Sokol (Vologda Region) attractions

What do you know about Sokol? I think it's nothing. I, too, neither in my dreams nor in my spirit, knew about it until I ended up here myself. Yes, even in the process of preparing our route, I looked at Wikipedia, but the standard “city in Russia, administrative center, etc. blah blah blah” was waiting for me there, in short - nothing interesting.

Meanwhile, it is in Sokol that there is probably the most exciting museum in the Vologda region, for which you can safely go there. Moreover, the city is located only some thirty-five kilometers from Vologda.

The history of Sokol is entirely connected with the pulp and paper industry. The first factory opened here back in 1899. In honor of the nearby village of Sokolovo (known, by the way, since the 17th century), the production was named “Sokol”. The workers' settlement that soon appeared around it received the same name. Just four years after its launch, the factory became the third in the Russian Empire in terms of paper production.

Currently, Sokol is the paper capital of the Vologochin region. The city has one woodworking and two pulp and paper mills; various grades of paper and furniture are produced here. Sokol is also the third largest city in the region (the first and second are Vologda and Cherepovets, respectively; at the same time, the population of Sokol is about ten times less than each of them).

The city stands on the Sukhona River. This river is interesting because in the upper reaches (exactly where Sokol is located) during the spring flood it changes the direction of its flow to the opposite.

Visually, Sokol is an ordinary Soviet workers' city with several blocks of standard block high-rise buildings and a vast wooden private sector. Even under the snow he looks unkempt and unkempt.

History of the city Sokol

The history of this small town is closely connected with the emergence of the paper and wood processing industries.

The settlement itself arose thanks to the construction of a paper mill. An industrialist from Arkhangelsk, Surkov, decided to take up this matter. He liked the place for its rich forests, nearby villages filled with labor, and ease of communication along the Sukhona River with Arkhangelsk.

Interesting to know. The peculiarity of the Sukhona River is that the direction of its flow changes to the opposite during high water in the spring.

One of the villages is Sokolovo, which served as an inspiration for the name of the future factory. The first mentions of it appeared in 1615.

Laying the foundation began in 1897, and production started 2.5 years later. The Sokol factory grew rapidly. In 1903 it was already the third in Russia.

Surkov began his career as an ordinary pharmacy pharmacist. But later he managed to create first a small mineral water plant, and then a number of large joint-stock partnerships. He participated in the creation of the White Sea Railway. His permanent place of residence is Arkhangelsk. The management of the Sokolovo factory was entrusted to directors appointed by the board.

At first, the factory belonged to several shareholders, but Surkov managed to buy out all the shares and become its sole owner.

Factory Sokol

However, his factory was not the only large enterprise of that time. New enterprises are emerging:

In 1900, manufacturer Malyutin began construction of a sawmill near the village of Leshchevka.
The merchant Plaginov is building a similar plant on the banks of the Sukhona River.
Since 1915, industrialist Pechatkin's factories were added - pulp and artillery.

After the revolution, the Malyutin and Pechatkin factories and the Sokol factory were nationalized.

The city begins to actively develop. New paper mills and hospitals are appearing there. A bank building, a post office, an editorial office, a school, and the House of Soviets appear on the central Sovetskaya Street.

The village of Sokolovo becomes an urban-type settlement. According to the 1926 census, the population in the village is 5936 people. And since 1932 it has been transformed into a city. Nearby villages joined it.

Currently, Sokol is known as the paper capital of the Vologda region, with 3 large enterprises in the woodworking industry. They produce:

lumber, fiberboard, plywood;
house details;
furniture;
paper of all types;
cellulose;
wood flour.

The city territory is divided into 6 microdistricts.

There is the Sukhona railway station and the Sokol river port.

A novelty in the city is a 7-meter-long bench with a large inscription – Falcon. The height of the podium is 2 meters. To produce three-dimensional letters on the pedestal, wooden structures from the Sokolsky woodworking plant were used.

Nearby there are 4 benches made in the same architectural style. This art object was installed in August 2022 on the central square near the administration building. It has become a kind of calling card of the city and a new place for photo sessions for residents and guests of Sokol.

Art object Falcon

Climate

Climate of Sokol

Index

Jan.

Feb.

March

Apr.

May

June

July

Aug.

Sep.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Year

Average temperature, °C

−11,4

−10,5

−5,4

1,9

9,8

15,6

17,9

14,9

9,4

2,8

−6

−10,2

2,5

Source: [www.retscreen.net/ru/home.php NASA. RETScreen Database]

Museum of Local Lore

A group of enthusiasts did a lot of work in its creation. Since 1958, they have been collecting materials and documents and creating the first exhibitions. The museum was opened in 1962. He had to change his address several times.

The local history museum has 6 halls. Tourists are presented with a huge collection of 18,000 exhibits. The storage base consists of:

items for peasant use;
peasant clothing, military and school uniforms;
banknotes, medals;
products made of ceramics, wood and metal;
collections of crystal and porcelain from the Finnish sister city;
products from glass factories - glasses, glasses, bottles, inkwells.

