55°42′11″N37°31′49″E / 55.70306°N 37.53028°E /55.70306; 37.53028
TheSeven Sisters (Russian:Сталинские высотки,romanized: Stalinskije vysotki,lit. 'Stalin's high-rises') are a group of sevenskyscrapers inMoscow designed in theStalinist style, also known as Stalinist "Empire style".[1]. They were built from 1947 to 1957.[2] At the time of construction, they were the tallest buildings in Europe, and themain building of Moscow State University remained thetallest building in Europe until 1990.[3]
The seven are:Hotel Ukraina,Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Apartments, theKudrinskaya Square Building, theHilton Moscow Leningradskaya Hotel, themain building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, themain building of Moscow State University, and theRed Gates Administrative Building. There were two more skyscrapers in the same style planned that were never built: theZaryadye Administrative Building and thePalace of the Soviets.
The construction of the first Soviet skyscraper project, the Palace of the Soviets, was interrupted by theGerman invasion of 1941, at which point the steel frame was scrapped in order to fortify the Moscow defense ring, and the site was abandoned. Between 1947 and 1956,Boris Iofan presented six new drafts for this site, and also forVorobyovy Gory on a smaller scale—they were all rejected. In 1946,[4]Stalin personally switched to another idea—construction ofvysotki, a chain of reasonably-sized skyscrapers not tarnished by the memories of theComintern. AsNikita Khrushchev recalled Stalin's words, "We won the war ... foreigners will come to Moscow, walk around, and there areno skyscrapers. If they compare Moscow to capitalist cities, it's a moral blow to us".[5][6] Sites were selected in between January 1947 (the official decree onvysotki) and September 12, 1947 (formal opening ceremony).
Nothing is known about selection of construction sites or design evaluation; this process (1947–1948) was kept secret, a sign of Stalin's personal tight management. Old professionals likeShchusev,Zholtovsky etc., were not involved. Instead, the job was given to the next generation of mature architects. In 1947, the oldest of them,Vladimir Gelfreikh, was 62. The youngest,Mikhail Posokhin, was 37. Individual commissions were ranked according to each architect's status, and clearly segmented into two groups—fourfirst-class and foursecond-class towers. Job number one, a Vorobyovy Gory tower that would becomeMoscow State University, was awarded toLev Rudnev, a new leader of his profession. Rudnev received his commission only in September 1948, and employed hundreds of professional designers. He released his draft in early 1949.Dmitry Chechulin received two commissions.
In April 1949, the winner of theStalin Prize for 1948 was announced. All eight design teams received first and second class awards, according to their project status, regardless of their architectural value. At this stage, these were conceptual drafts; often one would be cancelled and others would be altered.
The lack of experience in high-rise construction, the backwardness in technology and the low quality of civil engineering, coupled with the obligation of guaranteeing the buildings' longevity, led to the adoption of hugely massive and rigid foundations. Adopting American solutions was also largely out of reach. As a result, the structures became far heavier than American skyscrapers.[7]
All the buildings employed steel frames with concrete ceilings and masonry infill, based on rigid concrete slab foundations (in the case of the university building—7 meters thick). Exterior ceramic tiles, panels up to 15 square meters, were secured with stainless steel anchors.[7]
The effect of this project on real urban needs can be seen from these numbers:
In other words, the resources diverted for this project effectively halved housing construction rates. On the other hand, the new construction plants, built for this project (like Kuchino Ceramics[8]), were fundamental to Khrushchev's residential program just a few years later.
Stalinistvysotki-type buildings, of which the best known is arguably the main building of the Lomonosov University, are as follows:
Buildings are listed under their current names, in the same order as they appeared in the April 1949 Stalin Prize decree. Different sources report different number of levels and height, depending on inclusion ofmechanical floors and uninhabited crown levels.
| Name | Architects | Construction | Absolute Height (m) | Floors | Use | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| started | completed | |||||
| Moscow State University main building | Lev Rudnev | 1949 | 1953 | 240 | 36 | University |
| Hotel Ukraina[9] | Arkady Mordvinov,Vyacheslav Oltarzhevsky | 1947[10], actually 1953 | 1957 | 206 | 34 | Hotel, Residential |
| Ministry of Foreign Affairs main building | Vladimir Gelfreykh, Adolf Minkus | 1948 | 1953 | 172 | 27 | Governmental |
| Leningradskaya Hotel[11] | Leonid Polyakov [ru] | 1949 | 1954 | 136 | 26 | Hotel |
| Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Building | Dmitry Chechulin,Leonid Rostkovskiy [ru] | 1947 | 1952 | 176 | 25 | Residential, Commercial[12] |
| Kudrinskaya Square Building | Mikhail Posokhin,Ashot Mndoyants [ru] | 1950 | 1954 | 176 | 22 | Residential |
| Red Gates Administrative Building | Alexey Dushkin | 1947 | 1953 | 138 | 24 | Residential, Governmental |
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Boris Iofan made a mistake placing his draft skyscraper right on the edge of Vorob'yovskie Gory. The site was a potential landslide hazard. He made a worse mistake by insisting on his decision and was promptly replaced byLev Rudnev, a 53-year-old rising star of Stalin's establishment. Rudnev had already built high-profile edifices like the 1932–1937M. V. Frunze Military Academy and the 1947Marshals' Apartments (Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya, 28), which earned the highest credits of the Party. He set the building 800 meters away from the cliff.
