Nikitsky Boulevard, russian: Никитский бульвар, is a boulevard in central Moscow, Russia. The boulevard is a part of the Boulevard Ring, and begins at Arbat Square and New Arbat Street. The street ends at the crossing with the Nikitsky Street, where it becomes the Tverskoy Boulevard.
The Nikitsky Boulevard is located in the very center of Moscow, and is home to a lot of rich architecture. The street is also home to a monument of Nikolai Gogol, the famous russian writer.
Nikitsky Boulevard came into existence after the fire of 1812, when two rows of lime trees were planted. The boulevard takes its name from Nikitskiye Gates Square, from which it leads.
Gogol had his last flat at No. 7 on the left, where he lived until his death in 1852. In the evenings he loved to stroll along Nikitsky Boulevard, and Moscow students would sit for hours in the vicinity to take a look at him. He was often visited here by the writers Ostrovsky and Turgenev, and Shchepkin and other actors of the Maly Theatre, to whom he had read his play The Government Inspector on 5 November 1851. It was in this house that he wrote the second volume of his novel Dead Souls, and here that a few days before his death he carried out his 'self-immolation.' At 2.00 a. m. on 12 February 1852 he summoned his servant boy Semyon and ordered him to light the fire in his room. The lad had learned of his master's fame from his parents, and on his knees he begged Gogol not to burn his priceless manuscripts. Ten days later Gogol died, having refused all medical help. Just before his death he uttered the famous words: 'A ladder, bring me a ladder!'
Now the house is used by the Gogol Municipal Library, and his two-roomed flat has been made into a memorial museum.
The old statue to Gogol, made by the sculptor Andreyev, can be found here in the courtyard. It was put up in 1909 on Prechistensky Boulevard in the place where Tomsky's sculpture now stands.
When the original monument was unveiled the crowd was deeply shocked. Before them was Gogol, hunched, emaciated and at odds with the world. This martyr has suffered so much for Russia's sins,' exclaimed the artist Ilya Repin on seeing the statue. On the pedestal there is a bas-relief of Gogol's characters. Gogol sits surrounded by his heroes, but rises above them, like a bird with a big beak sadly fluffing itself up', as one of his contemporaries wrote. It is interesting that in the form of Taras Bulba the sculptor has depicted Vladimir Gilyarovsky, the well-known Muscovite reporter and writer.
Старый памятник Гоголю во дворе дома Талызиных / Old Monument to Gogol on the courtyard of Talyzin's House
Andreyev's statue stood on Gogolevsky Boulevard until 1952. There is a story that not long before the 100th anniversary of Gogol's death Stalin drove past the statue. Suddenly he was filled with dislike for Gogol's mournful and pensive aspect, which in his view 'does not reflect Soviet reality'. He immediately gave orders for the erection of a different statue, and the sculptor Tomsky completed the task. The new Gogol stands erect with a slight smile, and on the pedestal there is the absurd inscription: 'To the great artist in words, Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol from the Government of the Soviet Union'. Andreyev's statue was sent to the architectural graveyard at Donskoi Monastery, and after much effort by the community was only brought back from there in 1959. Thus there are two Gogols in Moscow, with completely different characters.
Opposite No. 7 is a building (No.8a) which is now more than 200 years old. It acquired its present appearance in the second half of the 19th century when it was rebuilt by the architect Viven. After 1812 it was the residence of the aristocrat A. Shcherbinina, the daughter of Yekatcrina Dashkova, who had been a companion of Catherine the Great. In the 1820s it was the home of Colonel Kiselyov, who was passionately fond of literature, and was a friend of Pushkin. The day after their wedding, on 20 February 1831 Pushkin and Natalia Goncharova attended a ball in Kiselyov's house.
After the revolution the mansion was requisitioned and given to journalists . It was opened as the House of the Press. In the building which evoked memories of Pushkin, the Soviet poets Blok, Yesenin and Mayakovsky would read their works. On 25 September 1925 Yesenin recited his poem Flowers here. This was his final performance in Moscow, for in December of the same year in the House of the Press the public paid its last respects to Yesenin. A mournful sign appeared on the house: A great poet has passed away.' A large crowd bore his coffin aloft along the boulevard walked three times around the Pushkin monument and then processed to the Vagankovskoye Cemetery for the interment.
Since 1938 the house has been known as the House of Journalists. A splendid mansion in the classical Moscow style stands on the same side of Nikitsky Boulevard (12a). It was built between 1818 and 1921 by Zhilyardi for P. Lunin, a relation of the Decembrist M. Lunin. Lunin's daughter married the Italian Count Ricci. who was a well- known opera singer. Countess Lunina-Ricci also had an excellent voice, and sang several times in the Tuillerie Palais in the presence of Napoleon. On the facade of the house an elegant moulded lyre can still be seen, and is a reminder of the frequent musical evenings that the Lunins held here. In 1821 the house was sold to the state bank, in whose ownership it remained for nearly 100 years. At present it accommodates the Museum of Oriental Art.
Nikitsky Boulevard, russian: Никитский бульвар, is a boulevard in central Moscow, Russia. The boulevard is a part of the Boulevard Ring, and begins at Arbat Square and New Arbat Street. The street ends at the crossing with the Nikitsky Street, where it becomes the Tverskoy Boulevard.