Moscow Orphanage
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Moscow Orphanage or Foundling Home ( or ) was an ambitious project conceived by
Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...
and
Ivan Betskoy Ivan Ivanovich Betskoi or Betskoy (; ) was an educational reformer in the Russian Empire who served as Catherine II's advisor on education and President of the Imperial Academy of Arts for thirty years (1764–1794). Perhaps the crowning achieve ...
, in the early 1760s. This idealistic experiment of the
Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...
was intended to manufacture "ideal citizens" for the Russian state by bringing up thousands of abandoned children to a very high standard of refinement, cultivation, and professional qualifications. Despite more than adequate staffing and financing, the Orphanage was plagued by high infant mortality and ultimately failed as a social institution. The main building, one of the earliest and largest Neoclassical structures in the city, occupies a large portion of
Moskvoretskaya Embankment Moskvoretskaya Embankment () is a major street, located in the Kitay-Gorod administrative district in central Moscow, running along the Moskva River. It stretches from Kremlin Embankment, near Red Square in the west, until the mouth of Yauza Rive ...
between
the Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall along with the K ...
and
Yauza River The Yauza () is a river in Moscow and Mytishchi, Russia, a left and largest tributary of the Moskva (river), Moskva in the Russian capital. It originates in the Losiny Ostrov National Park northeast of Moscow, flows through Mytishchi, enters Mosc ...
, boasting a 379-metre frontage on
Moskva River The Moskva (, ''Moskva-reka'') is a river that flows through western Russia. It rises about west of Moscow and flows roughly east through the Smolensk and Moscow Oblasts, passing through central Moscow. About southeast of Moscow, at the cit ...
. The complex was built in three stages over two centuries, from
Karl Blank Karl Ivanovich Blank (; 1728 – 1793) was a Russian architect, notable as one of the last practitioners of Baroque architecture and the first Moscow architect to build early neoclassical buildings. His surviving, undisputed legacy consists of th ...
's master plan (1767) to its complete implementation in the 1940s. Today, the ensemble of the Orphanage houses the Academy of Missile Forces and Russian Academy of Medicine.


Architecture

An outgrowth of the
Russian Enlightenment The Russian Age of Enlightenment was a period in the 18th century in which the government began to actively encourage the proliferation of arts and sciences, which had a profound impact on Russian culture. During this time, the first Russian unive ...
, the idea of a state-run orphanage in Moscow was proposed by educator
Ivan Betskoy Ivan Ivanovich Betskoi or Betskoy (; ) was an educational reformer in the Russian Empire who served as Catherine II's advisor on education and President of the Imperial Academy of Arts for thirty years (1764–1794). Perhaps the crowning achieve ...
and endorsed by
Catherine II of Russia Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...
on September 1, 1763. Betskoy envisaged a spacious, strictly controlled, state-of-the-art institution that could raise abandoned infants and train them depending on each child's abilities—in craftsmanship, fine arts, or in preparation for university classes. Children born in slavery were automatically emancipated, and upon graduation could join the state service or the merchant estate. The institution was set on a large lot of land between
Kitai-gorod Kitay-gorod (, ), also referred to as the Great Possad () in the 16th and 17th centuries, is a cultural and historical area within the central part of Moscow in Russia, defined by the remnants of now almost entirely razed fortifications, narro ...
, Solyanka Street,
Moskva Moscow is the capital and largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents within the city limits, over 19.1 million residents in the urban area, and over ...
and Yauza rivers, site of a former
armoury An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
. Construction was financed through a public subscription. The Empress herself pledged 100,000
roubles The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are su ...
; the largest private donations, from Prokofy Demidov and Ivan Betskoy, amounted to 200,000 and 162,995 roubles.I. L. Volkevich, History of Moscow Technical University, ch. 2
/ref> According to the master plan by
Karl Blank Karl Ivanovich Blank (; 1728 – 1793) was a Russian architect, notable as one of the last practitioners of Baroque architecture and the first Moscow architect to build early neoclassical buildings. His surviving, undisputed legacy consists of th ...
(assisted by
Yury Felten Georg Friedrich Veldten, russified as Yury Matveyevich Felten (; 1730–1801) was a Russian Imperial architect who served at the Empress Catherine the Great's court. Yury Felten was born Georg Veldten, into a family of German immigrants to Rus ...
), the Orphanage was designed as a chain of three square-shaped buildings: the eastern wing for the girls, the western wing for the boys and the central administration block connecting them. The inauguration ceremony, attended by the Empress, was held on April 21, 1764, although the western wing was not completed by Blank until three years later. The central building, constructed between 1771 and 1781, was surmounted by a square dome with a spire. The adjacent
Moskva River The Moskva (, ''Moskva-reka'') is a river that flows through western Russia. It rises about west of Moscow and flows roughly east through the Smolensk and Moscow Oblasts, passing through central Moscow. About southeast of Moscow, at the cit ...
embankment was paved in 1795–97 and set in granite in 1801–06. Although the eastern wing did not materialize, the Orphanage expanded continuously, under the supervision of senior architects Giovanni Gilardi (1790s–1817) and Domenico Gilardi (1817–34). Domenico and
Afanasy Grigoriev Afanasy Grigorievich Grigoriev (; 21 January 1782 – 13 May 1868) was a Russian Neoclassical architect, who worked in Moscow and its suburbs. Grigoriev is remembered for his refined Empire style mansions, completion of Great Ascension Church ( ...
designed and built the Board of Trustees building facing Solyanka Street. By the mid-19th century, the Orphanage had evolved into "a city within a city"—a largely independent and wealthy institution housing thousands of residents. The bulk of the Orphanage survived the Fire of 1812 and preserved its original aspect until the mid-20th century. In the 1940s, the missing eastern wing was finally constructed to a design by Alexander Loveyko, who generally followed Blank's original plans, albeit in a considerably simplified form.


