Moscow State University Stalin's skyscraper. Moscow State University building on Vorobyovy Gory

1. The main building of Moscow State University on Vorobyovy Gory.

Main building of Moscow State University

Built in 1953 Consists of 36 floors. All the country's forces were thrown into the construction of the Main Building of Moscow State University, each ministry received the task of supplying equipment, parts, labor, etc. According to the plan, the building was supposed to house a hotel for foreign tourists, but in reality it turned out to be a university. Initially, it was planned to put a statue of Lomonosov at the top of the high-rise building, but then he was returned “to the ground” and a spire was erected on the roof. The building welcomed its first students in 1953. The main building of Moscow State University almost completely embodied the architects' plans according to the original high-rise designs.

Address: Moscow, Leninskie Gory, 1 (metro University).

2. Hotel "Ukraine" on Kutuzovsky Prospekt.

Consists of 34 floors. On May 25, 1957, the grand opening of the Ukraine Hotel took place. In 2005, the facade of the building, declared a historical and cultural monument, was completely restored. Since April 2010, a new modern hotel, the Radisson Royal Hotel, has opened in the renovated building of the Ukraine Hotel, combining the unique spirit of the architectural ensemble of the Stalin era, the best traditions of service and high-tech innovations in the sphere of comfort.

Address: Moscow, Kutuzovsky Prospekt, 2/1 (metro station Kyiv, Filevskaya line).

3. The building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation on Smolenskaya-Sennaya Square.

Built in 1953 Consists of 27 floors. The high-rise was built and supervised by the Ministry of Industry of Heavy Industry Enterprises. In 1958, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs moved into the high-rise building, which is located on Smolenskaya-Sennaya Square to this day. An interesting story is connected with this high-rise: at the stage of completion of construction, driving past the high-rise, Stalin was furious because the structure resembled an American skyscraper. Stalin himself personally ordered a spire to be placed on the roof of the high-rise building, which is why the architects had to rack their brains for days on how to implement his order. But a solution was found: the building was knocked down 5 floors and a support for the spire was installed. The spire of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is made not of stone, but of tin, otherwise the structure of the building would not have supported its weight. There is also no five-pointed star on the spire.

Address: Moscow, Smolenskaya-Sennaya square, 32 (metro station Smolenskaya, Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line).

Built in 1952 Consists of 32 floors. Construction was carried out by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in secrecy. That is why the high-rise was built entirely by the hands of prisoners and captives. In total, the building contains 700 apartments, shops, a post office, the Illusion cinema, and the museum-apartment of G.S. Ulanova, where the ballerina moved in 1986. The most famous residents of the house on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment were the writer K.G. Paustovsky, actress F. Ranevskaya, Soviet architect D.N. Chechulin, as well as singer L. Zykina.

Address: Moscow, Kotelnicheskaya embankment, 1 (metro station Kitay-Gorod).

5. Administrative and residential building near the Krasnye Vorota metro station.

Built in 1953 Consists of 24 floors. The building was built at the highest point of the Garden Ring. The high-rise building was built by the Ministry of Railways. In parallel with the construction of the high-rise, underground work was carried out related to the construction of the northern entrance of the Krasnye Vorota metro station. Due to the “double” construction and tight deadlines, it was necessary to build both up and down at the same time. A serious problem was complicated by the soil of the area: it was saturated with water and floating water. In this regard, the builders assumed that for some time the multi-story building would be located at the very edge of the pit, therefore, the soil would settle unevenly and the high-rise would tilt. That is why it was decided to build the high-rise at an angle. Indeed, upon completion of construction, the task fell into place. However, according to technical experts, it still has a slight slope (about 16 cm).

Address: Moscow, st. Sadovaya-Spasskaya, 21/ Kalanchevskaya, 1 (metro Krasnye Vorota).

6. Hotel "Leningradskaya" on Kalanchevskaya street.

Built in 1952 The height of the hotel is 136 meters, it is the lowest of the “seven sisters”. The hotel today is called Hilton Moscow Leningradskaya. Has the status of a 5* hotel. This is the first Hilton hotel in Russia. A special feature of the high-rise building is its unique design and interior decoration, which reflects Russian church architecture. Russian baroque, gilding, quartzite and rare wood species were used in the construction.

Address: Moscow, st. Kalanchevskaya, 21/40 (metro Komsomolskaya, metro Krasnye Vorota).

