Among the cultural institutions of Russia, which store and exhibit valuable objects and documents for display, there is a small museum and train complex "Kozlova Zaseka". The station address is straightforward: Tula city, Leo Tolstoy street. The closest stop on the way to the Yasnaya Polyana estate was opened in 1868. Its construction is associated with the Moscow-Kursk branch of the railway (currently the Tula branch of the Moscow railway). The station belongs to the category of existing ones.
Proud iron
It so happened that the fate of the inconspicuous half-station turned out to be closely connected with the name of the great Russian writer, author of the novels “War and Peace”, “Anna Karenina”, “Resurrection” and others, because he was born, lived and worked in Yasnaya Polyana. The achievement of civilization once made significant adjustments to the usual course of the life of the clan nest (recall, initially the estate belonged to the Kartsevs, then Volkonsky and Tolstoy).
Lev Nikolaevich and his household often visited Kozlova Zaseka: they received mail there, and used telephone services. In November 1910, turning gray from autumn rains, as if from grief, the station met a coffin with the body of its famous patron. The sad cargo arrived from Astapovo, where Tolstoy overtook his last hour.
There is evidence that when the writer first saw the "proud iron", he experienced confusion. A slight fright from the sight of a chugging whopper-steam locomotive quickly passed: the "mirror of the Russian revolution", as you know, was also a reflection of everything progressive, including in the field of technology. The route Yasnaya Polyana - Kozlova Zaseka became familiar to him. The wanderer quite easily mastered the railway transport and actively used it.
Where did the name come from
On the last trip to his daughter Tatyana in Kocheti, 82-year-old Tolstoy also went by train. It was august. Behind the window, at first slowly, and then faster and faster, familiar trees with the first redheads in the lush foliage floated away, others “ran” towards them: “Farewell, Kozlova Zaseka!” It is unlikely that Lev Nikolaevich thought that this was goodbye forever. During the tour, they also talk about his farewell “meeting” with the station.
Tourists are interested in guides: why is the old stop called so and not otherwise? The roots of the name go back to the fifteenth century. These places represented the outskirts of the Moscow principality, which had to be protected from enemy raids. To do this, set-ups were created.
The construction of an important part of the defensive structures looked like this: large trees fell, their branches were cut so that they were bristling stakes. Immediately the vorog could not overcome such a barrier, which gave the defenders the opportunity to gather strength. Kozlova local barrier was named in honor of the governor Danila Kozlov. Apparently, the great brave man was, once awarded the honor of the people.
Reconstruction outside a noisy crowd
From 1928 to 2001, the Kozlov Zasek station was called Yasnaya Polyana, then the historical name was returned to her. Tolstoy and many of his countrymen called the stop short and sincere: Kozlovka. Today, as a rule, this noisy “abyss of people”, about which Lev Nikolaevich once wrote, is not observed either in the waiting room or on the platform.
And before that, only he, with his huge family of thirteen souls of children, could book a whole carriage. One can imagine how the Tolstoys passed the time before the arrival of the train, sitting on wooden benches in the waiting room. The younger ones probably mastered small areas to the maximum: they looked into all corners, rose on their socks in order to examine the cashier in the window.
After the reconstruction of 2001, initiated by the leadership of the Moscow Railway, the seats, like the old ones, invite passengers to sit down for a minute or a few hours. It is very interesting even to modern adults to look into the luminous unusual window of the ticket office. As part of a cognitive voyage, it is interesting to visit the office of the head of the station, Kozlov Zasek.
Old and new
On the head covered with a green cloth table, an old telegraph apparatus flaunts . How many messages were recaptured on it? A post office, a call center - it's all like in Tolstoy's times: forget about your cell phone, go into the booth and call your relatives or friends. Many visitors admit: they really like the interactive journey into the past. Kozlova Zaseka - a museum to which all ages are submissive.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, namely in 1902, the station complex was replenished with a luggage compartment, a wooden platform was built, an intermediate (island) platform. Then they built a toilet, a cellar, a Putsky house. All this is kept in a neat and tidy condition today, so it’s not a shame to show foreign guests to bring.
For reference: since 2001, Kozlova Zaseka is a branch of the museum-estate of Tolstoy "Yasnaya Polyana" (Shchekinsky district of the Tula region).
