On December 30, 1922, at the first Congress of Soviets, the creation of the USSR was proclaimed. At the same time, S. M. Kirov put forward an ambitious idea - to build a Palace of Soviets, which would become a symbol of the country. However, the implementation of the idea began only in 1931. At every stage - from project to preparation for implementation and start grandiose construction- The Palace of the Soviets was a building the likes of which did not exist in the world.

Struggle of architectural styles

In June 1931, a design competition was announced. A few months later, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was destroyed. The "obsolete", according to the plans of the authorities, had to give way to a new one. Both professional architects and ordinary citizens of the Union applied for the competition. Among the participants in the competition was also the great French architect Le Corbusier.

The works of B. Iofan, I. Zholtovsky and G. Hamilton have entered the second round. All three projects were designed in a monumental style. Later, this style will be called "Stalinist Empire". The choice of these projects marked the end of the era of Soviet constructivism - lightness and delicacy gave way to pomp and massiveness. Offended by the ignorance of his thoughtful project, Le Corbusier wrote: "The people love royal palaces."

In 1933, the winner was determined - the construction was to be carried out according to the project of B. Iofan. But the winning sketch was very different from the final version.

Idea transformation

The famous tower with the figure of Lenin was not on the first sketch: the Palace of the Soviets looked like a complex of buildings, and the figure of the Liberated Proletarian was located on the tower. Gradually, the tower acquired a level structure, the accompanying buildings were removed. The height of the building was supposed to be 420 meters, of which 100 is the height of the statue.

The grandiose statue of Lenin (one finger of the leader was the size of a two-story house) on the top appeared only in 1939. The idea of ​​making the building a pedestal did not belong to Iofan, but to the Italian Brazini. Iofan himself wanted to place a monument in front of the Palace, but the authorities liked Brasini's proposal.

In the central part of the Palace, Big hall for 22 thousand people. The stage was in the middle, the audience ran like an amphitheater. A foyer, utility rooms, and the Small Hall were located next to it. In the high-rise part there were chambers of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Presidium, offices.

Grandiose construction

According to the project, for the construction of the Palace and the entire infrastructure, it would be required to demolish almost all the historical buildings of Volkhonka. It was supposed to make a grandiose parking lot, an area filled with concrete, move the Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin.

At the construction site, for the first time in the USSR, a preliminary soil analysis was performed using core drilling - a number of wells were drilled to a depth of 60 meters and the composition of the soil was analyzed. The place turned out to be successful - on this territory there were dense limestones and a rocky "island". To prevent groundwater from undermining the foundation, bitumization was used for the first time: almost 2000 wells were drilled around the foundation pit, and bitumen was poured into them. Additionally, water pumping pumps were installed and an insulating cover was added.

For the final facing of the grandiose structure, a stone-processing plant was built, which later "helped" make Moscow granite: stone panels for the metro, bridges and houses were processed there. [C-BLOCK]

For the production of concrete for the Palace, a plant was founded not far from it. The construction of the foundation (also designed in a special way - in the form of rings) required 550 thousand cubic meters of concrete. The diameter of each ring was about one and a half hundred meters. 34 columns were installed on them. The cross-sectional area of ​​one column was 6 sq. m. A car could fit on such a column.

The frame of the building was created from a special steel grade specially created for construction - "DS". The auxiliary frame, which directs the load to the main frame, made of corrosion-resistant steel, is simpler. A plant was founded near the Lenin Hills, where the elements were prepared for assembly.

They decided to mount the main frame on concrete rings. To lift the beams, cranes were supposed to be assembled on these rings. The higher, the fewer cranes: the statue was to be installed by only one crane.

Final construction

The project was supposed to be completed by 1942. In 1940, the frame reached seven floors, but the war broke out. High-quality steel was required for the production of anti-tank hedgehogs, and the frame had to be dismantled. After the war, the country did not have the resources for such structures. The project was moved to Vorobyovy Gory, where the building of Moscow State University gradually grew instead of the Palace. The skyscrapers were based on Iofan's project, and the common features are clearly visible.

Another trace of the project is the metro station "Kropotkinskaya" - it was conceived as an underground lobby of the Palace and was built on a maximum scale.

One of the communist leaders of Soviet Russia - Sergey Kirov – in 1922 proposed to create "New palace of workers and working peasants" instead of "Palaces of bankers, landowners and kings"... Two years later, Lenin, the leader of the Bolshevik revolution, died. His fellow party members decided that from now on for the whole country, the one who had gone to another world "Chief Bolshevik" will become "Forever alive" ... The country began to plant the cult of Lenin. The body of the leader was placed in a mausoleum - a semblance of the royal tombs of antiquity. Monuments were erected throughout the country, even in small towns "Forever living leader"... But it was decided to raise the main monument to Lenin to a gigantic height, crowned with a statue "Ilyich" super skyscraper - new Palace of the Soviets .

