eloquent line "Endowment" lord of St. Sergius, the picture accompanying the donation to the museum: "With Vasily Nikolayevich Yakovlev I met in Moscow in the spring of 1942. Our acquaintance was a friendship and then turned into a personal friendship. I was drawn widest erudition of the man. His knowledge in philosophy were encyclopedic. We had a debate on philosophical topics ... In the music he loved Beethoven and Bach, which corresponds to, and my tastes ... "

VN Yakovlev attended the worship of the "gift of victory arms of the Soviet army in the summer of 1942, which carried Zvenigorodsky Bishop Sergius. After the service offered a portrait painter - painting of the moment. The product was produced within two years and was completed in 1944. Father Sergius, having received it as a gift from the artist already in 1943, prepared her for the Odessa Theological Seminary, but for some reason failed to deliver it to Odessa.

In the artist's studio now see prominent military leaders, including K. Voroshilov, foreign ambassadors, bishops of the church, in particular, Metropolitan Krutitskii Nicholas, writers LM Leonov and S. P. Borodin. After that for various reasons the work was hidden from the audience.

Until 1946, the picture was the author of the studio, in 1956 - moved to Astrakhan, where Sergius was appointed Bishop of Astrakhan and Stalingrad. In the following year. Sergius had served in many dioceses, followed by traveling and this picture. In November 1966, Archbishop Sergius gave the product as a gift to Yaroslavl Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve, and at the section of the museum, it became the property of the Yaroslavl Art Museum. Until 2005, the canvas was kept on the wall, hidden from the eyes of not only the mass audience, but also a rare museum staff had the opportunity to see him.

Celebrating the 60 th anniversary was an occasion for the revival of the work. It was first presented to a wide audience at the exhibition devoted to this significant event. It recalls that the Russian Orthodox Church and its ministers were carriers of high patriotic feelings and were the spiritual backbone of the Russian people.

Order to create a panorama professor class battle-painting of St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, the founder of Russian art panoramic Franz (François), A. Roubaud was back in August 1901. Since then he has made several trips to Sevastopol, studied the historical places, talked extensively with veterans of a long epic, often engaging them as sitters for sketches and drawings.

A year later he presented to the Winter Palace at the highest consideration of about fifty basic outline drawings and sketches, and having received the go-ahead, went to Munich, where in due course after the Odessa school, he studied drawing at the Art Academy. On canvas, specially manufactured at the Brussels factory, he and assistants - professional painters Shenhen L., I. Mert and C. Frosch plus twenty students of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts - became incarnate in the life of an ambitious plan of an art-piece. At the same time was working on a substantive plan for an area of 900 square meters.
And in Sevastopol on a unique project military engineer OI Enberg, approved by the Committee on Restoration of monuments of the first defense, to construct an unusual round building in the former 4-th bastion, is protected in the years 1854-1855 the central part of the city and is the unanimous opinion of the participants of the epic, one of the most dangerous places in the besieged Sevastopol. Not by chance years later it was "Boulevard 4-th bastion" was officially awarded the title - History.

It would seem that the opening of the panorama, in view of its artistic significance and historical value, should happen in a particularly festive atmosphere. However, this extraordinary event was fairly modest.

- The reason is obvious - explains Natalia, - in the Far East was a Russian-Japanese war. The authorities of the country and the city was considered unethical to richly celebrate half-century of the first defense. Moreover, even pushed back the opening date, although the painting was delivered to Sevastopol in the summer of 1904.

And only 14 May (old style), 1905, the city streets, as well as military ships and commercial vessels to highlight flags "in honor of the day holy vysokotorzhestvennogo coronation of Their Imperial Majesties." By this date, marked by solemn prayers in the Orthodox churches, the Choral Synagogue, the Karaite kenasa, and was held in conjunction with the consecration and opening of the panorama.

The first visitors climbed the narrow and winding spiral staircase to the observation deck and turned out to be ... on top of the Malakhov Kurgan. Their eyes opened the outer roads, bays and coast, where since the dawn of June 6, 1855 Heroic Defenders of the Black Sea fortress had a chance to reflect another enemy assault.

