Buildings of the insurance company “Russia”

The complex of buildings of the insurance company “Russia” – two buildings of tenement houses built in Moscow in 1899-1902 for the insurance company “Russia” according to the project of architect N. M. Proskurnin.

Located at the address: Sretensky Boulevard, 6/1, building 1 and 2, they occupy the entire block between Frolov, Bobrov and Milyutinsky lanes. They have the status of an object of cultural heritage of federal significance.

In the 18th century, there was an old post office on this site, then from 1886 to 1888 – the folk theater “Skomorokh”. After the theater was closed (due to lack of funding), the Rossiya insurance company decided to build an apartment building here.

Consists of two apartment buildings of different sizes; the facades are decorated in the spirit of the late Italian Renaissance, on numerous cartouches there is the monogram of the Rossiya Insurance Company – COP. The forged fence between the buildings was made according to a drawing by russian architector Otto von Dessin.

The spacious layout of apartments from three to nine rooms (150-200 m², according to other sources from 200-400 m², ceiling height – from 3.8-4.2 m) was combined with unique engineering equipment. A complex ventilation system provided for heating, filtering and humidifying the outside air. The Moscow water supply system did not work well at that time, so an artesian well was cut in the basement to a depth of 50 meters. Each entrance had electric elevators – a rarity for Moscow at that time. The house had its own telephone exchange hub. Oil was stored in one of the basements; it was needed for an autonomous power plant, which provided all 148 apartments with light, energy and hot water. In terms of comfort, the house had no competitors. The apartments there were extremely expensive. Only very rich people could rent them.

Currently, the houses remain residential, part of the premises is rented as offices.

Located near the metro stations Turgenevskaya, Chistye Prudy, Sretensky Boulevard.

Attractions around: Myasnitskaya StreetMenshikov TowerChistye Prudy (pond)Chistoprudny BoulevardSovremennik TheatreTurgenevskaya SquareBolshoi TheatreManezhnaya SquarePloschad Revolyutsii (square)State Duma buildingHouse of the UnionsTretyakovskiy proezdCentral Children’s StoreLubyanka BuildingMetropol Hotel, Et Cetera theatre, Turgenev Library, Tsentrosoyuz Building,  Kremlin, Nikolskaya StreetPolytechnic Museum, Sretenka street.

See also Architecture of MoscowPalaces and most historic buildings of Moscow.

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