About

The Polovtsov Mansion — the late-19th-century central-Petersburg residence of the state councillor Alexander Polovtsov — is one of the few remaining private aristocratic interiors of the imperial period whose state halls approach the palace-level decorative programme. The house is currently the seat of the Petersburg House of Architects (Dom Arkhitektora), which has preserved the surviving 19th-century interiors. The mansion's discreet exterior conceals one of the most substantial and best-preserved historical interiors in central Petersburg. The finish quality is competitive with the imperial palace residences. The house has been effectively closed to the general public for decades; even many long-time Petersburg residents have never been inside. This is not a museum — public access is available only through organised guided tours. In Russian; the specific decorative-arts material is dense.