Moscow Print Yard

The Moscow Print Yard (Russian: Московский Печатный двор) was the first publishing house in Russia. It was established in Kitai-gorod at the behest of Ivan the Terrible in 1553. The historic headquarters of the Print Yard now house the Russian State University for the Humanities.

Moscow Print Yard was first mentioned in Aufzeichnungen über den Moskauer Staat by Heinrich von Staden. It is known to have published Lenten Triodion, Triodion in Pictures, Gospel, Psalter, and other books, which didn't have any imprints (hence, another bookish name of the Print Yard - Anonymous Printing House). On March 1 of 1564, Ivan Fyodorov and Pyotr Timofeyev (Mstislavets) published the very first dated book called Apostle (Апостол) at the Moscow Print Yard. In 1565, the printing house published Chasovnik (Часовник, or Book of hours) and then Psalter (1568).

In 1612, Moscow Print Yard was destroyed by fire, but soon it would be rebuilt. In 1620, they erected a two-story stone chamber for the Print Yard, moving seven typesetters and eighty employees from the Kremlin to the new premises. In 1625, they built several underground storage rooms and tunnels leading to the Kremlin. The fire of 1634 destroyed all of the buildings belonging to the Print Yard. In 1642–1643, they built several new stone chambers for the publishing house under the supervision of an apprentice from Stoneworks Prikaz named T.Shaturin. In 1644, an apprentice I.Neverov and a foreigner named Christopher erected Gothic stone gates with towers, which divided the chambers of the Print Yard in two. These buildings housed the Bookprinting Prikaz and Proofreading Chamber. In 1679, they dismantled the so-called old "Big Chamber" building in the Print Yard, which was adjacent to the wall of Kitai-gorod. Stonemasons S.Dmitriyev and I.Artemyev supervised the erection of a new building over the old foundation, which would later be painted by a court icon painter L.Ivanov and house the Proofreading Chamber and a library.

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