"We don't want to be a decoration for a business."
It's not funny. How to avoid being made a fool of while experiencing the development of tourism in your native village of Kindasovo.
Photo: from the group "Kindasovo"
"A fascinating ancient Karelian village. Its inhabitants, the Kindasovtsy, are simple-minded and hapless, the stuff of tales and legends circulating throughout Karelia, stories that will last for generations to come. Here, the culture of the Karelian Ludiki and the distinctive humor of Kindasov are uniquely combined." — this is how the small village of Kindasovo, 50 kilometers from Petrozavodsk, is described in the local language touriston the site.
Almost all the infrastructure has been built to successfully develop tourism in Kindasovo, and there's no end to the number of visitors. However, local residents are tired of being the butt of jokes and living in a constant state of festivity. The conflict between the Kindasovo natives and the tourism industry organizers has long since spread beyond Karelia, and with the start of the season, it has gained momentum.
NeMoscow spoke with both sides of the conflict.
The Kindasovo Tourism Industry: Laughter and Tears
"Stop! You're trying to cross the border of the sovereign state of Kindasovo. Get out of the car, then we'll go to the impound lot. Customs control applies to everyone; I won't let anyone through! You're being detained until the circumstances are clarified. We'll find out what kind of defectors you are, and where you're from. So you're guests? Oh, I've made a fool of myself! Oh, forgive us, dear guests, we didn't recognize you! I've embarrassed myself again!" — this is how one of the excursions to Kindasovo begins.
During the event, guests listen to tales about the Kindasovites, the runes of the mythical poem Kalevala, the playing of real Karelian instruments, the kantele and joukhikko, and rub their “nose” for good luck. memorableika mitten, jump into oversized pants, and sample traditional pastries. Tourists laugh heartily, leave in a good mood, and leave rave reviews of their excursions.
Photo: Screenshot from a video on the channel "Marina. Travels through my eyes"
"The residents of Kindasovo are left alone with the expansion of the tourism industry into the village. More and more plots are being developed for this purpose, and no one cares about the residents' opinions. They are dismissively referred to as "dacha dwellers," even though almost all of them have family homes here with multi-generational memories. Despite being very positive people and fully understanding the importance of business, including tourism, they can no longer live under the spotlight of cameras in a climate of "holidays every day, from morning until night." - at the same time opisvyat the mood of the village residents, deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Karelia from the Yabloko party Emilia Slabunova.
Confrontation between locals and businesswomen Svetlana Khrebtova и Yulia Tolmacheva The dispute has been going on for several years. The Kindasovites say this is their roots, and they come here on weekends, holidays, and throughout the summer to relax, enjoy nature, and grow fruits and vegetables on their own land. The tourism project's managers counter that they've already heeded the residents' requests and changed the route to avoid disturbing anyone. Both sides are open to peaceful dialogue, but it hasn't worked out yet.
From a folk festival to "unbridled fun"
Family Tatyana Danilina The Danilins moved to Kindasovo from the Pudozhsky district in the first half of the last century; now the fifth generation lives here. Relatives have built a house nearby. Unable to spend time in Kindasovo permanently, the Danilins "live in two homes": in Petrozavodsk on weekdays and here on weekends. Sometimes they're so reluctant to leave that they stay until Monday morning, waking up early and driving 50 kilometers to work and school. Their home is in the very center of the village, in full view of everyone.
"In the morning, you run out into the courtyard to the toilet in your nightgown—there are already 30 tourists staring at you, snapping photos. It's impossible to leave the village: eight tourist buses are parked on the road, belching smoke out the windows of the nearest houses. You sit down to breakfast—the whole village is already singing songs and ditties; you sit down to dinner—still singing, ditties, and laughter. Learning something new, listening to stories, and lifting your spirits—it's great for tourists, but we live here, and not everyone can handle the unbridled fun 12 hours a day, 7 days a week." "Tatiana explains, with a caveat: this influx of tourists only happens in the summer. Winter is quieter, but Kindasovo's reputation as "the most cheerful village" or "the village of fools" spreads year-round.
Meanwhile, locals recall that during the Second World War there was one of the concentration camps here with a very strict regime. "In winter, people were driven to logging, road construction, and other jobs in tattered clothing and shoes. The workday began at 6 a.m. and lasted until 8 p.m. Food consisted of 200-300 grams of poor-quality bread per day, with occasional rations of frozen potatoes or rotten horse meat." says about him on the "Memory Card".
All that remains of the camp is the skeleton of a stove on the site of one of the barracks. A memorial sign and information boards have been erected here in memory of the victims of fascism. Residents courtshipand behind this place.
