RUSSIAN MODERNISM

1. Mark Murimi - B02/140843/2020

2. Japheth Cheruiyot - B02/1152/2020
3. Wandili Naomi - B02/139907/2020
4. Roy Obare - B02/140057/2020
5. Kiplagat Collins Amdany - B02/1160/2020
6. Fumo Ahmed - B02/141174/2020
History of Vkhutemas
 History
● Academy of Arts was in charge of artistic education before the
Russian Revolution of 1917.
● Only men who could pay the fees were enrolled to the school.
● The academy was abolished in 1918 and the State Free
Artistic Workshops(GHKSM) was created.
● Entry criteria was eased and women could now join. Students
trained at individual workshops and chose masters at their
own discretion.
 History

● Absence of a clear curriculum and need for professional

industrial artists led to the school being further reformed
two years later and the GSKHM schools were merged into
Higher State Artistic and Technical
Workshops(Vkhutemas).
Introduction
 Introduction

● Located in Moscow, Russia.

● Founded in 1920 by Vladimir Lenin, the first head of
Government of Soviet Russia.
● Created with the intentions of preparing master artists of
the highest qualifications for industry, and builders and
managers for professional-technical education.
 Introduction

● Main skills taught were:

1. Architecture
2. Industrial and technical design
3. Textiles
4. Painting
5. Sculpture.
 Introduction

● It was the new revolutionary government’s approach to art

and was to become a vital part in building a new society.
● In 1926, it came under new leadership, Pavel Novitsky, and
changed its name to vkhutein(from ‘studio’ to ‘institute’).
● It faced a lot of external pressures and in 1930 it was
dissolved and merged into various other programs.
 • J

Stalinist
Architecture
(Image:Josef Stalin,
Source:Wikipedia)
 Stalin Architecture
● Also known as Socialist Classicism.
● Style of architecture that was commissioned during the
government of Joseph Stalin (1922-1952)
● Stalin’s reign was characterized by communism, in which
every element of the country was under the control of the
state.
● He believed that through hard work, his aim of making
Russia a communist superpower would be achieved.
 Stalin Architecture

● Lazy people and those who opposed his system were

jailed.
● This type of architecture was associated with socialist
realism art movement which depicted the tensions that
existed between the rich and the poor due to communism.
● The style changed overtime and the construction of
skyscrapers signalled its peak during the fifties.
 Characteristics of Stalin architecture
● Represented in The Seven Sisters buildings(Hotel Ukraina,
Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Apartments, the Kudrinskaya Square
Building, the Hilton Moscow Leningradskaya Hotel, the main
building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the main building of
Moscow State University, and the Red Gates Administrative
Building)
● Prison labour force was used for construction.
● Architects were under regulation of the state.
 Characteristics of Stalin architecture

1. Stout base buildings

2. Crown like design at
• the top.

• Hotel Ukraina(Image
• source: Vintage News)
 Characteristics of Stalin architecture

• 3. Central spire at the peak of the

• tallest building.

• Moscow State University Main

• building (Image source:
• Pinterest)
 Characteristics of Stalin architecture

• 4. Large streets and straight

• avenues.

•
• Street style (Image source:
• Polis blog)
 Characteristics of Stalin architecture

• 5. Symmetry and large

• proportions.
• The Russian Ministry
• of Foreign Affairs building
• (Image source: Vintage
• News)
•
 Characteristics of Stalin architecture

• 6. Influence of social class

• Inside of an abandoned
• spa during the Stalin era
• (Image source: Atlas
• Obscura)
Society and Culture
 Society and Culture

● Political wars during the 20th century made it a difficult time

for Russia.
● The Russian Revolution signalled a shift to the avant-garde;
referred to progressive political and artistic movements that
considered themselves to be ahead of their time.
● Gradual recovery of the economy brought USSR to the
attention of modern architects due to bold new
designs;utopian(futuristic) in concept.
 Society and Culture
● Key avant-garde artists, such as El Lissitzky had an impact
on conceptualization in defining new approaches to volume
and structure.

