The Kikin Palace
There are few great houses of the new bureaucrats of Peter
I's era that have survived in Petersburg but happily the impressive
red and white Kikin Palace (mansion) near the Tauride Palace still
stands in open grounds, an outstanding example of Peter I baroque
with its curved window designs and staircase. It is a good example,
too, of how the great palace at Peterhof must have looked when
originally construct ed. It was begun in 1714, probably by Schluter,
and owned by Alexander Kikin, one of Peter's new men, who was
appointed to head the Admiralty. Unfortunately, Kikin ruined his
career (and lost his life) by his friendship with the Tsarevich
Alexis, Peter's son. Kikin was among those who in 1718 advised
the unhappy Alexis to renounce the throne and escape abroad. Kikin
and several others, including Alexis' own mother, were also arrested,
and sent to Moscow, where Kikin was sentenced to die under slow
torture in Red Square. His splendid house was confiscated and
until 1727 used to house Peter's library and collection of rarities.
When barracks were subsequently built nearby, the Kikin house
became a military hospital and was heavily reconstructed. Its
rebirth was due to the German bombardment in the Second World
War; it was so badly damaged that the post-war restorer, Irina
Benois (of the Benois family of architects and artists), was able
to return it to its original form.
