Gorky House Museum

One of Moscow's finest examples of the art nouveau architecture of Fyodor Shekhtel, also known as the Ryabushinsky Mansion. The building served as the residence of the great writer Maxim Gorky from 1931 to 1936. Built just after the turn of this century, the mansion is appealing for its remarkable design and decoration, both inside and out. Shekhtel's design is an almost hallucinatory masterpiece of wave forms, floral mosiac and stucco decorations, and vibrant hues--the uncontested highlight is the sinuous main stair. All of this contrasts strongly with the building's significance as the home of one of Russia's greatest "proletarian" writers, but the irony merely adds interest to a visit.