Peredelkino

Peredelkino is situated very close to Moscow in 7 kilometers from MKAD by Minskoye highway. Since July of 2012 it is part of Moscow.

In Soviet time there was writers village at Peredelkino. It was founded in 1935 by order of Stalin. Because it make spying for intellectuals more simple to secret service. Maxim Gorky chose this place. Prishvin, another famous russian writer, don’t want such close attention and he bought a house at much distant place Dunino. But famous russian children writer and translator Korney Chukovsky lived here.

Magic tree. When our daughter passed through the gate she started a cry: “Look! It’s a magic tree! I know. We read about it in the kindergarten!”

The daughter said that shoes actually grow on the tree. She very falled apart when she teared off one shoe.

A writers houses was built by German designs and look similar to professors houses in Dubna. Chukovskiy started to visit his dacha in Peredelkino since 1938. He lived here all time after the WWII until death in 1969. Also he had a flat in Moscow, his descendants now living there. The dacha is in a public domain of Russia.

Photo is prohibited inside of the house. You can buy permit for 1500 rubles. Guide tour costs 300. Let’s walk around the dacha.

Guided tour was for kids (just because almost all visitors comes with children). The guide worked fine, but said that Chukovskiy isn’t children writer and when our kids will teenagers we should come here again and take more serious excursion. Children saw “Phone” it’s a cartoon version of most famous Chukovskiy’s tale.

It was interesting to know that Chukovskiy was the founder of Soviet parenting literature. In 1933 when was published his book “From 2 to 5″ he started to receive a lot of letters with questions about breast feeding, diapers and medicine.

This photo of Chukovskiy with Yuri Gagarin. The first spaceman in the World. The guide asked kids who was the first spaceman? Children momentally answered: “Belka and Strelka” (Russian space-dogs).

Also guide showed various focuses to kids.

In the yard.

Garage-lounge. Chukovskiy had 2 cars. He was presented to him by Soviet government when he became doctor of literature in Oxford and winner of Lenin’s Prize.

Chukovskiy liked to invite various stars on his dacha (not only writers). He organized kid’s evening party on the glade with campfire. Obviously that entrance wasn’t free it costed 10 pine or fir fins.

Authorities didn’t like Chukovskiy, especially in Stalin times. They struggled with “chukovshina”. For examlple, Nadejda Krupskaya (Lenin’s wife) wrote that his works are bourgeois and could harm children. Son-in-law of Korney Chukovskiy was executed.

On his yard Chukovskiy built a public library. All others public library in the USSR was government. Chukovskiy’s library still work.

We could see a fan art on the fence across the road.

By the way Peredeltsy (old name of Peredelkino) known from 17th century. In old time there was dock where ships were remade (remade means “peredelka” in Russian). In this time Setun river was deep and ships could go by this river. Now Setun is more like stream than river.

Izmalkovo ponds.

Probably Chukovskiy also saw on autumn nature from this point.