On November 7, the St. Petersburg branch of the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments invites you to the VII scientific and practical conference “Tikhonov Readings.”

The theme of the conference is “Let's preserve and restore our beloved city. To the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory.” The conference is traditionally dedicated to the memory of Lev Pavlovich Tikhonov, deputy chairman of the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments from 1973 to 2005.

Today, in 1759, the great Russian architect Andrei Nikiforovich Voronikhin was born into the family of a clerk from the serfs belonging to Count Alexander Sergeevich Stroganov in the village of Novoye Usolye, Solikamsk District, Kazan Province.

What more needs to be said when the architect is the designer of the Stroganov Palace on Nevsky Prospekt, Kazan Cathedral, the Mining Institute, and the interiors of the palaces in Peterhof, Strelna, Gatchina, and Pavlovsk?

During an investigation of the Nizhny Puy tower complex in mountainous Ingushetia, a team of archaeologists and restorers from Nasledie discovered unique silver temple pendants.

These elegant eight-bladed decorations can be considered the hallmark of Ingush women and vivid evidence of the highest skill of ancient jewelers. These artifacts are not unique and logically complement the picture of the complex's historical past. Earlier, tools belonging to a jeweler were found nearby—anvils and hammers, indicating the existence of an ancient smithy here.

A remarkable find and materials from the Heritage company!

On November 8, Formula Kino at City Mall will host the St. Petersburg premiere of the new feature film by director and screenwriter Amur Amerkhanov, Letter.

The plot is based on real events that took place in the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1972. At the center of the events is a young oncologist who becomes a key participant in an operation to inform Brezhnev about allegedly hostile Ingush communists and their deportation into exile. The film also tells the story of writers, scientists, doctors, and heroes of the Great Patriotic War who selflessly served in Ingushetia.

Filming took place in Moscow, Ingushetia, Karelia, St. Petersburg, and Kazakhstan.

ACM Group gratefully accepts Amur's invitation to the premiere.

Although ACM Group has recently been trying to distance itself from church restoration projects, it was precisely and only the company's church projects that made it to the finals in three categories of the 8th International Golden Trezzini Competition 2025.

- Pskov-Pechersk Monastery. Towers.

- Thaba Erdy Temple in mountainous Ingushetia.

- Church of the Holy Trinity on Oktyabrskaya Embankment in St. Petersburg.

Let's just consider this a coincidence...

“ACM Group” has acquired new modern equipment—industrial video endoscopes that allow us to look several meters into the most inaccessible places on cultural heritage sites, hidden by cultural layers, debris, or walls.

With access to the smallest openings in structures, it will now be possible to see on screen what lies behind all these “impregnable” debris piles, as well as to make a video and save it on a memory card.

In the coming days, the equipment will be tested during the inspection of one of the tower complexes in Ingushetia.

In Gatchina's Priory Park, the historic gates are being restored according to a design by ACM Group. Recently, the recreated coat of arms of the Russian Empire—a double-headed eagle—was “fitted” onto the gate leaves.

Unfortunately, none of the five historic gates of the Priory Park from the 1880s have survived. Restorers are now restoring the entrance group located near Bannyi Lane.

The building of the Moscow District Council at 129 Moskovsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg has been recognized as a regional monument. It was built between 1930 and 1935 based on a design by architects Igor Fomin, Valentin Daugul, and Boris Serebrovsky.

Built at the junction of two architectural styles, constructivism and art deco, the building of the Moscow District Council of Workers' Deputies reflected a “turning point” in architecture.

Photo: Committee for State Control, Use, and Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments of St. Petersburg.

“ACM Group” is considering an invitation to participate in the reconstruction project of the Radisson Hotel on the corner of Nevsky and Vladimirsky Prospects in St. Petersburg.

The first building on the site was constructed in the 1770s. Half a century later, Princess Shakhovskaya became the owner of the site. In 1838, a fourth floor was added to the building. M.I. Glinka lived in the building, and A.N. Serov, V.P. Engelgard, D.V. Stasov, and F. Schubert would come over for “musical Fridays.” Under the ownership of V. Zhukov, the Rotin merchants opened the Moscow Hotel and Restaurant in the building in the 1850s, and in 1881, architect P. Yu. Syuzor carried out a reconstruction of the building. Vasily Surikov and Anton Chekhov often stayed at the hotel.

“ACM Group” has completed its research work on the Upper Pui Tower Complex in mountainous Ingushetia. The oft-cited opinion that there is a complete absence of mortar in the masonry of historic towers and crypts is completely debunked after examining the walls of the towers, including those of this complex. In fact, this applies to the vast majority of historical buildings in the North Caucasus.

“ACM Group” continues to prepare illustrated programs for the upcoming restoration and conservation of cultural heritage sites located in the tower complexes of Ingushetia.

The programs, developed on the basis of previously conducted work on the identification and registration of monuments, will only affect complexes planned for restoration with the help of the SAFMAR Charitable Foundation.

