[144] Columns of the second segment were placed at a 22 angle, forming a tent over the grand hall up to the 140-metre (460ft) mark. The Pushkin Museum building, which partly obstructed the course of the Alley, would be moved north to Gogolevsky Boulevard.
[73] Less obvious, speculative sources range from Fritz Lang's Metropolis[73] to Athanasius Kircher's Turris Babel.
[71] It was certainly not unique to Hamilton's entry: similar ribbed facades, a staple of American Art Deco, were also used by Alexey Dushkin, Iosif Langbard, Dmitry Chechulin and Iofan himself.
[137] The exact number of floors was not disclosed.
[198][199], In the autumn of 1956, Iofan's work finally stopped after the announcement of a new competition for a new Palace of the Soviets. [101] Rudolf Wolters, who came to Novosibirsk in the summer of 1932, reported that by the time of his arrival the provincial party executives had already received orders from Moscow to build "in classical style" only. [115][n] The theatrical, dramatic visionary architecture that emerged from this collaboration was approved and publicized to great pomp in February 1934 despite a complete lack of technical and economic estimates. The Palace of the Soviets (Russian: , Dvorets Sovetov) was a project to construct a political convention center in Moscow on the site of the demolished Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
[86] Karo Alabyan and company produced an impressive and novel modernist design"a ship of state" with three lean "funnels" flanking the river. [172], In the summer of 1940, when the lower load-bearing columns were partially installed, the time to complete the whole frame was estimated at 30 months. [w][208] The idea behind the Palace of the Soviets was laid to rest.
[17] The coveted national palace had to be exceptionally large, impressive and technologically advanced to stand above the crowd. [75], European left-wing architects could not accept the fact and appealed directly to Stalin. [190][191][193], Of the three titular architects of the palace, Vladimir Shchuko died in 1939, and Vladimir Helfreich moved on to other projects, which included one of the "sisters".
The next iteration of the design, the so-called Sverdlovsk variant, emerged only at the end of 1943. [167] To clear the pit down to the bedrock, the workers removed 160,000 cubic metres (5,700,000cuft) cubic meters of rock and 620,000 cubic metres (22,000,000cuft) cubic meters of soft soil. [166] This formed a watertight vertical curtain extending from the surface to the load-bearing sill, which allowed safe excavation below the river level. [6][7] The "small" hall had 5,000 seats and a height of 30 metres (98ft). [102] On the national level, no such orders were formally published; the change appeared to be a natural development within the professional community. [182], Iofan and the remnants of his team spent most of the war in Sverdlovsk working on defense projects. [73] Iofan managed to suit both sides: although his proposal looked novel, it was in fact a blend of various identifiable prototypes. [22], Yet another hypothesis suggested by Sona Hoisington in 2003 views the stylistic change as a direct and unintended consequence of the destruction of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Steel "shoes" for mounting the columns, Panoramic view with the "shoes" and partially completed stylobate frame, 1940, Academy of Construction and Architecture 1961, " 137 () 10 1933 (Protocol of the Politburo, 10 May 1933, paragraph 56/43", " 1920-1930-", "Ever Higher: The Evolution of the Project of the Palace of Soviets", " (1931-1932 . [35] By 1931 he had a proven record of completing high-profile projects, including the enormous[d] House on the Embankment with its cinema hall[ru]the largest modern auditorium in Moscow.
[43] The plan was soon implemented in a series of architectural competitions, where Iofan acted as primus inter pares (first among equals) in public and the minence grise (powerful decision maker) behind the scenes. [73] Iofan himself said the two main inspirations behind his design were the Pergamon Altar and the Victor Emmanuel II Monument which was, in turn, inspired by the Pergamon Altar. [11] This, according to the official Soviet narrative, was the beginning of the story of the Palace of the Soviets. The source incorrectly dates it 1931. [200] The volume of the new structure was capped at 500,000 cubic meters, 15 times less than Iofan's design. [24][25] However, the unchecked ambitions of both groups soon caused a multifold increase in size, scope and cost. In 1947 Prokofyev collaborated with Iofan in his unsuccessful attempts to revive the abandoned project or to secure the University contract.
[v] The almost forgotten Palace of the Soviets was not mentioned in any of the debates and decrees. [142] The lower segment, 60 metres (200ft) tall, comprised 32 pairs of vertical columns placed around the grand hall and connected to the foundation slab via massive riveted "shoes". The definitive design by Iofan, Vladimir Shchuko and Vladimir Helfreich was conceived in 19331934 and took its final shape in 1937. 1910- 1920- ", " " " ", "19221956 . ", Le Corbusier's Five Points of Architecture, Palace of Ministry of National Education and Public Health, Metropolitan Life North Building (original design), Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and Residence Tower, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palace_of_the_Soviets&oldid=1096030078, Unbuilt buildings and structures in Russia, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles containing Russian-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Original drafts and modern renderings from the, This page was last edited on 1 July 2022, at 21:06. 11 from the USA, five from Germany, three from France, two from Holland, one each from Estonia, Italy and Switzerland. 
