Formerly known as Churaevka, Russian Village was established in 1925 as an artistic community for Russians who fled to America after the Revolution of 1917. It was created by the Russian writers Count Ilya Tolstoy, son of Leo Tolstoy, and the Siberian novelist George Grebenstchikoff. Although Tolstoy first discovered the area while visiting his translator in Southbury, Grebenstchikoff envisioned and actively planned a rural cultural center where Russian writers, artists, musicians, and scientists could live and flourish. Among the better known figures connected with Churaevka were Igor Sikorsky, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Michael Chekhov, Baron Leo von Nolde, and Nicholas Roerich. The village took its name from a mythical Siberian village in Grebenstchikoff's works, and Churaevka Village still appears on all property deeds, though in later years it came to be called Russian Village. Its main building is the chapel, designed by Nicholas Roerich, commissioned by George Grebenstchikoff, and financed with generous contributions from Igor Sikorsky. Built in 1932–33 with labor volunteered by village residents, including the skilled stone mason Ivan Wassileff, the chapel is dedicated to St. Sergius, one of Russia's most venerated saints, who kept Christianity alive after the Tartan invasion of the 14th century. It also serves as a memorial to the Cathedral of Our Savior, destroyed by the Soviets in 1931. Another important feature was the Alatas Print Shop, which served as a publishing house to foster the dissemination of Russian culture, and Grebenstchikoff used it to publish the works of several Russian authors as well as his own books; the building still stands but is no longer in use.

Photo: Michael Herrick

Photo: Michael Herrick

Photo: Michael Herrick

Photo: Michael Herrick