Britain is not as far away as it seems. You will be surprised by the fact that in Moscow so many places that we used to consider "purely" Russian actually have British roots.
The Kingdom of England and the Russian Kingdom established relations in 1553, when the English navigator Richard Chancellor arrived in Arkhangelsk in search of the "northeast passage". Ivan the Terrible ruled in Russia at that time, who was interested in establishing trade relations with Europe, and in 1556 presented the British a court, granting them the right to free and duty-free trade in all Russian cities, serious customs privileges, as well as a number of other trade privileges. This state of affairs served as the basis for the creation of the Moscow trading company in London in 1555.
The purpose of our research is not to describe the development of difficult diplomatic relations between Russia and Britain, but to find out and track where and how Moscow is connected with the foggy Albion. By studying these places, we will be able to better understand our Russian history and realize the importance of cultural international relations. We have found eight iconic places that are worthy of attention, as places that embody the British spirit and the historical relationship between the two great countries - Russia and Great Britain.
Trail #1 TSUM
We will start our journey from the Theater Square. The iconic place where Britain's connection with Moscow can be traced is the current Central Department Store (TSUM), located at 2 Petrovka Street.
The Neo-Gothic building with Art Nouveau elements, which now houses this store, was built in 1908 by architect Roman Klein for the company "Muir and Mirrielees". The building was completely built in two and a half years. 1.5 million rubles were spent on the construction - a very large investment for that time.
The Scots Andrew Muir and Archibald Mirrielees were engaged in wholesale trade in English lace, fabrics and other goods coming from the British Empire in St. Petersburg. In 1885, they opened the trading house "Muir and Merilise", which was located in the same place where the Central Department Store is now located – in a three-story house on the corner of Petrovka and Teatralnaya Square.
The Muir and Mirrielees trading house was reputed to be one of the main stores in Moscow, where you could buy almost everything except groceries. They produced a lot of goods under their own brand, traded according to beautifully published catalogs. However, in November 1900, a fire completely destroyed the store building on Petrovka.
In 1906, the construction of a new building began. Roman Klein designed a seven-storey department store in the neo-Gothic style. This is the first building in Moscow where reinforced concrete structures were used, the same ones were used in the construction of skyscrapers in New York. The store was innovative in terms of equipment: a help desk, a waiting room, two elevators and a restaurant were equipped for customers. The widespread use of metal structures and the steel frame of the building, designed by the famous engineer V.G. Shukhov, provided an abundance of light and interior space.
In August 1908, the General Store of the Muir and Merilise Commercial and Industrial Partnership opened.
In December 1918, the store was nationalized. According to contemporaries, the department store was looted and closed in a short time.
In March 1922, Mostorg, the largest department store in the country, opened. In 1933, the department store received a new name - TSUM, the Central Department Store.
Trail #2 Hotel Metropol
Walking down Petrovka Street, on the left you will see the building of the Metropol Hotel, located at 2 Teatralny Ave.
The Metropol is a historic hotel built back in 1905 by Russian entrepreneur and philanthropist Savva Mamontov. The best artists and architects of the late XIX - early XX century participated in the development of the project. Today, the building is considered the most prominent representative of the Moscow Art Nouveau era and it is difficult to imagine the appearance of the center of the capital without it. How is this building related to Britain? The fact is that the author of the beautiful facades of the building was William Valcott, an architect and artist of British origin. William Valcott was born in the suburbs of Odessa in the family of a Scottish merchant and the daughter of a German colonist, whose ancestors settled under Catherine II on the annexed lands of Novorossiya.
The hotel is famous for the British guests who lived in it. For example, in 1931, Bernard Shaw, the great English playwright, stayed at the Metropole.
Trail #3 Spasskaya Tower
Our next target is located at Moscow, Red Square 3. We are looking at the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin. How can the symbol of Moscow be connected with Britain? It's all about the Kremlin chimes.
The author of the original clock was Christopher Galloway, a mechanic and architect originally from Scotland, who worked in Russia during the reign of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich in 1621-1645. When Mikhail Fyodorovich wished to arrange a clock with more complex mechanism on the Spassky Gate than before, the project was entrusted to Galloway, who also proposed to build a tall tower with a tent over the gate for the device of a new clock. The hipped roof was erected in 1624-1625 by architects Bazhen Ogurtsov and Christopher Galloway.
The device of the watch was unusual: the dial rotated, not the hands.
For making the watch, Galloway received a substantial reward in money and goods, for about 100 rubles.
The Galoway clock burned twice, in 1626 (restored by the master himself) and in 1658, after the repairit continued to serve properly until the beginning of the XVIII century. It was replaced when Tsar Peter decided to change "Moscow time" into German. In 1705, by his decree, the clock made in Amsterdam was installed in the Kremlin, with hands and a dial familiar to us with 12 hours.
Trail #4 The Old English Courtyard
Let's go to the Old English Courtyard! This is an architectural and historical landmark of Moscow, which is located at 4A Varvarka Street. In the XV—XVII centuries it was the residence of an English trading company, and during the embassy missions — the English Embassy House. It is considered to be the first official representative office of a foreign power preserved in Moscow.
The story goes that the English navigator Richard Chancellor, who set off in 1553 on three ships of a trading company to search for the northern route to India and China through the Arctic Ocean, accidentally landed on the shores of the Northern Dvina. The guest was received with honors and was most highly allowed to conduct duty-free trade in Russian cities. Three years later, Tsar Ivan the Terrible, interested in establishing trade relations with Europe, "granted the British a court in Moscow," granting them the right to duty-free trade in all Russian cities, serious customs privileges, as well as a number of other trade privileges. For the Moscow office, British merchants were allocated a house in Zaryadye.