7. Residential building on Kudrinskaya Square (formerly Vosstaniya Square).

Residential building on Kudrinskaya Square (Vosstaniya Square)

Built in 1954 Consists of 24 floors. The high-rise was built by the Ministry of Aviation Industry. The facade of the building faces the Garden Ring. In total, the building has more than 450 apartments, which back in Soviet times were received by aviation industry workers, test pilots and members of the CPSU Central Committee and the USSR Council of Ministers.

Address: Moscow, Kudrinskaya square, 1 (metro station Barrikadnaya).

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

The post-war period required changes in everything. It was necessary to show the West that the country that defeated fascism has 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’s interesting that all Stalin’s skyscrapers were founded on one day – September 7, 1947. On this day the 800th anniversary of Moscow was celebrated. The best architects of that USSR worked to create the appearance of these high-rise buildings. They were given the task of creating high-rise buildings that were different from Western skyscrapers. And the architects still managed to create an original architectural style, which later received the name Stalinist Empire or Soviet monumental classicism.

It was founded in 1931, blowing up the Cathedral of Christ the Savior for this purpose, but due to the outbreak of war, construction was stopped and the frame was dismantled. After the war, they did not complete the construction of the grandiose building; they built a swimming pool on this site, and today the rebuilt Temple flaunts here again.

In 1947, in honor of the 800th anniversary of the capital, on Stalin’s orders, eight huge skyscrapers were laid simultaneously (but seven of them were built). All projects were approved personally by Stalin.

Moscow State University building on Vorobyovy Gory

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

Hotel "Ukraine"

The second highest (206 m) among the seven “sisters” the hotel building was built after Stalin’s death 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 called "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 the wreaths framing them, which had long ago lost their former political pathos, were preserved as a highlight of the decor.

High-rise without a star

The building of the Russian Foreign Ministry was erected in 1953, its height is 172 meters. Architects Gelfreich and Minkus were responsible for the construction of this 27-story skyscraper. The building was originally 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 built on the building, on which a coat of arms appeared instead of a heavy star.

The most “miniature” high-rise building, the Hilton Leningradskaya Hotel

Hotel "Leningradskaya", built in 1952 according to the design of L.M. Polyakov and A.B. Boretsky, is the smallest, “miniature” among all the “sisters”. Behind its elegant exterior decor lies a magnificent, luxurious interior, in which elements of temple architecture meet Moscow Baroque. Subsequently, this architectural luxury was harshly criticized by N. Khrushchev, and the hotel architects were even deprived of Stalin’s awards. Since 2008, it has been home to a 5-star Hilton hotel.

House on Kotelnicheskaya embankment

A very beautiful place was chosen for this skyscraper - the confluence of the Moscow River and the Yauza River. The building, built in 1952 (architects Chechulin and Rostkovsky), is designed in a neo-Gothic style; obelisks and bas-reliefs were used as decoration. Many of the apartments there were occupied by representatives of creative professions. Since the new building was attached to the house in which the security officers 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 mainly test pilots and other aviation-related workers, as well as representatives of the nomenklatura, lived here. It was in this house that the scenes in the professor’s apartment in the film “Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears” were filmed.

House at the Red Gate

The high-rise building at the Red Gate, designed by Alexey Dushkin, is the lowest of all the “sisters” (only 133 m). The central building with 24 floors was used as an administrative building, and the side buildings contained apartments. When constructing 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 some calculated deviation; later, when the house settled, everything returned to normal.

The eighth high-rise building in Zaryadye

When Stalin died, all work on high-rise buildings was stopped, since Khrushchev crushed Stalin’s idea of ​​​​building “wedding cakes,” as he called high-rise buildings. Therefore, the project of the last and highest eighth skyscraper (275 m) designed by the architect D. Chechulinane was never realized. Instead, Moscow began to be built up with “Khrushchev” buildings.

Continuing the theme of the history of Moscow, we have collected.

Stalin's skyscrapers in Moscow are amazingly beautiful, monumental and majestic buildings, behind which a trail of mystical secrets and bewitching stories has been stretching for more than half a century. Let's talk about these unique buildings, their history and legends.

7 Stalinist skyscrapers in Moscow

Historical information indicates that Stalin planned to erect eight buildings. The very fact of their construction was supposed to serve as a demonstration of the power of the Soviet Union - a state that won a terrible war, survived and liberated half of Europe. It is believed that the location of the houses was planned in a special way, following the example of the Egyptian pyramids, and they were created to accumulate energy flows. We will not go into the background of this decision and will answer the question of how many Stalinist high-rises there are in Moscow, noting only that almost immediately after the war, seven interesting elite buildings were erected, which became a legend of Soviet architecture and shrouded in mysteries and secrets.

