Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street
Encyclopedia
Mokhovaya Street
Mokhovaya Street, is a one-way street in central Moscow, Russia, a part of Moscow's innermost ring road - Central Squares of Moscow. In 1961-1990 it formed part of Karl Marx Avenue...
to Garden Ring
Garden Ring
The Garden Ring, also known as the "B" Ring , is a circular avenue around the central Moscow, its course corresponding to what used to be the city ramparts surrounding Zemlyanoy Gorod in the 17th century....
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, between Vozdvizhenka Street
Vozdvizhenka Street
Vozdvizhenka Street, , is a radial street connecting Manege Square and Arbat Square in central Arbat District of Moscow, Russia. The street's name refers to a monastery that existed here since 1450 and perished in the Fire of Moscow...
(south) and Tverskaya Street
Tverskaya Street
Tverskaya Street , known as Gorky Street between 1935 and 1990, is the main and probably best-known radial street of Moscow, Russia. The street runs from the central Manege Square north-west in the direction of Saint Petersburg and terminated at the Garden Ring, giving its name to Tverskoy District...
(north). Central, eastern part of the street is notable for its educational institutions (old Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
and Moscow Conservatory
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
) and theaters, western part beyond the Boulevard Ring
Boulevard Ring
The Boulevard Ring is Moscow's second centremost ring road . Boulevards form a semicircular chain along the western, northern and eastern sides of the historical White City of Moscow; in the south the incomplete ring is terminated by the embankments of Moskva River...
has many Neoclassical
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
mansions and competes with nearby Povarskaya Street for the title of Moscow's Embassy Row
Embassy Row (disambiguation)
Embassy Row is an informal name for an area of a capital city with a number of foreign embassies or other diplomatic institutions, such as* most commonly, the Embassy Row section of Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C., USA...
.
History
The street originated in the Middle AgeMiddle age
Middle age is the period of age beyond young adulthood but before the onset of old age. Various attempts have been made to define this age, which is around the third quarter of the average life span of human beings....
s as a thoroughfare leading to Volokolamsk
Volokolamsk
Volokolamsk is a town and the administrative center of Volokolamsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Gorodenka River, not far from its confluence with the Lama River, northwest of Moscow. Population: -History:...
and Novgorod and was known as Volotskaya Street (eastern half) and Novgorodskaya Street (western half); a colony of Novgorod traders existed in present-day Bryusov Lane till 18th century.
In 16th century, Ivan IV of Russia
Ivan IV of Russia
Ivan IV Vasilyevich , known in English as Ivan the Terrible , was Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 until his death. His long reign saw the conquest of the Khanates of Kazan, Astrakhan, and Siberia, transforming Russia into a multiethnic and multiconfessional state spanning almost one billion acres,...
established his Oprichnina
Oprichnina
The oprichnina is the period of Russian history between Tsar Ivan the Terrible's 1565 initiation and his 1572 disbanding of a domestic policy of secret police, mass repressions, public executions, and confiscation of land from Russian aristocrats...
Court on site of present-day University buildings. Nikitskaya name goes back to Nikitsky Convent that stood on site of present-day Subway Substation (no.7/10). The street housed various working communities serving the court, however, as soon as 17th century, it also gained popularity among nobility. In Peter I
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
's reign, it housed Peter's statesmen like Jacob Bruce
Jacob Bruce
Jacob Daniel Bruce was a Russian statesman, military leader and scientist of self-claimed Scottish descent , one of the associates of Peter the Great. According to his own record, his ancestors had lived in Russia since 1649....
, Fyodor Romodanovsky
Fyodor Romodanovsky
Prince Fyodor Yuryevich Romodanovsky was one of Peter the Great's foremost assistants in the task of modernizing Russia. He was the country's first head of secret police....
and admiral Fyodor Apraksin
Fyodor Matveyevich Apraksin
Count Fyodor Matveyevich Apraksin was one of the first Russian admirals who governed Estonia and Karelia from 1712 to 1723, general admiral , presided over the Russian Admiralty since 1718 and commanded the Baltic Fleet since 1723.-Early shipbuilding activities:The Apraksin brothers were...
. The tradition continued with later statesmen like Alexander Suvorov
Alexander Suvorov
Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov , Count Suvorov of Rymnik, Prince in Italy, Count of the Holy Roman Empire , was the fourth and last generalissimo of the Russian Empire.One of the few great generals in history who never lost a battle along with the likes of Alexander...
