The massive seven-story building, which occupies an entire city block in the very heart of Kharkiv, has long been one of the city’s landmarks.

It was designed by the St. Petersburg architect Hyppolit Pretreaus and was originally built as an apartment building for the “Rossiya” insurance company. It is an architectural monument in the Neoclassical style.

The facade features numerous sculptures that allude to the kinds of situations an insurance company might help people avoid.

The main sculpture group, “The Mercy of Russia,” even features an anchor, which symbolized protection against shipwreck.

The building has three courtyards. The “main address” of the Palace of Labor is Konstytutsii Square, 1, but the wings facing other streets have their own addresses.

The central courtyard is open for pass-through, while the side courtyards can be accessed only from the building.

Construction took place from 1914 to 1916 and proceeded at a fairly rapid pace, considering the building’s impressive size.

However, the residents were unable to live in their new apartments for long.

With the advent of Soviet rule, the apartment building was nationalized.

The People’s Commissariat (Ministry) of Labor and the All-Ukrainian Council of Trade Unions were headquartered here.

That is how it came to be called the “Palace of Labor.”

Today, the numerous rooms of the Palace of Labor continue to be occupied by a wide variety of firms, companies, studios, and public organizations.

We held two “Kharkiv History Nights” at the Palace of Labor.

On March 2, 2022, Russian forces launched a missile strike on the Palace of Labor building. The upper floors, the roof, and the windows were destroyed over a large area.