The Rebirth of the Tauride Palace: Reconstruction of Premises of the Palace for the State Duma of the Russian Empire

Abstract

With the advent in 1905 in Russia the State Duma there was a question about its placement. Since funding for construction of a special building for the new legislative building was found, it was decided to adjust for the lower house of the Russian Parliament Tauride Palace in St. Petersburg. The article is devoted to milestone imperial approval of the Special Committee on the adaptation of the building of the Imperial Palace for the premises Tauride it the State Duma. The focus is on the restructuring of the winter garden at the Tauride Palace to meeting hall of the General Assembly: the unique technology of parquet laying, supply of furniture and draperies, acoustical works. Restoration work in the Palace held a famous St. Petersburg firms: furniture-carpentry factory «F. Meltzer & Co», North glass-industrial society of the brothers M. and A. Frank. The arrangement of the Tauride Palace was attended by talented architects P. I. Shestov, A. A. Bruni, A. I. von Gogen, an outstanding Russian artist Ilya Repin. The article also describes about the installation in the Tauride Palace telephone and telegraphic communications equipment of the Duma snack bar and restaurant. The article details the problem of placing the Duma journalists in the palace. The basis of the article are documents that are stored in the Russian State Historical Archive, the Manuscript Division of the Institute of Russian Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Department of Manuscripts of the National Library, part of which was first introduced in the scientific circulation. Dry lines of archival documents add the memories, letters, diaries of journalists, deputies, employees of the State Duma of the Russian Empire, periodical press materials that help to recreate the atmosphere, the emotional background of the significant events.