The building was constructed in part by several thousandGulag inmates. When the construction was nearing completion, some inmates were housed on the 24th and 25th levels to reduce transportation costs and the number of guards required.[13]
The main tower, which consumed over 40,000 metric tons of steel, was inaugurated on September 1, 1953. At 787.4 feet or 240 meters tall, it was thetallest building in Europe from its completion until 1990. It is still the tallest educational building in the world.[14]
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Ukraina byArkady Mordvinov andVyacheslav Oltarzhevsky (leading Soviet expert on steel-framed highrise construction) is the second tallest of the "sisters" (198 meters, 34 levels). It was thetallest hotel in the world from the time of its construction until thePeachtree Plaza Hotel opened inAtlanta,Georgia, in 1975.
Construction on the low river bank meant that the builders had to dig well below the water level. This was solved by an ingenious water retention system, using a perimeter ofneedle pumps driven deep into ground.
The hotel reopened its doors again after a 3-year-renovation on April 28, 2010, now a part ofRadisson Collection Hotels Group, Moscow, with 505 bedrooms and 38 apartments. The hotel was acquired by billionaire property investorGod Nisanov for £59 million during an auction in 2005.[15] He co-owns it withZarakh Iliev.[16]
This 172-meter, 27-story building was built between 1948 and 1953 and overseen byV. G. Gelfreih andA. B. Minkus. Currently, it houses the offices for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for theRussian Federation. The Ministry is covered by a light external stone wall with projectingpilasters andpylons. Its interior is splendidly decorated with stones and metals. According to the 1982 biography ofMinkus, draft plans were first drawn up in 1946 and ranged from 9 to 40 stories. In 1947 two designs were proposed: one used layered setbacks while the other called for a more streamlined construction which culminated into a blunt rectangular top. The second proposal was accepted but as the Ministry's completion neared, a metalspire, dyed to match the building's exterior (and presumably ordered by Joseph Stalin), was hastily added to tower's roof, assimilating its silhouette with those of the other Sisters.[17][18]
Originally known simply as the Leningradskaya Hotel, this relatively small (136 meters, 26 floors, of which 19 are usable) building byLeonid Polyakov onKomsomolskaya Square is decorated with pseudo-Russian ornaments mimickingAlexey Shchusev'sKazansky Rail Terminal.[citation needed] Inside, it was inefficiently planned. Khrushchev, in his 1955 decree "On liquidation of excesses ..." asserted that at least 1,000 rooms could be built for the cost of Leningradskaya's 354, that only 22% of the total space was rentable, and that the costs per bed were 50% higher than inMoskva Hotel.[19] Following this critique, Polyakov was stripped of his 1948 Stalin Prize but retained the other one, for a Moscow Metro station. After a multimillion-dollar renovation ending in 2008, the hotel re-opened as the Hilton Moscow Leningradskaya.
Another of Chechulin's works, 176 meters high, with 22 usable levels, the Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Building was strategically placed at the confluence of theMoskva River andYauza River. The building incorporates an earlier 9-story apartment block facing Moskva River, by the same architects (completed in 1940). It was intended as an elite housing building. However, very soon after construction, units were converted to multi-familykommunalka (communal apartments). Its design was neo-gothic, though it also drew inspiration fromHotel Metropol.
Designed byMikhail Posokhin (Sr.) andAshot Mndoyants. 160 meters tall, 22 floors (18 usable in the wings and 22 in the central part). The building is located on the end ofKrasnaya Presnya street, facing theSadovoye Koltso and was primarily built as high-end apartments for Soviet cultural leaders rather than politicians.
Designed byAlexey Dushkin of the Moscow Metro fame, this mixed-use block of 11-storey buildings is crowned with a slim tower (total height 133 meters, 24 levels).
In this case, cryotechnology was indeed used for the escalator tunnels connecting the building with theKrasniye Vorota subway station. The building's frame was erected deliberately tilted to one side; when the frozen soil thawed, it settled down – although not enough for a perfect horizontal level. Then the builders warmed the soil by pumping hot water; this worked too well, and the structure slightly overreacted, tilting to the opposite side but well within tolerance.
In 1934, the Commissariat for Heavy Industries initiated a design contest for its new building on Red Square (on the site ofState Universal Store, GUM). A last showcase forconstructivists, this contest didn't materialize and GUM still stands.
