southbury first came to the attention of the Russian emigre

, son of novelist

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

, in the 1920s, when he visited a translator for one of his books. Drawn to the area, whose rolling hills resembled those of his Russian birthplace, he bought some land and built a small ''

dacha A dacha ( rus, дача, p=ˈdatɕə, a=ru-dacha.ogg) is a seasonal or year-round second home, often located in the exurbs of post-Soviet countries, including Russia. A cottage (, ') or shack serving as a family's main or only home, or an outbu ...

'' (which still stands). The idea of an artistic summer colony was developed by Tolstoy's friend and writer

, who purchased some of Tolstoy's land and other adjacent parcels. He promoted the area to other Russian emigres, ultimately attracting some well-known residents and visitors. Prominent visitors included pianist and composer

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

and industrialist

Igor Sikorsky Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky (russian: И́горь Ива́нович Сико́рский, p=ˈiɡərʲ ɪˈvanəvitʃ sʲɪˈkorskʲɪj, a=Ru-Igor Sikorsky.ogg, tr. ''Ígor' Ivánovich Sikórskiy''; May 25, 1889 – October 26, 1972)Fortie ...

. The historic district covers about of hilly wooded terrain, which slopes down to the

Pomperaug River The Pomperaug River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 river in the US state of Connecticut. The two main tributaries to the Pomperaug are the Nonnewaug Ri ...

to the west and Interstate 84 to the south. There are 46 buildings on three roads branching off the west end of Russian Village Road. Most of these are single-story wood-frame cottages that are generally vernacular in style, except for distinctive Russian touches applied to elements such as entry hoods and dormers. The most architecturally distinguished building is the small St. Sergius Chapel, built in 1930 to a design by

. Undeveloped strips of land, part of the original platting, provide access for various landowners to the river, which was used for recreation and water supply.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Historic districts in New Haven County, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in New Haven County, Connecticut Southbury, Connecticut Russian-American culture Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut

Description and history

See also

References