The Governor's Mansion , also known as Kuklin House is a building in Tobolsk

Tobolsk

Tobolsk is a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tobol and Irtysh Rivers. It is a historic capital of Siberia. Population: -History:...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. It was the home of the governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

 of Siberia prior to the February Revolution of 1917. The house, which is located on 10, Mira Street in the area of Tobolsk below the Kremlin (Podgora), is protected by Russian Federal government as a historical monument.

The house was built by merchant Ivan Kuklin in 1790s, after a disastrous fire of 1788 which destroyed the major part of Podgora. Kuklin went bankrupt in 1817, and the house was confiscated by the authorities. Since 1817, it was the seat of the governor of Tobolsk Governorate.

In its function as a governor's mansion, the house has seen a number of notable visitors. Thus, the decembrists who were sentenced to the exile in Tobolsk had to visit the house. On July 31, 1917 (O.S.

Old Style and New Style dates

Old Style and New Style are used in English language historical studies either to indicate that the start of the Julian year has been adjusted to start on 1 January even though documents written at the time use a different start of year ; or to indicate that a date conforms to the Julian...

), the former Russian Emperor Nicholas II, who lost power when he abdicated in the February Revolution; his wife; five children; and many retainers were imprisoned in the mansion. The Emperor's family stayed in the building until April 1918, when they were relocated into Yekaterinburg

Yekaterinburg

Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...

 and eventually executed.

The mansion is built in the style of classicism

Classicism

Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...

 and is highly regarded as an architectural monument. It was also one of the first stone buildings in Tobolsk Podgora.

Currently, the mansion belongs to the Tobolsky District

Tobolsky District

Tobolsky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the 22 in Tyumen Oblast, Russia....

administration. In 1996, the Emperor's study was open as a museum.