Krestovsky Island - History

History

The history of Krestovsky island and its near past up to early 1900s is closely tied with the owners of the island, the Belosselsky-Belozersky family, and the way they developed and used the island. In the 19th through early 20th century the island belonged to the Belosselsky-Belozersky family. Aided by the infusion of wealth from the fortune of his second wife Anna Grigorievna (ne'e Kozitskaya and the wealth through her mother's Myasnikov family from Siberian mining and metals fortunes) Prince Alexander Mikhailovich Belosselsky-Belozersky acquired the island in 1803. Previously it had belonged to the courtier Count Cyril Razumovsky and his family. During the mid-1800s the Belosselskys reconstructed the original Razumovsky stone manor house, which was located at the southern shore of the island using the well-known architect A.I. Stackenschneider for the works. This house served the family as their summer retreat for years to come.

In the 1880s after having sold their famous Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace (the pink palace at No. 41 Nevsky Prospect at the Anichkov Bridge) to Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov (Tzar Nikolai the II nd's uncle) the Belosselsky-Belozersky family moved to live on their Krestovsky island and the estate at the southern side of the island, now year-round. They reconstructed the original Stackenschneider designed manorial building into a small palace (using the contemporary court architect Rastrelli for its design). Popularly, this building was known as the "Datcha of the Belosselskys".

Many street names on Krestovsky island today still remind of and reflect the Belosselsky-Belozersky family having owned and occupied the Krestovsky island: e.g.Olgina, Eleninskaya, Esperova, Konstantinova streets have survived the change of times and herald the names of some of the Belosselsky-Belozersky immediate family members who lived on the island at the end of the Tzarist period until the 1917 Russian Revolution (Olga's street, Elena's street, Esper's street, Constantin's street, respectively). Prior to the Revolution the main north to south street leading to the Belosselsky-Belozersky manor house was named Belosselsky Prospect (the Belosselsky avenue/view). After the Revolution of 1917, the street name was changed to Riukhina street (which runs South towards the edge of Malaya Nevka from the new Metro station on the island). The St Petersburg citycouncil has approved and implemented, at the end of June 2011, the renaming of this part of the street to "Belosselsky Pereulok" (the Belosselsky Lane), bringing back a relevant piece of the Krestovsky history and improving the awareness of this important period of the islands history. However, the Alexandrovskii avenue (avenue named for the first Belosselsky owner of the island, Prince Alexander Mikhailovich Belosselsky-Belozersky), Nadezhdinskaya (wife of Constantin Esperovich), Sergeievskaya, Andreievskaya (sons of Sergei Constantinovich), Mariinskaya streets (daughter of Constantin Esperovich) as well as the Nikolaievsky and Vladimirsky streets (named for the Tzar and the Romanov Grand Duke for whom Belosselskys served as aide de camp during the last years of the Tzarist era), these all have been victims of urbanization and disappeared under apartment blocks and Dynamo sports facilities built in the 1950s and since.

Two interesting streets and their names Yuriyuzanskaya and Vyazovaya still remain, reflecting two of the three main areas of metals and mining and the ironworks in the Urals, which were properties in Bashkiria/Bashkortostan (between Ufa and Cheliabinsk) owned by the Belosselsky family, (these also as a legacy of the marriage of Alexander Mikhailovich Belosselsky-Belozersky to Anna Grigorievna Kozitskaya and her inheritance from Myasnikovs) and from where they drew some of their enormous wealth still during the end of 19th century. The third such street, Katavskaya street, does not exist any longer. Katavskaya street was named for the ironworks of Ust-Katav and Katav-Ivanovsk, which were major producers of metals and metalproducts for the Belosselskys' enterprises. This street used to run parallel to the Belosselsky Prospect, immediately east of it and on the southern side of Morskoy prospect and has since the 1950s building of apartment "massifs" (blocks) been overtaken by these and "Dinamo" club's sporting venues and fields. The current Dinamo Prospect has replaced the former Alexandrovskii Prospect as the avenue leading from the Krestovsky Most (Bridge) in the eastern bridge-led entry to the island toward the Belosselsky-Belozersky summer palace/manor house, formerly the main conduit to the manor house but now blocked by the Dinamo sports fields and other adjacent constructed buildings.

Finally, the Novorossiskaya street, which also was overtaken by these same buildings and sportfields, ran parallel to the Katavskaya street to its east. This street was named in honor of Sergei Constantinovich being the commander of His Majesty's Third Dragoons of Novorossiisk Dragoons' Regiment. The same fate has fallen to the southwestern embankment of the island, which was named Amerikanskaya ulitsa (American street) in honor of the nationality of Sergei Constantinovich' wife Suzy Belosselsky-Belozersky ne'e Susan Tucker-Whittier (daughter of General, US Army, Charles Whittier).