The Museum of One Street

A virtual space-time tour of Symona Petliury Street, dedicated to the multicultural history of Rivne, which has two parallel storylines: the story of the preserved historic buildings and the story of three children playing hide and seek.
Віртуальний «Музей однієї вулиці» здійснено в рамках проекту «Протидія антисемітизму та ксенофобії через популяризацію поліетнічного минулого регіону» за підтримки Фонду сприяння демократії Посольства США в Україні / «Counteracting anti-Semitism and xenophobia through the popularization of the multi-ethnic past of the region.» Supported by the Democracy Commission Small Grants Program of the U.S. Embassy to Ukraine..

Погляди авторів не обов'язково збігаються з офіційною позицією уряду США / The views of the authors do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Government.

Проект реалізовано ГО «Центр студій політики пам'яті та публічної історії «Мнемоніка». / NGO "Center for Studies of Memory Policy and Public History "Mnemonics".
The story of 7 iconic buildings on the street intertwines with the virtual game "Hide and Seek", which is based on augmented reality and consists of 5 episodes.

To ease the perception, we use color marking of the correspondent sections.
proLOGUE

The History of the Street

A brief overview of the street's history and its names.
The original name of the street was Aptekarska. As the state of health care in the town during the Russian Empire was far from satisfactory, the opening of a pharmacy ("apteka") was reflected in the name of the street.
The first name of the street — Aptekarska.
In the late 19th – early 20th centuries, the street was called Gogolivska. In this way, the name of M. Gogol, the author of "Evenings on the farm near Dykanka", "The Government Inspector", "Dead Souls", "Taras Bulba" and other works, was glorified in Rivne.
In the place where the street was gradually formed, there was an old riverbed of the Ustia River. A bridge ran across it.
From the time when Western Volhynia, and hence the town of Rivne, became part of the Second Polish Republic, the street was called "13th Division". In this way, the memory of soldiers and officers of this Polish Army unit, which in 1920 took part in the battles in Rivne region, was honored.

During the occupation of Rivne by the Third Reich, 13th Division Street was renamed SS Street. In Soviet times, it was called Chervonoarmiiska (Red Army) Street.
After Ukraine gained political sovereignty, the street was named after Symon Petliura. Rivne became the first city in the country to honor the name of the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian People's Republic army.
Modern S. Petliury Street (part) on the town map of the mid-1920s.
In 1931, when a census was conducted in the Second Polish Republic, approximately 40,000 people lived in Rivne. More than 22 thousand were Jews, more than 10 thousand – Poles, almost 7 thousand – Ukrainians. It was a provincial town, where people of different religions and nationalities lived side by side.

The social and cultural environment of the town changed during the Second World War. In 1939–1941, the Soviet authorities deported the Polish population of the region, residents of Rivne in particular, and in 1941–1944, the genocide of Jews by the Third Reich took place.

In the early 1990s, Ukrainians made 91.6% of Rivne's population.
LOCATION №1

Zafran's Theater

The theater was built by Rivne businessman and philanthropist Aria Leiba Iolevych Zafran on the site of the modern People's House (1 Petliury Street).
Zafran's Theater, built in the Art Nouveau style, became one of the most attractive buildings in the town in the early twentieth century.
Its grand opening took place on February 2, 1908 with the performance of "Geisha" and "Vechornytsi" (a Ukrainian play).

The auditorium had 18 rows of chairs, 17 boxes, 2 rows of balconies and 3 rows of the gallery (400 seats). The theater had great acoustics. It became the center of cultural life of the town in the first half of the twentieth century. Local theater troupes, as well as Kyiv, Zhytomyr, St. Petersburg and Moscow troupes, performed on its stage. Mykhailo Donets, the future first People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR, who was later repressed by the Soviet authorities, sang on the stage of Zafran's Theater. The diva of the imperial theaters Olga Demidova and tragic actor Mamont Dalsky also performed on the stage of Zafran's Theater. Artist and teacher Heorhii Kosmiadi collaborated with the theater.

