The culture of the Russian North is distinguished by its uniqueness and originality, especially in the field of architecture. When the residents of the Arkhangelsk province built houses and invited craftsmen for decoration, they not only carried out repairs but also painted the interiors. Thus, an original northern artistic tradition emerged. Nature was usually depicted, but there were also drawings of bears, wolves, foxes, and even lions, which were portrayed as protectors of the home. Since northern artists had never seen lions, they had to use their imagination, and therefore the predators looked quite unusual. Most often, they were painted against a background of flowers and forests.

A true museum can be considered "Alyoshkin Dom" in the now sadly deserted village of Churkovskaya in the Velsky district of Arkhangelsk region. The hut of local resident Alexey Petrovsky was adorned with portraits of great princes, floral compositions: blue curls resembling leaves or feathers on a white background, like patterns that frost paints on windows, as well as genre scenes of hunting. Alexey Petrovsky had a unique creative style, and a fairy-tale unicorn was depicted on the gable of the house.

However, Petrovsky was not the only renowned master of painting. The sisters Avdotya and Maria Chistyakova also gained fame. They painted not only the interiors of houses but also cabinets, shelves, chests, doors, and even spinning wheels. Unfortunately, much of their work has not survived. Wood, as a material, is not durable; it rots and decays, and since 2000, no one has lived in the village of Churkovskaya. Thanks to the efforts of the region's residents, only "Alyoshkin Dom" has been restored, serving as a kind of monument to Russian northern painting.