"Red May": from ruby to ruins. "Red May": from ruby to ruins Glass factory Red May neighbors
Parts were the city and the region. Now let's look at the two museums of Vyshny Volochok. This is a local history museum, introducing the past of the city, its unique canals and iconic people, and a real Glass Fairy Tale or Colored Dream - a glass museum of the former Red May plant, several times even producing ruby glass for the stars of the Kremlin towers on government orders.
1. Glass production near Vyshny Volochok appeared in the second half of the 19th century, when a local merchant bought a chemical plant and based it on the production of tableware, lampshades and kerosene lamps
2. A little later, the production of colored glass appeared, when an experienced glassmaker who knew the secret of the technology came to the plant
3. The plant’s products received high awards at pre-revolutionary exhibitions
8. And the little animals, ahah, look what they are!
11. After the revolution, the plant was nationalized, renamed "Red May", expanded and modernized production. Lamp glass, window glass, dishes, lamps for the subway - all this was made here. High-quality color products, which, as in tsarist times, occupied high places at international exhibitions, were nicknamed the “Russian miracle”
12. In the 1940s and 1970s, the plant carried out probably the most important task in its history - a government order for the production of ruby glass for the Kremlin stars. Here are his pieces
Having visited this museum, I was already dreaming of how I would get to the production site and make a report, but fate did not. In 2001, the Red May glass factory was closed. Let’s face it, a huge era has passed and a whole page has been torn out of the book on the history of our country, but the memory remains. Just for the sake of this museum, to visit here again, I would return to Vyshny in the summer on a Mosturflot cruise or in the winter as part of bus tours, the so-called “winter cruises” of this company.
It would seem that there has been no plant for almost 17 years, but a residue from this fact still remains inside.
13. And this is the Vyshny Volochok Museum of Local Lore. To be honest, I don’t really like these, but I didn’t regret visiting Vyshnevolotsky. It is already more than 80 years old, but the exhibitions do not smell like a layer of museum dust and you don’t need to bring a pillow with you to sleep out of boredom. Not so long ago everything here was also reconstructed.
Local guides are true professionals in their field, enthusiasts, ready to talk for hours about every detail, about every exhibit as if it were about a person dear to them personally and an old friend. No memorized phrases from guidebooks, no “tell me and finish quickly.” So I highly recommend the museum to everyone!
14. In the Petrovsky Hall you can not only learn about the activities of the Tsar, who made the Vyshnevolotsk waterway truly navigable (thus connecting the Baltic and the Caspian Sea and opening up many new opportunities for the development of Russia with the help of Vyshnevolotsk), but also see cannons raised from the bottom of the canals , cannonballs, hooks - witnesses of that era
17. The Dutch, who built canals for Peter in Vyshny Volochyok, messed up. They were used to working with the sea and did not take into account the peculiarities of our area. In the summer, lakes and rivers became shallow, canals became dehydrated, traffic along the canals stopped, and famine set in in the cities.
The Novgorod merchant M.I. Serdyukov undertook to correct the situation and improve the waterway. He, a self-taught hydraulic engineer, devoted a third of a century to the water system of Vyshny Volochok. Locks, beyslots, the Tsninsky Canal, the reservoir - all these are the results of his labors
18. Model of the Tsninsky lock, built by Serdyukov
19. Plan of hydraulic structures in Vyshny Volochyok, presented by Serdyukov to Emperor Peter
20. And a modern map.
After visiting the museum, I wanted to visit all the buildings in the summer, including those almost destroyed by time and man, to see everything in person and get to know in more detail the water artery that was once very important for Russia
21. Model of Vyshny Volochok from the time of Peter the Great. Now, if museums have models, that’s very cool)
22. Look how handsome he is!
Frigate "Pallada". Its first captain was Nakhimov. Subsequently, the frigate visited many voyages, including Japan. With the outbreak of the Crimean War, due to fear of capture by the British, it was sunk.
Over the years, Vyshnevolotsk and Tver nobles served on it.
23. The canals of Vyshny Volochok were the most important freight routes. Here is a model of a cargo barque, made according to a 19th century drawing. How do you like the fact that the barge lifted up to 130 tons of cargo? I didn't believe it at first)
In Vyshny, in connection with the transition from lifting to rafting, the vessels were re-equipped. The rudders and masts were removed, platforms were set up, on which stood people operating 4 huge oars - potes. A pilot and 10 workers were placed on each barge
24. Remember in the first part there was a chapel on the site of the 18th century Kazan Cathedral, where Catherine’s decree was read, granting Vyshny Volochok the status of a city? This is what this cathedral was like, blown up in the 1930s
The Krasny May factory glass museum is located in the village of Krasnomaysky, not far from Vyshny Volochok, Tver region. The museum was founded in 1968. Products from the late 19th and early 20th centuries are presented here. All exhibits amaze with their richness of color and various methods of processing and decoration.
