Description of the attraction
Kamchatka is a club-museum, which today is a truly cult place both for fans of the leader of the Kino group, Viktor Tsoi, and for fans of Russian rock in general.
Initially, on the Petrograd side of St. Petersburg, in the basement of the 15th house on Blokhin Street, there was a boiler room, which became an informal club for rockers of the eighties, since it was here that the future "idols" of Soviet and, subsequently, Russian rock music were officially employed (official employment was necessary due to the existence in the USSR of an article for parasitism and begging, which could be incriminated to any unemployed citizen of working age).
According to the recollections of Sergei Firsov, art director of the club, creator and organizer of the Kamchatka rock society, it, as such, began in the summer of 1986, when he himself, Svyatoslav Zaderiy (founder of the Alisa group) came to work there and, of course, Viktor Tsoi. Also, Alexander Bashlachev and Viktor Bondarik (AuktsYon group) worked here, many of those who today quite rightly are called “legends of Russian rock” also visited here: Yuri Shevchuk (DDT group), Boris Grebenshchikov (Aquarium group), Sergey Kuryokhin (Pop Mechanics group) and others. This is not surprising, since it is Leningrad that is not only the “cradle” of the revolution, but also the fateful musical direction in Russia, and “Kamchatka”, perhaps, remains its real focus even today. However, it is believed that the boiler house became most famous with the arrival of Viktor Tsoi, who worked here for two years until 1988. It was this boiler house, according to the testimonies of people living in the house on Blokhin Street, that in August 1990 became the first “wailing wall” of his fans.
Finally, the boiler house ceased to perform its direct function in 1999, when the house was connected to a more powerful boiler house. For the next four years, the basement was in disrepair. The idea of re-equipping it into a club and a museum belonged to Anatoly Sokolkov, it was brought to life by the artist and businessman Alexei Sergienko. On the site of the removed three large boilers, a hall turned out, on the site of the former coal - a bar, where the pumps once stood - a stage. It was decided to leave the name the same - "Kamchatka". By the way, even those who stood at the "origins" of "Kamchatka" find it difficult to say where this name came from, because it is generally accepted that it is a folk name.
The boiler remained intact, into the furnace of which Tsoi threw coal. If desired, the boiler can still be fired. A table and a sofa that stood here in Tsoi times have survived. The museum contains Tsoi's personal belongings, his photographs and letters, which were donated to the museum by his friends and family. The greatest value of the museum is a twelve-string guitar (manufactured by Lunacharsky's factory), bought by Viktor Tsoi in 1978. The guitar was donated to the museum by the musician's wife Maryana after his tragic death. The old film projector on which Tsoi played films has survived, as well as the Moscow typewriter, on which his poems were printed. The bar has a thermos of a very original design with three lids instead of one. It was into it that beer bought on Cosmonauts Street was poured at one time.
The museum club continued its work until 2007, when it was under the threat of closure, since the house where the former boiler house was located was subject to resettlement and subsequent demolition. According to the developer's plans, it was assumed that only a memorial plaque would remain of "Kamchatka". But, thanks to the wide public outcry, organized by Sergei Firsov and involving the former governor of St. Petersburg Matvienko in solving this problem, “Kamchatka” was defended.
Now the club works as usual - every day from 12 noon until the last client, concerts begin at 19 o'clock. The stage is provided to young representatives of the alternative underground, and, of course, to the "stokers".