In the interwar years, the theater held a variety of events. On September 5, 1921, it hosted several performances, the funds of which were addressed to refugee actors. The repertoire of that day was "Lady in a Hat" and "5 Million Heritage". In the evening, the then famous baritone Y. Lerman performed in the theater.
Facade of Zafran's Theater. Drawing according to the description of Ihor Zhylinskyi.
Political parties often held events in Zafran's Theater. Thus, on February 10, 1924, 400 people from Rivne listened to the speech of I. Greenbaum, a deputy of the Polish Sejm in 1919–1930 (18 years later, in 1948, he became the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Provisional Government of the newly formed State of Israel). On March 25, 1924, A. Goldberg, a member of the executive committee of the World Zionist Organization, gave a lecture "Emigration to Palestine" at Zafran's Theater. 800 people listened to his speech in the overcrowded hall.
Zafran's Theater on the map of the town

(State Archives of Rivne Region, f. 1934, d. 3, c. 51, sh. 44)
The theater premises continued to be used for various events. "On Tuesday, March 10, [1925], the Jewish cultural and educational society "Tarbut" held at Zafran's Theater a masquerade ball, which was a great success, as the local press reported. From one o'clock in the morning, the hall, richly decorated in oriental style, was filled with a colorful, luxuriously dressed crowd of merry masks. The "Tarbut" masquerade ball was definitely one of the most successful of the season."
A scene from the play "Boris Godunov" at Zafran's Theater.
In the middle of the 1920s, Zafran's Theater was converted into a cinema. A contemporary described it in 1927 as follows, "The auditorium, stage, boxes, gallery, hall – all the smallest details have been thoroughly redecorated. It was quite a new theater. A dark army of glittering lacquered chairs, a light semicircle of boxes and galleries, a mysterious wavy curtain of dark red color, a colorful modern stage – everything was flooded with a cascade of light from round lamps; it evokes a mood both solemn and blissful. A spacious waiting room, richly lit and decorated with advertisements of upcoming films, is designed for several hundred people."
Zinaida Kelchevska's troupe on the stage of Zafran's Theater (1934).
The newest foreign films were shown at Zafran's cinema. This is where the history of Rivne cinemas began.
The ruins of Zafran's cinema.
After the annexation of Western Ukraine (1939), the Zafran family lost all real estate, including the cinema. It was turned into a Red Army building. During World War II, Zafran's Theater was destroyed by bombing.
PART I

"Khovanky" ("Hide and seek")

To fully immerse yourself in the story, it is extremely important to be in the place where it unfolds, however, if you do not have the opportunity to do so, you can get this augmented reality experience anywhere.

The only requirement is to have a mobile phone with a camera running Android or iOS and Instagram app.
LOCATION №2

Communal Savings Bank

These institutions functioned in Poland in accordance with the order of its president dated April 13, 1927, to assist citizens in accumulating funds and providing them with loans.
The minimum contribution accepted at such savings banks was 1 zloty.
Communal savings banks functioned in Poland in accordance with the order of its president dated April 13, 1927. The purpose of these institutions was to assist citizens in accumulating funds and providing them with loans, primarily for economic goals.

Rivne, as well as other communal savings banks operating in Rivne District, were subordinated to the Union of Communal Savings Banks in Warsaw.
Location plan and facade
of the Communal Savings Bank on the corner of modern S. Petliury and Peresopnytska Streets.
Their structure included a directorate formed of specialists elected by the board of the Communal Savings Bank, a supervisory board consisting of public representatives and proxies appointed by the county council, and an audit commission (whose members were elected by the council of district Communal savings bank).
Photos of the communal savings bank in Rivne.
Numerous documents describing the activities of the Communal Savings Bank of Rivne District in 1927–1939 are stored in the State Archives of Rivne Region (F. 81).
PART II

"Khovanky" ("Hide and seek")

To fully immerse yourself in the story, it is extremely important to be in the place where it unfolds, however, if you do not have the opportunity to do so, you can get this augmented reality experience anywhere.

