Seraya Loshad — the unofficial name (nickname) of residential building No. 60 on Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street near Gorky Square, and also of the surrounding area with its bus stop [1][3]. The building houses Unit No. 9 of the Institute of Economics of UNN, formerly the Economics and Finance faculties [1][3][4][5]. In appearance the building resembles a Stalinist-era residential block — and not just in appearance: it is a "Stalinka" (Stalinist-era apartment building) dating from 1938–1939 [1].
Origin of the nickname
In Soviet times, students used the nickname "Seraya Loshad" (Grey Horse) to refer to the Vecherniy restaurant, which occupied this building. During the day it operated as a canteen, and in the evening as a restaurant — comparatively cheap and therefore popular with students and other patrons of modest means [2][3].
The cheerful sixties brought many cowboy films to Soviet screens. The Magnificent Seven, released in Soviet cinemas in July 1962 [10], was one of the most beloved films among young people, and according to urban legend, students nicknamed their canteen "Seraya Loshad" because that was the name of the saloon in the film: its heroes supposedly made merry at a saloon called the Grey Horse [1][2].
According to another version, the occasion for the "popular renaming" was a small gray horse standing in the establishment's display window [2][3]. Be that as it may, the nickname did not merely stick — it spread across the entire neighborhood and outlived the restaurant itself [2]: several generations of Nizhny Novgorod residents have grown up continuing to call the building by that name, not knowing why [1].
| Version | What it claims | Source |
|---|---|---|
| The cinema version | Students in the 1960s named the Vecherniy restaurant after the saloon from the western film The Magnificent Seven | NN.RU, 2018 [1]; FederalPress, 2026 [2] |
| The display-window version | A small gray horse stood in the canteen's display window | EventNN, 2014 [3]; FederalPress, 2026 [2] |
History of the building
Building No. 60 on Bolshaya Pokrovskaya was constructed in 1938–1939 as a residential building [1]. The nickname is sometimes attributed to the neighboring building No. 56 [2], but that address is occupied by the House of Communications, built in 1933–1936 (architects M. I. Gintzburg and E. M. Michurin), while the university's economics faculty occupies No. 60 [4][7].
In addition to the university, the building houses several private companies. Since 1993, ZAO Nizhegorodskaya Radiolaboratoriya — a printing and publishing enterprise — has been registered here [11]. Its general director, Valeriy Abramov, a longtime tenant of the building, spent about ten years pushing for the building's renovation, or at least for a general meeting of all property owners [1][11].
According to Abramov, the building was once listed as a cultural heritage site but lost that status by a decree of the Nizhny Novgorod Region government [1]. In the current version of the list of regional-significance historical and cultural landmarks in Nizhny Novgorod (resolution of the Regional Council of People's Deputies dated August 31, 1993, No. 288-m, as amended), building No. 60 does not appear, although Nos. 49 and 56 on the same street are included [7]. For information on how such status is formally obtained, see the article How to Officially Register a Building as a Cultural Heritage Site.
In the autumn of 2017, a reader of NN.RU drew attention to the building's condition: trees were growing on every balcony, and bare brick showed through where the plaster had fallen away. At the time, the City Hall owned only 6.5% of the premises, and the question of renovation could only be decided at a general meeting of all property owners [1]. The building was not included in the façade renovation program ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup; it was Lobachevsky University (NNGU) that took the initiative, securing funding from the federal budget, and the other property owners eventually joined in. A total of 1.5 million rubles was raised — enough, for now, only for the main façade — and by the end of May 2018 the "Grey Horse" had shed its scaffolding, newly renovated [1].
Just look at these façades — like after a bombing.
The "Grey Horse" has become so beautiful!
Chronicle
| When | What |
|---|---|
| 1938–1939 | Residential building No. 60 constructed [1] |
| July 1962 | The Magnificent Seven released in Soviet cinemas [10] |
| 1960s | Students nickname the Vecherniy restaurant in the building "the Grey Horse" (according to legend) [1][2] |
| 2 March 1993 | Closed joint-stock company Nizhny Novgorod Radio Laboratory registered at the building [11] |
| 29 January 2014 | The Economics, Finance, and Management and Entrepreneurship faculties of UNN merged into the Institute of Economics and Entrepreneurship [5] |
| 2014 | The Mir Muzyki (World of Music) shop describes its address as "opposite the Grey Horse" [3] |
| Autumn 2017 | NN.RU readers complain about the state of the façades [1] |
| May 2018 | The front façade repaired at the expense of the building's owners, led by UNN [1] |
| By June 2019 | The city's first "smart bus stop" appears at the Seraya Loshad (Grey Horse) stop [8][9] |
| 2026 | The building houses Building No. 9 of the UNN Institute of Economics [4] |
The University at "The Grey Horse"
For a long time the building housed two faculties of Lobachevsky University — the Faculty of Economics and the Faculty of Finance [3]. On 29 January 2014, as part of the university's competitiveness enhancement programme, three faculties — Management and Entrepreneurship, Economics, and Finance — were reorganised into the Institute of Economics and Entrepreneurship, which became the largest unit of Lobachevsky University by number of students and faculty [5].