• El Lissitzky (Image source: Wikipedia)

 Society and Culture
● He believed that birth of new architecture would not take
place in the schools of that time due to lack of creativity.
● Reconstruction placed heavy demands on architecture.
● After the establishment of vkhutein, he saw to it as central
clearing house in the continuing search for new
fundamental concepts that would form the theoretical basis
of the new architecture.
 Society and Culture

● Vkhutemas had eight faculties, including three artistic

(Architecture, Sculpture and Painting) and five production
faculties (Textile, Polygraphic Industry, Ceramic, Wood-working
and Metal-working).
● Students were thus exposed to real life materials and the work
of actual construction on the building site.
● The workshops thus trained artists for reforming the country’s
lifestyle rather than narrow specialists for art’s sake.
1. VKHUTEMAS AND VKHUTEIN

The VKhUTEMAS, or Higher State Artistic Technical Workshop

was a legendary art and Technical School established in
Moscow. 1920.
It was a center for three major movements in avant garde art
and architecture: constructivism, rationalism, and
suprematism. Vkhutemas was formed by a merger of two
previous schools: the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture
and Architecture and the Stroganov School of Applied Arts.
The workshops had artistic and industrial faculties; the art
faculty taught courses in graphics, sculpture and architecture
while the industrial faculty taught courses in printing,
textiles, ceramics, woodworking, and metalworking. In the
workshops, the faculty and students transformed attitudes to
art and reality with the use of precise geometry with an
emphasis on space, in one of the great revolutions in the
history of art. Students had to learn the language of plastic
forms, and chromatics
Vkhutemas art

Architecture at Vkhutemas book

cover.

Avant grande propagander poster from the

US
The Museum of Moscow exhibition

● The museum of moscow recently prepared a large scale exhibition ‘vkhutemas 100 school of avant garde’ which features
this institute as founders of modern art, design, architecture, graphics and textiles thus reflecting the artistic
experimentation of the avant garde era.
● The projects that drew most attenetion were:
• • The pavillion by Constatine Milnikov
• • The workers club interior project by alexander rochenko

● In the exhibition, visitors will learn about typeface design at Vkhutemas and the principles of Favorsky’s graphic school,
discover why textile designers studied technical disciplines and how ceramics became an instrument of propaganda.An
architecture as a tool for the empowerment of the people around the world.
● Overall, the collection was by no means exceptional, even for its time. The items on display did not bear comparison with
the pre-revolutionary collections of popular russian artists.
● Some of them were;
• 1.Costakis
• His collection drew clear links between religious iconography and the paintings of early twentieth-century Russian avant-
garde artists. Costakis introduced the Russian avant-garde to the West, while also making an important contribution to the
study of connections between the icon and avant-garde art generally. He demonstrated how folk art and iconography
could enhance the understanding of specific features of the Russian avant-garde in the context of twentieth-century
modernism.
• 2.Stepan Ryabushin
•
• 3.Ilya Semyonovich Ostroukhov;
• A Russian landscape painter and art collector; associated with the Peredvizhniki.
● Popular paintings of Ilya are;

● The last snow

● Siverko
• Other students also had their artworks showcased:
Narkomfin building

● Narkomfin has 54 units, none of them has a dedicated kitchen - at least, legally. Many residents partitioned their
apartments to set aside a tiny kitchen. There are five inhabited floors, but only two corridors on second and Fifth level (an
apartment split between third and second level connects to the second floor corridor.

