Art Nouveau in the Architecture of the Upper Volga Region: Features of Emergence and Development

The study examines the specifics of Art Nuoveau architecture in the Upper Volga region in the context of the social and economic development of this region. At the turn on the 20th century, the industrial revolution caused an active inflow of capital. This has resulted in the development of both old and new settlements in the Tver, Yaroslavl and Kostroma regions – which in turn has led to large-scale architecture development. Art Nouveau style was chosen as the stylistic solution for a large number of monuments of this time. The novelty of this study is the holistic approach to the Art Nouveau architecture of the Upper Volga region. For the first time it is analyzed as an integral phenomenon in the context of the socio-economic development of these territories. In the research tradition enough attention has never been paid to the specifics of the Russian regional Art Nouveau architecture. It has long been perceived with a grain of salt, as secondary to the St. Petersburg and Moscow. The object of this study is the architectural monuments of the Upper Volga region, which experienced the influence of Art Nouveau - residential buildings, mansions, factories. Present research focuses on the study of Art Nouveau integration in the Upper Volga architecture. The purpose of the study is to determine the features of the development of the Art Nouveau style in the architecture of the Upper Volga region. As a result of the study, it was possible to determine patterns and factors in the spread of the new style; to determine the stylistic, typological, compositional, decorative and other defining treats of the Art Nouveau monuments in the Upper Volga region, and to outline the way the general principles of modern architecture are to be interpreted within the territory. The work also includes a catalog of monuments of Art Nouveau architecture in the Yaroslavl province, which is an important practical achievement of this research. This study appears to fill the gaps and complement the picture of the Russian architecture development in the late 19th – early 20th centuries and Art Nouveau architecture in particular.