Benois House (russian: До́м Бенуа́, Dóm Benuá), also widely known as the Three Benois House (russian: До́м трёх Бенуа́, Dóm trokh Benuá), is a historic building in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

History

The apartment house occupies almost a whole quarter on

Kamennoostrovsky Prospekt Kammennoostrovsky Prospekt (russian: Каменноостро́вский проспе́кт) is one of the main streets of Petrogradsky District of Saint Petersburg. It runs from Trinity Bridge and Trinity Square across Petrogradsky Island, th ...

. The locals call it “the Benois House ” or “the house of the Three Benois”, because it was designed by three members of a famous family of architects—brothers

Leon Benois Leon Benois (russian: Леонтий Николаевич Бенуа; 1856 in Peterhof – 1928 in Leningrad) was a Russian architect from the Benois family. Biography He was the son of architect Nicholas Benois, the brother of artists Alexandr ...

and Albert Benois and their cousin

Julius Benois Jules-Louis-Auguste Benois (25 February, 1852 St Petersburg-26 July, 1929, Vologda) was a Russian architect. Jukles was a member of the Benois family. Benois designed the Ligovsky People's House, close to the impoverished district of Ligovka, S ...

. The building was erected in 1911-1914 by order of the First Russian Insurance Company. The number of apartments during the construction of the house is 250, the number of front doors is 25, the number of courtyards is 12. After the

Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

the house’s original residents—princes, counts and prosperous manufacturers were replaced by Bolshevik leaders. The apartments on

were taken by comrades

Grigory Zinoviev Grigory Yevseyevich Zinoviev, . Transliterated ''Grigorii Evseevich Zinov'ev'' according to the Library of Congress system. (born Hirsch Apfelbaum, – 25 August 1936), known also under the name Ovsei-Gershon Aronovich Radomyslsky (russian: Ов ...

Jukka Rahja Jukka Rahja (1887, Kronstadt – 31 August 1920, Petrograd) was a Russian-Finnish Bolshevik who was killed by the Petrograd Opposition. Jukka was the brother of Eino Rahja and Jaakko Rahja. He joined the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party ...

and other

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

’s brothers-in-arms. In April 1926 it became home for the Head of the Party’s Committee in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Sergey Kirov Sergei Mironovich Kirov (né Kostrikov; 27 March 1886 – 1 December 1934) was a Soviet politician and Bolshevik revolutionary whose assassination led to the first Great Purge. Kirov was an early revolutionary in the Russian Empire and membe ...

. Kirov lived here until his death, and a memorial museum is now open for visitors in his former apartment. Composer

Dmitry Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as a major compo ...

was another famous resident of the Benois House—he had been living here for several years, while working on his Seventh (Leningrad) symphony. In our times Benois house is known all over

due to the numerous TV crime series (

Bandit Petersburg ''Bandit Petersburg'' (or ''Gangster Petersburg'', russian: Бандитский Петербург) is a Russian detective television series. It was one of the most successful Russian series of the early 2000s. The series is loosely based on the ...

and others)—the house is situated close to

Lenfilm Lenfilm (russian: link=no, Ленфильм) is a Russian production company with its own film studio located in Saint Petersburg (the city was called Leningrad from 1924 to 1991, thus the name). It is a corporation with its stakes shared betwee ...

and local TV studio. It is not only attractive to filmmakers for its good location, but also for a labyrinth of almost a dozen intricately connected inner courtyards.

Residents of the Benois House

Many famous people of St. Petersburg lived in the Benois House (composers, artists, writers, scientists, architects, actors, state leaders, military leaders of the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

). Among them:

Prince Gabriel Constantinovich of Russia Prince Gabriel Constantinovich of Russia (russian: Гавриил Константинович; 15 July 1887 – 28 February 1955) was the second son of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia and his wife, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mavr ...

Konstantin Makovsky Konstantin Yegorovich Makovsky (russian: Константи́н Его́рович Мако́вский; (20 June o.c.) 2 July n.c. 1839 – 17 o.c. (30 n.c.) September 1915) was an influential Russian painter, affiliated with the " Peredvizhni ...

, Boris Fredman-Kluzel,

Andrei Mylnikov Andrei Andreevich Mylnikov (russian: Андре́й Андре́евич Мы́льников) (22 February 1919 in Pokrovsk, Saratov Governorate – 16 May 2012 in Saint Petersburg) was a Russian and Soviet painter and art educator, People's ...

