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The House Where Demyan Bedny Lived

Фото 1
The stone two-story building with a basement is located end-on to Rozhdestvensky Boulevard and marks the northwest boundary of the former estate plot. The earliest part of the building, facing the boulevard, was constructed between 1787 and 1793 at the request of the wife of guard ensign A.P. Karamyshev as a residential wing of the estate. The architect's name is unknown. In 1794, there was only one room on each floor. The Karamyshevs owned this land at least since the 1730s. The reconstruction of the complex was likely related to the dismantling of the White City wall at the end of the 18th century, which gave rise to boulevards and made the area more prestigious. The Karamyshev plot ended up on the border of one of the grand urban thoroughfares. The estate survived the fire of 1812, and the owners rented out part of the buildings, including the western wing, as it was an independent structure.

In 1825, the property passed to merchant O.I. Turowskaya. In 1852, the new owner, the wife of a merchant from Friedrichsham, K.E. Tsenker, ordered a major reconstruction and expansion of the wing. At that time, a two-story passage in the form of a covered gallery with an arch on the first floor was built, connecting the building with the main house of the estate from the late 18th century. The existing facade of the building along Rozhdestvensky Boulevard also appeared around this time. The southern part of the house was added in 1913 when architect N.A. Zhukov, at the request of K.E. Tsenker, built a new two-story residential volume called the "mansion." The section along the western boundary of the plot was intended for an expensive apartment. In 1914, the building, along with constructions 1A and 1B, was used as a grand urban mansion for the Tsenker family. A rich decorative interior has partially survived to this day.

After 1917, the estate buildings were used for administrative purposes. In 1933, the proletarian writer Demyan Bedny moved here with his wife Vera Rufovna to the wing of the former Tsenker estate. This occurred during his fall from grace, when he was forced to leave his apartment in the Kremlin, likely not only for political reasons but also due to his excessive behavior and attempts to involve members of the party elite, including I. Stalin, in his personal life. Vera Rufovna tried to get an audience with Stalin to resolve family disputes. Bedny, in a letter to Stalin, spoke unfavorably of the new apartment, calling it a "rat shed with plywood partitions." He complained about the noise, cold, and gloom, but there was no response. Newspapers had almost stopped publishing his works, and he continued to try to reach Stalin, arguing that the harassment around him was unfounded. However, Stalin's reaction was the opposite.

D. Bedny lived on Rozhdestvensky Boulevard almost until his death, leaving it in 1943. His museum was located here, and later the library of the State Literary Museum. Information about the current owner of the mansion is absent. The building was restored in the 2000s and is in good condition.

Geo point

Дом, в котором жил Демьян Бедный (Ефим Алексеевич Придворов)

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