Penza circus performance schedule. Penza State Circus History of the Penza Circus

I grew up in the Penza circus, I was madly in love with this art in my childhood, adolescence and youth, I did not miss a single performance and even subscribed to the Soviet Variety and Circus magazine. The Penza circus brought me up.

Until 1873, circuses owned exclusively by foreigners operated in Russia. It was time to think about import substitution in a separate art form. And everything happened like in a fairy tale. The sons of a former serf - three brothers Akim, Peter and Dmitry Nikitin began their career as artists, giving performances on the street: they walked around Mother Russia with a barrel organ and a parsley screen.

Having saved up a sufficient amount, in 1873 the Nikitins bought their own, as they said then, "chapiton" and installed it in Penza. By the way, the act of sale and purchase took place in the Kuznetsk district of the Saratov province, this is now our Kuznetsk, and then it was territorially related and subordinate to Saratov.

Hence the confusion in individual minds: is Penza or Saratov the birthplace of the first Russian circus? According to the act of sale dated December 5, 1873, the transaction for the purchase of the circus establishment from the Austrian citizen E. Beranek by Akim Aleksandrovich Nikitin was carried out in the county town of Kuznetsk. Big tops, vans, costumes and other accessories were bought.

The first Russian, I emphasize, national circus (only Russian artists worked in the troupe, although they were hiding behind foreign pseudonyms) was installed on the Sura ice and began its work on January 7 (December 25, according to the old style). In common usage, this tent, set up on the ice of the river, was called "the first Russian stationary circus." That is, permanent, not mobile, settled on the spot, instead of the nomadic life familiar to circuses of the 19th century.
But the circus did not have a foundation; it stood "in a temporary building", not far from the Market Square. On the ice of the river, sheaves were laid in a circle, and the brothers froze special poles covered with tarpaulin into the ice itself. Cold, windy. Why on ice? Two myths-versions: there was not enough space among the profitable retail space, and there was no need to pay a fee for renting ice to the city treasury.

In the seventies and eighties of the nineteenth century, wooden and stone circuses of the Nikitin brothers "grew up" in Saratov, Ivanov, Kyiv, Astrakhan, Baku, Kazan, Simbirsk and other cities. They made several attempts to give performances in Moscow, but high costs and fierce competition prevented this. Only in 1911 did the Nikitins open a major stone circus on Bolshaya Sadovaya Street. So the foundations of circus business in Russia were laid.

If Lazhechnikov has an Ice House, then the Nikitins have an Ice Circus, and it existed in Penza until 1906. The circus was then a profitable business, the business model worked perfectly, and the idea of ​​​​building a warm, suitable for performances circus was proposed and financed by Albert Sur, a brilliant entrepreneur and horse trainer, who, according to Kuprin and his story "Olga Sur", was idolized by the entire troupe. The wooden stationary circus built by Sur lived until the civil war. Since 1917, the city has remained without representations. After the civil war, acrobats, strongmen, jugglers and clowns performed in Penza in light tents and modest temporary buildings.

But in 1933, in the alignment of the modern square, opposite the modern shopping center "Empire" on Moskovskaya Street, the building of the circus "Krasnogvardeets" was rebuilt. The new circus served for a long time, the most demanded urban building survived the Great Patriotic War, but then gave way to time.

Many old-timers remember this circus, the performances of the young Oleg Popov in its arena, the beginning of the career of Teresa Durova (the Penza State Circus today bears the name of this famous trainer), they remember the circus cavalcade on the main street of the city.

In 1959, the circus was demolished in order to build another - on Plekhanov Street, it took six years to build. In 1965, the doors were opened by a new stationary building of the circus, designed for 1400 spectators. Rumor has it that the design of this building assumed its operation only in the summer, at least the warm months. But the Penza circus worked precisely in the autumn-winter season, opened in September and went on vacation closer to the summer holidays of schoolchildren ..

In 1973, the Penza Circus was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor for merits in the development of circus art. The circus worked six days a week, on weekends they gave two performances, it was difficult to get tickets for good places even by pull. All the stars of the Soviet, and, therefore, world circus art performed in the arena of the Penza circus.

Thanks to the two directors of this circus - Nikolai Zhidkov and Vladimir Golubev - our circus has become the cradle for many original performances and attractions. But this is all history. A new building is under construction, sooner or later the Penza circus will open its doors again for everyone who loves this art. I'm waiting…

Penza circus (Penza, Russia) - detailed description, address and photo. Reviews of tourists about the best entertainment in Penza.

