What you need to know about the Russian style? Interior in the style of a Russian hut and an old estate Interior furnishings of a Russian hut

The Russian hut is one of the symbols of our country, a traditional type of housing that has its own characteristics. Now, of course, real Russian huts can only be seen in collection museums of historical buildings or in some villages. Let's see what differences this type of house has.

Initially, all the huts were log cabins. Our ancestors built from what was at hand, and there were always a lot of forests in Russia. A small log house with one room, that is, four walls and a stove, or rather, a hearth in the center - that's the whole hut. Moreover, such buildings often dug into the ground, became semi-dugouts, because our ancestors were worried about the preservation of heat in winter. Recall that at first the huts were smokehouses, heated without a chimney.

The floors in the huts were earthen. In general, the design of the traditional Russian log house was improved gradually. Window openings appeared, which were not originally there, a kind of foundation, hearths were replaced by stoves with chimneys.

It should be noted that Russian huts were very different depending on the region. This is understandable, because in the southern regions the requirements for housing were slightly different, and the materials were not at all the same as in the northern latitudes.

It is customary to single out the simplest four-wall huts, huts with a fifth wall, which divided the interior space into a room and a canopy, cross huts, which differed in a hip roof, six-wall huts.

The porch became an invariable part of the hut later, but today modern Russian houses rarely do without this small open extension, which became the prototype for much more spacious open terraces and glazed, but unheated verandas.

It is very difficult to imagine a Russian hut without a yard. Usually this is a whole complex of outbuildings that had a variety of purposes. Away from the hut there could be sheds for storing firewood and tools, a cattle shed, a barn, a stable. In the northern part of our country, there were covered courtyards that united this complex of outbuildings under one roof, allowing you to get into the barn without fear of rain and snowfall.

Traditionally, the huts were built from spruce, pine and larch, because the trunk of coniferous trees met all the requirements, it was tall, slender, and lends itself well to processing with an ax. At the same time, old and diseased trees were not cut down to build a house - only for firewood, high-quality logs were required for a residential building. For the roof, they used tes or shingles; in the southern regions, straw or reeds often went to the roof.

The interior, if this word is appropriate in relation to the hut, which was mostly practical in nature, of course, was simple, but decorative elements were still present. For example, an embroidered towel on the icon in the "red" corner, carved details. But the hut was very far from the abundance of decorative elements of the Russian estate.

The Russian stove could occupy a very solid part of the main room, where they cooked food, and ate with the whole family, and slept, and talked. If for modern houses the Russian stove is rather a whim, then in the hut it became the center of the whole life of a large family.

A modern log cabin can be called a descendant of a traditional Russian hut. This is always an attractive option for building a house, albeit more expensive than a "framework", but solid and solid.

A wooden hut made of logs is a symbol of Russia. Archaeologists believe that the first huts on the territory of modern Russia appeared 2,000 years ago BC. For many centuries, the architecture of a wooden peasant house did not change, it combined all the functions necessary for the life of a peasant family, because it fulfilled all its main purposes: a roof over your head, kept warm and a place to sleep. The Russian hut has always found its place in the work of writers and poets. With love for Russia, for its people and everything that surrounds this people, writes M.Yu. Lermontov in "Borodino":

With joy, unknown to many,

I see a complete threshing floor

Thatched hut,

With carved shutters window ...

The poetry of the famous Russian poet is closely intertwined with the life of the people, with their way of life and, of course, the huts... The huts, surrounded by yards, fenced with wattle fences and "connected" to each other by a road, form a village. And the village, limited by the outskirts, is Yesenin's Russia, which is cut off from the big world by forests and swamps, "lost ... in Mordva and Chud." Here is how Yesenin poetically describes the peasant life in Russia:

It smells of loose drachens,

At the threshold in a bowl of kvass,

Over turned stoves

Cockroaches climb into the groove.

Soot curls over the damper,

In the oven, the threads of popelits,

And on the bench behind the salt shaker -

Husks of raw eggs.

Mother with grips will not cope,

bending low,

The old cat sneaks up to the shawl

For fresh milk.

Restless chickens chuckle

Over the shafts of the plow,

In the yard I will have a slender dinner

The roosters are singing.

And in the window on the canopy are sloped,

From the fearful noise

From the corners puppies are curly

They crawl into collars.

Peasant life in the hut was simple and unpretentious, the boyars, merchants and landlords built richer houses for themselves: larger in area, often several floors - real towers. Together with the rest of the surrounding wooden buildings, the tower was a manor. The traditions of building houses from a log house took shape over the centuries, and collapsed in the 20th century. Collectivization, urbanization, the emergence of the latest materials... All this led to the fact that the Russian village became smaller, and in some places almost died. New "villages", the so-called "cottage villages", began to be built up with houses made of stone, glass, metal and plastic. Practical, spectacular, stylish, but the Russian spirit does not live there, and there is no smell of Russia there. Not to mention the insufficient environmental friendliness of such buildings.

However, not so long ago, wooden construction in the Russian style experienced the first stage of a revival.

Fortunately, already at the end of the past century and with the advent of the new millennium, the traditions of the Russian estate began to revive among those who like to lead a country lifestyle, surrounded by nature, among peace and quiet. And the very environment in such housing is conducive to peace and tranquility.

The "country" style has been confidently retaining the preferences of many developers of suburban housing for the 3rd decade. Someone prefers German country, someone prefers Scandinavian or American country style, someone likes Provence, but when it comes to a wooden country house or dacha, the choice is increasingly being made in favor of interiors in the style of a Russian village.

Where is the Russian style of interior appropriate?

The interior in the style of a Russian hut can be fully recreated only in a wooden house from a log house, chopped from a log. The interior in the style of a tower, a manor is appropriate in any wooden house from a log house. In other cases, when it comes to a brick house, for example, or an apartment in a multi-storey building, one can only talk about stylization, about introducing some features inherent in a Russian hut or tower.

What was the interior of the Russian hut like?

The center of the Russian hut has always been a stove, which was called the queen of the house. The stove in the tradition of the ancient Russians was a kind of reflection of the universe as a triune world: heavenly, earthly and afterlife. They slept on the stove, washed in it, and in addition, they considered it the abode of the brownie and the place of communication with their ancestors. She warmed and fed, and therefore was perceived as the center of the house. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the expression "dance from the stove." The hut was zoned into the female half, the male and the red corner. A woman was in charge in the oven corner. In the women's corner, there were shelves with various kitchen utensils and crockery. In their corner, the women received, sewed and did various types of needlework. Women's themes are generally quite widely represented in connection with the stove, and this is understandable: who is busy near it, bakes pies and cooks porridge! That's why they said: "a woman's road - from the stove to the threshold." And they also laughed: "a woman flies from the stove, seventy-seven thoughts will change her mind" (with fear).

The man spent more time in the men's corner, under the curtains.

