Modern apartment buildings, Stalinist high-rise buildings and high-rise buildings from the 1970s are not just residential buildings, but real city symbols. In the “” section, The Village talks about the most famous and unusual houses of the two capitals and their inhabitants. In the new issue, we found out what it’s like to live in a high-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment - one of the main symbols of Moscow.
At different times, his own architect Dmitry Chechulin lived in the house, as well as Alexander Tvardovsky, Faina Ranevskaya, Galina Ulanova, in whose honor a museum was opened in the high-rise building. Many may have seen the building in the films “Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears”, “Brother-2”, “Hipsters” and in the TV series “Brigada”. In 2014, the high-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya was actively written about when the flag of Ukraine was on its spire and the yellow star was half painted over in blue. In 2016, people began to talk about the high-rise building in connection with another scandal: oppositionist Alexei Navalny and First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov owned ten apartments here with a total area of more than 700 square meters.
High-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya
Address: Kotelnicheskaya embankment, 1/15
Architects: Dmitry Chechulin, Andrey Rostovsky
Construction: 1937–1952
Height: 176 meters 32 floors
Housing: 700 apartments
After the victory in the Great Patriotic War, Moscow continued its reconstruction program, which was supposed to make the city the showpiece capital of the world's largest power. The skyscrapers personified its greatness. And their number (eight) probably personified the first digit of the city’s age - the decision to build eight high-rise buildings was made in the year of Moscow’s 800th anniversary.
The construction of Stalin's high-rise buildings is a unique experiment: firstly, the buildings themselves are unique, and secondly, specific living conditions were created in them. High-rise buildings are the first Soviet skyscrapers in the modern sense of the word, that is, high-rise buildings on a frame. At that time, buildings were actively constructed in America in this way, but our engineers were able to introduce a number of innovations. For example, self-lifting cranes were invented, which significantly speeded up the frame assembly process. Or, for the first time in the world, welding was used in high-rise construction. Special foundations were also developed that made it possible to erect buildings on weak Moscow soils. I'm not even talking about such unique operations as soil freezing. For example, the high-rise building on Krasnye Vorota was built at a certain angle, so that after the soil under the left wing of the building defrosted, it would take a strictly vertical position.
Secondly, for residential buildings like the high-rise on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment, it is especially important that the buildings receive the most modern filling. They were the first in Moscow to have central heating and hot water supply from the city heating network, and not from the boiler room in the basement of the house. The houses had running water, sewerage (in those days, not many Moscow houses could boast of this), air conditioning, and even such an outlandish thing as central dust removal - a special outlet in the wall to which you need to connect a hose and vacuum the apartment with it.
The decoration of public spaces in each Stalinist high-rise is unique, since all the buildings were designed by different teams of architects. In the central foyer of the high-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya, the mosaic on the ceiling and marble cladding have been preserved. However, the original decoration of the apartments is not. Even in Ulanova’s apartment, which is preserved as a museum, the decoration dates back to the 80s.
In an architectural sense, the high-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya, in my opinion, is one of the most elegant and subtle. Its author was the chief architect of Moscow at that time, Dmitry Chechulin, who oversaw the construction program of eight high-rise buildings. The high-rise building seems to refer us to Moscow architecture of the late 17th century, tower-shaped churches like the Intercession in Fili. However, the elegance of proportions often comes at the expense of living comfort. The small size of the floors in the upper parts of the building made many apartments small and awkward in layout.
From an urban planning point of view, the high-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya is contradictory. On the one hand, it creates a powerful high-rise accent on the embankment and forms an arrow between the Yauza and the Moscow River. On the other hand, hidden behind the high-rise building is another excellent view of the city: Tagansky Hill, or Shvivaya Hill. With the advent of the high-rise, it was completely excluded from Moscow panoramas.
Nevertheless, we must admit: the high-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya has firmly become a postcard view. Now it’s hard to imagine our city without her. It is as significant as the Kremlin or the main building of Moscow State University.
Pavel Gnilorybov
historian, Moscow specialist, head of the Mospeshkom project
The high-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment has an interesting location - the city was often photographed from here in the 19th century; here, behind the Yauza River, one of the best panoramic views of Moscow opened up. At that time, Kotelnicheskaya Embankment, as well as the part of Balchug Island facing it, was built up with pompous houses in the Stalinist Empire style. For example, 14-story buildings were erected on nearby Goncharnaya Street.