The only requirement is to have a mobile phone with a camera running Android or iOS and Instagram app.
LOCATION №3

Rivne Powiat Starostwo (District Administration)

The authority that carried out administrative management, namely: on a par with the judiciary, it was an element of administrative and punitive justice and was engaged in health care, social security, agriculture.
Rivne Powiat Starostwo was a structural unit of Volhynia Administrative Region.
Rivne Powiat Starostwo was established on August 14, 1919. It was a structural unit of Volhynia Administrative Region. For some time (from July to September 1920), due to the counteroffensive of the Red Army, the powiat starostwo did not operate.

Initially, Rivne district administration exercised power in the territories according to the administrative division that existed before the First World War: it included the counties of Dubrovytsia, Sarny, Kostopil, Tuchyn, and Klevan. In the spring of 1920, Zdovbytsia county and the town of Zdolbuniv were added to Rivne district. In the next few years, there were a number of changes. Since 1925, Rivne district consisted of 12 counties: Oleksandriia, Bugryn, Diadkovychi, Hoscha, Klevan, Korets, Maikiv, Mezhyrychi, Rivne, Tuchyn, Korets (town) and Rivne (town).
Rivne Powiat Starostwo.
At first, Rivne Powiat Starostwo included 11 departments: general office, administrative, self-government, sanitary, veterinary, passport, agricultural, technical, supply, social security, industry and trade. In 1925, new departments appeared. In particular, they were the departments of public safety, religion and budget.

The list of these departments allows reconstructing the sphere of competence of Rivne district administration. Among the tasks, which it carried out in 1919, there was was the creation of post offices in the city and county centers, opening of schools, and so on. Later, administration controlled laying of telephone and telegraph lines and their current repairs.
Rivne Powiat Starostwo on the map of the town.
The Powiat Starostwo exercised power and control over all spheres of life. Elections were held and public holidays were celebrated under its patronage.

Rivne Powiat Starostwo stopped its activities during the occupation of Poland by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany (September 1939).
PART III

"Khovanky" ("Hide and seek")

To fully immerse yourself in the story, it is extremely important to be in the place where it unfolds, however, if you do not have the opportunity to do so, you can get this augmented reality experience anywhere.

The only requirement is to have a mobile phone with a camera running Android or iOS and Instagram app.
LOCATION №4

The House of Perla Vihdorovych

One of the iconic buildings of Rivne that has survived is the house of a successful Rivne entrepreneur who had a business almost all over Europe.
According to the architect's plan, the house was built in a modern style; its facade resembled a harp.
Perla Vihdorovych was a successful Rivne entrepreneur who had a fur business almost all over Europe. He was one of those who at the turn of the 19–20th centuries decided to build a house on the then Gogolivska Street (now Petliury Street). It was at that time that the street became one of the most prestigious in the town. The most successful and wealthy citizens built houses there.

The businessman commissioned architect O. Kryzhanivskyi to design the house, which had to be in a modern style. The facade of the building was decorated with stucco with floral ornaments. The biggest window was round. It determined the compositional center of the part of the house facing Gogolivska Street. Its important element was placed on the roof, making the facade of the building resemble a harp.
The biggest window was round. It determined the compositional center of the facade of the house.
Above its front door, there was an oval window with stained glass, above – the roof with wrought iron supports.

The house had a round lobby with columns. On the doors, there were carved monograms with the initials of the owner; the bars on the windows were not usual, but with patterns. Stoves for heating rooms were decorated with fine tiles, and doors were with moldings.

The stairs leading to the second floor were marble. On the walls, there was stucco framed by large vertical mirrors. The ceiling window was decorated with beautiful stained glass.

