called also Bolshaya Dmitrovka
(in Soviet times - Pushkinskaya Street)
Metro Okhotny Ryad
Bolshaya Dmitrovka runs parallel to Tverskaya Street from Okhotny Ryad to Strastnoi Boulevard. It led from Moscow to the town of Dmitrov, from where it took its name. Members of high society used to settle here, and so at one time the street was known as Dvoryanskaya Street (Nobility), and even further back it was called Klubnaya. for it had been the site of the Merchants' Club, second in popularity after the English Club.
On the right side of Dmitrovka at No. 6 is a building which from 1961 has housed the Moscow Theatre of Musical Comedy. But the theatrical history of this building begins a lot earlier. It was built in 1894 by the architect Tersky to a commission from a rich merchant, Solodovnikov, to be his own theatre. Soon the enterprising merchant began hiring out these convenient theatrical premises.
On 18 May 1896 a famous event took place here with the first showing in Moscow of 'moving pictures', as the cinema was called at that time.
In that same year S. Mamontov's Moscow Private Russian Opera rented the stage here and gave performances up to 1904, and they had outstanding success here. Sawa Mamontov gathered together under one roof a constellation of great talents: Fyodor Shalyapin made his first Moscow appearance on his opera stage; the opera conductor was Sergei Rachmaninov, while the sets were designed by the artist brothers A. and V. Vasnetsov, and 1. Levitan. Mamontov's stage was decorated by a magnificent curtain made to a sketch by Vrubel - a mediaeval knight playing the lute, and surrounded by three maidens listening, entranced, to his music.
In 1897 the company gave the premiere of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera Sadko. which became a sensation in Moscow's cultural life. After that all the theatre's productions were met with resounding success. Shortly the theatre fell upon hard times, for Sawa Mamontov was put behind bars for having made an imprudent financial operation, and the theatre found itself without funds. The painter Valentin Serov petitioned the Emperor for Mamontov's release, and in February 1900 he was discharged. But his financial situation had been seriously undermined, and he was no longer able to invest in the theatre. The theatre changed ownership, and was renamed 'Partnership of Russian Private Opera'. In 1903 the theatre was transferred to the 'Hermitage Garden'. The stage of the Dmitrovka building was taken over by the Zimin Opera Company, and in 1917 it received state status, while in 1924 it became a branch of the Bolshoi Theatre and initially was named the Experimental Theatre. When in 1961 a second stage was given to the Bolshoi Theatre in the Kremlin Palace of Congresses, the building was given to the Moscow Theatre of Musical Comedy.
Up to the early 20th century, the Church of the Resurrection in Skomoroshniky stood on the left-hand side of the street at No. 13. The church was burnt down in the fire of 1812, and in 1834 was dismantled and a residential house was built on the site. The ground floor was occupied by Milke's optician's, where Chekhov, who lived nearby, ordered his pince-nez. The building also accommodated the shop 'Foreign News', where to play practical jokes on one's friends one could buy wooden sweets in a box, looking like real ones, exploding cigarettes and other dubious souvenirs. In the early 19th century the area from Stoleshnikov Lane to Glinishchevsky Lane (in Soviet times - Nemirovich-Danchenko Street) was owned by D. Golitsyn, governor-general of Moscow, whose mother was used as the model for the aged countess in Pushkin's Queen of Spades.
At No. 15a on the left side of the street is a house constructed in 1824. Here Griboyedov stayed with his friend Begichev in 1828 during his last visit to Moscow. On taking leave of his friend the writer was very sad as if he had a presentiment of death. Shortly afterwards he was killed, while carrying out a diplomatic mission for the Russian Embassy in Iran. At the present time the building is occupied by the Prosecutor-General's Office of the Russian Federation.