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The Penza Circus can be called a landmark of the Russian scale. The fact is that Penza is the birthplace of the Russian national circus. The very first stationary circus appeared here on December 25, 1873 thanks to the entrepreneurs and artists, the Nikitin brothers. At that time, only Russian artists worked in the circus. Penza was quite a bit ahead of Saratov, where the circus appeared almost at the same time. Interestingly, the first performances were very different from today's - circus performers performed right on the ice of the Sura River. The organizers put straw on the ice, froze the poles and stretched the tarpaulin - it turned out to be a good arena. In 1906, the Penza Circus received a winter wooden building. Alas, it did not last long - during the civil war it was destroyed.

The first performances in the Penza Circus were very different from today's ones - circus performers performed right on the ice of the Sura River. The organizers put straw on the ice, froze the poles and stretched the tarpaulin - it turned out to be a good arena.

By the way, performances in Penza were given often. The performances of Pyotr Krylov, who showed very complex acrobatic numbers, were very popular among Penza residents. In 1915, a troupe of Lilliputians visited the Penza Circus - people flocked to these unusual performances.

Then the Penza Circus had various temporary buildings and small buildings. Then the artists performed in the wooden tent "Red Guard", which was built by the society of red partisans. There were so many visitors that the city authorities in 1941 decided to erect a new building. However, plans and dreams collapsed - the Great Patriotic War began. Then up until the 1950s. shows were always held in different places - either near the bazaar, or on the square near the drama theater or the railwaymen's club.

By the way, it was in the Penza Circus that many famous artists began their careers. For example, the famous animal trainer Teresa Durova appeared on the stage of the Penza Circus more than once.

Immediately after receiving a diploma from the circus school, the clown Oleg Popov performed in Penza. By the way, this was his very first tour!

In 1965, the people of Penza had a real holiday - a new large circus was opened in the city, designed for 1400 visitors. It was the best production stage in the USSR. The artists toured all over the world with resounding success, in their native Penza the circus was always crowded.

In 2002, the circus was named after Teresa Durova, a representative of the famous circus dynasty. A talented trainer, despite her small stature - only 150 cm, brilliantly worked as an elephant tamer. In addition, Teresa came up with very interesting and complex numbers.

Today, artists of the Penza Circus successfully give performances not only in their native city, but throughout Russia. In 2012, a large-scale reconstruction began at the Penza Circus. The old building was partially dismantled, and on its basis, the construction of a new circus began with a huge stage, a transforming auditorium, comfortable dressing rooms and spacious rooms for animals.

How to get there

By public transport, the Circus stop can be reached by bus number 21, as well as by minibuses number 21 and number 9.

Address of the Penza circus: st. Plekhanov, 13.

The Penza circus can rightly bear the title of the Motherland of the Russian circus. Created by the famous circus performers and entrepreneurs, the Nikitin brothers, it received its first visitors in 1873. At that time in Russia it was the first stationary circus, the first performances of which took place right on the ice of the Sura River. Only Russian artists worked in the circus troupe - from this moment the history of the national circus begins.

For three decades - from 1920 to the 1950s, the circus did not have its own "home", and performances took place in various temporary buildings. Sometimes performances were held in a tent next to the drama theater, the railwaymen's club, and the city market. Only in 1965 a separate circus building was built, designed for 1400 spectators.

The history of the Penza circus has glorious pages. Shortly after the end of the war, a very young artist Oleg Popov, the future famous "solar clown", toured Penza. The career of Teresa Durova, a representative of the most famous circus dynasty, also began here. In recent years, the troupe of the Penza circus has been successfully touring not only in various cities of Russia, but also outside our country.

Sergey Vasin

Auditors of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation discovered financial violations during the construction of a very significant facility for the regional center last year. But to eliminate all violations, apparently, is still far away. We are talking about the Penza State Circus, in which hundreds of millions of budgetary rubles have already been invested.

An interesting trend, however. As soon as a major project is started in Russia, sooner or later it becomes surrounded by scandals. The new and still unfinished Penza circus was no exception. Today it is part of the state unitary enterprise "Rosgostsirk", as well as forty other similar stationary institutions throughout the country.

It is clear that over the long years of its existence, the Penza circus was subjected to only cosmetic repairs and it was difficult to meet modern requirements, although traditional sold-out reigned at all its performances.

But sooner or later, the reconstruction of the building located on Plekhanov Street had to be carried out. To do this, they even resettled the nearby barracks on Gladkov Street, built of old capital red brick. Somehow the residents were relocated, but the circus has not yet been built. Although in the estimate documentation the deadline for completion of construction is indicated in December 2015. As you know, it has ended, and all the deadlines, apparently, have been postponed to this year.

