Chicherin House
Chicherin House was a historic landmark building at 15 Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, known at different periods as Kosikovsky House, Elisseeff House, the House of Arts, and Barrikada cinema.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
Chicherin House was a prominent historic building at 15 Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, positioned between Bolshaya Morskaya Street and the Moika River embankment. It was not a commercial brand in the conventional sense, but an architectural landmark whose identity changed with its owners, tenants, cultural institutions, and public uses. The site had an important prehistory. In the early eighteenth century it accommodated Mytnyi Dvor, a two-storey trading and administrative complex associated with architects Georg Johann Mattarnovy and Nicolaus Friedrich Harbel. That structure was destroyed by fire in 1736. In 1755, Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli built a temporary wooden Winter Palace on the vacant site for Empress Elizabeth while the permanent Winter Palace was under construction. The temporary palace also hosted theatrical performances and is associated with the early development of Russia's professional theater under actor and director Fyodor Volkov. Elizabeth lived there until her death in 1762. The wooden palace was demolished in 1767 after falling into disrepair. Catherine II then granted the land to Nikolai Ivanovich Chicherin, chief of police in Saint Petersburg. A large four-storey residence was erected between 1768 and 1771. Its architect has not been conclusively identified; proposals have included Jean-Baptiste Vallin de la Mothe, Yury Felten, Alexander Kokorinov, and Andrey Kvasov. The building's original neoclassical composition was notable for its rounded corner, which allowed the facades facing Nevsky Prospekt and the Moika area to merge into a continuous urban ensemble. Chicherin's family occupied part of the building, while shops and rented apartments supplied the rest of its mixed-use function. The property became a setting for commerce, publishing, dining, music, political discussion, literature, and performance. A music club opened there in 1778 and held regular concerts and masquerades before closing in 1792. After the Chicherin family sold the property, it was associated with Prince Alexei Kurakin and later with financier and merchant Abram Peretz. During the nineteenth century, the building was expanded and altered. Under merchant Kosikovsky, architect Vasily Stasov added a section along Bolshaya Morskaya Street in 1814–1816, including a twelve-column facade commemorating Russia's victory over Napoleon in 1812. Pierre Talon's restaurant operated in this section and was frequented by Alexander Pushkin. The building also housed Pluchart's publishing enterprise, which issued important literary works, and was connected with journals, writers, artists, and political figures. In 1858 the Elisseeff brothers acquired the property. Nikolai Grebenka directed a major reconstruction from 1858 to 1870, including changes to the Nevsky-facing windows and an additional Moika-side section. The Elisseeffs used the building as both a commercial and cultural address. Their salon, established in 1860 and maintained until 1914, hosted writers and public figures, while the building also witnessed the premiere of Modest Mussorgsky's opera Khovanshchina in 1886. A chess club founded there in 1862 was closed by police after authorities suspected that its members were using meetings for constitutional and revolutionary discussions rather than simply playing chess. Following the 1917 Revolution, the building's cultural role continued in a new form. From 1919 to 1923, Maxim Gorky organized the House of Arts there, providing living and working space for writers, poets, artists, and composers during the Russian Civil War and post-war shortages. Literary evenings and studio activities made the premises an important center of Petrograd's cultural life. In 1923, a cinema opened under the name Light Ribbon and was renamed Barrikada in 1931. The cinema continued operating during the Siege of Leningrad, screening films and wartime documentaries. It remained open until the late 1980s, when the building's deteriorating condition forced closure. After repairs, the theater reopened in 1998, but the historic structure was closed again for reconstruction in 2006. In June 2007, it became publicly known that the original building had been demolished and replaced by a new structure designed to resemble it. The reconstruction resulted in the loss of the original interiors and substantially changed the site's historical material fabric. The former Chicherin House is therefore best understood as a layered urban and cultural landmark rather than an operating brand. Its significance derives from its association with imperial residence, neoclassical architecture, nineteenth-century commerce and publishing, Russian literary and musical life, Soviet cultural institutions, and the wartime continuity of cinema in Leningrad.