Early years (1764–1797)

On the inauguration day, 19 newborn babies were brought to the unfinished Orphanage. Two of them were publicly
baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...
Catherine and Paul, after the Empress and her heir, but both died soon afterward. This was an early portent of extremely high infant mortality that would be characteristic of the Orphanage in the 18th century. Of some 40,996 children admitted to the Orphanage during Catherine II's reign, 35,309, or 87%, died during their stay there. As a result, the vast complex housed only a handful of survivors. A 1792 report listed as few as 257 resident orphans who studied a variety of trades ranging from metallurgy to accountancy. Several attempts to decrease mortality by passing infants on to foster families did not improve the survival rate. The aged Betskoy could not be relied on for managing the expanding faculty, and the Orphanage became notorious for fraud and
child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...
.Alexandra Veselova, Betskoy's Concept
/ref> Children lived at the Orphanage until the age of 11, whereupon they were sent for training to local factories and government offices. Some were assigned to the
Michael Maddox Michael Maddox (; 1747–1822) was an English entrepreneur and theatre manager active in Russia. He was co-founder, with Prince Urusov, of the Petrovsky Theatre, the first permanent opera theatre in Moscow and predecessor of the Bolshoi Theatre. ...
theater school; others managed to qualify for free admission to
Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...
. 180 students furthered their education in the universities of Western Europe. The majority, however, graduated with little more than a rouble in cash and a
passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid ...
(which served to distinguish free men from serfs). The institution was managed by the Board of Trustees and financed by private donations and two special taxes—a tax on public theater shows and a tax on playing cards. For nearly a century, all playing cards sold in Imperial Russia were taxed 5 kopecks per deck on domestic-made cards and 10 kopecks on imports. As a result, every pack of Russian cards displayed the symbol of the Orphanage, the
pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before ...
. This tax generated 21,000 roubles in 1796 and 140,000 roubles by 1803. Beginning in 1772, the Orphanage also managed three banks: Loan Treasury, Savings Treasury, and Widows Treasury. These financial institutions, initially plagued by fraud and poor management, became effective and influential under the guidance of Empress Maria. By 1828, their total assets exceeded 359 million roubles, the largest capital assets in all of Moscow.Volkevich, ch. 3
/ref> This stock was the principal source of cash for the Orphanage throughout the 19th century.


