The State Bank Building

The State Bank Building in Nizhny Novgorod — a historic architectural complex of the Nizhny Novgorod branch of the State (Central) Bank of Russia, built in the retrospective style. The original structure simultaneously evokes a medieval castle and an ancient Russian terem. The prototypes for individual elements of the building were the Metropolitan Court in Rostov Veliky, the Terem Palace in the Moscow Kremlin, as well as the architectural traditions of ancient Novgorod and Pskov.^[1] A monument of federal significance.

Built in 1911–1913 to a design by V.A. Pokrovsky to mark the 300th anniversary of the reign of the House of Romanov. The opening of the building was timed to coincide with a dual jubilee — the 50th anniversary of the State Bank and the 300th anniversary of the reign of the House of Romanov.^[2] The building continues to serve its original purpose: it houses the main directorate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation for Nizhny Novgorod Region. At present, the building is home to the Volga-Vyatka Main Directorate of the Bank of Russia.^[3]

Address: Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street (formerly Sverdlov Street), building 26, corner of Gruzinskaya Street.

Construction estimate: 565,376 rubles.

The Nature of the Phenomenon

An outstanding architectural monument in the Neo-Russian style, intended to affirm the traditionalism of Imperial Russian policy and recall the historical legitimacy of the Romanov dynasty.

The architectural complex comprises four structures: the bank building itself, a residential block for staff, a vault, and a clock tower; originally all the buildings were surrounded by a wrought-iron fence.^[1]

This building, the opening of which coincides with the current jubilee year, is intended to serve as a magnificent monument to the three-hundredth anniversary of the reign of the House of Romanovs, and with this purpose in mind it has been built in the Russian style of the era of the first tsars of the House of Romanovs. All the interior decoration — furniture, electrical fittings, wall and ceiling paintings, and so forth — down to the last detail, has likewise been carried out in the Russian style. In general, this building, by virtue of its artistic quality, the wholeness of the impression it produces, combined with its considerable size, must take one of the foremost places among other buildings in the Russian style throughout the Empire

Finance Minister V. N. Kokovtsov explains to the Minister of the Imperial Court, Count V. B. Frederiks, the significance of the State Bank building in Nizhny Novgorod

The Decision to Construct a Special Building

On 17 May 1913, the Nizhny Novgorod branch of the State Bank, upon a visit by "HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY, HER IMPERIAL MAJESTY, and the Entire August Family," ceremonially "moved into" its magnificent new building on Bolshaya Pokrovskaya. (It had, of course, actually moved in somewhat earlier, but the official opening took place on 17 May in the presence of the imperial family.)

Many consider this building a gift from the Nizhny Novgorod merchants to the tsar. However, the merchants had no involvement whatsoever in financing the construction. The building was funded by the treasury itself. Polyansky was permitted to earn money and direct it toward the construction. Thanks to the talent and wisdom of Nikolai Pavlovich Polyansky, more than half the funds were saved during the building process. Instead of three million rubles, construction cost one million. For the centennial in 2013, the building underwent a major restoration: the darkened walls were cleaned with sandblasting equipment, after which they became considerably lighter; to mark the completion of the original construction in 1913, a special commemorative token had been issued — depicting the building in colored enamel against a gilded double-headed eagle.^[1]

The decision to construct the bank was made in 1910. At that time the tsarist government already believed that a world war was inevitable, and decided to transfer all valuables from the western border territories to the central part of Russia. As evidence I can cite the fact that along with our building, structures in Kazan and Samara were built at virtually the same time.

The government was not mistaken in taking such measures. During the Civil War in 1918, the walls of our bank held more than half the country's gold reserves; it was here that Kolchak's gold — about which many legends circulated — had its origins. The following incident is recounted. When the gold was being transported from a steamship to the Kazan bank, one crate went missing. However, those handling the shipment attached no importance to this, since the declared value of each crate was one ruble. At the time there was a rule: a crate whose contents were unknown was always valued at one ruble, even though it might contain gold.

Regional Background to the Founding

The Nizhny Novgorod region has always occupied a special place in banking. The banking system of our city originated at the Yarmarka, long before the State Bank was established.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, Nizhny Novgorod was home to two State Banks: the first at the Yarmarka, while the branch proper appeared somewhat later. The Yarmarka was always an exceptionally important and lucrative institution. Although it lasted only two months a year, people earned enough during that time to last until the next Yarmarka. There is one well-known remark attributed to Catherine II, made during her visit to Nizhny after the Yarmarka had already closed. She was asked: "Your Majesty, what do you make of our Nizhny Novgorod?" Catherine replied: "Magnificently situated, but wretchedly appointed." Indeed, the state of the city's internal arrangements after the Yarmarka left much to be desired. Order was typically restored only before the following summer.