Particularly noteworthy are the multi-colored kerosene lamps with light shades (Bolotin's lamp). The plant itself has existed since 1859. It was founded as a chemical company by the Moscow titular councilor Samarin. But Samarin did not have enough funds for further development of production and the plant was purchased by the Vyshnevolotsk merchant of the II guild, Andrei Vasilyevich Bolotin. In 1873, the owners of the plant - the merchants of Bolotina - built the first furnace, which produced glassware: tableware, confectionery, lampshades. In the same year, an experienced glassmaker - Vasily Alekseevich Vekshin - came to the plant - the owner of the secret of preparing a charge for melting colored glass. And for the first time in Russia, the Bolotinsky plant began to produce colored glass with a variety of colors. In 1920, the plant was nationalized and it became state property. On May 1, 1923, a meeting of workers and employees of the plant was held, at which it was decided to rename the plant into the “Red May” plant. Since that time, the plant began to expand, and new glass melting furnaces began to be built. During the Patriotic War (1942-1945), the plant produced large quantities of technical glass for the needs of the Navy and aviation; semaphore and traffic light lenses, lamp glass, and battery vessels were manufactured. In the 50-60s, cutting glass products with gold, enamel, chandelier, and silicate paints became widespread at the plant. Products made from two- or three-layer glass were also produced. But Krasnomaysk is especially famous for its sulfide glass, which is not without reason called the “Russian miracle” for its inexhaustible richness of color. And it is also called so for its exceptional property of changing color depending on the temperature and duration of processing, which gives the mass product a unique uniqueness. This material was mastered by the plant in 1959, “Red May” was, in essence, the only enterprise not only in our country, but throughout the world, where sulfide glass was established as an indispensable glass in the plant’s assortment. The museum's exposition is very rich - about 4,000 exhibits. In addition to samples of mass-produced products, the museum displays unique creative works made from rare and unusual types of materials. It is worth mentioning the ruby glass presented in the museum, from which the Kremlin stars are made. In addition, the plant produced a star installed in Buzludzha (Bulgaria). The museum is open to visitors on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; entry costs 30 rubles. In 2002, glass melting furnaces were stopped at the plant. Even with a planned cold repair of the furnace, draining the glass and starting the furnace next after the repair is a long and expensive process, and so, if you stop without hope for the future, there is almost no chance of the next start. But, apparently, no one was going to restore production. Furnaces with frozen glass were simply broken. Now the entire territory of the plant is partly ruined, partly is slowly deteriorating.
Tver region Vyshny Volochek village Red May, Glass Factory - where the Kremlin stars were made.
The coming year could be marked by two dates - albeit not jubilees, but significant in their own way: the 157th anniversary of the founding of a chemical plant near Vyshny Volochok and the 87th anniversary of the day when this plant received its last name, under which it is all they know - “Red May”. They knew. Today, instead of a unique enterprise, once famous for its crystal, there are only ruins. However, there is also a round date - exactly 70 years ago, stars made of glass made at Red May shone over the Moscow Kremlin. Once upon a time the plant was famous throughout the USSR. Still would! “The Kremlin stars, made by the hands of Krasnomaysk craftsmen, shine over the entire country,” I read from a 1988 guidebook. Of course, not entirely: the ruby tops of the tower spiers are a complex engineering structure, on the creation of which dozens of enterprises and research institutes worked. But the laminated glass manufactured at Krasny May is far from the last part of this structure. Therefore, the words of almost thirty years ago, despite the pathos, are close to the truth. What remains of that pride? Destroyed workshops that are unlikely to ever be rebuilt. Yes, a museum that survives on nothing more than a word of honor. A few kilometers from Vyshny Volochyok towards St. Petersburg is the village of Krasnomaysky. True, local residents do not call it that; this toponym exists only in official documents. “I’ll go to Red May”, “I live on Red May” - when people say this, they mean the village, not the plant. In the middle of the 19th century, there was the village of Klyuchino, where in 1859 the future flagship of the glass industry arose. First as a chemical. Its first owner, titular councilor Samarin, did not have enough funds for further development of production, and three years later the plant was bought by the merchant of the second guild, Andrei Bolotin, who soon built a glass factory in its place. Later, he founded another plant on the territory of the current Vyshnevolotsky district - Borisovsky (now - OJSC Medsteklo Borisovskoe). The first glass melting furnace at the Klyuchinsky plant was launched by the merchant and founder of the Bolotin dynasty of glassmakers in 1873. Also, at the expense of the plant’s owners, a workers’ settlement, quite comfortable by the standards of that time, was built.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the Klyuchinsky plant produced glass pharmaceutical, tableware and confectionery dishes, kerosene lamps, lampshades, fulfilling orders from almost all parts of the empire. Soon the October Revolution broke out, the plant was nationalized and in 1929 received the name “Red May”. A village of 5 thousand inhabitants grew up around the enterprise with a hospital, school, music school, and a vocational school, which trained, in addition to specialist glassmakers, tractor drivers and auto mechanics. Much was written about “Red May” in the regional and central press. Let us remember what newspapers and magazines were talking about then and compare all this with the current remnants of former greatness. “When you look at the Kremlin stars, it seems as if from time immemorial they have been crowning pointed towers: so organic is their flame in unity with the beautiful monument of Russian architecture, so Moreover, the natural inseparability of two symbols in our minds is the heart of the Motherland and the five-pointed star” (“Pravda”, 1985). It just so happened that when we say “Red May,” we mean five ruby finials. And vice versa. That’s why I want to start my story from this page. Moreover, the Vyshnevolotsk stars, which now decorate the Spasskaya, Nikolskaya, Borovitskaya, Trinity and Vodovzvodnaya towers of the Kremlin, were not the first. For the first time, five-pointed stars replaced the symbol of autocratic Russia - double-headed eagles - in the fall of 1935. They were made of high-alloy stainless steel and red copper, with a gold-plated hammer and sickle in the center of each star. However, the first stars did not decorate the Kremlin towers for long. Firstly, they quickly faded under the influence of precipitation, and secondly, in the overall composition of the Kremlin they looked rather ridiculous and disturbed the architectural ensemble. Therefore, it was decided to install ruby luminous stars.
