Pavel Petrovich Malinovsky (May 6, 1869, Nizhny Novgorod — 1943) was an architect who worked in Nizhny Novgorod from 1893. He was one of the key figures in the architectural transformation of the city at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: under his supervision the municipal theatre was built, and he designed a power station, dozens of schools and hospitals, and a People's House. He is also known as a public figure who was a close friend of Maxim Gorky.[1][2]

Origins and Education

He was born into the family of a retired soldier-cantonist: his father was a self-taught military clerk who later worked as an office clerk, a proofreader at a private printing house, and a choir conductor; his mother had been an embroiderer before her marriage. There were eight children in the family.[1] In 1879, Pavel enrolled at the Vladimirskoe Real School on a tuition-free place allocated by lottery among children of the raznochinets class; during his studies he earned extra money by giving private lessons, carving in soft alloys, and copying technical drawings.[1][2]

In 1887, having graduated from the real school with distinction, Malinovsky was admitted to the St. Petersburg Institute of Civil Engineers. There he joined the Nizhny Novgorod student fraternity and took part in the political student movement. In 1892 he completed his studies with a gold medal in architecture and was appointed architect of the St. Petersburg Port. However, he refused to swear an oath of loyalty to the throne and returned the Order of Vladimir that had been conferred on him. The refusal was treated as an anti-government act: Malinovsky was dismissed and expelled from St. Petersburg by the police. He spent some time in Kologriv in Kostroma Governorate.[1][2]

Work in Nizhny Novgorod

In 1893 Malinovsky settled in Nizhny Novgorod and took up a post as architect at the municipal administration. His first major undertaking was overseeing the construction of the municipal theatre to a design by V. A. Shröter — one of Russia's leading theatre architects of the time. Malinovsky organized courses for painters, plasterers, stucco workers, and carpenters, achieved a high standard of finishing work, and independently improved the heating and ventilation systems. The theatre opened on 15 May 1896 with a gala performance of M. I. Glinka's opera A Life for the Tsar, featuring F. I. Shalyapin; on 1 September 1896 a drama company led by Nikolai Sobolshchikov-Samarin inaugurated the first dramatic season.[1]

Between 1894 and 1896, Malinovsky took part in constructing the pavilions for the All-Russian Trade and Industrial Exhibition of 1896 and in the Dmitrievskaya Tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin. A major independent commission was the design of the power station building near the pontoon bridge, which received favourable notices in the local press; after this, private commissions began to flow in.[2]

Over the following six years Malinovsky served with the Nizhny Novgorod Provincial Zemstvo: around 100 schools and hospitals across the governorate were built to his designs. At the same time he worked on a design for the Transfiguration Cathedral in Sormovo in the Byzantine style.[2]

The People's House and Public Activities

In 1899 Malinovsky Gorky; their friendship deepened in 1901, when the Peshkov family spent the summer at the Malinovsky dacha at Mokhovye Hills. They were also brought closer by their shared involvement in founding the People's House. In February 1902 the City Council on the outskirts of the city, and Malinovsky took on the design and supervision of construction on a pro bono basis.[2]

Sources

  1. opentextnn.ru — Section 8. Local History Research — OPEN TEXT (archive)
  2. archives.nobl.ru — On the 155th anniversary of the birth of architect P. P. Malinovsky (1869–1943) / State Archival Service of Nizhny Novgorod Region
  3. names52.ru — Malinovsky Pavel Petrovich — The power station building near the pontoon bridge also served as the vestibule of the Pokhvalinsky funicular. (archive)
  4. project10498311.tilda.ws — PAVEL PETROVICH MALINOVSKY — The construction of the People's House on Ostrozhskaya Square, completed in 1903, was made possible in part through charitable donations from…
  5. temples.ru — Section "Architects" — brief notes on builders, craftsmen, artists, and architects — In 1908 Malinovsky moved to Moscow. After the October Revolution he headed… (archive)