Traditional House-Yard Complex in the Historical Settlements of the Terskoye Pomorye (Based on the Materials of Expeditions to the Village of Varzuga)

Abstract

The article presents the preliminary results of the architectural and ethnographic survey of the Varzuga settlement. The subject of the study is the traditional complex-houses in the cultural landscape of the rural historical settlements of the Terskoye Pomorye. The purpose is to determine the place and role of the house in the space of a modern Pomorye settlement; to identify the architectural and structural features, layout and decor of the dwelling as an ethnomarker of Russians in the North and the Arctic. The research is based on empirical material obtained during expedition survey in 2022 in the Tersky district of the Murmansk region. Also, it is based on the application of the author's methodology of the Doctor of Sciences (Culturology) A.B. Permilovskaya on architectural and ethnographic survey of wooden architecture objects. The author concludes that the Varzuga dwelling is a more compact version of the “brus” (beam), which is found in the settlements of the southern coast of the White Sea. The main constructive difference is that the “back” hut here is adjacent not to a cold barn, but to a significantly reduced utility yard, and has its own “main” facade overlooking the back of the house. However, in general, even a significantly rebuilt house retains its place as a factor in the formation of the cultural landscape of the settlement, bears the features of the continuity of ancient carpentry traditions, and in its laconic decor contains cultural meanings that reflect the mentality of the local Pomors population.