Pushkin Auditorium

The Pushkin Auditorium stands as one of the most remarkable and historically significant buildings in all of Bendery, a structure whose story spans more than a century of the city’s cultural, social and political life.

The idea for the building originated with the Uyezd Committee of People’s Sobriety, supported by a similar body in Bessarabia, as part of a late 19th-century campaign against the spread of alcoholism. The authorities recognized that a lack of proper places for recreation and entertainment was contributing to the problem, and decided to follow the example of the provincial capital by creating a dedicated cultural center for organized leisure. The Auditorium opened in 1902, designed by county architect A.D. Nikulin, and its magnificent building of original architecture was enthusiastically embraced by the people of Bendery from the moment it opened.

After 1907, when the city celebrated the 70th anniversary of the death of Alexander Pushkin, the Auditorium informally adopted the poet’s name in all documents — despite the fact that Pushkin himself never set foot in the building. The association has endured ever since.

For many decades, the Pushkin Auditorium served as the most beloved gathering place in the city — hosting recreation, entertainment, theater performances, celebrations, balls and public meetings. Not only local artists but visiting performers from theater cities across Russia graced its stage. During the Romanian occupation period, the auditorium became a vital center of Russian and Ukrainian culture, sheltering two amateur theatrical companies within its walls. Legendary artists including Alexander Vertinsky, Yuri Morfessi and Petr Leshchenko performed here on multiple occasions.

The building also witnessed some of history’s most dramatic moments: during the First World War, it was converted into a military infirmary for wounded soldiers of the Southwestern Front, commanded by the celebrated General A.A. Brusilov. In spring 1916, the family of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II visited Bendery and came to the infirmary, connecting this cultural building to the final chapter of imperial Russian history.

Since the 1990s, the building has housed the Bendery Art College, and is currently undergoing major renovation — the next chapter in this extraordinary building’s long and layered story.

Address: 10, Kavriago str., Bendery