I.G. Bilibin House

At the corner of Pushkin and Bauman streets there is a 3-storey mansion built in the late XVIII century for the merchant Ivan Galaktionovich Bilibin. Later, the house of I.G. Bilibin belonged to his son, a major St. Petersburg merchant Vasily Ivanovich. In 1848, the house was bought by retired lieutenant colonel A.M. Sukhotin, and in 1859 this house attracted the attention of the whole Kaluga.

On August 26, 1859, the Imam of Chechnya and Dagestan Shamil surrendered in Gunib. After receiving in St. Petersburg by Emperor Alexander II, Shamil was assigned to Kaluga for residence, where he arrived on October 10, 1859.

This was an extremely important event in the life of the city. Released lithographic portraits of the famous prisoner sold out in great demand. He was met by the commandant and the provincial administration and temporarily settled in the Kulon Hotel on Nikitskaya Street (now Lenin Street). The Sukhotin mansion, rented by the city for 900 rubles a year, was put for urgent repairs for the Shamil family.

In November, the imam moved into the house, and in January 1860 his family arrived with a staff of only 22 people. Shamil appeared in all crowded places - schools, hospitals, theater, but did not stay longer than 10 p.m. In his life, the formidable Caucasian was simple, moderate in food, rose in winter at six, and in summer at four, with sunrise, and prayed for a long time.

August 26, 1866 Shamil in the Noble Assembly in a solemn atmosphere took the oath of citizenship and loyalty to the Russian Emperor. On November 25, 1868, Shamil and his family left Kaluga.

House No. 4 on Pushkin Street Kalugans forever associated with his name.

Now there is an exposition "Beauty in Details", a memorial room of the Imam of Chechnya and Dagestan Shamil, the Museum of Weapons from the funds of the Kaluga United Museum-Reserve and 2 exhibition halls with changing exhibitions.