📍Kuybysheva Street 2-4, Saint Petersburg, Russia
1906 – 1917“In 1906 I moved into the house I had built for myself on the corner of Kronverksky Prospekt and Bolshaya Dvoryanskaya Street, on the Petrograd Side of Saint Petersburg, across the Neva from the Winter Palace. The architect, Alexander von Gauguin, designed it in the new Art Nouveau style, with a winter garden, a grand ballroom and every modern comfort. I was the prima ballerina of the Imperial Ballet, the first Russian dancer to perform thirty-two fouettés, and I had been, in my youth, the mistress of the future Tsar Nicholas II. My house was famous for its parties, attended by grand dukes, artists and society, and for the luxury of its rooms. I lived there with my son, Vladimir, and I entertained lavishly, with my dog, Djibi, always at my side. I was proud, ambitious and determined, and at the Mariinsky Theatre I chose my roles and my partners, and few dared to oppose me. I danced until 1917, and my home was the centre of my world. In February 1917, revolution came. My house was seized by soldiers in March, and I fled with my son, taking little with me. The Bolsheviks made my house their headquarters, and Lenin spoke to crowds from my balcony after his return in April. I eventually reached France, where I married the Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich, and opened a ballet school in Paris, teaching dancers including Margot Fonteyn. My house is now the Museum of Political History of Russia.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
📍 Street view today