This building could become the embodiment of Kirov's long-standing idea. To emphasize the idea that the new palace is being built exactly "instead of" shrines of pre-revolutionary times, it was decided to demolish the largest Orthodox Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Russia, erected in the 19th century in memory of the heroes of the Patriotic War of 1812.

The idea of ​​a new palace ran into the dull discontent of the population. Many considered the demolition of the famous church blasphemy. It took a decade and I.V. Stalin to in 1931 the unique temple was blown up and a place for "Proletarian palace" freed. By this time, Stalin had already become the sovereign dictator of the USSR. The leader wanted to see in the new buildings the embodiment of the power and greatness of the new "Red empire".

Plan of the Palace of the Soviets.

That is why, from several projects of the Palace of Soviets, Boris Iofan's project , the most consistent with the set ideological task. According to this draft, The Palace of Soviets was supposed to become a grandiose structure with a height 415 meters away, but intended for ceremonial meetings The large hall could accommodate 21,000 people.

Palace of the Soviets Iofan thought of it as a pyramid of powerful cylinders stacked on top of each other. Crowned the building 80-meter sculpture of V.I. Lenin, inside which they were also going to equip various rooms: for example, the library, as they say, was supposed to be placed in the index finger of a reinforced concrete leader.

The construction of the Palace of Soviets has become the largest urban planning task and was proclaimed shock, that is, the most important construction site. The construction of the building was started in the most difficult conditions. Water constantly seeped into the huge pit from the nearby Moskva River and underground streams. Nevertheless, they managed to accomplish a real feat of engineering - the foundation was made, which consisted of two giant concentric concrete rings that went into the ground to a depth of more than 20 meters. The foundation rested on limestone rocks, which should have imparted unprecedented stability to the titanic weight of the Palace of the Soviets.

Foundation of the Palace of Soviets.

However, despite all the efforts, the construction was never meant to be finished ... Started Great Patriotic War ... In difficult years, metal structures were converted into anti-tank hedgehogs, and steel beams were used to rebuild destroyed bridges.

In 1953 Stalin died, and the new Soviet leadership, led by Nikita Khrushchev abandoned the pompous and expensive projects of the previous era. Above the foundation of the Palace was erected outdoor pool "Moscow" which even worked in winter time enveloping the metro area "Kropotkinskaya" (formerly "Palace of the Soviets") clouds of fog.

There were many unrealized architectural plans in Moscow. This is what the most spectacular of them might look like. The dimensions of the building are the total height of 416.5 meters, the volume is 7,500,000 cubic meters (like the 3 pyramids of Cheops).

STATUE: The Palace of the Soviets is one of the most famous architectural projects in history. The tallest building in the world was to become a symbol of socialism, new country and Moscow. This building was built in order to accept the last republic within the walls of the Soviet Union after the victory of the World Revolution. And then the whole world will be one Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The 300-meter multi-tiered tower serves as a pedestal for the 100-meter statue of Lenin. In her head is the conference room in which that solemn ceremony will take place. At the same time, Ilyich did not stand still. His hand always points to the Sun, for this the statue is rotated by electric motors. The statue of Lenin should become the largest statue in the world. The electric motors in the project found a place in the hold of the Great Hall and with their help in the hall for 22 thousand people, the platforms would change.

IDEA: The idea of ​​building the Palace was expressed on December 30, 1922 at the First Congress of Soviets by Sergei Mironovich Kirov (it was at this congress that the creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was announced). The idea could not but find wide support among the delegates - new symbol new country!

BEGINNING: But it was only possible to start implementing this idea on June 18, 1931, when an open competition for the best design of the Palace was announced in the Izvestia newspaper. In the same year, on December 5, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was blown up - a symbol of old Russia, which was to be replaced by the symbol of the USSR. The temple was visible from anywhere in Moscow in the early thirties, the new symbol should be visible from anywhere in the renewed Moscow of the future. In 1931, a government body was created - the Council for the Construction of the Palace of Soviets (so as not to repeat the word twice in its name, it was called the Council of Construction). Under this Council, there was an architectural and technical committee, which included prominent cultural figures - Gorky, Meyerhold, Lunacharsky. Stalin took part in the activities of the Council.