In 1947, the nearby medievalZaryadye district was razed to make way for the new 32-story, 275-meter tower (the numbers are quoted as in the 1951 finalized draft). It is sometimes associated with the Ministry of Heavy Machinery, the same institution that ran a contest in 1934. However, in all public documents of this time its name is simply theadministrative building, without any specific affiliation. Likewise, association withLavrentiy Beria is mostly anecdotal.[20]
The tower, designed by Chechulin, was supposed to be the second largest after the university. Eventually, the plans were cancelled at the foundation stage; these foundations were used later for the construction of theRossiya Hotel (also by Chechulin, 1967, demolished 2006–2007).
While many cities in the former USSR and former Soviet Bloc countries have Stalinist skyscrapers, few fall in the same league as the Moscowvysotki.[citation needed] Of these three,Hotel Ukraina in Kyiv was completed in stripped-down form, without the tower and steeple originally planned for it.
Plans to build a skyscraper on the site of the destroyed Ginzburg Hotel emerged in 1948, but the design was finalized byAnatoly Dobrovolsky as late as 1954, whenStalinist architecture was already doomed. Building work proceeded slowly, with numerous political orders to make it simpler and cheaper. It was completed in 1961, without a tower, steeple and any original ornaments.[citation needed]
Another design by Lev Rudnev, with PolishRenaissance Revival detailing. Built in 1952–1955 (topped out October 1953). Construction plans were agreed upon on April 5, 1952, and sealed duringVyacheslav Molotov's visit in Warsaw on July 3 of the same year (after the opening ceremony on May 1). The Soviets planned it as a university, but the Polish side insisted on its current administrative function. A workforce of around 7,000 was nearly evenly split between Poles and imported Soviet laborers; 16 were presumably killed during the work. The building remained the tallest in Poland until theVarso Tower, a modern glass skyscraper, was constructed in Warsaw in 2021.[citation needed]
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Construction began in 1952 and was completed in 1956. The building was namedCombinatul Poligrafic Casa Scînteii "I.V.Stalin" and laterCasa Scînteii (Scînteia was the name of theRomanian Communist Party's official newspaper). It was designed by the architect Horia Maicu, and was intended to house all of Bucharest's printing presses, the newsrooms and their staff. Its height is 91.6 m (301 ft) without the television antenna, which measures an additional 12.4 m (41 ft).[citation needed]
The largest Stalinist architecture building in Prague, Czech Republic. The building was built between 1952 and 1954 at the order of Czechoslovak defence minister Alexej Čepička. It is 88 m high (the roof is 67 m, plus a 10 m chalice and a 1.5 m red star) and has sixteen floors. Part of the building was a fallout shelter for 600 people, currently used as a staff clothes room.[citation needed]
Initially planned as House of Kolkhoz workers (Kolhoznieku nams), construction was started in 1951 and finished in 1958, although the building was officially opened only in 1961. Upon finishing the building was turned over to theLatvian Academy of Sciences. It has 21 floors and a conference hall that seats 1,000 people.[21]
The 108-meter high Academy is not the tallest building in Riga. Unlike othervysotki, which are based on a steel frame with masonry infill, this is areinforced concrete structure, the first of its kind in the USSR.[22]
Many Stalinist buildings have tower crowns, but they do not belong to thevysotki project and their style is completely different. This is evident in Chechulin'sPeking Hotel building. Seen from a low point of theGarden Ring south, it could be mistaken for a skyscraper, but if viewed fromTriumfalnaya Square it is clear that the building is far less imposing. There are also several smaller Stalinesque towers inBarnaul, St. Petersburg and other cities. Design and construction of such towers became widespread in the early 1950s, although many ongoing projects were cancelled in 1955, when regional "skyscrapers" were specifically addressed byNikita Khrushchev's decree "On liquidation of architectural excesses..." as unacceptable expense.[citation needed]
The high-profile Triumph Palace tower in north-western Moscow (3, Chapayevsky Lane), completed in December 2003, attempts to imitate thevysotki, and actually exceeds the university building in structural height. It is criticized for being placed deeply inside a residential mid-rise area, away from major avenues and squares, where it could be an important visual anchor. A close inspection reveals that this white and red tower has little in common with Stalinist style, except for sheer size and layered tower outline[citation needed]. It competes for the 'Eighth Vysotka' title with an earlier Edelweiss Tower in western Moscow.[citation needed] Construction began in 2001. The 57-story building, containing about 1,000 luxury apartments, was topped out on December 20, 2003, and, at the time, wasEurope's tallest building at 264.1meters or 867 feet.[citation needed]
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The Triumph Tower of Astana is a 142-metre (466 ft), 39-story residential building in theKazakhstancapital that was completed in 2006.[23] Modeled after 1950s Soviet high-rise buildings, the complex includes a cinema, restaurants, a center of children's development, and a shopping center.[citation needed]