● Apartments were graded by how far along they were to being 'fully collectivized', ranging from rooms with their own
kitchens to apartments purely for sleep and study. Most of the units belong to "Cell K" type and "Cell F" connecting to an
outdoor gallery. The sponsor of the building, Commissar of Finance Nikolay Alexandrovich Milyutin, enjoyed a penthouse.
Milyutin is also known as an experimental city planner who had developed plans for a linear city.
The narkomfin building before renovation
The uniformity and simplicity is still observable.
• Common key leitmotifs observed
• • Monolithic blocked buildings
• • Rounded structures
• • Simplicity in buildings
⦁ Avant Garde art was a symbol of progress, exploration and innovation of
everything and anyone ahead of their time and ways of doing
⦁ The term Avant Garde originates from the French language and it translates to
vanguard or fore guad
⦁ To describe a small troop of soldiers who went ahead of the army to explore
the terrain and warn the army of possible danger
⦁ Avant Garde artist can therefore be described as a group of people who
develop fresh and often very surprising ideas oin visual arts’ literature and
culture at large
⦁ Because it often went against artistic norms, it was often considered shocking
and controversial`
⦁ The movement gave precedence to purity and authenticity.
⦁ In the 1920s, these themes acquired a distinct political dimension: The
new architecture became associated with the desire for a more socially
balanced society in which the ideals of equal rights and liberation would
be realized.
⦁ The architectural vanguard, nevertheless, did not become as radical as
its counterpart in art and literature. For example, most architects never
renounced the principle of rationality, even if it stood for a bourgeois
value.
⦁ This was inspired by an exchange between visual arts and architecture
and a new social reality that was based on a new, artistic outlook on the
world
⦁ The Swiss historian and critic Sigfried Giedion wrote about an aspiration to
abolish architecture as a segregated discipline.
⦁ In Bauen in Frankreich, Eisen, Eisenbeton (1928; Building in France, Building in
Iron, Building in Ferroconcrete), Giedion questions the idea of an architecture
with definitive boundaries
⦁ He implies that architecture no longer has anything to do with objects
⦁ For it to survive , it must become part of a broader domain in which spatial
relations and concerns are of importance
⦁ Giedion formulates as a goal for architecture that it would break out of the
limits imposed on it by tradition and by its functioning as an institution.
⦁ Giedion did not develop these potentially disruptive ideas, however.
⦁ Hid idea that architecture shouldn’t limit itself to design of
represenatative buildings but should rather develop into a discipline that
focuses on the whole enevironment and merges with social reality were
shared by other prominent architects of the time
⦁ Avant-garde architects such as Walter Gropius, Hannes Meyer, and Ernst
May believed that their mission had to do with the design of all aspects
of life,
⦁ They aimed at a reconceptualization of the whole process of building,
including construction techniques, housing typologies, and urbanism.
⦁ One of the most radical interpretations of such beliefs was to be found in
the work of Walter Benjamin
⦁ One of the most radical interpretations of such beliefs was to be found in the work of Walter
Benjamin.
⦁ Benjamin thought that the destructive gestures of the Avant Garde, were necessary to free
the way for a revolutionary future.
⦁ This is because Avant Garde aimed at purification
⦁ The transparency and openness of the new architecture pointed for Benjamin to a
revolutionary, classless society based on liberation and flexibility.
⦁ He interpreted this architecture as part of the avant-garde’s attack on bourgeois culture.
⦁ The new architecture pushed inhabitants and users to adapt to new social conditions that
defined the future transparent society.
⦁ Benjamin saw architecture as a discipline that could push people to align their attitudes with
those required by the new society to come (Heynen,1999).
⦁ The alignment between modern architecture and politically progressive
tendencies was therefore clearly present in the 1920s and the early 1930s.
⦁ This avant-garde position claimed a new, more open and more socially
relevant mission for architecture.
⦁ It was progressive and critical, believing that the new future could be reached
only by starting from scratch.
⦁ This position, however, did not dominate very long.
⦁ When Henry Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson introduced modern
architecture to the United States, they presented it as the latest and most
topical style, leaving aside any social or political issues (The International Style,
1932).
⦁ Giedion himself gravitated toward a similar position with his later Space,
Time, and Architecture (1941).
⦁ In presenting the space-time concept as a “secret synthesis” that could
build a unity across very different disciplines, he no longer referred to
social experiments or to the revolutionizing aims of the new architecture.
⦁ Instead, he strove toward the formulation of a common denominator
that could unite rather diverse trends under the banner of one “modern
architecture,”
⦁ This therefore formulated an accepted practice that was at odds with
the continuous longing for change characteristic of the avant-garde.
 Geography of Russia

⚫ Russia is the largest country in the word, found in Asia.