COMPETITION: There are 270 participants in the competition - from ordinary citizens (100 draft designs) to architectural bureaus. Among the professionals there are 24 foreigners, including Le Carbusier. Most of the projects did not meet the requirements or did not stand up to criticism. 5 groups of architects reached the finals, including the group of Boris Mikhailovich Iofan. On May 10, 1933, the Council determined the winner. On this day, the Council issued a resolution:

1. Accept the draft comrade. Iofana BM in the basis of the project of the Palace of Soviets. 2. To complete the upper part of the Palace of Soviets with a powerful sculpture of Lenin, 50-75 meters in size, so that the Palace of Soviets represents the form of a pedestal for the figure of Lenin. 3. Instruct Comrade IOFANU will continue to develop the project of the Palace of Soviets based on this decision, so that the best parts of the projects and other architects are used. 4. Consider it possible to involve other architects in further work on the project.

Architects V. Gelfreikh and V. Schuko were involved in the project. Iofan's project did not immediately take on the form that is familiar to everyone. The first sketch in 1931 looked like this:

Instead of one tower with Lenin, a complex of buildings. The tower also exists, but it is not crowned by Lenin, but by a liberated proletarian with a torch. And this is no longer a sketch, but a detailed version of Iofan 1931.

In 1932, the Palace of the Soviets from Iofan becomes a little more like the final project:

Already almost the final version, dated 1933, but still without Ilyich, with a freed proletarian on the roof:

The project takes on an increasingly familiar look:

And finally, the final version, approved in 1939:

The idea to use the building as a giant pedestal for a giant statue of Lenin belongs to the Italian architect A. Brazini, one of the participants in the competition. Boris Iofan did not at all like the idea that his creation would be just a pedestal, he insisted that the statue be installed not on the top of the building, but in front of it. But, you can't argue with the authorities. The work on the giant statue 100 meters high and weighing six thousand tons was entrusted to S. Merkurov, who decorated the Moscow Canal with figures of Lenin and Stalin. In the future, we will tell you about what the Palace of Soviets could have been like and what we managed to build. In the meantime, we bring to your attention a gallery of Palace projects that did not pass the competition: Armando Brazini

I bring to your attention the projects that I managed to find on the net, as well as in the book by D. Khmelnitsky "Stalin's Architecture: Psychology and Style"

2.Armando Brasini. Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1931

3 Armando Brasini Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1931

4.G. Krasin, A. Kutsaev. Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1931

5. Boris Iofan. Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1931

6. Boris Iofan. Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1931

7.Henrich Ludwig. Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1931

8. Alexey Shchusev. Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1931

9.Hector O. Hamilton. Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1931

10.Ivan Zholtovsky. Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1931

11.Karo Halabyan, Vladimir Simbirtsev. Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1931

12.Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret. Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1931

13. Moses Ginsburg. Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1932

14.Nikolay Ladovsky. Competition project of the Palace of Soviets, 1932

15. Leonidas, Victor and Alexander Vesnins. Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1932

17.Ivan Zholtovsky, Georgy Golts. Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1932

18.Karo Halabyan, Georgy Kochar, Anatoly Mordvinov. Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1932

19 Brigade VASI (leader Alexander Vlasov). Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1932

20 Vladimir Shchuko, Vladimir Gelfreich. Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1932

21. Anatoly Zhukov, Dmitry Chechulin. Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1932

22 Boris Iofan. Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1932

23 Boris Iofan. Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1933

24 Boris Iofan. Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1933

25. Karo Halabyan, Anatoly Mordvinov, Vladimir Simbirtsev, Yakov Doditsa, Alexey Dushkin. Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1933

26. Ivan Zholtovsky, Alexey Shchusev. Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1933

27. Vladimir Shchuko, Vladimir Gelfreich. Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1933

28. Leonidas, Victor and Alexander Vesnins. Competition project of the Palace of Soviets 1933

PLACE: During the invasion of Napoleon, Emperor Alexander I vows to erect a temple in Moscow in the name of Christ the Savior. The decree was signed in December 1812 in Vilna, when parts of the Napoleonic army were expelled from Russia.

CURSE: In 1837, the 14th century Alekseevsky monastery was blown up for the construction of the temple, the abbess of which cursed this place, prophetically declaring that nothing good would stand on it.

THE FATE OF THE 1 TEMPLE: The first temple has been under construction for 40 years. In 1846, the dome was erected, three years later, the cladding was completed. In 1860 the scaffolding was removed. But another twenty years are spent on painting and decoration.

After the completion of the work, the temple existed for 50 years. On December 5, 1931, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was blown up.

The museum was allowed to take out fragments of the temple, several giant high reliefs were dismantled and transported to the Donskoy Monastery.

