Dom Druzhby (Friendship House)

Dom Druzhby (Friendship House) Review

One of Moscow's most interesting buildings—it looks like a Moorish castle—was built in the late 19th century by the architect V. A. Mazyrin for the wealthy (and eccentric) industrialist Savva Morozov (Tolstoy mentions this home in his novel Resurrection). The building's name is a holdover from the Soviet days, when Russians and foreigners were supposed to meet only in officially sanctioned places. Today its more popular name is Dom Evropy, because the Federation Internationale Maisons de l'Europe is headquartered here. The interior is a veritable anthology of decorative styles, ranging from imitation Tudor to classical Greek and baroque, but, unfortunately, the building is not open to the public.