The complex of buildings of the State Bank was constructed in 1911–1913 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the Romanov Dynasty (which is marked by the dates "1613" and "1913" on its main pediment). This is the most prominent building on the main tourist street of Nizhny Novgorod, the second truly outstanding monument of our city after the Stroganov Church. Once, next to the bank stood the Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin, which gave its name to Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street.

The permanent branch of the State Bank in Nizhny Novgorod was established in July 1868 due to the growing importance of fair trade. Initially, it was housed in private homes; in 1880, it acquired its own building on Osypnaya Street, but large turnovers and the need to store huge sums of money and securities forced the bank’s council to build a special complex of buildings.

Among the officials of the State Bank of the Russian Empire were many remarkable personalities. One of them was Nikolai Pavlovich Polyansky (1852–1921), who devoted about 50 years of his life to the bank’s service. He began working at the State Bank in the 1870s. On the eve of the 1917 revolution, Polyansky headed one of the largest territorial divisions of the State Bank — the Nizhny Novgorod branch. Thanks to his abilities and extraordinary energy, he transformed the branch into one of the prosperous departments of the State Bank. Undoubtedly, a particularly significant and important result of Polyansky’s activity was the construction of the new building for the State Bank branch in Nizhny Novgorod. The majestic building, designed by Pokrovsky in the Neo-Russian style, was erected under Polyansky’s leadership very quickly — in just two years.

“In my memoirs there is only one truth. Nothing is fabricated in them…,” — thus begins his memoirs Nikolai Pavlovich Polyansky, Actual State Councillor, Official for Special Assignments of the 5th class of the Ministry of Finance, manager of the Nizhny Novgorod branch of the State Bank.

“The house is being built in the Old Russian style in memory of the three-hundredth anniversary of the Romanov Dynasty. The arrival of the Sovereign Emperor in Nizhny Novgorod is expected on the day of completion of the construction. With the transformation of the branch into a department, I will be completely settled in my official capacity…”

The immediate reason for building the new branch building was the 50th anniversary of the State Bank, celebrated in 1910, and the upcoming festivities in honor of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov reign in 1913. The design of the new building was entrusted by competition to the academician of architecture Vladimir Alexandrovich Pokrovsky, who applied Old Russian architectural forms in his creative practice. The official laying ceremony took place on July 24, 1911, while the actual earthworks, carried out manually, began already in May 1911.

“…Exhausted by the urgent construction of the new house for the branch for the arrival of the Sovereign in Nizhny Novgorod. The huge building, which rose from the ground in two construction seasons, is undoubtedly the best building in the Old Russian style in all of Russia. The construction was associated with many detailed stylistic requirements of the building, with extensive chased work on the doors, enameled tiled copper roofs over the tents, artistic painting of the ceilings, reinforced concrete works for the vaults, complex iron forms in the building’s covering, and finally, artistic chased work on the marble cladding of the building. We had to work not only during the day but also at night. During the winter work, the house was wrapped in a wooden cover lined with fur, equipped inside with iron stoves and electric lighting. Then there were many delays with the delivery of marble for cladding. Meanwhile, all the work was rushed and dependent on one another.”

The contract for the stonework was awarded on May 5, 1911, and by November 10 of the same year, the main bank building and the wing intended for the housing of the bank’s management staff were already ready for final finishing. “The preliminary cost estimate was made very modestly. This was probably to avoid unnecessary gossip about the stylistic nature of the building. It was necessary to economize a lot. In this regard, we almost reached stinginess.”

The plinth part of the building is made of gray fine-grained Finnish granite, and the facade of the main building is clad with white Ural stone according to the drawings of academician Pokrovsky, with artistic carving. On the facade, one can see the state emblem of Tsarist Russia carved from stone in gigantic size, supported by two winged guardians, and various fantastic figures crowning the upper part of the building, as well as the enameled tent crowning the main entrance to the bank, the external framing of the window openings, and artistic carving on the columns of the tent. The contractor for these works was the capital artist-architect Filothey. One of the most interesting examples of the constructions proposed by academician Pokrovsky is the vault of the bank’s operations hall. In the 800-square-meter area of this hall, there is not a single supporting column, and no obstacles are created for viewing the entire hall as a whole. This is important also because the vaulted ceilings, which reach a height of 13 meters, are covered with artistic paintings and bas-reliefs.