Orphanage Theatre

In 1772, plans began to be formed for a "domestic theatre" affiliated with the Foundling Home. There were classes on acting, and the first production premiered late in 1773. In the course of 1778 alone, the Orphanage Theatre produced twelve comedies, two operas, and several ballets. By October 1783, the troupe of orphans had become so popular that Baron Vanzura petitioned the Empress to open this "home theatre" for the general public. Catherine readily approved the project of a public theatre and presented to the Orphanage a disused wooden building of the Golovin Opera House near the Yauza. The public Orphanage Theatre was inaugurated on 9 February 1764 with the pantomime ''The Marine Brigands'' and the ballet ''Venus and Adonis''. The creation of a rival theatre company enraged
Michael Maddox Michael Maddox (; 1747–1822) was an English entrepreneur and theatre manager active in Russia. He was co-founder, with Prince Urusov, of the Petrovsky Theatre, the first permanent opera theatre in Moscow and predecessor of the Bolshoi Theatre. ...
, an English entrepreneur who held the monopoly on public entertainment in Moscow. Under his pressure, the Board of Trustees agreed to close the Orphanage Theatre in November 1784, but the orphans were allowed to continue their acting careers on the stage of the Petrovsky Theatre, which was run by Maddox.


Reforms of Empress Maria (1797–1828)

In May 1797 Emperor
Paul of Russia Paul I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination in 1801. Paul remained overshadowed by his mother, Catherine the Great, for most of his life. He adopted the laws of succession to the Russian throne—rules that lasted ...
asked his wife, Maria Feodorovna, to oversee the national charities. Empress Maria remained in charge of the Orphanage and similar institutions after her husband's assassination in 1801 until her death in 1828. Step by step, Empress Maria changed the social profile of the Orphanage. She encouraged a thorough inspection of prospective foster parents and limited admissions "from the street", measures which decreased the inflow of new orphans and considerably reduced mortality. By 1826, the mortality rate was reduced to 15% per annum, a figure outrageous by modern standards but a great improvement on the 18th century. The institution, headed by retired general Ivan Tutolmin, wasn't damaged during
Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
's occupation of Moscow, despite its proximity to the centre of the Fire of Moscow, which completely destroyed the adjacent districts, including
Kitai-gorod Kitay-gorod (, ), also referred to as the Great Possad () in the 16th and 17th centuries, is a cultural and historical area within the central part of Moscow in Russia, defined by the remnants of now almost entirely razed fortifications, narro ...
and Taganka. While the French held the city, the Orphanage provided shelter for 350 children and an unspecified number of wounded soldiers. After the end of the Napoleonic wars, the Board of Trustees capitalized on the recent disaster by building cheap rental housing on its properties. As a result of this policy, the new facilities housed up to 8,000 residents of all ranks in the 1820s.Volkevich, ch. 4
/ref> Empress Maria realized the need to downsize the institution, separating children from adult tenants and improving the educational program for the former. She detested the "dirty" appearance of trade workshops and transferred the younger inhabitants to new, independent orphanages. The Moscow Crafts College, the largest spin-off, was established as an orphanage for teenagers in 1830, and continues today as the
Bauman Moscow State Technical University The Bauman Moscow State Technical University (BMSTU; ), sometimes colloquially referred as the ''Bauman School'' or ''Baumanka'' (), is a public technical university (Institute of technology, polytechnic) located in Moscow, Russia. Bauman Univ ...
. In the old Orphanage, a premium was placed upon high-level educational programs along the lines of the "Latin classes" for boys (established 1807) and the "
midwife A midwife (: midwives) is a health professional who cares for mothers and Infant, newborns around childbirth, a specialisation known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughou ...
classes" for girls. By the 1830s, the Orphanage finally achieved the espoused aim of taking the ablest children from the streets and preparing them for state service and professional careers. Among the teachers and tenants were Gerhardt Friedrich Müller,
Alexander Vostokov Alexander Khristoforovich Vostokov (born Alexander Woldemar Osteneck; ; – ) was one of the first Russian philologists. Background He was born into a Baltic German family in Arensburg, Governorate of Livonia, and studied at the Imperial Aca ...
, Sergey Solovyov,
Vasily Klyuchevsky Vasily Osipovich Klyuchevsky (; – ) was a leading Russian Empire, Russian Imperial historian of the late imperial period. He also addressed the contemporary Russian economy in his writings. Biography A village priest's son, Klyuchevsky studi ...
,
Nicholas Benois Nicholas or Nikolai Leontievich Benois (; – ) was a Russian architect who worked in Peterhof and other suburbs of St. Petersburg. Biography Benois was born in St. Petersburg, to Anna Katarina (''née'' Groppe), who was of German desce ...
,
Isaak Levitan Isaac Ilyich Levitan (; – ) was a Russian landscape Painting, painter who advanced the genre of the "mood landscape". Life and work Youth Isaac Levitan was born in a ''shtetl'' of Kybartai, Kibarty, Augustów Governorate in Congress Polan ...
, and
Vasily Vereshchagin Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin (; 26 October 184213 April 1904) was a Russian painters, Russian painter, war artist, and traveller. The Violence in art, graphic nature of his Realism (arts), realist scenes led to many of them never being printe ...
. Until the
Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...
, the Moscow Orphanage ranked among the most prominent national charities.