Architect Dmitry Chechulin built a high-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya as a continuation of the nine-story residential building he designed before the war. It is noteworthy that for the construction of Stalina it was necessary to destroy several alleys of old Moscow.
The idea of social and living complexes, whose residents do not have to walk a kilometer to the nearest bakery, is typical of Soviet architectural thought of that period. But if in the communal houses the idea was implemented somewhat straightforwardly, then in the high-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya a modern concept of public and commercial functions of the ground floor was actually created. Not only shops are important, but also the Znamya cinema, which in 1966 was renamed Illusion. All this emphasized the high status of the residents of the house.
The history of the settlement of the high-rise is associated with the thaw. If houses in the “river” part were given mainly to scientists and state security workers, then in the “land” part they housed the creative intelligentsia: actors, writers, composers. It is difficult to say how many times the building is mentioned in literature and memoirs. And the events of Vasily Aksenov’s book “Moscow Kva-Kva” actually take place near the high-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya.
Oleg Borodin
artist, rents an apartment in the main building of the high-rise
Three rooms
85 square meters
I rent this apartment with my boyfriend and girlfriend. In Moscow, it’s hard to find a three-room apartment with white walls and wooden floors, so when a year ago we accidentally found out about this option, we didn’t think twice about it. Of course, due to the status of the building, we had to pay a little more for rent than we expected, but it was worth it.
Everyone knows that the capital began because of Shuvalov (I.I. Shuvalov - First Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation. - Ed.). Moreover, residents pay for it - the corresponding line is on the payment form. The quality of repairs varies everywhere. Historical things like statues, ceilings and stucco are being restored well, but the entrance is being renovated in a rather strange way. Something is constantly falling off in it. We recently painted the walls, then we started doing the wiring, and, naturally, we had to paint everything again. Repairs happen very slowly: for example, a new elevator takes more than a year to complete. The completion date for the renovation is constantly being postponed: according to the latest information, it was supposed to end in December 2016.
Due to renovations, the entire house is dusty, noisy, and has trash scattered around. Therefore, many residents decided to take advantage of the situation and carry out renovations in their apartments. If you look at the windows of the high-rise building in the evening, it becomes clear that many residents have temporarily moved out. On each floor, at least two apartments are in a state of repair, meaning the building is approximately half empty.
About the apartment
We moved into an empty white apartment with a minimal amount of furniture. I only brought a table and a mattress. Although over time we have a lot of good Soviet furniture that our neighbors throw away. The apartment has three rooms, a balcony, a dining room and two storage rooms, one of which opens onto the fire escape and a sealed garbage chute. There is no garbage chute at the entrance: here it is located inside the apartments, but most residents closed it due to the abundance of cockroaches. We practically did no repairs - we just repainted the walls and ceiling.
Our dining room has a strange fate. At first I was glad that the apartment had a common area for lunch and meetings. But the room turned out to be not very comfortable, and now we rarely spend time in it. Most often our guests sit in the dining room. I prefer to eat in the room or on the balcony, on which we hung a small hammock last summer.
I work freelance and spend a lot of time at home. It’s mentally and physically difficult to get out of a high-rise building onto the street - it’s as if you’re sitting in a fortress, and you don’t want to go anywhere. The elevators in the building are quite slow, and the walk to the metro is long. In the summer, I am saved by the bike rental, which is located right next to the cinema.
Of course, there are inconveniences in the apartment, but they are not critical. Since ancient times, large black cockroaches have been found in high-rise apartments. The poet Yevtushenko, who lived here, even has a poem “Cockroaches” dedicated to them. I caught them too. They are more than three centimeters, calm and hang out only on the floor. They didn’t bother me, and the previous residents even liked them; their dog loved to play with the cockroaches. However, after we established ventilation in the apartment, they began to appear much less frequently.
In the summer there is a constant draft in the apartment. It often happens that when you enter an apartment, the balcony door slams so hard that the glass breaks. This happened three times during the year, and once during my breakfast on the balcony - then the glass fell right on me. During the recent hurricane in Moscow, due to strong winds, I simply could not close the window.
Also in the apartment there is a slight problem with the sound insulation of the ceilings and floors. In the morning, I clearly hear the neighbor upstairs cleaning and Bach ringing on his phone. The neighbor below me also said that he could hear what I was doing.
About the view from the window and seagulls
The apartment windows offer a view of the whole of Moscow, but I got used to it in just a couple of months. I don’t have the feeling that I live in an apartment, because usually trees, houses, streets are visible from the window, but here I seem to be at an abstract point at a height. From here the city is perceived differently: everything seems chaotic and standing on top of each other.
