The village of Selishchi is located on the right bank of the Volkhov River, 48 km north of Veliky Novgorod on the R-53 highway Spasskaya Polist – Malaya Vishera – Lyubytino – Borovichi. It was from the Selishchi military settlement that the history of military settlements in the first half of the 19th century in the Novgorod province began. By decree of August 5, 1815, the 2nd battalion of the grenadier regiment of Count Arakcheev was sent from St. Petersburg to the Vysotskaya volost of the Novgorod uyezd. In total, six regiments were stationed here in the 1820s.

The settlement of each regiment was called a district. The northernmost was the First District of Count Arakcheev’s regiment with headquarters in Selishchi; closer to Novgorod, on both banks of the Volkhov, was the Second District of the King of Prussia’s regiment with its headquarters in the village of Muravyi. Near Novgorod was the Third District of the Emperor of Austria’s regiment with headquarters in the village of Krechevitsy; on the Mete River was the Fourth District of the Prince of Prussia’s regiment with the headquarters town of Novoselitsy. The First Carabinier Regiment was stationed around the headquarters in the village of Medved, forming the Fifth District. The Carabinier Regiment of Prince Barclay de Tolly—on the shore of Lake Ilmen, near Staraya Russa—constituted the Sixth District. All these regiments were part of the Separate Corps of Military Settlements, "forming a kind of special military state under the management of Count Arakcheev."

Construction of the military settlements began in almost uninhabited areas where forests had to be uprooted, swamps drained, and roads built. Recalling his visit to the military settlements, surgeon D. K. Tarasov wrote: "The regiment’s headquarters represents an entire city. One cannot help but marvel at the power of human will when seeing such cities erected in all the settled regiments, especially in places that, three years before, were completely wild and almost uninhabited!"

Construction of the headquarters complex in Selishchi began in 1818, when planning and preparatory work was carried out. The "work supervisor" in Selishchi was appointed as engineer-lieutenant (later captain and major) Karl Fyodorovich Detlov. The precarious position of A. A. Arakcheev’s subordinates is evidenced by Detlov’s fate. On July 17, 1824, a minor fire occurred in the wing of the training battalion—the chimney of the stove installed in the carpentry workshop for boiling glue passed too close to a wooden beam. Detlov was found guilty and faced demotion to soldier, but fortunately for him, he was only confined to the guardhouse for a week and fined 50 rubles. Architect V. P. Stasov, the author of the Holy Spirit Church with a three-aisled basilica plan featuring six columns and antae, participated in the project. By 1826, the complex included a riding hall with a church, a guardhouse, and four two-story houses with service buildings. Another builder of the Selishchi barracks was engineer-lieutenant Alexey Fyodorovich Lvov, better known as the author of the hymn "God Save the Tsar."

The hardships of officers’ service and excessively strict discipline in the military settlement led officers to seek retirement or transfer to other units. In 1831, while the active battalions of Arakcheev’s regiment were fighting the Polish insurgents, a peasant rebellion broke out in the district, after which, at the beginning of 1832, the Grodno Hussar Regiment arrived for permanent quartering in the barracks complex.

The period of the hussars’ stay in Selishchi is perhaps the brightest in the history of the barracks, despite the fact that due to its remoteness from St. Petersburg and isolation, the place was considered a "banishment" for the hussars. It should be noted that at that time the complex included stone barracks arranged in a square, a regimental parade ground surrounded by a wide boulevard, a riding hall, a watchtower, numerous stone officers’ houses and the regimental commander’s house, as well as a palace for visits by high-ranking persons. The military town expanded, stables, a hospital, workshops, a small riding hall, wings, etc. were built.

In 1838, the great Russian poet M. Y. Lermontov was transferred to the Grodno Hussar Regiment.

From 1843 to 1847, M. T. Loris-Melikov served in the regiment—a representative of an ancient Armenian family, a famous military and statesman who later became Minister of Internal Affairs under Alexander II. He was the author of the project for the first Russian Constitution.

At the beginning of 1863, the Grodno Hussar Regiment left Selishchi, but many years later, in the early 20th century, the Selishchi barracks were colloquially called the "hussar headquarters."

On March 19, 1872, during the quartering of the Training Cavalry Squadron in the barracks, S. P. Diaghilev was born in Selishchi—a Russian theatrical and artistic figure, organizer of the "Russian Seasons" in Paris and the "Diaghilev Russian Ballet" troupe.

At various times, the Selishchi barracks housed the Training Cavalry Squadron, the 37th Artillery Brigade, the 20th Salsk Cavalry Regiment, and the headquarters of the 4th Cavalry Brigade. During the Great Patriotic War, as well as during the Civil War, a hospital was located in Selishchi, and later the headquarters of the 59th Army of the Volkhov Front.

The barracks complex was seriously damaged during the Great Patriotic War and was not reconstructed after its end. Currently, only the ruins of the riding hall and church remain from the military town.

Sources:

https://www.novgorod.ru/read/information/sightseen/chudovo/selischi/

https://babs71.livejournal.com/891714.html