The largest and most beautiful place in the peasant house, where they ate and met guests, was the upper room. It was both a living room and a dining room, and sometimes a bedroom. In the upper room, diagonally from the stove, a red corner was arranged - a part of the house where the icons were installed.

Near the red corner there was usually a table, and in the very corner on the goddess there were icons and a lamp. Wide benches near the table were, as a rule, stationary, built into the wall. They not only sat on them, but also slept on them. If extra space was needed, benches were placed at the table. The dining table, by the way, was also stationary, adobe.

In general, the stop of peasant life was modest, rude, but not without embellishments. Shelves were placed above the windows, on which beautiful dishes, caskets, etc. were placed in plain sight. The wooden beds were with beautifully carved headboards, covered with patchwork quilts, on which feather pillows were located. In almost every peasant hut one could find chests for various purposes.

During the time of Peter the Great, new pieces of furniture appeared, which took their place in Russian huts, and even more so in towers. These are chairs, cabinets, partially replacing chests, slides for dishes and even armchairs.

In the towers, the furnishings were more varied, but on the whole the same principle was preserved: a large hearth, a red corner, the same chests, beds with many pillows, mounds of dishes, shelves for displaying various decorative items. Flowers were placed on windowsills in simple vases: wildflowers in the summer months and garden flowers in October. And, of course, there was a lot of wood in the towers: these were walls, floors, and furniture. Russian country style is a tree, only a tree and almost nothing but a tree.

Creating the style of a Russian hut or a Russian estate in the interior of your home.

1. Choice of direction.

First you need to decide on the style of the era ... Will it be a stylization of an old Russian hut or a hut of the first half of the 20th century? And someone prefers the colorful and elegant atmosphere of Russian towers, almost like from a fairy tale or wooden landowner houses of past centuries, which was sometimes described in the works of the classics, when features of other styles were brought into typical village life: classicism, baroque, modern. After choosing a certain direction, you can also choose suitable furniture, interior items, textiles and decor.

2. Creating the style of a Russian hut

Main. Wooden walls are best left unfinished. A massive board is suitable for the floor - matte, possibly with the effect of aging. Under the ceiling - dark beams. You can do without a stove, but the hearth is still necessary. Its role can be played by a fireplace, the portal of which is lined with tiles or stone.

Doors, windows. Plastic double-glazed windows will be completely inappropriate here. Windows with wooden frames should be complemented with carved platbands and wooden shutters. Doors should also be wooden. As platbands for doorways, you can use boards that are uneven and deliberately roughly processed. In some places, instead of doors, you can hang curtains.

Furniture. Furniture, of course, is preferably wooden, not polished, but possibly aged. Cabinets, slides and numerous shelves can be decorated with carvings. In the dining area, you can arrange a red corner with a shrine, a massive, very heavy table and benches. The use of chairs is also possible, but they should be simple and solid.

The beds are high with carved headboards. Instead of bedside tables, you can put chests in the Russian style. Patchwork bedspreads and numerous pillows are perfect - folded in piles from largest to smallest.

One cannot do without sofas in a modern interior, although, of course, there were none in the huts. Choose a simple sofa with linen upholstery. Upholstery color - natural natural. Leather furniture will be out of style.

Textile. As already mentioned, it is worth giving preference to bedspreads and pillow covers made in patchwork technique. There can be quite a lot of textile products: napkins on pedestals and small tables, tablecloths, curtains, etc. All this can be decorated with embroidery and simple lace.

By the way, you can’t spoil the interior of the hut with embroidery - women in Russia have always loved to do this needlework. Embroidered panels on the walls, embroidered curtains, embroidered bags of herbs and spices hanging from the kitchen beam - all this will be in place. The main colors of textiles in the style of a Russian hut are white, yellow and red.

Lighting. For an interior in the style of a Russian hut, choose lamps in the form of candles and lamps. Lamps with simple lampshades would also be appropriate. Although lampshades and sconces are more suitable for a house, the interior of which is stylized as a Russian estate.

Kitchen. It is impossible to do without household appliances in a modern hut, but technical design can ruin the integrity of the picture. Fortunately, there is a built-in technique that helps with the housework, but does not violate the harmony of the Russian style.

Massive furniture is suitable for the kitchen: a kitchen table with pull-out shelves and cabinets, open and closed cupboards, various hanging shelves. Furniture, of course, should not be polished or painted. Kitchen structures with facades finished with glossy enamel, pvc film, glass inserts, aluminum frames, etc. will be completely inappropriate.

In general, in the interior in the style of a Russian hut there should be as little glass and metal as possible, and plastic would be completely inappropriate. Choose furniture with simple wooden fronts - they can be decorated with Russian folk style paintings or carvings.

As a decor for the kitchen, use a samovar, wicker baskets and boxes, onion braids, barrels, earthenware, wooden products of Russian folk crafts, embroidered napkins.

Interior decor in the style of a Russian hut. Decorative linen textiles with embroidery, many wooden items. A wooden wheel, a spinning wheel and fishing nets will fit perfectly if the house is located near a river, lake or sea. Knitted round rugs and self-woven paths can be laid on the floor.

3. Creating the style of an old wooden manor

A simple peasant hut and a rich old manor have much in common: this is the predominance of wood in the interior, and the presence of a huge stove (in the estate it is always lined with tiles), and a red corner with icons and candles, and linen and lace textiles.

However, there were also numerous differences. The rich actively borrowed something new from foreign styles. These are, for example, bright upholstery of upholstered furniture, porcelain plates and clocks on the walls, elegant wooden furniture in the English or French style, lampshades and sconces, paintings on the walls. In the interior in the style of a Russian tower, stained-glass windows will be very useful as interior windows, partitions or veranda glazing. In a word, everything is quite simple here, as in a hut, but there is a slight touch of luxury.

4. Yard in Russian style

And the interior itself, and the windows in it, and the “outside the window” space should be in harmony. To protect the territory, it is better to order a fence about 180 cm high, assembled from pointed logs.

How is a Russian-style courtyard created now? It is unequivocally impossible to answer, since in Russia the court was organized in different ways, depending on the area. However, designers have found common features that are recreated in landscape design. A path (often winding) is laid from the gate to the entrance to the house. Often it is covered with a board. Along the edges of the path is a flower border. In the old days, peasants set aside any free plot of land for beds, but they still tried to decorate the front yard with flower beds.

Now grass for the lawn is used for the backyard of the hut. This area is shaded with pine trees planted around the perimeter. However, currant or raspberry bushes will also be very in the spirit of the Russian court. Elements of landscape design in the Russian style are various wooden items: a gazebo, a wooden children's slide, a stationary table with benches, Russian swings, etc. And, of course, all buildings in the yard should be made of wood.

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The Russian hut symbolizes Russia in a small way. Its architecture represents the persistence of traditions that have come down to us thanks to the loyalty of the peasants to the precepts of the past. For several centuries, the style, layout and decor of the Russian hut have been developed. The interior of all houses is practically the same, it contains several elements: several living rooms, a vestibule, a closet and a room, as well as a terrace.