Today, Building No. 60 is corpus No. 9 of the Lobachevsky University Institute of Economics, with its own academic offices; other buildings of the institute are located at Lenin Avenue, 27, and at Bolshaya Pokrovskaya, 37 [4]. Corpus No. 9 houses, in particular, the Department of Finance and Credit [6].
The Vecherniy canteen has long since closed. In the late 2000s, students used to go to the neighbouring café "Voyage" — one of the first cafés to open during the perestroika years.
The Nickname in Common Speech
The nickname has long since spread beyond student slang. The address "Bolshaya Pokrovskaya, 73" is almost never used when explaining "how to find the shop": people say "Gorky Square, opposite the Grey Horse" — and everyone immediately understands where it is, even though there is nothing resembling a horse anywhere nearby. The webcam on the city's website was named the same way — "Bolshaya Pokrovskaya. The Grey Horse" [3].
The nickname has become something of a password: in 2018, an NN.RU piece about renovations at the building ran under the headline "How to spot a Nizhny Novgorod resident? He's glad the Grey Horse is being renovated" [1], and in 2026 FederalPress opened a roundup about the origins of Nizhny Novgorod place names with the Grey Horse — alongside Grebeshok, Myza, Skoba, and Black Pond [2].
Ask them about the "Grey Horse." Only a Nizhny Novgorod resident will know the answer.
The "Grey Horse" Bus Stop
The public transport stop near the building is also popularly known as "Seraya Loshad" [3]; city publications refer to it by this name as well [8][9].
This was the site of Nizhny Novgorod's first "smart" bus shelter — a pilot installation under a concession agreement between City Hall and Rostelecom [8][9]. The then-Mayor Vladimir Panov came to receive it in person. The technology held up well, but when the mayor decided to experience things as an ordinary resident would, he sat down on the metal bench, immediately felt discomfort, informed the Rostelecom representative sitting beside him that the seat ought to be wooden, and hurried him to his feet. It later emerged that the shelter was also rusting — so the material requirements were tightened: all the shortcomings revealed by the "Seraya Loshad" pilot shelter were corrected in the standard design [8].
Take care of yourself
See also
Sources
- news.rambler.ru — on the renovation of the facade of building No. 60 and the origin of the nickname — How to recognize a resident of Nizhny Novgorod? He is delighted about the renovation of the "Grey Horse"
- FederalPress — on the origins of place names in Nizhny Novgorod — From the Grey Horse to Grebeshok: tracing the history of Nizhny Novgorod place names (archive)
- eventnn.ru — EventNN, 4 March 2014 — the history of the nickname in an account of the Mir Muzyki store — The mystery of the "Grey Horse". The history of the Mir Muzyki store in Nizhny Novgorod (archive)
- iee.unn.ru — Institute of Economics, Lobachevsky University — campus addresses — Buildings (archive)
- iee.unn.ru — Institute of Economics, Lobachevsky University — on the establishment of the institute in 2014 — About the institute (archive)
- unn.ru — Lobachevsky University — university structure and addresses of departments — Information about the educational organization: structure and governing bodies
- base.garant.ru — GARANT — list of regional cultural heritage sites in Nizhny Novgorod (Regional Council resolution No. 288-m, as amended) (archive)
- V gorode N — the story of smart bus stops — Smart all around: are Nizhny Novgorod's innovative bus stops working properly? (archive)
- Otkryty Nizhny — on new smart bus stops — Two more "smart installations" have appeared on the streets of Nizhny Novgorod
- kino-leningrad.livejournal.com — kino_leningrad (LiveJournal) — on the Soviet dubbing and distribution of the film — The Magnificent Seven (1960), Soviet dubbing
- rusprofile.ru — company profile of ZAO "NRL" (Nizhny Novgorod Radio Laboratory) — ZAO "NRL", Nizhny Novgorod (archive)