The Verkhnebaranchinsky ironworks and the settlement established in 1806 were traditionally supposed to have their own church, and so it happened. Those who have been to Plotinka have seen the ruins of this church and could appreciate how skillfully our ancestors chose beautiful places for building temples. The history of the church's construction at Plotinka is quite characteristic of our country, involving well-known mining figures from the Urals. I decided to tell this story based on facts from case No. 1253, fund 43, stored in the State Archive of the Sverdlovsk Region. This case is titled 'On the construction of a stone church at the Verkhnebaranchinsky factory.' The first document in it is dated June 30, 1839. Archbishop Arkady, addressing the head of the mining factories of the Ural Mountains, writes: 'By decree of the Holy Governing Synod dated October 10, 1832, it was prescribed: the opinion of the diocesan authority is to be taken into account: in the Verkhnebaranchinsky factory of the Verkhoturye district, according to the wishes of the petitioners, to allow the construction of a stone church in the name of the Lord's Baptizer John, as correct and lawful to affirm. Construction of the church has not yet commenced.' The mining authorities demanded explanations from the Kushva commanders. On July 22, the mining chief of the Goroblagodatsky factories, Colonel K. P. Gallyakhovsky, the discoverer of platinum in the Urals in 1824, sent a report to Yekaterinburg: 'It is proposed to build a stone church at the Verkhnebaranchinsky factory at the expense of the treasury, for which 17,361 rubles have been allocated according to the 1824 appropriation, which has been received by the factory workers. Since the approval of the estimate in 1828, it was necessary to urgently construct some factory buildings. Nevertheless, we also began the construction of churches at the Turinsky, Baranchinsky, and Serebryansky factories, which are now nearing completion. However, there was no possibility to commence the construction of the church at the Verkhnebaranchinsky factory, but we are already making bricks.'

Two years later, in June 1841, Archbishop Arkady writes to Gallyakhovsky: 'The priest Matvey Suvorov, the dean of the Kushva factory, reported to me that construction of the church at the Verkhnebaranchinsky factory has not yet begun. Will it commence this year?' Konstantin Pavlovich had to report again to the Yekaterinburg authorities. On August 2, he reported in his report: 'Material procurement is ongoing. Architect Delyusto found the following deficiencies in the church project:

1) Round projections are difficult for proper stonework, when even simple straight lines cannot be laid with due straightness.

2) The pilasters on the facade do not decorate but spoil the appearance.

3) There are too many windows; ten would be sufficient.

4) The main entrance is not separated from the church, making access to the bell tower inconvenient. It also lacks a storage room.

5) The depth of the foundation is not specified; therefore, it is unclear whether piles are needed.

6) The arch over the center is very thin; thus, the entire bell tower needs to be slightly elevated.

7) The walls of the entrance to the bell tower are very thin; projections should be made at the corners for the church's strength.

8) The proposed drawing is poorly drafted.

9) The estimate is not based on the proper conditions, so there are many omissions in materials and works. Therefore, from December 31, 1840, No. 9370, it was recommended to architect Delyusto to make the necessary changes to the plan and estimate and present them, but Mr. Delyusto submitted a completely new drawing and estimate for the church's construction, calculating the cost at 45,059 rubles 49.5 kopecks. However, only 17,361 rubles 40 kopecks were allocated for the church's construction according to the estimate made in 1819 by architect Petenkin and approved by the government, and there was no need for a new plan.'

Four months later, in December 1841, Gallyakhovsky reported again to Yekaterinburg: 'Architect Delyusto reported that more skill is needed for laying stone round parts than for straight parts. Since only poorly skilled masons come to the factories, it is impossible to hope for a good construction of the church.' He also reminded about the discrepancy between the new and old estimates. At the end of January, General-Lieutenant V. A. Glinka, the Chief of the Mining Factories of the Ural Mountains, sent a response to the mining chief in Kushva. D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak interestingly writes about it in his essays. 'I find it impossible to petition the higher authorities for an additional allocation of 3,127 rubles 43.5 kopecks in silver for the construction of the church at the Verkhnebaranchinsky factory, because the government has already allocated 17,361 rubles 40 kopecks in appropriations for this purpose, and in addition, various individuals have donated 4,430 rubles 97 kopecks in appropriations. It can be assumed that significant savings may occur in the construction of the church, even according to the new plan. Furthermore, it can be presumed that new donations from private individuals will also be received for its construction.'

