The Brusnitsyn Merchants' Mansion is located on Kozhevennaya Line of Vasilievsky Island — in the 19th century, it was an industrial zone. Today, only the furnishings of a few rooms remain preserved in the building.

The mansion on Kozhevennaya Line was built in the 1770s. At that time, there were leather tanning factories here, from which the street got its name. The house belonged to the owner of one of the factories, the widow of a foreign merchant named Fischer. The first floor housed the factory offices, while the second floor contained living quarters.

In 1844, the building was purchased by a peasant from the Tver province, Nikolai Brusnitsyn. Three years later, he opened a small leather workshop employing only 10 people. However, Brusnitsyn’s business quickly grew and became profitable: soon he became a merchant, and the workshop turned into a factory employing about 600 workers.

By that time, Brusnitsyn could have moved to the center of Petersburg, as other industrialists did. But he preferred to continue living near the factory, as it was more convenient to oversee production. In 1857, an additional wing was added to the merchant mansion. In the early 1860s, the facade was replaced, the windows on the first floor were enlarged, and the ceilings on the second floor were raised. In 1877, a two-story warehouse appeared next to the main building.

When Nikolai Brusnitsyn died, the house and factory were inherited by his sons — Nikolai, Alexander, and Georgy. In 1882, the mansion was rebuilt again: architect Anatoly Kovsharov designed a U-shaped building, with each brother assigned a separate wing. On the eastern side of the house, another annex was added, the second-floor ceilings were raised again, and the facade was extended upward. From that time, the mansion acquired the appearance it has retained to this day.

After the revolution, two of the Brusnitsyn brothers — Georgy and Nikolai — left abroad. Alexander Brusnitsyn stayed in Petersburg and continued to manage the leather factory founded by his father. In 1919, he was arrested for counter-revolutionary activities. But the workers petitioned the Extraordinary Commission in his defense, and a year later he was released. By that time, the mansion had become the property of the A.N. Radishchev Leather Factory. It housed the factory administration and the trade union committee. In the 1930s, the grand gates were replaced by a checkpoint and vestibule. The Brusnitsyn mansion is associated with a city legend about an ancient mirror that brings misfortune to its owners. It was said that as early as the 16th century, the mirror hung in an Italian palace where the ashes of Count Dracula himself were supposedly kept. According to legend, Nikolai Brusnitsyn bought this mirror and ordered it to be hung in the living room. Soon after, the industrialist’s granddaughter died, and rumors spread in the city that misfortune would befall anyone who looked into this mirror.

During Soviet times, the legend gained new details. It was said that after the revolution, the mirror was transferred from the mansion to the Kirov House of Culture but was soon returned. Then it decorated the office of the deputy director of the leather factory. According to legend, the person who held this position mysteriously disappeared, then the mirror itself vanished, the office was boarded up, and since then no one has used it.

To this day, the interiors of only a few rooms in the Brusnitsyn mansion have been preserved. Almost all of them are located in the eastern wing of the building. The rooms are arranged enfilade — a long, continuous row.

The grand dining room is decorated in the Late Renaissance style. Its windows overlooked a winter garden with exotic plants. All the furnishings preserved in this room are authentic. Among them are a forged bronze chandelier and wall sconces, carved wooden panels, and a molded ceiling painted to resemble wood. The dining room doors are adorned with images of ram heads: this is a traditional motif in merchant house decoration, as the ram was considered a symbol of trade.

Previously, a large oak table for 60 people stood in the center of the room. On festive days, family members and guests of the Brusnitsyns gathered around it. Now, the only remaining furniture in the dining room is a wooden buffet. Next to it is a secret door leading to the billiard room, or the Red Room. Men usually gathered here not only to play billiards but also to discuss business. The lower parts of the room’s walls were decorated with carved wooden panels, while the upper parts were covered with fabric. The chandelier above the billiard table could be raised or lowered using a special handle on the wall. Corner sofas with leather upholstery were intended for relaxation. The room also housed a carved fireplace.

From the living room, one could also enter the ballroom, called the White Hall for its predominant color scheme. Here, the architect adhered to the French style popular during the reign of Louis XV. The walls were decorated with gilded stucco: images of cupids and satyrs, vases with flowers, wreaths, and female heads. The room still preserves a chandelier with crystal pendants and a marble fireplace with sculptures of cherubs.

Adjacent to the White Hall is a small smoking room in the Moorish style. The floor tiles and wall panels feature similar geometric patterns. The walls and domed ceiling are covered with traditional Eastern painting. The interior is complemented by a glass and brass chandelier with engraved patterns and inscriptions. The phrase "Praise be to Allah," written in Arabic calligraphy, repeats on the walls of the room.

Besides these rooms, the Brusnitsyn mansion also preserves a living room in the Rococo style. It is decorated in golden-brown tones, with walls adorned with panels in gilded frames, floral ornaments, images of sea shells, and dragons.

Since 2017, the mansion has been closed to tours and individual visitors. However, it is often used as a filming location for movies and TV series. For example, director Rustam Khamdamov shot the film "Bottomless Bag" here, based on Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s story "In a Grove." Renata Litvinova has twice used the interiors of the Brusnitsyn mansion in her works. In 2016, she filmed the novella "Joseph’s Dreams" here for the film anthology "Petersburg. Only for Love." And in 2021, Litvinova’s film "Northern Wind" was released, in which the mansion’s halls became the fairy-tale estate of the main characters.

Sources:

https://www.culture.ru/materials/256308/istoriya-odnogo-zdaniya-osobnyak-brusnicynykh-v-peterburge

https://www.citywalls.ru/house12363.html

https://kulturologia.ru/blogs/170821/50781/