Hut in Russia: history

The hut is a wooden structure, which, up to a third of its part, goes underground, resembling a semi-dugout. Those houses where there was no chimney were called chicken houses. The smoke from the furnace went outside through the front doors, so during the furnace it hung above the ceiling. To prevent soot from falling on people, special shelves were built along the entire perimeter of the walls. A little later, they began to make holes in the wall, and then in the ceiling, which was closed with a valve. D Russian hut decor kurnoy was unremarkable. There were no floors as such, they were earthen, the house also had no windows, there were only small windows for lighting. At night, they used a torch to illuminate the room. A few centuries later, white huts began to appear, in which there were stoves with pipes. It is this house that is considered a classic Russian hut. It was divided into several zones: the stove corner, separated from the others by a curtain, on the right at the entrance there was a female corner, and near the hearth - a male corner. On the eastern side of the horizon in the house was the so-called red corner, where an iconostasis was placed in a certain order on a special shelf under embroidered towels.

Interior decoration

The ceiling in the house was made of poles, which were previously split in half. Bars were laid out on a powerful beam, the cracks were covered with clay. Earth was poured on top of the ceiling. A cradle was hung from a beam on a special ring. Such inside assumed the lining of the inner walls with linden boards. Near the walls were placed benches where they slept, and chests where things were stored. Shelves were nailed to the walls. There was no special luxury inside the hut. Every thing that could be seen there was needed in the household, there was nothing superfluous. Items needed for cooking were placed in the women's corner, there was also a spinning wheel.

Decor elements of a Russian hut

Everything in the huts was sparkling clean. Embroidered towels hung on the walls. Furniture was scarce; beds and wardrobes only appeared in the nineteenth century. The main element was the dining table, which was located in the red corner. Each family member always sat in his place, the owner sat under the icons. The table was not covered with a tablecloth, no decorations were hung on the walls. On holidays, the hut was transformed, the table was moved to the middle of the room, covered with a tablecloth, festive dishes were put on the shelves. Another element of decor was a large chest, which was in every hut. It contained clothes. It was made of wood, upholstered with strips of iron and had a large lock. Also, the decor of the Russian hut suggested the presence of shops where they slept, and for infants, which was passed down from generation to generation.

Threshold and canopy

The first thing they encountered when they entered the hut was the entrance hall, which was a room between the street and the heated room. They were very cold and were used for economic purposes. Here hung a yoke and other necessary items. Stored in this place and food. A high threshold was built in front of the entrance to the warm room, where the guest had to bow to the owners of the house. Over time, the bow was supplemented by the sign of the cross in front of the icons.

Russian stove

When they got into the main room, the first thing they paid attention to was the stove. So, it assumes the presence of such a main element as a Russian stove, without which the room was considered non-residential. Food was also cooked on it, garbage was burned in it. It was massive and kept warm for a long time, it had several smoke dampers. There were many shelves and niches for storing dishes and other household items. For cooking, cast-iron pots were used, which were placed in the oven with the help of horns, as well as frying pans, clay pots and jugs. Here was a samovar. Since the stove was in the center of the room, it heated the house evenly. On it was placed a couch, which could accommodate up to six people. Sometimes the building was of such a size that they could wash in it.

red corner

An integral part of the interior decor of the hut was considered to be located in the eastern part of the house. It was considered a sacred place; embroidered towels, icons, sacred books, candles, holy water, an Easter egg, and so on were placed here. Under the icons there was a table where they ate, there was always bread on it. The icons symbolized the altar of an Orthodox church, and the table symbolized the church altar. The most honored guests were received here. Of the icons in each hut, the faces of the Virgin, the Savior and St. Nicholas the Pleasant were obligatory. The headboards of the beds were turned towards the red corner. In this place, many rituals were performed that are associated with birth, wedding or funeral.

Benches and chests

The chest was also an important decorative element. It was inherited from mother to daughter and was placed near the stove. All the decoration of the house was very harmonious. There were several types of shops here: long, short, kutnye, court and the so-called beggars. They housed various household items, and an uninvited guest or a beggar who entered the house without an invitation could sit on the "beggar" bench. The benches symbolized the road in many old rituals.

Thus, before us is a cozy Russian hut, unity of design and decor which is a beautiful creation created by a peasant. There was nothing superfluous in the house, all interior items were used in the daily life of the owners. On holidays, the hut was transformed, it was decorated with handmade items: embroidered towels, woven tablecloths and many others. This must be remembered if you need to bring a drawing on this topic to school. In the 5th grade at the fine arts, "decor of a Russian hut" is one of the tasks provided for by the program.

People equipped their huts, comparing them with the world order. Here, every corner and detail is filled with a special meaning, they show the relationship of a person with the outside world.

The Russian national dwelling - in Russian traditional culture, which was widespread back in the late 19th - early 20th centuries, was a wooden structure - a hut built using a log or frame technology.
The basis of the Russian national dwelling is a cage, a rectangular covered one-room simple log house without outbuildings (log house) or a hut. The dimensions of the cages were small, 3 by 2 meters, there were no window openings. The height of the cage was 10-12 logs. The crate was covered with straw. A cage with a stove is already a hut.

How did our ancestors choose the place of residence and building material for the house?
Settlements often arose in wooded places, along the banks of rivers, lakes, since waterways were then natural roads that connected numerous cities of Russia. In the forest there is an animal and a bird, resin and wild honey, berries and mushrooms, “To live near the forest is not to be hungry” was said in Russia. The Slavs used to win back the living space for themselves from the forest, cutting and cultivating the cornfield. The construction began with felling the forest and a settlement appeared on the cleared land - a "village". The word "village" is derived from the word "derv" (from the action "drati") - something that is uprooted (forest and thickets). It wasn't built in a day or two. First, the area had to be mastered. They prepared the land for arable land, cut down, uprooted the forest. This is how the “zaimka” arose (from the word “to occupy”), and the first buildings were called “repairs” (from the word “initiation”, that is, the beginning). Relatives and just neighbors settled nearby (those who "sat down" nearby). To build a house, our ancestors cut down coniferous trees (the most resistant to decay) and took only those that fell with their tops to the east. Young and old trees, as well as dead wood, were unsuitable for this. Solitary trees and groves that grew on the site of a destroyed church were considered sacred, so they were also not taken to build a house. They cut down in frosts, because the tree was considered dead at that time (the wood is drier at this time). It was they who chopped, not sawed: it was believed that this way the tree would be better preserved. The logs were piled up, bark was removed from them in the spring, leveled, collected in small log cabins and left to dry until the fall, and sometimes until the next spring. Only after that they began to choose a place and build a house. Such was the experience of centuries-old wooden construction.

