Shcherbakov Street is one of the oldest streets in Sormovo (disambiguation), running through its central part. It is named after the Soviet statesman and party official, Colonel-General A. S. Shcherbakov. Over the course of half a century, the street went through four names and absorbed a neighboring street — making it one of the most topographically eventful cases in Sormovo [1].
Chain of names
The documented sequence of the street's names is as follows [1]:
All four names changed within the span of half a century, and each successive one reflected its own era: a cathedral, post-revolutionary enlightenment, the memory of a party figure, and then once again the memory of a figure [1].
- until 1918, presumably from 1905 — Sobornaya (Cathedral Street);
- 1918–1934 — Universitetskaya (University Street);
- 1934–1950 — Kirov Street;
- from 1950 to the present — Shcherbakov Street;
- at some point between 1950 and 1972, Metallurgicheskaya Street was merged into Shcherbakov Street.
Location and length
The street runs through the historic part of Sormovo and is among the oldest in the district. After the merger with Metallurgicheskaya, its length grew considerably: the added section ran roughly from the railway tracks near the fire station to the Sormovo wharf [1].
In archival photographs from the mid-1960s, the street opens onto a view of the Transfiguration Cathedral — the main landmark on the skyline of this part of Sormovo [1].
Sobornaya
The street's first known name came from the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior that stood on it, built in 1905. The cathedral remained the defining landmark of the area even in the Soviet era: it is clearly visible in archival photographs of the street [1].
Universitetskaya
After the revolution, the street was renamed Universitetskaya; the change dates to around 1918 [1].
This name is confirmed by a description of the torch-lit procession route on November 7, 1927, given in the book "History of One Surname": the column marched from the Myshyakovskaya gate along Universitetskaya Street and Comintern Street, turned at the Metallist club, and then continued along Barricade Street and Svobody Street to the fire watchtower [1].
The book "Three Generations from Barrikad Street" (1958), whose memoirs were recorded before the year of publication, states directly that Sobornaya and Universitetskaya were one and the same street [1].
The procession route also reveals the street's role in Sormovo's topography: it connected the factory gate to the central part of the settlement, and columns leaving the factory marched along it [1].
Kirova and Shcherbakova
The name "Universitetskaya" appears in newspapers from early 1934 and disappears by the end of that year: in December 1934, S. M. Kirov died, and the street was renamed after him. In the street directories of 1938, Universitetskaya is already gone, while Kirov Street is present [1].
A 1950 note in Krasny Sormovich reports the renaming of Kirov Street to Shcherbakov Street — the name under which it exists to this day [1].
Merger with Metallurgicheskaya
Renaming of Streets and Squares in Nizhny Novgorod" (1972) lists the former names of Shcherbakov Street as "Sobornaya, Kirova, Metallicheskaya." There was no street called Metallicheskaya in this district: in the electoral precinct lists of 1938 and 1950, the street recorded here is Metallurgicheskaya, which ran roughly from the railway tracks near the fire station to the Sormovo wharf. That is the street that was merged into Shcherbakov Street [1].
Sooner or later we will be able to establish the chronology of every street renaming in Sormovo down to the exact month.
Sources
- biblmr.r52.ru — Krasny Sormovich — Old Photograph: Shcherbakov Street — all the names it has ever had