Building of the former Nobility Assembly
Another important object that appeared on the considered territory in chronological order is the building of Nobility assembly. The facts related to the construction of Tambov Nobility Assembly, were used by M.U. Lermontov in his poem "Tambov Treasurer." Actually, the building itself was quite different, and it was in a different place. It appeared in this particular area in 1837, when there was a necessity to host the heir of the throne, the future Emperor Alexander II.
Before his arrival, a large wooden building on the northeast corner of the junction of Dolgaia and Shirokaia Streets was built. Next to it the estate of nobles Zagryazhskii was located on the Shirokaia Stret. There, the parents of Goncharova - future wife of A.S. Pushkin stayed in the fall of 1812.
How did the wooden house of the Noble Assembly looked like? - No one knows. Details about its appearance and interior were not found. It is known that by the end of the 80s of the 19th century, this building, which was built in a hurry 50 years ago, fell into disrepair. Then, the decision was made to build a new building at the same place, which would correspond to the status of the Noble Assembly.
At the beginning of 1892 the governor of Tambov approved the plan of the new building. Funds for construction were collected from all persons of noble origin, who had estates in the Tambov province. The value of payment was proportional to the size of their estates.
The main project documentation was developed by the junior architect of a construction company F.A. Svirchevskii. However, it can hardly be called a full-fledged author of the architectural design of the building. In those years, in several Russian cities similar buildings resemble each other like twins were built. For example, the building of regional theater in Omsk remarkably resembles the building of our Tambov Theater.
Most probably, Svirchevskii has adopted a standard project recommended for the construction of such buildings. In this regard, it is not necessary to believe that the planned image of the building supposedly resembles a flying bee, or rather the fact that Svirchevskii has puprusefolly introduced this symbol of Tambov region in his project. Tambov symbolism was indeed reflected in the external design of the building of the Nobility Assembly, but in the other way. For example, the pillars of the main entrance were decorated with the coats of arms of district cities.
Construction Noble Assembly had been completed by 1897. The new building had three front walls. The central angular wall is the main entrance, decorated with special grace. It has three high arched openings with semicircular terminations. Above the entrance there is a large balcony decorated with openwork railing of molded balusters. The curved surface of the ceiling over the central part of the building is completed by the corner turrets with decorative ornaments, and above all the central cornice facade there is a railing, which gives special charm because of its lace trim.
Luxurious mansion satisfied the tastes of the noble society. Of all the architectural styles it was most consistent with Northern European Renaissance, which is characterized by its decorative elements. The interiors were made similarly to the external design. Much of the original appearance of the building has remained until our days, but unfortunately not everything. The grand staircase attracts our attention, especially its cast-iron balusters with drawings, including coat of arms of the Tambov province, as well as a huge mirror, which is located on the stair flight.
In the early years various social events were discussed there. The debates and discussions were held on political and economic innovation. The halls of the Noble Assembly have heard the voices of the best representatives of the provincial upper class, highly educated people, who confidently and convincingly defend their opinions.
In May of 1897, the famous machine of moving pictures - cinematograph of the Lumiere was first demonstrated in Tambov in the Nobility Assembly building. In 1912 in the southern wing of the building, which is now occupied by the children's puppet theater, one of the first “eletrotheatres” with the name "Colosseum" was opened in the city; this name was quickly fixed for the whole building of Tambov Noble Assembly. At the beginning of the past century F.I. Chaliapin has three times performed with his tour concerts on the stage of Noble Assembly. Here, wealthy city dwellers could enjoy the musical skill of the pianist Ya.I.Ziloti.
Since August 1920 to the summer of 1921 in the Tambov province was seized by the peasant uprising, better known under the name "Antonovshina". As evidenced by the expert historians, it was the last large-scale peasant uprising in the history of Russia. Tambov at the time was well fortified by numerous units of the Red Army and in the spring of 1921it was under the command of a twenty-seven commander of the Red Army M.K. Tukhachevskii, the future Marshal of the Soviet Union.
Other famous future military experts took part in the battles with Tambov peasants: I.P.Uborevich, I.F.Fedko, G.K.Zhukov, cavalry of G.I.Kotovskii. Heads of Tambov government were well-known Bolsheviks V.A.Antonov-Ovseenko and A.G. Schlichter. In his memoirs of the days Antonov-Ovseenko wrote that the "Labor Palace" building, as the former premises of Noble Assembly became known in those days, more resembled a battle object: a permanent post of the Red Army was the entrance, there were also stockpiled logs, intended to barricade the entrance in the case of Antonov’s breakthrough into the city. There were rifles and boxes of ammunition in the offices of party workers, and the machine gun was installed on the balcony.
Already in those years, the building was repeatedly visited by many representatives of the top leadership of the country and leader of the RSDLP(b). The building of the Labor Palace was the main point of reception of VIPs who attended Tambov in those years. These were L.Trotsky, M.Kalinin, V. Podbelskii and later M.Bukharin, A.Lunacharsky, A.Mikoyan gave public speeches before the representatives of the city public. Until 1929, the auditorium of the former Noble Assembly was the most spacious hall in Tambov
As a rule, in the first years of Soviet power all commemorative events, conferences, meetings held by municipal and provincial government structures were held there. In 1929 the first club of railway workers appeared in Tambov, which was called the "Banner of Labor." Now there was the largest hall in Tambov. After handing public functions to the new club, the building of the former Nobility Assembly (later - "Coliseum", even later – “Labor Palace”), was turned into a theater.
Since that time a new page in the history of this building on Lenin Square has started. Please note, that we do not say anything about the history of Tambov Theater, just about the building where it was located at the end of the 20s. The history of the Tambov Theater begins from the times of G.R. Derzhavin. Thanks to him, dramatic art appeared in Tambov. The history of Tambov Theater and interesting detail were described in the book of a known Tambov theatre historian A.Smirnov. For several years in the 30s of the past century a local theater group was formed. This process finished in 1937, when Tambov Regional Drama Theater named after A.V. Lunacharskii was formed.
