The activities of architect Andrej Vasiljevič Papkov in Belgrade 1925-1951

Andrej Vasiljevic Papkov, a Russian refugee, came to the capital of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia after the October Revolution. Like many other Russian architects, he studied architecture in Belgrade. The inter-war Belgrade was the place where several opposite stylistic directions were in simultaneous use, but owing to its stable background, academism maintained its presence until the Second World War. Papkov began to design on his own only a few years after his graduation from the School of Architecture and after he had acquired experience in the studios of Milan Zlokovic and Dragisa Brasovan. His greatest contribution to the architecture of Belgrade is a large number of designs in a specific style, a modernist interpretation of academism, the best assimilation of his expertise and skills and the inter-war architectural climate in Belgrade. In such a way, in his realized designs, this prolific Russian architect proved his skills and therefore deserves a new evaluation which will restore his pre-war reputation. Papkov deserves attention, just like a number of other architects whose opus has yet to be researched. Art historians, architects and other professionals should be engaged in a true valorization of his legacy to Serbia.