The eighth high-rise was not built, and we will find out the reasons why this did not happen below. As for the rest, thanks to Stalin’s ambitions, the capital today is decorated with unique architectural buildings, the foundation of which took place simultaneously on September 7, 1947, on the day that began to be considered the city’s birthday.

High-rise building one: house on Kotelnicheskaya

Answering the question of how many Stalinist high-rise buildings there are in Moscow, let’s start a brief review with the House of Artists on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment (no. 1, Kitay-Gorod metro station). It was built according to the design of architects D.N. Chechulin and A.K. Rostkovsky and is located on Shvivaya Hill in Zayauzye - a very beautiful and cozy place.
And the building is no less interesting: 32-storey, built in the so-called Stalinist Empire style, it is decorated with bas-reliefs and obelisks, and is 176 m in height. The house was conceived and built as a starting point for all streets leading to the river, and closes the eastern perspective of the Moscow River relative to the Kremlin. The construction of Stalin's high-rise buildings in Moscow was carried out mostly by prisoners, and they often posed for sculptures and compositions decorating the building. The house on Kotelnicheskaya was attached to an already completed building - a 9-story residential building for security officers and their families - and fit perfectly into the overall architectural complex. This is probably why all work on the construction of the building, which began in 1949, was supervised by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Construction was completed in 1952.

Bird of happiness on Shvivaya Hill

When it was handed over, one wing of the house was given to the military, the second to the creative intelligentsia. Many famous Soviet artists lived and live in it at different times. In total, the complex has 700 apartments, shops, a post office and the Illusion cinema. Let us note that the house entered the elite of the Moscow housing stock, and, naturally, the rent was very impressive; not everyone could afford such expenses, but with someone’s light hand the house was called the Bird of Happiness on Shvivaya Hill for a long time. It became the first commissioned object representing Stalin's high-rise buildings in Moscow. The photo in the article emphasizes the monumentality and beauty of this legendary building.

High-rise second: house at the Red Gate

Built at the very peak point of the Garden Ring, the 138-meter building is located at the exit of the Krasnye Vorota metro station, the name of which quickly became its landmark.
House at the Red Gate on the street. Sadovaya-Spasskaya, 21/Kalanchevskoy, 1 was designed by architects A. Dushkin and B. Mezentsev, and the construction was supervised by the Ministry of Railways. The central building of the 24-story giant was originally intended for the Ministry of Transport Engineering. The side buildings are residential, containing 284 apartments. The construction was unique, since it was supposed not to disrupt the functioning of the exit from the Krasnye Vorota metro station, for which an original method was used to freeze the foundation pit and erect a building with a built-in deviation, which was eliminated during the shrinkage of the house. The experiment was successful: the foundation slab withstood the load, and the exit from the metro functioned as intended.

Today, in addition to the mentioned Ministry, the building houses many organizations: the Moscow Currency Exchange, the trade union of railway and transport construction, the Transstroy corporation, the Transport publishing house, a restaurant, a bank, shops.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the mansion of Major General Tol was located on this site, where M. Yu. Lermontov was born. In memory of this, a memorial plaque was installed on the pediment of the building.

High-rise third: Leningradskaya Hotel

The 17-storey building representing Stalin's high-rise buildings in Moscow - the Leningradskaya Hotel - is located on Kalanchevskaya Street 21/40 (metro station "Kalanchevskaya" or "Krasnye Vorota") and is one of the most famous hotels in the capital. Completed in 1954, the 136-meter-high house, designed by architects L. M. Polyakov and A. B. Boretsky, gracefully and organically fit into the existing ensemble of Komsomolskaya Square.
This high-rise building differs from others in the elegance of its exterior decoration and the refined splendor of its interior decoration, which includes elements of temple architecture and Moscow Baroque.

Since this building was erected as the front facade of the capital, it became the most luxurious and expensive. 1 sq. meter cost 21 thousand rubles, while 1 m 2 of a house on Kotelnicheskaya cost 5.5 thousand rubles. The history of Stalin's skyscrapers in Moscow does not know of more expensive construction at that time. The hotel lobby is decorated with bas-reliefs, and unique bronze chandeliers illuminate the 5 floors. The total area of ​​the hotel's 330 rooms is 25 thousand m2.