The Penza State Circus named after Teresa Durova is an object of federal significance, therefore, to all questions to journalists regarding its reconstruction, representatives of the regional Ministry of Housing and Public Utilities and Construction only languidly shrugged their shoulders: they say, we are just ordinary performers, dependent on the state budget.

And here is what the first faces of the city and the province at that time said about this.

“At the end of 2014, the circus should be commissioned. I hope that Penza will have its own good troupe that will be able to perform outside the region,” these are the words of the former mayor of Penza, and today the head of one of the Penza network companies, Roman Chernov.

“Behind deadlines is bad. It is necessary to increase the pace and work in several shifts. Get more workers." And this is a quote from the speech of the former governor Vasily Bochkarev. Even then it was clear that in 2014 the people of Penza would not receive any stationary circus. But the owners of tent circuses are still rejoicing. They sell their tickets with a bang.

According to the regional prosecutor's office, at a construction site on Plekhanov Street, 13, the low quality of concreting of monolithic structures was revealed. The concrete has not been sufficiently compacted in the formwork, etc. In relation to one of the officials of Volgozhilstroy LLC, prosecutors issued a decision to initiate a case on violation of mandatory requirements in the field of construction and the use of building materials. As a result of the consideration of the case, he was sentenced to a fine of 20 thousand rubles, which, in principle, is already ridiculous.

It is noteworthy that there are a great many "Volgozhilstroev" throughout the Volga region. They are in Nizhny Novgorod, and in Saransk, etc. And all these organizations are somehow connected with construction. But in this case, we are not interested in their geographical reference, but in the question: why did the construction of the Penza circus take so long.

There are interesting documents on this subject. Namely, the reports of the Accounts Chamber of Russia and the Collegium of the Ministry of Culture based on the results of checking the validity, effectiveness and targeted use of federal budget funds, extra-budgetary sources and federal property aimed at implementing the activities provided for by the Concept for the Development of Circus Business in the Russian Federation.

“Issues related to the implementation of the activities of the federal target program “Culture of Russia” in terms of budget investments in the facilities of the Russian State Circus were discussed separately. In particular, there were risks of non-fulfillment of measures for a number of facilities on time, including the Reconstruction of the Penza State Circus facility (commissioning date under the contract is December 2015).

As the audit showed, the construction of the Penza Circus in 2012-2014 was carried out by the contractor according to the working documentation that did not comply with the design and estimate documents that passed the examination. As a result, the estimated calculation has changed, which, according to the negative conclusion of Glavgosexpertiza, can increase the cost of work by almost 500 million rubles. At the same time, the organization that carried out construction control did not record the fact that work was carried out on the documentation that did not pass the examination. In turn, the Russian State Circus did not recover funds for improper execution of the construction control agreement (100 thousand rubles for each identified case).

And here is another quote from the speech of the Chairman of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation Tatyana Golikova at a meeting of the Council under the President of Russia on Combating Corruption: inconsistent with the original summary estimate. As a result, the cost of works paid for by the Russian State Circus, with the same volumes, increased by more than 170 million rubles.”

In general, a circus is a circus, and finances are finances. In the end, it will be built, about which the governor Ivan Belozertsev swore to the Penza residents. But how much it will eventually cost taxpayers is another question. However, the laughter of children is priceless. No amount of money can value it.

The Penza circus is considered the property of all Russia. After all, this provincial city of Central Russia is the birthplace of the circus. The first circus premises appeared here at the end of the 19th century. Since then, Penza has been considered one of the Russian centers of circus excellence. Various festivals are held here, the city is visited by the best circus groups.

Currently, the troupe of the Penza Circus successfully tours around the world. In their hometown, their performances can be seen infrequently. Now the building of the Penza Circus is under a long reconstruction. Performances of touring troupes can only be watched during the warmer months at temporary venues.

Price of tickets to the Penza circus

Tickets to the Penza Circus can be purchased at the city's spectacular box office. The cost of visiting each performance is different, as are preferential conditions. It all depends on the prices of the touring troupe. Before the official opening, you need to find out the prices for tickets to the Penza circus on the websites of the organizers of the performances (usually the “Buy a ticket” option is available there) or on city portals.

Temporary sites

Since the circus in Penza has not yet been built in 2019, performances by circus groups take place at temporary venues. Most often, a temporary dome is installed at the Collage shopping mall.

The following performances are planned for 2019:

• Circus on the water. One of the largest traveling circuses in Europe will perform in Penza until September. In 2019, the water circus in Penza near the Collage will present a show lasting 2 hours and 20 minutes. You can buy tickets to the water circus in Penza at the city ticket offices and special online portals, as well as on the official website of the water circus. In 2019, the circus on the water in Penza is a show with the participation of marine animals, aerial acrobats, and fire tamers. Also in the program is an attraction with soap bubbles and a show of multi-colored fountains.

