Eighteen kilometers south of Smolensk lies the former estate of the Tenishev family, Talashkino. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the renowned patron, collector, and artist Maria Klavdievna Tenisheva created a unique artistic center here, which gained European fame. The creative atmosphere of Talashkino attracted many prominent figures of Russian culture. Artists such as I.E. Repin and M.A. Vrubel, composer I.F. Stravinsky, and even Fyodor Shalyapin visited this place.

A significant period in the history of Talashkino is associated with the name of Nikolai Roerich. One of his best monumental works, the mosaic 'Savior Not Made by Hands', adorns the portal of the Church of the Holy Spirit. Another attraction of Talashkino is the famous fairy-tale house 'Teremok'. This wooden structure, designed by Sergey Malyutin, is a true masterpiece of Russian architecture. The windows, doors, cornices, and trims are skillfully carved and decorated. The bright colors and fairy-tale motifs on the facades give the building a festive and fantastic appearance. In 'Teremok', one can see products from Talashkino workshops and works by those who glorified Talashkino, including furniture based on sketches by S.V. Malyutin, watercolors by M.A. Vrubel, ceramics by N.K. Roerich, and painted balalaikas that caused a sensation at the World Exhibition in Paris.

In the building of the former agricultural school, there is an exhibition dedicated to the school for peasant children, opened by Princess M.K. Tenisheva in 1894. The exhibition includes items of school life, textbooks from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, photographs, lists of students, and much more. Museum staff conduct interactive tours for children, allowing them to take a journey into the 19th century and compare the modern life of schoolchildren with that of peasant children in the past. Here, one can attend lessons in arithmetic, handwriting, or learn how to handle a bee feeder in the agricultural class.

Today, all the surviving buildings of the former Tenishev estate are part of the historical and architectural complex 'Teremok' of the Smolensk State Museum-Reserve.