PALACE FOUNDATION:

Consider the foundation on which a 300-meter-high palace with a 100-meter statue of Lenin should stand. The total area of ​​the building is 11 hectares, and the weight is 1,500,000 tons. This weight was not evenly distributed over this entire area. The most "weighty" was the central high-rise part - the tower, which housed the Great Hall for 22 thousand people. The round hall is in the center of the stage, above which the audience seats rose like an amphitheater. This hall was adjoined by lobbies, a foyer and rooms that were small in comparison with the Hall. All rooms as a whole received the name "stylobate" (in ancient Greek architecture this was the name of the upper part of the socle of the temple, on which the colonnade was installed). This tower should weigh 650,000 tons (one-fifth of the entire building). The columns of the frame of the New York skyscraper "Empire State Building" (383 meters, the tallest building in the world at that time) pressed on the ground with a force of 4,700 tons, and the columns of the tower of the Palace of Soviets had to carry a load of 8 to 14 tons each. Builders have never encountered such loads on the ground. There were special requirements for the soil and foundation. For the study of the soil, for the first time in the Soviet Union, large-column drilling was used - the soil rose in the form of cylinders 1 meter long and 10-12 centimeters in diameter. More than a hundred wells were drilled with a depth of 50-60 meters. In the very center of the future construction site, there was a rocky area - a kind of peninsula protruding into soft ground. At a depth of 14 meters, hard rocks began - first a ten-meter layer of limestone, then a six-meter clay-marl layer followed, then another layer of limestone began, but denser than the first. Then again clay and again limestone. A kind of sandwich. These rocks were formed millions of years ago in the Carboniferous period, and then they withstood the weight of glaciers, incomparably heavier than the cyclopean building of the Palace. So, the underground rocky peninsula was ideal for construction - it was here that the tallest tower in the world was supposed to rise.

The foundation of the tower consisted of two concentric concrete rings 140 and 160 meters in diameter. They were located on the second limestone layer at a depth of 30 meters. But before pouring concrete, the builders dug a huge foundation pit. In order to prevent the walls of the pit from collapsing under the influence of subsoil waters, the so-called "bitumization" of the soil was first used in the USSR - 1800 wells were drilled around the pit. A pipe with small holes in the walls was inserted into each well. Bitumen, heated to a temperature of 200 degrees, was pumped into these pipes under high pressure. Through the holes in the pipes, bitumen seeped into the ground, filled all the cracks and cavities and solidified. A waterproof curtain was formed around the pit. Rather, almost waterproof. But with the water that nevertheless seeped into the pit, the pumps were successfully coping. To solve the problem with groundwater once and for all, a kind of "bowl" of four layers of asbestos board impregnated with bitumen was built under the future foundation. Now it was possible to start laying the Cyclopean foundation. Especially for this purpose, a concrete plant was built near the construction site, equipped with the latest technology from the late thirties. The last word technicians at that time had huge automatic concrete mixers. Concrete was delivered to the construction site in a pit in metal "buckets". Each bucket held 4 tons of concrete. With the help of a crane, the "buckets" were lowered into the pit, the worker knocked out the latch holding the bottom.

The spilled concrete was tamped with so-called vibrators - metal clubs vibrating under the influence of eccentrics rotating inside. By hardening ("grasping", if we speak in construction slang), concrete decreases in volume (the so-called "shrinkage"). Considering the enormous size of the foundation, shrinkage could lead to cracking. But the builders easily solved this problem - the foundation rings were not made solid, they consisted of concrete blocks with gaps between them. Once the blocks were solidified, the gaps were filled with fresh concrete. It turned out to be a monolithic concrete ring. Both rings are connected by 16 radial walls. And on top of the foundation rings, two more rings of reinforced concrete were installed. These rings are also interconnected by 32 reinforced concrete beams.

The foundations of the rest, not so massive, parts of the building were just concrete pillars with a diameter of 60 meters. Since the load on them was not so huge, these concrete pillars were installed on the upper layer of limestone. In total, 550 thousand cubic meters of concrete were required for the construction of the foundations of the Palace. Above the foundation of the tower, basement floors were to be located, in which technical services would be located - heating, lighting, plumbing, sewerage, etc. walk in them without bending over. The deepest point of the basement was supposed to be the hold of the Great Hall - 10 meters below the water table. The floor of the hold, according to the project, was supposed to be a concrete slab 8 meters thick, one square meter of such a floor would weigh 18.4 tons.

Before the war, they managed to build the foundation of the high-rise part of the Palace and began to mount the steel frame of the building. Alas, after June 22, 1941, concrete, granite, steel, reinforcement were required for completely different purposes. After the war, other skyscrapers, more modest in size, ascended over Moscow. The foundations of the Palace were used in the construction of the world's largest swimming pool. And in the nineties, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, demolished in December 1931, was rebuilt on the same foundation.

