For a long time Russia was called "wooden", "izbyany", "carved", "figured" because in the majority of Russian territories wood was the main construction material. The inhabited, defensive and cultic works created by national craftsmen, differed by beauty and originality, showing organic synthesis of great technological skills and aesthetic, art endowments, embodied both in architectural and constructive elements, and in a decor of traditional wooden constructions.

National craftsmen transferring constructional traditions from generation to generation, created traditional architectural "canons" which a well-known poet S. Yesenin called "An izbyany liturgy". The log hut in consciousness of the peasant represented the image of the Universe, the image of the world that is traced in constructive details (a three-parts picture of the world in three-parts composition of constructions: a podklet (basement) - a bottom world, a crib - the world of people, a roof - the vault of heaven ) and in a décor, where the majority of images were created under the influence of Slavic mythology. In a decor of a facade of a country log hut it is possible to note as likening technique ("причелины", "earrings", "a front board" "plat bands", "shell") and reflections of national knowledge of the Universe device (a roofing decor as an embodiment of the heaven sphere, including a horse as the main solar sign; signs of spheres of the Universe in a carving of plat bands, a front board). Both seigniorial chambers and imperial palaces (for example, Mihaylovsky palace in Kolomna) were constructed as provided by traditional canons. XIV-XVIII were the beginning of building of various constructions in large habitations and transition to other constructional material - a brick, led to such effect that traditions of national wooden architecture has got the development more often in composition of temple constructions, and in civil engineering the European classical samples were prevailed, though it was also used elements of horomny constructions (for example, Teremna the palace in the Moscow Kremlin, etc.). The architectural image of the large cities, trading quarters is formed on the basis of stone architecture, the wooden architecture occurs only in inhabited and economic country constructions.

It is possible to see peculiar "revival" of traditions of the Russian national wooden architecture in 1860-1870 in petty-bourgeois city architecture of St. Petersburg, Moscow and the provincial, district cities and settlements as a protest manifestation against the canons of classicism dominating in Russian architecture. This architectural direction which has got the name "Russian style" in many respects developed on the basis of creativity of the Russian architects I.N.Ropeta and V.A.Gartmana by whom numerous projects of country wooden houses with intricate porches, turrets, the roofs of an unusual form decorated with a magnificent, openwork house carving were developed. According to V.V.Stasov, Roperta-Gartman's Russian style was a peculiar "introduction to the people", it, as though, turned architecture to the people. Ropert's projects and his like-minded persons (I.S.Bogomolov, N.F.Kharlamova, Kudryavtsev's, etc.) were regularly published in the almanac "The world of architecture". Contemporaries admired ready-built, according to I.N.Ropert's project, pavilions of Russia at exhibitions in Chicago and in Paris, theatre near St. Petersburg. Only two of his work were kept to present days - a bath- tower in Abramtzevo and Sazonov's prior estate in Ostashevo (Kostroma region). As Russian historian of architecture E.I.Kirichenko emphasizes: "... there was something from a true nationality in this art. There were rapture picturesqueness and variety of the forms, that diversity and simplicity, brightness of paints, veiny style, singularity and even irreality of the concept, a suppleness which made an impression on tastes of city lower classes. This architecture which was equally far and profitably differing from prosaism and rough utility of working barracks and pompous luxury of profitable houses, finds a certain relationship with posadsky art of Russia XVII century. There is no noble restraint and sense of proportion of masterpieces in it, but there is a folksy rough specificity, conviviality - qualities, so valued in the people" [1; 139-140].

It should be noted that published on Internet sites I.N.Ropert's projects cause genuine interest and admiration at our contemporaries.

[i] «The work implementation with the financial support of the Ministry of education and science of the Russian Federation under the program «scientific and Scientific-pedagogical personnel of innovative Russia for 2009-2013» years»)