⚫ It borders Arctic Ocean in the north and North Pacific Ocean in
east.
⚫ It has a population of 145 million people, which is low given the
large area.
⚫ Russia has a broad plain with low hills west of Ural Mountains.
Location of Russia
Russian plains
 ⚫ Russia has a vast coverage
of boreal forests, larger than
Amazon forest. This forests
are known in Russia as
Taiga.

⚫ Taiga is situated in
Siberia. It has coniferous
trees such as pine, spruce
and larches.
⚫ Boreal forests(boreal) of Russia
⚫ Source: Britannica.com
⚫ Russia has a treeless tundra in
the north, above the arctic circle.
⚫ It receives low precipitation and
has permafrost in the
underneath.
⚫ Tundra has hundreds of species of
plants and animals.
⚫ Most common plants of the tundra
are mosses and sedges. Dwarf
shrubs, grasses, and forbs are
more common in the southern
tundra ⚫ Tundra (Source: www.grida.no)
⚫ Typical animals of the tundra
include Arctic foxes, reindeer,
lemmings, gyrfalcons, swans,
geese, ducks, various
shorebirds, snowy owls

⚫ Arctic Fox (Source:

Churchill
Wild)
⚫ Reindeer (Source: The
Guardian)
⚫ Russia’s Volga River, running
through central Russia into the
Caspian Sea, is the longest river on
the European continent and drains
most of western Russia.

⚫ The river is also an

important source of
irrigation and hydroelectric
⚫ Volga River |Source: World
power.
Atlas
⚫ Lake Baikal, the world’s
deepest and largest
fresh water lake, is
located in Southern
Siberia.
 Mountains
The Ural
Mountains
⚫ It is a belt of low mountains
and plateaus 350 to 460
meters in altitude. It
stretches 2400 km long.
⚫ The highest peak is Mount
Narodnaya which reaches
1,895 meters.
⚫ The widest point is only 200 km
⚫ The Ural Mountain Range
wide.
separates Europe from Asia |
Source: dkfindout.com
 Mount Elbrus
⚫ This is the highest mountain
in Russia (alt. 5, 642 m).

⚫ It lies near the Georgia

border in Caucasus Range.

⚫ Mount Elbrus | Source: World

Atlas
 Dykh-Tau

⚫ It is the second highest

mountain in Europe with an
altitude of 5, 205 m.

⚫ Dykh-Tau mountain | Source:

Mountain Guide
 Climate of Russia

⚫ Russia experiences four seasons:

− Summer - June to August
− Autumn - September to October
− Winter - November to March
− Spring - April to May
⚫ The most well known feature of the Russian climate is its very
cold winter.
⚫ The cold winter is brought about by the following factors:

− country’s high latitudes (40-75°N),

− vast land mass
− lack of any topographic obstructions to protect it from arctic winds
sweeping across its long, north-facing and often frozen coastline.
Position of the map on the globe. The high altitude
location and vast land mass is responsible for cold
winters.|Source: World Map
 Temperature and rainfall

Rainfall and
temperature
data of
Moscow.
⚫ Summer months
experiences high
temperature and
high rainfall.

Source:
Metador
Network
 Winter month in
Russia
Source: TRT World

⚫ Winter months experience low rainfall and very low

temperatures. The main form of precipitation is snow.
⚫ Temperatures can reach -67 °C.
 Rainy Days

⚫ December is the most rainy month on average with 19 days of

rain/snow.
⚫ May is the driest month on average with 12 rainy days.
⚫ Average rainy days in Russia
 Relative Humidity (Moscow area)

⚫ On average, December is the most humid.

