The Moscow Orphanage or Foundling Home (russian: Воспитательный дом в Москве) was an ambitious project conceived by
Catherine the Great
, en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes
, house =
, father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
, mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
, birth_date =
, birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...
and
Ivan Betskoy
Ivan Ivanovich Betskoi or Betskoy (russian: Ива́н Ива́нович Бе́цкой; ) was an educational reformer in the Russian Empire who served as Catherine II's advisor on education and President of the Imperial Academy of Arts for thir ...
, in the early 1760s. This idealistic experiment of the
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...
was intended to manufacture "ideal citizens" for the Russian state by bringing up thousands of abandoned children to a very high standard of refinement, cultivation, and professional qualifications. Despite more than adequate staffing and financing, the Orphanage was plagued by high infant mortality and ultimately failed as a social institution.
The main building, one of the earliest and largest Neoclassical structures in the city, occupies a large portion of
Moskvoretskaya Embankment
Moskvoretskaya Embankment (russian: Москворецкая Набережная) is a major street, located in the Kitay-Gorod administrative district in central Moscow, running along the Moskva River.
It stretches from Kremlin Embankment, nea ...
between
the Kremlin
The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (Ru ...
and
Yauza River
The Yauza (russian: Я́уза) is a river in Moscow and Mytishchi, Russia, a tributary of the Moskva. It originates in the Losiny Ostrov National Park northeast of Moscow, flows through Mytishchi, enters Moscow in the Medvedkovo District and f ...
, boasting a 379-metre frontage on
Moskva River
The Moskva (russian: река Москва, Москва-река, ''Moskva-reka'') is a river running through western Russia. It rises about west of Moscow and flows roughly east through the Smolensk and Moscow Oblasts, passing through centra ...
. The complex was built in three stages over two centuries, from
Karl Blank
Karl Blank (russian: Карл Иванович Бланк) (1728–1793) was a Russian architect, notable as one of the last practitioners of Baroque architecture and the first Moscow architect to build early neoclassical buildings. His surviving, ...
's master plan (1767) to its complete implementation in the 1940s. Today, the ensemble of the Orphanage houses the
Academy of Missile Forces and
Russian Academy of Medicine.
Architecture
An outgrowth of the
Russian Enlightenment
The Russian Age of Enlightenment was a period in the 18th century in which the government began to actively encourage the proliferation of arts and sciences, which had a profound impact on Russian culture. During this time, the first Russian unive ...
, the idea of a state-run orphanage in Moscow was proposed by educator
Ivan Betskoy
Ivan Ivanovich Betskoi or Betskoy (russian: Ива́н Ива́нович Бе́цкой; ) was an educational reformer in the Russian Empire who served as Catherine II's advisor on education and President of the Imperial Academy of Arts for thir ...
and endorsed by
Catherine II of Russia
, en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes
, house =
, father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
, mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
, birth_date =
, birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...
on September 1, 1763. Betskoy envisaged a spacious, strictly controlled, state-of-the-art institution that could raise abandoned infants and train them depending on each child's abilities—in craftsmanship, fine arts, or in preparation for university classes. Children born in slavery were automatically emancipated, and upon graduation could join the state service or the
merchant estate.
The institution was set on a large lot of land between
Kitai-gorod
Kitay-gorod ( rus, Китай-город, p=kʲɪˈtaj ˈɡorət), also referred to as the Great Possad () in the 16th and 17th centuries, is a cultural and historical area within the central part of Moscow in Russia, defined by the remnants ...
, Solyanka Street,
Moskva and
Yauza rivers, site of a former
armoury
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
. Construction was financed through a public subscription. The Empress herself pledged 100,000
roubles
The ruble (American English) or rouble (Commonwealth English) (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is the currency unit of Belarus and Russia. Historically, it was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union.
, currencies named ''rub ...
; the largest private donations, from
Prokofy Demidov and Ivan Betskoy, amounted to 200,000 and 162,995 roubles.
[I. L. Volkevich, History of Moscow Technical University, ch. 2]
/ref>
According to the master plan by Karl Blank
Karl Blank (russian: Карл Иванович Бланк) (1728–1793) was a Russian architect, notable as one of the last practitioners of Baroque architecture and the first Moscow architect to build early neoclassical buildings. His surviving, ...
(assisted by Yury Felten
Yury Matveyevich Felten (russian: Ю́рий Матве́евич Фе́льтен, german: Georg Friedrich Veldten) (1730–1801) was a Russian Imperial architect who served at the Empress's Catherine the Great court.
