Stalin's skyscrapers: little-known facts about the legendary Moscow skyscrapers

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Huge pompous buildings, legendary houses, made in a complex combination of Russian Baroque and Gothic styles, the so-called Stalinist Empire style, built from 1947 to 1953, are known as the "seven sisters". Even today they proudly flaunt in the capital, recalling a bygone era. And each of these buildings has a fascinating story to tell.

The post-war period required changes in everything. It was necessary to show the West that the country that defeated fascism had strength and resources. In honor of the victory and to commemorate the 800th anniversary of Moscow, it was decided to build 8 high-rise buildings in Moscow. It is interesting that all the Stalinist skyscrapers were laid on the same day - September 7, 1947. On this day, the 800th anniversary of Moscow was celebrated. The best architects of that USSR worked on creating the appearance of these high-rise buildings. They were tasked with creating skyscrapers that would be different from western skyscrapers. And the architects still managed to create an original architectural style, which later received the name Stalinist Empire style or Soviet monumental classicism.

Palace of the Soviets

The first skyscraper in Moscow was to be the Palace of Soviets, a gigantic skyscraper 415 meters high, on which a 100-meter statue of Lenin was also planned.

It was laid down in 1931, blowing up the Cathedral of Christ the Savior for this purpose, but in connection with the outbreak of the war, construction was stopped, the frame was dismantled. After the war, the grandiose building was not completed, a swimming pool was built on this place, and today the newly rebuilt Temple flaunts here again.

In 1947, in honor of the 800th anniversary of the capital, at the direction of Stalin, eight huge skyscrapers were simultaneously laid (but seven of them were erected). All projects were personally approved by Stalin.

Moscow State University building on Vorobyovy Gory

On September 1, 1953, the 36-storey skyscraper on Vorobyovy Gory received its first students. Being the tallest (240 meters) and the most beautiful building among the “sisters”, until 1990 it remained the tallest in Europe. The architect of this project was Lev Rudnev. Due to the huge scale of construction, prisoners of the Gulag were attracted as workers; to reduce transport costs, some of them lived here for some time.

Hotel "Ukraine"

The second highest (206 m) among the seven "sisters" building of the hotel was built after the death of Stalin in 1957, under Khrushchev. The authors of the project are Arkady Mordvinov and Vyacheslav Oltarzhevsky. By order of Khrushchev, the original name "Dorogomilovskaya" was changed and the new hotel was named "Ukraine". In 2005 - 2010, the skyscraper underwent a major reconstruction, and now it houses one of the largest luxury hotels in Europe, Radisson Royal, with 505 rooms. Soviet symbols - stars, sickles, hammers and wreaths framing them, which have long lost their former political pathos, have been preserved as a highlight of the decor.

High-rise without a star

The building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation was erected in 1953, its height is 172 meters. The architects Gelfreich and Minkus were responsible for the construction of this 27-story skyscraper. Initially, the building was designed and built without a spire; it was added at the direction of Stalin at the last stage of construction. To reduce the additional load, a light, decorative spire was erected on the building, on which a coat of arms appeared instead of a heavy star.

The smallest skyscraper, the Hilton Leningradskaya hotel

Hotel "Leningradskaya", built in 1952 according to the project of L. M. Polyakov and A. B. Boretsky, is the smallest, "miniature" among all the "sisters". Its elegant exterior décor hides a magnificent luxurious interior, in which elements of temple architecture coexist with Moscow baroque. Subsequently, this architectural luxury of it was severely criticized by N. Khrushchev, and the architects of the hotel were even deprived of the Stalin awards. Since 2008, it has been home to the 5-star Hilton hotel.

House on Kotelnicheskaya embankment

A very beautiful place was chosen for this skyscraper - the confluence of the Moskva River and the Yauza. The building, built in 1952 (architects Chechulin and Rostkovsky), is designed in the neo-Gothic style, obelisks and bas-reliefs were used as decorations for it. Many apartments in it were occupied by representatives of creative professions. Since the new building was attached to the house where the Chekists lived, they oversaw the construction. Prisoners were also involved in the work here.

House of Aviators

At the end of 1954, the family of Moscow skyscrapers was replenished with another building on Kudrinskaya Square, 156 meters high, with a luxurious, sophisticated finish (architects Posokhin and Mndoyants). Its central building consisted of 24 floors, and the adjacent side ones - of 18. People called it the House of Aviators, since it was mainly occupied by test pilots and other workers associated with aviation, as well as representatives of the nomenclature. It was in this house that the scenes in the professor's apartment were filmed in the film "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears."

House at the Red Gate

The skyscraper at Krasnye Vorota, designed by Alexei Dushkin, is the lowest of all the “sisters” (only 133 m). The central building with 24 floors was used as an administrative building, while the side buildings housed apartments. During the construction of this building, in order not to block the exit from the metro, a unique engineering solution was used. The pit under its foundation was frozen, and the building was erected with a certain calculated deviation, later, with the shrinkage of the house, everything returned to normal.

When Stalin died, all work on the skyscrapers was stopped because Khrushchev defeated the Stalinist idea of erecting “wedding cakes,” as he called the skyscrapers. Therefore, the project of the last and highest eighth skyscraper (275 m) by the architect D. Chechulinane was never implemented. Instead, Moscow began to build up "Khrushchevs".

Continuing the theme of the history of Moscow, we have collected 24 black and white photographs of Moscow from different years, which capture the most interesting events.