If to investigate Tverskaya square more attentively, you will find there Lenin statue and the former Central Party Archives building, which changed the name to the Archive of Social and Political History.
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History facts
View of the Moscow governor-general house, a lithograph of L.J.Arnu
(middle of the 19th century).
The house was built in 1782 by the architect M.Kazakov as a 3-storey palace for the Moscow governor-general. In the 1930s, when Tverskaya was reconstructed in order to straighten the street and make it wider, the building was moved 13.5 m (42 feet) backward from the roadway. The preparation for the shifting had lasted for several months but the movement itself took just 40 minutes. Then in 1946 the building was altered significantly and an extra two upper storeys were added by the architect D.Chechykin. Nowadays the building houses the City Hall.
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View of the Bolshoi Theatre before the fire of 1853, a lithograph of L.J.Arnu.
The original building designed by Joseph Bové was opened in 1825.
After the fire the new building of the Bolshoi was constructed by Alberto Cavos in 1856.
The Bolshoi Theatre in 2012:
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Konstantin Yuon “Moscow university” (1911).
The old building of Moscow university on Mokhovaya street in 2012.
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An exhibition dedicated to the 120th anniversary of one of the most famous Soviet architects Boris Iofan at the Schusev State Museum of Architecture, Vozdvizhenka St., 5 (M. Biblioteka imeni Lenina, Alexandrovsky sad, Arbatskaya) will be opened until February 26, 2012.
Boris Iofan is mainly known as an author of the “House on the Embankment” and the Soviet Pavilion with a sculpture of the “Worker and Collective Farm Girl” by V. Mukhina created for the World’s Fair of 1937. Although never realized, the ambitious Palace of Soviets, became the project of his life. For me, the initial project of Moscow State University and those interior designs for the Palace of Soviets halls looking like Pantheon or a Christian church proved to be particularly interesting.
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“Feeding pigeons in Red Square in 1890-1900” by Konstantin Yuon (1946).
Red square in 2012.
What are the differences?
1. Two towers which are to the right from the Historical museum (on the opposite side of the square from us) were demolished in 1931. The Resurrection Gate with two chapels was considered to be an obstacle for military parades and demonstrations on the way to Red Square. The gate was reconstructed in the 90s.
2. St. Nicholas tower looks to be white-washed.
3. Lenin’s Mausoleum was built in 1930.
4. There are no chapels next to the Spasskaya Tower. They were destroyed in 1925 and therefore did not exist in 1946 like the Resurrection Gate when Yuon painted them.
5. We can not see in the picture by Yuon such details as any of the double headed eagles on the Kremlin towers. They were replaced by the stars in 1935. The stars are clearly visible in my photo.
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Few activities are as magical as ice skating in winter holiday season.
Ice skating rink in Gorky Park (9 Krymskiy Val St., metro st. Oktyabrskaya) has become popular again.
Be ready to see a long line to get in when you come at 5pm.
Opening times: 10am-3pm, 5pm-11pm
Price:
Adults:
Weekdays 10am – 3pm 150 rub
Weekdays 5pm – 11pm 300 rub
Weekends and Holidays 10am – 3pm 300 rub
Weekends and Holidays 5pm – 11pm 400 rub
Children:
under 7 – free, 7-12 – 100 rub
Skate hire deposit – 1500 rub
Gorky park. Photo by E.Evzerikhin. 1938
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Moskvoretsky bridge by Konstantin Yuon, 1911.
Moskvoretsky bridge by Konstantin Korovin, 1914.
Boris Yakovlev “The view on the Kremlin from the side of an old Moskvoretsky bridge”, 1936.
Konstantin Yuon “Utro Moskvy. 1942.”
The view from Bolshoi Moskvoretsky bridge today.
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The exhibition “Poiret – King of Fashion” will be open in the Moscow Kremlin till January, 12, 2012.
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