What the ‘Egyptian Pavilion’ at the Ostankino Estate in Moscow looks like

Intricate carvings, antique sculpture, stucco decoration and stoves with sphinx figures – this is how the famous pavilion appears after its restoration.

The pavilion itself was built in 1795 as a transformable hall: It could be used as a formal dining room, a concert hall or a performance space. The interior was designed by Vincenzo Brenna, court architect to Paul I and architect of the Mikhailovsky Castle, as well as the interiors of the emperor's residence in Pavlovsk. The building was restored using authentic palace inventories and archival documents from the late 18th century.

The Ostankino Estate has been closed for restoration for about 10 years. It was decided to reopen it in stages. The ‘Egyptian Pavilion’ was the first to open; it will run until November 5, 2025, with the ‘Visiting Count Sheremetev’ exhibition about the life of aristocrats. It will be closed for the winter season.

The Ostankino Summer Palace is built of wood. According to the plan of Count Nikolai Sheremetev, the estate's former owner, this material was intended to provide good acoustics for his famous serf theater and to seamlessly transform the palace's spaces during construction and, afterward, when the auditorium needed to be converted into a dance hall.

Credit: Ostankino and Kuskovo State Museum-Reserve (Ostankino Estate)

🔔 Gateway to Russia

‘Russian Fairy tales’ by Vladimir Dahl

In Fall 1832, military surgeon Vladimir Dahl, the future compiler of an explanatory dictionary of the Russian language, was arrested. The reason was a collection of his tales that he had written.

It seemed that nothing foreshadowed trouble: The book ‘Russian Fairy tales, from folk oral tradition translated into civil literacy, adapted to everyday life and decorated with current proverbs by the Cossack Vladimir Lugansky’ was accepted as a doctoral dissertation at the University of Dorpat. But, the Third Police Department had a different opinion: It contained mockery of the tsar, the government and the position of soldiers. And shortly after, Nicholas I, having read the book, ordered the entire print run to be confiscated and destroyed.

Dal was saved from further trouble by the intervention of the commander of the infantry corps in which he served.
Alexander Pushkin, meanwhile, valued the collection very much: Having written the fairy tale ‘The Fisherman and the Fish’, he presented it to Dahl with the dedication: “Yours from yours!”

Credit: Tretyakov gallery; Public domain

🔔 Gateway to Russia

Why is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Moscow different colors?

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in central Moscow is one of the legendary seven Stalinist skyscrapers. If you look closely, its spire seems to be a different color from the rest of the building. Why?
The skyscraper was built in 1953 and, initially, the project designs did not include a spire; it was only added toward the end of construction. According to some sources, this was a personal order from Stalin.
The spire had to be made of metal, because the top of the building would not support a stone structure. Incidentally, due to this,, the MFA building isn't crowned with a star like the other Stalinist skyscrapers. Nevertheless, at that time, the entire building was the same color.

However, over time, the spire began to deteriorate and fell into disrepair. So, in 2017, it had to be replaced with a new one, also made of metal, but lighter and more durable.
The color of the new spire is the historical color of the entire building.
And the lower part now looks darker, because, over the building’s life, the stone on the facade has darkened, having absorbed decades of street grime and dirt.
The facades are scheduled to be cleaned for several more years and, when the work is completed, the building will, once again, be a uniform color.

📷 Natalya Seliverstova, Denisenko / Sputnik

🔔 Gateway to Russia