“The hut is not cut for the summer, but for the winter” - what was the name of the peasant log house and how did they choose a place for it?
The oldest and simplest type of Russian buildings consists of "cages" - small tetrahedral log cabins. One of the cages was heated by a “hearth” and therefore was called “istba”, from the word “istobka”, hence the name of the Russian house appeared - “hut”. Izba - a wooden (log) log house. Large houses were built, grandfathers and fathers, grandchildren and great-grandchildren lived all together under one roof - "A family is strong when there is only one roof over it." The hut was usually cut down from thick logs, folding them into a log house. The log house was made up of "crowns". The crown is four logs laid horizontally in a square or rectangle and connected at the corners with notches (recesses so that the logs “sit” tightly one on top of the other). From the ground to the roof of such "crowns" it was necessary to collect about 20. The most reliable, warm, was considered to be the fastening of logs "in oblo" (from the word "obly" - round), in which the round log ends of the logs were cut into each other and they came out a little outside the wall, the corners of such a house did not freeze. The logs of the log house were tied together so tightly that even the blade of a knife could not pass between them. The place for the house was chosen very carefully. They never built a hut on the site of the old one, if the former housing burned down, collapsed from troubles. In no case did they put a hut “on blood” or “on bones” - where at least a drop of human blood fell to the ground or bones were found, this happened! A bad place was considered a place where one day a cart overturned (there would be no wealth in the house), or a road once passed (unhappiness could come into the house along it), or a crooked tree grew. People tried to notice where the cattle likes to rest: this place promised good luck to the owners of the house built there.

What are the main elements of the decorative decoration of the hut called?
1. "Konyok - ohlupen" - guarded the house from evil forces. The horse was hewn out of a very thick tree, which was dug up with the root, the root was processed, giving it the appearance of a horse's head. Skates look to the sky and protect the house not only from bad weather. The horse in ancient times was a symbol of the sun, according to ancient beliefs, the sun is carried across the sky by winged invisible horses, so they piled a horse on the roof to support the sun. 2. A skillfully carved board descended from under the ridge - “Towel”, so named for its resemblance to the embroidered end of a real towel and symbolizing the sun at its zenith, to the left of it the same board symbolized the sunrise, and to the right - symbolized the sunset. 3. The facade of the house is a wall facing the street - it was likened to a person's face. There were windows on the façade. The word "window" comes from the ancient name of the eye - "eye", and windows were considered eyes on the face of the house, therefore, wooden carved window decorations are called "platbands". Often the windows were supplemented with "shutters". In the southern huts, one could reach the windows with one's hands, but in the north, the houses were placed on a high "basement" (what is under the cage). Therefore, to close the shutters, special bypass galleries were arranged - “ambulances”, which encircled the house at the level of the windows. Windows used to be covered with mica or bull bladders; glass appeared in the 14th century. Such a window let in little light, but in winter it was better to keep warm in the hut. 4. The roof of the house with front and rear walls in the form of log triangles symbolized the “forehead” on the face of the house, the Old Russian name for the forehead sounds like “brow”, and carved boards protruding from under the roof - “Prichelins”.

What did they symbolize and how were the upper and lower boundaries arranged in the living space of the hut?
The ceiling in the hut was made of tesa (that is, from boards hewn from logs). The ceiling served as the upper boundary of the hut. The boards were supported by "Matitsa" - a particularly thick beam, which was cut into the upper crown when the frame was erected. The matitsa ran across the entire hut, fastening and holding the walls, the ceiling and the base of the roof. For the house, the mother was the same as the root for the tree, and for the person, the mother: the beginning, the support, the basis. Various objects were hung from the mother. A hook was nailed here for hanging an eyeglass with a cradle (a flexible pole, even with a slight push, such a cradle rocked). Only that house was considered full-fledged, where the eyes creak under the ceiling, where the kids, growing up, nurse the younger ones. Ideas about the father's house, happiness, good luck were associated with the mother. It is no coincidence that when going on the road, one had to hold on to the mother. The ceilings on the mat were always laid parallel to the floorboards. The floor is the boundary that separates people from “non-humans”: brownies, etc. The floor in the house was laid from halves of logs (hence the word “floorboards”, and it relied on thick beams cut into the lower crowns of the log house. The floorboards themselves were associated with the idea of ​​a path The bed (and in summer they often slept right on the floor) was supposed to be laid across the floorboards, otherwise the person would leave the house.

What was the inner world of the Russian hut like?
In a peasant hut, every corner had its own meaning. The main space of the hut was occupied by a stove. The oven was made of clay with stones added to the thickness. The Russian stove was used for heating, cooking for people and animals, for ventilation and lighting of the room. The heated oven served as a bed for old people and kids, and clothes were dried here. Babies were washed in the warm mouth of the oven, and if there was no bath, then the adult members of the family also “bathed” here. Things were stored on the stove, grain was dried, it healed - they bathed in it in case of ailments. On the bench, next to the stove, the hostess was preparing food, and the bread taken out of the oven was also stacked here. This place in the hut was called “Oven Corner” or “Baby Corner” - from the mouth of the furnace to the front wall of the house - the kingdom of a woman, here stood all the simple utensils that were in the household, here she worked, rested, raised children. A cradle hung on a flexible pole attached to a mat next to the stove. Here, near the window, hand millstones were always placed - a grinding device (two large flat stones), so the corner was also called "Millstone". The front part of the hut was the "Red Corner". No matter how the oven was located in the hut (to the right or left of the entrance), the red corner was always located diagonally from it. In the corner itself, there was always a “Goddess” with icons and a lamp, which is why the corner also received the name “Saint”. The "rear corner" has always been masculine. Here they placed a “horseman” (“kutnik”) - a short wide shop in the form of a box with a hinged flat lid, tools were stored in it. It was separated from the door by a flat board, which was often shaped like a horse's head. This was the owner's place. Here he rested and worked. Bast shoes were woven here, utensils and harness were repaired and made, nets were knitted, etc.

What is the purpose and location of the table in a Russian hut?
The most honorable place in the "red corner" at the converging benches (long and short) was occupied by a table. The table must be covered with a tablecloth. In the XI - XII centuries, the table was made of adobe and motionless. It was then that his permanent place in the house was determined. Movable wooden tables appear only by the 17th-18th centuries. The table was made rectangular in shape and always placed along the floorboards in the red corner. Any promotion of him from there could only be connected with a ritual or crisis situation. The table was never taken out of the hut, and when selling a house, the table was sold along with the house. The table played a special role in wedding ceremonies. Each stage of matchmaking and preparation for the wedding necessarily ended with a feast. And before going to the crown, in the bride's house, the bride and groom ritually went around the table and blessed them. The newborn was carried around the table. On ordinary days, it was forbidden to go around the table, everyone had to leave from the side from which they entered. In general, the table was conceived as an analogue of the temple throne. The flat tabletop was revered as the "hand of God" giving bread. Therefore, knocking on the table at which they sit, scraping with a spoon on the dishes, throwing leftover food on the floor was considered a sin. The people said: "Bread on the table, and the table is the throne, but not a piece of bread - so the table is a board." At normal times, between feasts, only bread wrapped in a tablecloth and a salt shaker with salt could be on the table. The constant presence of bread on the table was supposed to ensure prosperity and well-being at home. Thus, the table was a place of family unity. Each household member had his own place at the table, which depended on marital status. The most honorable place at the table - at the head of the table - was occupied by the owner of the house.