The fourth skyscraper - House of Aviators

At the end of 1954, the Stalinist high-rise buildings in Moscow were replenished by the building of the House of Aviators on Kudrinskaya Square (until 1992 - Vosstaniya Square), no. 1, near the Barrikadnaya metro station, designed by architects M.V. Posokhin. and Mndoyants A.A. Consisting of a central (24 floors) and side (18 floors each) buildings, the building together with the spire reaches a height of 156 meters.

When the house was commissioned, 450 apartments were distributed among aviation industry workers, members of the CPSU Central Committee, test pilots and cosmonautics. The building is also distinguished by luxury and sophistication of decoration. Filmmakers often use the interiors of Moscow high-rise buildings in the filming of feature and documentary films.

Today, the building houses the Directorate of the company responsible for the operation of a number of high-rise buildings in Moscow, including this building. The basement and first floor premises currently house shops, a bowling alley, and the basements are used for underground parking and garages.

The fifth high-rise building is the Foreign Ministry building

In 1953, on Smolenskaya-Sennaya Square (house 32), another high-rise building was put into operation - a 27-story building housing three ministries - foreign affairs, trade and foreign economic relations. The height of the building is 172 m, the area of ​​the premises is 65 thousand m 2. 28 elevators are constantly operating, 18 of which are high-speed.

Designed by architects Gelfreich V.G. and Minkus M.A., the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building is the only high-rise building that does not have a five-pointed star on the spire, and initially it was not included in the plan. This happened because the construction involved an unusual method of constructing the building’s frame to its full height. Historians testify that Stalin insisted on this tower style, but according to experts, installing a spire would create a load that the building could not withstand. A lightweight spire was subsequently installed. Another attraction on the facade of the house is the coat of arms of the USSR, installed at a 114-meter height and remaining there to this day.

The sixth high-rise - Hotel "Ukraine"

The hotel, located on Kutuzovsky Prospekt, 2/1, near the Kievskaya metro station, along the Filevskaya line, was designed by a group of eminent architects - Mordvinov A. G., Kalish V. G., Oltarzhevsky V. K. and others. Various details of the project developed by specialists numbering up to two thousand people.

The building occupies more than 88 thousand m2, its height is 206 m, taking into account the 73-meter spire. From an architectural point of view, this building is distinguished by the perfection of its composition: the central building with a tower topped with a spire is balanced by the clear monumentality of the wings, and the corner turrets and flowerpots imitating sheaves of wheat emphasize the palace style of the building. The central building was occupied by a hotel, the side ones were given over to housing.

The opening of the hotel took place on May 25, 1957. At that time, “Ukraine” was the largest in Europe, but today it has acquired the status of a fashionable hotel of the European level.

Seventh skyscraper: Moscow State University

The list entitled “Seven Stalinist Skyscrapers of Moscow” includes the new building of the 36-story university building of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov on Vorobyovy Gory (no. 1), which first opened its doors on September 1, 1953.

The design of the high-rise was carried out by a group of architects under the leadership of L. V. Rudnev. During the construction of the building, the latest technical solutions for that time were used, which made it possible to successfully construct a building of variable height on very difficult soils. The design of the facades and the creation of sculptural groups was entrusted to the workshop of Vera Mukhina. Taking into account the 58-meter spire, the height of the building is 240 m, and thanks to the stepped structure, the first two floors have a large area, allowing for a huge lobby on the 1st floor, and two majestic columned halls on the 2nd floor, decorated with sculptures of great scientists. The luxury of the interior decoration of this temple of science is amazing - marble stairs and various decorative elements are reminiscent of palaces of the Golden Age. Audiences are located in rooms starting from the 3rd floor.

The central building (sector “A”) houses administrative services, faculties, the assembly hall and the MSU cultural center. The side buildings are given over to housing for teaching staff and student dormitories; there are a ground floor and a technical floor. Until recently, the Moscow State University building was the tallest in Europe.

Administrative building in Zaryadye

Stalin's high-rise buildings in Moscow were originally planned to consist of 8 buildings, and the construction of the last of them began and even erected a two-tier concrete bunker and a technical floor designed by the architect D. N. Chechulin.

