Her father, Ivan, received the Stalin State Prize for his metalwork.

She earned a degree in architecture in 1964, a doctorate in history in 1990, and received the State Prize of the Russian Federation in 1998.

In 1978, she published a monogram titled "Russian Architecture from the 1830s to the 1910s", which enjoyed great success.

She wrote six books and 30 papers on Fyodor Schechtel, and was well known by the scientific community for her research on the restoration of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow.

She received a diploma from the American Institute of Architects for her English-language version of the book The Russian Style.