Molodezhnyy Avenue — a main thoroughfare of Avtozavodsky District in Nizhny Novgorod, running from the square named after I. I. Kiselev to a railway crossing near Doskino, beyond the city boundary. The avenue is one of the axes of the Sotsgorod of the Gorky Automobile Plant and is built up predominantly on one side.[1][2]
From Zhdanov to Molodezhnyy
The avenue's first name was Zhdanov Street, named after Andrey Aleksandrovich Zhdanov (1896–1948), who, as secretary of the Nizhny Novgorod Guberniya and Gorky Krai Party committees, was heavily involved in the construction and development of the Automobile Plant.[1]
The square from which the avenue begins is circular in shape, with Lenin Avenue, October Avenue, Molodezhnyy Avenue, Smirnov Street, and Vedenyapin Street radiating out from it like spokes. The square was named after Ivan Ivanovich Kiselev (1917–2004) — who led the Gorky Automobile Plant for a quarter of a century, from 1958 to 1983 — by a resolution of the City Duma dated December 10, 2005; a monument to him was unveiled on November 24, 2006.[2]
The avenue came into being together with the Sotsgorod itself: its first building was filmed while still under construction, when there were neither city blocks nor trees around it.[3]
Buildings of the avenue
The district's first major cultural institution was the Schoolchildren's House of Culture, built in 1931 as a club and dining hall with a gymnasium and library.[1]
The district's defining architectural landmark is the Radial Building (1935–1937), designed by N. Krasilnikov and P. Polyudov: its concave façade line and semicircular balconies are unmistakable. The building is protected as an architectural monument of national significance.[1]
In 1935, School No. 126 opened — the district's first English-language specialist school; its grounds feature a monument to pupils who died in the Great Patriotic War. The district's central library has operated since November 12, 1996, in the former House of Culture of Builders, constructed in 1958.[1]
The postwar residential blocks — 43rd, 34th, 35th, and 52nd — were built in the late 1940s and early 1950s using the labor of prisoners of war from camp zone No. 469.[1]
| Object | Year | Notable for |
|---|---|---|
| House of Culture for Schoolchildren | 1931 | the district's first major cultural institution: a club-dining hall, gymnasium, and library |
| Radial House | 1935–1937 | architects N. Krasilnikov and P. Polyudov; an architectural monument of national significance |
| School No. 126 | 1935 | the district's first specialized English-language school; a memorial to students killed in the war |
| Mir Cinema | 1937 | on Kiselev Square |
| Palace of Culture of the Auto Plant | 1961 | on Kiselev Square |
| Park Kultury Metro Station | December 1989 | terminal station at Kiselev Square |
| District Central Library | November 12, 1996 | housed in the 1958 House of Culture of Builders building |
Park and Metro
At the beginning of the avenue lies Avtozavodskiy Park — roughly eighty-three hectares, laid out in the 1930s. A linden-tree avenue runs alongside the park, parallel to the prospect.[1][4][2]
The Metro station "Park Kultury" opened in December 1989 and until recently served as the terminus of the Avtozavodskaya line.[1][2]
The Road to the Airport
In preparation for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the avenue was widened: the road was intended to connect Kisyelov Square with Nizhny Novgorod International Airport. During project discussions, residents were promised that Kisyelov Square would be left untouched — the blue spruces, benches, and parking spaces would all be preserved — and that the linden avenue alongside Avtozavodskiy Park would remain in place; an overpass was planned at Petryayevka, to be completed by the end of 2018.[4]
The discussions took place at meetings between Deputy Nikolay Pugin and local residents.[4]
All the blue spruces, rest benches, and even the parking spaces will be preserved[4]
The Avenue Today
In 2026, a cycle path one and a half kilometres long is being laid along Molodezhnyy Avenue — an extension of the cycle route from Oktyabrya Avenue. The design and estimate documentation is being prepared by "Nizhegorodgrazhdanproyekt", and the work is being carried out under the national project "Infrastructure for Life".[5]
The one-sided development along the avenue is complemented by an industrial and garage zone on the opposite side, and the avenue itself remains the main southward exit route from Avtozavod.[1][5]
See also
Links
- Official website (archive) (avtozavodskaya.ru)
Sources
- lib-avt.ru — Centralized Library System of Avtozavodsky District — Molodezhnyy Avenue (archive)
- lib-avt.ru — Centralized Library System of Avtozavodsky District — I. I. Kisyolyov Square (archive)
- pro-nn.org — Nizhny Novgorod. Molodezhnyy Avenue. Construction of the first building of the Sotsgorod of the Gorky Automobile Plant (archive)
- lib-avt.ru — Centralized Library System of Avtozavodsky District — Svetlana Ikonnikova. Molodezhnyy Avenue: What Will It Be Like? April 28, 2016 (archive)
- Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — A bicycle path along Molodezhnyy Avenue to be built in 2026, March 24, 2026 (archive)