New tops appeared on November 2, 1937. Each of them could rotate like a weather vane and had a frame in the form of a multifaceted pyramid. The order for the production of ruby glass was received by the Avtosteklo plant in the city of Konstantinovka in the Donbass. It had to transmit red rays of a certain wavelength, be mechanically strong, resistant to sudden temperature changes, and not discolor or be destroyed by exposure to solar radiation. The glazing of the stars was double: the inner layer consisted of milky (matte, dull white) glass 2 mm thick, thanks to which the light from the lamp was scattered evenly over the entire surface, and the outer layer was made of ruby 6-7 mm. Each star weighed about a ton, with a surface area of 8 to 9 square meters.
During the Great Patriotic War, the stars were extinguished and covered up. When they were reopened after the Victory, multiple cracks and traces of shell fragments were discovered on the ruby surface. Restoration was needed. This time, the Vyshnevolotsk plant “Red May” was entrusted with the task of making glass. The local craftsmen made it four layers: transparent crystal at the bottom, then frosted glass, again crystal and, finally, ruby. This is necessary so that the star is the same color both during the day in sunlight and at night, illuminated from the inside. “The ruby stars manufactured at the Konstantinovsky plant did not fulfill the task set by the designers. A double layer of glass - milky and ruby - did not make it possible to preserve the bright color of the stars. Dust accumulated between the layers. And by that time, laminated glass was produced, in my opinion, only at Krasny May (Kalininskaya Pravda, 1987). “I think that readers will be interested to know how prototypes of star glass were made. To make a multilayer ruby for just one star, 32 tons of high-quality Lyubertsy sand, 3 tons of zinc muffle white, 1.5 tons of boric acid, 16 tons of soda ash, 3 tons of potash, 1.5 tons of potassium nitrate were required" ("Yunost", 1981). The renewed stars began to shine in 1946. And they still shine, despite calls from some public figures to replace them with eagles again. The next reconstruction of the ruby “luminaries” was in 1974, and again Krasnomaysk craftsmen took part in it. Despite the existing experience, the cooking technology had to be created, as they say, from scratch: archival documents from which the “recipe” could be restored have not been preserved.
It must be said that in 2010, a lot was written about the 75th anniversary of the first Kremlin stars in the central media, but the contribution of “Red May” was never mentioned anywhere. Not in 1996, when the plant was still working, at the very least, despite the fact that they began to pay out salaries in vases and wine glasses. Not in 2006 - at least to catch up with the already departed train...
“Yesterday, a batch of parts made of colorless and milky glass for lighting fixtures at the Moscow Conservatory named after P. I. Tchaikovsky was sent from the Vyshnevolotsk “Red May” plant. It was not easy for glassmakers to repeat the bizarre shapes of ancient chandeliers and sconces that have been illuminating the halls of this musical educational institution for more than a hundred years” (Kalininskaya Pravda, 1983). “Several years ago, the craftsmen of the Vyshnevolotsk glass factory “Red May”, at the request of Bulgarian friends, made ruby glass for the friendship memorial built on the famous Shipka. And here is a new order from Bulgaria - to make four-layer glass for the star that will crown the Party House in Sofia. The teams of craftsmen N. Ermakov, A. Kuznetsov, N. Nasonov and A. Bobovnikov were entrusted with executing the export order” (“Pravda”, 1986). “A beautiful garden village with asphalt roads, comfortable cottage houses, a club, a school and other public buildings, with a factory-garden in the center, from where almost two thousand items of products are distributed all over the world” (“Kalininskaya Pravda”, 1959) . “Yesterday, a joyful message came from Moscow to GPTU-24 of the Vyshnevolotsk plant “Red May”. By the resolution of the Main Exhibition Committee of VDNKh of the USSR, vocational training masters T. Orlova and T. Shamrina were awarded bronze medals for the development and participation in the production of the “Jubilee” and “Cup” vases presented at the All-Union Review of Artistic Works of Vocational Schools. And students Irina Yarosh and Eduard Vedernikov were awarded the medal “Young Participant of the Exhibition of Economic Achievements of the USSR” (“Kalininskaya Pravda”, 1983). For comparison. The garden village is an ordinary outlying village, of which there are thousands. It doesn’t seem to be abandoned, but there’s also no hint of being well-groomed. The cottage houses are apparently wooden two-story barracks that still have cesspools. The factory-garden now has pipes rising above the ruins of the workshops, a rusty honor board, like a ghost from the past. On the territory itself there is some small business: car repair, warehouses. In the former factory premises there was not even any old furniture left, only heaps of construction waste. The railway line, with the exception of a few sections, has been almost completely dismantled. GPTU also keeps up with the times. Back in the mid-2000s, the specialty of tractor driver, once the most popular among teenagers, was closed there. And not the most hopeless one in life. Is there really no need for tractor drivers anymore? Naturally, there are no blowers or glass grinders either. “A glass is a seemingly simple product, but its manufacture requires great skill. The glassmakers of the Vyshnevolotsk plant “Red May” are fluent in this skill. Two types of glasses produced here in millions of copies have been awarded the State Quality Mark. A vase for berries, a rosette for jam, and an ashtray made of zinc sulfide glass received the same high praise” (“Soviet Russia”, 1975). In the workshops of the plant, by the way, the third largest after similar ones in Gus-Khrustalny and Dyatkovo, not only crystal products and ruby stars were produced.