⚫ On average, May is the least humid month.
⚫ The average annual percentage of humidity is: 76.0%
Humidity is high during the winter and low during
summer.
 Sunshine

⚫ Russia receives less sunshine than areas near the Equator

due to its high latitude position.
⚫ December has on average the lowest amount of sunshine with
19 hours.
⚫ On average, June is the most sunny month with 276 hours of
sunshine.
Differences in amount of sunshine over the year is due to
tilting of the the earth as it is revolving around the sun.
Winds

⚫ Winds occur in Russia due to changes in high pressure zones.

Prevailing Winds Direction in Russia
Typologies
 Suprematism

• Suprematism was an art movement focused on basic geometric

forms such as circles, squares, squares, lines and rectangles
painted in a limited range of colors.

• It was founded by Kazimir Malevich in Russia around 1913.

⚫ The Suprematists' interest in abstraction was fired by a search
for the 'Zero Degree' of painting, the point beyond which the
medium could not go without ceasing to be art.
⚫ The movement also expressed an interest in concepts that
related to non-euclidean Geometry, which imagined forms
moving through space.
 Famous artists

Kazmir Malevich
El lissitzky
Lazar Khidekel
Ilya Chashnik
Theo Van Doesburg
Walter Gropius(architectural).
Le Corbusier(arch)
⚫ This artwork by
Kazimir Malevich
shows the use of
basic geometry and
abstraction.

Black Circle by Kazimir

Malevich (1924)
Non-Objective Supremus(1916) by
Composition (1916) by Kazimir Malevich
Constructivism

⚫ This is a form of modern architecture that developed in the

1920s.
⚫ It took suprematism one step ahead by applying it in
construction and engineering.
Characteristics

⚫ It incorporated straight lines , cylinders, cubes and

rectangle; and merged elements of modern age such as
radio antennae, concrete frames and steel girders.
⚫ It applied of 3D cubism to abstract and non-objective elements.
⚫ Modern materials e.g use of steel frames over large areas of
glass were also used.
⚫ Tatlin tower was
designed by Vladmir
Tatlin in 1920 but was
never built.
⚫ It has constructivism
elements like cubism to
abstract and non-
objective elements, in
this case cylinders.
⚫ Tatlin Tower
⚫ Constructed Head # 2 ⚫ Revolving torsion by
by Naum Gabo (1916) Naum Gabo (1972-
⚫ Lessitzky tried to make
artwork 3-Dimensional
in this piece.
⚫ The contrast of light and
dark makes the objects
look like they are
floating.

⚫ E. Lissitzky "Proun Room".

1923
Shukhov Radio
Tower in Wolkenbugel by El Lissitzky
Narkomfin Building(1930) by Moisei
⚫ The style aimed to explore the opposition between
different forms as well as the contrast between
different surfaces, predominately between solid
walls and windows, which often gave the structures
their characteristic sense of scale and presence.
Futurism