, and by the end of 18th century the street became an exclusive upper-class area, with one exception: the central corner block, occupied by Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
building by Matvey Kazakov
Matvey Kazakov
Matvey Fyodorovich Kazakov was a Russian Neoclassical architect. Kazakov was one of the most influential Muscovite architects during the reign of Catherine II, completing numerous private residences, two royal palaces, two hospitals, Moscow University, and the Kremlin Senate...
(1780s).
The Fire of Moscow (1812)
Fire of Moscow (1812)
The 1812 Fire of Moscow broke out on September 14, 1812 in Moscow on the day when Russian troops and most residents abandoned the city and Napoleon's vanguard troops entered the city following the Battle of Borodino...
destroyed only part of the street: the University burnt down (rebuilt in 1810s by Domenico Giliardi
Domenico Giliardi
Domenico Gilardi , was a Swiss architect who worked primarily in Moscow, Russia in Neoclassicist style. He was one of key architects charged with rebuilding the city after the Fire of 1812...
and Afanasy Grigoriev
Afanasy Grigoriev
Afanasy Grigorievich Grigoriev was a Russian Neoclassical architect, who worked in Moscow and its suburbs. Grigoriev is remembered for his refined Empire style mansions, completion of Great Ascension Church and assistance to Domenico Giliardi in rebuilding Moscow after the Great Fire...
); the French Theater, protected by Napoleon, survived. In 1830s, the University expanded across the street south and acquired Saint Tatiana church by Yevgraph Tyurin
Yevgraph Tyurin
Yefgraph Dmitrievich Tyurin was a Russian architect and art collector, famous as the builder of Elokhovo Cathedral in Moscow, the main cathedral of Russian Orthodox Church in 1945–2000, and Moscow State University expansion in 1830. Tyurin’s life and work, especially in his later years, was poorly...
.
The street's most notable landmark is the Greater Ascension Church. It was started in 1790s by Matvey Kazakov
Matvey Kazakov
Matvey Fyodorovich Kazakov was a Russian Neoclassical architect. Kazakov was one of the most influential Muscovite architects during the reign of Catherine II, completing numerous private residences, two royal palaces, two hospitals, Moscow University, and the Kremlin Senate...
with funds provided by Prince Potemkin; after 1812, the church was redesigned by Joseph Bove
Joseph Bové
Joseph Bové was a Russian neoclassical architect with Italian roots who supervised reconstruction of Moscow after the Fire of 1812.-Biography:...
and completed by Afanasy Grigoriev
Afanasy Grigoriev
Afanasy Grigorievich Grigoriev was a Russian Neoclassical architect, who worked in Moscow and its suburbs. Grigoriev is remembered for his refined Empire style mansions, completion of Great Ascension Church and assistance to Domenico Giliardi in rebuilding Moscow after the Great Fire...
in 1840s. It has been the site of Alexander Pushkin's wedding.
In late 19th century, the central segment of Bolshaya Nikitskaya was built out with a tight pattern of 3-5 storey buildings, including Moscow Conservatory
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
(first stage 1895-1901). Western part of the street remains a quiet area of old mansions. In 1917, Nikitsky Gates Square on Boulevard Ring has been a site of urban war between Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s and government troops. The corner block on Tverskoy Boulevard
Tverskoy Boulevard
Tverskoy Boulevard is one of the main thoroughfares in central Moscow. It is a part of the Boulevard Ring and begins at the end of the Nikitsky Boulevard, at the crossing with Nikitsky Street. The boulevard ends at the Pushkin Square and Tverskaya Street, one of the busiest places in Moscow...
, facing the square, burnt down. New city administration preferred to keep the open area and installed the monument to Kliment Timiryazev (1923), one of the oldest extant monuments of Soviet age.
Within Boulevard Ring
- 1,2,3,4,6 - Moscow State UniversityMoscow State UniversityLomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
- 5,7 - OrlovOrlovOrlov is the name of a Russian noble family which produced several distinguished statesmen, diplomatists and soldiers. The family first gained distinction in the person of four Orlov brothers, of whom the senior was Catherine the Great's paramour, and the two junior were notable military...
