Восстановление музея-заповедника «Царское село» после войны. Рассказывает М. Рядова

Restoration work began in the summer of 1944, with the clearing of rubble and debris. Everything in the palace halls was also dismantled and sorted. Museum staff tried to determine what belonged to the Catherine Palace, what belonged to the park pavilions, and what might have even been brought from Pavlovsk. This was the beginning of the restoration work. At the same time, demining work was carried out in the parks. Leningraders made a significant contribution to the restoration, performing a colossal job of clearing the rubble. It's worth remembering that the Nazis left behind large cemeteries: one, for example, was located in front of the Alexander Palace, with graves on lawns and slopes. To clear this "hellish" tangle, community service days were organized. Museum staff dug up sculptures from their hiding places in the parks and found other museum items scattered throughout the parks. Anatoly Mikhailovich Kuchumov drew up a search schedule outlining what needed to be done. Initially, the work centered around the palace and in the parks, then moved into the city. There, they searched for anything related to the museum. Then the search continued within the city limits, moving to nearby villages: Antropshino, Pavlovsk, and Tyarlevo. Everything found was returned to its proper place. Such was the first summer after the war.