⚫ Futurism in architecture is the one characterised by the

notion of movement and flow with:
⚫ Sharp edges

⚫ Long horizontal lines

⚫ Streamlined forms

⚫ Strange angles

⚫ Triangles

⚫ Domes etc
⚫ Futurism art was founded
by Filippo Tommaso
Marinetti (an Italian poet)
with his manifesto of
Futurism.
⚫ It was witnessed in
Russia from 1911 to
1916.
⚫ It was intentionally flexible accommodating
diverse artists and practices.
⚫ It was characterized by movement, dynamism,
modernity, industry, technology, speed
⚫ Key artists include Natalia Goncharova, Velimir
Khlebnikov, Aleksei Kruchenykh and Mikhail
Larionov.
• The Futurists worked across a wide range of art
forms including painting, architecture, sculpture,
literature, theatre and music.
• Haycutters(1908) by Igra v adu (A Game in Hell) by
Natalia Goncharova, Velimir
Natalia Goncharova Khlebnikov, Aleksei
The Cyclist(2013) by Bull’s Head(2013) by
Natalia Goncharova Mikhail Larionov
 Cow and
Violin(1913) by
Kazimir Malevich
CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY AND
BUILDING MATERIALS.
CONSTRUCTIVISM
⚫The constructivist movement rose out from the rejection of
the decorative and ornamental excesses that were seen as
belonging to bourgeois art.
⚫The Russians created a type of art based on simplicity, pure
lines and geometric shapes that was inspired by cubism and
futurism.
⚫The use of constructivist principles in architecture was their
most concrete and revolutionary application. It promoted a
socialist way of life.
⚫They focused their attention on creating new
infrastructure that were required for community
services, applying the criteria of functionality.
⚫For this reason, they would use ‘poor’ materials such
as concrete, glass and metal.
⚫The constructivists were committed to applying new
methods of creation aligned with modern technology
and engineering to art, and eventually to utilitarian
objects.
⚫Constructivism was mainly characterized by the
application of 3D cubism to abstract and non-objective
elements. The style merged elements of the modern
age such as tension cables ,concrete frames and steel
girders.
⚫The possibilities of modern materials such as steel
frames that supported large areas of glazing, exposed
rather than concealed building joints, balconies and
sun decks were explored.
Examples 1;
⚫Very few Russian constructivist works have
survived. An example is the famous surviving
housing project Dom Narkomfin in Moscow.
⚫ The Narkomfin building stands on stilts,
creating a large communal space on the ground
floor. It is constructed in reinforced concrete.
⚫As time went by, some modifications were
made to the building because of the lack of
housing in Moscow. It was modified without
respecting the original design.
⚫Another assault on the building was the
construction of an adjoining building in the
eclectic style that broke its stalinistic aesthetic
harmony.
Narkomfin building;
Example 2;
⚫Another example is Tatlin’s tower.It is an ironic work
of Russian modern art from the early soviet era.
⚫It is a 20 f00t tall wooden model for an enormous
structure that was never constructed, in part because
the material and technological resources required to
build successfully were unavailable in post
revolutionary Russia.
⚫The planned materials were metal and glass and were
associated with modern engineering and construction
technology.
⚫. It signified the advanced, even futuristic goals of a
communist society.
⚫Its most important historic role, however, was its
influence on Russian soviet modern artists , particularly
constructivists, who were conceptualizing new aesthetic
practices aligned with the goals and values of the new
communist society.
⚫For these artists, Tatlin’s combinations of
modern materials, rational structures and
utilitarian forms was an important example of
how artists could synthesize the historically
disparate roles and forms of art, craft and
engineering to contribute to the formation of a
new world.
A drawing and a model of Tatlin’s tower.
SUPREMATISM.
⚫Suprematists dealt in abstractions and pure forms,
seeking to crystallize the values of a utopian society.
⚫Suprematism is an art movement of the early 20th
century that was conceptualized by Kazimir Malevich.
⚫Lazar Khidekel, one of Malevich’s students, was able
to bend the suprematist belief into architecture
Example;
⚫Lazar Khidekel, one of Malevich’s students, was able
to bend the suprematist belief into architecture
⚫El lissitzky, a soviet engineer, architect and artist, also
introduced suprematism to architecture.
⚫He came up with a grand plan for the construction of
eight identical buildings in Moscow- the first soviet
‘skyscrapers’
⚫. The grandeur of the idea lay in the fact
that the skyscrapers were supposed to
extend not vertically but horizontally.
⚫The buildings were to be constructed of
concrete and glass.
How the buildings would have looked upon construction.
⚫He wanted to implement the idea of a two-level city;
through the use of vertical piers, a building would be
erected with the smallest possible footprint and no damage
to the environment.
⚫However, the skyscrapers were not built in the end. The
architect stated, ’our mistake was that we wanted to move
straight to a technology that did not exist yet. I wanted to
create an architecture that broke free of its foundations and
soared in the air defying the force of gravity.’
Mongols pilage over russia
n the period beginning 1230, the Mongols heavily pillaged Russia,
so much so that Russia was unable to construct buildings in stone
for the next five hundred years. There was one saving grace;
however, that Novgorod and Pskov were left untouched and have
therefore preserved some of the finest examples of medieval
churches in Russia.