It was planned to house the People's Commissariat of Heavy Engineering, but after Stalin's death, at the stage of completion of construction, all work was stopped, and the construction of the house was mothballed. In 1967, the Rossiya Hotel was built on the existing foundation, which currently no longer exists. The capital's government plans to build a large park with an entertainment area on this site.

In conclusion

Thus, Stalin's skyscrapers in Moscow - legendary houses, which at that time became the real embodiment of the prestige of the country that won the war and a symbol of the power of the USSR, today are the calling card of the capital.
All these majestic buildings are amazing, you can talk a lot and interestingly about each of them, but it is difficult to do this in one article, because Stalin’s skyscrapers in Moscow, the addresses of which are known to the whole world, are the most interesting phenomenon in world architecture.

Moscow is a city on seven hills. One of its symbols is the seven high-rise buildings or “seven sisters” - masterpieces of monumental Stalinist architecture.

1. In the 1950s, 7 high-rise buildings were built in Moscow, which were nicknamed Stalin's high-rise buildings.

2. The architecture of Stalin's high-rise buildings was influenced by American skyscrapers of the 1910-1930s.

3. Tour guides like to call Stalin’s skyscrapers “seven sisters.”

4. Initially there were supposed to be eight buildings. Their laying was timed to coincide with the 800th anniversary of Moscow.

5. The unbuilt Palace of the Soviets was not part of the original project. It was conceived much earlier, but the high-rise buildings under construction had to be architecturally linked to the approved design of the Palace of the Soviets.

6. Construction of the eighth high-rise building, an administrative building in Zaryadye, was stopped in 1953 due to the death of Stalin. The project was frozen, and 10 years later the Rossiya Hotel grew on the constructed stylobate.

7. In the original project, the tallest building was supposed to have 32 floors. During the construction process, all high-rise buildings “added” in height. Moscow State University became 36-story, and the Leningradskaya Hotel became 26-story (in the project its height was only 16 floors).

8. During the construction process, the Foreign Ministry building on Smolenskaya grew by 11 floors. At the same time, it acquired a spire, which was not in the original project.

9. After Stalin’s death, the architect Minkus, who built the Foreign Ministry building, demanded that Khrushchev remove the spire, which was not in the original project. According to legend, Khrushchev refused, considering that the spire should become “a monument to the great stupidity of Comrade Stalin.”

10. The MSU building was originally supposed to be a hotel.

11. In one of the projects, the Moscow State University building, instead of a spire, was to be crowned with a statue of either Lomonosov or Stalin himself. Students still tell the legend of the bronze statue of the leader, walled up in the basement. In fact, the project was simply reworked, the statue was replaced with a spire, and Lomonosov, significantly reduced in size, was erected as a monument near the walls of the university.

12. Fountains near the Moscow State University building are part of the building’s air intake system. Therefore, there are few really tall trees around - there is a concrete slab under the square.

13. The spire of the main building of Moscow State University is not gilded. It and the star are lined with yellow glass, which is coated on the inside with aluminum.

14. Until 1990, the Moscow State University building was the tallest in Europe.

15. The Ukraine Hotel, built at the beginning of Kutuzovsky Prospekt, was supposed to be located in the Dynamo metro area.

16. Hotel "Ukraine" is also a residential building. The central part is a hotel, and the side buildings are occupied by apartments.

17. During the construction of the Ukraina Hotel and the house on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment, pumps were used to pump out groundwater. Due to the proximity to the river, this was done constantly.

18. The residential building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment was built gradually. By 1940, one wing was built, which was perceived as an independent building. After the war, a wing was built on Podgorskaya embankment, after which the old and new buildings were combined, and a tower with a spire was built over them. Today the entire complex is perceived as a single building.

19. The building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment holds the record among the “sisters” for the number of appearances in films. It appears in at least 16 paintings.

20. When laying the foundation for the Leningradskaya Hotel, the builders came across a “quicksand” at a depth of 8.5 meters. For safe construction, workers had to drive huge piles around the perimeter of the entire foundation.

21. The Leningradskaya Hotel, the lowest of the seven high-rise buildings, has the most luxurious interior in the Moscow Baroque style.

22. The high-rise building on the Red Gate was built at an angle, since part of it overhung the pit dug for the construction of the metro lobby. To maintain the slope, the soil was frozen to a depth of 27 meters. When the work was completed, the soil thawed and the high-rise took a vertical position.

23. There are legends about government bunkers located under high-rise buildings. In fact, there were no bunkers, there were bomb shelters. One of them, under a building on Kudrinskaya Square, has an area larger than the high-rise building itself.