With the help of what and how did they illuminate the interior of the hut?
Mica, and bubbles, and even glass of that time only let light through a little and the hut had to be additionally illuminated. The most ancient device for lighting the hut is considered to be a "fireplace" - a small recess, a niche in the very corner of the stove. A burning torch was placed in the stove, a well-dried torch gave a bright and even light. A torch was called a thin sliver of birch, pine, aspen, oak, ash, maple. A little later, the stove was illuminated by a torch inserted into the Svetets. To obtain thin (less than 1 cm) long (up to 70 cm) chips, the log was steamed in an oven over a cast-iron with boiling water and pierced at one end with an ax, then torn into splinters by hand. They inserted torches into the lights. The simplest light was a wrought iron rod with a fork at one end and a point at the other. With this tip, the light was inserted into the gap between the logs of the hut. A torch was inserted into the fork. And for falling coals, a trough with water was substituted under the light. Later, forged lights appeared, in which several torches burned. On major holidays, expensive and rare candles were lit in the hut to complete the light. With candles in the dark they went into the hallway, went down to the underground. In winter, they threshed with candles on the "threshing floor" (covered area for threshing). The candles were tallow and waxy. Tallow candles were more often "Makans". For their manufacture, they took beef, lamb, goat fat, melted it and dipped a wick thrown over a splinter into it, froze it several times, and received “makans”, which often came out skinny and uneven. Wax candles were made by rolling. The wax was heated in hot water, rolled into a roller, flattened into a long cake and, putting a wick of flax or hemp on the edge of the cake, rolled it into a roller again.

How were the poker, tong, pomelo and bread shovel used in the house?
The people said: "The poker in the oven is the mistress." In the old days, the stove poker was one of the symbols of the hearth, giving food and warmth, without which family well-being is impossible. While the stove is being heated, the poker-hostess works tirelessly. As soon as firewood flared up in the oven and burning logs need to be moved deep into the oven, the poker is right there. A piece of wood has fallen out of the fire and smokes in the far corner of the firebox, the same poker comes to his aid. "Uhvat" brought into the Russian stove cast iron (from one and a half to ten liters). Before sending the cast-iron to the furnace, it was placed on a hearth near the mouth and the horns of the tong were brought under its body. Next to the cast-iron, under the handle of the grip, a suitable-sized skating rink (a round log) was placed. By pressing the end of the handle, the cast iron was slightly raised and, leaning on the roller with a grip, rolled into the furnace and placed in the intended place of the hearth. It was not easy to do this without skill. The tongs, like the pots, were of different sizes, so there were many of them near the stove, they were taken care of and they served people for a long time. "Pomelo" is invariably located at the Russian wind oven and is intended for cleaning the hearth and hearth. Most often, under the oven was swept before baking pies. The pomelo was intended exclusively for the oven. It is strictly forbidden to use it for any other purposes. In the old days, when bread was baked in every village house, and pies were baked on holidays, it was supposed to have a wide wooden “shovel” on a long handle at the oven. A shovel made from a board was used to put bread in the oven. The bread shovel also demanded a respectful attitude. It was placed only with the handle down.

Where were clothes, fabrics and valuable household items stored?
"Chest" - this word denoted a large rectangular box made of sawn boards with a hinged lid, lockable. In it, Russian people kept clothes and valuables. For centuries, various chest products have been an important part of the interior of peasant huts; they were put in a prominent place testifying to the wealth of the family. The chests in which the bride's dowry was kept were often very large and were brought into the house only once - during its construction. In Russia, when a girl was born, they immediately began to prepare a dowry for her - this was called "pumping chests." Dowry was the key to a successful marriage. After marriage, the girl left her home and took with her dowry chests: pillows, feather beds, blankets, towels (made by the bride herself), clothes, household utensils, jewelry. In many houses, chests of various sizes were displayed in the form of a slide, i.e. put one on top of the other, sometimes their number reached the ceiling. In a peasant house, chests were used not only to store goods, but also served as a pillow stand, a bench, and sometimes a place for afternoon naps. Chests, headrests, caskets, hiding places, caskets were richly decorated. Usually they were bound for strength with strips of iron, tinned or blued. Customers presented certain artistic requirements to chest craftsmen: chests must be not only roomy, durable, but also beautiful. To do this, chests were painted with tempera paints diluted on egg yolk. Images of a lion or a griffin were often found on chest products; they were considered strong, courageous animals, good defenders of the goods acquired by a person.

What was the significance of the embroidered towel in peasant life?
In Russia, towels were hung in the hut for festive decoration. Their colorful patterns enlivened its log walls, giving festivity, making the home elegant. A towel bordered the goddess in the red corner, hung on windows, mirrors, walls. In the old peasant life, they called a towel - a panel of home-made white fabric, trimmed with embroidery, woven colored patterns, ribbons, stripes of colored chintz, lace, etc. The length of the towels was from 2 to 4 m, the width was 3638 cm. It was decorated, as a rule, at the ends, the cloth was rarely ornamented. Especially richly decorated was a large “hand-made” towel, the so-called “wall” (wall-length). During the handshake, it was presented to the groom, hanging around his neck. This meant that the bride was betrothed, and the groom threw a towel to his relatives. They decorated the goddess for the whole time of the wedding, and when traveling to the crown, they tied it to the arc of the wedding cart. “Gift” towels, with which the bride presented the groom’s relatives, were less decorated than hand-made ones. The bride was covered with a towel (and a shawl on top) when they were taken to church. The bride and groom were tied with a towel, as if symbolizing the strength of their family life. The towel played a significant role in maternity and baptismal rites, as well as in funeral and memorial rites. According to custom, richly ornamented towels were a necessary part of a girl's dowry. On the second day of the wedding, the young woman hung her hand-made towels in the hut on top of her mother-in-law's towels so that all guests could admire her work. The towel was present in many customs and rituals of the Russian family. This purpose of the towel excluded its use for wiping hands, face, floor. For this purpose, they used a "rukoternik or utirka".