[183] The 1949 variant retained same height, with a further decrease in volume. [124] Moran & Proctor, a leading foundation engineering firm, became the first American company to be hired for the project and would assist the USDS throughout the 1930s.
[106], In the late 1950s and 1960s modernism became the official style of the Soviet state, and recent history was rewritten again to exonerate the party.
[22] Chmelnizki, on the contrary, rates the same Politburo evidence as substantial.
[46] It required extensive demolition and presented so far unknown technical challenges,[47][19] but it was the largest site and it formed a tight visual ensemble with Iofan's House on the Embankment. [174] Filmmakers routinely used special effects to blend the model of the palace into live-action street scenes, as if the structure actually existed. [131] The pose and the proportions of the statue also changed. [2] With no workers left to maintain the watertight curtain, river water seeped through and eventually flooded the foundations. [144], In 1939, when the palace's frame rose above ground level, the propaganda campaign around it reached its peak. [71][70][73] Hamilton's Art Deco draft was uninspiring but the most cohesive of the three.
[183][185] Iofan removed the ribbed pylons from the upper layers and added lots of oversized, opulent sculpture. [117] Shchuko and Helfreich thought otherwise, and did not hesitate to perch the giant statue on top of the building, extending its height by 100 metres (330ft). [53] Iofan had considered various alternatives, and ruled out compact centric floor plans in favor of a sprawling group of buildings aligned along the northsouth axis of the cathedral site.
[73] The dome of the grand hall was inspired by the Centennial Hall in Breslau. [166] Blasting and excavation commenced in January 1935, and continued for more than three years. [120] The location of the statue and the design by Sergey Merkurov remained controversial throughout the 1930s and were harshly criticized in public by Boris Korolyov, Nikolai Tomsky, Martiros Saryan and other involved artists.[121]. [118], Placement of a giant statue on top of an already enormous structure caused a disproportional, nonlinear increase in building height. [111], Opponents like Sergey Kuznetsov argue the existing evidence of Stalin's personal involvement is too scarce to make far-reaching conclusions.
[194] The university contract, along with all preliminary work by Iofan's team, was awarded to Lev Rudnev. [22] The only architect who had spoken to Stalin regularly was his personal contractor Miron Merzhanov, who remained modernist throughout the 1930s. [51] In December the stripped hulk of the cathedral was publicly blown up. [45] Hannes Meyer and the ASNOVA supported this option. According to Kuznetsov, the decision had not yet been finalized, and the architects could still propose other sites. [196] The former elders of Stalinist architecture did not dare to object and accepted the new reality. [81] In addition to the nine prize-winners of the open competition, at Mikhailov's request the USDS also invited notable constructivists and rationalists.
[125] More visits and more contracts, facilitated through the Amtorg network, would follow in subsequent years.
[184][183] It was superficially similar to the 1937 design, but looked flatter, heavier and lacked the dynamics of the original. [86] Iofan settled for a tall stack of four cylinders, wrapped in rows of white "ribbed style" pylons. [45] Sona Hoisington claims the decision was final, but its main objective was not the palace but the destruction of the cathedral. [183] From 1947 to 1956, he presented six new proposals. The protocols of the Politburo and the journals of Stalin's office in the Kremlin contain very few records related to the palace. [130] The stainless steel moldings attached to the pylons widened progressively with height for a smooth transition from the granite-clad tower to the all-metal statue. [126][127] From a purely architectural perspective, the most important experience was gained at the site of the partially completed Rockefeller Center. [151] The routes to the grand hall and to the office tower were physically separated; the former relied primarily on stairs and escalators, the latter on elevators. [12] Before the congress, in JanuaryMay 1919, Petrograd had held an architectural competition for the "Palace of Labor";[13] in October 1922 the Moscow Architectural Society[ru] launched a competition for a different "Palace of Labor", endorsed by the same Sergei Kirov. [157], Moscow's planners viewed the palace as the hub of the Ilyich Alley, a new southwest-to-northeast axis aligned along present-day Komsomolsky Prospect, Volkhonka Street, Manezhnaya Square and Sakharov Prospect. [190][191][t] Unfinished projects launched before the war were quietly scrapped or repurposed to the needs of new tenants.
[78] Their message amounted to an ultimatum, threatening to retract all support to the Soviet Union. [130] The number of stacked cylinders was reduced from five to four with progressively decreasing, rather than uniform, spacings between the pylons. [204] Contrary to expectations, Vlasov did not receive a formal prize immediately, but was rewarded later on. Soviet authors of the 1930s usually appealed to the "improved welfare of the masses". [29][30][31][32] A recent repatriant from Italy and a long-time student of Italian architect Armando Brasini, Iofan was a maverick within the Soviet architectural community and had no obligations to any group. [20], In February 1931, the government set up a three-tier project management structure.
