Sundur is a village in the Igrinsky district of the Udmurt Republic. Center of Sundursky rural settlement.
Center of Udmurt culture in the village of Sundur
st. Selskaya, 4
On the territory of the Center there is a wooden hut with a working
stove and expositions that tell about the culture of the Udmurt people
on the example of the women's and men's halls, reflecting the life and
skill of people. The women's hall shows a traditional loom and woven
products made on it, as well as a large number of household items. The
men's hall is presented through a variety of carpentry tools used in
those days and objects made with it. Cooking master classes are held in
the guest area, followed by tasting of national dishes and drinks. In
the courtyard there are traditional outbuildings of the Udmurts - a
barn-kenos (summer unheated dwelling), a bathhouse, a storehouse-a place
for storing agricultural equipment, and the courtyard itself is a play
and entertainment area for guests of the center. A distinctive feature
of the Center is that everything in it is alive: from Lopsho Pedun, the
hero of Udmurt fairy tales, to the surrounding museum items. You can not
just look at the exhibits, but plunge into the atmosphere of Udmurt
hospitality, be surprised at the work of the master and the ingenuity of
the people, do something similar under the mentorship of the masters and
Lopsho Pedun.
Museum. CM. Strelkova
st. Lenina, bld. 36
The museum was opened
on November 8, 1997, in honor of the 80th anniversary of Spiridon
Mikhailovich Strelkov, Hero of the Soviet Union, a native of the village
of Zura.
The museum has more than 809 exhibits of the main fund
and a large number of scientific and auxiliary ones. There is a
permanent exhibition.
Expositions, exhibitions are arranged,
museum classes are held with students, meetings with creative people,
veterans, excursions. When conducting excursions, events, various forms
of work are used: meetings, lessons, educational and game programs for
children and adults. There are also sightseeing tours around the village
of Zura, individual and for organized groups, where you can see the
picturesque nature and ancient architecture.
Museum "Igrinsky
patterns"
Stepnoy per., bld. 2
Museum "Egra Puzhios" ("Igry
Patterns") was founded in 2002.
The exposition is based on
ethnographic materials made by Igrin masters of the late 19th and early
20th centuries. The only unique weaving exposition in Udmurtia was
collected during expeditions around the region and includes more than
150 tablecloths. Some examples of towels, bedspreads and sets of clothes
worn in the Igrinsky district, stuffings and blocks for a loom are of
solid age - more than 100 years.
Household items, tools continue
the ethnographic exposition in creative workshops organized at the
museum. Museum staff continue expeditions around the Igrinsky district
to replenish the fund with new exhibits, visiting the settlements of the
district, receiving and recording information about the methods and
topographic features of weaving in individual regions of the district.
During your visit to the museum you have the opportunity to:
try
on an old Udmurt costume, see modern clothes in ethnic style;
feel
like a craftsman and weave a fabric on an old loom;
leave a photo for
yourself;
visit a souvenir shop.
Pre-Modern History and Regional Context
The history of Sundur is
inextricably linked to the broader history of the Udmurt people and
their homeland, Udmurtia. Archaeological evidence suggests that the
Udmurt, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group (also historically known as Votyaks),
have inhabited the region since at least the 9th century AD, with roots
tracing back to earlier Permian cultures. The area around what is now
Sundur was part of the forested and riverine landscapes settled by these
indigenous communities, who engaged in agriculture, hunting, fishing,
and craftsmanship. By the 14th-15th centuries, the southern Udmurts,
including those in the vicinity of modern Igrinsky District, fell under
the influence of the Volga Bulgar state and later the Khanate of Kazan,
a Tatar-dominated polity that controlled much of the Middle Volga
region. This period saw the Udmurts adopting some Turkic cultural
elements while maintaining their Finno-Ugric language and pagan
traditions.
In 1552, following Ivan the Terrible's conquest of Kazan,
the region came under Russian control, marking the beginning of
Muscovite expansion into the Volga-Ural area. Southern Udmurt
territories, including areas near Sundur, were annexed by the Moscow
Principality in 1489, with full integration by the mid-16th century.
Under Russian rule, the Udmurts experienced gradual Russification,
Orthodox Christian missionary efforts, and incorporation into the
imperial administrative system. Villages like Sundur (possibly referred
to historically as Bolshoi Sundur, meaning "Big Sundur" to distinguish
from smaller nearby settlements) emerged as rural communities focused on
subsistence farming, timber, and local trades. The name "Sundur" itself
may derive from Udmurt linguistic roots, though specific etymology is
not well-documented in available sources.
During the imperial era,
the region was part of the Vyatka Governorate, with limited
industrialization until the late 19th century. Udmurt villages
maintained strong communal traditions, including folk arts like weaving,
woodworking, and seasonal rituals tied to their ancient pagan beliefs,
which blended with Christianity over time.