If living, brought on canvas sailors, soldiers, officers and generals - the heroes of the epic fire. Probably the same way, full-length, without fear of enemy bullets and cores, stood on the parapet and looked keenly into the distance Admiral PS Nakhimov, whose contemporaries unanimously called "the soul of Sevastopol Defense. Masterfully recreated battle scenes vividly demonstrated the power of spirit, courage and heroism defenders of the stronghold of the Black Sea. Especially deeply alarmed view of the most honored guests - veterans of those unforgettable events.

But ... is not always unambiguous and unanimous opinion of the people are fully shared by the powers that be. In 1909 at the request of Nicholas II's view was transported to St. Petersburg on a specially prepared place in a tent on the Champ de Mars. After the emperor's retinue visited the canvas, Franz A. Roubaud was instructed: close the shape PS Nakhimov and "obscure" a portrait likeness of some heroes of humble origin.

In Sevastopol, a native building in the Historic Boulevard, Panorama returned only after two years.

And only 15 years during the restoration efforts of pupils FA Roubaud (with permission of Franz Alekseevich, who lived in Munich), the figure of the famous naval commander Pavel Nakhimov "returned" to the canvas.

... And saving a sip of water

Glorious patriotic tradition, the panorama became inseparable from everyday life at the second battle of the heroic defense of Sevastopol 1941-1942 period.

Armored Nazi armada of eight months of stalled at the walls of the stronghold of the Black Sea. The command is not specifically placed on the Historic Boulevard and near military installations, to avoid giving a pretext for the bombing. Exposure prudently removed from flammable objects. But even in such a "truncated" form view, as the most ardent propagandist and agitator, was inspired on the exploits of soldiers and sailors.

Nevertheless, the enemy was not spared the work of art, as not spared, and other cultural values. June 25, 1942 during the last assault on the bombs rained down directly on the dome of the panorama. The building took over the fire. Flushed and canvas. First rushed to extinguish the fire cadets average command courses coastal defense of the Black Sea Fleet and the nearby soldiers and other military units.

In these series proved to be a medical assistant and 61-second anti-aircraft artillery regiment of the 5 th Air Defense anti-aircraft battalion Yakov Foschan. In his memoirs, preserved in the archives of Sevastopol, have a great episode:

"It was June 25. The Nazis bombed the panorama. It was burning. I also helped to save her. As he left, picked up the charred ancient-book "Defense of Sevastopol 1854-1855 period". Exhausted, sat down and leafed through it. Got a bastion of the Fourth Plan. By surviving signs realized: Why, our command post is in this here place. But what is this icon on your terms? Good look - that is how it well, which was in an underground-mine galleries.

Well, that was so essential to soldiers and citizens in those hot days ...

"I immediately reported this to the boss. We decided, as they say, try your luck. Focusing on the book, found a place where he was to stay well. Inscribed dig it turned out a lot: the sailors, the Red Army, the inhabitants of the city. Work started. Soon came the wet ground. A bucket for bucket lifted her from the depths of the well, and the earth are getting wetter and wetter. By sunset the well cleaned up, and everyone who was at that time here on the Fourth Bastion, tasted the spring water. "

Not fitting that those who saved the panorama, and she in turn saved them ...

Torn from the fire and eighty-six fragments with uneven and hastily cut off and moved the leader of the ragged edges of the destroyer "Tashkent" - the latter surface ship, who managed to break into the besieged Sevastopol for a truly fiery sea route.

At the end of 1944 numbered pieces, totaling two-thirds of the total area of cloth, were delivered to Moscow, where after a thorough survey of experts returned a verdict: not subject to restoration.

So, was to be a rebirth of the lost masterpiece.
       Byl SECOND BIRTHDAY

But in what form? It turns out there has different views on the restoration of the panorama.

As is clear from the materials to the protocol of the joint meeting of the Committee for Architecture in the SNK and the Board of Management for the architecture of the SNK of the RSFSR of March 5, 1946, proposed the construction of more modest buildings are not on Historic Boulevard, and on the Malakhov Hill.

Given the modest financial resources of the postwar period, some experts advise even strengthen the canvas on the poles and floodlights illuminate it.