The vault of the operations hall is unique. Such a construction can only be found in palace buildings. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that the vaulted ceiling is suspended from metal trusses and contains an insulating layer made of cork mass.

The bank building also gained wide fame thanks to the artistic paintings of the ceilings and walls.

The main works on the artistic painting in the operations hall, the vestibules of the first and second floors, and the service offices were executed by the Moscow artists, brothers Nikolai and Grigory Pavlovich Pashkov, based on sketches by the famous artist Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin, and in some rooms — based on their own sketches. The presence of artistic paintings by such a world-renowned artist as I.Ya. Bilibin enhanced the significance of the new building, which became unique not only for its architectural features but also thanks to the artist’s work. An integral part of Bilibin’s wall frescoes includes the coats of arms of some cities of the Volga region and central provinces of Russia, mythical riders with horns of plenty, firebirds combined with human heads, sailing boats, Mercury’s caduceus combined with horns of plenty, griffin guardians of gold, and other mythical figures. They are arranged on the vaulted ceilings, starting from the entrance to the bank and ending in the operations hall, as a bright multicolored cover, evoking memories of the lavish royal chambers of the Moscow Kremlin.

The artistic paintings were completed by the Pashkov brothers with a memorial inscription on the first floor of the bank building, on one of the supporting semi-arches, at Pokrovsky’s direction, arranged so that the departing public could read it. The text of this inscription is so ornate that it is difficult to read and requires knowledge of the history of the matter.

“The entire construction, excluding the purchase of the site, cost about nine hundred and fifty thousand rubles. Anyone who understands even a little about construction will say that this is amazingly cheap. Even at that time, before the war, this house was valued at 2–3 million rubles. The peculiarity of this expense for the State Bank is also that most of the houses being built in the provinces affected the funds of the Central Administration, but the house in Nizhny Novgorod was built at the expense of the developed operations of the branch. All construction expenses were covered by the branch’s own profits with large balances in favor of the Bank. I sometimes joked that this house was a gift to the State Bank from me.”

 On May 14, 1913, a prayer service was held on the occasion of the opening of the new building, and three days later, the Nizhny Novgorod authorities, together with the bank branch management, welcomed Tsar Nicholas II with his family and entourage in the new premises of the branch. “May 17. Friday. Arrived in Nizhny Novgorod at 10 a.m. in cold weather. At 4 p.m., I visited the new building of the State Bank department in the Old Russian style. Returned for Alix and the children and together went to the noble assembly…”

The Emperor was greeted “at the entrance by the Minister of Finance, the Bank Manager, the Branch Manager, and architect Pokrovsky.”

The Nizhny Novgorod governor, preparing for this most responsible meeting, “established” a special bureau to issue special tickets serving as passes to the “places of stay of Their Highnesses” with the personal signature of the provincial chief.

The branch officials were dressed for the Tsar’s arrival in double-breasted formal frock coats and caps with white covers, with 75 rubles allocated from the budget for each for this purpose.

On May 19, 1913, “the Nizhny Novgorod branch of the State Bank celebrated its housewarming. A formal lunch was held in the new bank building, set for two hundred people, preceded by a small ceremony expressed in presentations and welcoming speeches… On the occasion of the housewarming, the bank building was illuminated, attracting a large crowd…”

After the 1917 revolution, the building housed the Nizhny Novgorod branch of the People’s Bank of the RSFSR, renamed the Nizhny Novgorod main branch, subordinate to the Moscow district branch of the People’s Bank of the RSFSR. On October 13, 1921, the IV session of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee adopted the “Regulation on the State Bank of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic” and established the Nizhny Novgorod branch of the State Bank of the RSFSR.

Currently, the building of the Nizhny Novgorod branch of the State Bank is a federal architectural monument and is used for its original purpose.

Sources:

https://www.archive-nnov.ru/?id=5828