What vegetable and animal oils were produced in Russia?
So what is "oil" really? Whatever you say, you love - you don’t love, and without fat, which is the basis of oil, human life would be impossible, since every cell of our body is surrounded by a protective fatty film. The most commonly used vegetable oils in Russia have always been linseed and hemp. And the sunflower oil familiar to us came into use much later, at the beginning of the 19th century. The use of vegetable oils was allowed even during the most strict multi-day fasts, so its second "folk" name is vegetable oil. Hemp oil is a fatty vegetable oil obtained from the fruit of the hemp plant, usually by pressing, it has excellent nourishing, protective and regenerating properties. Unfortunately, in our time, hemp is perceived as a narcotic plant and is prohibited from cultivation. Linseed oil was not inferior to hemp oil and has always been one of the most valuable and important food products. Flaxseed oil is both food, medicine and cosmetics. But, if linseed oil has a specific smell, then pumpkin and cedar oil are among the most delicious. Rosehip and walnut oils were often used for medical purposes. Butter of animal origin in Russia was churned from cream, sour cream and whole milk. The most common way to make butter was to melt sour cream or cream in a Russian oven. The separated oily mass was cooled and knocked down with wooden whorls, spatulas, spoons, and often with hands. The finished oil was washed in cold water. Since fresh butter could not be stored for a long time, the peasants melted it in the oven, getting ghee.

Why did they say in Russia - "Without salt, without bread - half a meal"?
Bread was constantly lying on the table in the Russian house, and there was a salt shaker nearby, salt was a kind of amulet, because our ancestors believed that salt protected from hostile forces. In the old days, when subsistence farming dominated, salt was almost the only purchased product among the Eastern Slavs. Salt was very expensive, and it was protected. This explains the widespread sign that spilling salt is not good - punishment will follow. A loaf of bread and a salt shaker with salt decorated the wedding table, it was given as a housewarming gift, they came to a newborn child with it, as if with a blessing, and when a traveler and dear guest set off on the road, they offered bread - salt, with the wish of wealth and prosperity, thereby expressing your disposition towards them. A long time ago, the word "loaf" was pronounced and written as "cow". A long time ago, people, in order to appease the Gods, sacrificed domestic animals (cows), but life did not allow parting with the cow nurse. It was then that they began to sculpt cows from dough, and later - bread with horns, which was called "Korovai". Since the main grain crop was rye, they baked mainly rye bread. In Russia, since ancient times, rye bread has been a staple food, it was kneaded on natural sourdough and was of three varieties: 1) fur, or chaff, from poorly sifted rye and wholemeal flour; 2) reshot from rye flour, sifted through a very rare sieve (sieve); 3) sifted from rye flour, sifted through an ordinary fine sieve. But where wheat was sown, white bread was also baked. The best was considered "brick" - bread baked from well-sifted wheat flour. The grinding of flour, the thoroughness of its sifting determined the taste of bread.

“A good porridge, but a small cup” - they loved porridge in Russia, and from what cereals were they prepared?
Rye, oats, wheat, barley, millet, and buckwheat have been cultivated in our country since medieval antiquity. Today, in our country, the following types of cereals are produced from these cereals: from buckwheat - kernel and prodel; from millet - polished millet; from oats - cereals: not crushed, flattened, flakes and oatmeal; from barley - barley and barley groats; semolina is produced from durum wheat during grinding. For a long time our ancestors borrowed the skills of making flour, mastered the "secrets" of baking various products from fermented dough. That is why pies, pies, pancakes, pies, kulebyaki, fritters, pancakes, etc. are essential in the food of our ancestors. ”from dough - on spring holidays, etc. Dishes from all kinds of cereals are no less typical for Russian traditional cuisine: various cereals, krupeniks, oatmeal kissels, casseroles. In the more northern parts of our country, dishes made from millet are of particular importance. Millet served as a raw material for making flour, cereals, brewing beer, kvass, making soups and sweet dishes. This folk tradition continues to this day. Porridge was everyday food and three main types - crumbly, viscous and liquid; milk, fat, butter, eggs, mushrooms, etc. were added to it. There are more than twenty of them in Russia: plain buckwheat, buckwheat with peas, millet, oatmeal, wheat, carrot, turnip, pea, etc. Kutya was a special dish in Russia; it was prepared from wheat grains with the addition of honey.

What vegetable crops were cultivated in Russia?
Not only grain crops were cultivated by our ancestors. From antiquity, through the centuries, crops such as cabbage, beets, turnips, rutabaga, pumpkin, carrots, peas have come down to our days and have become the main crops in our garden. The most widely used in Russia was sauerkraut, which could be preserved until the next harvest. Cabbage served as an indispensable snack, seasoning for various dishes. Shchi from various types of cabbage is a well-deserved pride of our national cuisine, although they were prepared in ancient Rome, where a lot of cabbage was specially grown. It's just that many vegetable plants and recipes "migrated" from Ancient Rome through Byzantium to Russia after the adoption of Christianity in Russia. Turnip in Russia until the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries. was as important as the potato is today. Turnips were used everywhere and many dishes were prepared from turnips, stuffed, boiled, steamed. Turnips were used as a filling for pies, kvass was made from it. The turnip contains in its composition very valuable biochemical sulfur compounds, which, when eaten regularly, are excellent immunostimulants. Later, turnips began to fall into disuse, but potatoes and a proverb appeared - “Potatoes help bread”, tomatoes and cucumbers began to be cultivated. Pumpkin appeared in Russia in the 17th century and immediately became popular with peasants due to its productivity, unpretentiousness, usefulness and ability for long-term storage. Beets were considered an exceptionally medicinal product; from early spring to late autumn, both root crops and tops of the plant were eaten.

“When it’s hot in the oven, then it’s boiling” - how is the Russian oven arranged?
The Russians have already in ancient times appeared and firmly entered the life of the so-called "Russian stove". A good stove is the pride of the owner, the holy of holies at home. The fire burning in the furnace gave light and heat, food was cooked on it. This unique building played the role of a kind of life center for the family. Russian stoves have always been placed on the "guardian". This is a small log house in three - four crowns of round logs. On top of it, they arranged a horizontal “roll-up”, which was covered with sand and smeared with a thick layer of clay. This clay served as the "hearth" for the furnace. The tong, the poker, the scoop were kept in the “under-furnace”, it was believed that the brownie lives there. The stove was made of stone (brick), and covered with clay on top, it had to keep heat as long as possible, and require as little firewood as possible. The shape of the pottery in which food was cooked (the so-called “Slavic pots” is also connected with the design of the oven. The fact is that in this oven the dishes are heated from the sides and therefore must have a large side surface. In addition, the shape of the pots is best suited for The furnace was almost cubic in size: length 1.8-2 m, width 1.6-1.8 m, height 1.7 m. The upper part of the furnace was made wide and flat, comfortable for lying. firebox", "crucible" - they made it large: 1.2-1.4 m high, up to 1.5 m wide, with a vaulted ceiling and a flat bottom - "hearth". A rectangular hole in front of the crucible - "brow", " mouth "- tightly closed with a large" damper ", in order to avoid heat loss. In front of the mouth they arranged a platform - a wide board -" hearth ", utensils were placed on it to push it into the oven with a grip. To the right and left of the hearth there were "ash pans", where hot coals were stored for a year.