FRAME: For the construction of the frame, a special high-strength steel grade was developed - DS. The frame had to be mounted on two ring concrete foundations. The diameter of the inner ring was 140 meters, the outer - 160. Each of the rings had 34 steel columns, each of which had to withstand a load of 12 thousand tons - this is the weight of a freight train made up of six hundred wagons.

The cross-sectional area of ​​each column is 6 square meters, on such an area a passenger car will fit. The columns rested on a riveted steel shoe, under which, right in the ring foundation, 4-5 cast steel plates are laid. All 64 columns are connected horizontally by I-beams every 6-10 meters. The same beams are also connected by every two columns located on the same radius. The columns went vertically up to a height of 60 meters, then for 80 meters they went at a slight angle. And from a height of 140 meters, the columns again went vertically. At a height of 200 meters, the columns of the outer end broke off, and only the columns of the outer row stretched upward. In those places where the columns were supposed to move from a vertical position to an inclined one, spacer rings were to be placed. The surface of the ring formed a whole avenue 15 meters wide.

In addition to the main frame, the Palace was supposed to have an auxiliary one. The huge columns of the main frame were at a considerable distance from each other, their strength would not be enough to withstand the weight of the walls and floors of the building. The purpose of the secondary frame is to “collect” loads and transfer them to the powerful main frame. The secondary frame also consisted of beams and columns, but all of its elements were made of steel less durable than DS. This steel differed from ordinary building steel by the addition of copper. This additive does not add strength, but increases rust resistance. The subframe beams would be positioned where they are needed, complementing the mainframe.

Overlappings should be installed on top of the beams of the secondary frame - reinforced concrete slabs 10 centimeters thick. The floors are laid on these ceilings. The thickness of the floors also had to be large - after all, pipes and electrical wiring had to be laid in the floors. The total weight of the steel frame of the Palace of Soviets was supposed to be 350,000 tons. A number of factories worked to manufacture the steel structure. They were used to make the so-called "assembly elements" - sections of columns, beams and rings. The length of each such element should not exceed 15 meters. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to transport them by rail and lift them by cranes. In Moscow, near the Lenin Hills, a special plant was built, where all these elements were prepared for installation - holes were drilled for rivets, the ends of the columns were turned on special machines. After processing, the frame parts were sent to the construction site. For installation, 12 cranes were used, each with a lifting capacity of 40 tons. After the frame reaches a height that the cranes cannot reach, 10 cranes must be mounted on the beams of the outer ring of the main frame. The remaining 2 cranes should transfer cargo from the ground to them. In the future, it was planned to reduce the number of overhead cranes - only 1 crane was supposed to be engaged in the installation of the statue. The installation of the frame began in 1940. By the beginning of the war, it reached a height of 7 floors. During the war, DS steel was used for the manufacture of anti-tank hedgehogs, and when the reserves came to an end, the already built part of the frame was dismantled.

POOL: After the war, Stalin decides to build small skyscrapers, probably planning to build main palace after them. But Stalin died in 1953. Apparently for this reason, the construction of the Palace was not continued. At this place Khrushchev is building the Moskva outdoor swimming pool, which has stood for about 30 years.

TEMPLE 2: Now at this place is the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

Let's take a small virtual tour around the Palace of Soviets in Moscow. The grandiose and majestic building was never destined to come true. On the Internet, there are illustrations from the sketch and design documentation of the Palace of Soviets, and the set of these illustrations is limited. The idea arose to restore one of the versions of this building in 3d, to describe the history of the Palace of Soviets and to walk around the territory of the virtual building. At the end of the post, the evolution of the winning competition project of the Palace of Soviets of Boris Iofan, starting in 1933, is given. The 1934 version is implemented in 3d.