There you can see Vologda woven lace, wedding towels, wedding dresses and tailcoats, keys, metal locks, samovars, bracelets, hairpins, weapons, spinning wheels, spindles, birch bark products.

Exhibits of the local history museum

In the hall dedicated to archaeological monuments, objects preserved from Mesolithic times are exhibited. Among them are archaeological finds from nearby villages. An item of valuable uniqueness is an ax made of stone from the Balano-Fatyanovo culture.

The numismatics collection is presented in the form of banknotes and coins that were in circulation in pre-revolutionary Russia and during the years of the establishment of Soviet power.

Of greatest interest to visitors are lottery tickets issued in the Russian state, stamp money, wartime bonds, Polish groschen from 1605-1610, and medals from Sokol residents.

The basis of the “Written Sources” collection is manuscripts, membership cards, documents, letters from local residents who took part in the Great Patriotic War and in military operations in Afghanistan and Chechnya.

Yes, we can say that such things are found in most local history museums. But this establishment has a special place - the “Communal Apartment” exposition.

One of the museum halls is divided into 3 rooms, furnished in the style of different years. Entering there, you see the furnishings of the apartment of the owners who have lived there since 1930. You immediately find yourself in the atmosphere of a communal apartment, taking a trip back in time. The apartment is inhabited by different people with their own rules and ways of life. The rooms are separated by a corridor in which laundry hangs after washing, there is a sled and a bicycle.

Guests are accompanied by the hostesses of the apartments, dressed in costumes of the appropriate period. They talk about their clothes, the decor of the room. For the 30s, a relic is a gramophone and a carved antique mirror; for the 50s, a TV set covered with a knitted napkin. And so in every room.

Their excursion is equivalent to a mini-show. They act out scenes with situations typical for a communal apartment, quickly change clothes, and each time move to a different era. From them you will hear political news, gossip, quarrels.

Screams can be heard in the kitchen, the center of communal scandals. Although it wasn't just swearing. In this place we celebrated holidays collectively and just talked.

Guests participate in competitions and quizzes on various topics. One of the fun competitions, “Who can fill the string bag the fastest,” takes visitors back to the years of shortages. New programs on various topics are constantly updated: “Songs in the kitchen”, “Soviet style wedding”.

Those who wish are allowed to touch the dishes in the cabinets with their hands, look at magazines and books, even try on clothes from the cabinets, play with toys, and watch filmstrips.

Room in the hall of social life

Everyone is interested in visiting these rooms. The older generation indulges in nostalgic memories. For young people and children, certain things cause complete misunderstanding and surprise. Museum workers are receiving proposals to create a room dedicated to the 90s.

The tour ends with a musical party in the style of the 70-80s. The final chord is lunch with boiled potatoes, Olivier salad, sprats, pickled cucumbers, pancakes with condensed milk.

Apartment exhibits are constantly being updated. Often visitors come again, bringing their belongings from home or cottage.

Museum address: Svobody Embankment Street, 50.

There is a branch of the museum in the city of Kadnikov. It is located near Sokol - only 12 km away.

This area has long been known for its fairs with festivities and fun. The Peter's Fair was held before the feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. It lasted several days - it began on June 29 and lasted until July 3. People came there from all over the area. They prepared for this day in advance - they sewed new clothes.

Now this holiday has been revived. Every year a fair is held in Kadnikov. It takes place in early July.

Petrovskaya Fair in Kadnikovo

Branch address in Kadnikov: R. Luxemburg street, 20.

what to see in the Sokol area - Moscow 24, 11/13/2014

M24.ru, together with the Internet project “Walking around Moscow,” is opening a new section in which it talks about atypical places in the city for walking.
There are much more of them than residents of our metropolis are used to thinking. Almost every district and corner of the capital keeps secrets of the past, interesting stories about residents, houses or streets. In the first issue we talk about the sights of the Sokol district: from the house of football player Lev Yashin to the fire tower, which was almost turned into a shopping center. The falcon appeared on the site of the village of Vsekhsvyatskoye, known since the 14th century, and the Fraternal Cemetery located nearby. For a long time the area belonged to the Moscow region, and only in 1917 it became part of Moscow. In 1923, a cooperative village for artists Sokol appeared in the area, and subsequently the entire area was named that way. One of the most prestigious places on Sokol during the Soviet years was the Sandy Streets area. Officials, prominent military men, athletes and cultural figures lived in Stalin's houses. In the second half of the 20th century, Leningradsky Prospekt was even jokingly called “TRASH,” that is, “Artists, Writers, Artists, Musicians.” And today there are many memorial plaques on the facades of houses, and the apartments are still some of the most prestigious and expensive in the city.

Comment from a Muscovite

Nina, medical worker: My great-grandfather traded in Vsekhsvyatsky hay at the beginning of the 20th century. Then it was one of the largest villages near the city at the beginning of the road from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Carts and crews stopped there for “refueling”; there were teahouses - analogues of today's roadside cafes. It turned out to be such a big “gas station”. It’s impossible to imagine now, but it happened. Church of All Saints, Leningradsky Prospekt, 73a