Remembering my childhood... We didn’t live richly, and I had only trousers, a couple of shirts - one canvas for every day, the other flannel for the weekend, and a fur coat with faux fur. Those were the times... and when I entered school, I decided to earn some extra money; it was not easy to find a job for a schoolchild back then. And only with the help of my mother, who was then working at the Kalinin Cotton Mill as a printer, I was employed there for the summer holidays as a rag packer. The work was not difficult; it was necessary to sort substandard fabric into bales, which were subsequently sent to different enterprises for workers to wipe their hands. I still remember that smell of fabric at the mill, which many years later I didn’t even hope to breathe in again. And then the other day I was destined to visit the Vyshnevolotsk cotton mill, where terry products are now produced. Oh yes, it was the same smell from the past, from past childhood. Our Kalinin KhBK has not been operating for a long time; such a huge and old monster, built under the Tsar, could not withstand market competition. In the last years of operation, it consumed more electricity than it generated profit. Well, I would like to wish good luck and prosperity to the Vyshnevolotsk cotton mill, which by the way now ranks second in Russia in terms of production of terry products!
On July 13, the Acting Governor of the Tver Region Igor Rudenya visited Vyshny Volochek on a working trip. A special place in the program is given to the territory's industry.
The head of the region visited the enterprise that ranks second in Russia in terms of production of terry products - the Vyshnevolotsk Cotton Mill.
The company celebrates its 160th anniversary next year. Here they have maintained a closed production cycle, produce 1,100 tons of products per year, increase labor productivity several times and are making plans to increase capacity: the plant’s potential is to produce up to 1,700 tons of products per year. From 2007 to 2016, about 2.5 billion rubles were invested in production. The company sends about 50 million rubles in taxes to the consolidated budget of the region and provides more than 230 jobs for residents of the region.
The head of the region talked with the plant’s employees, among them representatives of labor dynasties. Warping equipment operator Svetlana Efimova told the story of her family - just like her parents, she devoted many years to working at the enterprise.
As Igor Rudenya noted, the Vyshnevolotsk plant is a vivid example of how large light industry enterprises successfully operate in market conditions.
The Tver region has been one of the centers of the cotton industry in Russia since the mid-19th century. Unfortunately, after the 90s of the last century, this industry ceased to be a leading one in the economy of our region,” the head of the region emphasized. - We have now begun developing a Strategy for the economic development of the region. It will pay special attention to supporting traditional industries.
Also on this day, as part of a working trip to the city of Vyshny Volochek, Tver Region, Acting Governor Igor Rudenya visited the Vyshny Volochek boarding home for the elderly and disabled.
The institution was opened in 1974. Currently, 489 people live here; the nursing home has a total capacity of 501 beds. Among the residents are disabled people, participants of the Great Patriotic War, home front workers, camp prisoners, and labor veterans. To personally verify the quality of services provided to older people, Igor Rudenya inspected the medical block of the institution, where qualified doctors work, physiotherapy, physical therapy, dentistry, and treatment rooms are open.
Then, the acting Governor of the Tver region, Igor Rudenya, met with the director of LLC “Magazin No. 11” in Vyshny Volochyok, Yulia Kulikova
At the end of May, the head of the retail facility sent a video message to the head of the region as part of the Tver Forum of Entrepreneurs, which was held for the first time in the region, the regional Government reported.
Yulia Kulikova asked for assistance in resolving the issue of purchasing leased premises within the framework of the required benefits for small and medium-sized businesses. Igor Rudenya instructed the head of the Ministry of Property and Land Relations of the region, Yevgeny Zelensky, and the Minister of the Tver Region for Ensuring Control Functions, Viktor Shaforost, to go to the site, understand the situation and take the necessary measures. The audit showed that the tenant was illegally deprived of the right to privatize the premises at the market price. Regional authorities became involved in resolving the issue, and as a result, the rights of the entrepreneur were restored.
We had been suing the city administration for more than 1.5 years and no longer believed in success. Thanks to Igor Mikhailovich - such a prompt response. Thanks to the head of the region, the situation was quickly resolved,” shared Yulia Kulikova, who noted the openness of the head of the region to the problems of entrepreneurship.
For Yulia Kulikova, the way out of this situation became a symbolic birthday gift. Today the entrepreneur celebrates his anniversary. The birthday girl was congratulated by the acting Governor.
This is normal work when the government listens to business,” noted Igor Rudenya.
The regional authorities see the development of small and medium-sized businesses as the main vector of economic growth for the region. To strengthen it, high-quality public administration and the creation of favorable conditions are necessary - such tasks were set by Igor Rudenya at the forum of entrepreneurs. An important factor in this work is the absence of administrative barriers.