20th century

The
Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
disbanded the Orphanage immediately after the Revolution. The main building was conveyed to the
Soviet trade unions Trade unions in the Soviet Union, headed by the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions (VTsSPS or ACCTU in English), had a complex relationship with industrial management, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and the Soviet government, giv ...
, followed by
Dzerzhinsky Military Academy Russia has a number of military academies of different specialties. This article primarily lists institutions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation rather than those of the Soviet Armed Forces. Russian institutions designated as an "aca ...
and a long succession of state institutions. The satirical novel ''
The Twelve Chairs ''The Twelve Chairs'' () is a Russian classic satirical picaresque novel by the Soviet authors Ilf and Petrov, published in 1928. Its plot follows characters attempting to obtain jewelry hidden in a chair. A sequel was published in 1931. The ...
'' features a famous episode: an abandoned wife chasing
Ostap Bender Ostap Bender () is a fictional confidence trick, con man and the central antiheroic protagonist in the novels ''The Twelve Chairs'' (1928) and ''The Little Golden Calf'' (1931) written by Soviet authors Ilya Ilf Ilf and Petrov, and Yevgeny Petrov ...
, her runaway husband, through numerous editorial offices of the former Orphanage. During
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
's reconstruction of old Moscow (1937), several Orphanage buildings facing
Bolshoy Ustinsky Bridge Bolshoy Ustinsky Bridge () is a steel arch bridge that spans Moskva River near the mouth of Yauza River, connecting the Boulevard Ring with Zamoskvorechye district in Moscow, Russia. It was completed in May 1938 by V.M.Vakhurkin (structural enginee ...
were torn down to make way for the new bridge. The right wing of the Orphanage was topped out by June 1941, but the project was not completed until after
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Viewed from the outside, this later addition is only marginally different from the left wing, to which the top floor was added at about the same time. The main building conforms quite closely to Blank's original designs.


21st century – Parliament Center

Moscow chief architect A. Kuzminov proposed to house Russian Parliament Center in the premises of the Orphanage. The Russian Parliament Center will be used by both
Russian Senate The Federation Council, unofficially Senate, is the upper house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the lower house being the State Duma. It was established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 1993 ...
and
Russian State Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 1993. The Duma headquarters are located in central Mos ...
as their main residence.Rossiiskaya Gazeta
/ref>


See also

*
Smolny Institute The Smolny Institute () is a Palladian edifice in Saint Petersburg that has played a major part in the history of Russia, notably as a center of women's education, and the headquarters of the Bolsheviks during the early stages of the October Re ...
– another educational institution founded by Betskoy *
Neoclassical architecture in Russia Neoclassical architecture in Russia developed in the second half of the 18th century, especially after Catherine the Great succeeded to the throne on June 28, 1762, becoming Empress of Russia. Neoclassical architecture developed in many Russian ...
*
The Italian (2005 film) ''The Italian'' (, translit. ''Italyanets'') is a 2005 Russian drama film directed by Andrei Kravchuk. The screenplay by Andrei Romanov, inspired by a true story, focuses on a young boy's determined search for his mother. The film won the G ...


References

{{commons category Residential buildings completed in 1781 Buildings and structures in Moscow 18th century in Moscow 1917 disestablishments in Russia Education in Russia Society of the Russian Empire Theatre in Russia Orphanages in Russia Neoclassical architecture in Russia 1763 establishments in the Russian Empire Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Moscow