There is a constant traffic jam near the high-rise building, and before moving I was afraid that the sounds of cars would disturb me. In fact, it turned out that most of the unpleasant sounds and car fumes did not reach my floor. I live above the tenth floor, and it is much quieter here than on the street. I often sleep with the window open and perceive the noise of the city as the noise of the sea. This is also facilitated by the seagulls that periodically fly past my window.
The only problem related to sound arises in the summer, when tourist ships sail along the Moscow River. As a rule, they always play loud bad music. The sound reflects so well from the water that it feels as if Kirkorov or Leps is singing in the next room.
About parties, neighbors and the area
From time to time, my neighbors and I organize parties, dinners, contemporary art shows, and small electronic-acoustic apartments for musician friends in our apartment. We warn neighbors about such meetings in advance and try to finish everything before 11 pm. The owner of the apartment is not against parties, he loves artists, and trusts us. But the concierges worry if more than 20 people come to us. After one incident, I even had to meet the local police officer.
In the main building of the high-rise there are three buildings, each of which has its own entrance and its own concierge, but while renovations are underway, only the central entrance is open and the three concierges sit together. They are vigilant and may not allow guests in without the presence of the owners, because tourists and people who want to climb to the roof often try to get inside.
I’m on good terms with my neighbors in the building: everyone here is friendly and doesn’t mind chatting in the elevator. Residents of the high-rise have their own community on Facebook, where they discuss renovation problems, follow publications about the building and discuss news in the area. Of course, I met wealthy people among the residents of the building, but still, the high-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya is not an elite housing stock. Mostly elderly people live here, exactly the same as at the River Station or anywhere else in Moscow.
I don’t walk around the area much, I mostly spend time either in the apartment or for work I go to the printing workshop on my street. I also like the high-rise courtyard; in my youth I often spent time there. In the courtyard there is an underground garage, on the roof of which there are former tennis courts. The yard is due to be restored this year. Now it's a little shabby, but it's still nice and cozy. To some extent, it replaces the park for me.
Recently, after restoration, the Illusion cinema opened, and it still has an excellent repertoire: they often show classics, films from European festivals, films from film, films with live sound and music. In addition, it is also cheap: on weekdays tickets cost about 100 rubles.
Ksenia Vechtomova
brand manager of Wonderzine, rents an apartment in the side building of the high-rise building
Two rooms
80 square meters
70 thousand rubles per month
About moving
In my youth, I spent a lot of time on Taganka and always thought that I wanted to live in a Stalinist high-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya. Not in any high-rise building, but in this one. I remember her from my childhood films: “Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears” and “Brother-2”. Every time I pass by it, there is a feeling of greatness inside. Last year I decided to rent an apartment in Moscow and, as soon as I saw the offer in this building, I immediately came running.
Rent costs 70 thousand rubles per month. I don’t rent a room alone, but together with my boyfriend and his friend, so we didn’t bargain. True, two months after moving in, I saw an advertisement for renting an apartment in the next entrance for 50 thousand rubles.
My apartment was rented practically unfurnished: only the kitchen was furnished, and in one of the rooms there was a double bed. Initially, I wanted to change a lot in the apartment, but I soon realized that it was quite difficult to do this. Firstly, the owner forbade changing the wallpaper because it is dear to her, and she says that there are some kind of gold threads sewn into it. And secondly, the wall has long been rotten, and if you tear off the wallpaper, it will begin to fall apart. But the apartment has high ceilings, original chandeliers, and an old mirror in an amber frame hangs in the bathroom.
About the apartment
There are only three outlets in the entire apartment, so I have extension cords laid out all over the floor. Moreover, the sockets are located in the most inconvenient places, and in the kitchen there are none at all - a wire from the corridor stretches here. As far as I understand, this is the situation in all high-rise apartments.
If you are renovating an apartment, you must start by replacing the wiring, which has not changed here since the building was built. It's so bad and old that the light bulbs burn out every other day. Of the five light bulbs in the kitchen, only two are currently working, the rest are broken, and I’m just tired of endlessly buying new ones. The owner of the apartment advises buying cheap light bulbs and not sweating. And she doesn’t care about the fact that it can short out at any moment.
There is no refrigerator in my apartment, but in the kitchen, since it was built, there has been a small cabinet with several shelves under the window sill, the outer doors of which can be opened, and the food that is in it will appear on the street. In winter, the cabinet does a great job: keeping food cold and keeping the kitchen warm. In the summer, of course, you shouldn’t store perishable food in it, but I usually eat at work or in a cafe, so the lack of a refrigerator is not a problem for me.
