Old Russa: Plotnikovs’ Grocery of the 19th Century

Staraya Russa

The Plotnikovs’ Grocery Store

House of Ponomarev and Kiseleva with Shops,
Mid-19th Century

Implemented

Cultural heritage site
of regional significance

19th Century

construction date

History

The Staraya Russa resort was opened in the 19th century and became known as the “Russian Baden-Baden.”
As early as 1854, Staraya Russa became a favorite destination of the Russian aristocracy. Members
of the imperial family came here for treatment,
as did representatives of the creative intelligentsia.
In 1904, Konstantin Stanislavsky and Maxim Gorky
visited the resort.

The place was also dearly loved by F. M. Dostoevsky.
“My own nest” — this is how affectionately the great author referred to his house in Staraya Russa.

Here he wrote chapters of The Brothers Karamazov —
a novel about Staraya Russa and its inhabitants. Staraya Russa became the prototype for the fictional town
of Skotoprigonyevsk, where the storyline of the novel unfolds. To this day, places described in the novel have been preserved in the city. One of these places
is the House of Ponomarev and Kiseleva with Shops.

In Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky’s novel,
the house is described as follows: “Plotnikov’s shop was at the corner of the street, next door but one to Pyotr Ilyitch’s. It was the largest grocery shop in our town, and by no means
a bad one, belonging to some rich merchants. They kept everything that could be
got in a Petersburg shop, grocery of all sort, wines ‘bottled by the brothers Eliseyev,’ fruits, cigars, tea, coffee, sugar, and so on. There were three shop-assistants and two errand boys always employed.”

Concept

The history of Staraya Russa as the “Russian Baden-Baden,” the city’s connection with F. M. Dostoevsky,
and the image of the Plotnikovs’ grocery store from
the novel The Brothers Karamazov formed the basis
of the project concept. In the cultural heritage site “House of Ponomarev and Kiseleva with Shops,” an interior in retro style was created, immersing visitors in the atmosphere
of an old grocery store in an imperial resort town.

2023 – 2024

design and implementation period

The aged finish and texture of the joinery imitate the preserved grocery store. Antique decorative objects, retro posters, and product packaging
also convey the atmosphere of the 19th century.
The accent is a crystal chandelier, emphasizing the prestige of the store in the “Russian Baden-Baden.”

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