Surviving Revolution: Old world mansion hidden in new Astana

Vasily Kubrin’s house, Astana / Photo: Wildticketasia.com, photo editor: Adelina Mamedova

One of the most distinctive buildings in the old city still stands in the center of Astana: the house of first-guild merchant Vasily Kubrin, built between 1910 and 1912.

It was a luxurious one-and-a-half-story mansion with a wing topped by a green turret, a basement, an English-style garden, and an underground passage connecting the home to a store. The property also included a barn cellar and stables — features typical of a full-fledged merchant estate in major Russian cities.

Vasily Kubrin’s house, Astana / Photo: Wildticketasia.com, photo editor: Adelina Mamedova

The story of its origin reads almost like a novel. Kubrin once traveled to St. Petersburg, where he met his future wife, a theater actress. She agreed to marry him on one condition: that he build a new house in Akmola in the style of the northern capital. He kept his promise, constructing the mansion with elements of St. Petersburg architecture and designing the garden himself. Some of the trees he planted more than 100 years ago still survive.

Over its long life, the house has served many purposes. After the Revolution, it was nationalized and renamed the First House of Soviets. It hosted a workers’ and peasants’ club, a library, and later the district and city executive committees. In the 1920s and 1930s, the building housed offices of the Soviet security agency and the police.

Photo: Wildticketasia.com, photo editor: Adelina Mamedova

In the 1950s and 1960s, it became home to the House of Pioneers and the city education department. In 1967, the mansion was converted into a local history museum, which operated there for decades. The building later served as the Ukrainian Embassy.

Today, a children’s art school occupies the site, and the building is managed by Astana’s education department. According to the mayor’s office, the house is guarded and not open to visitors.

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Публикация от Nursultan Kamzebayev (@astana_central)

Many residents say places like this help them feel connected to the past and understand how the future capital of Kazakhstan developed. Walking through the former merchant’s home, visitors are transported back to the bustling city of Akmola — the future Astana.