Architectural sights of Uzunkol district.

“... until my overnight stay in the village of Presnogorkovskaya, where I arrived at 9 pm, accompanied. On the occasion of the last day of my stay in the Siberian army in this village, a treat was prepared for the population and illumination in the evening. I stayed in a good stone house of a Cossack: at the entrance there were two guards of honor: from fifty preferential and St. George cavaliers of the 1st department. Had lunch at 9 1/2 o'clock. I left at 8 o’clock, yesterday’s gang and Cossacks with a badge accompanied me to the very border. An Arch and a pillar were built on the border. Behind them began the Orenburg province.”

Diary of Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov, future Tsar Nicholas II. July, 1891.

Tsarevich Nicholas in Kazakhstan.

The foundation and walls of the preserved house of Vasily Kladenov are located at an altitude of 162 meters above sea level, located in the central part of the village, between two lakes – Presnoye and Gorkoye, 278 meters from the northwestern shore of Lake Presnoye and 144 meters from the lake located in the northern part of the village, 365 meters northeast of St. Nicholas Church in the village of Presnogoryevka, Uzunkol district in the northeastern part of the Kostanay region. 
Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov arrived in Presnogoryevka on July 9, 1891 at 9 o’clock yesterday. A lot has been written about this visit, so let’s focus on the most important. The house of Vasily Kladenov, in which Tsarevich Nicholas stayed for one night, at that time was located on Cossack Square.
Back in 2003, a wooden extension was attached to the brick building, the roof was covered with slate over the iron. In 2006, the house burned down, the fire destroyed the roof, ceiling, and floor. The last owner of the house was Cossack Yakov Vasilyevich Kladenov, born in 1885.
He was dispossessed in January 1930, and at the end of the year he was shot in the city of Kurgan for “preparing an armed uprising” under Article 58/10. After 1917, the building was given over to the volost executive committee, a clinic, and a skating rink. During the use of the house for pimokatu, the interior was destroyed, machines for felting felt boots were installed in the house.
Geographic coordinates of Vasily Kladenov house in village of Presnogoryevka: N54°30'01 E65°45'55

Memoirs of Nikolai Simonov about stay of Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov in Presnogorkovsky.

