Who of the living now would not be curious to see how people lived before them, how they dressed, what they did, what they loved ... Unfortunately, we cannot return to the past, and we will not get to know the people who lived then, however -A little to open the veil of secrecy and plunge into the world of antiquity we are allowed to survive until now the buildings of past years. Now they are objects of cultural heritage and are completely saturated with the atmosphere and spirit of past eras. One of these buildings is the Petrovsko-Razumovskoye estate in Moscow. What is her story?
Cases of bygone days
Now Timiryazevskaya street lies at the place where the Petrovsko-Razumovskaya estate is located (pictured). And earlier, back in the sixteenth century, when there was no street at all, there was the village of Semchino. At first, the princes of Shuisky were its owners, but later the village passed into the hands of the Prozorovskys, and even later, closer to the end of the seventeenth century, it fell to the Naryshkins. It was during one of the Naryshkins in the village that a stone church was erected in the name of the holy apostles Peter and Paul. The village itself was renamed; it began to be called Petrovsky.
The second part in the name of the Petrovsko-Razumovskaya estate appeared almost a century later: it was then, in the middle of the eighteenth century, as a dowry for one of the Naryshkins daughters, this estate and the whole village together with it received one of the representatives of the Counts Razumovsky, Kirill. The construction of the palace began on the estate; otherwise it is now called the main house of the Petrovsko-Razumovskaya estate (in the old photo above it is clearly visible).
Active construction
The phase of active construction on the territory of the new possession of the Razumovsky dynasty fell on the second half of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century. The stone walls of various buildings near the main building were erected, among which one can name the greenhouse, the Horse Courtyard, the riding hall, the carriage room, the pavilion where Kirill Razumovsky kept his richest collection - he collected minerals and various geological rocks. At the count, a beautiful pond and grotto appeared on the estate’s territory (the latter, by the way, as well as many buildings on the estate, remained intact to our time). And with a beautiful regular park (regular, or, in other words, a French park means the presence of a clear structure and geometrically correct layout of paths and flower beds), broken around the estate in the same years, with many trees and flowers decorated with rich sculptures, the Petrovsko-Razumovskoye estate acquired a finished, lived-in look. However, she did not have long to be in the hands of the previous owners ...
A Sound of Thunder
The next changes in the history of the estate were outlined in 1812. The war with France did not pass without a trace for the estate of Petrovsky-Razumovskaya. The French invaders invaded there, shamelessly defeated the estate and plundered it. The temple was desecrated, a vast forest was cut down. The era of prosperity was replaced by an era of desolation and despondency, which, however, did not last long: the year 1820 brought another change with it - the estate passed into the hands of the von Schulz brothers (to be more precise, it was one of them, a Moscow pharmacist). With them, the estate came to life, despite the fact that its main house, a beautiful example of the Baroque era, built in the form of a square, was dilapidated. Shultsy rebuilt the estate for the most part under summer cottages; however, the main house of the Petrovsko-Razumovskaya estate still remained. True, to be frank to the end, only the foundation has been preserved from the old main house. On this basis, one of the most famous metropolitan (and Russian) architects of that time (the sixties of the nineteenth century stood in the yard) built a new building by the name of Benoit. Of course, it was no longer a palace, but it was from old memory that the locals called it. This building was no worse than the previous one: it was crowned with a clock with a bell, and the facade was decorated with convex glass.
In addition to the new building of the main house, more than thirty country houses appeared on the estate. And Pavel von Schulz, the new owner, in addition to being a pharmacist, was also a doctor of medical sciences. He was engaged in medicinal plants and, indulging his scientific interest, even created a kind of plantation in the estate. However, the Shultsy did not for long own the estate with such a rich fate. Not far off was the time when the estate passed into the hands of the state ...
Agricultural Academy
Soon after the new building of the main house of the Petrovsko-Razumovskoye estate was erected, it was bought into the treasury for two hundred and fifty thousand rubles - at that time it was very good money. The purpose of this enterprise was the creation of an agro-academy. It was created - the Petrovsky Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Forestry, one of the buildings of which was the former main house of the former estate. This happened in 1865. It is from this period that the Timiryazev Academy in the Petrovsko-Razumovskaya estate has been leading its rich history - for more than one hundred and fifty years, although with different names, it has opened its doors year after year to those wishing to learn agronomic art. However, we will not get ahead of ourselves and return to the second half of the nineteenth century ...
In terms of its status, the new educational institution turned out to be “cooler” than the most notable institution existing at that time — the agricultural institute, which in our time is called the Moscow Agricultural Academy. And consequently, there were plenty of students wishing to study here. And no wonder: after all, among the teachers of the new House of Science there were so many eminent people of that time - both P. Ilyenkov, and K. Timiryazev (the academy was named after him), and I. Strebut, and many other outstanding minds of the nineteenth century .
The new academy gained fame in the capital and nearby cities, but it gained even greater fame after the murder was committed in one of the grottoes that have been preserved from the former estate. And the well-known Sergey Nechaev had a hand in him ...
