Many notice this impressive mansion while walking down Tverskoy Boulevard and turning at Malaya Nikitskaya Street. Not everyone knows that in this very house the famous writer Maxim Gorky lived from 1931 through to 1936 when he returned from Italy. Initially, this house belonged to Sergey Pavlovich Ryabushinsky, entrepreneur and founder of the first automobile plant in Russia.

In 1965, the memorial museum of Gorky was opened in this building thanks to his daughter-in-law Nadezhda. This mansion always attracted me. At first I learned about it when my fellow students and I had an excursion about this district with our lecturer. I was captivated by the beautiful iris mosaic the house is decorated with. Then some years later I took a photo with my friend in a nice garden close to this house. Then I decided to go inside.

The thing is, one may enter the museum only from the rear. Inside you will find the authentic decor and unique interior. It’s really unbelievable to stand in these ancient rooms and think about the way Gorky lived here. Well, he was lucky to have such wide windows! Another thing to pay attention to here are the massive stairs. I don’t know why but they remind me of Casa Batlló by Antonio Gaudi in Barcelona. Another hidden gem is a secret Old Believers home church in the attic. The reason is Ryabushinsky family were Old Believers.

In this house Gorky spent his last years, working on ‘The Life of Klim Samgin’ novel.