Fig:Trinity Cathedral, Pskov (1682-1699)

These towns house churches such as the Saviour on Illyina Street which was
built in 1373, showcasing high pitched roofs, exquisite carvings and medieval
frescoes. Alternatively, Pskov preserved unique elements such as corbel arches
and bell towers. This style of design was introduced by Pskov Masons
to Moscow and can be seen in many buildings of the 15th century including the
Deposition Church of the Moscow Kremlin.

Deposition Church of the Moscow Kremlin (1484-1486)

 Snow

A pivotal development during the 1500s was the introduction of tented roofs into brick
architecture. This design is thought to have originated in northern Russia where the
design was successful in preventing snow from accumulating on wooden pitches and
huts.

The Ascension Church in Kolomenskoe is one of the first tent brick churches to have
been constructed. It is suggested that the uniqueness of this style, which is unfound in
other Orthodox countries, is indicative of the Russian desire to distinguish themselves
from Byzantine influence. Some key examples of this architecture can be found in the
Church of St John the Baptists in Kolomenskoye and the famous Saint Basil’s Cathedral
in Red Square, built in 1561.
Ascension church in Kolomenskoe, Moscow
(1528)
Financial
devastation
In times of financial devastation, the church and state were bankrupt and
unable to finance large construction works. During this time, wealthy
merchants in Yaroslavl stepped in and built many large cathedral style
churches, often with five cupolas surrounded by bell towers and aisles

The Church of Elijah the Prophet, Yaroslavl (1647-1650)

These began as asymmetrical buildings, as seen in the Church of Elijah the Prophet
before becoming strictly symmetrical, with an increase in the size of cupolas that
extended taller than the buildings themselves. They were also adorned with intricate
tiles such as that in the Church of John the Chrysostom on the Volga. This
extravagance culminated in the Church of St John the Baptist, which is famously
known as the largest church in Yaroslavl, comprised of fifteen cupolas and hundreds
of frescoes. The structure itself is wrapped in exquisitely carved motifs and tiles
During this time, the tent structure was still favoured and the zenith of this
architecture was the Assumption Church in Uglich (1627). However, the tent style
was quickly outlawed by Nikon who declared they were ‘un-canonical’. Subsequent
to this banning, there was an increase in ecclesiastical buildings like the Rostov
Kremlin on the Nero Lake.

Rostov Kremlin (1670-1683)

Banning of the tent structure
Now that the tent structure was banned, muscovites changed their peaked designs
into rows of corbel arches known as kokshniki and this characterised the 17th
century Moscow style. This is exemplified in the Kazan Cathedral at Red Square. The
epitome of this flamboyant styles can be seen in the Church of St. Nicholas in Kitai
Gorod, but which was destroyed by Stalin.
Influence by Polish and Ukrainian
baroque
Slowly, Russian architecture became influenced by Polish and Ukrainian baroque and
small chapels were built near Moscow on estates belonging to the family Naryshkin,
which is where the Naryshkin Baroque style comes from. The Trinity Church at
Lykovo (1696) is so decorated that it appears almost to be a jewel, rather than a
work of masonry.
As the style grew, it replaced canonical architecture and gained traction across the
region through funding by merchants who sponsored the construction of the Baroque
churches and buildings in Nizhny Novgorod, such as the Nativity Churh. This
benefaction extended into the remote tundra where the Presentation Cathedral in
Solvychegodsk (1693) was built.

Presentation Cathedral in Solvychegodsk

 Formalism.

Post-revolution(1917 – 1932), the most influential revivalist work was formalism.

