The Nizhny Novgorod Branch of the Peasants' Land Bank was a pre-revolutionary Russian institution that operated in Nizhny Novgorod from January 16, 1897 to March 1918. The bank issued cash loans to peasants against land they were purchasing or already owned, facilitating its acquisition. The branch building at Piskunova Street is a federally protected architectural landmark and is today occupied by the Chkalov Palace of Children's Creativity.[1][2]

History of the institution

The Peasants' Land Bank was founded at the initiative of Alexander III and opened on April 10, 1883, in Saint Petersburg on the Admiralty Embankment. By the end of the 19th century it had 40 branches throughout Russia.[1] The Nizhny Novgorod branch opened on January 16, 1897, and was initially housed in the Sergeyev income-producing apartment building on Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street. After a branch opened in Vladimir in 1907, the Nizhny Novgorod branch began serving only its own governorate.[1]

On June 4, 1913, the bank's board petitioned the Ministry of Finance for permission to construct its own building. Permission was granted, and a plot in the city center was allocated for construction — the corner of Malaya Pecherskaya Street (now Piskunova Street) and Tikhanovskaya Street (now Ulyanova Street), near the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin and Blagoveshchenskaya Square. The site had historically been occupied by the estate of nobleman and actual state councillor S. A. Lvov, with a 17th-century park; according to tradition, it was here that N. M. Karamzin lived from October 1812 to May 1813.[1]

Construction of the building

The building was designed by Fyodor Osipovich Livchak, a civil engineer from Simbirsk who between 1906 and 1918 built around 50 urban buildings and complexes in Simbirsk and also worked in Tambov, Kursk, Alatyr, and Dimitrovgrad. In August 1913, the sketch design was approved by the bank's council and a construction commission headed by the new branch manager N. N. Anzhu; in January 1914, the design documentation was approved by the construction department of the Nizhny Novgorod Governorate administration.[1]

Construction was carried out with the support of Dmitry Sirotkin. The work was supervised by engineer P. V. Kikin, who had come from Saint Petersburg and had distinguished himself in the construction of bank buildings in Samara and Kursk. The contractors were Nizhny Novgorod residents K. Ya. Shabrin, A. V. Kolobyanin, and S. I. Gromov.[1]

Construction fell during the years of the First World War (1914–1915) According to a publication on Nizhny Novgorod real estate, construction was completed in 1916, not 1915 as stated in a number of sources.[3], which was reflected in the façade's decoration: three majolica panels depicted a peacetime ploughman against a central Russian landscape, a bogatyr (warrior-hero) fighting an enemy, and Cossacks pursuing retreating Germans. Above all three scenes ran the inscription: "This building was erected in the year 1914–1915 of the Great European War." The exterior combined an Art Nouveau structure with elements stylized after ancient Russian architecture, for which contemporaries likened it to a jewellery casket. The interiors featured ceiling stucco mouldings, oak panelling, mosaic floors, and copper floor lamps; the building was equipped with steam heating, running water, an electric alarm system, and a telephone.[2]

Later history

The bank opened in the new building in 1917 and operated there for just over a year: it was closed in March 1918.[2] During the 1920s the building housed the Council of the National Economy. In 1936 it was transferred to the Palace of Pioneers — the building was adapted for its new function in 1936 by architect Alexander Yakovlev.[3] — where numerous clubs and sections opened, as well as the country's first children's swimming pool.[2] The complex — the main building, the service wing, and the fence at 39 Piskunova Street — is listed among the federally protected historical and cultural landmarks (Presidential Decree No. 176 of February 20, 1995).[1]

During the Great Patriotic War the Palace of Pioneers became a refuge for children evacuated from besieged Leningrad.[3]

In 2021, the first large-scale restoration of the building since its construction began: the municipal institution GlavUKS entered into a municipal contract worth 136 million rubles with AVK Group LLC; the work was planned for completion by December 2021 but stretched over four years, continuing until 2024.[3]

The restoration was timed to coincide with the 800th anniversary of Nizhny Novgorod and provided for the restoration of the façade and interiors, replacement of the electrical wiring, fire and security alarm system, and CCTV system, as well as the creation of architectural and decorative lighting.[3]

Piskunova Street was formed by the merger of two historic streets — Osypnaya and Malaya Pechyorskaya; Osypnaya itself was laid out in the late 18th century on the site of ancient defensive earthworks that had encircled the city.[4]

Sources

  1. nn800.ru — Piskunova, 39 — the Peasants' Land Bank complex — I Discover Nizhny Novgorod (archive)
  2. ngodb.rf — Interactive Puzzles. The Peasants' Land Bank — Nizhny Novgorod State Regional Children's Library named after T. A. Mavrina (GBUK NO NGODB)
  3. GIPERNN — A University of Childhood: what the Palace of Pioneers in Nizhny Novgorod looks like after restoration — The building was constructed in 1914–1916, not 1914–1915 as stated in a number of sources… (archive)
  4. Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — From the fortress rampart to the photography museum: what is known about Piskunova Street — Piskunova Street, on which the building stands, was formed by the merger of two historic… (archive)