Another feature of the apartment is its unique audibility: for example, not a single sound can come from the kitchen, but every rustle can be heard from my room. Also, thanks to the old ventilation, I can clearly hear what is happening in the neighboring apartments. Sometimes I wake up at five in the morning because someone from the neighboring apartment is playing the anthem of the Soviet Union or the group “Mushrooms”. More often I still hear birds singing and bells ringing. The windows of my room overlook the courtyard, behind which the monastery is visible, and to the left rises the main building of the high-rise building. I've been living here for almost a year, and I'm not tired of the view from the window - largely because of it, I love smoking on the balcony so much.
Many of my friends ask to visit - everyone is interested in what it’s like to live in a high-rise building. But when they come, they are not delighted - there is nothing special to see. Life in my apartment is like life in a museum. Everyone wants to look at you, but you sit inside all crooked.
Something constantly burns out and breaks in the apartment - and two months after moving in, I realized that the building was built for beauty, not for life. Yes, it is located in the center, but it’s a long walk from it to the metro. And to get around it, you need at least 20 minutes. I think living in a high-rise building on Krasnopresnenskaya is much more convenient: next to it there is also a cinema, there are many shops and restaurants, and most importantly, a metro station. My lease will end in the fall, and I will try to move there.
About neighbors and entrance
All residents of this house have a common feature, a certain Soviet sense of intelligence. It seems to be transferred with settlement or registration. For example, when you rent an apartment in an ordinary house, you are most often asked where you work and how much you earn, but here the landlady first of all asked me what school I went to. It was important for her that I graduate from a good school in the center of Moscow.
Last year, in another building of the building, Igor Shuvalov bought eight apartments - that is, the entire floor. After that, the entire house began to undergo major renovations. Moreover, the repairs were most likely done at the expense of the state, because the residents certainly did not finance it.
Mostly local residents over 40 live in my building; there are very few young people, and there are also those who rent an apartment. Most of the neighbors are nice and friendly. When Pyaterochka opened in our house, local residents came to the event and actively engaged in leisurely small talk. Meetings of residents of the entrance are held periodically between the seventh and eighth floors. I have never been there and don’t know what they are discussing, but I know that for many residents it was important that, as part of the renovation, all apartments were given the same entrance doors and handles. Therefore, now I have the same pen as in Pyaterochka and like Shuvalov.
At the same time, quite vigilant people live here. My flatmate is Ossetian, and when we were moving, an unpleasant incident happened at the entrance. He was walking up the stairs with his bags, some granny started yelling at him, threatening to call the police, accusing him of organizing a brothel and asking him to show his registration. I remember he called me and asked me in a trembling voice for help.
The contingent of people who live in the main building and those who live here is different. Rich people live there who can afford to buy an apartment in such a building, and here we have successive Muscovites. The difference is visible even from cars parked in the yard. Near the entrances of the main building there are new high-class cars, and at the entrances of other buildings there are simpler cars, for example, like our hostess: a gold-colored Volvo from the year 2000.
Three security guards, who work in turns, keep order at the entrance. They spend the night in a spacious utility room, which even has a bathroom. In fact, they are more than security guards, sort of guard-dispatchers. They know all the residents by name and face, and guests are asked in detail who they are going to and why. You can come to them for any question. For example, if the water is turned off, the security guard already knows what’s going on and when it will be returned. Or if you need to fix something small, you don’t have to call a repairman, but ask the security guard. My favorite security guard's name is Andrey. He is tall, stately, sits with a straight back and wears a suit.
About the area
It’s quite a long walk from the high-rise building to the entrance to the Taganskaya metro station, so I use a taxi. But there are constant traffic jams in the area due to the construction of Zaryadye Park. No matter which way you go, there are cars everywhere. There are eight kilometers between my place of work and my home, and the journey usually takes an hour, so I start working right in the car. The maximum time I spent on the road was an hour and a half. Sometimes I go to the Lenin Library and take a taxi from there for a hundred rubles - it’s faster and cheaper.
In warm weather, I like to walk along the embankment or along the wonderful bridge to Novokuznetskaya or Kitay-Gorod. The Powerhouse is a five-minute walk away, but there's not much else to go. The nearest cafes and restaurants are located near Taganskaya, and there aren’t very many of them. The situation in Kitai-Gorod is much better, but we still need to get there.
