Estates and Palaces of Russian Nobility

[AkshayChavan]

Architect Fomin built a magnificent dacha for senator and sectretary of state Alexandr Polovtsev on the stone island. It was considered to be the most magnificent private residence to constructed in twentieth century. What has happened to this dacha? Have the interiors survived? Can someone please post the photos.
Also can someone please post photos of Polovtsev palace called "house of architects" on bolshaya morskaya.

[londo954]

Go to the wandering Camera website there is a picture fo the Dacha there it still exists

[AkshayChavan]

I am so happy to know it exists. I hope the interiors have survived. Does anyone have photos of palace of architects? Who was AA Polotsev? He even had a palace in tashkent now a museum.

[lancashireladandre]

Alexander Alexanderovitch  Polovtsev (1832-1909)was a court minister and from 1876 a senator.Between 1883-92 he was secretary of state.His wife Nadejda was the adopted daughter & eventually heiress to the immense fortune of Baron Steiglitz.Rumoured to the illegitimate child of a Grand Duke.This fortune more than helped his career and paid for among other things the founding of the Central School of Technical Drawing.The couple (who married in 1861)had 2 daughters Anna,Princess Obolensky (grandmother of Dimitri,author of "The Bread of Exile")and Nadejda,Countess Alexis Bobrinsky(divorced from her husband in 1908 she died of typhus when nursing with the White army in 1920).Their 2 sons both wrote books.One Peter? had a coffee farm in Kenya the other Alexander was a noted conniseur,art historian...He was a caretaker of the Pavlovsk palace collection in the early days of the revolution.In exile in Paris he was a dealer in antiques ( Via him the Walters Art Gallery purchased their Faberge Eggs)and a writer of varied subjects including a book on Naples. The family crop up in numerous books.Countess Bobrinsky's granddaughter,Sofka Skipwith (nee Princess Doulgoruky) speaks of them in her autobiography "Sofka".Suzanne Massie in her marvellous book "Pavlovsk" mentions Alexander too.

[hikaru]

In Arkhitect House there was a restaurant called "Nicholas "( in the previous guest rooms) .
I do not know if it is exist now yet.
But I went there 5 years ago.
I was impressed very much by the interiour , not by the food.
As far as I undestand the interiour was the same as before the revolution. No restoration.

[BobG]

AkshayChavan,
I have been meaning to upload my pictures of Dom Architects (Bolshaya Morskaya, 52) for you.
One of my most endearing memories of my trip to St Petersburg was asking someone in the Nicholas Restaurant on the ground floor if I could go up the stairs and look at the house.  When I got to the main floor, a little old Russian lady took out an old set of keys, unlocked each door and took me into each room and allowed me to take these pictures.  We couldn't speak to each other, but we managed to communicate very well!

The Building:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/BobG_AP/Dom%20Architects/BolshayaMorskaya52.jpg

The Restaurant (I think.  Hikaru, did it look like this?):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/BobG_AP/Dom%20Architects/Polovstov_s_House__Dining_Ro.jpg

The Bay Window (see the picture of the house)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/BobG_AP/Dom%20Architects/Polovstov_s_House__Dining_Ro.jpg

The Theatre/Ballroom
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/BobG_AP/Dom%20Architects/Polovstov_s_House_3.jpg

The White Salon:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/BobG_AP/Dom%20Architects/Polovstov_s_House_6.jpg

The Library:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/BobG_AP/Dom%20Architects/Polovstov_s_House.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/BobG_AP/Dom%20Architects/Dom_Architects__Alexander_Po.jpg

Hope you enjoy them.
BobG

[AkshayChavan]

BobG,
Thank you very much. They are wonderfull picts. I was really surprised to see plain exteriors compared to opulent interiors. I believe this palace was wedding gift from Baron Strelgitz. However i am really surprised that Polotsevs prefered this (for sentimental attachment perhaps) over the grand strelgitz palace at english embankment. Fortunately Polovtsev dacha too has survived. Mr Vladimir Putin is eyeing this property and it may soon go the way to strelna palace. I dont quiet know if it is a good thing or a bad thing. Here are some links to the interiors of the dacha today.
http://nostalgicglass.org/gallery.php?pn=14

this one is in russian, but pictures are great. Use babelfish. On next page are pictures of Abamelek palace

http://archi.ru/publications/virtual/fomin/text/2_polovcova.htm

[BobG]

Akshay,
I had read that when Nadezhda Polovtsova inherited her father's house on the English Embankment, she did not want to leave her home on Bolshoya Morskaya and later sold it to Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich for his wedding.  
Thanks for the links.
BobG

[AkshayChavan]

News from Russia is that Polovtsev dacha has been taken over by President Putin. I am happy that it will be restored like the strelna palace. But it is also sad that now dacha will be off bounds to the general public. I hope they allow public tours of the dacha.

[Vassili_Vorontsoff]

Some must have heard of Marino...

[Vassili_Vorontsoff]

I'm sorry if some does not find it is the appropriate place to send this suject but estate in my view is the embodiment of the wealth of Russia in term of culture so it icould be intersting to developpe it on the website and even more in this category in view of the fact that Petersburg as being the main town represents the old tsarist russia...

Marfino estate turned now into a santoriumas many estates (there is one in Arkhangeslkoye-prince's Youssoupv mansion-,in Harax...)
Two views ,as it used to be and the curent state:

[Vassili_Vorontsoff]

Marfino entrance stone gate in recongnizing gothic style...

[Vassili_Vorontsoff]

Now to the turn of Kouzminski everyone I mention had marvelous (and lost )garden in the time of the tsarist russia...everything remains I want to precise nowadays...-

Kouzminski was another luxurious estate (situated next to Moscow even if this section is devoted to St Petersburg)however I 've always developp the orientation of the subject before...


Actually, it only remains the church of the estate...

[Vassili_Vorontsoff]

I've found this picture of the holland house in Kouskovo-as far as I remeber -  this confrontation of a drawing and  a shot,is interesting it testifies that the shape seems to have been preserved in a rather good wayit looks as well kept...

[Vassili_Vorontsoff]

The hermitage of Kouskovo in a style roccoco style which has nothing to envy to the Catherine palace ibn Tsarskoye Selo archietcturally speaking...