Grotto of the estate Petrovsky-Razumovsky: the murder of a student
Under Cyril Razumovsky, several grottoes were located on the estate. One of them has survived to the present day, others have long been destroyed and / or dilapidated. In one of these grottoes, Sergei Nechaev, a nihilist and revolutionary, a radical, and several representatives of his group, known as the “Necaevans,” killed Ivan Ivanov, a student at the Petrovsky Academy, in late autumn 1869. Nechaev was famous for his desire to subjugate people to himself, enslave them with his will. Ivanov had the imprudence not only not to submit to Nechaev, but also to object to him. Fearing that such an example would adversely affect comrades from the circle, Nechaev decided to kill two birds with one stone at once: to rally the team - once, to eliminate the rebel - two.
First, Ivanov was stunned by a blow to the head, and then Nechaev finished it off from a revolver, firing directly at the head. The guy’s body was thrown under the ice into a nearby pond, believing that no one would find him until spring. However, the student was found after a few days, and they were detained in hot pursuit of the killers. All but Nechaev - he fled to Switzerland. However, after three years, the Swiss still extradited him to the Russian authorities, and a few years later Nechaev died in prison. The former estate has since received its infamous reputation, however, this tragedy has not diminished those who wish to study in it, and the grotto was soon demolished.
Facilities on the territory of the Academy
Separately, it must be said about the other (in addition to the former main house) buildings of the former Petrovsko-Razumovskaya estate (the entrance to them is closed, but more on that later). Some of the existing buildings were erected specifically for the needs of the Academy, some - rebuilt from existing ones. For example, under the former owners, a horse yard and an arena were located on the territory of the estate. With the advent of the Petrovsky Academy, these structures turned into a dairy farm and a forest library, respectively.
And in addition to new buildings, which were intended both for study and for living (and houses for the teaching staff, and peculiar student hostels), many different sculptural structures and monuments were erected on the estate, including, by the way, Kliment Timiryazev. And there also appeared its own arboretum.
Changing of the Guard
Or rather, the names. Until 1894, the educational institution was called the academy. In the aforementioned year, it was closed, and instead a similar institute with a botanical garden arose. However, a little more than twenty years later, the “academy” was returned to the name of the institution. This happened exactly in 1917.
Twentieth century
In the year of the Great October Revolution, another event occurred that affected the life of the former Petrovsko-Razumovskaya estate: it began to belong to Moscow and received the prefix "Moskovskaya". And after six years that it was once named in honor of the great emperor was forgotten, and the institution was given the name of no less great, but not the emperor, but the scientist - Kliment Timiryazev. The whole district where the former estate was located and the park on its territory received the same name. The district began to be actively built up with residential buildings, and the agricultural, or Timiryazevskaya, academy was at its center.
However, we will be insincere if we say that in the thirties of the last century only construction was carried out on the area of the former estate. Demolition also took place: objectionable buildings were demolished, and the Peter and Paul Fortress near the former estate fell under the "distribution". A wine store opened in its place, however, it did not exist for too long.
Currently
Since the current century, the Timiryazev Agricultural Academy in the official name has the additive: “Russian State Agrarian University”. It consists of four institutes and seven faculties, as well as thirty-one additional units, including a zoo station, a field experimental station, an apiary, an incubator, a plant protection laboratory, and so on.
Manor Petrovsko-Razumovskoe: how to get inside
Many lovers of antiquity, and not only, would like to take a walk on the territory of the former estate. Or maybe go inside it. However, everyone who wonders how to get to the Petrovsko-Razumovskoye estate will face cruel disappointment - because the entrance there, as mentioned above, is closed. The entire vast park, all the once gorgeous estate territory belongs exclusively to students of the Timiryazev Academy. The “mere mortal" can only admire the appearance of the buildings because of the high fence that surrounds the territory.
However, inquisitive minds were still able to figure out how to get into the Petrovsko-Razumovskaya estate: through a hole in the fence. It is not too wide, and you have to sweat before you manage to penetrate the territory. However, this does not stop Muscovites, and even mothers with strollers manage to crawl into the treasured place. It is worth recognizing: the park of the Timiryazev Academy is really very beautiful, and it is a pleasure to walk there. However, inside the buildings, whatever one may say, they still cannot pass.
Where is the estate
As it was already possible to conclude, the former estate of the Counts Razumovsky in Timiryazevsky district is located. The full address of the estate, and now the academy, is as follows: 49 Timiryazevskaya Street.
How to get there
To get to the Timiryazev Academy, you need to get to the ground transport stop with the same name. Many buses go there, among which are routes numbered 22, 87, 801 and so on. You can also get there by metro: in this case you should get off at the Petrovsko-Razumovskaya stop and walk along the Upper Alley.
Interesting Facts
- One of the owners of the Petrovsko-Razumovskaya estate is the grandfather of Emperor Peter the Great, a representative of the Naryshkin family. It was under him that the village of Semchino became Petrovsky.
- Under Lev Naryshkin, the estate hosted all kinds of mass celebrations, which gathered all of Moscow. One of them is Peter's Day.
- The pharmacist von Schulz initiated the appearance at the estate of the boat and rescue stations.
- Among the students of the Petrovsky Academy, it was simply called Petrovka.
- On the events associated with the murder of student Ivanov, based on the novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky "Demons".
- There were no exams at the Petrovsky Academy, and the students themselves could choose the subjects.
In every city of our country, a huge number of ancient architectural structures that surround us with the breath of ancient times are still preserved. And acquaintance - even superficial - with the history of these buildings gives us the opportunity to feel ourselves involved in the life of past years, makes it possible to remember what was once, and to carry this memory into the future.