The hospital of Stravinsky

Leningradsky prospekt is nowadays one of the busiest arterial roads in Moscow. It's the continuation of Tverskaya ulitsa, the longest shopping street in the city, and leads, among other places, to the international airport Sheremetyevo in the northeast. We arrive close to this road when following Bulgakov's route description to the psychiatric hospital of doctor Stravinsky.

Bulgakov describes a "famous psychiatric clinic, built recently on the outskirts of Moscow by the bank of the river", equipped with the latest machinery. "There is  no such equipment  even anywhere abroad. Scientists and doctors come especially  to study our clinic. We have foreign tourists every day". That's where Ivan saw, beyond the grille, a balcony, and beyond that  "the bank of a meandering river, and on its other bank a cheerful pine wood"..

It's most likely that this hospital, where Ivan met the Master for the first time, was inspired by the Khimki City Hospital No. 1. It was built in 1907, originally as a dacha for businessman and benefactor Sergei Pavolvich Patrikeev (1867-1914) who was a member of the Moscow city council and honorary curator of the Czar Alexander School. His dacha was designed by the famous modern architect, Franz Osipovich Shekhtel (1859-1926), who also had designed, in 1902, the Moscow Art Theatre MKHAT, and many other still existing buildings in Moscow.

The Khimki City Hospital was fitted with the best equipment from Germany and Switzerland, and served as hospital, then restaurant, then rest home, then hospital again.

According to an announcement at the entrance, Lenin was treated here twice, in 1918 and 1920. The head physician of the sanatorium, Fyodor Alexandrovich Gete (1863-1938) was the doctor in attendance of Lenin and his family. That's probably the main reason for the retention of this monument of architecture, because the attitude of the authorities for its preservation is much cooler today. Although at the entrance there is a plate with the text Памятник архитектуры or Monument of architecture, it is not well kept and even strongly neglected by the Управлением государственного контроля охраны и использования памятников истории и культуры Москвы, the Management of the state control of protection and use of monuments of history and culture of Moscow.. As a matter of fact, it's a miracle that the building survived the construction of the beltway - the MKAD - and the super-fast  expansion of Khimki with its technology enterprises, shopping malls and huge stores. Close to the hospital are the two biggest Mega shopping centres of Moscow, with, among others, huge surfaces of the French concern Auchan and the Swedish IKEA.

The hospital is situated at Pravoberezhnaya 6 at the right  Moscow river bank. The cheerful pine wood could then be the one close to the Речной вокзал (Rechnoy Vokzal) or the River Station.

Metro: Речной вокзал (Rechnoy Vokzal)