Also -
On July 13, the Acting Governor of the Tver Region, Igor Rudenya, visited one of the woodworking enterprises in the region - the Vyshnevolotsk Timber Industry Enterprise, where the production of laminated laminated products was launched in 2001.
The enterprise is an example of how the region is implementing the task of the President of Russia for deep timber processing. This statement was made by the head of the region during a meeting with timber traders.
The region can not just harvest wood, but put on the market a finished product with maximum added value,” noted Igor Rudenya during a visit to the timber industry enterprise. - These are taxes, jobs, the development of our enterprises.
Vyshnevolotsk Timber Industry Enterprise carries out orders for the manufacture of wooden houses. According to the head of the region, the region produces a product that can compete with well-known foreign brands. The regional government will make every effort to promote Tver enterprises on the market, emphasized Igor Rudenya.
The head of the region inspected the boiler room of the enterprise, which runs on wood waste. As Igor Rudenya outlined, production confirms the effective role of small-scale energy, which is focused on the use of pellets, sawdust, and peat. Along with active gasification, which should receive a new impetus in the region, the regional government is aimed at promoting the use of alternative fuels.
On the same day, “RIM” visited the obstetric department of the Vyshnevolotsk Central District Hospital.
The issue of roof repair in the building is urgent, the regional Government reported.
The Vyshnevolotsk Central District Hospital is an inter-district center that provides obstetric services to both the local population and residents of nearby territories - Vyshnevolotsk, Bologovsky, Firovsky districts and ZATO “Ozerny”. Over the past year, more than 250 births were delivered here, and this figure is growing every year. The department has 28 round-the-clock beds and another 4 day stays.
The obstetric service is located in a separate two-story building. In 2013, under the healthcare modernization program, renovation work was carried out here. However, the allocated funds were only enough for cosmetic finishing. The building subsequently developed serious roofing problems. By decision of the hospital management, the second floor was closed and all beds were placed on the first floor.
The issue of major repairs of the roof and floors is on the agenda of the management of the institution and the Government of the region. As of today, all design and estimate documentation is ready. The amount allocated from the regional budget is 7.7 million rubles. Now the stage of competitive procedures is underway. Repairs must be completed by November 1st. This deadline was outlined by Igor Rudenya.
The work must be taken as seriously as possible and a high level of control over the quality of its implementation must be ensured,” noted the head of the region. - The maternity ward should be modern and civilized.
In addition, Igor Rudenya set the task of putting in order the road leading to the maternity hospital and working on the issue of purchasing the necessary equipment.
And of course the traditional meeting with the people...
Residents asked questions about improving the quality of healthcare, education, supporting agriculture and others
Improving the quality of healthcare, creating safe conditions for the education of children, supporting farmers, developing the potential of youth - these questions were asked by residents of Vyshny Volochok during the official visit of Acting Governor Igor Rudeni to the regional center.
During the conversation, the topic of creating opportunities in Vyshny Volochyok for local agricultural producers to sell their products without intermediaries was raised. As the head of the region indicated, an instruction will be given to organize an appropriate trading platform in the city.
Igor Rudenya drew attention to the areas that hinder the development of the region in general and this territory in particular: the quality of roads, the state of housing and communal services.
There are many problematic issues in Vyshny Volochyok. All levels of government, as well as the residents themselves, should take part in the development of the city, the head of the region emphasized.
A representative of one of the city’s management companies, Sergei Yakovlev, thanked the head of the region for the municipal equipment that Vyshny Volochek receives as part of an agreement with the Moscow Government.
Among the decisions made were ensuring synchronization of gasification in the village of Derevkovo, exploring the possibility of financing the repair of a 13 km long road in the rural settlement of Luzhnikovskoye for the next year. Also in the field of view of the regional authorities is the object of the program for relocating citizens from dilapidated housing stock: those living in the 34th house on Ryleeva Street are concerned about the quality of the new housing.
A number of issues raised by residents concerned the area of youth policy. Thus, the regional KVN movement received support from the regional leader. The head of the region also announced an agreement with Rosmolodezh to create a discussion platform for rural youth in the region. A separate topic is the restoration of sports facilities in Vyshny Volochyok and the development of institutions in this area.
Residents of the city expressed hope that the head of the region will continue to support the territory in the same way as the President of Russia supported Igor Rudenya. “The head of state supports the entire Tver region,” replied the acting Governor.
This is such a big and eventful trip... and sometimes these happen several times a week...
Part 2. Is it too late for us to stop?
Let's continue our walk through the area, which some fifteen years ago was the famous glass factory "Red May". Famous, first of all, for the fact that in his workshops four-layer glass was made for the stars of the Moscow Kremlin, which today adorn its five towers. Today we will visit the Museum of Art Glass. 
Getting from the regional center to the village of Krasnomaysky is not difficult: a regular bus goes there every 20 minutes. The third stop after turning off the M10 highway - and you are at the factory entrance. The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. except weekends and holidays. More precisely, it can be open. To get there, you need to call in advance and book a tour. And at the agreed time, go to the entrance, where the caretaker will meet you and lead you to the museum. 
