At first glance, what could possibly connect our beloved city with the name of the outstanding architect Andrei Ivanovich Shtakenshneider?

The architect behind the magnificent palaces in St. Petersburg and Peterhof—and the personal architect of Tsar Nicholas I—is known to have left no mark on our city… So what, then? We have the answer to this question, but let’s take it one step at a time…

In the summer of 1904, the renowned art patron Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev embarked on a journey across the Russian Empire. His goal was simple: to collect paintings to later organize a Historical and Artistic Exhibition of Portraits in St. Petersburg. To this end, Diaghilev visited more than 72 estates and carefully selected works of art. Sergei Pavlovich also visited the Kharkiv Governorate.

In Gievka, at Prince Svyatopolk-Mirsky’s estate, nothing suitable for the exhibition was found… At Count Vasily Alekseyevich Kapnist’s estate in Lebedyn, six paintings were selected for the exhibition. In the city of Kharkiv, however, Sergei Diaghilev found only three works suitable for the exhibition:

• A watercolor self-portrait by Andrei Ivanovich Shtakenshneider;
• A pencil drawing depicting a portrait of Andrei Ivanovich Shtakenshneider (the artist’s signature is illegible);
• The living room in Andrei Ivanovich Shtakenshneider’s house on Millionnaya Street, depicting his family (painted by an unknown artist).

The most interesting thing is that the owner of these paintings was Maria Ivanovna Shtakenshneider (née Malinovskaya), the wife of one of Andrei Ivanovich Shtakenshneider’s sons—Vladimir—who lived in Kharkiv at Moskalivska St, 58 and was the daughter of a friend of A. S. Pushkin from his lyceum days.

Vladimir Andreevich Shtakenshneider had lived in Kharkiv since 1887, where he worked as a legal advisor for the Excise Department of the State Bank. By a remarkable coincidence, his wife was the younger sister of Adrian’s wife.

Adrian Andreevich Shtakenshneider was also a lawyer and advised the great F.M. Dostoevsky on legal matters—in particular, during the writing of *The Brothers Karamazov*—and he, too, lived in our beloved city. His wife was Sofya Ivanovna Malinovskaya.

In a letter from Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky to his wife dated July 20 (August 1), 1874, we find the following:

The other day I ran into Stakenshneider here—the very same one who is a prosecutor at the Kharkiv District Court. He had just got married in Kharkiv in May and went abroad with his wife for a month or two…

Incidentally, there is a theory that it was Sofia Ivanovna who served as the inspiration for the character of Liza Khokhlakova in F. M. Dostoevsky’s novel *The Brothers Karamazov*. But that’s not all.
Architect Nikolai Andreevich Stakenshneider reconstructed (presumably) a magnificent building at 19 Sumska Street in our city. It was formerly an apartment building owned by the “Zhizn” insurance company. And so, in the most remarkable way, the fates of the great architect’s three sons are linked to Kharkiv…
To be continued…

P.S. 1
The photo below shows the sons of architect Andrei Ivanovich Shtakenshneider: Nikolai, Alexander, Adrian, and Vladimir.

There’s a gap of about 40 years between the photos. As it turns out, it was fashionable to pose like that back then, too. So, gentlemen, there’s nothing new under the sun…

P.S. 2
I highly recommend the book “List of Portraits Selected for the 1905 Historical and Art Exhibition by General Commissioner S.P. Diaghilev for the 1905 Historical and Art Exhibition from among the 72 Russian estates he visited during the summer months of 1904,” published in 1904 in St. Petersburg. It is a highly informative source that includes the addresses of the owners of rare paintings, by the way)