This is exemplified by the Tower of the Third Internationale, which included a
towering spiral encircling glass chambers. Although this was not constructed, it
inspired a new wave of constructivist architecture in Russia and led to the
completion of the Shukhov Tower which now extends 160 meters into the Moscow
skyline. In a country of once-futuristic relics, Moscow’s Shukhov Radio Tower stands
alone, and it stands taller than nearly anything else. A 50-story conical structure of
steel latticework designed by the legendary engineer Vladimir Shukhov, the tower,
wich also known as “Soviet Eiffel” looks like a giant collapsable telescope, a cross
between the fantastic visions of Dr. Seuss and the avant-garde geometry of
Malevich.
Shukhov Tower in Moscow (1922)
During this period there was a movement towards the mass reconstruction of
cities. This was facilitated through the foundation of the Mossovet
Architectural Workshop which was tasked with the reconstruction of Moscow
as the new Soviet capital. As Petrograd and other major cities followed suit,
there was an overhaul of the planning and execution of cityscapes and the
framework of urban planning which saw changes such as wider roads, large
public buildings, and a surge of public housing construction. The most famous
construction of this period is Lenin’s Mausoleum by Alexey Shchusev. Whilst
originally constructed in wood, in 1930 this structure was rebuilt in red and
black labradorite stone.
Cultural
life
From the 1920s, cultural life largely influenced architecture and unions
such as the Association of New Architects (“Asnova”) encouraged the
melding of architecture and creative arts so as to create artistic and
sculptural buildings. Other revolutions in architecture at this time included
changes to public buildings such as the Worker’s Club and the Palace of
Culture. This incorporated large and industrial motifs, which is epitomised
at the Zuev Club (1927-1929).

Zuev Club (1927-1929).

 World War II. Postwar Soviet Union period (1930 –
1970)
At this time, there was also a strong focus on rebuilding destroyed structures as a
result of the devastation from World War II. This included the commission of seven
high-rise buildings, known as “Seven Sisters”. Subsequent to the victory of Russia in
the second world war, Stalin anticipated that there would be an influx of tourism to
the capital, Moscow. Growing anxiety for him was that people would compare his city
to other great metropolises and quickly realise the lack of skyscrapers. Consequently,
In 1947, he issued a decree to erect seven buildings all in the same Stalinist style.
Today these buildings are known as: the Moscow State University, Hotel Ukraina, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs building, Leningradskaya Hotel, Kudrinskaya Square
Building, and the Red Gates Administrative Building. These baroque and gothic
buildings were finished in 1953, complete with their own bunkers, and are sprinkled
around Moscow. However, Stalin also sanctioned the construction of more siblings
around other USSR capitals and can be found today in Prague, Warsaw, Bucharest and
Kiev.
Moscow State University (MGU). One of the “Seven
Sisters” (1755)
The rise of Joseph Stalin
When Stalin rose to power this brought about a shift in the paradigm as the
society changed to a communist society and the collectivist and feminist ideas
were denounced as Trotskyist
Subsequent to the death of Stalin in
1953
Subsequent to the death of Stalin in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev exercised his
discretion to expedite the construction of housing by emphasising that the
buildings lose their ‘decorative extras’ in order to speed up the process. This
gave rise to mass produced design characterised by pre fabricated concrete
blocks with openings for windows and doors. Once completed, these structures
were transported to steel frames for houses. These were known as block
houses. Into the 1960s, the Pyatietazhki or Khrushyovki dominated the style of
housing construction. However, although they were efficiently built and rapidly
constructed, they were dull, repetitive and ‘cookie – cutter’ buildings which
gave rise to the stereotypical image of grim Soviet architecture
 Lifting of restrictions on And improved financial health of
design
Architecture flourished in modernRussia
Russia where restrictions on design
such as height and decoration were lifted. This, combined with the
improved financial health of Russia meant that the first skyscrapers were
constructed and the Moscow International Business Centre was erected.

“Moscow City” (started in 1995, still under construction)