Photo: Kindasovo group on VK
The first folklore festival in Kindasovo in 1986 was held by a choreographer and ethnographer Violetta MalmiIt featured folk songs and ancient dances, drawings of which Malmi had collected from the surrounding villages. During the perestroika years, the folklore event, at the insistence of the authorities, evolved into a humor festival, attracting more guests and more funding. It continued until 2010. Six years ago, a tour route was added to Kindasovo. Locals say this about it: the festival, which was cultural and ethnographic, became commercial and entertaining.
— Another ethical issue: by analogy with the "most cheerful village," we're called the "village of fools"—even in the press, even you mentioned it. These are pensioners who worked their entire lives, this is our working generation, these are the descendants of those who were tortured in concentration camps, who fought in the 1940s—are we all fools? How have we earned such "fame"? — Danilina is upset.
Photo: Kindasovo group
It all began long before the arrival of the two entrepreneurs and even the ethnographer Malmi in the village. Tales about the Kindasovo people began to circulate as early as the 19th century. They were noted by the traveler Nikolai Leskov, and in 1972, a collection of stories, "Kaskuja: Fables and Tales," was published by folklorist and Honored Scientist of the Republic of Karelia Alexandra Stepanova. The collection includes, among other things, бaika About a hapless man who didn't know how to put on his pants. His wife held them down, while he tried to jump into them from the stove. In almost all the stories, the Kindasovites are tricked, mocked, and rescued from awkward situations by the residents of neighboring Pryazha.
Svetlana Khrebtova and Yulia Tolmacheva are from Pryazha. Both are deputies of the Pryazha Urban District.
Summer residents and cock crowing
"A wave of negativity has risen again against the Kindasovo village tourism project. We've become accustomed to not responding to offensive posts and comments from the village's initiative group opposing development of the area. <…> Over the past year, we've undergone over 20 inspections and not a single complaint has been issued! This speaks to the honesty and integrity of our business. We regularly visit the prosecutor's office and provide various clarifications regarding false statements. All of this leads us to believe that this is a deliberate attempt to undermine our reputation rather than a desire to resolve contentious issues." answersucker Yulia Tolmacheva responded to Slabunova's post.
Yulia Tolmacheva, Svetlana Khrebtova (photo: group “Kindasovo. Karelia”)
Together with Svetlana Khrebtova, they worked on a rural humor festival for about 20 years, then launched their own tourism project. At first, it was a small business, unimaginable in scale. Then the program expanded, and the tourist flow increased. According to Tolmacheva, they began by renovating a dilapidated village club, essentially reconstructing it from scratch. During the first few years, they interacted peacefully with the villagers. Then they began to realize they were causing inconvenience to the families living near the club. They met with them and explained that time was needed to move the project forward—it couldn't be done overnight, and without start-up capital.
Photo: Kindasovo group
Let me just say right away that there are nine people living in the village year-round. The rest gather from May to October, then life quiets down again. Since August 2022, a group of summer residents has waged an online war against us. — told the story of her relationship with the local residents of Tolmachev. — We don't diminish their importance in the village. Their ancestors—parents, grandmothers—once lived here. Many of the "fighters" were born in Kindasovo, but they all left this village in search of a better life, work, and education. Now they come here as if it were their dacha. We, on the other hand, came to the village to work.
The entrepreneurs created three individual entrepreneurships (including one peasant farm) and seven jobs. For three years running, they initiated the "Young Guide School," where high school students learn interesting work during school breaks and have the opportunity to earn extra money. Several years ago, they created a TOS (territory with a public organization) and secured municipal funding, which they used to renovate the club, build an embankment with a gazebo, and install old-style fences.
That is, they secretly created a TOS in our village, they didn’t invite us, — the locals say. — And we spent all the municipal funds we were able to attract on developing our business. For example, we can't enter the club for any special events because it's full of excursions. It turns out we're redundant. People come to relax and have fun at their own expense, and we're in their way..
And again they tell stories of waking up to the sound of roosters crowing, but it's not the rooster's fault. "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" the tour guides shout, followed by the tourists. This is how summer morning excursions begin.
Unique Mill of Discord
Following numerous requests from local residents and a series of publications, the businesswomen moved the hiking trail further away from the center of Kindasovo. They also relocated the outdoor toilet, as inhaling the odors was not part of the locals' recreational plans. This helped, but not entirely.
The tour bus parking lot was on one side of my windows, now it’s on the other, - He speaks Veronica Naumenko, whose house is located at the beginning of the village. — The tours themselves take place behind the houses, but crowds of people still come here to see the ancient buildings. Tourists have started coming "spontaneously," wandering around the village on their own, taking photos. Perhaps our entrepreneurs should use all their grants to build tourist attractions on vacant land? We have plenty of such land, and we don't want to serve as a backdrop for their businesses.
