Kazan Kremlin to have a museum of cats from Tatarstan restaurateurs association’s head

09:00, 17.08.2023

Galina Sharafutdinova rents a building on Bolshaya Krasnaya to launch her new project Alabrys

Kazan Kremlin to have a museum of cats from Tatarstan restaurateurs association’s head — Photo: Dinar Fatykhov/realnoevremya.ru

As it became known to Realnoe Vremya, a nice three-storey mansion at the very beginning of Bolshaya Krasnaya Street, almost under the walls of the Kazan Kremlin, has found a new tenant in the person of a well-known expert in the restaurant industry. Galina Sharafutdinova, the head of the Association of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers of the Republic of Tatarstan, intends to develop her own private project to attract tourists next to the future museum of icons of the son of the head of Svyazinvestneftekhim, Valery Sorokin. As the entrepreneur told our publication, she is going to open a museum of the history of Kazan cats Alabrys in this building. The application for brand registration has already been submitted, and work on the project has begun in the premises. Read the details in the material.

The Alabrys cat has a new owner

The well-known Kazan cat has a name — Alabrys. It is with its sculpture that children and adults like to be photographed on Baumana Street. Guests and residents of Tatarstan identify it with the “Kazan Cat”, but few people remember that the mustached can be called by name.

Oddly enough, no one thought to register the name of the famous character in Rospatent. This occurred to the director of the Association of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers of Tatarstan and Kazan, Galina Sharafutdinova.

“I plan to use the trademark 'Alabrys' to attract tourists," the entrepreneur shared with Realnoe Vremya. “The tourist destination has attracted me for a long time. The real story of Kazan cats, which were specially brought to St. Petersburg by the decree of Empress Elizabeth to exterminate mice in the Hermitage, is impressive. I am interested in the history, culture, and mythology of our places, so the idea arose to create a museum in honour of the Kazan cat, which has a specific name, and the museum will be called Alabrys — this is also a historical name. I am registering this trademark in order to secure it for myself.”

For the museum, she chose a place in the very centre of the city, not far from the Kremlin, the newly erected Kazan Cathedral of the Bogoroditsky Monastery, where the Our Lady of Kazan Icon is kept. The building she rented at 6 Bolshaya Krasnaya Street is located across the street from another temple — Pyatnitskaya Church, and is adjacent to the future Private Museum of the Kazan Icon by Valentin Sorokin, the son of the head of Svyazinvestneftekhim, Valery Sorokin.

The building she rented at 6 Bolshaya Krasnaya Street is located across the street from Pyatnitskaya Church and is adjacent to the future museum of icons of Valentin Sorokin. Dinar Fatykhov/ realnoevremya.ru

“My Alabrys embodies the image of the Kazan cat and shows the power of the Tatar people”

Now the design work is in full swing in the museum. This is done by the art workshop Arthrospis, with the artists of which the restaurateur immediately found mutual understanding. Although the Alabrys logo was created by another company.

“I came up with the idea of the entire art space myself and, of course, called in the help of professionals to create a visual image of Alabras. Very creative guys, and they accurately read the images of my ideas. The cat itself was created based on the preserved graphic images of the historical cat," explained Galina Sharafutdinova. “This is such a strong, stocky cat — a real man. Here, in Kazan, there was a breed of strong, brutal cats, just such were taken to catch rats in the Hermitage. And my Alabrys, whose image can be seen right on the wall, embodies both the familiar image of the Kazan cat and shows the strength and power of the Tatar people.”

“My Alabrys embodies both the familiar image of the Kazan cat and shows the strength and power of the Tatar people.” *provided to realnoevremya.ru by G. Sharafutdinova*

Alabrys will be known all over the planet

The owner of the museum has a relatively small area at her disposal — 90 square metres and two rooms. It will be a reception hall with a small coffee shop where one can drink tea and coffee with dessert, and the actual exhibition hall itself with an area of 50 square metres.

“This is my first experience in this direction, so I haven't started renting a large room yet. The entry threshold is not as high as in the restaurant business. The support of loved ones is very valuable — the son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter help. She is 8 years old, and she is very immersed in the topic, I also take ideas from her. The museum will be dedicated to the history of cats, the role of cats in our lives. Here people will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of kindness, preservation of peace, the land where we live," said the restaurateur.

The owner of the museum has a relatively small area at her disposal — 90 square metres and two rooms. *Dinar Fatykhov/ realnoevremya.ru*

The exposition, according to her, will change regularly to show the different directions of the cats' life. The museum plans to hold master classes for children and adults on various topics: natural history, biology, wildlife, ecology. The culinary theme is not cancelled, they will bake gingerbread in the form of cats at cooking lessons.

“In the future, I will expand the museum space, and in the future I plan to create a clothing line related to Tatarstan, just under this brand.

Alabrys was created based on the preserved graphic images of the historical Kazan cat. *provided to realnoevremya.ru by G. Sharafutdinova*

“Such spaces are in great demand”

Realnoe Vremya asked real estate experts to assess the investment potential and costs of the museum. Vladimir Shaikhiev, the deputy director general of A-Development, believes that the investment is very successful, although the rental costs are quite large:

“This is the city centre, so the rental rate cannot be low, I estimate a square metre in the region of one and a half thousand rubles per square metre, which means about 135 thousand rubles a month. Knowing the experience of Galina Mikhailovna, there is no doubt about the choice of format. The combination of a museum and a coffee shop is cool. Such creative spaces are in great demand now.”

The head of the ReAagentstvo Academy of Sciences, Yury Chikirov, also pointed out that the rent of this building, taking into account its location in the very centre of Kazan, can average from 120 to 160 thousand rubles per month, depending on the conditions of investment.