, Evgeny Kibrik,

Alexey Parygin Alexey Borisovich Parygin (russian: Алексе́й Бори́сович Па́рыгин; (December 2, 1964 in Leningrad) is a Soviet and Russian artist, philosopher, art historian, art theorist and curator. Author of philosophical art project ...

, Lyudmila Sergeeva, Vladimir Kachalsky,

Boris Babochkin Boris Andreyevich Babochkin (russian: Бори́с Андре́евич Ба́бочкин; 18 January 1904 – 17 July 1975) was a Soviet and Russian film and theater actor and director. Boris Babochkin was one of the first internationally r ...

Georgi Vasilyev Georgi Nikolayevich Vasilyev (russian: Гео́ргий Никола́евич Васи́льев) (25 November 1899 – 18 June 1946) was a Soviet and Russian film director, screenwriter and actor. From 1928 to 1943, together with Serge ...

, Evgenija Zbrueva,

Nikolay Cherkasov Nikolay Konstantinovich Cherkasov (russian: Никола́й Константи́нович Черка́сов; 14 September 1966) was a Soviet and Russian actor. People's Artist of the USSR (1947). Career He was born in Saint Petersburg (lat ...

, Leonid Lyubashevsky,

Vlas Doroshevich Vlas Mikhailovich Doroshevich (russian: Влас Миха́йлович Дороше́вич), born April 17, 1864 – died February 22, 1922, was one of Russia's most popular and widely read journalists, and a novelist, essayist, drama criti ...

, Alexander Prokofyev, Mikhail Chekhov, Alexey Skaldin, Joseph Berlin,

Iosif Langbard Iosif Grigor’evich Langbard, also Josef Langbard (6 January 1882 in Bielsk Podlaski, Grodno Governorate – 3 January 1951 in Leningrad) was a Soviet Belarusian architect and Honored Artist of the Byelorussian SSR (1934). Langbard studied arch ...

, Andrew Ol,

Natalia Bekhtereva Natalia Petrovna Bekhtereva ( rus, Ната́лья Петро́вна Бе́хтерева, p=ˈbʲextʲɪrʲɪvə; July 7, 1924 – June 22, 2008) was a Soviet and Russian neuroscientist and psychologist who developed neurophysiological approac ...

, Alexander Vasiliev, Prince Andrei Grigorievich Gagarin,

Rudolf Samoylovich Rudolf (Ruvim) Lazarevich Samoylovich (russian: Рудольф Лазаревич Самойлович) (13 September ( O.S. 1 September), 1881 – 4 March 1939) was a Soviet polar explorer, professor, and doctor of geographic sciences. Biograph ...

, Yuri Demkov, Mikhail Neiman, Nikita Tolstoy,

Sergei Kirov Sergei Mironovich Kirov (né Kostrikov; 27 March 1886 – 1 December 1934) was a Soviet politician and Bolshevik revolutionary whose assassination led to the first Great Purge. Kirov was an early revolutionary in the Russian Empire and membe ...

, Semyon Voskov, Ivan Gaza,

Nikolai Glebov-Avilov Nikolai Pavlovich Glebov-Avilov (russian: Николáй Пáвлович Глéбов-Ави́лов; 11 October 1887 – 13 March 1937) was a prominent Bolshevik revolutionary and the first People's Commissar of Posts and Telegraphs. He was ...

Grigory Yevdokimov Grigori Ermeevich Yevdokimov (Russian: Григорий Еремеевич Евдокимов) (October 1884 — August 25, 1936) was a Russian Bolshevik revolutionary and Soviet politician. Early career and Revolution A member of the Bolshevik ...

, Nikolay Komarov,

Alexey Kuznetsov Alexey Alexandrovich Kuznetsov (, in Borovichi – 1 October 1950, in Moscow) was a Soviet statesman, CPSU (since 1925) functionary, Lieutenant General, member of CPSU Central Committee (1939-1949). He was Second Secretary (deputy leader) to Le ...

Otto Wille Kuusinen Otto Wilhelm "Wille" Kuusinen (; russian: О́тто Вильге́льмович Ку́усинен, Otto Vilgelmovich Kuusinen; 4 October 1881 – 17 May 1964) was a Finnish-born Soviet communist and, later, Soviet politician, literary his ...