A phantom story of the Palace of the Soviets
The idea of ​​constructing the Palace of Soviets will celebrate its 90th anniversary next year. In 1931, an open competition was announced for the design of the building. According to the plan, the Palace of Soviets was to personify the greatness, power and successes of the young Soviet state, to become the visible embodiment of the idea of ​​the victory of communism, a bright future for everyone. About 160 projects were submitted for the competition, both from foreign architects and, for the most part, from Soviet ones. By that time, constructivism was the dominant link in architecture. Constructivism is based on strict, laconic forms, and the building space should be as functional as possible. Not a small part of the projects for the construction of the Palace of Soviets was sustained in a constructivist spirit. But for the building-symbol, the laconic and rational form did not correspond well to the changing "proletarian aesthetics". At least that's what Joseph Stalin thought. The simplicity and skeptical design of the structures were to be replaced by pompous, richly decorated facades. Architects relying on the development of classical forms more and more often declared themselves. Boris Iofan kept himself apart from the rest of the architects. A student of the Italian architect Armando Brazini won the competition for the project of the Palace of Soviets. By the way, Brasini also took part in the competition. The influence of the teacher was great, one might even say that Italian blood should have flowed in the upcoming Palace. Following the Italian Kremlin, which became the sacred center of Russia, the significant influence of Italians in Orthodox church buildings, the time came for the architectural influence on the country of the Soviets.
In 1933, architects V. Shchuko and V. Gelfreich were involved in the work of B. Iofan. According to the revised project being prepared, the height of the Palace was supposed to be 420 meters, the building was to be crowned with a 100-meter monument to V.I. Lenin - the work of the sculptor S. Merkurov. The cubic capacity of the building would be 7,500,000 cubic meters. The large hall of the Palace was designed for 21,000 people, had a height of 100 m, the small hall was designed for 6,000 people. The high-rise part of the Palace was supposed to accommodate the Presidium, the chambers of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and some other halls.
The construction of such a building would require the reconstruction of Volkhonka and other adjacent buildings. In other words, all historical buildings and mansions would have been demolished. The huge areas around it were supposed to be asphalted and equipped with parking for 5 thousand cars. The building of the Pushkin Museum. A.S. Pushkin had to be moved 100 meters.
The construction of the Palace began at the end of the 30s on the site of the destroyed Cathedral of Christ the Savior. But the truly ambitious plan of the Bolsheviks was never destined to come true. The war has made its own adjustments. Construction was halted during the foundation-laying phase. It is interesting that during and after the war, the project of the Palace of Soviets underwent changes, Stalin's hope for the implementation of the project did not leave for a long time. The post-war devastation, the death of the leader, the exposure of the cult of Stalin, the adoption of a directive on "condemnation of decoration and architectural excesses" finally buried the idea and project of further construction. Then there were many other programs and projects, attempts, both successful and unsuccessful, to oppose the USSR and the socialist camp to the world of capital and a market economy. But such beautiful project in architecture was no longer.
The project of the Palace of the Council of Boris Iofan played an important role in the formation and further development and flourishing of Soviet architecture of the 30s - 50s, which was called "Stalin's Empire". Formed at the junction of different cultures and styles, from classicism to post-constructivism, the talented synthesis of architecture, the eclecticism of the Soviet imperial style is a significant milestone in the architecture of the world.

The Palace of Labor and the Bolshoi Cinema - these names cannot be found on the map of the modern capital, they have been preserved only in the archives. Let's try to imagine what our city would look like if all plans were destined to come true.

Moscow is a city that has been actively built and rebuilt throughout its history. Each era brought something new to the image of the capital, sometimes trying to completely change its architectural concept. This is especially true of the Soviet period, when such styles as the famous Stalinist Empire style and constructivism appeared.

Architectural projects of that time boggle the imagination. Some of them were brought to life, but many remained in the archives. However, only on paper can you see some of the drawings of the pre-revolutionary period. Let's try to imagine how our city would look if all plans were destined to come true.

Pre-revolutionary subway

The first proposals for the creation of a metro in Moscow appeared back in 1875. Then the idea arose to lay a line from the Kursk railway station through Lubyanskaya and Pushkinskaya squares to Maryina Roshcha. In 1902 A.I. Antonovich, N.I. Golinevich and N.P. Dmitriev drew up a revised project, which included the construction of the Circle Line, passing along the Kamer-Kollezhsky Val, as well as Central Station in the Alexander Garden and four radial lines. Half of these pre-revolutionary branches were planned to be built on overpasses, and half in tunnels. According to the project, the ring road was supposed to run along overpasses and earthen embankments.

Cathedral of Christ the Savior on Sparrow Hills

This temple was going to be erected in honor of the victory of Russia in the Patriotic War of 1812. The architect Alexander Vitberg proposed to build it between the Smolensk and Kaluga roads, on the Sparrow Hills, which Alexander I poetically called "the crown of Moscow." Here are several reasons that gave weight to the proposal: this is the emperor's desire to build a temple outside the city, since in Moscow "there is not enough space required for an elegant building"; these are links to the out-of-town St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome; this is good geographic location- after all, the Maiden Field spread at the foot of the Sparrow Hills would allow you to see the temple from afar. And the last reason: Sparrow Hills located between the paths of the enemy who entered Moscow along the Smolensk road and retreated along the Kaluga road.