24. The house on Kudrinskaya embankment is sometimes called the “house of aviators”.

25. In 2006, a new high-rise building, Triumph Palace, was built in the Dynamo area. Despite the external similarity, it has nothing to do with Stalin’s high-rise buildings.

26. The building of the Academy of Sciences of Latvia and the Palace of Culture and Science in Poland is sometimes called “Soviet gifts” by local residents. Both buildings were erected in the image and likeness of Moscow skyscrapers.

27. Many high-rise apartments were equipped with a “winter” refrigerator.

28. In residential high-rises, the garbage disposal was located right in the kitchen. Modern residents prefer to wall up the door due to difficulties with cleaning it.

29. Many ventilation grilles and other decorative elements of high-rise buildings were made of papier-mâché.

30. Apartments in Stalinist high-rise buildings today cost at least 50 million rubles for a one-room apartment.

31. All high-rise buildings are built in the style of pyramids or “wedding cake”. This trick allows you to visually increase the height of the building.

32. Conspiracy theorists believe that Stalin's skyscrapers were in a special geometric order. The Palace of the Soviets was to be located in the center of the figure formed by the “Stalinist sisters”.

Original taken from mgsupgs to Stalin's skyscrapers.

Well, today we’ll talk very briefly about the apogee of the Stalinist empire - about high-rise buildings.
“Each empire, having reached its peak, tried to fix this for posterity
an episode of fleeting greatness, writes Nikolai Kruzhkov, researcher in his book
skyscrapers. “The high-rise buildings of Stalinist Moscow are one of these messages.”
We can talk about high-rise buildings for a very long time, but what has been written is enough for a couple of encyclopedias...
Below the cut is a short review article.

The forerunner and guideline for the creators of the first high-rise buildings was the project of the Palace of Soviets

This is what the Palace of Soviets (left) would look like in a modern panorama of the city. Photo collage from the site www.ziza.ru

• Construction began in the 1930s. Stopped in 1941.


• The building was built on the site of the demolished Cathedral of Christ the Savior.


• During the war, steel structures were used for anti-tank hedgehogs and the construction of railway bridges for coal shipments from the north.


• After the war, the Moscow swimming pool was built on the site of the Palace. The pool was built whereplanned the foundation of the round Great Hall of the Palace of the Soviets. That's why the pool turned out to be round.


• In the Tekstilshchiki district, the houses of the SDS, the Builders of the Palace of the Soviets, are still preserved.

The Palace of the Soviets would become the largest building in Moscow

• Height (including the Lenin statue) is 420 meters.


• Great Hall of the Palace: height 100 m, designed for 21,000 people.


• Small hall: designed for 6000 people.


• Parking for 5000 cars.


• Statue of Lenin: height - 100 meters, weight - 6000 tons


• (larger than the US Statue of Liberty),


• index finger - 6 meters,


• the head is slightly smaller than the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions.

The answer to the question of why there was no widespread public outcry about these
construction projects, helped obtain documents discovered in the State Archive of the city of Warsaw.
These documents spoke about the construction of the Palace of Culture and Science. Write about the authors
of the project, about its details, about the engineers and their places of residence, it was not allowed to write
Full information had to be addressed to the Office of the Government Representative.

The same instructions were drawn up in relation to Moscow skyscrapers, since
the construction of houses was entrusted to fairly closed departments, such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs,
Ministry of Railways, Aviation Industry. Each department had
its own construction base and therefore there was no general management, except for two buildings
- the building of Moscow State University and buildings in Zaryadye.

Soviet triumphal style

• Imperial ancient Roman aesthetics.


• Elements of European classics (Renaissance, Gothic, Baroque motifs),


• as well as motifs of Russian architecture of the 16th-17th centuries.

In black (from left to right): the temple in Kadashi, the Dulo tower of the Simonov Monastery, the Church of the Intercession of the Virgin in
Filiakh, Gate Church and bell tower of the Novodevichy Convent, Spasskaya Tower, St. Basil's, bell tower
Ivan the Great, Nikolskaya Tower, Trinity Tower, corner Arsenal Tower, Vodovzvodnaya Tower, Borovitskaya
tower of the Moscow Kremlin. Drawing based on a 1951 diagram.

