Among the Russian cultural institutions that store and display valuable items and documents, there is a small museum and railway station complex "Kozlova Zaseka". The address of the station is simple: the city of Tula, Leo Tolstoy street. The nearest stop on the way to the Yasnaya Polyana estate was opened in 1868. Its construction is connected with the construction of the Moscow-Kursk branch of the railway (currently the Tula branch of the Moscow railway). The station is classified as active.
Proud iron pot
It so happened that the fate of the inconspicuous stop was 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 life of the family nest (recall, the estate originally belonged to the Kartsev family, then Volkonsky and Tolstoy).
Lev Nikolaevich and his household often visited the Kozlova Zasek:received mail there, used telephone services. In November 1910, gray from autumn rains, as if from grief, the station met the coffin with the body of its famous regular. The sad cargo arrived from Astapovo, where Tolstoy was overtaken by his last hour.
There is evidence that when the writer first saw the "proud iron pot", he experienced confusion. A slight fright at the sight of a puffing giant 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 Zasek became familiar to him. The wanderer quite easily mastered rail transport and actively used it.
Where did the name come from
On the last trip to his daughter Tatyana in Kochety, 82-year-old Tolstoy also went by train. It was August. Outside the window, at first slowly, and then faster and faster, familiar trees with the first redheads in lush foliage floated away, others “ran” towards them: “Farewell, Kozlova Zasek!” It is unlikely that Lev Nikolayevich thought that this farewell was forever. During the tour, they also talk about his farewell "date" with the station.
Tourists are interested in the guides: why is the old half-station 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. For this, notches were created.
The construction of an important part of the defensive structures looked like this: large trees fell down, their brancheswere marked in such a way that they were bristling cola. The enemy could not immediately overcome such a barrier, which gave the defenders the opportunity to gather strength. Kozlova, the local barrier was named after the voivode Danila Kozlov. Apparently, he was a great brave man, since he was honored by the people.
Reconstruction away from noisy crowds
From 1928 to 2001, the Kozlova Zasek station was called Yasnaya Polyana, then its historical name was returned to it. Tolstoy and many of his countrymen called the stop briefly and sincerely: Kozlovka. Today, that noisy "abyss of the people" that Lev Nikolayevich once wrote about, as a rule, is not observed either in the waiting room or on the platform.
Before, only he and his huge family, numbering thirteen souls of children, could book a whole carriage. One can imagine how the Fats whiled away the time before the arrival of the train, sitting on wooden benches in the waiting room. The younger ones certainly mastered small areas to the maximum: they looked into all corners, rose on their toes to look at the cashier in the window.
After the reconstruction in 2001, carried out at the initiative of the management of the Moscow Railway, the seats, as of old, invite passengers to sit down for a minute or several hours. It is very entertaining even for modern adults to look into the luminous unusual window of the cash register. As part of the educational trip, it is interesting to visit the office of the head of the station, Kozlov Zasek.
Old and new
An old telegraphapparatus. How many messages were repulsed on it? The post office, the call center - it's all like in Tolstoy's times: forget about your cell phone, go to the booth and call your relatives or friends. Many visitors admit that they really like the interactive journey into the past. Kozlova Zaseka is 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. At the same time, a toilet, a cellar, and a railway house were built. All this is kept today in a neat, well-groomed condition, so that it is not a shame to show your own, to bring foreign guests.
For reference: since 2001 Kozlova Zaseka has been a branch of the Yasnaya Polyana Tolstoy Estate Museum (Shchekino District, Tula Region).
During the reconstruction of the beginning of the third millennium, 1910 was taken as the basis: they used the preserved information about the appearance of the building, its interior decoration, and the appearance of the surrounding area. Based on the fact that the station is operational, it was not possible to avoid modern “inclusions” (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: long-distance trains flew by, in the summer numerous summer residents became active users of the railway. But times have changed. Those who visited the Kozlovaya Zasek in 2016 heard from the guides that the Moscow-Yasnaya trainGlade canceled despite being 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 see Leo Tolstoy. For example, the artist Ilya Repin. He became friends with the novelist back in 1880, when he unexpectedly rushed into his studio. Since that time, the author of the paintings "Barge haulers on the Volga", "Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan" and others visited the great writer almost every year in his family estate, created a whole gallery of portraits of a friend.
The estate was also visited by Vladimir Korolenko, Ivan Shishkin, and other eminent guests, no less revered by connoisseurs of art. All of them got off at the Kozlova Zasek (Tula) station. The Tolstoy couple happily met them, escorted them to Yasnaya Polyana, which was only a few kilometers away. And this is only a small part of the historical information.
Small but interesting museum
Many visitors highly appreciate the advantages of the museum and railway station complex, 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's Railway. What did the cast iron look like? How did the travelers dress? What was hand luggage?
You can find out about all this and much more by arriving at the station with an inscription in Old Church Slavonic: “Kozlova Zaseka”. Desk, behind which it was possible to draw a couple of lines with a pen, antique, embroidered ladies' and strictmen's travel raincoats, gloves, a huge suitcase, a fascinating photo essay - all this allows you to plunge into the atmosphere of bygone years.
There is such a service as a photo in old clothes. So, when leaving, people are happy to take away a piece of Kozlovka as a keepsake. You can pose at the bust of Leo Tolstoy, on the porch, at the flower bed, on a bench with forged openwork legs - the choice is up to the tourists, who were beckoned by the seemingly simple Kozlov Zasek stop. "How to get to it?" - the question is relevant today. But more on that below.
Everything is like under Tolstoy
There is an opinion that it is unfashionable to keep the past today. However, most of those who visited the museum express their gratitude to all those who in our difficult times were able to harmoniously combine modernity and history. The station-museum "Kozlova Zaseka" is an example of a complex, each meter of which contributes to a good image.
Everything is thought out and weighed to the smallest detail. Surely it was easier to build some 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. It is possible that Lev Nikolayevich himself tied the horse to such.
A poster warning about the need to be careful while on the platform, also in retro style: the unlucky gentleman in the top hat is about to get into a dangerous situation. And what is the call: “Gentlemen, take care of life!” Many admit that they immediately want to become more disciplined and attentive.
Summerbetter than winter
Kozlova Zasek - this is the point that is worth visiting for everyone who is tired of secular parties and fuss. The newlyweds love to be photographed against the backdrop of the museum and railway station complex. Wedding photographers most often choose an old well, the station building itself, a monument to the writer “for color”. In general, Kozlova Zasek is famous and attractive (although it also happens: sometimes thick, sometimes empty).
Almost all guests willingly visit the souvenir shop, buffet, stroll around the territory. In summer it is more crowded. In winter, as some say, "beauty is not enough." As for the time 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.
We're off to Kozlovka
Electric trains to the Kozlovaya Zaseka are a thing of the past. It is pointless to recall how until recently people traveled on the Tula-Kozlova Zasek route on a luxury electric train. It departed from Kurskaya station in Moscow but was canceled, believed to be due to insufficient passenger traffic.
Now experts advise you to use the fixed-route taxi No. 218, which departs from the Moscow railway station. Just do not forget to warn the driver that you are before Kozlovka, as drivers often turn around before reaching Zaseka, and you, bypassing the target, will find yourself at the final stop in the village of Skuratovo (Western). From there, it is a bit far to go to the station and you can mix up the stitches-tracks. Have a nice trip!