All that remains of the entrance
In the museum
“And the kerosene lamps, painted with gold and paints, were also striking in their beauty. It was these lamps, topped with thin, light lampshades, that were awarded a gold medal at the All-Russian Art and Industrial Exhibition in Moscow in 1882.”(“Krasnomaisky glazier”, 1988). By 1990, when the 20th anniversary of the Krasny May factory museum was celebrated, it stored more than three hundred products of pre-revolutionary (Bolotinsky) craftsmen and about 4 thousand samples of the Soviet period - both unique exhibits from colored, applied and zinc sulfide glass, as well as and mass products. Many of these exhibits were brought by village residents. That is, like most museum exhibitions, this one was also created literally bit by bit. 
The current state of the museum is not much better than the enterprise. On the ground floor of the building, where there was once a canteen, there is the same devastation as in the workshops. Only upstairs, where the museum itself is, is there order. Except, of course, for the leaking roof and lack of heating. Formally, the museum belongs to the owners of the former plant - it is clear that such land cannot be owned by anyone. Who they are and what their names are, no one with whom I was able to talk knows. In fact, he is more or less monitored by entrepreneurs located on the territory of “Red May”. The region or the Vyshnevolotsky district may and would like to take the glass museum on its own balance sheet, but they cannot: the law does not allow it to take it and take it away (or, more precisely, save it). Just as they cannot provide financial assistance: misappropriation of budget funds is a criminal offense. Even if our history is at stake. It's a pity. The moment when it is too late to do anything usually comes unexpectedly. And the owners cannot be reached.
Although, if the authorities really wanted to, they would probably have done everything that was necessary.
“Invaluable assistance in collecting materials about the history of the plant was provided by Nikolai Aleksandrovich Khokhryakov, Vasily Maksimovich Semyonov and other comrades. Builders under the leadership of Yuri Dmitrievich Popov, mechanical shop workers led by Leonid Petrovich Vasin, the manufacturer of frescoes from the Bolotino period, Viktor Vladimirovich Rakov, and other comrades made a great contribution to the design of the museum building. It is impossible not to note the great contribution to the creation of a history museum on a voluntary basis by the employee of the Vyshnevolotsk Museum of Local Lore, Galina Georgievna Monakhova, who even gave her vacation to this cause.”(“Krasnomaisky glazier”, 1988). In the museum you can not only see samples of Krasnomaysk products, but also learn about the people who created them. Lyudmila Kuchinskaya, Victor Shevchenko, Anatoly Silko, Sergey Konoplev, Svetlana Beskinskaya, spouses Elena Esikova and Konstantin Litvin. Tver art connoisseurs do not need to introduce the latter. Esikova and Litvin still work as glass artists and participate in various exhibitions. 
"Red May" is the birthplace of zinc sulfide glass. About 30 years ago, the plant began to develop this new Soviet glass. Interest in an unsolved technological innovation helped reveal all the color transformations. By the will of the artist and master, golden glass turned out to be capable of turning into opal, then icy-smoky, and then suddenly flashing with colored patterns or marble stains.”(“Krasnomaisky glazier”, 1988). Sulfide or sulfide-zinc glass, colored with sulfur compounds of iron and zinc, was created in 1958 by Evgenia Ivanova, a technologist at the Leningrad Art Glass Factory (LZHS), and Alexander Kirienen, an engineer from the same enterprise. A year later, it was already mastered at the Vyshnevolotsk plant and soon became its calling card. Due to its wide range of colors and the ability to change it depending on the temperature and duration of processing, sulfide glass is also called the “Russian miracle”.
“Recently, experimental glass melting was carried out at the Krasny May glass factory, the raw material for which was sand delivered from Georgia. Employees of one of the research institutes in Tbilisi set the task of testing the suitability of local sand deposits containing a large percentage of iron for the production of building glass. They turned to the Krasnomaysk residents for help. Workers from the plant's chemical laboratory, together with the team from the fourth workshop, successfully tested the sand - building glass of green, blue and light blue colors was obtained. The results of this experiment will serve as the basis for establishing the production of colored profile glass for the construction needs of Georgia"(“Kalininskaya Pravda”, 1980). The range of products of the plant, as I already noted in the first part, was wide. However, not only a zinc sulfide vase, but also an ordinary glass or the same building glass from “Red May” can be called Russian miracles. This is the specificity of the plant: it was impossible to do anything bad or even mediocre here. Or they didn't know how.
(“Tver Life”, 2004). In fact, they started selling Red May products on the Moscow-St. Petersburg highway much earlier. In 1992, they definitely stood with vases - men and women, groups and individuals. The “points” were located over more than twenty kilometers from the turn to Leontyevo and almost to Khotilovo. This is how the unique plant survived the turbulent 90s. Survived. At the very least, he survived. Reports about economic growth that accompanied the first steps of the new President Vladimir Putin should have been supplemented by “Red May”. But trouble came from where it was not expected at all. 
All that remains of the company store
“And this entire farm now belongs to two St. Petersburg entities - CJSC Holding Company Ladoga (V.V. Grabar) and a certain citizen Mikhail Romanovich Pruzhinin... By coincidence, Mikhail Romanovich is one of the closest and most trusted acquaintances of the Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Tver Region and the former Vyshnevolotsk mayor Mark Zhanovich Khasainov"(“Tverskaya Gazeta”, 2004). Usually, time is cited as the culprit for destroyed enterprises or collective farms. Confusion. Redistribution But behind every action, as a rule, there are specific people. “Red May” is one of the few examples where these people are called by name. According to the author of the article, in 2002, the new management of the plant requested a loan of $2.2 million from a certain American company to create a line for the production of bottle containers (is a unique enterprise suddenly switching to bottles?) under government guarantees. That is, if “Red May” fails to fulfill its loan obligations, two million “greens” must go overseas. In the end, this is exactly what happened: the scheme had been worked out and debugged for a long time. And no money, no bottles, no crystal.