“One day - a year feeds” - why was the timing of the cultivation of the land important for the farmer?
Peasants lived surrounded by beautiful but harsh nature. Their life depended on drought and rain, the number of workers in the family, the safety of the harvest. Farming is gradually becoming their main occupation. First, a section of the forest was cut down in winter. In the spring it was burned out, the ash served as fertilizer. After that, they loosened with a hoe, mixing the ashes with the ground, and then the field was sown. In most of Russia, the main arable tool was the "plow" or "plow", along with the plow, the "roe deer" was known, which was used to raise novi (uncultivated soil). To loosen the land after plowing, mixing the layers and removing weeds, they used "harrows - knots" (the so-called large branch of a tree with not completely chopped branches). For sowing grain, flax and hemp seeds throughout Russia, baskets were used - "sewers", for harvesting - "sickles", they were the most common tool for harvesting grain, for threshing grain crops - "flails", for threshing flax and hemp - "rolls ”, for winnowing - “shovels”, for processing grain into flour at home - “millstones”. The peasants sowed millet, wheat, barley, oats, rye, buckwheat, hemp, flax, less often beans and peas. The Slavs called bread “zhit” (from the word “live”), because they could not live without it: it was the main food product. Each village had its own experts who determined the timing of agricultural work. The peasant determined the necessary moment of “ripeness” of the land for plowing according to the centuries-old experience of his ancestors: he took the earth in a handful and tightly clenched it in his fist, released it. If a lump crumbled when falling, then the earth is ready for sowing, if it fell in a lump, it has not yet ripened (i.e., it has not dried out). In June, haymaking began, in July and August - a difficult time for harvesting grain.

Where did the proverb come from: “You sow flax and you reap gold”?
From ancient times in Russia, flax was cultivated, which both fed and clothed people, our ancestors said with respect about it: "You sow flax, and you reap gold." For processing flax stalks into fiber, from fiber into thread, “crushers”, “ruffles”, “combs”, “roller”, “spinning wheels”, “self-spinning wheels”, “spindles” were used. The spinning wheel was a necessary subject of peasant use: it was a tool of labor, a decoration for a hut, and a wedding gift. For centuries, the technology of growing and processing flax has remained unchanged. Ripe flax is pulled, that is, pulled out of the ground, and along with the roots. Then it is dried, freed from seed heads (combed), threshed, soaked, which makes it possible to separate the fiber from the woody part of the stem, crumpled and shaken. The tattered flax is combed and a twisted thin ribbon is obtained - a roving. From it, on long winter evenings, women spun linen yarn - they twisted flax fibers into a thread on spindles or spinning wheels. During spinning, the fingers of the left hand had to be moistened to give the thread a "fortress". Spinning is a rather complicated and monotonous work, so that it would be more fun to work, the girls gathered in a hut, sang and talked there, but did not forget about work either. Everyone tried to work as best as possible, because by what kind of thread they get, they will judge the skill of the girl. Having received a sufficient number of threads, they made fabric on a handloom. Linen was grown in Russia not only in order to obtain from it linen fabric, which is very valuable in its properties. It is known that in ancient Russia, delicious bread and cakes were baked from flaxseed flour, obtained from ground flax seeds, and linseed oil was added to food on fasting days.

What material was used to make dishes in Russia?
The peasants did everything necessary for the household themselves. Dishes were made from tree bark (cups, bowls, buckets, barrels), carved from wood (spoons, cups, basins), molded from clay, then fired in a furnace. Dishes of the same purpose, but made of different materials, were called differently: a vessel made of clay - “pot”, made of cast iron - “cast iron”, made of copper - “copper”. Clay pots and jugs served people for a very long time for cooking. Pots were made in a variety of sizes. The main advantage of the pot was its strength. On the farm, pots were valued and taken care of. If the pot cracked, it was braided with birch bark ribbons and cereals were stored in it. Later, the pot was replaced by cast iron - tinned metal vessels, they retained the shape of the pot. Over the centuries, a huge variety of products made of wood, clay, and metal have been created. Among them there were many truly artistic creations, when a household object, without losing its utilitarian qualities, at the same time became a work of a high aesthetic level. It is hard to imagine a peasant house without numerous utensils accumulated over decades. “Utensils” are utensils for preparing, preparing and storing food, serving it to the table - pots, patches, pelvises, krinks, bowls, dishes, valleys, ladles, korchiki (they drank honey, kvass, beer from them), etc. .; all kinds of containers for picking berries and mushrooms - baskets, bodies, tuesa, etc .; various chests, caskets, caskets for storing household items, clothes and cosmetic accessories; items for kindling a fire and interior lighting at home - fire flint, lights, candlesticks and much more.

“Only bast shoes are woven on both legs, and mittens are discord” - what and how did they dress in Russia?
The work of Russian masters - artisans served a variety of aspects of peasant life, including the manufacture of clothes and shoes. For the peasants, the main clothing was the "shirt", both for men and women. It was believed that all the vulnerabilities of the human body had to be covered. Everyone had shirts everyday and festive. Everyday clothes were only sewn along the seam and edges with red thread to block the way for evil. Festive shirts were richly decorated with embroidery. It was believed that with the language of the pattern, a person conveys his requests to God. In different regions of Russia, a “poneva” or “sarafan”, an “apron” or a “soul warmer” were worn on a shirt, they were decorated in every possible way. The Russian headdress has always been an important part of the costume. The girls wore “ribbons”, and married women covered their heads with a scarf or hid them under the kokoshnik, which was called differently in different places: kika, duckweed, heel. Men wore wide trousers - "ports" and "shirt-shirts". All clothes were girded with a "sash". They wore a cap on their heads. In winter and summer, the peasants put on "bast shoes" on their feet. They were woven from the inside of lime or birch bark - bast. Bast shoes were usually worn on canvas (in summer), woolen or cloth (in winter) windings (“onuchi”). Onuchi were fastened on the leg with "frills" - leather or hemp ropes, they were attached to the bast shoes, wrapped around the leg and tied under the knee. Bast shoes were woven without distinction between the right and left legs. Everyday bast shoes without additional devices had a shelf life of three to ten days. Bast weaving was mainly done by old people. A good master could weave two pairs of bast shoes in a day.

Litvinova Elena Evgenievna

The hut was the main living quarters of the Russian house. Its interior was distinguished by strict, long-established forms, simplicity and expedient arrangement of objects. Its walls, ceiling and floor, as a rule, were not painted or glued with anything, had a pleasant warm color of wood, light in new houses, dark in old ones.

The main place in the hut was occupied by a Russian stove. Depending on the local tradition, it stood to the right or left of the entrance, with its mouth to the side or front wall. This was convenient for the inhabitants of the house, since a warm stove blocked the way for cold air penetrating from the entrance hall (only in the southern, central black earth strip of European Russia, the stove was located in the corner farthest from the entrance).