Yury Felten was born Georg ...
), the Orphanage was designed as a chain of three square-shaped buildings: the eastern wing for the girls, the western wing for the boys and the central administration block connecting them. The inauguration ceremony, attended by the Empress, was held on April 21, 1764, although the western wing was not completed by Blank until three years later. The central building, constructed between 1771 and 1781, was surmounted by a square dome with a spire. The adjacent Moskva River
The Moskva (russian: река Москва, Москва-река, ''Moskva-reka'') is a river running through western Russia. It rises about west of Moscow and flows roughly east through the Smolensk and Moscow Oblasts, passing through centra ...
embankment was paved in 1795–97 and set in granite in 1801–06.
Although the eastern wing did not materialize, the Orphanage expanded continuously, under the supervision of senior architects Giovanni Gilardi (1790s–1817) and Domenico Gilardi
Domenico Gilardi (Доменико Жилярди, 1785–1845), 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. Gilardi ...
(1817–34). Domenico and Afanasy Grigoriev
Afanasy Grigorievich Grigoriev (russian: Афанасий Григорьевич Григорьев) (21 January 1782 – 13 May 1868) was a Russian Neoclassical architect, who worked in Moscow and its suburbs. Grigoriev is remembered for his re ...
designed and built the Board of Trustees building facing Solyanka Street. By the mid-19th century, the Orphanage had evolved into "a city within a city"—a largely independent and wealthy institution housing thousands of residents. The bulk of the Orphanage survived the Fire of 1812 and preserved its original aspect until the mid-20th century. In the 1940s, the missing eastern wing was finally constructed to a design by Alexander Loveyko, who generally followed Blank's original plans, albeit in a considerably simplified form.
Early years (1764–1797)
On the inauguration day, 19 newborn babies were brought to the unfinished Orphanage. Two of them were publicly baptized
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
Catherine and Paul, after the Empress and her heir, but both died soon afterward. This was an early portent of extremely high infant mortality that would be characteristic of the Orphanage in the 18th century.
Of some 40,996 children admitted to the Orphanage during Catherine II's reign, 35,309, or 87%, died during their stay there. As a result, the vast complex housed only a handful of survivors. A 1792 report listed as few as 257 resident orphans who studied a variety of trades ranging from metallurgy to accountancy. Several attempts to decrease mortality by passing infants on to foster families
Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family mem ...
did not improve the survival rate. The aged Betskoy could not be relied on for managing the expanding faculty, and the Orphanage became notorious for fraud and child abuse
Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...
.[Alexandra Veselova, Betskoy's Concept]
/ref>
Children lived at the Orphanage until the age of 11, whereupon they were sent for training to local factories and government offices. Some were assigned to the Michael Maddox
Michael Maddox (1747–1822; Russian: Михаил Егорович Маддокс, ''Mikhail Yegorovich Maddox'', also spelled '' Medoks'', ''Maddocks'', ''Mattocks'') was an English entrepreneur and theatre manager active in Imperial Russia. ...
theater school; others managed to qualify for free admission to Moscow State University
M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...
. 180 students furthered their education in the universities of Western Europe. The majority, however, graduated with little more than a rouble in cash and a passport
A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...
(which served to distinguish free men from serfs).
The institution was managed by the Board of Trustees and financed by private donations and two special taxes—a tax on public theater shows and a tax on playing cards. For nearly a century, all playing cards sold in Imperial Russia were taxed 5 kopecks per deck on domestic-made cards and 10 kopecks on imports. As a result, every pack of Russian cards displayed the symbol of the Orphanage, the pelican
Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...
. This tax generated 21,000 roubles in 1796 and 140,000 roubles by 1803.
Beginning in 1772, the Orphanage also managed three banks: Loan Treasury, Savings Treasury, and Widows Treasury. These financial institutions, initially plagued by fraud and poor management, became effective and influential under the guidance of Empress Maria. By 1828, their total assets exceeded 359 million roubles, the largest capital assets in all of Moscow.[Volkevich, ch. 3]
/ref> This stock was the principal source of cash for the Orphanage throughout the 19th century.
