... The more I delved into the subject, the more I became convinced that the history of some buildings is sometimes more vivid and interesting than any human biography. The house in question is indeed located above the Amur River, just a hundred meters from the embankment. Today, residents of Khabarovsk know it as the District Officers' House of the Russian Army. However, this was not always the case. The first Amur Governor-General, Baron Korf, was the first to step through its doors. Alas, the descendants did not pay much tribute to those whose efforts turned Khabarovka into the city of Khabarovsk. In 1931, when militant atheists demolished the Assumption Cathedral, which stood near the governor-general's house and where Korff was buried, they discovered his tomb. One of the "masters of the new life" took a liking to the baron's boots... It was a sacrilege. But it happened.

The last owner of this house before the revolution was Governor-General Gondatti. Under his rule, an amazing orchard was planted near the building, but it has since been destroyed. However, the gardener's son, 85-year-old Konstantin Grigorievich Grigorov, who witnessed the subsequent history of the house on the Amur River, is still alive today. Interestingly, he was born and worked his entire life in this very building. His employment record contains only one entry: "Hired as a projectionist at the Khabarovsk Red Army House on May 15, 1930"...

However, before the Governor-General's House became the DKA, the building had many different owners. During the interregnum period from 1920 to 1922, the house was occupied by Japanese invaders, White Guards, and Red Partisans. Naturally, the building suffered from the constant changes in ownership. The Governor-General's property was gradually dismantled by various individuals. As a result, the Komsomol, which inherited the building for use as a club, received only bare walls.

The party organization did not have such an institution, so all party meetings, plenums and sessions were held here. And then the party said: "It is necessary!", the Komsomol answered: "Yes!", and the building became a party club, which lasted for four years, until the publication in 1929 of the order of the Revolutionary Military Council on the organization of Red Army houses. By the decision of the regional party committee, the building of the party club was handed over to the military. The Red Army House opened on February 23, 1930.

Soon, various clubs and courses were opened at the DKA: general education courses, courses for military translators, courses for learning how to drive a car, courses for military signalmen, telegraphists, nurses, typists, and accountants. After all, the soldier audience was mostly illiterate, and not all of the officers were educated.

However, as soon as the inspection conducted by the army's political department and the editorial office of the newspaper "Trevozh" showed, the work was ineffective due to a lack of training classes. In addition, the DKA leadership was accused of "forgetting about political objectives" and "profiting from the common people." Here is what the newspaper "Trevozh" wrote about the results of the inspection: "The content of the DKA's work was filled with purely cultural and apolitical activities that satisfied only the consumer needs of the bourgeois public. This was accompanied by a conciliatory attitude towards the class enemies who had infiltrated the DKA's apparatus. The same situation was revealed by the inspection team when they examined the DKA's clubs. Without any verification or discussion, the clubs accepted disenfranchised individuals, their children, those who had been convicted, and so on. And what could be more shameful than the fact that the whole country and the whole world are anxiously following the proceedings of the 16th Party Congress, while the House of the Red Army is hosting dances for bourgeois youth... Or that a major event for the Special One, such as an anniversary, is only represented by ballet. The House of the Red Army could not have come up with a better idea. All of these facts are the best evidence that the leadership of the House of the Red Army has fallen into opportunistic practices. There is no other way to describe it."

Following the "organizational conclusions," a decision was made to reconstruct the building and complete the second and third floors. The Governor-General's House, a rare example of red-blue brick with iron oxide, lost its original appearance after the reconstruction. The building was completely plastered, and on February 23, 1932, the second opening of the DKA took place.

By that time, the Leningrad theater "Proletarsky Akter" had arrived on a tour. On April 28, nothing seemed to foretell a tragedy. However, during a rehearsal, the lights suddenly went out. This was a common occurrence at the time due to insufficient power generation capacity. The actors waited for a long time, but to no avail. The lights never returned. The theater director allowed the actors to retire to their rooms on the upper floor. However, in the middle of the night, the building caught fire. Blucher came to the fire and shouted: "Stop the panic!" took over the rescue work. But there were still victims. Several people were killed in the fire, and someone was killed by jumping out of high windows...