Diagonally from the stove was a table, over which hung a goddess with icons. Along the walls were motionless benches, and above them were cut into the walls of the same width of the shelf - the benches. In the back of the hut, from the stove to the side wall, under the ceiling, they arranged a wooden flooring - a bed. In the southern Russian regions, behind the side wall of the stove there could be a wooden flooring for sleeping - a floor (platform). All this immovable atmosphere of the hut was built by carpenters along with the house and was called a mansion outfit.

The space of the Russian hut was divided into parts that had their specific purpose. The front corner with a goddess and a table was also called a large, red, holy one: family meals were arranged here, prayer books, the Gospel, and the Psalter were read aloud. Here on the shelves stood beautiful tableware. In houses where there was no room, the front corner was considered the front part of the hut, a place for receiving guests.

The space near the door and the stove was called the woman's corner, the stove corner, the middle corner, the middle, the middle. It was a place where women cooked food and did various jobs. There were pots and bowls on the shelves, tongs, a poker, a pomelo near the stove. The mythological consciousness of the people defined the stove corner as a dark, unclean place. In the hut there were, as it were, two sacred centers located diagonally: a Christian center and a pagan center, equally important for a peasant family.

The rather limited space of the Russian hut was organized in such a way that a family of seven to eight people was accommodated in it with more or less convenience. This was achieved due to the fact that each family member knew his place in the common space. Men usually worked and rested during the day on the men's half of the hut, which included a front corner with icons and a bench near the entrance. Women and children were in the women's quarters near the stove during the day.

Places for sleeping were also strictly distributed: children, boys and girls slept on the beds; the owner with the hostess of the house - under the beds on a special flooring or bench, to which a wide bench moved; old people on the stove or golbets. It was not supposed to break the order in the house unless it was absolutely necessary. A person who violates it was considered not to know the commandments of the fathers. The organization of the interior space of the hut is reflected in the wedding song:

Will I enter my parent's bright room,
I will pray for everything on four sides,
Another first bow to the front corner,
I ask the Lord for a blessing
In a white body - health,
In the head of the mind-mind,
In the white hands of the clever,
To be able to please someone else's family.
I will give another bow to the middle corner,
For bread to him for salt,
For sleeping, for feeding,
For warm clothes.
And I will give the third bow to the warm corner
For his warming
For hot coals,
Hot bricks.
And in the last bow
Kutnoy corner
For his soft bed,
Downy behind the head,
For a dream, for a sweet nap.

The hut was kept as clean as possible, which was most typical for northern and Siberian villages. The floors in the hut were washed once a week, and on Easter, Christmas and the patronal holidays, not only the floor, but also the walls, ceiling, and benches were scraped bare with sand. Russian peasants tried to decorate their hut. On weekdays, her decoration was rather modest: a towel on the shrine, homespun rugs on the floor.

On a holiday, the Russian hut was transformed, especially if the house did not have a room: the table was covered with a white tablecloth; on the walls, closer to the front corner, and on the windows hung towels embroidered or woven with colored patterns; benches and chests standing in the house were covered with elegant paths. The interior of the chamber was somewhat different from the interior of the hut.

The upper room was the front room of the house and was not intended for permanent residence of the family. Accordingly, its interior space was decided differently - it did not have a bed and a platform for sleeping, instead of a Russian stove there was a Dutch stove lined with tiles, adapted only for heating the room, the benches were covered with beautiful bedding, ceremonial tableware was placed on the benches, popular prints were hung on the walls near the shrine. pictures of religious and secular content and towels. For the rest, the mansion attire of the upper room repeated the motionless attire of the hut: in the corner farthest from the door there was a shrine with icons, along the walls of the shop, above them were shelf-shelves, many chests, sometimes placed one on top of the other.

It is difficult to imagine a peasant house without numerous utensils that have accumulated for decades, if not centuries, and literally filled its space. Utensils are dishes for preparing, preparing and storing food, serving it on the table - pots, patches, pelvises, krinks, bowls, dishes, valleys, ladles2, crusts, etc .; all kinds of containers for picking berries and mushrooms - baskets, bodies, tuesas, etc .; various chests, caskets, caskets for storing household items, clothes and cosmetic accessories; items for kindling a fire and interior lighting at home - fire flint, lights, candlesticks and more. etc. All these items necessary for housekeeping were available in more or less quantity in every peasant family.

Household utensils were relatively the same type throughout the entire area of ​​the settlement of the Russian people, which is explained by the commonality of the domestic way of life of Russian peasants. Local variants of utensils were practically absent or, in any case, were less obvious than in clothing and food. Differences were manifested only in the utensils served on the table on holidays. At the same time, local originality found its expression not so much in the form of tableware, but in its decorative design.

A characteristic feature of Russian peasant utensils was the abundance of local names for the same item. Vessels of the same shape, of the same purpose, made of the same material, in the same way, were called in their own way in different provinces, counties, volosts and further villages. The name of the object changed depending on its use by a particular hostess: the pot in which porridge was cooked was called “kashnik” in one house, the same pot used in another house for cooking stew was called “puppy”.

Utensils of the same purpose, but made of different materials, were called differently: a vessel made of clay - a pot, made of cast iron - a cast iron, made of copper - a coppersmith. The terminology often changed depending on the method of making the vessel: a cooperage-made vessel for fermenting vegetables - a tub, dugout made of wood - a dugout, made of clay - a trough. The interior decoration of the peasant house began to undergo noticeable changes in the last third of the 19th century. First of all, the changes affected the interior of the chamber, which was perceived by Russians as a symbol of the wealth of a peasant family.

The owners of the upper rooms sought to furnish them with items typical of the urban lifestyle: instead of benches, chairs, stools, canapels appeared - sofas with trellised or blank backs, instead of an old table with a base - an urban-type table covered with a “fillet” tablecloth. An indispensable accessory of the upper room was a chest of drawers with drawers, a slide for festive dishes and a smartly decorated bed with a lot of pillows, and near the sanctuary there were framed photographs of relatives and clock-clocks.

After some time, innovations also affected the hut: a wooden partition separated the stove from the rest of the space, urban household items began to actively replace traditional fixed furniture. So, the bed gradually replaced the bed. In the first decade of the XX century. the decoration of the hut was replenished with cabinets, cupboards, mirrors and small sculptures. The traditional set of utensils lasted much longer, up to the 30s. XX century, which was explained by the stability of the peasant way of life, the functionality of household items. The only exception was the festive dining room, or rather, tea utensils: from the second half of the 19th century. Along with the samovar, porcelain cups, saucers, sugar bowls, vases for jam, milk jugs, and metal teaspoons appeared in the peasant house.

Wealthy families used individual plates, jelly molds, glass glasses, glasses, goblets, bottles, etc. during festive meals. old ideas about the interior decoration of the house and the gradual withering away of traditional household culture.