[105] The reform was effected through the party decrees of the 1930s, starting with the USDS review of the international competition. The total height of the palace, including the statue, was set at 416 metres (1,365ft), taller than the recently completed Empire State Building.
[22] There are very few transcripts and quotations reproduced in the Soviet media. [141] The core's concrete foundations rested on limestone bedrock 20 metres (66ft) below the level of the Moskva River.
[98] The choice was natural for Iofan, because he had often seen the Vittoriano while living in Rome, and because he studied under one of its creators, Manfredo Manfredi. [200][201] Proximity to the university tower precluded any high-rise designs; the new palace had to be a sprawling, horizontal, flat structure. The cinema was opened in November 1931. Aided by Helfreich and his new partner Mikhail Minkus[ru], he scaled down the design again to 246 metres (807ft) in 1954 and to 270 metres (890ft) in 1956. [208] Very little is known about its work, which ceased after Vlasov's death in 1962. 
[158][r], After World WarII, the Ivan Zholtovsky workshop proposed an even larger, and certainly unreal, redevelopment plan for the central squares. [118] The politicians summoned Iofan and forced him to accept the Shchuko-Helfreich proposal or be removed from the project. Early design specifications required that the Palace should serve as a gigantic, The proposed site in Okhotny Ryad Street (left of the church), Demolition of the cathedral of Christ the Saviour, 5 December 1931, This low-resolution newspaper photo published on 26 June 1941 shows the maximum height reached by the structural frame. [183] The Sverdlovsk Variant was presented at the Kremlin in 1944 and in 1945, and became the new canon replacing the pre-war designs in mass media. [103] The connection has always been public but subject to different interpretations. [107] Soviet theorists argued that the architects of the 1930s abandoned constructivism voluntarily and then forged the new monumental style on their own. The statue was facing the Kremlin, thus the river and the embankment must be on the left, not right. [14] Both projects were large enough to seat any conceivable convention,[a] and none of them could materialize in a country devastated by wars and revolutions.
[20] There were no large or otherwise valuable buildings to raze; demolition of existing low-rise buildings and the relocation of their inhabitants required little time or effort. [88] The jury declined to appoint a winner and announced yet another round of competition.
[208][205], Unrealised Soviet project during Stalin's rule, The definitive 1937 design on a postage stamp. On 30December 1922 the First All-Union Congress of Soviets announced the creation of the Soviet Union. [104] After World WarII the "welfare of the masses" fell to an all-time low and Soviet critics adjusted accordingly. [146] These rings, weighing an estimated 28 thousand tons, were the largest, the heaviest and the most expensive elements of the frame. Sorted stones salvaged from the blown-up cathedral, Panoramic view of the pit, formwork for the circular foundation of the core, Foundation completed. The main function of the palace was to house sessions of the Supreme Soviet in its 130-metre (430ft) wide and 100-metre (330ft) tall grand hall seating over 20,000 people. Structural engineering issues had not been addressed at all. Boris Iofan tried to secure the contract for the main building of Moscow State University, but fell out of favor. [70] Le Corbusier despised it as "childish megalomania".
[1] The uppermost limestone sill was too thin to carry the main building's weight,[1] but the second one, 20 metres (66ft) below the water level, was sufficiently solid. [97][93] Molotov hesitated, arguing that the face of Lenin would not be seen from the main plaza, but had to bow to Stalin and Voroshilov.
[190] Very soon the new towers were given priority over any pre-war plans, and effectively replaced the Palace as the new propaganda icons. [141], The stylobate design used a traditional steel frame; on the contrary, the frame of the core was radically unconventional. [20] [202] The rising modernists felt Khrushchev's tacit support and saw a chance to impose their own view on the whole Soviet industry. [181] In 19581960 the site was drained and rebuilt into an open-air swimming pool.
[158] The tip of the island would become a base to the memorial of the Chelyuskin and the projected Pantheon of the Aviators. The main hall had to seat 4,600 people (five times less), with two lesser halls seating 1,500 people each. [110] Then, he artfully degraded the social status and self-esteem of the architectural professionwhich was a prerequisite to nationalization. [161], In 1940, the city approved a revised plan. The circular pool surface approximately matched the footprint of the core of the Palace.
Avel Yenukidze served as a courier for most confidential matters, including the Palace of the Soviets. [107] The party, which carefully advised the professionals, bears no responsibility for what was actually built.
