It is one of the buildings of the National Research University Higher School of Economics St. Petersburg, a centre for postgraduate education. But it is also an architectural monument located in the very centre of Tsarskoye Selo, next to the imperial residences. It belonged to Vasily Kotchoubey, a member of a very ancient noble family that served Russian rulers from Peter the Great to Nicholas II. Vasily Kotchoubey was a courtier of the last Russian Emperor, His Majesty's Master of Ceremonies.