Today, the Kashchenko mental hospital is the main center of neuropsychiatric research in Russia. Since 1994, the institution has been renamed the Moscow Psychiatric Hospital No. 1 named after Nikolai Aleksandrovich Alekseev. But the people still call her simply "Kashchenko" - by the name of Pyotr Petrovich Kashchenko (photo below), the former chief physician of this hospital. The address of the Kashchenko psychiatric hospital in Moscow: Zagorodnoye shosse, house number 2. The specialists of the institution are engaged in all kinds of medical and psychological examinations, conduct all types of examinations and examinations.
The background of the appearance of the Kashchenko mental hospital
At the beginning of the 20th century, there was only one hospital for the mentally ill in Moscow. The Preobrazhenskaya hospital could not provide assistance to all those in need, and therefore a proposal was put forward to build a new building or hospital for the needs of the population. The initiative was taken up by two well-known researchers - Viktor Butske and Sergei Korsakov. Financing was not issued by the state, and therefore the money had to be sought from private individuals.
Main investors
Donations were collected from the entire population of Moscow, which made it possible to accumulate 25 thousand rubles. With such a pace, construction could have dragged on for many years, if not for the help of patrons. The first such benefactor was Nazarov Tikhon Ilyich, who contributed a significant at that time 25 thousand rubles. His confidence in the project made it possible to find more influential and we althy investors.
Infusions continued to flow, and the well-known merchant family Baev joined the project, which contributed 200 thousand rubles to the construction account. Around the same time, the manufacturer Timofey Morozov donated another 100,000 rubles. The collected amount reached half a million, after which the process of designing the building began.
A year later, in 1890, two more big investors appeared. They soon joined the construction. Thanks to Flor Ermakov and Evgeny Kun, two additional buildings were opened and named after them.
The total amount of money collected has reached one million rubles. A memorial stone still stands on the territory of the Kashchenko mental hospital to this day. The names of all benefactors and patrons are carved on it.
Opening of Kashchenko mental hospital
Work on the construction of the building began in May 1889. The start was given at a meeting of public figures. At the meeting, issues were resolved that related to the location of the mental hospital, the focus of activities, and who will take new vacancies inmental hospital Kashchenko. There were not many suitable places for such buildings in Moscow. The hospital was built on the territory of the former estate of the famous collector Beketov. This place was bought by the merchant Ivan Kanatchikov, and therefore the estate was called "Kanatchikov's cottage". It is interesting that Vysotsky made a reference to this place in one of his songs:
Dear transmission!
Saturday almost crying
The whole Kanatchikov dacha
To the TV rushed.
Instead of eating, washing, Inject and forget, The Whole Crazy Hospital
Gathered at the screen.
Many manufactories and industries were tried to be built on the territory of the estate, but they all went bankrupt.
An architecture plan was established on the allocated 60 hectares of land, which was developed by the city government. According to the plan formed by Viktor Butske, the specificity of the building is the construction of two-story stone buildings, united by long and warm corridors. The project of the architect Leonid Vasiliev also provided for the design of the mental hospital in the neo-Russian style, the facade is replete with various forms of ancient Russian architecture.
The grand opening of the Kashchenko mental hospital took place on May 12, 1894. On the same day, the building was consecrated, and Viktor Butske became the chief physician. In the period from 1899 to 1904, 2 additional buildings were completed, as well as hospital workshops. The architect of these structures was Alexander Meisner.
Location of buildings
Aftercompletion of all construction and facing works, all buildings were brought into full working order. The bulk of the main buildings were laid on an elevated plot of the dacha, which made it possible to build houses for the hospital staff in a more convenient space. The road that led to the hospital yard divided the entire territory into two parts. To the east were the houses of the attendants, and to the west were the hospital buildings, as well as workshops. On the back side of the main building there were hospital service buildings, including a laundry, a dining room and a bathhouse. All departments of the economic building were divided into two groups, according to the gender of the patients.
Pavilion system
Each half included four pavilions. The first of them was united by a warm passage to the administration building, which ensured the fastest examination of newly arrived patients. Slightly higher were the more calm patients, who did not present any particular difficulties in caring for them. Another one was added to the building - identical. Its lower tier was intended for the treatment of debilitated patients. On the floor above lay calm patients. From the second building there was a warm passage to the third, in which violent patients lay. From this building one could get into a small wing, where the most neglected mental patients were kept.
The first three buildings are considered departments of a psychiatric hospital, each of which provided from 23 to 27 beds. Each department can work independently of the others and carry outtheir activities autonomously. Near the sleeping rooms there is a room in which the patients are located in the daytime. Near the dining room there was a buffet, behind which there is a staircase. She leads to the kitchen. In addition to large common rooms, each department had five special wards for violent and restless patients. Annexes for high-risk patients are also equipped with five separate rooms.
Patients under patronage
At the time of the opening of the Kashchenko psychiatric hospital, the patronage system was widespread. It is noteworthy that such a gentle and effective technology for treating patients was not used anywhere else in pre-revolutionary Russia.
It was the establishment of contact of the patient with the outside world, by settling in a strange family. It was an extremely difficult decision, which was personally signed by the chief physician. Each family that received a patient was obliged to provide the patient with a separate room with a table and a bed. The host also undertook to feed the patient at the common table, along with the rest of the family. Such good deeds were rewarded every month in the amount of 9 rubles 50 kopecks. In addition to providing families with cash, the hospital provided patients with clothes, shoes, matches, cigarettes, linens, and money for personal expenses.
The price of sending a patient under patronage was 50% of the cost of treatment in a hospital, or 170 rubles a year. Each patient was visited by a doctor assigned to him. There could be up to three such rounds per day. The system wasabolished in 1922 with the advent of Soviet power.
Soviet period
Since 1922, the hospital has undergone many major changes. The area of the main hospital building was reduced to 30 hectares. The patronage system was changed, as was the direction of activity of one of the corps. The Troparevo colony settled in its place.
This period is associated with the most unusual rumors and conjectures. The Soviet leadership practiced research in the field of electroconvulsive therapy of patients. Especially many of these cases occurred during the war period. Many patients who have tried this technology have partially lost their memory.
Modern period, interesting facts
The famous Kashchenko hospital is still working today. For the second year the institution has been participating in the "First Experience" project, according to which it provides assistance in integrating mentally ill people into society.
A museum of psychiatric research has been built on the territory of the hospital, where you can also learn about the history of the establishment of the institution and the most famous doctors of the hospital. It shows how mental hospitals worked in the past.
This institution, despite its narrow focus, is widely known. This is largely due to the frequent mention in popular culture. An example of songs about "Kashchenko", in addition to the famous work of Vysotsky, is the single of the Russian singer Boulevard Depot with the same name.
Another important aspect of shaping the popularity of the hospitalis the radio "Through the Looking Glass", opened in 2014. This is a project involving hospital doctors and patients.