* * *
“In 1987 alone, 12.5 thousand people visited our museum, among them workers, artists, party, war and labor veterans, famous people in the country. Guests of the plant and museum were the first commissioner of the cruiser Aurora A.V. Belyshev, Hero of the Soviet Union N.I. Biryukov, pilot-cosmonauts Yu.A. Gagarin, P.R. Popovich, N.N. Rukavishnikov, O.G. Makarov. Artists Maya Kristalinskaya, Olga Voronets, Boris Shtokolov, Kola Beldy, Vyacheslav Tikhonov and others left rave reviews in the Book of Honored Guests. The Red May plant and its museum are known not only in our country, but also far beyond its borders. Honored guests from many countries visited the museum."(“Krasnomaisky glazier”, 1988). And today the museum is empty and forgotten. And there are clearly not 4 thousand exhibits there, as there were a quarter of a century ago, but clearly fewer. Where are the others? Did they go to the St. Petersburg “owners” or somewhere else?
One of the places that you should definitely visit when arriving in Vyshny Volochyok is the glass museum of the Krasny May factory. The same factory, whose products were known far beyond the borders of our country and where the ruby stars were made, which to this day adorn the five towers of the Moscow Kremlin.
I already wrote about the factory museum about two years ago in the article “Red May: from ruby to ruins.” The museum was then located in a dilapidated, unheated building with a leaking roof on the territory of the plant, the buildings of which by that time had been in ruins for more than ten years. A little more - and it seemed that the unique collection would disappear forever after the glass melting furnaces. Fortunately, this did not happen. In August of this year, the updated museum opened at the address: M. Magomaev Street (formerly Vagzhanova), 17.
The building where it is located, like the museum itself, also has a complicated history. They began to build it back in the 80s of the last century for a new automatic telephone exchange (automatic telephone exchange), but then abandoned it - in an era of change there was no time for the development of telecommunications. For more than 20 years, the concrete box was empty, being used as, excuse me, a latrine for the sellers of the nearby mini-market. This continued until the site on which the long-term construction stood was purchased. The building was brought to life; the Pyaterochka supermarket was located on the ground floor, and the glass museum was located on the second. The museum is not state-owned, it is a private collection of the owner of the building, Vladimir Koloshva.
The building where the museum is located
Decorative set "Big Holiday"
"Red May" When you hear these two words, the first thing that comes to mind is the five ruby stars on the Spasskaya, Nikolskaya, Borovitskaya, Troitskaya and Vodovzvodnaya towers of the main Kremlin of Russia. On one of the museum’s stands you can see a fragment of the same four-layer glass from which the tops of the Kremlin towers are made. It's a pity - you can't pick it up to determine its mass. Stars with a ray span of 3 to 3.75 meters each weigh about a ton, so it is interesting how heavy a triangular piece with an area of approximately 20-25 square centimeters will be.
On the right are fragments of four-layer glass for the Kremlin stars
In total, the hall displays more than four thousand exhibits - much more than was in the old building. The first thing that greets visitors is something without which there would be no stars, or even a simple cut glass - a glass furnace. More precisely, its layout and glassblower’s working tools. The museum guide can tell you in detail about the operating principle of the furnace and the temperature at which the glass mass is melted. Having familiarized ourselves with this, let’s move on directly to viewing the exhibition. 
Napkin vases
In any museum, exhibits are usually arranged in the chronological order of their appearance. Here, too, the first three shelves display a collection of products manufactured at the plant back in the 19th century, when it was not yet “Red May”, but the Klyuchinsky plant of the merchant and industrialist Bolotin. Crystal dishes, church utensils, kerosene lamps. “It was these lamps, topped with thin light lampshades, that were awarded a gold medal at the All-Russian Art and Industrial Exhibition in Moscow in 1882,” the Krasnomaisky Glazier newspaper wrote in 1988. These were the first shoots of the future glory of local glassmakers. Another unique item of that time that is sure to attract attention is a jug with six compartments inside, separated by partitions. Moreover, these departments are completely isolated from each other and do not communicate with each other. The surname of the master who made this decanter is known - Arefiev. After him, no one else was able to create anything like this. 
Miracle decanter by master Arefiev
“Honored Artist of the RSFSR V.Ya. Shevchenko combined extraordinary talent, broad professional erudition and a desire for experiment and discovery. He knew how to give sulfide glass a unique light-plastic interpretation, and discovered in the material the ability for powerful, even elemental expressiveness.” . This is an information certificate about Viktor Shevchenko (1935 - 2011) - a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR, who worked at the Red May plant as a senior artist since 1975, and before that at the Dyatkovo Crystal Factory. Decorative panels, lamps and other works by Shevchenko can be found in the Moscow Art Theater and the Central House of Artists. Also, his products were awarded first prize at the Quadriennale (an exhibition held once every four years - author's note) of applied art of socialist countries in Erfurt (GDR) in 1974 and 1978. Indeed, is it possible to indifferently pass by such compositions of handmade (handmade, piece) work as “Emerald Surface”, “Tumbleweeds”, “Trees to Grow”, or “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”? A broken piece of one of the “helmets” of the Lay is the result of careless handling; the work was in this form in the old museum.
