Moscow Day 4 -Kiverichi

Today we are taking a road trip with Vladimir to Kiverichi, this is a small village abotr 2 1/2 hours drive north west of Moscow. Kiverichi is the earliest known home of Ann's ancestors with several of them growing up and being buried there. The trip

Coffee and Comfort Stop

through the city showed how heavy the traffic can be but also how well it flowed by comparison. At times the 4 lane road heading into the city looked like a parking lot but the traffic dispersed very effectively. Once on the other side of the city the traffic decreased as everyone was heading into the city.

The freeway we take is the main road to St Petersburg and is fairly new and in good condition. After a while the city is replaced with forests and the masses of cars are replaced with cows in pastures and fields. The weather started out a fresh 3 degrees C with occasional bursts of sunshine but before long, a few spots appear on the windscreen. Whether it is light rain or snow is not known but given that it is about 3 C outside, anything is possible. We stop for a comfort stop and a coffee after about 90 minutes on the road and then continue on our way. Shortly we enter the Tver region which is where Ann's Great great great great grandfather Evgraf Mikhailovich Sysoev was a nobleman (Major General In the Department of Foreign Affairs) and had a land holding. At this point we are still 100 km from Kiverichi.

Tver Region

The closer we came to Kiverichi the more traditional the houses became. Within no time we were on the outskirts and the excitement started to increase. Soon a church came into sight and we knew we would soon stop. The church, although suffering the effects of weather and a fire, was still a solid structure.

The Original Church

The Second Church section

The Front of the Church

As we pulled up Vladimir called the historian to advise of our arrival. Unknown to us, the local paper and a school class were also attending. We were led to the side of the building where a large cast iron tombstone lay. Unable to read Cyrillic, we were told this was the grave site of Vladimir Ann's Great x 3 grandfather. This put a whole different perspective on our journey. Ann now had a firm connection with not only Russia, but especially with Kiverichi. Of course she knew there was a Russian connection from stories her father and Grandfather told her, but information was limited until Vladimir closed the gaps from his research. The emotions were clearly visible and felt by everyone in attendance.

The School Class, Locals and Newspaper Reporter

The school class showed particular interest that a 4 x Great descendant of the builder of the church and one of the village founders had returned to their heritage.

One of the reasons for our whole trip was not only to visit the country of origin, but to also bring the ashes of Ann's late father

Vladimir Sysoev Headstone

and mother to Russia. Because of the revolution and cold war it wasn't possible for them to come to Russia until the 1990's. By then they were ageing and would not have been able to make the journey, even if they knew of their ancestors here. Ann explained she would like to leave some ashes that she had fused into glass beads in the grave yard. We weren't expecting that they would lift the tombstone so they could be buried in the same site.

Ann placing her mother and fathers ashes under the headstone.

On top of that they also performed a Russian Orthodox prayer service for the occasion. The emotions were in overload now. A sense of belonging came over Ann and to a certain degree me as well, as this journey started several years ago when we were looking at Ann's grandfather's military service

Inside the Still Operating Original Church

It was explained that the church was built in 2 stages. The original church section is still operational and was built by Evgraf Michaelovich Sysoev in 1798. The newer section was built by Great, Great Grandfather Apollon Vladimirovich Sysoev and was much larger than the original, but sadly a fire destroyed the interior. Despite the destruction, the main shell is relatively sound.

After the service, and some photos with all attendees, we were invited into the church for a luncheon. This was a very simple, unpretentious affair, with a prayer of thanks and a speech. The speech was roughly translated to being thankful that descendants of such an important person of the village want to remember the ancestry. Ann responded by thanking everyone for their effort in particular Vladimir and the historians for their research. In typical Russian fashion food and drink was abundant, and the level of courtesy and respect was extended both ways.

The Damaged Interior of the Main Building

After the luncheon, we were taken through the larger but severely damaged part of the church. Some of the paintings are still visible on the arches and part of the original wrought iron

Chuch in the Flag

fence is stored inside. It is obvious this was an impressive church in its day. A little more recent research has just uncovered the flag of Kiverichi features the Church.

After we farewelled our newfound friends we toured the village and were taken to several family sites, such as the Sysoev garden, site of the home which burned down in 1955, and the garden managers home. Some of the homes still standing date back to later 1800s and early 1900s.