Two and a half years passed. In September 1844, Archbishop Arkady complained to Glinka: 'The church has not yet begun construction,' although a priest from the seminary graduates had already been appointed. Again, Glinka forced the Kushva authorities to justify themselves. This year, they had Colonel Felkner. He wrote: 'This summer, only the digging of trenches for rubble has begun, and no masonry work has been done due to a lack of skilled workers who know this craft.' Sixty cubic fathoms of rubble stone and 460,000 bricks were required for the church's construction. However, only 53 cubic fathoms of stone and 125,000 bricks had been prepared. The barn at Plotinka produced 30,000 bricks per season. Another temporary barn needed to be built: 'with an expense of up to 90 rubles in silver for the cost of bricks.' Felkner requested in Yekaterinburg: '10 of the best skilled masons for training the local workers in stone masonry, who will not be retained here for more than three months.' In October 1844, Glinka reassured Archbishop Arkady in his letter that he had made the head of the Goroblagodatsky factories 'pay special attention to this matter.' This referred to the construction. Glinka ordered to find in Yekaterinburg skilled masons 'the best in skill and behavior' to send them to Plotinka. In June 1845, construction finally began. And immediately a document was born. 'Certificate. On June 10, 1845, the construction of the stone church began at the Verkhnebaranchinsky factory with the digging of trenches, during which it turned out that this place consists of stone and gravel, and for extraction, picks, hammers, wedges, and bars should be used, so that for a cubic fathom it is necessary to engage six people instead of the two designated in the estimate for ordinary soil. The earth removed from the trenches must be rolled away for 25 fathoms at the rate of one person per cubic fathom. From the above, it is evident that for a cubic fathom, seven people are needed, while the estimate only designated three people. Therefore, the estimated allocation for the work of digging trenches for the church will be insufficient, which we testify: the foreman Afanasy Stashkov, at his request, has signed this with the clerk Nikolai Papulov. Supervisor. Factory overseer, Manager. Architect Delyusto.'

Three more years passed. In April 1848, the mining chief reported to Yekaterinburg: 'I have the honor to report that the Verkhnebaranchinsky church will be completed in masonry this summer and covered by winter. So that by the future 1849, only the interior finishing will remain.' In December 1849, the Chief of the Mining Factories of the Ural Mountains received a letter from the Ministry of Finance, Department of Mining and Salt Affairs, in which the date of the beginning of this long construction at Plotinka was mentioned for the first time in the correspondence of all participants. 'To provide the Minister with a report on the mentioned subject... it also takes into account the previously mentioned correspondence since 1817 regarding the permission for the construction of said church in 1817 and the allocation of funds. However, due to the long time since the beginning of the correspondence, more than 30 years, such information has not been found either in the department's affairs or in its archives, which is why the department encountered difficulties in presenting a report regarding the allocation of funds for utensils and other items.' Glinka requested the archive of correspondence in Kushva. In April 1850, he received a response: 'I have the honor to explain that the previous plan and estimate approved by the Minister of Finance in 1819 were not returned here, and copies of the mentioned information were not found in the affairs. The registry returned by Your Excellency regarding utensils and various church items is presented together with the now corrected registry, according to which the allocated amount of 2,380 rubles 30 kopecks in silver is humbly requested to be allocated by Your Excellency.' A little less than two years passed. And on Vladimir Andreyevich Glinka's desk lay a report dated February 9, 1852: 'The newly built stone church at the Verkhnebaranchinsky factory in the name of the Lord's Baptizer John was consecrated on February 7 of this year with the permission of the Archbishop of Perm and Verkhoturye by the dean of the Goroblagodat churches, Protopriest Suvorov.'

The temple was built over thirty years and three years. No one and nothing stopped the bureaucratic machine set in motion in 1817. Soon, the Verkhnebaranchinsky ironworks was closed as unprofitable, and the parish declined. October finished it off. For one hundred sixty-six years, the now half-ruined church stands as a mute reproach to the forgetful descendants of the Ural peasants, who 'with picks, hammers, wedges, and bars' dug into the shore of the most beautiful man-made lake, so there would be a place to bring their sinful souls for confession.

On June 26, 2004, a community was revived in the settlement. As the parish elder Nadezhda Shinkarenko recalls, a whole year was spent on registration, and the documents were received only in 2005. Then began the painstaking work of raising funds for the restoration of the church. Donations are collected very slowly. There are 80 houses in the village, half of the residents are summer residents, and the other half are grandmothers and grandfathers. They began to think about how to revive the ancient Ioanno-Zachatievsky temple. The first priority was to replace the roof. Rainwater flows down the walls. Moisture accumulates in the brickwork. And in winter, the accumulated moisture turns into ice, which tears the walls apart, covering them with cracks. Each year, the process of destruction becomes more evident.

Over the past years, despite the lack of funds, the first steps of restoration work have been taken: gaping breaches in the walls have been sealed, through which grazing cows and sheep freely entered the premises. The cast-iron decorative grilles for the windows are ready. They are not yet installed; first, frames and glass need to be inserted so that the wind does not blow through the church.