Today, the museum reproduces the atmosphere of a medieval house. The exhibition includes archival documents, graphic works, photographic materials, as well as archaeological finds made during excavations in Zaryadye, telling about the history of the building and Russian-English relations of the XVI–XVII centuries.
The grand opening of the Old English Courtyard Museum took place on October 19, 1994, during the first official visit of the Queen of Great Britain to Russia. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip attended the opening of the museum. In 2024, the museum celebrates its thirtieth anniversary.
Trail # 5 Pavel Kharitonenko's Estate
The Residence of the Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is located at Sofia Embankment 14, p. 1. It is a cultural heritage site of regional significance.
The mansion on the Sofia Embankment, which is now owned by Nigel Casey, is an ancient page of Moscow history. A century ago, when a rich sugar grower Pavel Ivanovich Kharitonenko from Sumy decided to build himself a representative house in Moscow, he chose the most beautiful place - opposite the majestic Kremlin. Construction began in 1891, designed by architect Vasily Zalessky. The creation of the interiors was entrusted to the already famous master, Fyodor Shechtel. He applied that "artistic method", which later became known as eclecticism. This is a kind of avant-garde for that time.
In 1931, the British Embassy was located in the manor. Over the years, many British politicians and diplomats have stayed here – Winston Churchill, Harold Macmillan, Margaret Thatcher. In 1994, during her official visit to Russia, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain stayed here, and over the years other members of the British royal house visited the mansion – Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, Diana, Princess of Wales. With the construction of a new building and the relocation of the embassy, the mansion is the residence of the British Ambassador.
Trail # 6 Embassy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the Russian Federation
The British Diplomatic Mission in Russia is located in Moscow on Smolenskaya Embankment, at the address Lugansk People's Republic Square, VL 1.
The Embassy was built on a 0.92 hectare site, which was exchanged in the 1960s for two sites in London. The construction of the embassy began in 1997 under the supervision of foreign architects. The total size of the territory on which the facility is built is 0.92 hectares. It is a modern complex with a distinctive architectural feature. There are many glass elements in it, and a hemisphere is visible at the top of the highest building. The Embassy was opened by Princess Anne on May 17, 2000.
On April 27, 2007, the sculptural composition "Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson" (sculptor Andrey Orlov) was opened on the embankment near the walls of the embassy. The prototype of Sherlock Holmes was Vasily Livanov, and Dr. Watson was Vitaly Solomin, who played the main roles in the Soviet TV series of the same name based on the works of Conan Doyle, an English writer.
Trail # 7 St. Andrew's Anglican Cathedral
Another most English place in Moscow is located at 8/5 Voznesensky Lane. This is St. Andrew's Anglican Church, the only Anglican church in Moscow where services are held only in English.
In 1814, the British living in Moscow bought land and a house from Ensign Naumov, which was converted into a small chapel where divine services were held. By the 70s of the 19th century, it became obvious that a new building was needed for the sprawling English community. And so in 1882, the construction of the temple began in Voskresensky Lane.
During the First World War, parishioners opened a military hospital in Voznesensky Lane and gave free lunches. At the top of the tower, in a specially equipped hiding place, those who wished could rent a box for storing valuables and papers — alas, in 1917 they were all expropriated. The church was famous for its acoustics and organ, unfortunately lost after the revolution. In the 1920s, the church, like many other churches in Moscow, was closed and converted into a warehouse, then into a residential building with communal apartments. However, it was difficult to live here because of the powerful acoustics (due to its design, the wooden ceiling perfectly reflects sound waves). Therefore, in the late 50s, the communal apartments were resettled, and the temple building was placed at the disposal of the famous Melodiya record company.
In 1994, at the request of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, Boris Yeltsin returned the building to the Anglican community. Nowadays, there are weekly services in English, attended by up to 300 parishioners. The church houses an Anglican educational center, a library, a Sunday school, and concerts, including charity ones, are held.
Trail #8 The English Club
The Moscow English Club is located at Tverskaya str., d21, building 1. The club was founded around 1770, during the reign of Catherine II, by foreigners living in Moscow on the model of aristocratic clubs in England. By the end of the XVIII century, the club united primarily representatives of the Moscow nobility.
In 1797, it was closed by Emperor Paul I and reopened only 5 years later, after the accession of Alexander I. During its long history, the club changed several addresses, finally on April 22, 1831, it moved to the mansion on Tverskaya Street, rebuilt after the end of the war with Napoleon by architect D. I. Gilardi. The club existed here until 1917.
The club was the center of public opinion formation in Moscow. It was exclusively male (women were not allowed in it), and the number of members was limited by the charter (initially 300 people, then 600). If until the middle of the 19th century the members of the club were mainly representatives of the nobility, then in the second half of the 19th century its social composition has changed: merchants, financiers, and industrialists began to visit the club. According to the inventory for 1899, the Moscow English Club had such halls as a dining room, a living room, a fireplace room, a reading room, a newspaper room, a portrait room, a billiard room, a fruit room, etc. The club had an extensive library, Russian and foreign newspapers and magazines in 4 languages were subscribed to its members. Here you could have a delicious breakfast and dinner any day, and on Wednesdays and Saturdays you could also have lunch.
Now it is the Museum of Modern History of Russia — one of the largest museums in the world dedicated to the period of modern history.
Thus, in this article we have introduced the readers to historical places in Moscow that are closely connected with Great Britain. We hope that our research will inspire both the study of the English language and the search for cultural and historical parallels that unite two great nations.
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