House by Matvey KazakovMatvey KazakovMatvey Fyodorovich Kazakov was a Russian Neoclassical architect. Kazakov was one of the most influential Muscovite architects during the reign of Catherine II, completing numerous private residences, two royal palaces, two hospitals, Moscow University, and the Kremlin Senate... - 6 - Zoological Museum of Moscow State University (official site)
- 12 - MenshikovMenshikovMenshikov may refer to one of the following persons*Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov *Aleksandr Sergeyevich Menshikov *Alexei Menshikov *Mikhail Menshikov , various...
house by Matvey KazakovMatvey KazakovMatvey Fyodorovich Kazakov was a Russian Neoclassical architect. Kazakov was one of the most influential Muscovite architects during the reign of Catherine II, completing numerous private residences, two royal palaces, two hospitals, Moscow University, and the Kremlin Senate... - 13 - Moscow ConservatoryMoscow ConservatoryThe Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
- 14 - Jacob BruceJacob BruceJacob Daniel Bruce was a Russian statesman, military leader and scientist of self-claimed Scottish descent , one of the associates of Peter the Great. According to his own record, his ancestors had lived in Russia since 1649....
estate - 18 - Lesser Ascension Church, 1584
- 19 - Mayakovsky TheaterMayakovsky TheaterMayakovsky Theater is a theater in Moscow, Russia, founded in 1920, first as Terevsat , then Revolution Theater and Drama Theater...
, Helikon OperaHelikon OperaHelikon Opera is a Russian opera company based in Moscow, specializing in unconventional productions. Their main performing base is the 250 seat Mayakovsky Theater, the former ballroom in the palace of the Shakhovskoi-Glebov-Streshneva family who were patrons of the arts in 19th century Moscow...
, Glebov Estate - 28 - TASSTASSTASS or Tass may refer to:* Telluride Association Sophomore Seminar, a six-week educational opportunity for minority high school students* Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union, TASS is the transliteration of the Russian abbreviation for it...
Building
Beyong Boulevard Ring
- 36 - Greater Ascension Church by Joseph BoveJoseph BovéJoseph Bové was a Russian neoclassical architect with Italian roots who supervised reconstruction of Moscow after the Fire of 1812.-Biography:...
and Afanasy GrigorievAfanasy GrigorievAfanasy Grigorievich Grigoriev was a Russian Neoclassical architect, who worked in Moscow and its suburbs. Grigoriev is remembered for his refined Empire style mansions, completion of Great Ascension Church and assistance to Domenico Giliardi in rebuilding Moscow after the Great Fire... - 42 - Alexander SuvorovAlexander SuvorovAlexander Vasilyevich Suvorov , Count Suvorov of Rymnik, Prince in Italy, Count of the Holy Roman Empire , was the fourth and last generalissimo of the Russian Empire.One of the few great generals in history who never lost a battle along with the likes of Alexander...
estate, with Embassy of NigeriaEmbassy of Nigeria in MoscowThe Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Moscow is the diplomatic mission of Nigeria in the Russian Federation. It is located at 13 Malaya Nikitskaya Street in the Presnensky District of Moscow.- External links :*...
facing Malaya Nikitskaya Street - 41 - Embassy of MyanmarMyanmarBurma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
- 44, 46 - Neoclassical estates, 1820s
- 50 - Embassy of SpainEmbassy of Spain in MoscowThe Embassy of Spain in Moscow is the diplomatic mission of Spain in the Russian Federation. It is located at 50 Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street in the Presnensky District of Moscow.- External links :...
- 51 - Consulate of CyprusCyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
- 54 - Lopatina Building by Alexander KaminskyAlexander KaminskyAlexander Stepanovich Kaminsky was a Russian architect working in Moscow and suburbs. One of the most successul and prolific architects of 1860s - 1880s, Kaminsky was a faithful eclecticist, equally skilled in Russian Revival, Neo-Gothic and Renaissance Revival architecture...
(Embassy of BrazilEmbassy of Brazil in MoscowThe Embassy of Brazil in Moscow is the diplomatic mission of Brazil in the Russian Federation. It is located at 54 Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street in the Presnensky District of Moscow.The embassy is housed in Lopatina House, designed by Alexander Kaminsky....
) - 55 - Svyatopolk estate by Pyotr Boytsov
- 56 - Art NouveauArt NouveauArt Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
Jacob Reck House by Gustav Helrich
Public transportation access
- Okhotny RyadOkhotny RyadOkhotny Ryad is a station on the Sokolnicheskaya Line of the Moscow Metro. It is located in the centre of Moscow, near the Kremlin.Okhotny Ryad is located under what was originally the swamplands of the upper Neglinnaya River...
, TeatralnayaTeatralnayaTeatralnaya is an underground metro station on the Zamoskvoretskaya Line of the Moscow Metro, named for the nearby Teatralnaya Square, the location of numerous theaters, including the famed Bolshoi Theatre. The station is unique in that it does not have its own entrance halls...
- east - Pushkinskaya or Arbatskaya - center (Nikitsky Gates Square)
- BarrikadnayaBarrikadnayaBarrikadnaya is a station on the Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya Line of the Moscow Metro. It is named after the events of the Russian Revolution of 1905 when it was a site for barricades on Krasnaya Presnya street...
, Mayakovskaya - west