The temple was to become the tallest in the world: the height of its ground part was to be 170 meters (for comparison: the height of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome is 141.5 meters). In 1823, the preparation of stone began and work began to connect the upper reaches of the Volga and the Moskva River to deliver the stone to the temple. The first experiment turned out to be successful, but it was not possible to take out large consignments, because the water in the Moscow River could not be raised to the required level.

The construction of the temple did not continue. Numerous springs on the slope of the mountains, indicating sandy soils, exclude the possibility of building a large structure not only on the slopes, but also on the top, due to the danger of uneven settlement.

The Labor Palace in Moscow is an unrealized project of 1922-1923. In the center of the capital, on the site between Tverskaya Street and the squares: Sverdlovskaya, Revolution and Okhotnoryadskaya (on the site of the current hotel "Moscow"), it was planned to build a grandiose complex.

The Palace of Labor was supposed to accommodate all the workers' organizations in Moscow, large proletarian libraries, a meeting room for several thousand people, an audience for eight thousand listeners, a museum of social knowledge, a dining room with a capacity of six thousand people, sports organizations and much more.

The exhibition of projects "Palace of Labor" opened in March 1923. This largest competition was supposed to determine in many respects which way Soviet architecture would go. The project presented by the Vesnin brothers became the first building in the constructivist style. However, its construction did not begin, and in 1935 the hotel "Moscow" appeared here.

Sukharevskaya square

In 1931, a plan for the general reconstruction of Moscow was developed. He assumed a complete change in the town-planning concept of the city. In the center, wide transport highways and high-rise buildings. To do this, they began to demolish the historical buildings. In 1933, it came to the Sukharev Tower. Famous architects tried to defend the tower. The painter and restorer Igor Grabar, academicians of architecture Ivan Fomin and Ivan Zholtovsky wrote a letter to Stalin, in which they pointed out that the decision was wrong: “Sukharev Tower,” they wrote, “is an unfading example of the great art of building, known to the whole world and equally highly valued everywhere ... We ... strongly object to the destruction of a highly talented work of art, tantamount to the destruction of a painting by Raphael. "

The authors of the letter offered to develop a project for the reconstruction of Sretenskaya Square within a month, which would allow solving the transport problem, while preserving the Sukharev Tower. The architect Fomin soon presented this project - with a circular movement across the square. There were other options - to skip transport to the west of the tower, move it to another place, arrange a tunnel for transport. All this, alas, was not destined to come true.

During the dismantling of the Sukharev Tower, one of the frames of the windows of the third floor was preserved and transferred to the Donskoy Monastery, where it was walled into the monastery wall. The clock from the Sukhareva Tower is now installed on the Tower of the Front Gate of the Kolomenskoye estate. The foundations of the tower have also been preserved, but hidden under the modern square.

In the 1980s, the Moscow executive committee decided to restore the tower. A design competition was announced, but none of them were accepted. Nowadays, only a memorial sign in the park on the Garden Ring reminds of the existence of the Sukharev Tower.

The Palace of Soviets in Moscow was designed as a gigantic building 420 meters high, which was to be crowned with a 70-meter-high statue of Lenin. Thus, the building was supposed to be the tallest in the world. A place was set aside for the construction, on which the Cathedral of Christ the Savior had previously stood. The project was proposed by Boris Iofan, and the work on the monument to Lenin was entrusted to Sergei Merkurov. Construction was interrupted with the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War and never resumed.

Zaryadye

In accordance with the new aesthetics, the Soviet government planned to double Red Square, and to reconstruct the central squares named after Nogin, Dzerzhinsky, Sverdlov and Revolution within three years. They wanted to free the territory of Kitay-gorod from the existing small buildings, with the exception of certain large structures, and instead to build several monumental buildings of national importance.

The eighth Stalinist skyscraper was supposed to be the administrative building in Zaryadye. The 32-storey skyscraper, which was laid on the day of Moscow's 800th anniversary, was never completed. All the erected structures were dismantled, and in 1964-1967 the hotel "Russia" was built on the remaining foundation.

Zakrestovsky overpass

The decision to open the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition (VDNKh) influenced the reconstruction of 1st Meshchanskaya Street and Yaroslavskoye Highway. It was separated from the 1st Meshchanskaya Yaroslavka by the Oktyabrskaya railroad, through which the old overpass was thrown. Its width was so small that even tram tracks could only be laid in one line.

The first draft of the architectural solution was completed in 1935 by the architect Mikhail Zhirov. The structure was supposed to have dimensions unprecedented for Moscow: its width was 40 meters. Zhirov's project was not approved, and further work on the overpasses was entrusted to a team consisting of engineer Yuri Werner and brothers-architects Konstantin and Yuri Yakovlev. The construction started in 1936 was completed two years later.

