"yellow house" in Russian

[Natalia Samoilova]

Dear Seelangers,

Does anybody know the history of the expression zheltyj dom "mental hosptal" in Russian? All I know is that it was used already in the early 19th c. (e.g. Pushkin "Ura! V Rossiju skachet..."). Why it is yellow?
Can you possibly suggest any on-line resourses which could help here?

Thank you,
Natalia Samoilova.

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