Elizabeth Palace, Sokolniki

The Elizabeth of Russia palace in Sokolniki, Moscow, is an 18th-century royal residence erected under the Romanov household and associated with the architect B. F. Rastrelli. The site stands where the village of Pokrovskoye-Rubtsovo once lay and where the Rybinka River flowed, and it became notable when Grand Duchess Elizabeth Petrovna took up residence while Anna Ioannovna was on the throne, giving the estate a direct connection to the imperial court.

The plot was held in the 16th century by Protasy Vasilyevich Yuryev before passing into Romanov ownership, where a wooden manor occupied the ground. In 1737 that palace suffered severe damage in a fire. Two years later, a new shore-facing palace was constructed, and in 1752 a pleasure park was laid out around the house. A house church dedicated to the Resurrection was built as part of the complex and remained linked to the residence until it was officially abolished in 1790. After Elizabeth’s death the estate declined from its former use and prestige.

By the late 19th century the property changed purpose. In 1872 the building and grounds were transferred to the Pokrov Community of Sisters of Mercy and adapted to serve social needs; the community ran a school, an orphanage and shelter, a hospital, and a pharmacy, and the main house was substantially altered during that conversion. In 1920 the sisters’ community was shut down and the former palace rooms were subdivided into communal apartments, reflecting wider social and political changes of the period. In 1980 the former pond was filled and Gastello Street was cut through the area. In the 21st century the site is occupied by the State Research Institute of Restoration.