The Vihdorovych family settled in a new building in the early twentieth century.
The House of Vihdorovych (modern look).
In 1919, when a number of ministries of the Ukrainian People's Republic arrived in Rivne, the first floor of the building was occupied by the State Chancellery.

Before the arrival of the Soviet power in Rivne (1939), P. Vihdorovych's family left the town and never returned.

In the postwar years, the building housed various government offices. For some time, in particular, the regional scientific library operated in it.
PART IV

"Khovanky" ("Hide and seek")

To fully immerse yourself in the story, it is extremely important to be in the place where it unfolds, however, if you do not have the opportunity to do so, you can get this augmented reality experience anywhere.

The only requirement is to have a mobile phone with a camera running Android or iOS and Instagram app.
LOCATION №5

The House of Basia Feiga Kagan

One of the iconic buildings of Rivne that has survived belonged to an entrepreneur who, in addition to business, was also engaged in public activities.
Not only the bay window distinguished this house, but it also embodied a number of communal achievements of the time: steam heating, hot water supply.
The house of Basia Feiga Kagan was built in the late 1920s according to the design of the then chief architect of Rivne Semen Sydorchuk. The iconic architectural element that distinguishes it from other buildings on this street is a semi-cylindrical bay window located on the left corner of the building.

This house fully embodies the advantages of the then communal revolution: it was one of the first in Rivne to install steam heating and it had a bathroom with hot water. Behind the 5-room house, there was a yard where the horse-drawn carriage was kept.
B. Kagan's house.
Bay window of B. Kagan's house.
Basia Kagan was not only a successful businesswoman, but also took an active civil position. In the summer of 1921, together with Y. Shvidki, K. Gam and others, she established in Rivne "The Society for the Support of Crafts and Agricultural Labor among Jews". Later, in the autumn of 1926, together with other activists, she founded the "Gehalutz Pioneer" organization. Its members were those young men and women who sought to promote the formation of a nation-state of Jews in Palestine. The organization facilitated their vocational and national-patriotic training.
Address plate of B. Kagan's house.
With the arrival of the Soviet power (1939), the owner of the house changed. Later, after the liberation of the town from Nazi occupation, it housed the regional library for children, which still operates in this building.
PART V

"Khovanky" ("Hide and seek")

To fully immerse yourself in the story, it is extremely important to be in the place where it unfolds, however, if you do not have the opportunity to do so, you can get this augmented reality experience anywhere.

The only requirement is to have a mobile phone with a camera running Android or iOS and Instagram app.
LOCATION №6

Tarbut Gymnasium

An educational institution of the Jewish community of Rivne, which was established due to the private initiative of the famous doctor Jozef Shvidki.
The foundation of the institution reflected the political preferences of both the founders and parents of the children – they sought to revive the Jewish nation-state.
In 1919, due to a private initiative, a gymnasium for Jewish children was opened in Rivne. At first, there were only 19 students there. However, during the following school year, the number of students in this institution increased to two hundred.

Later, in 1924-25, it was included in the cultural and educational society Tarbut ("Culture"). Students studied Hebrew, which reflected the political preferences of the founders of this educational institution and the parents of the children who attended it: both sought to revive the Jewish nation-state.

J. Shvidki was the founder of this educational institution in Rivne.
Jozef Shvidki, the founder of Tarbut.
J. Shvidki was a well-known doctor and a brilliant orator. He actively published articles in many magazines in Volhynia (in particular, in "Wołyner Sztyme", "Wołyner Leben", "Wołyner Tоg"). A well-developed personality, he also wrote fiction and poetry. In particular, he is the author of poems, ballads and several works of fiction.

