What secrets are kept in the luxurious mansion of Kisa Vorobyaninov's prototype from "12 Chairs": Stakheev House in Moscow

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

There is a very beautiful mansion on Novaya Basmannaya Street: the Stakheev House. It is built in the neo-Greek style, and several styles are collected inside at once. This is perhaps one of the most striking examples of architectural eclecticism in Moscow. And one urban legend is also associated with this chic building, according to which it was the owner of the house on Novaya Basmannaya that many years ago became the prototype of Kisa Vorobyaninov (Ippolit Matveyevich) from “12 chairs”.

Millionaire from Elabuga

Nikolay Stakheev is a gold miner, tea manufacturer, trader in bread and sugar, owner of weaving manufactories, collector and philanthropist from a well-known old merchant family. By the way, he was the nephew of the artist Ivan Shishkin. The Stakheev dynasty of industrialists existed for about two hundred years (from the first half of the 18th century).

Millionaire merchant Nikolai Stakheev moved to Moscow from Yelabuga at the end of the 19th century. In the capital, he began to buy up old noble mansions in order to build new houses in their place - mostly profitable ones. Stakheev entrusted their design to his personal architect Bugrovsky.

Stakheev acquired a land plot on Novaya Basmannaya with an estate of the second half of the 18th century in the late 1890s in order to build a house for his family in its place, and not just a house, but a real palace. Designed, of course, by Bugrovsky. The sculptor Gladkov was involved in the decoration.

House outside and inside

The house was built in 1898. By the way, its construction cost Stakheev a million rubles. The building is neo-Greek and eclectic at the same time. The facades and Greek halls of the palace are classicism and baroque, the living room and the small hall are in the rococo style, the living room is gothic. There is also an English fireplace room, a Moorish smoking room and other interesting rooms.

On the walls you can see silk wallpapers, you can also admire beautiful stained-glass windows, marble and stucco decoration, inlaid parquet, many chic and beautiful details.

Near the white marble staircase that leads from the entrance to the hall, there are columns and pilasters made of artificial pink marble. Sphinx lamps in wall niches and torch lamps are also admired.

In the Gothic dining room, beautiful wood carvings can be seen on the walls. In the Moorish smoking room, decorated in an oriental style, intricate ornaments are interesting. The slopes of the windows are made of rare rocks.

In front of the building of Stakheev's house, the fountain "Goddess of the Night" is still preserved.

The owner of the house took the eastern wing of the building to an art gallery, because he was a keen collector of paintings, especially since his mother was Shishkin's sister. In the right wing, Stakheev placed his office.

Before the First World War, Stakheev left for France. By the way, he remained in Europe and died in Monte Carlo, having lived to be 81 years old.

After the departure of the owner and the onset of the revolution, since 1918 the building housed the People's Commissariat of Railways. Since 1940, the Central House of Railway Workers' children has been located here.

The mansion is recognized as a cultural heritage site of federal significance. His backyard area is now known as the Bauman Garden.

Stakheev and Vorobyaninov

Few people know that Stakheev is the prototype of Ippolit Matveyevich of 12 chairs. At least that's what the urban legend says. As already mentioned, before the First World War and a few years before the revolution, he decided to leave for France in order to save his capital. At the same time, the millionaire hid part of the money and jewelry in the hiding places of this particular mansion on Novaya Basmannaya. It was rumored that abroad Stakheev, being an avid gambler, lost and lost most of his money. Then the merchant decided to return to Russia in order to enter his Moscow house and take away the hidden treasures.

In 1918, he secretly arrived in Moscow, made his way into his former (already nationalized by the Soviet regime) mansion and emptied part of his hiding places. However, at the exit he was detained by the Chekists. According to another version, he was detained by the vigilantes on the way to the building. Dzerzhinsky himself interrogated Stakheev. They say that Stakheev in some incredible way was able to persuade Iron Felix to make a deal: he was allowed to leave freely in exchange for what he told about his other hiding places. Allegedly, part of Stakheev's jewelry went to the construction of the Central House of Culture of Railwaymen in Moscow.

It is believed that the journalists of the newspaper "Gudok" Ilf and Petrov learned about this story. They took the theme of the return of the former rich man-owner for their treasures as the basis of a future literary work, of course, significantly changing it.

Another interesting detail: the shooting of the program "Battle of Psychics" took place in this building.

By the way, in St. Petersburg there is also a vivid example of eclecticism in architecture, built by a man who did not count money and wanted to fit everything that was possible in this mansion. Kelch mansion … It is definitely worth visiting with a guided tour.