Revolutionary and
Soviet Era
The early 20th century brought turmoil to Sundur and the
surrounding areas amid the Russian Revolution and Civil War. A notable
incident occurred on September 27, 1917, in the village of Bolshoi
Sundur (likely the same as modern Sundur), within the Zapolskii volost
(a local administrative unit). Amid widespread food shortages and
agitation against the Provisional Government's grain monopoly policies,
local unrest escalated into violence. The chairman of the volost food
administration was tortured and killed by agitated villagers, reflecting
broader rural discontent during the revolutionary period. This event was
part of the larger food supply crises that contributed to the Bolshevik
rise to power.
Following the 1917 October Revolution, the Udmurt
territories were reorganized. In 1920, the Votyak Autonomous Oblast was
established, renamed the Udmurt Autonomous Oblast in 1932, and elevated
to the Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (UASSR) in 1934.
Sundur, as part of the Igrinsky District (formed in the 1920s),
experienced Soviet collectivization in the 1930s, which disrupted
traditional Udmurt agrarian life through forced farm consolidations,
purges, and famines. The district and village contributed to the Soviet
war effort during World War II, with many residents serving in the Red
Army.
A prominent figure connected to the area is Spiridon
Mikhailovich Strelkov (1917-1943), a Hero of the Soviet Union born in
the nearby village of Zura. Strelkov, a tank commander, earned his title
posthumously for heroic actions during the Battle of Kursk in 1943. His
legacy underscores the village's ties to Soviet military history.
Post-war, Sundur remained a rural agricultural settlement within the
UASSR, benefiting from Soviet infrastructure developments like roads and
collective farms. The region saw some industrialization in nearby Igra,
but Sundur stayed focused on local economy and culture.
Post-Soviet Period and Modern Developments
With the dissolution of
the Soviet Union in 1991, the Udmurt ASSR became the Udmurt Republic
(Udmurtia) within the Russian Federation, adopting its current
constitution in 1994. Sundur transitioned into the post-Soviet era with
efforts to revive Udmurt identity amid economic challenges.
A key
milestone was the establishment of the Center of Udmurt Culture on
November 1, 1996, based on the local history room of the Sundur House of
Culture. Initiated by A.G. Chirkov, head of the Igrinsky Department of
Culture, it functions as an open-air ethnographic museum dedicated to
preserving Udmurt traditions. The center features a traditional wooden
hut with expositions on daily life, including looms, woven goods,
household items, carpentry tools, and outbuildings like barns,
bathhouses, and storehouses. Visitors can participate in master classes
on national cuisine, folk crafts, and interactive experiences with
Udmurt folklore figures like Lopsho Pedun.
In 1997, the S.M. Strelkov
Museum opened in Sundur on Lenin Street to commemorate the 80th
anniversary of the hero's birth. It houses over 800 exhibits, including
permanent displays on his life, wartime artifacts, and educational
programs. The museum organizes excursions to Zura, highlighting local
nature and architecture.
Another cultural institution, the "Igrinsky
Patterns" Museum, was founded in 2002 on Stepnoy Lane. It showcases late
19th- and early 20th-century ethnographic items from Igrinsky masters,
with a focus on weaving (over 150 textiles, antique looms, clothing, and
tools). The museum conducts workshops, expeditions for new artifacts,
and offers activities like trying on traditional Udmurt costumes and
weaving.
Today, Sundur exemplifies rural Udmurtia's emphasis on
cultural tourism and heritage preservation. The village participates in
regional traditions, such as dumpling festivals (perepechi and pelmeni
are local staples), and benefits from Udmurtia's broader economy,
including defense industries and natural resources. However, like many
Russian villages, it faces challenges from depopulation and
modernization. Udmurt pagan revival movements, like Udmurt Vos (founded
1994), have some presence in the republic, potentially influencing local
customs. Overall, Sundur's history reflects the resilience of Udmurt
culture within the sweeping tides of Russian imperial, Soviet, and
federal narratives.
The village is located on the 96th kilometer of the P321
highway "Izhevsk-Igra-Glazov", 3 km south of the regional center - the
village of Igra.
Not far from the village flows the river Loza.
Streets
The streets of Volodarsky, Lenin, Timiryazev,
Oktyabrskaya, Industrial, Industrial, Youth, Rural, Kolkhoznaya,
Polevaya, Rodnikovaya, Traktovaya (part of the P321 road), as well as
Kuznechny lane are laid across the territory of the village.
In order to preserve, revive, develop and promote the Udmurt
national culture, folk art of the Udmurts living in the Igrinsky
district, on November 1, 1996, the Udmurt Culture Center was created on
the basis of the local history room of the Sundur House of Culture,
which is a kind of architectural and ethnographic open-air museum. The
center was established on the initiative of the head of the Igrinsky
department of culture A. G. Chirkov on the basis of the local history
room of the Sundur House of Culture.
This is a kind of
architectural and ethnographic open-air museum. It was created in order
to preserve, revive, develop and promote the Udmurt national culture,
folk art of the Udmurts living in the Igrinsky district.