Old Chita Wooden Church of Michael the Archangel (Decembrist Church); constructed in 1776

«The oldest building in the whole city, it is the sole surviving example of iconic 18th century wooden architecture in Zabaykalsky krai. Chita’s first church, dedicated to Archangel Michael, other bodiless powers, and Saint Nicholas, was constructed before 1710 and destroyed by fire in 1774. The new two-story wooden church was erected on the same site in 1776, founded by parishioners. [...] From 1827 to 1830, the participants of the Decembrist revolt (1825) Uprising gathered here, the only church in Chita’s ostrog. Decembrist D.I. Zavalishin took part in the church’s renovation. In 1846, interior restoration work was carried out using funds donated by Maria Fedorovna, mother of the Muravyovs the Decembrists. The bell tower was rebuilt, and the facades were sheathed and later painted to resemble brickwork. On 22 October 1851, Emperor Nicholas I’s decree (dated 11 July 1851) - establishing the Trans-Baikal Region and elevating Chita to regional city status- was proclaimed in the church.

Subsequently, the church was designated a cathedral, but in 1875 it was reclassified as a parish churches, with surrounding villages incorporated into its parish. By the early 1870s, the building had deteriorated significantly. Divine service in the upper chantry had ceased, and the iconostasis had been moved to the 1866-built new cathedral—on the site where Decembrist Square now stand. In the mid-1870s, the building underwent full renovation, and a stone foundation was laid in 1876. Following the reinforcement of inter-floor structures, divine services in the church’s upper chantry resumed. In March 1923, the building was requisitioned, and an inventory of all its property was compiled.

In the mid-1930s, after the church was permanently closed, the building stood vacant before being used as an agricultural college dormitory and later converted into a salt warehouse. In 1925, during the Decembrist uprising centenary celebrations, a proposal was made to establish a Decembrist’ museum in the still-operating church. However, the museum only opened in 1971 and later closed due to the building’s dilapidated state. In 1974, a comprehensive restoration project was implemented, giving the church its present appearance. In 1985, on the eve of the Decembrist uprising’s 160th anniversary, the Museum of the Decembrists was reopened in the building. The museum’s exhibitions showcase the Decembrist movement’s history, the Decembrists’ labor camp imprisonment and subsequent Siberian settlement, and their contributions to the region’s cultural development. Near the southern wall lie the graves of Sophia Volkonskaya (a federal cultural heritage object) and Appolinaria Smolyaninova.

The “Decembrist Church” museum was opened in 1985 [...] Near the church’s walls there are the graves of the Volkonskys’ daughter Sophia and Zavalishin’s wife Apollinaria. Over 870 items are on display. The museum’s collection includes Decembrists’ owned books, their lifetime work editions, and authentic relics-N.A. Bestuzhev’s watch, M.N. Volkonskaya’s casket, M.A. Bestuzhev’s small table. It also features noble household and labor items (weapons, shackles, dishes, furniture, etc.), fine artworks (originals and copies by N.A. Bestuzhev, N.P. Repin, P.F. Sokolov, Jean-Baptiste Isabey, etc), Siberian stay documents, and Decembrists’ and their wives’ letters. Exhibition sections include: “Prerequisites for the uprising and theEstablishment of Secret Societies”, “The Revolt in St. Petersburg”, “The Chernigov Regiment revolt”, “Investigation, Trial, Sentence and the Journey to Siberia”, “The Decembrists in labour camps”, “The Decembrists in the settlement in the Trans-Baikal Region”, “The wives of the Decembrists in Siberia”, “The Decembrists after the amnesty”, and “The History of the Decembrist Church”. The museum holds musical evenings, conferences, and publishes booklets».