Glinishchevsky Lane leads off from the left of Dmitrovka. At No. 6 there is a small two-storeyed mansion constructed in the late 18th century, which belonged to the famous French milliner Madame Ober-ShaIme, who was to become a spy for Napoleon. Her hat shop on Kuznetsky Most was very popular in Moscow. Certainly the prices of the objects of desire for Moscow's young ladies of fashion were unreasonably high, and so she was called 'Ober-Shelma' (Top scoundrel). Napoleon consulted her at Petrovsky Palace about the liberation of Russian peasants from serfdom. At her suggestion a canteen for Napoleon was set up in the sanctuary of the Kremlin Archangel Cathedral. Later the Hotel 'Sever' was opened in this building, and subsequently renamed Anglia'. Pushkin frequently stayed here and worked on Onegin's Travels, wrote the poems The Caucasus and A Traveller's Lament. It was in this hotel that Pushkin met the Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz.
Let us return now to Bolshaya Dmitrovka. No. 17, now occupied by the musical theatre, was in the 18th century home to Count P. Saltykov, a great military leader and later governor-general of Moscow. Part of the old mansion is preserved in the left side of the modern building. From 1839 to 1909 Saltykov's house was rented by the Merchants' Club, and Moscow's merchants would often relax here in its elegant restaurant, or in the gaming rooms. Sometimes the club's main hall would be hired out for various functions. In 1843 Liszt gave a concert here, and in 1857 the nobility, including Lev Tolstoy, held discussions on the abolition of serfdom. At the beginning of this century the Merchants' Club transferred to Malaya Dmitrovka Street.
In 1913 the successful impresario Tomas opened the cabaret 'Maxim' here, so named by analogy with the renowned Paris restaurant. It became very popular among Muscovites who liked to relax in style. After the revolution the cabaret was closed down and its stage was given over to the Dmitrovsky Theatre, where various companies gave performances, in the main musical comedies. From 1926 the music studios (later theatres) of Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko began to have exclusive use of the stage, and in 1941 they joined forces to become the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre.
Petrovsky Lane (in Soviet times - Moskvin Street) leads off the right side of Bolshaya Dmitrovka to Petrovka. No. 3 in the late 19th century was occupied by the well-known Korsh Theatre. The Bakhrushins, a Moscow merchant family, provided the land for Korsh to build this theatre, for one member of the family was a passionate theatre lover. The building, designed by the architect M. Chichagov, was erected in 1885 as a fine example of the Russian style. Among the notable actors, who appeared in this theatre, Moskvin, Ostuzhev and Ktorov. A new play was pre miered on the stage of the Korsh theatre even' Friday. Inevitably, some of them were failures, but good performances continued for many years. From 1933 the stage has been used by a branch of the Moscow Arts Theatre.
At the very beginning of Malaya Dmitrovka stands the magnificent Church of Nativity in Putinky. It was constructed between 1649 -1652, and looks almost as if it were twisted together out of lace. A long time ago this area was called Putinki (from the word put- way) for here, close
to the Tverskiye Gates of the White City, two roads met, one to Dmitrov and the other - to Tver. Originally a wooden church with three domes, built in 1625. stood on this site. In 1648 it was burnt down, and through the Ierusalim Patriarch its parishioners asked the Tsar for money for the construction of a stone church. For the first time in Rus the side chapel was consecrated in honour of the Icon of the Mother of God of Neopalimaya Kupina which was considered to be the Protector against fire. This church was the last building in Moscow to employ the spire architectural style. before Patriarch Nikon's famous edict in which he prohibited this style and required that all places should adopt the style of cross-and-cupola churches. This edict was repealed in the second half of the 17th centum after Nikon had been sent into exile.
The next building at No. 6 was built between 1907-1909 to the design of Ivanov-Shiets for the Merchants' Club, which had outgrown its premises on Bolshaya Dmitrovka. But they were not destined to enjoy the new building for verv long. In January 1918 anarchists broke into the building, turned everything upside-down and put up their black flags and posters on the front of the house with the inscription 'Anarchy House'. It was only after several weeks that they were removed by members of the Cheka. Soon afterwards the Soviet Party School was opened here, changing in July 1919 into Sverdlov Communist University. Later the building was used as a cinema, and from 1933 it housed the Theatre of Working Youth (TRAM), which in 1936 changed its name to the Lenin Komsomol Theatre.
