The Pashkov House () is a neoclassical mansion that stands on a hill overlooking the western wall of the Moscow Kremlin, near the crossing of the Mokhovaya and Vozdvizhenka streets. Its design has been attributed to Vasily Bazhenov. It used to be home to the Rumyantsev Museum—Moscow's first public museum—in the 19th century. The palace's current owner is the Russian State Library. Construction The Pashkov House was erected in 1784—1786 by a Muscovite nobleman, Pyotr Pashkov. He was a retired Captain Lieutenant of the Guards Semenovsky Regiment and the son of Peter the Great's batman. Renown It is one of the key locations described by Mikhail Bulgakov in his novel The Master and Margarita: "At sunset, high over the city, on the stone terrace of one of the most beautiful houses in Moscow, a house built about a hundred and fifty years ago, there were two: Woland and Azazello. They could not be seen from the street below, because they were hidden from unwanted eyes by a balustrade with plaster vases and plaster flowers. But they could see the city almost to its very edges." Owners The initial owner of the Pashkov house was Pyotr Pashkov, after whom it was named by the Muscovites. Upon the death of Pyotr Pashkov and his spouse, the estate passed on to his cousin Aleksandr Pashkov. The Pashkov house was purchased by the government for Moscow University in 1839. An Institute for the Nobility (a male boarding school for children of the nobility) was located here in 1843; and later the 4th city grammar school (after 1852). The building was transferred to the Rumyantsev Museum to house its collections and library, in 1861. In 1921, since more than 400 private libraries were confiscated by the Soviets and added to the Museum, all departments were moved out of the Pashkov House. Only the Museum's library remained there, which was renamed and reorganized into the Lenin Library. At present (2010), the Pashkov House is still among the Library's buildings, but for several decades it was out of use, being under permanent repair, which started in 1988 and ended in 2007. Nowadays, the right wing of the Pashkov House houses the Manuscripts Department, while its left wing houses the Music Department and the Maps Department, of the Russian State Library. Description Location The Pashkov House stands on a high Vagankovo hill, as though continuing the line of