During the reconstruction of the beginning of the third millennium, they took 1910 as a basis: they used the preserved information about the appearance of the building, its interior decoration, and the appearance of the adjacent territory. Based on the fact that the station is operational, it was not possible to avoid modern “splashes” (antennas, cables, etc.). But visitors are not distracted by trifles, focusing on the main thing.
Will the route be restored?
The station lived an active life for a long time: they flew past long-distance trains, and in the summer, numerous summer residents became active users of the railway. But times have changed. Those who visited Kozlova Zaseka in 2016 heard from the guides that the Moscow-Yasnaya Polyana train was canceled, despite the fact that it was in demand by passengers. Museum workers hope that the route will be restored. After all, it leads to a wonderful historical corner.
Yes ... Once upon a time, many famous people came from Moscow to Yasnaya Polyana to Leo Tolstoy. For example, the artist Ilya Repin. He made friends with the novelist back in 1880, when he suddenly rushed to his workshop. Since that time, the author of the paintings “Barge Haulers on the Volga”, “Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan” and others almost every year visited the great writer in his family estate, created a whole gallery of portraits of his friend.
The estate was visited by no less revered art lovers Vladimir Korolenko, Ivan Shishkin, and other eminent guests. They all went to the station Kozlov Zaseka (Tula). The Tolstoy couple joyfully met them, escorted to Yasnaya Polyana, to which only a few kilometers. And this is only a small part of historical information.
Small but interesting museum
Many visitors highly value the advantages of the museum and train station complex and note the harmonious combination of history and modernity. At the same time, the museum itself is a small room with an interesting exposition. The exhibition is called "Leo Tolstoy Railway." What did the cast iron look like? How did travelers dress? What was hand luggage?
You can learn about all this and much more by arriving at the station with an inscription in Old Slavonic: "Kozlova Zaseka." A desk behind which you could draw a couple of lines with a pen, old ladies' and austere men's raincoats decorated with embroidery, gloves, a huge suitcase, a fascinating photo story - all this allows you to plunge into the atmosphere of bygone years.
There is such a service as a photo in an old robe. So, leaving, people are happy to take away a piece of Kozlovka from memory. You can pose at the bust of Leo Tolstoy, on the porch, at the flowerbed, on the bench with wrought-iron openwork legs - the choice is for the tourists, who, it would seem, were attracted to themselves by the seemingly simple station of Kozlov Zasek. "How to get to it?" - The issue is relevant today. But more about that below.
Everything is like under Tolstoy
It is believed that keeping the past today is unfashionable. However, the majority of those who visited the museum express gratitude to all those who in our difficult times were able to harmoniously combine modernity and history. The Kozlova Zaseka Museum Station is an example of a complex, each meter of which works for a good image.
Everything is thought out and weighed to the smallest detail. Surely it was easier to build any metal or plastic fences on the platform. But under Tolstoy they were not. Therefore, there are squat fences, wooden, strong in appearance and in fact. To such, it is possible, Lev Nikolayevich himself tied the horse.
A poster warning of the need for careful behavior when on the platform is also in retro style: the unlucky gentleman in the top hat, you see, will end up in a dangerous situation. And what is the call: “Lord, take care of life!” Many admit: immediately I want to become more disciplined and attentive.
Better in summer than in winter
Kozlova Zaseka - this is the point that should be visited by everyone who is tired of social parties and fuss. Newlyweds love to be photographed against the backdrop of the museum and train station complex. Wedding photographers most often choose "for color" the old well, the station building itself, and a monument to the writer. In general, Kozlova Zaseka is known and attractive (although this happens: it is thick, then empty).
Almost all guests willingly visit the gift shop, buffet, stroll around the territory. In summer it is more crowded. In winter, as some say, "beauty is not enough." As for the pores of flowering and fruiting, everyone agrees: the air is wonderful, it smells of fragrant apples, the smell of petunias is everywhere. Citizens especially appreciate this luxury.
Us to Kozlovka!
The trains to Kozlova Zaseka are a thing of the past. It’s pointless to recall how recently, on the Tula-Kozlov Zasek route, people moved on an electric train of increased comfort. He departed from the Kurskaya station in Moscow, but was canceled, as it is believed, due to insufficient passenger traffic.
Now experts advise you to use a minibus No. 218, which leaves from the Moscow railway station. Just do not forget to warn the driver that you are up to Kozlovka, since drivers often turn around before reaching Zaseka, and you, passing the target, will be at the final stop in the village of Skuratovo (Zapadny). From there it’s far to go to the station and you can mix up the stitches of the track. Have a good trip!