Friends, today I’d like to invite you on a stroll along Liteiny Prospekt in Saint Petersburg to visit the bookstore “Podpisnye Izdaniya.” Its modern and cozy halls attract numerous customers, but I’m sure many of them don’t know that in just a few years, the store will celebrate its 100th anniversary.
“Podpisnye Izdaniya”: A Century of Bookstore History
The bookstore is located within the walls of the "New Passage," an architectural monument of the Art Nouveau era. In the past, this extensive area was part of the Sheremetev estate. A reminder of the estate still exists in this district today—directly behind the passage building lies the estate’s garden and the main house of the palace complex.
The "New Passage" was constructed in 1913. The building, also referred to as the Trading Rows, was designed by N. V. Vasilyev, who also participated in the construction of the First Basin Tenants Association housing complex. The construction of the "New Passage" cost 500,000 rubles.
The lower floors of the passage were intended for small trading pavilions, each with its own separate entrance. Interestingly, the building’s design allowed the shops to easily change the layout of their retail spaces.
“Podpisnye Izdaniya” was established in 1926. According to the bookstore's website, some customers believe the store’s name (Subscription editions) comes from the idea that every book on the shelves has an autograph. This is not the case—the name actually originates from the store’s past sales model: in the late 1950s, the publishing house “Khudozhestvennaya Literatura” began releasing collections of works by world classics, and customers could subscribe to receive all volumes of the ordered series. One of the last subscription-based publications available at the store was the 35-volume “Great Russian Encyclopedia.”
In addition to “Podpisnye Izdaniya,” the passage has housed other establishments over the years. One of them was the store “Akademkniga,” which guidebooks to Saint Petersburg describe as one of the city’s oldest and most popular bookstores. During the Soviet era, the building also hosted the Library of the Leningrad Regional Executive Committee’s Culture Administration and the largest sporting goods store in Leningrad.
Today, “Podpisnye Izdaniya” has become a true cultural center. The bookstore’s shelves are filled with a wide variety of literature, and lectures and presentations of new publications are periodically held in the store’s halls. For visitors’ convenience, there is also a café on-site.
The New Passage: How to Get There
The complex’s address is Liteiny Prospekt, 57. You can walk here from either Mayakovskaya or Gostiny Dvor metro stations in about 10 minutes. Near the New Passage building, you’ll find plenty of other interesting attractions—for instance, you could visit the Anna Akhmatova Museum or take a tour of the interiors of the Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace.
Have a nice trip!