• Circus Arts Festival. The Volga region festival "Territory of Miracles" will be held for the first time, on September 8. Throughout the day, guests will be able to watch the competitive program for free, and at the end of the day - a gala concert with a show program.

Construction of the Penza Circus

To date, the Penza Circus is under reconstruction. Construction work was supposed to be completed in 2013, but the reconstruction was delayed, plans were revised, and a new date was set. The project is currently scheduled for completion in December 2020. The first performance is scheduled for early 2021. Large-scale construction will cost the city budget 1 billion 267 million rubles.

According to the project, it is planned to leave part of the old building and make new buildings. Next to the circus there will be a five-story hotel for visiting artists, the dome of the circus will “grow” somewhat. The size of the arena will remain the generally accepted standard. The new Penza circus will accommodate 1,400 spectators. For animals, more spacious enclosures on two floors will be built, as well as a veterinary hospital with an operating room. The lobby will have separate cafes for adults and children, recreation areas, playgrounds for the little ones.

News about the progress of construction work and the exact date of opening can be tracked on the official website of the Penza Circus or on the websites of the Penza media.

Story

In a few years the Russian national circus will celebrate its 150th anniversary. And it all started in 1873 on the ice surface of the Sura, where circus artists Nikitin, Akim, Dmitry and Peter, showed their first performance. The circus room was made simply. The poles frozen into the ice were covered with canvas on top. The arena was identified with the help of sheaves laid out in a circle. This is how the first stationary circus tent appeared in Russia, and only Russian artists performed in it.

In 1906, a wooden circus building appeared in Penza, where gymnasts and clowns showed performances all year round. It stood until the Civil War. Famous circus performers of that time performed in the arena of this circus. For example, the trainers Durovs toured in Penza, and the famous Nikitin brothers, Dmitry, Akim and Peter, were also here, who performed on stage as an athlete, juggler and trapeze gymnast. Residents of Penza also saw the performances of Pyotr Krylov, nicknamed the King of weights. In the arena, he could bend nails, coins, lift several adults at once. In 1915, a group of Lilliputians came to the circus.

After the revolution, the Penza Circus did not have a permanent building for a long time. The performances took place in small temporary structures and summer tents, which were installed in the square near the drama theater, next to the market and in other crowded places. For example, on Pushkin Street for several years there was a circus tent "Krasnogvardeets", in which artists from Penza itself performed. Circus art in the USSR developed, the public showed more and more interest in it, and a small room no longer accommodated everyone. Just before the war, it was decided to build a large stationary building, but the plans were interrupted by the war.

The war ended, and the city began to live a peaceful life again. And although there were difficult post-war years, the circus again opened its doors to the audience. Here in Penza famous trainers Durovs, Valentin Filatov performed. Nikolai Akimovich Nikitin, the son of one of the legendary founders of the Russian circus, also entered the arena. The inhabitants of Penza also saw the first clown numbers of the famous Oleg Popov, who had just graduated from the circus school. The wooden building stood in Penza until 1959, and for the next six years the circus performers performed in a light tent located on Glory Street.

The arena of the Penza Circus also became a concert venue, where performances by the most famous pop artists of the Soviet Union were successfully staged. There were also competitions in various sports: boxing, fights without rules and others. In 2002, the Penza Circus was named after Teresa Durova, the granddaughter of the famous circus artist Anatoly Leonidovich Durov. Initially, she worked with mixed groups of animals, and then began to enter the arena with trained elephants. And this despite the fact that she had a small height, only 150 cm. And, finally, in 1965 the city received its stationary circus building, designed for 1400 seats. Not every major city in the Soviet Union could boast of such a large and modern building. Penza circus artists created amazingly bright and colorful performances, major programs were also released, such as "Trained Tigers", "Bicycle Parade" and others. Artists from Penza were also applauded by foreign audiences in America, India, Germany and other countries. Every year, the circus collected large box office receipts.

Panoramic view of the construction site of the Penza Circus (as of 2017)

How to get to the circus in Penza

The building of the circus under construction is located in the city center, in the Leninsky district. Pushkin Square is located in the quarter, and Lenin Square is a 10-minute walk away.

The Circus stop can be reached by minibus No. 21. Much more public transport runs to the Marshal Zhukov Square (Plekhanov Street) stop, located a 5-minute walk from the Penza Circus:

• trolleybus № 1;
• fixed-route taxis No. 1v, 21, 39, 63.

Taxi in Penza can be called through applications for smartphones: Yandex. Taxi, Uber Russia, RuTaxi.

Report on the construction of the Penza circus