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The land was purchased by the Empress Catherine II the Great in 1774. The construction of the estate and Palace began under architect V. Bazhenov.
Significant portion of it was built, then Bazhenov fell out of favor.
Some sources say Catherine disliked the pseudo Gothic design, other attribute this to the the fact Catherine discovered that V. Bazhenov was a free mason. The project was changed and construction was continued under architect M. Kazakov a few years later. However, after Catherine died, it was halted again, as Emperor Pavel had no plans to use it. For the next two centuries it stayed unfinished and decaying. Here is a pic from 2005 by Magellan source



During last few years the estate around the ruins has been brought into decent shape but the Palace remained as ruins. Finally, Moscow mayor Luzhkov decided to finish the construction. This is what resulted from this.

photo by MaZitRon from SSC thread