, Boris Pozern,

Eino Rahja Eino Abramovich Rahja (20 June 1885 – 26 April 1936) was a Finnish-Russian revolutionary who joined the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1903, becoming aligned with the party's Bolshevik faction. Rahja organized Lenin's temporary escap ...

Kustaa Rovio Kustaa Adolf Simonpoika Rovio (23 January 1887 in Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly ...

Georgy Safarov Georgy Ivanovich Safarov (russian: link=no, Георгий Иванович Сафаров) (1891 – 27 July 1942) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and politician who was a participant in the Russian Revolution, the Russian Civil War, and in the e ...

Pyotr Smorodin Pyotr Ivanovich Smorodin (Russian language, Russian: Пётр Иванович Смородин; 20 January 1897 – 25 February 1939) was a Soviet people, Soviet politician who was a founding member of the Komsomol, the First Secretary of the C ...

Nikolai Shvernik Nikolai Mikhailovich Shvernik (russian: Никола́й Миха́йлович Шве́рник, – 24 December 1970) was a Soviet politician who served as the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet from 19 March 1946 until 15 March 1 ...

Leonid Govorov Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov (russian: Леони́д Алекса́ндрович Го́воров; – 19 March 1955) was a Soviet military commander. Trained as an artillery officer, he joined the Red Army in 1920. He graduated from several ...

Boris Shaposhnikov , birth_name = Boris Mikhailovitch Shaposhnikov , birth_date = , death_date = , birth_place = Zlatoust, Ufa GovernorateRussian Empire , death_place = Moscow, Soviet Union , placeofburial = Kremlin Wall Necropolis , placeofbu ...

Pavel Dybenko Pavel Efimovich Dybenko (russian: Павел Ефимович Дыбенко), (February 16, 1889 – July 29, 1938) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and a leading Soviet officer and military commander. Prior to military service Pavel Dybenko was b ...

Vladimir Gittis Vladimir Mikhailovich Gittis (Russian: Влади́мир Миха́йлович Ги́ттис; 24 June 1881 – 22 August 1938) was a Soviet military commander and komkor. He fought in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I before going o ...

and others.

Bibliography

* Privalov V. D. Каменноостровский проспект. Дом № 26-28. — St. Petersburg: Petropolis, 2019. — P. 546. — 639 p. (RUS) * Памятники архитектуры и истории Санкт-Петербурга. Петроградский район / Editor: B. M. Kirikova. — St. Petersburg: Kolo Publishing House, 2007. — 584 p. (RUS) * Bass V. Дом трех Бенуа. Жилой дом Первого российского страхового общества // The Village, SPb. May 29, 2017. (RUS) * Privalov V. D. Каменноостровский проспект. — M.: Tsentrpoligraf, 2005. — pp. 292-335. — 639 p. (RUS) *

William Craft Brumfield __NOTOC__ William Craft Brumfield (born June 28, 1944) is a contemporary American historian of Russian architecture, a preservationist and an architectural photographer. Brumfield is currently Professor of Slavic studies at Tulane University. ...

A History of Russian Architecture.

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

, 1993. *

The Origins of Modernism in Russian Architecture. Berkeley, Los Angeles,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...

. — 1991. — P. 255.William Craft Brumfield The Origins of Modernism in Russian Architecture
/ref> * Ленинград: Путеводитель / Authors: V. A. Vityazeva, B. M. Kirikov. — Edition 2, stereotypical, with changes. — L .: Lenizdat, 1988. — pp. 203-248. — 366 p. (RUS)

Photos

File:Benois House St-Petersburg 2020 18 05 A-P-1.jpg, File:Benois House St-Petersburg 2020 19 11 A-P-1.jpg, File:Benois House-2 St-Petersburg 2020 22 03 A-P-1.jpg, File:Benois House Courtyard St-Petersburg 2020 24 05 A-P-1.jpg,

Old photos

File:Benois House SPb 1916.jpg, File:1915 ок Жилой дом Первого Российского страхового общества 2.jpg, File:1912 Benois House SPb Karl Bulla Photo Colorized.jpg, File:Benois House SPb 1915.jpg,

References

External links

Kirov's Museum in the Benois House/ Website
{{Authority control Commercial buildings completed in 1914 1914 architecture Kamennoostrovsky Prospekt Art Nouveau architecture in Saint Petersburg Art Nouveau commercial buildings Buildings and structures in Saint Petersburg Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Saint Petersburg