After the revolution and civil war in Russia in the 1920s, the world-famous Fedor Chaliapin toured France. There, he donated money to help starving children of émigrés, which the Soviet authorities perceived as support for the White Guards. As a result, Chaliapin was stripped of his title of People's Artist and banned from returning to his homeland. Settling in Paris, he continued to tour the world for 15 years. However, in 1929, while in America during 'Black Friday', he lost almost all his fortune due to the stock market crash, marking the beginning of the Great Depression.

Upon returning to France, Chaliapin purchased a modest villa near Paris, named 'Chanson' or 'Song'. He wrote to his daughter in Moscow, admiring this 'paradise', but lived there for only a year. Surrounding the house, built in the 19th century in Italian style, was a garden with a green meadow, a rectangular pond, and a large cedar in front of the facade. After Chaliapin's death, the estate was inhabited by the descendants of merchant Abrikosov, founder of the Babaevsky chocolate factory, and the Golovanov family, descendants of a major carrier from Russia. Abrikosov emigrated to France before World War I, while the Golovanovs left the Soviet Union in the 1930s. Chaliapin's widow transferred the estate to the Golovanovs before leaving for America, who later bought the villa after the war. A restaurant opened here, where the Union of Russian Officers in France gathered, and Colonel Vsevolod Kryzhanovsky of the White Volunteer Army worked as a gardener.

The estate hosted celebrities such as Coco Chanel, Gérard Philipe, and Jean Cocteau. Later, a shelter for underprivileged children was opened here.