Repino

Repino ( _ru. Репино) is a municipal settlement in Kurortny District of Saint Petersburg, Russia, and a station of the Saint Petersburg-Vyborg railroad. It was known by its Finnish name Kuokkala until 1948, when it was renamed after its most famous inhabitant, Ilya Yefimovich Repin. It is located approximately km to mi|30 northwest of the main portion of Saint Petersburg, [http://www.petersburg.aktuell.ru/petersburg/sehenswert/ausflug/repino_zu_gast_beim_grossen_meister_9.html de icon Petersburg-Aktuell, "Repino: Zu Gast beim großen Meister"] , retrieved on 25 May 2007.] on the Karelian Isthmus on the shore of the Gulf of Finland. Population: 2,011 (2002 Census); 4,215 (1989 Census). The settlement is known for Repin's estate "Penaty" and for its sanatorium.

History

At the beginning of the 20th century, Repino (then Kuokkala) was located in the Grand Duchy of Finland, a part of the Russian Empire. Shortly after the October Revolution in 1917, Finland declared its independence from the Soviet Union. When the Karelian Isthmus was ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Winter War and the Continuation War (1939–1944), Kuokkala became Russian. In 1948, it was renamed Repino in honor of the painter Ilya Repin.

Penates

In 1899, Repin bought an estate here and called it "Penaty" ( _ru. Пенаты, meaning Penates, Roman household gods). He designed his own house, and after it had been built several years later, Repin moved to Kuokkala. He would live there until his death in 1930. The house is surrounded by a large park.

The estate is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments". [ [http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/540/multiple=1&unique_number=635 Unesco World Heritage Site "Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments"] , retrieved 25 May 2007.] The estate has been a museum since 1940. [ [http://www.russianmuseums.info/M267 Info on the museum "Penates"] , retrieved 25 May 2007.]

Famous inhabitants

*Ilya Repin lived in Kuokkala from the beginning of the 20th century until his death in 1930.
*Ivan Puni, avant-garde artist, was born in Kuokkala in 1894.
*Mikhail Botvinnik, World chess champion, was born in Kuokkala in 1911.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.repino.spb.ru/ ru icon Sanatorium "Repino"]
* [http://www.eikonikon.nl/bulletin/2003/repin2.php nl icon Eikonikon Bulletin about Ilya Repin]