The area where St Nicholas' Church at Bersenevka and the neighbouring Averki Kirillov's Chambers now stand was once occupied by the Nikolsky na Bolote Monastery. The monastery had been dissolved by the mid-17th century and the merchant and clerk Averki Kirillov commissioned the building of the church and the chambers in its place. The church represents a beautiful example of the Russian architectural style known as Uzorochy and features colourful kokoshniks and window frames. The chambers next to the church are often mistakenly said to have belonged to Malyuta Skuratov - a leader of the Oprichnina during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. Today the chambers are used by the Russian Institute of Cultural Research.