The punishment for someone's negligence was swift. The deputy head of the DKA received a two-year sentence, while the manager of the warehouse located under the stage, where the fire most likely started, was given a ten-year sentence, as was the commandant. The head of the theater, Meshcheryakov, also received a sentence. Khanin, the head of the DKA, was on a business trip during the fire, and he was not convicted. But in 1937, the scythe of repression reached him as well: they remembered his opportunism, his "righteous deeds," and shot him... Cruel times and senseless victims.

However, there were also bright spots in the life of the DKA in those years. In 1934, on February 23 again, the third opening of the House of the Red Army took place. Unfortunately, after the fire, the most beautiful "Ataman Hall" could not be restored, and the stage was also lost. However, a large screen was installed, and the year 1934 was remembered by the old-timers for the film "Chapaev." It was a celebration! The first sound film... The film was watched and discussed by the legendary division commander's associates, former partisans, writers, and scientists. After some time, a new film, "We Are from Kronstadt," was released. After watching the film, Commander-in-Chief Blucher personally thanked the young projectionist Kostya Grigorov...

In the 35th, on November 7, a large hall with a new stage was opened. Whoever was accepted in it: Ruslanova, Kozin, the Moscow Art Theater... And in parallel, work was underway on the construction of the second stage of the DKA: the ground was removed in front of the facade of the building, steps were made, columns were installed, after which the House of the Red Army was opened for the fourth and last time. Since then, ODOR's appearance has remained unchanged. Only the portraits that decorated the facade of the building were replaced. During the Stalin era, images of "enemies of the people" were removed.&"including the portrait of Jan Gamarnik, whose name was once borne by the DKA, under Khrushchev-portraits of the "father of peoples"...

Today, ODORA is headed by Colonel Mikhail Ivanovich Korneichuk, who was awarded the honorary title of Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation by a decree of the President of Russia last year, which speaks volumes. Although, if he had managed the House of Officers in the thirties, it is quite possible that he would have been accused of ardent opportunism, because dancing in ODORA happens, and not only members of military families and their children are engaged in circles, but also he sometimes finds the means for the normal functioning of the army's cultural center, just by conducting, as if they said earlier, "cultural, apolitical events", "profiting from the philistine".

What is the difference between the current activities of ODOR and the work of the Soviet-era Officers' House? Colonel M. Korneichuk answers this question as follows:

- In my opinion, one of the positive aspects today is that there is no excessive ideologization. Previously, the House was a "forced calf" and served not so much cultural and leisure activities as the interests of the party and political apparatus. The assembly hall hosted military personnel when meetings of the party and Komsomol committees were held here. At the same time, the concert activity that we launched today was only a dream back then. The same can be said about the design of the ODOR. When I first came here, all the walls were covered with posters and graphs about the development of the national economy and the implementation of the decisions of the latest party congress. There was almost no information about the life of the district's troops, and there were no good paintings that now adorn the hall.

Now you have a free hand in terms of creativity. As long as your imagination runs wild, the life of the Officers' House will be more interesting and eventful. You can plan and organize any event, as long as you have the funds to do so...

The funds are a special topic. As in the rest of the country, ODORA's financial situation is quite dire. The only funds allocated from the budget are for employee salaries. ODORA does not receive a single penny for maintenance or utilities. As a result, the management had to find a solution on their own. And they did.

One of the sources of income is the joint activities of ODORA with the regional philharmonic in organizing concerts. There are many venues in Khabarovsk where visiting "stars" could attract a sufficient number of spectators, such as the Musical Comedy Theatre with a capacity of over 1,000 seats and the Palace of Culture and Leisure of the Trade Unions with a capacity of 740 seats. However, the artists prefer to perform on the stage of ODORA. The venue offers a cozy atmosphere, good lighting, and sound (considerable funds were invested in purchasing high-quality equipment). And now it's paying off.

The second source of income is the rental of excess space. Free lockers and bathrooms have been converted into offices, and previously vacant spaces are now "working" for ODORA.

According to the law, taxes should account for the majority of the rent revenue. However, the Khabarovsk Region State Property Management Committee, which was approached by the head of the Officers' House, allowed the rent to be retained on the condition that the funds would be used for the renovation of the Officers' House. This initiative was also supported by the regional culture committee. Currently, the Officers' House is home to numerous creative groups, including regional ones. For example, the Philharmonic concert hall has been closed for renovation, and the symphony orchestra is now rehearsing and performing on the ODORA stage. There are also ensembles "Far East", "Gloria", "Free Theater" , as well as the Amur Cossack Choir, the ensemble of Russian folk songs "Golden Domes", the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Far Eastern District, the school of ballroom dance, etc.