The establishment of Tarbut Gymnasium was not easy: there was a lack of qualified teachers, and the material base of the institution was rather weak.
Tarbut Gymnasium on the map of the town.
In 1933, thanks to the support of the Jews of Rivne, Tarbut completed the construction of a new gymnasium building. On this occasion, on October 8, there was a celebration in the town: a procession of schoolchildren and worship in the Great Synagogue. The festivities were attended not only by local authorities, but also by Dr. Zobar, a representative of Tarbut's main board based in Warsaw.
Tarbut Gymnasium
(1930s).
After the annexation of Western Ukraine by the Soviet Union, Rivne Tarbut Gymnasium was transformed into Jewish school #5. If earlier the students of this school studied most subjects in Hebrew, in the new social and political realities Yiddish became the language of instruction. Students had to learn the basics of the new state language. A student at the newly established Jewish school in Rivne recalled, "We began learning Russian with the alphabet. There were no textbooks. Novel "Oblomov" by Goncharov was used instead. While reading the text, we tried to translate it into Yiddish…"
Memories about Tarbut Gymnasium
Audio podcast with memories of one of the gymnasium students
Photo of Tarbut Gymnasium teachers and students (1939).
Most of the students and teachers of Tarbut Gymnasium died during the Holocaust.
LOCATION №7

Rivne Private Russian Coeducational Gymnasium for Orthodox Youth

Another educational institution of multicultural interwar Rivne.
The initiators and patrons of the construction of the new gymnasium building were members of Rivne Orthodox Charitable Society.
In 1926, Rivne Private Russian Gymnasium occupied a newly built two-story building at 53, 13th Division Street (modern Petliury Street). The house does not exist now.

This educational institution was established in Rivne in 1919. At first, it was located in the old castle building of the princes Lubomirski on Zamkova Street, and from November 1922, it operated in the premises of modern school #3 (13 Bychkivskoho Street). For several school years (1923-1926), this school rented a facility in the park of the Lubomirski princes, in the so-called "On the Hill Palace" (modern Taras Shevchenko Park).

The first graduation in Russian Gymnasium took place in 1925.
The initiators and patrons of the construction of the new gymnasium building were members of Rivne Orthodox Charitable Society. Hence, the name of this educational institution was "Rivne Private Russian Gymnasium of the Charitable Society".
Memories about Russian Gymnasium
Audio podcast with memories of one of the gymnasium students
The Society was created by the representatives of local Russian intellectuals. A well-known Doctor Mykola Prokhorov and his wife Inesa Prokhorova, the Dean of the Holy Resurrection Cathedral Archpriest Mykola Rogalskyi, Baron Fedir Shteingel, botanist Jozef Panek, gymnasium teachers Yevheniia Podobed and Ivan Kulish, landowner Oleksandr Shmatkovskyi and others were the most active organizers.
Rivne Private Russian Gymnasium
The main objective of the society was charity, which was listed in the charter of the organization. It is known that one of the first concerns of the society was the construction of a new building for Private Russian Gymnasium. It was carried out with the charitable contributions of the society members. The main sponsor of the construction was Baron F. Shteingel.
Further, members of the Society took care of children's education, financially helping students who could not afford to pay for their education. In fact, one third of students studied at the expense of charity.
In the late 1930s, teacher Ivan Kulish donated all the money from the sale of his collection of poetry "Golden Fields" to equip the gym.

On the second floor, there was a school Orthodox church, and in the courtyard, there was a bell tower.

Education at school was conducted in Russian. Polish, French, German, English, Latin and Church Slavonic were also taught. A famous artist Heorhii Kosmiadi taught drawing at the gymnasium.

In the interwar period, the directors of the gymnasium were S. Aposhanskyi, O. Yushkevych, and S. Lobachevskyi.

With the arrival of the Soviet power, private Russian gymnasium received the status of a state gymnasium, and in November 1939, it was transformed into school #2. Part of the school's premises was given to a military hospital.

Rivne School-Lyceum #2 became the legal successor of Russian gymnasium.
EPILOGUE

Memories of a Rivne Resident

The story of Halyna Danylchuk and her parents.
Share in social networks: