Nikitin's apartment buildings in Chita

The research was carried out at the expense of the grant of the Russian Science Foundation No. 21-18-00281, https://rscf.ru/project/21-18-00281/The the study was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation No. 21-18-00281, https://rscf.ru/project/21-18-00281/

Introduction The appearance of Chita is initially justified by the need for a transit base center in Transbaikalia for the delivery of goods to Nerchensk and to the Daurian lands.

Since the founding of the Chita settlement in 1693, the development of the city proceeded slowly, and the population was low and did not exceed a thousand people. Since the 1840s, the Russian state began to implement plans for the development of the Amur Basin, and Chita became an intermediate platform for sending expeditions and settlers to new lands. In 1851 Chita acquired the status of a city and the regional center of the Trans-Baikal Territory, however, the active stage of its development began only with the arrival of the Trans-Siberian railway in the region. It was necessary to build a railway on the territory of the city twice. The first canvas was washed away by a large flood in July 1897, after which the road was moved higher along the shore. On December 22, 1899, the first train arrived in Chita, and a few days later a permanent through traffic opened. Industrial raw materials became available to the city on a significant scale. At this time, merchants and artisans received special benefits, and military and officials began to come to the settlement. The construction of streets began to change from chaotic to regular, the grouping of new buildings took place around the current Chita – II railway station. Thus, the wooden quiet Chita began to turn into a modern and lively city. During the first five years of operation of the railway, the city's population grew from 16.5 to 39 thousand people. The influx of private capital and the development of trade contributed to the emergence of a new type of buildings in the city – apartment buildings. Since the demand for rental housing in the city significantly exceeded the construction of such facilities quickly paid off. The cost of apartments in apartment buildings depended on their location, the number of rooms, the orientation of windows to the street or courtyard, as well as on the architectural appearance of the building as a whole.

The most well-established type of apartment building in Chita by the beginning of the twentieth century was a multi-storey house with a corridor layout. The developers of apartment buildings were various trusts, companies, joint-stock and insurance companies, cooperatives and partnerships. The apartment building has turned into a house-complex. Such houses formed an ensemble building in the form of a block of integral composition with the inclusion of service institutions. Often, famous architects in the city were involved in the construction of such facilities. In accordance with the stated topic, we will consider a number of preserved buildings of apartment buildings built in the city according to the projects of the famous Trans-Baikal architect Gavriil Vlasevich Nikitin.

The work is based on a number of scientific and popular scientific works of Russian scientists devoted to the history of Chita architecture of the pre-revolutionary period.

The books of Trans-Baikal historians V. F. Nemerov ^{[1, 2]} and V. G. Lobanov ^[3] give a detailed idea of the geopolitical, economic and social processes that took place in the region and its capital Chita in the pre-revolutionary period. The characteristic features of Chita architecture are revealed in the works of P. V. Baklysky ^[4], S. V. Kudryavtsev, S. V. Salmina ^{[5, 6]}. Fragments of the creative biography of G. V. Nikitin are found in the works of N. P. Kradin, A. P. Ivanova and M. E. Bazilevich ^{[7, 8]}, but, at the same time, many of its pages still remain unknown. As a result of work in the State Archive of the Trans-Baikal Territory and conducting a full-scale study of the preserved objects of G. V. Nikitin's creative heritage, new data were obtained that allow revealing the features of his creative activity in the capital of Transbaikalia.

Gavriil Vlasevich Nikitin. Brief biography The personality of G. V. Nikitin is well known in the Far East, thanks to the numerous buildings left by the architect in Yakutia and Transbaikalia.

His name is often found in popular scientific literature devoted to the history of the architecture of the region. The architect was born in 1864 in the family of a sergeant of the Kuban Cossack army. He received his professional education at the Architectural department of the Imperial Academy of Arts. In 1889-1896, G. V. Nikitin worked in the Kuban, where he first served as a city architect in Yeysk for three years, and then as a regional architect in Yekaterinodar. In 1896, he was assigned to the service in Yakutsk as a regional architect, and from November 1900 – as an architect of the Nerchinsk penal servitude. In April 1901, he was seconded for classes to the construction department of the Trans-Baikal regional Board and appointed a producer of works on the construction of the teachers' seminary and the building of the regional board. He was also a freelance teacher of penmanship, drawing and drawing in a girls' gymnasium. The creative heritage of G. V. Nikitin in Chita is extremely diverse. Having worked in the city for a little more than five years, he nevertheless managed to leave behind numerous buildings that still adorn the central streets of the city. It is established that according to the projects of G.V. Nikitin, seven apartment buildings belonging to large entrepreneurs were built in the capital of Transbaikalia, as well as one apartment house erected at the expense of the city administration (Fig. 1).

Rice.

1. The layout of the buildings of apartment buildings built according to the projects of G. V. Nikitin in Chita. A) The apartment house of V. V. Khlynovsky, B) The Apartment house of I. V. Kulaev, C) The Apartment house of the city, D) The House of merchant M. G. Trufanov, E) The House of L. I. Onuchina, F) The Apartment house of V. N. Konovalov, G) The Apartment house of S. G. Feingold.

 V. V. Khlynovsky's Apartment House was built by D. D. Figol. The first apartment house built in Chita according to the project of G. V. Nikitin was a building next to the Old Market Square, erected in 1901 at the expense of the city head of Khlynovsky Vasily Vasilyevich.

A two-story stepped T-shaped structure made of hewn red brick in the eclectic style was built along the red line of Sretenskaya Street (January 9). Its bright silhouette was formed by tents on the flanks and a dome accentuating the axis of symmetry of the main facade. During the reconstruction of the 1930s and the superstructure of the third floor, the side tents were dismantled, which significantly changed the appearance of the structure (Fig. 2). In the picturesque plastic facades, in addition to Baroque stucco, the preserved patterns of cast-iron fences, elegant columns, pediments and valances are of interest.

The building was built as an apartment building, but soon became the center of trade of the whole Chita. Six rooms on the second floor were occupied by a merchant of the 2nd guild with his family, the Chita mayor V. V. Khlynovsky, the fashionable Moscow hotel also hosted guests here, a number of lower apartments were occupied by tenants in different years: grocery merchants, the Moscow Manufactory agency, the Molniya printing house, Papandopulo bakery, medical offices and others. In the basement there were wine cellars, a casino, a Chinese opium den and other entertainment establishments. Since 1906, the building housed a branch of the Russian-Asian Bank, and since 1912 the bank's management. In 1918-1920, the apartments of the house were occupied by the office of the chief of counterintelligence of the White Army, General Ivanov ^[2]. Currently, it houses the Union of Civilian Personnel of the Russian Armed Forces of the Trans-Baikal Territory.

Fig. 2. The apartment house of V. V. Khlynovsky, Chita, ul. January 9, 35. Architect G. V. Nikitin, 1901

Photo M.E. Bazilevich I. V. Kulaev</span>'s Income house In 1903, next to the house of V. V. Khlynovsky, another building was built according to the project of G. V. Nikitin, currently included in the register of historical and cultural monuments under the name "I. V. Kulaev's Income House".

The facility was built at the expense of one of the richest Chita merchants A. D. Korotkov. A two-storey L-shaped red brick building with modern elements in the facade decor became the decoration of the intersection of Korotkovskaya (Anokhina) and Stretenskaya streets (January 9). The angular position of the object emphasizes the beveled angle, accentuated by a bay window at the second floor level and visually enhanced by side risalites.

Initially, the building housed a hotel and a dining room, and since 1907 – a branch of the Siberian Commercial Bank. In 1918, the owner of the house became a gold industrialist Ivan Vasilyevich Kulaev. The interior of the building was eventually redeveloped, the composite paneled shutters on the ground floor, blinds on window and door openings, stucco molding, chiseled wooden balusters of the staircase railing, fragments of stencil painting were lost. During the reconstruction, arched openings of large trading halls on the ground floor were revealed.

Fig. 3. I. V. Kulaev's apartment house, Chita, 48 Anokhina str., Architect G. V. Nikitin, 1903

Photo M.E. Bazilevich The city's income house</span>

On the other side of the intersection of Korotkovskaya and Stretenskaya Streets, in 1906, a brick building of variable storeys was built at the expense of the city administration by G. V. Nikitin. According to the original plan, it was intended to accommodate city shops, trade scales and the premises of the market caretaker. However, the Museum of Local Lore and the library of the Russian Geographical Society, located on the second floor, were the first to occupy it, while the City Duma gave the first floor to tenants. In 1914, when a separate building was built for the library and museum, the vacant area was occupied by an auction hall. The structure has been preserved. From an architectural point of view, the street facade is of interest, richly decorated in eclectic forms (Fig. 4). In the plasticity of the walls and the design of the sub-cornice of the main two-story volume, the same techniques that the architect used in the design of the I. V. Kulaev apartment building are traced. Thus, these two structures, together with the building of the apartment house of V. V. Khlynovsky, form a stylistically expressive ensemble.

Fig. 4. Apartment building of the city, Chita, Anokhina str., 45. Architect G. V. Nikitin, 1906

Photo by M.E. Bazilevich and merchant M. G. Trufanov</span>, the development of railway communication and an increase in passenger traffic stimulated the development of the hotel business in Chita.

So, in 1902-1903, a two-storey apartment building was built on the site along Lenskaya Street (Anokhina), owned by M. G. Trufanov, in which the first fully equipped comfortable hotel rooms in Chita were arranged for the first time. Until 1917, the building housed the hotels "Metropol", "Siberian Rooms", "Hermitage", "Japanese Rooms" and the mutual Credit Society, and later the Second Public Meeting, the First Siberian Exchange Artel, the garrison meeting and the headquarters of the Cossack division.

The main volume of the structure, adjacent to Anokhina Street, is two-storeyed, and a one-story extension has been made to it from the south-eastern side. Initially, the left flank was designed as a passage, currently the arch is blocked and equipped for premises. From an architectural point of view, only the street facade is interesting, characterized by an abundance of decorative elements in the eclectic style, made of bricks of two colors. The expressive silhouette of the building is formed by parapet completions of various outlines, located in the center and along the flanks of its main facade. The main entrance is made in the form of a kind of portal (Fig. 5). Fig. 5. The apartment house of the city, Chita, Anokhina str., 73. Architect G. V. Nikitin, 1902-1903. Photo by M.E. Bazilevichad L. I. Onuchina</span> In 1902, a two-story red brick house was built along Amur Street by merchant G. V. Onuchin.

The building has been preserved and is an example of eclectic architecture with a predominance of modernist motifs in the forms of decorative elements of the street facade. In 1907, his wife L. I. Onuchina attached an apartment building to this building. The new rectangular two-storey structure with a sloping angle, thanks to its convenient location at the intersection of Amur and Nerchinskaya streets, quickly attracted the attention of tenants. The first floor of the building was occupied by shops, the second by the hotels "European Rooms", "Victoria" and "Hotel Central". The building also housed hairdressers, engraving and watchmaking workshops. It should be noted that when working on the decorative design of the building, G. V. Nikitin again turned to the style of eclecticism. In the plastic of equivalent street facades, the motifs of the Russian style are read, manifested at the level of the paneled blades and the pattern of window frames at the second floor level. The influence of "barrack" architecture with its characteristic use of open brickwork and rustication of walls is also noticeable. Additional expressiveness is given to the volume by the multi-volume crowning cornice, which wraps around the pointed pediments. Due to its expressive architecture, the object is one of the most expressive accents in the construction of Amurskaya Street (Fig. 6). Fig. 6. Profitable L. I. Onuchina, Chita, Amurskaya str., 65. Architect G. V. Nikitin, 1907