Collection of works by Viktor Shevchenko
"Tumbleweed"
On the left - “Trees to Grow” and “Emerald Surface”
"The Tale of Igor's Campaign"
“Konoplev’s works made of colored and sulfide glass are distinguished by intricate stucco decoration - a free cascade of sparkling flows as if the pliable glass has not yet cooled down. Decorative vases “Sea Surf”, “Waterfall”, “Birch Trees”, “Hot Snow” are marked by that special integrity of the decorative image characteristic of thickened glass, when the material, shape and color are fused by the skillful hand of the artist into an indissoluble unity.”. Sergei Konoplev is a hereditary glassmaker, his grandfather, about whom legends were made, worked for the Bolotins. Konoplyov himself started as a blower at a factory, and later, after graduating from the Moscow Higher Art and Industrial School (now the Moscow State Art and Industrial Academy named after S. G. Stroganov), he became an artist. Other works by the author with romantic titles include “Golden Autumn”, “Escapes”, “Russian Patterns”.
Collection of Sergei Konoplev
"Tidal bore"
"Twilight"
"Russian patterns"
"Gold autumn"
Sulfide (sulfide-zinc) glass, obtained by adding iron oxide and zinc sulfide to the glass mass, with which Shevchenko, Konoplev and other Vyshnevolotsk artists worked, along with crystal and ruby, was one of the calling cards of the plant. Not just a business card, Red May became perhaps the only enterprise in the world where sulfide glass was used as an indispensable attribute of the factory assortment. Due to its rich color range, depending on the processing conditions, it was called the Russian miracle, which was confirmed by many years of practice. However, all these products are unique, exhibition items. No less interesting are the products that were produced en masse - decanters, tableware, lampshades, electric souvenirs stylized as Bolotino “kerosene stoves”. 
The museum’s collection also includes gift items from “Red May”. More precisely, their smaller copies. For example, a copy of a crystal vase given to the first cosmonaut of the planet, Yuri Gagarin. I think it’s not that difficult to guess what the vase is called. That's right, "Stars". Or the decorative composition “Peace” (author - Lyudmila Kuchinskaya), made for the next congress of the CPSU. And here is a floor lamp made of openwork metal framed with crystal, reminiscent of a candlestick. Exactly the same, as the guide assures, only in larger sizes, was presented to Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev on his 70th birthday.
On the right - "Stars"
On the way back we stopped at this strange place. They didn’t want to let us in here for a long time, but the guide somehow talked the necessary talk out of us. This is the village of Krasnomaysky and the museum of the now former glass factory.
The administration building was built in the Soviet Union, but the plant itself has existed since 1859. True, it began as a chemical plant. The first owner, Moscow titular councilor Samarin, did not find funds for development and sold the entire production to the Vyshnevolotsk merchants Bolotin. In 1873, the first furnace for melting glass was built. Even then, colored glass became the calling card of the plant. And this is a fragment of the factory fence. 
The plant was nationalized in the 20s of the twentieth century and has successfully developed to this day. There is probably no need to explain what happened next. The area is now desolate and in ruins. 
During Soviet times, a museum of the plant was opened in a separate building on the territory. It still exists today, in a preserved and frozen state. There is no heating and a strange feeling of time standing still. An exclusion zone like Chernobyl. It was as if everything had stopped at once. 
By the way, there is a huge collection here. Even the museum in Gus Khrustalny is not so impressive. These are all industrial designs, but there are also original works. 
Also mass production. Familiar lampshades, no? 
And further. But the grille is the author’s, I don’t remember whether it was an exhibition or a graduation work. 
The plant was one of the largest enterprises in the country and produced almost 80% of all glassware sold at that time. 
Few people know this, but even the ruby glass of the Kremlin stars was welded here at the Red May plant! And these are the very first samples of products, dating back to the time of the Bolotin merchants. 
And that too. 
The plant already specialized in creating lampshades for lamps. 
What I never understood was the creation of such compositions. Either a vase or a lamp. 
And these are already original works. The plant became especially famous for its sulfide glass, which was called the “Russian miracle”. This glass changes color depending on the temperature and processing time. 
And now about stopped time. Explanations for the exhibits are typed.
The museum occupies the entire second floor of the building. The entire exhibition is also from those times. 
Pieces of this same glass. 
And after all, these are all original works! That is, not just a typical vase, but a whole composition, where all the objects are in one single copy. 
Unfortunately, I didn’t write down the names of the artists. 
But this is the same creativity. Only now no one sees him. 
Specialization in lampshades and lamps did not go away during Soviet times. 
I just don’t remember what they gave to the party congress. 
And what about dear Leonid Ilyich)) But some of these lamps still stand in the Kremlin. It seems like these are the ones after all. 
A lot of vases. All are non-standard and good in their own right. 
But I found the author of this work. "Rodnichok" Sergei Konoplev 1974. It was a massive series, you can probably even find copies. 
More vases. I think they look best together. 
I wonder what that distant composition is called?) 
I like these snowy green ones. 
Another interesting thing is glass flowers. There are white ones here. 
And here they are green. 
Giraffe vases. 
Since it turned out to be a lot, I will make a second part.
