Luxurious 19th-Century Apartments Go Up for Sale in St. Petersburg After Restoration

The Kushelyov-Bezborodko mansion on the Kutuzov Naberezhnaya in St. Petersburg is the only residential space in the city that is in a restored federal-level protected property.

The mansion was built in the 18th century, although over the centuries it has changed owners and been rebuilt many times. Its present appearance is from the 19th century when it was owned by the first Count Kushelyov-Bezborodko, Alexander, and his son Nikolai. They commissioned most of the interiors that have come down intact to the present.

After the Kushelyov-Bezborodkos, the mansion was briefly owned by Alexandra Sheremeteva, who commissioned the architect Nikolai Benois to design the white marble staircase that was built in the 1870s.

In the 1880s the mansion was purchased by Prince Mikhail Volkonsky, son of the Decemberist Sergei Volkonsky. Then from 1892 right up to 1917 it was owned by a merchant of the 1st Guild, Alexander Yeliseyev of the famous emporium family. Alexander Yeliseyev partially reconstructed the building and lived with his family in a 23-room residence on the main floor of the mansion.

The rest of the building was rented out, making the mansion a residential apartment house. Alexander Yeliseyev died in 1918. A preserved inventory of the contents of Yeliseyev’s apartment in 1918 listed a collection of bronzes, paintings, icons, silver and other valuable objects. All of them disappeared without a trace when the mansion was ransacked.

The Soviet regime turned the mansion into communal apartments and offices. The former halls were divided by partitions, and, in the words of local historians, “the entire way of life in the mansion was turned into the tragicomedy of communal living.” In the early years of this century, all the residents were moved to other premises and the mansion was in terrible condition. The photographer Yuri Molodkovets captured the dire conditions in 2008.

But the mansion has been given a second — or perhaps a fifth — life. The unique 19th century interiors were restored over the course of seven years. Now they are part of the three apartments now being sold. Interested apartment shoppers may contact the agents here: https://kutuzova24.ru/en/#contacts