Nizhpoligraf is a historic complex of buildings in central Nizhny Novgorod on Varvarskaya Street, founded in the early 20th century with funds from the merchant Rukavishnikov family. For most of the Soviet period it was the largest printing house in Nizhny Novgorod; since the 2010s it has operated as a creative cluster, and since 2023 it has been undergoing conversion into a federal vocational-education technopark.[1]
History
The building was constructed in 1906 to a design by architect A. I. Shmakov with funds from the Rukavishnikov brothers as a Home of Industry (Dom trudolyubiya): low-income townspeople produced simple household goods there in exchange for a small wage and food.[2] During the First World War (from 1914) the building was used as a military hospital for the sick and wounded.[2]
In 1922, printing production was set up here on the basis of a merged complex of former Nizhny Novgorod print shops: rotary presses and typesetting equipment were installed in the manufacturing premises, and print runs were expanded in stages.[2] By the middle of the 20th century the printing house had become one of the largest in the country.[1] Its clients included the newspaper Nizhegorodskaya Pravda: from 1993 to 1997 the state enterprise Nizhpoligraf was the official founder of the publication.[1] In 1998 the printing house produced a collection by Nizhny Novgorod poet Elena Kryukova, "The Creation of the World."[1]
By 2019 production had shrunk substantially, and the printing house ceased operating.[1] From the early 2000s part of the premises was leased out; from 2015 creative businesses began actively taking over the space.[2]
Creative cluster
By the 2020s Nizhpoligraf had become one of the major creative clusters of Nizhny Novgorod. Under the "Park Masterov" (Craftsmen's Park) brand it became home to dozens of tenants: the multimedia studio Dreamlaser, the Center for Theatrical Craft, the art space Rumyantsev Bureau, the furniture manufacturer I Have Factory, the "Kolokol" (Bell) pottery school, the bespoke shoemaking workshop NK Shoes, the "ASIRIS" restoration school, the Volga Athletics sports club, the Artel of Nizhny Novgorod Puppeteers, and others.[2]
Vocational-education technopark
In February 2023 Gleb Nikitin announced the creation, on the basis of Nizhpoligraf, of a federal vocational-education technopark — one of the largest institutions of its kind in Russia.[1] The project envisages three implementation stages, the first of which began in 2023. More than 50 training workshops and production sites are planned: each year about 3,000 students will be able to study there in several dozen specialties, and up to 10,000 teachers from across the country will be able to take professional-development courses.[1] The technopark is oriented toward industrial, creative, and digital sectors and is intended to transfer modern approaches to operating enterprises in the Nizhny Novgorod Region.[1] Existing resident tenants continue to occupy space during the conversion period.[1]
Sources
- Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — From Printing House to Technopark: How "Nizhpoligraf" Will Be Transformed — "Nizhpoligraf" on Varvarskaya Street in Nizhny Novgorod will become a federal technopark, 28 February 2023… (archive)
- parkmasterov.ru — Park Masterov Nizhpoligraf (archive)
- mapy.com