By the time the Sovereign Tsarevich arrived in Presnogorkovsk, here, as well as in Novorybinsk, representatives of the village with bread and salt stood on the right side of the entrance to the house: to the right of them were schoolchildren and schoolgirls with their mentors and trustees, and on the other side of the porch a guard of honor was lined up from preferential Cossacks with orderlies; Another fifty, made up of cavaliers, constables and Cossacks, participants in the Khiva and Kokand campaigns, stood right there.
These honorable old men, decorated with insignia of a military order and medals, positively attracted the attention of all visitors, and there were so many of them that the square in front of the Tsarevich’s apartment was literally overflowing with people.
At about 8 o'clock in the evening, the Tsarevich entered Presnogorkovsk. In Presnogorkovsk, centurion D.S. Kalachev and his lower ranks built two arches in front and beautifully decorated the square in front of Kladenov’s house. 
He was accompanied by a convoy platoon, and Wartkin with a badge was galloping next to the carriage. Emerging from the carriage, His Highness greeted the guard of honor; Having then received the orderlies, the Emperor made the old people happy:
- “Great, well done!” - his wonderful voice sounded.
- “We wish your Imperial Highness good health!” - as one person, the cavaliers answered, and then their mighty, fighting “hurray” merged with the cries of the people.
Here the August Ataman let the Cossacks pass by. It was necessary to see how well done the old gentlemen were and how happy they were when the Emperor again made them happy with the words:
- “Thank you, well done.”
Having then accepted the bread and salt and graciously thanked the bearers for this, His Highness approached the student children, who greeted him with the folk anthem. From here, the August Ataman proceeded to the house, where all the authorities were invited to dinner, as well as the chief of the honor guard, Yesaul Nazarov, and orderly Kalachev.
At the same time, the square in front of the Tsarevich’s house was illuminated with lights. Garlands of multi-colored lanterns, monograms and banners with initials. His Highnesses and a mass of flags of various sizes gave the square a very beautiful appearance.
Meanwhile, in the pavilion and on tables placed in different places, the people began treating people to tea with cookies, sweets, beer and honey. Conversation and merriment could be heard everywhere. From time to time, rolls of “hurray” were heard.
These were toasts to the precious health of the Sovereign Emperor, Mother Tsarina and Most August Ataman. His Highness had not yet finished dinner when the villagers gathered in a circle and began to sing their native tunes; The Cossack women followed their example - they formed a round dance.
A little to the side, someone was snatching a “Cossack” for a violin with a bandura and a snaffle. Only closer to the house, silently, without hats, stood the old men; they did not take part in the general fun, it did not interest them; their thoughts were focused on the windows of the house in which the Heir to the Throne was located.
They waited for Him and it was not in vain; after dinner, the Tsarevich went out onto the porch. With what a mighty “hurray” His people greeted Him and how happy these gray-haired old men were that once again they had the opportunity to see the Dear, Welcome Guest; they prayed and blessed Him.
That evening and night the behavior of the crowd was beyond praise. After it was announced that the Tsarevich had gone to bed, the people began to go home; the square was empty and not only songs, but also loud talking could not be heard.
This is how the crowd behaved in the morning, until it was known that the August Traveler had gotten up. Before leaving Presnogorkovsk, His Highness demanded the chairman of the military board and the ataman of the 1st department to his apartment.
Having graciously thanked everyone for the warm welcome and order that was maintained during His Highness’s passage along the line, the Tsarevich once again deigned to express his gratitude to the ataman of the 1st Department for the excellent condition of the regiments that were presented to His Highness in Omsk.
Immediately, the Sovereign Tsarevich handed over his portraits to Colonels Simonov and Katanaev with the handwritten signature “Nicholas 1891”. At about 7 ½ o'clock in the morning, His Highness, with the enthusiastic cries of the people, rode on."

Note:
Nikolai Simonov - ataman of the First Military Department, colonel, was responsible for receiving the Tsarevich during the period of his stay of the Steppe Territory directly in the department subordinate to him and received gratitude for the excellent condition of the villages. The spelling of the text has been preserved.

A song about trip of Tsarevich (song was recorded from words of a Cossack woman by Sergei Vinichenko).

In the ninety-first year the news spread among the people,
That the Tsar's son Nicholas will visit our Steppe region,
What will he look at the villages, the dashing Cossacks in the bright room.
Soon the army received an order that they wanted to see us
Our dear Ataman, the young Tsarevich.
We never expected this, we never knew such joy.
People crowded in masses and rushed to the city of Omsk.
Here are the bosses - fathers, here are the Siberian Cossacks.
The regimental commander brought us to meet.
Our brigadier ataman is Simonov’s commander himself.
He only said two words to us and raised everyone’s delight.
They placed us all in white stone chambers
Those centuries-old chambers are large and not rich
There is a huge garden in front of the window, and behind the garden is God’s house.
But we don’t care about anything here, the main thing was
To wait for the prince, I would like to meet him personally.
We got what we wanted, met the ataman
We were at the royal parades and received gratitude
And then they clubbed in the garden and drank Tsarsko beer with honey.
So the prince said goodbye and went home to St. Petersburg
He flew through the villages, wanted to see everything everywhere
Young and old met him and saw him off with tears
We will not forget the ninety-first year to the grave.
And then they clubbed in the garden and drank Tsarsko beer with honey.
So the prince said goodbye and went home to St. Petersburg
He flew through the villages, wanted to see everything everywhere
Young and old met him and saw him off with tears
We will not forget the ninety-first year to the grave.

Authority and black and white photos: 
Writer-historian Sergei Vinichenko. 
“He flew through the villages, wanted to see everything everywhere,” published in the newspaper “Arguments and Facts. Kazakhstan" No. 4, 2005). 
https://pkzsk.info/puteshestvie-cesarevicha-nikolaya-po-stepnomu-krayu/

Color photos by: 
Alexander Petrov. July 2023.