In addition, the head of ODOR has signed contracts with professional groups such as the Symphony Orchestra and the Free Theatre, under which the Officers' House, in addition to providing a stage, provides sets, organizes advertising, and 20 percent of the proceeds from concerts and performances remain in the ODOR's coffers. And if we take into account that the performances of the Free Theatre are always sold out, then the 7,000 to 8,000 rubles that are donated to the Officers' House is a very significant support, which is subsequently used to organize the visits of ODORA's creative teams to the troops, and to attract professional actors to these teams. For example, the Honored Artists of Russia Sergey Lichev, Valentina Solovyova, and the Honored Artist of North Ossetia Fyodor Odintsov often perform for the soldiers. ODORA instructors are also part of the brigades, and they not only organize concert programs, but can also teach you how to organize a company's artistic self-expression, advise you on the best repertoire for a particular significant date, and help you repair your equipment.

Unfortunately, in our troubled times, we can't expect the government to provide assistance for such activities. For a long time now, there have been no funds allocated for purchasing books for the ODOR library or even for subscribing to central newspapers. However, it is not uncommon to find mobile literature exhibitions organized by library staff in military units. How is this activity funded?

The Officers' House has once again found an opportunity to conclude a mutual cooperation agreement with the teachers of the Khabarovsk Pedagogical University: they hold classes in the reading room of the ODORA library in the English language learning center that has been established here, and a part of the proceeds - about two thousand rubles a month - is used to purchase new books. The head of the library, Natalia Dobrynina, buys 30 to 40 popular new books every month. However, this is only one aspect of ODORA's educational activities. In the reading room, there is a military-patriotic education club called "I Have the Honor," as well as a spiritual lecture hall, a lecture hall on the reorganization of the Russian army, a lecture hall on military doctrine, and a University of Culture.

In the old days, the District Officers' House was also famous for its rare films. However, much has changed since then. According to Colonel M. Korneichuk, the District Film Base, which used to provide fresh films, no longer receives any new movies, and although they do appear in the city's film and video distribution, they are shown in nearby theaters such as Gigant and Sovkino. In this case, the Officers' House cannot compete with them. Therefore, in ODORA, they often use only fragments of movies during themed evenings.

As for the evenings themselves, there is indeed plenty of room for creativity. For example, not so long ago, the first meeting of the "Over 30" club was held at the Odora. The invitation tickets were distributed mainly in the units of the Khabarovsk garrison and at the headquarters of the Far Eastern Military District. The first part of the program was a symphony orchestra concert, and then the musicians performed in the hall, allowing guests to enjoy live music and socialize at the tables. The event was so successful that those who attended the meeting asked for a similar evening to be held on the eve of Women's Day, when the jazz orchestra of the College of Arts, led by Honored Artist of Russia Vyacheslav Zakharov, was scheduled to perform at the Officers' House. On that day, there were even more visitors, approximately seven hundred people...

But it is especially warmly welcomed by the veterans of the Great Patriotic War. It has long been a tradition here to organize themed festive programs dedicated to the heroic pages of our history. The participants of the Battle of Moscow, the crossing of the Dnieper, the defenders of Leningrad, the participants of the battles of Stalingrad and the Kursk Bulge, the storming of Budapest, Prague, and Berlin, and the defeat of militaristic Japan have truly become part of the ODORA. Vladimir Fedorovich Borodenko, a retired captain 2nd rank and a former front-line soldier, knows firsthand how important moral support is for veterans today. They don't keep to themselves; they participate in meetings with young soldiers and travel with cultural and artistic teams from ODORA to remote garrisons. Front-line soldiers such as A. Syrnev, A. Bondarchuk, B. Millar, and B. Balabanov have become frequent guests in military units.

In the recent past, there was an amateur film studio at the Officers' House, and the works of the army filmmakers were repeatedly awarded diplomas at film festivals for amateur films. These films, in particular, told about the people who made their mark in the annals of the Far Eastern Military District and its Officers' House: "Forever Alive" about the Far Eastern partisans, "From Soldier to Marshal" about V. K. Blucher, "Defenders of Damansky"... Today, events held at the ODORA are being filmed. For the sake of history. Who knows, perhaps future generations will find it interesting to learn about the documentary evidence that captures the rich and unique history of the House on the Amur River...

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