Previous research and survey work to identify unaccounted cultural heritage sites allows for the most complete and accurate preparation of an individual program for each of the complexes.

Any research work on old buildings that are cultural heritage sites begins with the installation of exploratory pits, which allow the condition of underground structures to be assessed. Sometimes the pits reach a depth of several meters. For example, during research on the Hermitage Theater building in St. Petersburg, the pits reached a depth of 7 meters, which required the installation of temporary protective structures to prevent the soil from crumbling.

During the study of one of the tower complexes in Ingushetia (pictured), the depth of the pits reached almost 5 meters. If anyone still believes that the work of ACM Group is exclusively office work, so to speak, “white-collar work,” then they are deeply mistaken, not understanding how much effort it takes in all weather conditions to correctly determine and place pits that most fully reveal the historical structures of an object hidden by the earth.

Yesterday, at one of the remote tower complexes in the mountains of Ingushetia, specialists from ACM Group tested new equipment—an industrial endoscope that allows them to look through minimal openings into the hidden spaces of cultural heritage sites. For the first experiment, they picked a recently discovered and previously unknown underground crypt that's not listed in the Register of Cultural Heritage Sites. The results were way better than expected—the endoscope grabbed a camera controlled from the ground and showed all the structures and artifacts inside the crypt on the screen. There is room for improvement, such as “teaching” the endoscope to capture internal dimensions that are inaccessible to ground-based equipment. But that will all happen in the near future...

The apartment building of the First Russian Insurance Company on the corner of Kronverkskaya and Bolshaya Pushkarskaya Streets in St. Petersburg has been granted the status of a monument of regional significance.

The building was constructed in 1913-1914 according to a design by architects Yuli Benois, Leonty Benois, and Alexander Gunst.

The residential complex, which includes the front buildings on Kamennoostrovsky Prospekt, Kronverkskaya Street, and Bolshaya Pushkarskaya Street, was the largest in the capital at the beginning of the 20th century. It was equipped with all the latest communications for that time.

Dmitri Shostakovich lived in this building from 1937 to 1941. It was here that he wrote his Seventh Symphony, “Leningrad,” in 1941.

Based on materials from the Committee for State Control, Use, and Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments of St. Petersburg.

Unique photographs from the mid-20th century that clearly show what the Thaba-Yerdy temple looked like before its restoration in 1969-1971 . The obvious absence of the roof, sections of walls and arches, as well as numerous losses of decorative facade elements.

The restoration of the main entrance gate to the Valuyevo estate in the Novomoskovsky Administrative District has been completed.

Based on the preserved fence and historical photographs, the entrance gates and wickets were restored, and the brickwork of the pylons was reinforced. The paired sculptures of running deer, which adorn the main entrance to the estate, have returned to their historical places.

In 2026, St. Petersburg will receive 20 billion rubles from the city and federal budgets for the restoration of architectural monuments.

Most of the funds will be allocated to the restoration of facades and large federal objects. Investors will add another 11 billion. This is a substantial amount, which will naturally be utilized. It is strange that there are still cities and regions where officials do not care about architectural monuments as the common property of the people and make no effort to draw up the necessary and correct long-term programs, as well as to attract funding from the budget. A recent trip to one of the old cities in central Russia only confirmed this...

The Krümel company's car garage and residential building at 12 Bolshaya Posadskaya Street and 9/3 Divenskaya Street in St. Petersburg have been recognized as regional monuments.

The buildings were constructed in 1913-1914 by the joint-stock company “Bodo Egenstorff & Co.” The design drawings were signed by A.V. Bolotnikov, a student at the Institute of Civil Engineers.

The garage of Karl-Ludwig Krümmer's automobile company was a unique example of a structure specifically designed for the storage, parking, repair, and maintenance of automobiles in early 20th-century Russia. The facade of the residential building is designed in the style of classicizing Art Nouveau, which is atypical for St. Petersburg architecture.

Based on materials from the Committee for State Control, Use, and Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments of St. Petersburg.

Demolition work continues on the building of the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University on Mokhovaya Street, near Red Square.

Meanwhile, ACM Group in St. Petersburg is completing a project to restore and adapt a unique historic building.

On November 8, the Myasnikov Mansion at 45 Vosstaniya Street in St. Petersburg will host a concert entitled “Farewell of the Birds: Saxophone and Piano.” The program features images of birds that have lived through centuries and different cultures: Saint-Saëns' swan, Piazzolla's angels, and the heavenly creatures from “The Garden of Love” by postmodern composer Jacob TV.

Three works by Japanese composers will occupy a special place:

- “Phoenix” by Re Noda - a monologue of a mythical bird rising from the ashes,

- Sonata “Fluffy Bird” by Takashi Yoshimatsu - a tremulous hymn to the soul seeking liberation,

- “Seagull” by Toshio Masima - music of a lonely bird flying over the boundless ocean, where silence and freedom can be heard in every sound.

So, “Farewell of the Birds” from the Myasnikov Mansion, and its interiors, where the concert from “ ACM” will take place.