House TASS

In 1934-1935, a competition was announced for the construction of the TASS building. It took place in three rounds, and a new location was chosen for the building - Pushkin Square... The author of one of the projects was Leonid Grinshpan - famous architect the era of post-constructivism. However, his plans were never implemented. The existing building of the Information Telegraph Agency of Russia was built in 1976 on Tverskoy Boulevard by architects Viktor Yegerev, Anatoly Shaikhet, Zoya Abramova and Gennady Sirota.

Big Academic Cinema at Teatralnaya Square

The Bolshoi Academic Cinema is a large public building, which, according to the Moscow reconstruction plan, was supposed to be built on Sverdlov Square (now Teatralnaya Square), opposite the Bolshoi Theater building. Since cinema was recognized as "the most important of the arts," the new cinema was supposed to architecturally subordinate the building of the Bolshoi Theater. The cinema should surpass the Bolshoi in size: in the theater - two thousand seats, and in the Bolshoi cinema there should have been four thousand (later, however, this figure dropped to three thousand).

The competition for the project of the Bolshoi Academic Cinema was announced in the fall of 1936, but all projects were ultimately recognized as unsuccessful, all the proposed buildings suffered from gigantomania, which they were just beginning to struggle with. Despite the fact that the cinema never appeared on the square, it was his project that we owe to the creation of a combined lobby for the stations "Revolution Square" and "Sverdlov Square".

Pantheon of Glory

The Pantheon in Moscow is an unrealized project of a memorial tomb, "a monument to the eternal glory of the great people of the Soviet country", where the sarcophagi of Lenin and Stalin were to be transferred, as well as "the remains of prominent figures of the Communist Party and the Soviet state buried near the Kremlin wall."

In 1953, immediately after Stalin's death, a competition for the projects of the pantheon was announced, but its exact location was not specified. The central authorities began to receive numerous projects, many of which echoed those that appeared during the competition for the construction of the Palace of Soviets.

Monument to Chelyuskinites

The return from the Pole of the Chelyuskinites, taken off the ice by Soviet pilots (by the way, they became the first Heroes of the Soviet Union), became a national holiday. Therefore, the Moscow City Council announced a competition for the design of the monument. The monument was planned to be placed on the arrow of the Obvodny Canal (now there is a monument in honor of Peter I Zurab Tsereteli on this place).

Children's railway in the I.V. Stalin (Izmailovsky Park)

In 1932-1933, a children's railway already existed in Moscow - in the children's town Central Park culture and recreation named after Gorky. By the end of the 1930s, it was closed.

The construction site of the Moscow ChRW was then chosen to be the City-wide Park of Culture and Recreation named after Stalin in Izmailovo (now Izmailovsky Park). The general plan for the development of Moscow envisaged turning this park into the main recreation area for Muscovites. Near the north-western entrance, the Central Stadium of the USSR named after Stalin for 100 thousand spectators was supposed to be located. In the eastern part of the park, it was planned to open the world's largest zoo, and in the center of the park, in the floodplain of the Serebryanka River, to equip a huge pond with an area of ​​more than 110 hectares with well-groomed beaches for 10 thousand people, a yacht club and a racing boat station.

The children's railway was supposed to connect all the cultural and entertainment facilities of the park and become the main mode of transport. When creating it, it was decided to abandon the practice of designing children's roads by children or young specialists in their free time, which was established in those years. A competition was announced for the best design of a children's road and all its structures. According to its terms, the architecture of the station buildings had to be at the quality level of the Moscow metro, the structures of the Moscow-Volga canal, the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition and be a vivid example of “joyful Soviet architecture”. Particular attention was paid to the variety of styles, and therefore each of the participants prepared a project not for the entire road, but only for one of the stations. The results of the architectural competition were summed up in the spring of 1940.

In 1940-1941, Moscow children's technical stations and palaces of pioneers recruited young railroad workers into circles. From the very first day, they were distributed according to services (movement, traction, carriage, and so on). In the spring of 1941, after completing the initial theoretical course, the guys began practical training. But since the road had not yet been built by that time, the classes were held at the enterprises of the Moscow railway junction. For example, young steam locomotives, under the guidance of experienced train drivers, drove passenger trains from the Savyolovsky railway station.

On June 20, 1941, the final version of the children's railway project was submitted for approval. And two days later the Great Patriotic War began. After the war, several attempts were made to return to the issue of building a children's railway, but they were all unsuccessful.

What the streets we are used to look like

Ambitious projects for the reconstruction of the city have touched almost all the central streets and squares of our city. Look not at all the way we used to, could and Manezhnaya square, and Tverskaya, and Kursk railway station.