It stands to reason, then, that the main force behind the emergence and development of Nizhny Novgorod's banking system was the "all-Russian marketplace" — the Nizhny Novgorod Yarmarka, renowned throughout Russia.

On the day the financial institution at the Nizhny Novgorod Yarmarka opened — 20 July 1820 — the first deposit received by the Banking Office for transfer to the Moscow Office came to 5,550 rubles. The bank's fee was 0.25% of the transfer amount. Thus, the Banking Office's first profit amounted to 13 rubles and 75 kopecks. Can you imagine that these not-quite-fourteen rubles were the tiny point from which the entire trajectory of Nizhny Novgorod's banking system would grow?

In total, over the course of the 1820 Yarmarka, 245 bills of exchange were accepted for discount, amounting to 2,407,340 rubles and 57 kopecks. Transfer deposits received by the Office totaled 4,272,263 rubles and 22 kopecks. The net profit of the first Yarmarka came to 72,079 rubles and 61 kopecks.

What was the purpose of the State Bank?

The charter of the first State Bank directed its institutions toward addressing the most important national-economic tasks of the era and toward fostering market capitalist relations. Accordingly, the bank's charter set out the following powers:

regulating monetary and credit circulation;
promoting growth in trade and industrial turnover;
ensuring the strengthening of the monetary and credit system;
the State Bank was obliged to work toward lowering discount and lending rates, to prevent the squandering of capital, to serve as a bulwark against crisis, and to supply banks with sufficient funds to resolve difficulties arising during periods of collapse.

In other words, this was a reserve Bank for all categories of banking institutions. These functions are equally assigned to the Central Bank today.

Décor and Interior Finishing of the Building

The building preserves unique murals executed from sketches by I. Ya. Bilibin. The interior combines Byzantine grandeur, icon-painting traditions, and theatrical flair: the ceilings and walls of the main halls form unified painted compositions.^[3] Entering the foyer, one sees the coats of arms of the cities that participated in the Nizhny Novgorod Yarmarka and are situated along the Volga. Moving upward, one encounters paintings depicting the Earth's movement around the Sun, the changing of the seasons, and the signs of the zodiac. A small hall is devoted to the metals used to mint coins: copper, gold, silver, platinum, and copper. A unique mirror also stands there. It is said that a woman who sees her reflection in this mirror appears more beautiful. The murals in the main hall have never been restored. The artistic murals in the main operations hall were executed by the painters — brothers Nikolay and Georgy Pashkov — from sketches by Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin.

The principal themes of the vaulted ceiling murals are the wealth of Rus, the feat of the Nizhny Novgorod militia, and the election to the throne of the first Romanov tsar — Mikhail Fyodorovich. The largest painting in the interior is found in what is known as the tsar's room: it depicts the accession to the throne of the first Romanov tsar, Mikhail Fyodorovich, and was copied from an engraving in a seventeenth-century chronicle.^[3]^[2]^[1] They serve as a kind of reminder to the institution's employees of the ways in which a nation's wealth may be increased.

Frankly speaking, the bank building truly has plenty to see. Getting inside, however, is no easy matter: guards are everywhere, cameras watch every corner, documents are checked strictly, and exit passes are valid for exactly as many minutes as one is permitted to remain in the bank.

account by S. F. Spitsyn

Project

V.A. Pokrovsky won the competition announced by the client — the Bank Council — in 1911. First prize and the right to oversee construction.

His rivals were: A.V. Shchusev, A.I. von Hogen, and N.M. Veshnyakov. Architects Aleksey Viktorovich Shchusev and Aleksandr Ivanovich von Hogen were invited to participate in the competition; the winner was Vladimir Aleksandrovich Pokrovsky, by that time a full academician of the Imperial Academy of Arts. Pokrovsky held the title of full member of the Russian Academy of Arts and academician of architecture.^[2]^[1]

From the memoirs of M.V. Nesterov:

"[…] At the competition for designs for the Nizhny Novgorod State Bank held in those days, Shchusev not only failed to win first prize — he received neither second nor third — he was awarded the fourth prize… First place went to V.A. Pokrovsky."

