The village of Aksakovo in Mainsky District, Ulyanovsk Region, is preparing to implement Aksakov's Radonezh: A Path to the Cherished Flower. In 2026, the project won the 11th national competition for the best projects to create a comfortable urban environment. Implementation is planned for 2027.
For IKTR, this case matters for more than its competition success. Aksakovo demonstrates a different approach to development. It begins by asking what is already valuable here, and how that value can be preserved, revealed and made part of contemporary life.
A place that cannot begin with a blank slate
Aksakovo is associated with the family of the writer Sergey Timofeyevich Aksakov. His ancestors lived here, and he visited the family estate many times. It was from the local housekeeper, Pelageya, that he heard the story of The Scarlet Flower, which he later adapted into literature.
Parts of the historic estate landscape survive, including a lime-tree avenue and mature pines. The site contains a late-19th-century Aksakov family residence, with Trinity Church nearby.
The entire project area lies within a historic settlement of regional significance. The design must therefore respect its historic layout, views, cultural landscape and heritage protection requirements.
The task extends beyond improving an existing park. It is about preserving the memory of the place, making it understandable to people today, and creating a space that supports everyday life.
Research comes first
The concept grew from research into Aksakovo's history, archival material, the existing landscape and the ways the site is used.
Engagement with residents formed a separate strand of the work. Design workshops explored more than requests for improvements: residents shared stories about the village, its traditions and places that mattered to them. These accounts gradually shaped the vision for the site.
A distinct design code emerged from this material.
The Scarlet Flower became its central image, appearing in the colour palette, graphics, wayfinding, artworks and planting. The identity also uses the letter A, literary references, natural imagery and elements of Aksakov family history.
The visual identity therefore continues the story of the place, rather than simply decorating the improvements.
Landscape as heritage
Working with existing vegetation is one of the project's most important elements.
The lime-tree avenue and mature pines are treated as the core of the historic estate landscape. Plans include arboricultural surveys, tree inventories, sanitary pruning, treatment of damage, root protection, replacement planting and long-term monitoring.
The trees themselves will become part of the visitor experience through interpretation, guided routes and opportunities to tell the estate's history through its surviving landscape.
This approach creates new public space around the existing heritage.
A space for every season
The estate covers approximately 47,600 m², with 19,200 m² included in the first phase of improvements.
The first phase establishes a complete functional core: an entrance area, walking routes, quiet recreation, an event space, workshops, food services, commercial uses and operational facilities.
The layout includes two principal routes.
The first, the Avenue of Tales, passes through the historic landscape and connects the site to Aksakov's literary legacy. Artworks along the route refer to the writer's works and interests.
The second leads to the event space, workshops, dining venue and other public facilities.
The scheme also includes the Family Chronicle and Window to the Future artworks, a semicircular rotunda stage, a mill and a Scarlet Flower garden. The masterplan connects these elements with the museum, historic avenues and the prospect of restoring the wider estate complex.
Beyond public-space improvements: the local economy
The project includes uses intended both to attract visitors and encourage longer stays in Aksakovo.
Workshops could host crafts and classes; the dining venue could provide food services; and the mill could sell local products. The event space creates opportunities for cultural programming and a longer visitor season.
Public space is thus considered part of the area's economic model.
The project documentation forecasts increased visitor numbers, small-business development, job creation and new commercial uses. These outcomes will need to be assessed after implementation.
Four funding sources
The total project cost is RUB 117 million, combining: • RUB 73.2 million from the federal budget; • RUB 30.48 million from the regional budget; • RUB 6.32 million from the municipal budget; • RUB 7 million in non-budgetary funding.
Winning the national competition secured a federal grant of RUB 73.2 million. The remaining amount comes from regional, municipal and private co-funding.
Lessons for other municipalities
Aksakovo shows how several areas of development can form one connected system: heritage → identity → landscape → public space → events → tourism → the local economy.
In this approach, heritage becomes a development resource as well as a set of responsibilities.
That is particularly important for small settlements. They often cannot — and need not — compete through the scale of new infrastructure. Their strength may lie in local history, natural landscapes, culture and experiences that cannot simply be reproduced elsewhere.
IKTR's role
The project was developed by an interdisciplinary team involving the Mainsky District administration, Vander architectural practice, economic specialists from Productive City and the Institute for Integrated Territorial Development.
IKTR General Director Karina Astaplyuk served as project administrator and coordinated preparation of the competition entry.
For IKTR, Aksakovo confirms a central principle of integrated territorial development: development begins by understanding what is already valuable in a place. Architecture, economics and new ways of living should strengthen that value.
Aksakov's Radonezh demonstrates how even a small historic settlement can build its future around its own distinctive character.