Locals understand that one or two excursion routes won't get them far, and business will continue to expand. The flow of tourists can't dry up, which means new attractions and new forms of entertainment are needed, and they've already emerged. For example, this winter, all-terrain vehicle races began around Kindasovo—other enterprising citizens have started their own small businesses. Once again, the locals weren't given a say.
Some time ago, the interests of entrepreneurs and indigenous residents shifted beyond the residential zone—to lands long considered either abandoned or used for mowing. The urban development documents of the Pryazhinsky urban settlement are severely outdated, omitting many modern uses. The entrepreneurs decided to locate on one of the plots. уunique millThey claim that there are no other tourist attractions like this anywhere in Russia.
Photo: Kindasovo. Karelia group
We studied the history of the village of Kindasovo in depth and became interested in the water mill - according to the memories, it was located in the village on the Shuya River, — Yulia Tolmacheva continues. — We conducted extensive research—interviews, archival research, and consultations with experts. Our discoveries stunned us: our watermill was floating, based on rafts. We were inspired by the idea of restoring the mill to its original location. In January 2023, we managed to manufacture the mill equipment and assemble the mill in a large barn. We held a presentation of the project, which was also attended by the Kindasovites. We publicly announced where we wanted to place our water mill, but encountered local reluctance to see it near the well: they accused us of ruining the well, and indeed, we had already done so. Then we announced that we had heard the Kindasovites' opinions and would not install it at the historical site; we would consider another location.
Incidentally, descendants of the Kindasovo miller Kuzma Trifonov still live in the village and surrounding area. In May 2022, businesswomen organized a gathering of his descendants. All the Kindasovo residents also gathered. This gathering turned out to be the last peaceful meeting between the two sides.
The entrepreneurs approached the district administration with a request to designate three leased plots as specially protected areas (SPAs) so they could build a mill there, using funding from various state programs. They presented their proposal to the district commission, and a positive decision was made regarding the SPAs designation. Next, they had to change the land use. This change in use was subject to public hearings, which were organized by the administration in February and March of this year. The procedure took place on the Gosuslugi portal—this type of voting only allows those registered in the settlement to vote. The entrepreneurs' initiative received the most votes.
Photo: Kindasovo group
"The voting was unfair because we knew nothing about it; it was all secret again. Where was the information posted about how villagers were supposed to vote, given the unreliable internet there, and many people don't even know how to access the Gosuslugi website? Why couldn't they have posted an announcement on the information board, or at the club?" — Danilina is indignant.
Tolmacheva retorts:
"There was no point in posting information about public hearings on the information posts in the village, since there's no one there except the nine permanent residents and us tourists. All our opponents are in Petrozavodsk."
Locals claim these plots were allocated to them for agricultural purposes. No one registered them, as no one thought anyone would encroach on them. The entrepreneurs respond that they operate in accordance with the law, and, moreover, they have already made significant concessions and agreed to relocate all their tourist attractions. This is precisely why they leased the land.
"Historical and cultural burden"
In April, verbal protests turned into action: Danilina, on behalf of local residents, filed a lawsuit to invalidate the results of the hearings on the land issue. Several deputies, siding with the residents, helped with the legal nuances. The first hearing will take place on May 3.
The locals NeMoskva spoke with shared a similar sentiment: their village was unique and welcoming, no one hid from one another, and doors were never locked. Now, people have begun to surround their plots with high fences; those who wanted to build houses for children and relatives have given up and are considering selling their "family homes."
"And we're not at all against the entrepreneurs themselves. Svetlana is such an engaging storyteller, she has such an artistry; she can talk to anyone, you'll listen to her stories from morning until night, your mouth hanging open. Yulia is talented: she sings, she plays rare instruments, they're both just great." — the interlocutors say. — But please understand us: our village, which is hundreds of years old, will soon disappear completely because of this tourism industry. Russia is a vast country; is there really no other place to improve the "most joyful village"?
Yulia Tolmacheva presents her arguments:
"We don't want war with anyone. The other half of the village, the summer residents, is with us. They make souvenirs, dry mushrooms, pick berries for sale, and the children help with excursions. But we've always said: time changes everything. This village has always been burdened with historical and cultural baggage. Let's close Pavlovsk to tourists or Peterhof—for the sake of the peace of mind of the residents of those towns? Sounds absurd, doesn't it?"
Photo: Kindasovo. Karelia group
In 2021, 8,000 tourists visited Kindasovo, compared to 15,000 the year before. How many visitors will stroll through Kindasovo this season remains to be seen.