The ensemble comprises:

The main building. Set back from the street's building line.
A residential building for staff.
A wrought-iron fence with gates.
The clock tower.
The vault.

Remuneration: 2,500 rubles for the design plus 5 % of the estimated cost of 565,376 rubles for supervision throughout the entire construction period.

Progress of Works

Construction began: 5 May 1911.
The ceremonial foundation-laying took place on 1 June 1911. The building was constructed within a tight timeframe — just two years — and an "army" of hundreds of stonemasons, blacksmiths, ceramicists, icon painters, wood and stone carvers, mechanics, and engineers was engaged for the work.^[2]
Consecration: 14 May 1913.

Estimated construction costs: main building — 398,832 rubles; clock tower — 1,744 rubles.

V.A. Pokrovsky engaged the following collaborators:

Architects: Golenishchev R.P., Michurin E.M., Basis Ts.D., Nilus B.M.

Artist I.Ya. Bilibin, who executed the fresco sketches.

Yakov Filotey (St. Petersburg) — stone cladding. 60,000 rubles.

G. P. and N. P. Pashkov (Moscow) — fresco painting.

N. D. Chesnokov — metalwork.

Mur i Meriliz — tiles and ceramic floor tiles.

Sormovskiy Plant — metal structures for the suspended ceiling.

Visit of Nicholas II

On 17 May 1913, the building was visited by the last emperor, Nicholas II, who was travelling along the Volga. He left a record of the occasion in his diary:

"17th May. Friday. Arrived in Nizhny Novgorod at 10 o'clock in the morning in cold weather. […] At 4 o'clock visited the new building of the State Bank branch, built in the Old Russian style. Went back for Alix and the children and together we drove to the Assembly of Nobility…"

An interesting incident occurred during the visit:

"… They say that the sovereign emperor, paying a visit to the Nizhny Novgorod Bank, stumbled on the steps, and this was taken as a bad omen."

The Functions of the State Bank in Nizhny Novgorod

On 27 May 1820, Alexander I approved, with the resolution "So be it," the "establishment of a Branch of the State Commercial Bank in Nizhny Novgorod, for the duration of the annual Yarmarka held there."

The bank branch opened every year from 20 July to 20 August. "It is charged with: 1) accepting deposits for transfer, both domestic within Nizhny Novgorod and external to St. Petersburg and other cities in which branches of the Commercial Bank have been established; and 2) discounting bills of exchange." The purpose of the bank branch was "to support and facilitate the commercial transactions of the Nizhny Novgorod Yarmarka."

Points of Interest

In the early twenty-first century, the building bears three coats of arms: the Nizhny Novgorod deer above the porch, the coat of arms of Russia on the façade, and the coat of arms of the USSR on the spire.

Traditional Nizhny Novgorod legends also connect the rapid construction of a special, largely non-functional clock tower within the Bank complex to the visit of Nicholas II — supposedly built to conceal the balcony of a tenement house whose local residents had particularly eccentric habits.

Many consider this building to have been a gift to the Tsar from Nizhny Novgorod merchants. However, the merchants had no involvement in financing its construction. The building was funded by the treasury itself. The administrator Nikolay Pavlovich Polyansky was permitted to earn money and direct it toward the construction, which allowed more than half the funds to be saved: instead of three million, the building cost just one million rubles. [1]

During the Civil War in 1918, the walls of the Nizhny Novgorod State Bank held more than half of the country's gold reserves.

This was the origin of Kolchak's gold, which gave rise to many legends. One story goes as follows. When the gold was being transported from a steamship to the Kazan bank, one crate went missing. However, those handling the shipment paid it little mind, since the declared value of each crate was one ruble. At the time there was a rule: any crate whose contents were unknown was always valued at one ruble, even though it might well contain gold.

Sources

GIPERNN — Prior to the construction of the new complex, a full-fledged branch of the State Bank was located in another building — on Osypnaya Street (now Piskunova Street). It was opened (archive)

KP — Nizhny Novgorod — The opening of the building was timed to coincide with a double anniversary — the 50th anniversary of the State Bank and the 300th anniversary of the reign of the House of Romanov. The competition for the best design was entered by

putidorogi-nn.ru — Puti-dorogi — The prototypes for individual elements of the building were the Metropolitan Court in Rostov Veliky, the Terem Palace in the Moscow Kremlin, as well as the architectural traditions of ancient N (archive)