Possibly, Shchusev hopes to add a cross at a later day"). [21] The influences behind the decision cannot be reliably ascertained. [173] The palace appeared on postcards, stationery and candy wrappers. [142] Thus, the frame was split into three distinct segments. All buildings between the palace and the Kremlin, including the Moscow Manege, had to be demolished. [139], The completed palace would have consisted of two parts resting on two independent foundations: the circular core with the grand hall, the office tower and the statue of Lenin; and a rectangular stylobate adjacent to the core. [70] The symmetrical array of staggered rectangular shapes and semicylinders, facing the river, was adorned only with uniform rows of white vertical pylons. [88] Stalin, on the contrary, privately notified Kaganovich, Molotov and Voroshilov[m] that "Iofan's plan is unconditionally the best" and compiled a list of necessary changes. [146] The statue of Lenin, weighing around 6,000 tons, was to be built around its own steel frame, and clad in monel sheeting with an estimated lifetime of two thousand years. [79] It is not known if Stalin ever read these letters, but the withdrawal of unwanted "allies" certainly suited him well. [132] This revised design was presented and discussed at a conference of the Union of Soviet architects in July 1939. Russian: Extract from Balikhin's article, Congrs Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne, Construction site. In the end, the former diverse and independent professional community was reduced to a homogenous mass of obedient individuals. [3] In 1942, the frame was disassembled to salvage steel for building railway bridges. [19], In April 1931, the chosen architects and architectural groups received terms of the first, preliminary competition. [50] It was a purely political statement, made without prior feasibility studies and completely disregarding the economics.
[48] On 2June 1931, Stalin, Molotov, Kaganovich, Voroshilov, Meyer and eight selected architects from the Technical Council convened in the Kremlin, where Stalin presented his arguments in favor of the cathedral site.
[110] In the opening, self-educational phase, Stalin familiarized himself with all active architectural schools and selected the general direction that would soon become the official style. The Moskva swimming pool in 1969, with the House on the Embankment in far right. [145] Above it, a traditional vertical frame would be used. [118] Initially, their base structure was a slab-sided rectangular block rather than Iofan's stack of cylinders. [171] After inspection and assembly, land tractors and barges hauled the steel to the construction site. [94] The official narrative published in 1940 presented this proposal as Stalin's personal initiative. [184] Work on the palace proceeded slowly in Iofan's free time. [118] Iofan objected, but Shchuko appealed directly to the Construction Council. 
[112] Kuznetsov says mundane issues like deliveries of firewood mattered more than architectural follies. [74][61] The "ribbed style" of Hamilton's drafts is strangely reminiscent of almost all Soviet public buildings of the Brezhnev era. [37] In the autumn of 1931 the chair of the USDS passed to party apparatchik Vasily Mikhailov[ru], the architect's former superior at the House on the Embankment project. [109], In the late 1990s Dmitry Chmelnizki advanced a different explanation. [113][49], The decree of 10May 1933 expressly warned Iofan that the politicians felt free to "help" him by attaching other architects to the design process.
[170] The steel beams were rolled, cut and milled at the Verkhnyaya Salda plant, and transported by rail on custom-made flatcars to a transshipment yard in Luzhniki. [110] Anna Selivanova later published a similar theory. [93] On 10 May 1933 the Politburo announced the final decision in favor of Iofan. [69], Most of the sixteen drafts selected by the jury were modernist in inspiration,[20] but the choice of the top three winners surprised and embarrassed everyone involved. [117] Contrary to the instructions received in May, he preferred placing the statue of Lenin on a standalone pedestal or tower, to maintain the balance between the statue and the building. [48][49][19] Tired of insubordination, Voroshilov invited the stubborn professionals to a meeting with Stalin. Work on the site commenced in 1933; the foundation was completed in January 1939. [176], Immediately after the outbreak of the war, construction was suspended indefinitely;[2][3] many of its 3,600 construction workers were pressed into military service. The definitive exterior design took its final shape by 1937. The proposed statue of the "freed proletarian" was merely 18 meter tall. The Zamoskvorechye island west of the House on the Embankment would disappear, making way for a wide reflective pool. Two other legal co-authors, Georgy Krasin and. Boris Iofan won a series of four architectural competitions held in 19311933 marking the beginning of a sharp turn of Soviet architecture from 1920s modernism to the monumental historicism of Stalinist architecture. The image is mirrored left-right. By February 1931, the residential blocks of the House on the Embankment were almost complete; the first tenants moved in in the same month. [202] The neoclassicists believed they were given a chance to redeem Stalinist art in the eyes of Khrushchev. [5], According to Andrey Barkhin, the true purpose of the fourth stage was to narrow down stylistic choice to one of two alternatives: either following an existing, historical model, or creating something completely new. If built, the 416-metre (1,365ft) tall palace would have become the world's tallest structure, with an internal volume surpassing the combined volumes of the six tallest American skyscrapers.[10].