History
The site of Chicherin House has been occupied by several historically significant structures. Between 1716 and 1720, Mytnyi Dvor was built there by Georg Johann Mattarnovy and Nicolaus Friedrich Harbel. It included a two-storey gallery and a tower overlooking the Moika River, but was destroyed in the fire of 1736. The property remained vacant until 1755, when Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli constructed a temporary wooden Winter Palace for Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. The palace occupied the area between the Moika, Malaya Morskaya Street, and Bolshaya Morskaya Street while the permanent Winter Palace was being built. It also contained a specially prepared theater hall. Fyodor Volkov, who had been invited from Yaroslavl, directed performances there after becoming head of the Imperial Theater. Elizabeth lived in the temporary palace until her death in 1762. By 1767 the wooden structure had deteriorated and was demolished. Catherine II granted the land to Nikolai Ivanovich Chicherin, Saint Petersburg's chief police general. A four-storey house was built between 1768 and 1771. The architect is uncertain, with several major eighteenth-century architects proposed by historians. The building used a strict neoclassical vocabulary and was distinguished by a rounded corner that joined its two principal street facades. The family occupied the third floor, while the first floor contained shops and the remaining apartments were rented. A music club opened in 1778 and hosted concerts and masquerades, attracting figures such as Alexander Radishchev, Denis Fonvizin, Ivan Starov, and Fedot Shubin. The club closed in 1792 after failing financially. In the same year, Chicherin's heirs sold the property to Prince Alexei Kurakin. Mikhail Speransky lived there as a tenant and gained employment with Kurakin after impressing him with his assistance on a business letter. Abram Peretz, a merchant, financier, shipbuilding contractor, and salt supplier, owned the building from 1800 to 1806. Merchant Kosikovsky acquired it in 1806. From 1814 to 1816, Vasily Stasov added a section along Bolshaya Morskaya Street. Its twelve-column facade commemorated the Russian victory over Napoleon in 1812. Pierre Talon opened a restaurant on the ground floor, a venue associated with Alexander Pushkin and later referenced in Eugene Onegin. The restaurant closed in 1825. The building subsequently housed Pluchart's publishing house and bookstore, where works including Gogol's The Government Inspector and a Russian translation of Goethe's Faust were first printed. The editorial office of Otechestvennye Zapiski was also located there, and other tenants included publisher Nikolai Gretsch and writers and artists. Alexander Griboedov rented an apartment in the building in 1828 before departing for the Russian consulate in Tehran, where he was later killed. The Elisseeff brothers purchased the property in 1858. Nikolai Grebenka supervised alterations from 1858 to 1870, modifying some Nevsky Prospekt windows and adding a Moika-side section. The Elisseeffs were merchants, patrons, and collectors. Their salon, opened in 1860, remained active until 1914 and hosted readings and gatherings involving writers including Fyodor Dostoevsky, Ivan Turgenev, and Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin. Modest Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina received its premiere in the building in 1886. A chess club founded there in 1862 by Grigory Kushelev-Bezborodko was closed by police after reports that meetings had become a forum for constitutional and revolutionary discussion. After the October Revolution, the Elisseeff family largely left Russia. From 1919 to 1923, Maxim Gorky established the House of Arts in the former Elisseeff House. It accommodated numerous writers, poets, artists, and composers and hosted literary evenings during a period of civil war, scarcity, and political upheaval. In 1923, a cinema named Light Ribbon opened in the building and was renamed Barrikada in 1931. Dmitri Shostakovich briefly worked there as a pianist accompanying silent films. Barrikada stayed open during the Siege of Leningrad and screened both films and war documentaries. It continued until the late 1980s, reopened after repairs in 1998, and then closed for reconstruction in 2006. In 2007, the original building was reported demolished. A replacement structure with a similar external appearance was erected, and the historic interiors were lost.
- 2007
Historic structure replaced
[1]The original building was demolished during reconstruction and replaced by a visually similar structure.
- 1998
Barrikada reopens
[1]The theater reopened after repair work following its earlier closure.
- 1931
Cinema renamed Barrikada
[1]The cinema adopted the name Barrikada.
- 1923
Cinema opens
[1]The cinema Light Ribbon opened in the building and was later renamed Barrikada.
- 1919
House of Arts established
[1]Maxim Gorky established a residential and cultural center for artists and writers in the former Elisseeff House.
- 1860
Elisseeff salon established
[1]A cultural salon opened and remained active until 1914.
- 1858
Elisseeff ownership begins
[1]The Elisseeff brothers acquired the property and later commissioned extensive reconstruction.
- 1814
Stasov expansion begins
[1]Vasily Stasov added a section along Bolshaya Morskaya Street, including a commemorative colonnade.
- 1778
Music club opens
[1]A music club began holding weekly concerts and masquerades in the building.
- 1768
Chicherin House constructed
[1]A four-storey neoclassical building was erected for Nikolai Chicherin after the temporary palace was demolished.
Products and positioning
Historic Saint Petersburg landmark and former mixed-use cultural building
Historic architecture · 1768
Chicherin House
The eighteenth-century neoclassical building at 15 Nevsky Prospekt, expanded and altered over subsequent centuries. Its characteristic rounded corner connected the Nevsky Prospekt and Bolshaya Morskaya Street facades in a continuous urban composition.
Cultural institution · 1919
House of Arts
A cultural and residential center established by Maxim Gorky from 1919 to 1923. It provided accommodation and working space for writers, artists, poets, and composers and hosted literary events during the difficult years following the Revolution.
Cinema theater · 1923
Barrikada
A cinema that opened as Light Ribbon in 1923 and was renamed Barrikada in 1931. It remained open during the Siege of Leningrad, later operated until the late 1980s, and reopened after repairs in 1998.
Brand decisions
2006
Reconstruction of the former cinema buildingOtherBackground
The building was closed for reconstruction after its earlier deterioration and the closure of the cinema.
Action taken
The original historic structure was demolished and replaced with a new building designed to resemble it.
Aftermath
The original interiors were lost, and the material authenticity of the historic landmark was substantially reduced.
Recent events
- 2007
Original Chicherin House demolished during reconstruction[1]
Other
After the building was closed for reconstruction in 2006, it became known in June 2007 that the historic structure had been demolished and replaced by a new building designed to resemble it. The original interiors were lost.
Barrikada cinema continued operating during the Siege of Leningrad[1]
Other
The cinema in the building remained open during the Siege of Leningrad, showing wartime documentaries and earlier films. Its continued operation became a symbol of cultural and informational continuity during the siege.
Sources1 sources
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