The Widow's Home — the most substantial shelter in Nizhny Novgorod: a solid, pre-revolutionary three-storey brick building stretching nearly an entire city block on Lyadov Square. It was opened with funds from the Nizhny Novgorod merchant community. The grand opening took place on 30 October 1887, and 160 widows with children found refuge here. On the initiative of Alexander Gatsiskiy, a school was opened at the Widow's Home with a particular emphasis on vocational training.
Nature of the Institution
A shelter providing housing for destitute widows and orphans.
The merchant trustees kept every resident in mind, helping with their day-to-day needs and often sending gifts. On major church holidays — Easter and Christmas — each person, children included, received one pood of flour.
The rules of residence at the Widow's Home were strict: at nine o'clock in the evening the gates were locked, and the warden and the house matron would make rounds of the apartments to check that all was in order.
Homeless Children
The home cared not only for foundlings but also for homeless children, who were housed, raised, educated, clothed, and shod — all at Bugrov's expense. Those who left the Widow's Home upon reaching adulthood could find employment with Bugrov. If they chose to make their own way in life, they were provided with everything they needed to start out, including money. According to the local historian Mila Smirnova, Bugrov himself would see them off in a formal ceremony.
The Foundling Cradle
The home had a dedicated reception room — a small chamber with an entrance from the courtyard, in the middle of which hung a rocking cradle suspended on a rope and lowered through a hatch from the second floor. Foundlings were left in this cradle, and nothing was known about their mothers. If a child had been baptised, a note was left with it stating the date of birth, the name, and the time of baptism. If the staff of the Widow's Home found no such note, they would baptise the child themselves and give it a name of their own choosing.
Interesting Facts
- The home had a medical ward with a pharmacy and a house church.
- Among the graduates of the Widow's Home school were several people who later became well known in Nizhny Novgorod — notably Pyotr Zalomov, who subsequently became an ardent opponent of the very Bugrovs who had given him a roof over his head and the opportunity to study.