Orphanage Theatre
In 1772, plans began to be formed for a "domestic theatre" affiliated with the Foundling Home. There were classes on acting, and the first production premiered late in 1773. In the course of 1778 alone, the Orphanage Theatre produced twelve comedies, two operas, and several ballets. By October 1783, the troupe of orphans had become so popular that Baron Vanzura petitioned the Empress to open this "home theatre" for the general public. Catherine readily approved the project of a public theatre and presented to the Orphanage a disused wooden building of the Golovin Opera House near the Yauza. The public Orphanage Theatre was inaugurated on 9 February 1764 with the pantomime ''The Marine Brigands'' and the ballet ''Venus and Adonis''.
The creation of a rival theatre company enraged Michael Maddox
Michael Maddox (1747–1822; Russian: Михаил Егорович Маддокс, ''Mikhail Yegorovich Maddox'', also spelled '' Medoks'', ''Maddocks'', ''Mattocks'') was an English entrepreneur and theatre manager active in Imperial Russia. ...
, an English entrepreneur who held the monopoly on public entertainment in Moscow. Under his pressure, the Board of Trustees agreed to close the Orphanage Theatre in November 1784, but the orphans were allowed to continue their acting careers on the stage of the Petrovsky Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...
, which was run by Maddox.
Reforms of Empress Maria (1797–1828)
In May 1797 Emperor Paul of Russia
Paul I (russian: Па́вел I Петро́вич ; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination. Officially, he was the only son of Peter III and Catherine the Great, although Catherine hinted that he was fathered by her l ...
asked his wife, Maria Feodorovna, to oversee the national charities. Empress Maria remained in charge of the Orphanage and similar institutions after her husband's assassination in 1801 until her death in 1828.
Step by step, Empress Maria changed the social profile of the Orphanage. She encouraged a thorough inspection of prospective foster parents and limited admissions "from the street", measures which decreased the inflow of new orphans and considerably reduced mortality. By 1826, the mortality rate was reduced to 15% per annum, a figure outrageous by modern standards but a great improvement on the 18th century.
The institution, headed by retired general Ivan Tutolmin, wasn't damaged during Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's occupation of Moscow, despite its proximity to the centre of the Fire of Moscow, which completely destroyed the adjacent districts, including Kitai-gorod
Kitay-gorod ( rus, Китай-город, p=kʲɪˈtaj ˈɡorət), also referred to as the Great Possad () in the 16th and 17th centuries, is a cultural and historical area within the central part of Moscow in Russia, defined by the remnants ...
and Taganka. While the French held the city, the Orphanage provided shelter for 350 children and an unspecified number of wounded soldiers. After the end of the Napoleonic wars, the Board of Trustees capitalized on the recent disaster by building cheap rental housing on its properties. As a result of this policy, the new facilities housed up to 8,000 residents of all ranks in the 1820s.[Volkevich, ch. 4]
/ref>
Empress Maria realized the need to downsize the institution, separating children from adult tenants and improving the educational program for the former. She detested the "dirty" appearance of trade workshops and transferred the younger inhabitants to new, independent orphanages. The Moscow Crafts College, the largest spin-off, was established as an orphanage for teenagers in 1830, and continues today as the Bauman Moscow State Technical University
The Bauman Moscow State Technical University, BMSTU (russian: link=no, Московский государственный технический университет им. Н. Э. Баумана (МГТУ им. Н. Э. Баумана)), some ...
. In the old Orphanage, a premium was placed upon high-level educational programs along the lines of the "Latin classes" for boys (established 1807) and the "midwife
A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery.
The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...
classes" for girls.
By the 1830s, the Orphanage finally achieved the espoused aim of taking the ablest children from the streets and preparing them for state service and professional careers. Among the teachers and tenants were Gerhardt Friedrich Müller Gerhardt is a masculine name of Germanic origin. It can refer to the following:
As a first name
* Ants Eskola (1908–1989), Soviet-Estonian actor and singer born Gerhardt Esperk
* Gerhardt Laves (1906–1993), American linguist
* Gerhardt Neef ...
, Alexander Vostokov
Alexander Khristoforovich Vostokov (born Alexander Woldemar Osteneck; russian: link=no, Алекса́ндр Христофо́рович Восто́ков; – ) was one of the first Russian philologists.
Background
He was born into a Baltic ...
, Sergey Solovyov, Vasily Klyuchevsky
Vasily Osipovich Klyuchevsky (russian: Василий Осипович Ключевский; in Voskresnskoye Village, Penza Governorate, Russia – , Moscow) was a leading Russian Imperial historian of the late imperial period. Also, he addres ...
