The cultural and educational festival "One Day in a Russian Estate" was held in the Grebnevo Estate near Moscow. The project is implemented by the Association of Owners of Historical Estates with grant support from the Russian Geographical Society and is aimed at supporting communities of local historians, volunteers, and local residents involved in the preservation of Russian cultural heritage sites.
Historical estates of Russia are an important part of the cultural heritage of the country. They embody the continuity of generations and identity. Many of them are in poor condition. The fate of the Grebnevo Estate was no exception, until in 2018 it was acquired by a well-known businessman, public figure, and musician Andrey Kovalev. Thus began the revival of Grebnevo.
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The estate is located 30 km from Moscow in the Shchelkovo Urban District, near the science town Fryazino. The first mention of it dates back to the beginning of the 14th century. Among the owners of Grebnevo were Prince Ivan Kalita of Moscow, Princes Vladimir the Brave and Dmitry Trubetskoy, boyar Bogdan Belsky, Prince Yuri Trubetskoy, Major General Gavriil Bibikov, Prince Dmitry Golitsyn, representatives of the princely Vorontsov family.
The new owner of the estate, Andrey Kovalev, intends to completely restore it and make Grebnevo one of the cultural centers of the country. Festivals, concerts, and excursions are already taking place here. Gazebos for recreation, houses for living, and a boat station appeared. At the same time, active work is underway to restore the estate.
In the future, the creation of the largest architectural, historical, cultural, educational, and entertainment cluster in Russia with museums of paintings, knight's armors, carriages, antique cars, and agricultural machinery on the territory of more than 300 hectares.
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“The Russian Geographical Society has been recently introduced to the estate subject,” Ilya Gurov, First Deputy Executive Director of the RGS, said in his speech at the opening of the festival. “We realized how productive it is to study estates and estate parks for the education of future generations. It is a storehouse of information about our culture, science, and art. Moreover, the restoration of the estates is not only an educational history, but also the support of our villages, the countryside. I hope that the restored estates will act as centers of culture, will contribute to the creation of settlements around themselves, and the development of rural areas.”
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During the round table, experts discussed issues of preserving cultural heritage. And the visitors were able to appreciate the cultural program of the festival. In particular, the RGS organized a exhibition-quiz "30 Questions on the Geography of Russia". It was based on the works of the RGS’s photo contest "The Most Beautiful Country". In addition, an exciting geographical quiz was held for the erudite people, and everyone had the opportunity to watch the film "Russia: A Virtual Tour."