Photo album "Moscow 1920s": rare photographs of the early XX century

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

The photo album "Moscow 1920s", published in Germany, will be of interest not only to history buffs, but also to people who are fond of photography. Firstly, the pictures in it are really unique, and secondly, these pictures were taken by foreigners.

Pictures of the early USSR, taken by foreign photographers, are often more interesting than those of domestic, even the most professional, photographers. Most likely, the fact is that it is unlikely that a native resident would think of photographing the seemingly ordinary city blocks or buildings, while a foreigner pays special attention to them and sees them, at times, from a very unexpected angle. This was the case with photographs of pre-revolutionary Russia in 1896, taken by František Kratki, and the same thing happened with photographs from the album “Moscow of the 1920s” released in Germany.

Years go by, the surrounding reality changes, but thanks to foreign photographers, after years you can see the details of old Moscow, which local photojournalists did not notice. Or perhaps they simply were not of serious interest to our photographers. In the meantime, foreigners captured not only joyful protocol events, but also everyday life and everyday life of Soviet people.

Modern Muscovites are accustomed to the fact that due to spillways and waterworks, ice on the Moskva River does not become, and after all, only some 90 years ago, the Luzhniki (by the way, this name was given to the flooded meadows located here) in winter turned into a huge snowy space, through which only rare houses were scattered about. The photo shows the border of the capital passing along the Moscow ring railway, beyond which the towers of the Novodevichy Convent rise in Moscow itself. Even then, new buildings to the right of the monastery were white (today it is a constructivist quarter between the exits from the Sportivnaya metro station). The modern prestigious metropolitan area of Khamovnikov, and then - the city outskirts beyond the Garden Ring, from which it took to get to the center for half an hour (!) By tram.

It is worth noting that before the reservoirs, sluices and hydroelectric complexes were built, the level of the Moskva River changed significantly depending on the season. In summer and winter, it dropped so much that in some places the river could simply be crossed on foot, but in spring the river often overflowed its banks.

In the tent in the foreground is set to Alexander II the Liberator. This monument is popularly nicknamed the bowling alley for its long galleries.

In 1918, a subbotnik was held here, at which enthusiasts from among the workers dismantled the monument to the monarch. It was on this subbotnik that the leader of the world proletariat Vladimir Ilyich Lenin himself came to haul the log. They even wrote about this in children's books with bright pictures. True, the documentary chronicle does not differ in gloss.

It is interesting to look at the embankment tram poles and lanterns. This trend in urban style was observed back in the 1930s, but in the post-war period it completely disappeared. And Moscow, unlike European cities where traditions are not interrupted, has finally changed its former appearance.

All people in pre-revolutionary photographs must wear hats. In those years, to appear bareheaded - to go nuts - was simply indecent. Much the same as going out into the city in your underwear today.

This photo is interesting primarily because the tower on it is still whitewashed. Then the Kremlin was also whitewashed, because according to the old Russian tradition, unpainted means disorder. The Kremlin became red with the arrival of the Bolsheviks.

Before the war, almost the entire Vasilyevsky Spusk was built up. The old Moskovoretsky bridge was left out of the frame, it is to the right.

Some take the liberty of claiming that in Moscow, unlike European capitals, there is no old city. But this is not the case. The old city of Moscow is the Kremlin. As in any European city, this is the area within the fortress wall. Access to the Kremlin was closed under Stalin. Before that, the gates of all the towers were open, and it was possible to walk anywhere - a kind of passage area.

And here is the lost Kremlin treasure - the Cathedral of the Savior on Bor, known since 1330 and demolished in 1933. The temple was rebuilt more than once over the centuries, but at the same time it was the oldest building in Moscow. True, this did not save him from vandals. There was a legend in the capital that Stalin once drove past the church in a car, saw a heap of firewood piled up at its walls, and exclaimed: “Disgrace! Put away!". The subordinates did not specify what exactly caused the discontent of the "father of nations", and the temple was demolished.

When Lenin died, a cube was hastily built on the site where the mausoleum stands today. A little later, in the same 1924, a stepped wooden pyramid was installed instead, and in 1930 a world-famous stone mausoleum was erected in its place. Please note that a palm tree on Red Square evokes special affection.

And this is Lubyanka, one of the most beautiful squares in Moscow, unfortunately completely destroyed. The photo shows a narrow passage from Nikolskaya Street through the Kitay-Gorod wall with towers, next to the huge chapel of St. Panteleimon, famous for its size. Of particular interest are the flat paths that break the paving stones, which were arranged for the convenience of pedestrians. The background adorns the Mosgorspravka kiosk, which looks like a rocket.

The Sukharev Tower, another masterpiece of the Peter's era, has not survived to this day either. The tower was located on Sukharevskaya Square, exactly in the middle of the Garden Ring.

Passion Square got its name from the Passion Monastery, destroyed in 1938. The monument to Pushkin, which stood on Tverskoy Boulevard, was moved across the street to the place of the bell tower in 1950. In the foreground is also the unpreserved temple of Dmitry Thessaloniki.

In the 1920s, instead of Yuri Dolgoruky, an obelisk of the Soviet constitution was erected on Tverskaya Square, a sort of Soviet-style statue of freedom.

This obelisk was made, as they say, in haste, so by the end of the 1930s it looked very pitiful. There were jokes in Moscow: "Why do we have Freedom against the Moscow Soviet, because the Moscow Soviet is against freedom." As a result, the Tsikolpichesky monument was dismantled.

On the right is an Old Believer church. Although this place is very difficult to recognize, the temple has survived to this day. Today, behind it are huge glass office buildings built on Lesnaya Street and on the square of the Belorussky Railway Station. In the foreground is a Lomovik freight cab, and an advertising car for Avtopromtorg is right there.

Today, in the middle of Triumfalnaya Square, there is a monument to Mayakovsky. The park, which is captured in the photo, has been gone for a long time, and the building of the former circus of the Nikitin brothers (the second State Circus after the circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard) was radically rebuilt after the war. Now it houses the Satire Theater. Only the dome in the middle of the gray box of the building and the circular layout of the premises remind of the former circus.

Already at the beginning of the last century, Moscow was a metropolis, though not as gigantic as it is today, but there was much more public transport than it is today. In this photograph alone, one can count about ten units of ground public transport, which is simply fantastic for modern Muscovites. At the same time, the roadway and footpaths are highlighted with the help of a different coating.

In winter, the preparation of ice for the glaciers was in full swing. The blocks were placed in storage in a cellar and covered with sawdust. Such ice was sold throughout the year, until next winter. In the absence of refrigerators, ice in the household was simply irreplaceable: ice cabinets were filled with it to keep the temperature low. The business was very profitable.

In those years, little was cared about the architectural appearance of Moscow, with special emphasis on technical progress. The electrification of the whole country is the main concern! It was necessary to extend the power line, so they did it - right in front of the Kremlin.

Hotel Metropol. Asphalt is being cooked nearby. On the sidewalk, from which, by the way, there is a ramp, there are ventilation mushrooms, which served for the inflow of inspection wells of the fresh air sewage system.

Unlike color photographs of pre-revolutionary Russia taken by Proskudin-Gorsky, and photographs of pre-revolutionary Russia in 1896, taken by Frantisek Kratki, these photographs tell about the first years of the young Soviet state, providing descendants with an excellent opportunity to compare the life of ordinary people shortly before the revolution and some time after it. No less impressive than old photographs, it looks fabulous video of Moscow 1908.