At this point, I have been up and down Old Arbat Street several times. As I am walking, I seek out one spot, and my eyes linger on it as I walk past. This spot is actually a house – an old wooden house that seems incredibly out of place in the center of Moscow.

Through a little research I found out that the house is called Dom Porokhovshchikova, after A.A. Porokhovshchikov, who built the old-Russian-style home. He was a well-known builder, publisher, and philanthropist who worked in Moscow during the 1870s, and took part in the construction of the original Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
While it is a beautiful piece of architecture, it is also a sad place. Up until a couple of years ago, A.A. Porokhovshchikov’s grandson, the actor and director Aleksandr Poroshchnikov, lived in the house on a long-term lease from the city of Moscow (the house’s owner). His health began to deteriorate rapidly in spring of 2012, and while he was in the hospital his wife Irina, who was 23 years his junior, hanged herself in the house. He died about a month later from his illness, not knowing what had happened.
This strangely fascinating building now houses a restaurant, a billiard hall, and private apartments.