, Nicholas Benois
Nicholas Benois (russian: link=no, Никола́й Лео́нтьевич Бенуа́; 13 July 1813 – 23 December 1898) was an Imperial Russian architect who worked in Petergof, Peterhof and other suburbs of St Petersburg.
Biography
Benois w ...
, Isaak Levitan
Isaac Ilyich Levitan (russian: Исаа́к Ильи́ч Левита́н; – ) was a classical Russian landscape painter who advanced the genre of the "mood landscape".
Life and work
Youth
Isaac Levitan was born in a shtetl of Kibarty ...
, and Vasily Vereshchagin
Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin (russian: Васи́лий Васи́льевич Вереща́гин, October 26, 1842April 13, 1904), was one of the most famous Russian war artists and one of the first Russian artists to be widely recognis ...
. Until 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 Moscow Orphanage ranked among the most prominent national charities.
20th century
The Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
disbanded the Orphanage immediately after the Revolution. The main building was conveyed to the Soviet trade unions
Trade unions in the Soviet Union, headed by the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions (VTsSPS or ACCTU in English), had a complex relationship with industrial management, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and the Soviet government, give ...
, followed by Dzerzhinsky Military Academy
Russia has a number of military academies of different specialties. This article primarily lists institutions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation rather than those of the Soviet Armed Forces.
Russian institutions designated as an "acad ...
and a long succession of state institutions. The satirical novel ''The Twelve Chairs
''The Twelve Chairs'' ( rus, Двенадцать стульев, Dvenadtsat stulyev) is a classic satirical novel by the Odesan Soviet authors Ilf and Petrov, published in 1928. Its plot follows characters attempting to obtain jewelry hidden ...
'' features a famous episode: an abandoned wife chasing Ostap Bender
Ostap Bender (russian: Остап Бендер; in ''The Twelve Chairs'' he called himself Ostap-Suleyman-Berta-Maria-Bender-Bey, in ''The Little Golden Calf'' he called himself Bender-Zadunaysky, in later novels he was also called Ostap Ibragimo ...
, her runaway husband, through numerous editorial offices of the former Orphanage.
During Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
's reconstruction of old Moscow (1937), several Orphanage buildings facing Bolshoy Ustinsky Bridge
Bolshoy Ustinsky Bridge (russian: Большой Устьинский мост) is a steel arch bridge that spans Moskva River near the mouth of Yauza River, connecting the Boulevard Ring with Zamoskvorechye district in Moscow, Russia. It was compl ...
were torn down to make way for the new bridge. The right wing of the Orphanage was topped out by June 1941, but the project was not completed until after World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Viewed from the outside, this later addition is only marginally different from the left wing, to which the top floor was added at about the same time. The main building conforms quite closely to Blank's original designs.
21st century – Parliament Center
Moscow chief architect A. Kuzminov proposed to house Russian Parliament Center in the premises of the Orphanage. The Russian Parliament Center will be used by both Russian Senate
The Federation Council (russian: Сове́т Федера́ции – ''Soviet Federatsii'', common abbreviation: Совфед – ''Sovfed''), or Senate (officially, starting from July 1, 2020) ( ru , Сенат , translit = Senat), is th ...
and Russian State Duma
The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...
as their main residence.Rossiiskaya Gazeta
/ref>
See also
*Smolny Institute
The Smolny Institute (russian: Смольный институт, ''Smol'niy institut'') is a Palladian edifice in Saint Petersburg that has played a major part in the history of Russia.
History
The building was commissioned from Giacomo Quar ...
– another educational institution founded by Betskoy
*Neoclassical architecture in Russia
Neoclassical architecture in Russia developed in the second half of the 18th century, especially after Catherine the Great succeeded to the throne on June 28, 1762, becoming Empress of Russia. Neoclassical architecture developed in many Russian c ...
*The Italian (2005 film)
''The Italian'' (russian: Итальянец, translit. ''Italyanets'') is a 2005 Russian drama film directed by Andrei Kravchuk. The screenplay by Andrei Romanov, inspired by a true story, focuses on a young boy's determined search for his ...
References
{{coord, 55, 44, 59, N, 37, 38, 12, E, type:landmark_region:RU, display=title
Residential buildings completed in 1781
Buildings and structures in Moscow
18th century in Moscow
1917 disestablishments in Russia
Education in Russia
Russian Empire
Theatre in Russia
Orphanages in Russia
Neoclassical architecture in Russia
1763 establishments in the Russian Empire
Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Moscow