The building at the intersection of Gorky Street and Stolypin Avenue, known as the 'Hotel Russia', has long lost its hotel function. It was not a hotel even at the time of its construction. Likely, it is the oldest building on the avenue. In the 1840s, when Stolypin Avenue, then called German Street, was built up with single-story wooden houses, the German Dubek erected a spacious two-story house here, which immediately became the dominant feature of the street. For a long time, this house remained the largest in the area.

The building changed several owners. In the mid-19th century, merchant N.A. Barsukov established a hotel here, which after his death in 1863 passed to the Gudkov brothers. The first photograph of the hotel ('Rooms for Arriving Gudkovs') shows a three-story building without balconies, with mezzanines overlooking both streets. On the ground floor was Shmukker's pharmacy.

In the late 19th century, the building passed to the well-known miller Ivan Ivanovich Zeifert, who carried out its reconstruction. According to the project by architect F.I. Shuster, the corner of the building was transformed into a tall turret with a spire and weather vane. The turret featured the owner's monogram, intertwining letters 'I' and 'Z', and on the weather vane, the new name of the hotel, 'Russia'.

An iron canopy was installed over the sidewalk adjacent to the building, the central part of which transitioned into a large corner balcony on the second floor, serving as a summer terrace for the hotel restaurant. An electric lantern was placed at the entrance. A private power station provided nighttime lighting for the building. All work was carried out by specialists from the 'Siemens and Halske' company. Interestingly, the construction of the corner turret was not approved by the city authorities, leading to lengthy legal disputes.

The 'Russia' hotel, with 100 rooms, offered steam heating, electric lighting, shower rooms, and the first elevator in the city. In 1902, Zeifert added a fourth floor, removing the mezzanines and adding attics with domes. Additional balconies appeared on the 3rd and 4th floors. Guests were offered transportation, with a tram service starting in 1908, and private cars for delivery to the station.

In 1911, the owner of the hotel became Pavel Ignatievich Ivontiev, and the last owner from 1916 was Andrei Andreyevich Bender, the son of the 'sarpinochny king'.

After the 1917 revolution, the building was requisitioned but continued to function as a hotel. Among the notable guests were Vladimir Mayakovsky (1914) and Nestor Makhno (1918).

The pharmacy remained at the corner of the building until 2004, almost 120 years!

Since the 1920s, the building became a dormitory. One former resident recounted that there was one kitchen with four gas stoves for a corridor with 16 rooms, a shared toilet, and a washing area. The floors in the corridor were asphalted. The grand cast-iron staircase has been preserved since the hotel days, and between the first and second floors was a grotto with a fish that sometimes spouted.

In the 1990s, a fire occurred in the building, damaging the turret with the weather vane, domes, and many rooms. The press reported arson. Residents were relocated, and commercial organizations occupied the building. Attempts at restoration were unsuccessful.

It is sad to compare the decor in photographs of the hotel over the last 100 years. Almost all the stucco, turrets, attic structures on the roof, and the cast-iron canopy over the first floor have completely disappeared. Inside, the remnants of the cast-iron staircase, ceiling stucco, grotto with the fish, and restaurant balconies with wood carvings are in a deplorable state. The courtyard part collapsed many years ago.

On the night of November 4, 2021, a major fire occurred in the building, destroying the roof and the upper floor.