How the capital has changed in half a century. Attending the Moscow through Artists’ Eyes exhibition

The Nikolay Ostrovsky Museum has opened the Moscow through Artists’ Eyes exhibition. It tells us about how the capital has changed over more than 50 years — the last century paintings and graphics coexist with contemporary photographs. Visitors will have a chance to get to know old Moscow and compare it to the city they know well.

Hotel and park

In the late 19 th century, the Zaryadye area where numerous artisans and foreign merchants lived began to decline. In the 1930 s, the building of the USSR People’s Commissariat of the Heavy Industry was expected to be built there. But the Great Patriotic War introduced its changes, and the plan was put on ice never to return to it again.

In 1947, everything changed: the eighth Stalinist 32-storey high-rise was decided to be built in the grounds of the today’s Zaryadye Park. They already laid the foundation, but then the construction was also stopped, as the country simply did not have enough money to deliver such a large-scale project. It took time to restart the construction, however, now it was not a high-rise, but the Rossiya Hotel built on the same foundations. It opened in 1967, becoming the largest building in the world and earning a Guinness World Records title. It used to accommodate officials, celebrities, foreigners, numerous restaurants, a library, a car service and a concert hall. After the 1977 fire, the hotel’s brilliant time was history. Instead of being restored in the early 2000 s, it was decided to be demolished. Now this area is a picturesque park.

Artist Fyodor Myasnikov captured the initial stage of the hotel construction in 1964. Now the area offers a panoramic view of the park from the River Overlook Footbridge, the high-rise on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment and the Kremlin.

Cinema and theater

Back in the old days, there was the Strastnoi Monastery on Pushkinskaya Square. In 1937, it was demolished and in 1961, a new structure was erected. It was a Soviet modernism building designed by architects Yuri Sheverdyaev, Dmitry Solopov and Elmira Gadzhinskaya that housed the Rossiya cinema theater. It was built on the occasion of the 2 nd Moscow International Film Festival. Since its opening, the cinema theater has seen many Russian and foreign celebrities. By the way, at the foot of its stairs Vladimir Menshov filmed one of the scenes of Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1981. In addition, the cinema theater became one of the first buildings of the Khrushchev Thaw and was especially admired by Muscovites.

In 1964, Maria Rayskaya made a very atmospheric drawing depicting the stately building with people walking and cars going around. The scene, however, has changed little since then. Today, the building houses not a cinema, but the Moscow Musical Theater.

The pool that does not exist

In 1960, one of the largest swimming pools in the USSR and in the world opened next to the Kropotkinskaya metro station in Khamovniki. Its dimensions were really impressive-130 meters across. The structure was built on the foundations of the unfinished Palace of the Soviets (on the site of the blown-up Cathedral of Christ the Saviour). The pool itself was installed inside a concrete ring originally built as a foundation of the palace great hall. The 415-meter Palace of the Soviets was supposed to be the apotheosis of Soviet power and the victory of communism, the tallest building in the world, but the project failed to materialize.

Nevertheless, Moscow residents and visitors were probably happy with the pool, which, thanks to the most modern technologies, could be heated up to 34 degrees even in the cold season. It inspired many artists including D. Maksimov: in the 1970 s, he made a drawing, which is on display.

The grandiose pool existed until 1994, then it was demolished and a cathedral was built again. Now the part of the cathedral located on the site of the pool is being restored, and it was difficult for photographers to take a picture in strict accordance with the angle of Maksimov’s drawing. However, the House on the Embankment is still clearly visible, and imagination helps one picture the rest.

Worker and Kolkhoz Woman

In 1937, the whole world learned about sculptor Vera Mukhina and architect Boris Iofan. They created a masterpiece for the USSR pavilion at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, which became one of the symbols of the Russian capital. The Worker and Kolkhoz Woman sculpture, which made a huge impression on visitors, was made of stainless chromium-nickel steel and faced with metal sheets.

Upon returning to Moscow, it was mounted on a 10-meter pedestal at the northern entrance to VDNKh — this is much lower than now. The fact is that the sculpture created by Mukhina and Iofan was expected to be as tall as the exhibition pavilion. It was installed on an existing pedestal, but the architects did not build a pavilion of the required height. A drawing by Natalia Gippius made in 1964 also allows us to find out how it used to look. Worker and Kolkhoz Woman was raised only during the restoration (2003–2009).

Monument to the Conquerors of Space

In October 1957, the USSR launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth. It caused a sensation. In March, the USSR announced an all-Union open competition for the best design of an obelisk dedicated to this launch. The winner was the People Are Creators project, which is a rocket soaring up with a column of smoke trailing behind it. It was created by architects Alexander Kolchin and Mikhail Barshch and sculptor Andrey Faidysh-Krandievsky.

While the work was going on, another big event happened: Yuri Gagarin was launched into orbit by a manned spacecraft. The name of the future 107-meter monument was changed to “To the Conquerors of Space”. It was decided to be installed next to the main entrance of VDNKh. At first, the rocket smoke was decided to be made of frosted glass, but spacecraft designer Sergei Korolev suggested replacing it with polished titanium plates that beautifully reflect the sky. By the way, he personally observed the progress of these hard works, as the construction site was visible from the window of his house.

Artist Maria Rayskaya also saw it with her own eyes, capturing the installation process in a drawing. Now there is certainly no trace of the scaffolding: Moscow residents and visitors can see the huge and majestic monument.