The Headquarters of the RGS in Moscow
The grand opening of the Headquarters of the Russian Geographical Society in Moscow took place in 2013, in a building of the 19th century, where the tenement of the Moscow Merchant Society was originally located. In the 1920s, it housed the dormitory of the Department of Ethnology of Moscow State University, whose foundations were laid, among others, by the members of the Russian Geographical Society.
The Moscow Headquarters houses a library, a media studio, a lecture hall, and an exhibition hall. The office premises of the Executive Directorate of the Society are also located here.
Nowadays, you can take an excursion to the Moscow Headquarters of the RGS, learn the history of the creation of one of the oldest societies in the world, and see with your own eyes both historical relics and modern finds of the RGS’s expeditions.
And for collectors of unique experiences, there is an exclusive trip to the Headquarters of the RGS in Moscow starting at 10,000 rubles. A special opportunity to appreciate the spirit of the expeditions and discoveries made by the great Russian geographers of the past... and which are happening to this day! You will visit the great halls of the historic building in the heart of Moscow and get acquainted with the artifacts – the pride of the permanent exhibition and recent finds. The keeper of the collections of the RGS will hand you white gloves and introduce you to ancient maps and atlases. We will exchange impressions over friendly coffee with signature "expedition" desserts. Souvenirs are available for travelers from the limited collection of the RGS.
Book your trip to the RGS Headquarters in Moscow by sending a request to travel@rgo.ru.
Address: Novaya Ploshchad, 10, Stroenie 2.
At the beginning of the 15th century, it was a suburb: the outer fortifications of Moscow, a moat and a rampart, ran along the modern Bolshoy Cherkassky Pereulok. Most likely, there was a bridgehead on the land plot, a building-free area necessary for the defense of the fortress.
In 1534-1538, during the reign of the young Ivan IV, when his mother Elena Glinskaya was in charge of everything, new city stone fortifications were built, Kitay-gorod. The same Kitay-gorod that have survived to its 400th anniversary and was almost completely demolished by the Soviet government, the remains of which we see in the Kitayskiy Proyezd or on Teatralnaya Ploshchad. The site in question lies just directly behind the wall.
In the 1620s, a part of the modern site was owned by the clerk Tikhon Vasilyevich Bomosov. Until 1718, the site belonged to the steward of Prince Ivan Myshetsky, whose family tree originates from Rurik. From 1718 to 1742, it was in the possession of the Baryatinsky princes. After the Baryatinskys, the owners of the site were Aleksey Mikhailovich Tufanov, a merchant of the First Guild, and his son-in-law, newly baptized Persian Ivan Mikhailovich Chernikov. A.M. Tufanov lived here until 1798. For a relatively short time, from 1798 to 1805, the site was owned by Lieutenant Nikolai Dmitrievich Pashkov. In 1805, N.D. Pashkov gave his land plot to the Moscow Merchant Society (MMS) on the condition that part of the income received from the operation of the site will go to charity (maintenance of the St. Andrew's Almshouse).
When the buildings burned down in the fire of 1812 along the perimeter of the site were restored, the crowded market that arose in its middle under the canopies began to be called "Pashkov Courtyard". The market had the appearance of a labyrinth, and in order to organize a more civilized trade, in 1831-1832, the MMS built gallery-type shops in the style of Moscow Empire instead of canopies. In the Pashkov, or "public", Courtyard, in addition to shops, there were furnished rooms. In such rooms lived the artist V.E. Makovsky, who saw many of the subjects of his paintings ("The Rag Market in Moscow", "The Collapse of a Bank") directly near his home.
On September 15, 1881, the shops burned down. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, the fire was so strong that at night the light of the fire in the distant Zamoskvorechye was brighter than street lamps. The land plot was now free of development. To create a new complex of buildings, the MMS invited architect Boris Viktorovich Freydenberg. In two years, from 1882 to 1883, B. V. Freydenberg built a complex of buildings known as the "House of the Moscow Merchant Society" or the "Public Courtyard of the MMS".
The complex included four buildings facing Novaya Ploshchad and a building on Bolshoy Cherkassky Pereulok, 7. These were three-storey buildings of the "brick style", i.e. their facades were not plastered. High-quality brickwork with Gothic details created an image close to the medieval houses of German Hanseatic cities. An important detail of the facades were complex high roofs with pointed gables. The cast-iron grating between the houses with pointed high gates was never installed. It would have given the whole complex a Gothic character.
In 1904, to increase the useful areas, a superstructure was added on B. Cherkassky Pereulok and on top of one of the buildings on Novaya Ploshchad (building 8). The superstructure was designed by architect and sculptor G. E. Popov (1859-1903), who did not live to finish his last work. At the beginning of the 20th century, he was an architect of the houses of the MMS and, in addition, the owner of his own construction office together with architect V.G. Sretensky.
Photo: Ilya Melnikov
The building on B. Cherkassky Pereulok was built so successfully that it retained its artistic Gothic image. The other building, on Novaya Ploshchad, on the contrary, has lost a very important completion for perception.
At the beginning of the 20th century, in the modern Building 10, Stroenie 2, there were dress shops, cloth shops, and a draper’s. There were offices here, and the vast basements were used as warehouses.
At the turn of the 1920s, two more buildings were added on Novaya Ploshchad (Building 10 and 12). Unfortunately, during this period, the authors of the projects no longer considered the architecture of the superstructures, the main thing was to get new areas as cheaply as possible.
After 1917, offices and a dormitory of First Moscow University (Department of Ethnology of Moscow State University) were located in the building on B. Cherkassky Pereulok. Varlam Tikhonovich Shalamov and Musa Jalil lived here for some time.
In 2013, the grand opening of the Headquarters of the Russian Geographical Society in Moscow took place at the address: Novaya Ploshchad, 10, Stroenie 2. The opening was attended by the President of the Russian Geographical Society, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, and members of the Board of Trustees of the Society, chaired by Vladimir Putin.