Bakunina Prospekt, 33 in St. Petersburg — Online Webcam

Bakunina Prospekt: A Diagonal from Nevsky to the Embankment

This online camera is installed on Bakunina Prospekt — one of those St. Petersburg arteries that cuts through neighborhoods not in a straight line, but diagonally, as if someone drew a line from Nevsky Prospekt to Sinopskaya Embankment and called it a street. Bakunina Prospekt in St. Petersburg is a place with a hidden history: on the outside, classic historical buildings, and inside — centuries of name changes, merchant barns, tar sheds, and ferry crossings. The camera broadcasts a modern business-class residential complex in real time, but to understand why this building with granite decor and mansard windows grew here specifically, it's worth looking into the history of the area.

From the Okhta Ferry Crossing to the Anarchist's Name

The street we now know as Bakunina Prospekt has changed more than a dozen names in over two centuries. In 1794, it was simply a road to the Bolshoy Okhta ferry crossing — a ferry across the Neva. By 1798, the thoroughfare had taken shape as a prospekt to the Malo-Okhta ferry, and in the 1820s the name Malo-Okhtinsky Prospekt was established — after the direction toward the Okhta settlement. In 1871, the street was renamed Kalashnikov Prospekt in honor of the Kalashnikov merchants, who kept grain barns here right by the embankment. And only after 1918 did the thoroughfare receive the name of Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin — a Russian revolutionary anarchist whose ideas spread across the world, while the street named after him remained a quiet place between Nevsky and Okhta.

Merchant Atlantis: Markets, Warehouses, and Tar Sheds

The beginning of Bakunina Prospekt was historically a commercial extension of Nevsky. The Mytny Dvor operated here — a customs house where duties were levied on transported goods — in the area of modern house No. 6. A little further, on the corner with Nevsky Prospekt, the Menyaev Market was built in 1883 — a triangular building designed by academician of architecture V.F. von Heckker. In the 1930s, the market was rebuilt into a residential building for the ZhSK "Volodarets" by architect I.A. Vaks — the western corner with characteristic loggias still marks the beginning of the prospekt. Right by the Neva stood the grain barns of merchant Kalashnikov and tar sheds — these are the origins of the historical toponyms that can now only be found in archives.

The Tolstoy House and Northern Art Nouveau

The area around Bakunina Prospekt is unimaginable without the Tolstoy House — a masterpiece of Northern Art Nouveau, built in 1910–1912 by architect Fyodor Lidval for Count Mikhail Pavlovich Tolstoy. Although the house itself stands on Rubinshteina Street and Fontanka Embankment, it is part of the architectural ensemble that shapes the appearance of the entire neighborhood. Representatives of the St. Petersburg elite, Soviet intelligentsia lived here, and in 1986 singer Eduard Khil filmed the music video "Strana Detstva" in the courtyard of this house. The Tolstoy House is a reminder that Bakunina Prospekt has always been a place for those who rebuilt St. Petersburg anew.

House No. 31-33: Urban Planning Scandal and New Construction

The residential complex that falls within the view of this webcam is located at Bakunina Prospekt, 33 — a place that in 2018–2021 became the center of an urban planning scandal. In Rosreestr documents, the construction year of house No. 31-33 was illegally changed from the 1860s to 1949 — this allowed the building to be declared unsafe and demolished for new construction. The scandal received wide publicity, and as a result, a modern business-class residential complex appeared on this site, which we see on the camera. The building is styled after classic St. Petersburg architecture: granite facade decor, mansard windows on the roof, balconies with flower boxes — a reference to the historical development of the area.

The Polezhaev Mansion and Merchant Heritage

On Bakunina Prospekt, the Polezhaev Mansion has been preserved — belonging to a merchant dynasty that conducted wholesale trade in timber and grain. Nikolai Mikhailovich Polezhaev commissioned the construction of this building during the heyday of merchant St. Petersburg, when the prospekt still bore the name of the Kalashnikovs. The mansion is one of those anchors that hold the historical memory of the place, despite all the modern development. Nearby is the Staro-Alexandrovsky Market at Bakunina, 5 — the building's facade has preserved its historical appearance and recalls the commercial past of the thoroughfare.

Water Panorama: The Neva and Its Tributaries

One of the reasons why the webcam on Bakunina Prospekt is so interesting is the view of the water surface in the back of the frame. The prospekt descends to Sinopskaya Embankment of the Neva, and from the upper floors of the residential complex, a panorama of the wide river opens up. The Neva here has not yet split into branches, maintaining its power and width — about 300–400 meters at this point. On the opposite bank, the neighborhoods of the Vyborg Side are visible, and in good weather, you can see ships passing along the river. For those watching the camera in real time, this is an opportunity to observe how the lighting on the water changes throughout the day — from morning fog to evening sunset reflections.

Architectural Context: Between Constructivism and Classicism

Bakunina Prospekt is a street of architectural contrasts. Here stand early 20th-century apartment buildings with classic facades, Constructivist buildings from the 1930s, and modern residential complexes. The Menyaev Market after reconstruction became an example of early Constructivism with clean lines and functional planning. Lidval's Tolstoy House is the complete opposite: Northern Art Nouveau with asymmetric volumes, ceramic inserts, and stained glass. The residential complex at Bakunina, 33 tries to fit into this context through classical details — granite, mansards, balconies — while remaining a modern building with panoramic glazing and business-class amenities.

What You Can See on the Camera

This online webcam broadcasts a view of the residential complex at Bakunina Prospekt, 33 in St. Petersburg. In the frame is a multi-story building with classic architecture: granite facade decor, mansard windows on the roof, balconies with flower boxes. Around it are other city buildings of historical development, green plantings. In the background, a wide water surface is visible — the Neva or one of its tributaries. The real-time camera allows you to observe the life of Bakunina Prospekt: traffic movement, pedestrians, changing weather conditions. For those interested in the architecture of St. Petersburg or simply wanting to see the city in real time, this online camera is a window into one of the most historically rich areas between Nevsky Prospekt and Okhta.