17th century palace in Bryusov LaneBolshaya Nikitskaya Street in 2023
The street originated in the Middle Ages as a thoroughfare leading to Volokolamsk and Novgorod and was known as Volotskaya Street (eastern half) and Novgorodskaya Street (western half); a colony of Novgorod traders existed in present-day Bryusov Lane till the 18th century.
In the 16th century, Ivan IV of Russia established his Oprichnina Court on site of present-day University buildings. Nikitskaya name goes back to Nikitsky Convent that stood on site of present-day Subway Substation (no.7/10). The street housed various working communities serving the court, however, as soon as the 17th century, it also gained popularity among nobility. In Peter I's reign, it housed Peter's statesmen like Jacob Bruce, Fyodor Romodanovsky and admiral Fyodor Apraksin. The tradition continued with later statesmen like Alexander Suvorov, and by the end of the 18th century the street became an exclusive upper-class area, with one exception: the central corner block, occupied by Moscow State University building by Matvey Kazakov (1780s).
In the late 19th century, the central segment of Bolshaya Nikitskaya was built out with a tight pattern of 3-5 storey buildings, including Moscow Conservatory (first stage 1895-1901). Western part of the street remains a quiet area of old mansions. In 1917, Nikitsky Gates Square on Boulevard Ring was the site of urban war between Bolsheviks and government troops. The corner block on Tverskoy Boulevard, facing the square, burnt down. New city administration preferred to keep the open area and installed the monument to Kliment Timiryazev (1923), one of the oldest extant monuments of Soviet age.
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Architectural diversity - from Neoclassicism to Art Nouveau
