It was a bright, sunny winter day when the roads led me to a small village on the shore of a lake. At first glance, it didn’t seem remarkable at all — there are countless villages like this around here.
But then I saw the church in ruins.
But then I saw the church in ruins.
As I later learned, this was Ilyinsky Church, built in the mid-19th century. About a hundred years ago, it was looted and destroyed, like so many other churches across the country. Still, not completely — something of this church survived.
Let’s step inside.
There are no barriers, warnings, or restrictions; entry is completely open.
Despite decades of relentless decay, the walls and ceilings look surprisingly sturdy.
Despite decades of relentless decay, the walls and ceilings look surprisingly sturdy.
Inside, almost nothing remains: empty halls, high ceilings, long arched passageways. Strangely, there’s hardly any trash. Few people make it here, even out of curiosity.
The window grilles somehow survived, though by now they may be gone too — I visited back in 2018.
Yet these walls still hold a trace of beauty. If you look closely, you can spot fragments of old ornamental paint. Once, as in all Orthodox churches, every surface, from floor to vaulted ceiling, was covered in frescoes.
A corner for village painters.
One detail struck me especially. After all this time, the church’s brick skeleton remains almost intact. The only mention of its construction technique I could find said that chicken eggs were added to the binding mortar.
And judging by even this remnant of the facade, the church could easily last another hundred years — if only no one destroys what time has spared.
As for the dream that the state will someday restore monuments like this, it seems destined to remain just that: a dream.
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