On the Issue of Influences in Architecture: Center and Periphery (Using the Example of the Nizhny Novgorod Province)

Abstract

This article examines the architecture influence of large (provincial) cities on the historical and architectural environment development in surrounding district towns and non-urban settlements within the Russian Empire. The topic is explored using the example of Nizhny Novgorod Province, a territorial-administrative unit that existed from 1714 to 1929, and adjacent parts of neighboring provinces. Subregional, interregional, and remote influences in architecture are correlated with factors such as diocesan church architecture, construction based on exemplary designs, the work of professional architects, direct borrowing, the economic activities of landowners and gentry, the initiatives of merchants and entrepreneurs, and references to historical phenomena of regional architecture. The role of such connections in the formation of regional identity clusters is emphasized.