Seemingly a re-working of a design for a hydroelectric station, the Libray was constructed between 1928 and 1950, by Shchuko and Gelfreikh. The opening of Borovitskaya metro station, in 1985, caused subsidence and the loss of about 40.000 books.
The library was originally based in the Paskov House. This was originally a private house with a garden down to the Kremlin moat. In fact, when it was built by Bazhenov in the 1780s, it was one of the finest houses in Moscow. It was badly damaged during the 1812 fire, but restored by Bove with money from the King of Prussia, as a thank you for Russia's assistance in the war.
It was gambled away by Count Pashkov, it was bought by a Marshall who loved books and formed the Rumyantsev Library - the core of the later Lenin Library.
The Pashkov House has also been affected by substinence.
