Legendary Yusupov Palace on Chistye Prudy to be restored

Yusupov Palace in Moscow dating back to the late 16th – early 17th century will soon be restored. The building is located at 21/4 Bolshoy Kharitonyevsky Pereulok. A federal significance cultural heritage site, it is officially called Volkov Boyars Chambers (Yusupov Palace).

The listed building is owned by the state. Two years ago, it was put under operational administration by the Arkhangelskoye Memorial Estate. The Chambers will become a museum after restoration.

It is one of the oldest residential houses in Moscow. Last December, exerts started examining its condition. The Moscow Department of Cultural Heritage granted the permit for R&D works in the palace.

Experts will have to determine how well all palace elements, both inside and outside, are preserved. They will examine the condition of the façade, limestone decor, roofing, window openings, stairs, cellars, attics, flooring, walls, roof arches, wall paintings, and wood carvings. Project restoration papers will be developed following the examination results.

“Complex restoration of Yusupov Palace on Bolshoy Kharitonyevsky Pereulok is a truly anticipated event. The Chambers were private property for a long time. Owners did not care to conserve them, although it was urgently needed. To restore the ancient Chambers, their current state must be thoroughly examined, with a detailed restoration project following. Experts have already started working. After that, the restoration will start," said Alexey Yemelyanov, Head of the Moscow Department of Cultural Heritage.

R&D, survey, and project works are to be completed by the end of 2022. The project will include all proposed solutions on how to conserve the cultural heritage site and adapt it to a museum.

Later, the project will undergo state historical and cultural study. In case of a favorable conclusion, it will be submitted for approval to the Moscow Department of Cultural Heritage. The approved document will be a reason for restoration works permit. Restoration works in Yusupov Palace will start in 2023. Funds for R&D will be allocated from the federal budget. The Moscow Department of Cultural Heritage will supervise the restoration.

Fairytale maiden tower in Basmanny District

Volkov – Yusupov Stone Chambers are one of the few residential buildings in Moscow that have survived in their original state with only insignificant changes. We do not know for sure when and by whom it was built. Historians assume the building was erected in the late 16th – early 17th century by Russian architects.

Yusupov Palace is a complex structure consisting of three buildings. On the right are two-story chambers with a red porch; the middle part has a two-story house with a glass terrace; on the left, we can see a three-story house, a wing.

The right part of Yusupov Palace is the oldest. It looks like a fairytale maiden tower. Its cellar dates back to the late 16th – early 17th century. One Moscow legend has it, there was Ivan the Terrible’s hunting palace with an underground passage to the Kremlin in the 16th century. The Russian Tsar could start off for hunt here. However, historians could not find any documented proof.

The façades of the chambers are pompously decorated. The red exterior walls have carved patterns, while the windows have limestone trims. The red porch leads guests straight upstairs. And on top, there is a hip roof with ridges and wind vanes.

The Red and Hunting Halls are on the first floor of the palace. The Hunting Hall’s vaulted ceiling has decorative paintings with scenes from Ivan the Terrible’s life. The Red Hall has a splendid floral pattern. The stairs to the second floor have lions with Yusupov family’s emblem on both sides. On the second floor are Chinese, Emblem, Portrait, Throne, office, and dining rooms. Walls and vaults in each room have special decorations and unique paintings. Besides, you can see old Dutch tile stoves in all halls. For example, ceramic stove tiles in the Portrait Room have the alphabet in pictures. And the stove in the Emblem Hall is decorated with unusual lemon-colored tiles with a floral pattern.

Baron Peter Shafirov (1669-1739), Peter the Great’s closest companion, diplomat, and vice-chancellor, was the first documented owner of the Palace. Most likely, the building was granted to him in the late 17th century. In 1723, he received Peter I here. There is a relevant note in the emperor's travel journal. The Chambers’ owner changed that same year. It was Privy Councilor in Deed Count Pyotr Tolstoy (1645-1729) He owned the stone building for four years. After that, Alexey Volkov, chief secretary of the War Collegium, owned the house for six months. Now, it is his surname that we see in the architectural complex name. In 1727, Peter II granted the palace to Prince Grigory Yusupov-Knyazhevo (1676-1730), lieutenant colonel of the Preobrazhensky Regiment and general-in-chief. It remained Yusupov family property for 190 years, until 1917.

Zinaida Yusupova was the last owner of the old palace on Bolshoy Kharitonyevsky Pereulok. When she lived here, the palace was substantially restored between 1891 and 1895. At first, in 1891, the left part of the chambers was rebuilt under the project of architect Viktor Pomerantsev. The third floor was built over, rooms reconfigured, and façades decorated. The oldest chambers in the right (eastern) part were restored between 1892 and 1895. Nikolay Sultanov developed the architectural project. He preserved the luxurious exterior decor, restored the high roofs with wind vanes and chimneys, and added sashes to windows to imitate the 17th-century mica windows. At the courtyard side, a high porch was built. The room configuration has been preserved original.

After the 1917 Revolution, the palace became state-owned. Princess Zinaida Yusupova and her son Felix fled abroad. Collections of paintings, antique furniture, rare crystal and porcelain dish collection, and other household items were transferred to state repositories.

 In 1929, the board of the Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences was located here. Later, it hosted the Museum of Noble Household, the Military Historical Museum, and Volkov—Yusupov Palace museum. Since 2004, the Palace has had several tenants. In 2007, one of them attempted restoration, but the works did not comply with the relevant quality standards and were not duly supervised. In 2020, the landmark became state property. After it was put under operational management by the Arkhangelskoye Memorial Estate,  it was decided to restore the building properly. After all works are over, the palace will house a museum.