The building at the Red Gate was built at an angle

View of the construction site at the Red Gate from Kalanchevskaya Street. In the center there is a steel frame of the high-rise part
building, to the right of it is a pit for the metro lobby. Photo from the personal archive of Igor Dorman. Published for the first time

TASK . It was necessary to simultaneously build a high-rise building, and under its right wing -
exit from the metro onto Kalanchevskaya street: that is, both the building itself and then
what will be underneath it.

The high-rise part of the building had to be erected in parallel with digging a pit for the lobby
metro. This pit, due to the fact that it was impossible to block Kalanchevskaya for a year and a half
street, had to occupy a minimum area, and therefore have almost vertical walls
(at 24 meters depth). It turned out that the multi-story structure would be
be on the edge of a deep hole dug in weak, water-saturated soil
(quicksands).

SOLUTION . Before digging a pit, for nine months, soil around the perimeter of the future
pits and two escalator passages were artificially frozen to a depth of 27 meters
(where the dense layers of clay began). The round ice wall of frozen soil did not allow
the pit collapses. The earth was frozen using a system of wells and pipes.

Calcium chloride brine circulated in them at temperatures from -20°C to -26°C.

At this time, the steel frame of the central, high-rise part of the building was already being installed. All designs were arranged with
correction, with a tilt in the opposite direction, so that eventually, after the building returns to a vertical position, the floors
were parallel to the surface of the earth, and the walls, accordingly, were perpendicular to it. Construction details in
base of the building were installed with an accuracy of 0.1 millimeter, for which portable
jacks.

RESULT . After many months of thawing of the ground, the 100-meter bulk of the central part of the building stood vertically,
and then sagged a little and leaned in the opposite direction, but within the permissible limits.
At that time, there had never been such bold and successful engineering projects in world construction practice.
Such a result on unpredictable quicksand soils is still difficult to achieve today.

To enlarge the image, click on it

Why was the building leaning?

The engineers knew that when the soil froze, it would expand and lift one edge of the foundation. 
The other edge will gradually lower under the weight of the growing floors. According to calculations, the maximum deviation
would have been 16 cm. They built it with this slope. After the ground thawed, the building tilted in the opposite direction,
but within normal limits.

Progressive technologies in construction

• Welded steel frame instead of load-bearing brick walls.


• Lightweight wall materials: perforated brick, ceramic and gypsum hollow blocks,


• foam silicate slabs.


• Foam glass for roof insulation is a first in domestic civil engineering.


• Zonal water and heat supply to the house: for example, every 12-15 floors there were additional pumps pumping water.


• Artificial lowering of groundwater.


• Artificial freezing of soft soils.


• Self-climbing tower cranes.

How a self-lifting crane (UBK type, designed specifically for the first high-rise buildings) “crawls” along the floors. The crane has a movable holder (highlighted in red), to
which, after installing the next tier of the steel frame, rises two floors up. Then, using an electric winch, the crane itself is lifted and secured.
Modern analogues are used in the construction of most skyscrapers.

The UBK crane is an openwork metal tower of 25 meters, forming an L-shaped figure, to which is attached a horizontal 37-meter
lattice boom. Load capacity up to 15 tons. The crane does not restrict the construction site and the large reach of the boom allows it to service an area from 2000 to 4000 square meters.
For example, 7 UBK cranes worked during the construction of Moscow State University. The driver's booth is located at the top for a good overview. The crane does not need to be dismantled, moved and installed in a new location.

Original MSU ventilation

• Directly under the square opposite the main building of Moscow State University there is a reinforced concrete bunker six meters deep where the units are located for pumping fresh air, heating or cooling it. Air enters the system through the openings of four fountains.


• Through underground air ducts, dust-free air is supplied to the buildings.

One of four fountains that also serve as air intakes for the MSU ventilation system.

Floor plans of some high-rise buildings.

America

Almost every Moscow high-rise building has an American prototype, although similarities can be discerned
only from certain angles (pictured).

Municipal Building (New York) is a residential building on Kudrinskaya Square.

Woolworth Building (New York) - MFA

United States Courthouse (New York) - Leningradskaya Hotel

The US experience was adopted, but reworked - so as not to repeat mistakes and show concern for the best
quality of life of Soviet citizens. For example, the layout of overseas skyscrapers from the beginning of the past
century was immediately recognized as unacceptable: many rooms there are deprived of natural light
or overlook deep narrow courtyards.

The weak rigidity of the buildings was also recognized as a major drawback. Their residents felt hesitation,
and in a strong wind, hanging objects swayed and water splashed.