Photo by M.E. Bazilevich V. N. Konovalov's Income house</span>

G. V. Nikitin is also the author of the project of the ensemble of buildings of the estate of the entrepreneur and owner in the city of the oldest artistic photography by V. N. Konovalov. The complex of structures, consisting of an apartment building, a residential building for rent and an outbuilding in which the owner of the estate lived (lost in the 1990s), was built in 1906. The ensemble is of unconditional interest as a preserved vivid example of Far Eastern modern architecture. The wooden building of a residential building with the south-western end faces the red line of Amurskaya Street. Facade plasticity is formed by multi-volume cornices, expressive carved window frames and paneled shutters. The main entrance is accentuated by a powerful, high-placed wooden currency with overhead elements depicting the tail of a comet.

The apartment building is an L-shaped stone block in plan. The composition of the main facade is asymmetrical. The left part of the wall is completed with a volute and is loosened with blades at the level of the first floor. The main entrance is shifted to the right and accentuated by a kind of pediment. Windows of different shapes give additional expressiveness to the facade. Before the revolution, the complex was occupied by the owner and tenants. Subsequently, the buildings changed owners several times, which affected the state of the interior decoration and layout. Fig. 7. V. N. Konovalov's house, Chita, 106 Amurskaya Street. Architect G. V. Nikitin, 1906

Photo by M.E. Bazilevicharis.

8. V. N. Konovalov's apartment house, Chita, 106 Amurskaya str., Architect G. V. Nikitin, 1906

Photo M.E. Bazilevich S. G. Feingold's income house</span> In the same year, G. V. Nikitin drafted another income house for the Feingold family of entrepreneurs.

The two-storey corner building with symmetrical street facades is an example of eclectic architecture. In the decorative solution of facades, the leading role belongs to risalites with richly decorated finishes at the roof level. The architect paid special attention to the design of the main entrance, designed in the form of a risalite topped with a semicircular dormer window. The contrast of the white decor and the dark red tone of the plastered walls gives additional expressiveness to the structure (Fig. 9). Fig. 9.

The apartment house of S. G. Feingold, Chita, Anokhina str., 69. Architect G. V. Nikitin, 1906-1907. Photo M.E. Bazilevich Conclusion</span> In 1906, G. V. Nikitin was dismissed from service in Transbaikalia, for fruitful work he was awarded the Order of St.

Stanislav of the third degree. Subsequently, he lived and worked in Yekaterinodar, Chisinau, Zlatoust, Murmansk and Stalinabad, and from the mid-1930s in Anapa, where he was blown up by a mine after the Great Patriotic War.

The preserved buildings of G. V. Nikitin are silent witnesses of a bygone era, the time of the initial formation of cities in the eastern suburbs of Russia, the search for a new architectural language and other means of artistic expression of buildings other than samples of metropolitan architecture. Having worked in Chita for a little more than five years, G. V. Nikitin, nevertheless, left behind a lot of bright and memorable buildings, which are still the hallmark of the city. Working in different architectural styles and forms, the master managed to form his own, recognizable author's handwriting.  Its buildings are distinguished by the integrity of the three-dimensional composition, attention and scrupulousness to details, but at the same time, the arch of form-making, boldness and non-triviality of architectural solutions.

The apartment houses of G. V. Nikitin are mostly examples of architecture made by private order. The architect worked with large entrepreneurs, carrying out projects that met the socio-economic needs of his time and corresponded to the existing architectural landscape of the city. The low population of Chita and modest, in comparison with St. Petersburg and Moscow, the possibilities of local merchants explain the small number of storeys of buildings and their relatively small area. On the other hand, the absence of strict urban planning regulations and a solid front of development gave architects ample opportunities to build complex, original three-dimensional and planar compositions.