Things are even worse with stores. It seems like you live in the city center, but there is no infrastructure nearby. In winter, a funny store “Pyaterochka” was opened in the building. Its ceilings and walls are covered with marble, and inside there are advertisements for potatoes for 40 rubles. But such surreal aesthetics don’t bother me.
The nearest 24-hour pharmacy is located near the Proletarskaya metro station. If things get bad at night, there's nowhere to go. Sberbank in a high-rise building is open from 10 am to 5 pm, which is inconvenient. Although older residents probably live comfortably here: everything is at hand and works during the day.
The high-rise building is located at the confluence of the Yauza and the Moscow River in the very center of the city and is rightfully considered one of the symbols of Moscow.
The spectacular Soviet skyscraper was built in 1938-1952 according to the design of architects Dmitry Chechulin And Andrey Rostkovsky with the participation of an engineer Leonid Gokhman. In fact, construction took place in 2 stages with a break for the war: in 1938-1940 and 1948-1952.
Building height: 176 meters (32 floors, including technical ones).
The house includes 3 combined buildings of different heights: a high central volume and 9-story side wings. Closing the perspective from the Kremlin, the central part faces the Moscow fortress, and the side buildings spectacularly unfold along the embankments of the Moskva River and Yauza. The base of the building is decorated with dark granite (the side buildings have 2 floors, the central one has 5), the facades are made in a soft beige color and decorated with a large number of bas-reliefs and high reliefs depicting happy Soviet citizens, children and workers among banners, flowers, ears of corn (the motif of abundance) , as well as Soviet symbols (hammer and sickle, stars). The silhouette of the building is enlivened by decorative turrets and obelisks, and the central building is decorated with sculptures of Soviet workers holding shields with images of the coat of arms of the USSR (center under the spire), (left) and (right).
The high-rise spire is topped with a massive star with a hammer and sickle.
Initially, the building contained about 700 apartments (mostly two- and three-room apartments, but there were also one-room apartments and four-room apartments), but in the post-Soviet years there was a tendency to unite/separate them, and how many there are now in fact is unclear.
Lady with breasts
A rather curious and controversial detail of the building’s design upon closer examination was the sculpture of a man and a woman holding a shield with the coat of arms of the USSR, located under the spire.
A few years ago, the city media circulated a photo of the sculpture taken at a significant close: it turned out that the woman’s breasts, reminiscent of two small oranges with pimples, literally “tear” her clothes, the folds of which are shown very conditionally. This detail is not noticeable to the naked eye, so there were assumptions among commentators that this could be some kind of joke by the sculptor - they say, it’s still not visible from the ground, but in reality this is extremely unlikely. Most likely, this design of the chest is simply dictated by the placement of the sculpture at a high altitude: it is made so as to look harmonious from more than a hundred meters below, and not close up.
One way or another, now the woman from the high-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya is forever included in the list of “ambiguous” sculptures in Moscow. Shining your chest at the Kremlin is worth a lot!
History of the high-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment
The history of the residential building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment begins with one curious moment: it is known that all the Stalinist high-rise buildings provided for by the decree “On the construction of multi-storey buildings in Moscow” were founded on one day - September 7, 1947, in honor of the 800th anniversary of Moscow. However, the construction of the house on Kotelnicheskaya actually began much earlier - in 1938. The fact is that the first 9-story building along the Moscow River was built in 1938-1940, which was initially built as a separate residential building and was included in the project later, with a partial redesign of the facade.
For the construction of the high-rise, 4 lanes were completely demolished - Bolshoi and Maly Podgorny, Sveshnikov and Kurnosov - and the slope of Shvivaya Gorka, one of the historical hills of Moscow, was razed. It is believed that Lavrentiy Beria, who personally supervised the construction, insisted on building the house in this very place.
Building according to the project Dmitry Chechulin And Andrey Rostkovsky it was built, among other things, by Soviet prisoners and German prisoners of war, brought to work through the Main Directorate of Industrial Construction Camps (Glavpromstroy or GULPS). The prisoners also posed for sculptors for bas-reliefs. They say that the builders left “messages” scratched with a nail on the windows and walls of technical rooms and basements: numbers of their units, “convicts built” and other simple phrases; There are also urban legends about a foreman who was walled up during construction and a prisoner who allegedly managed to climb down on plywood wings, but they hardly have anything to do with reality - exactly the same legends exist about the construction of the Main Building of Moscow State University.
The complex was conceived as a real city within a city: for the convenience of residents, it was equipped with a post office, a laundry, a bakery, a grocery store and a cinema "Znamya" (since 1966 - "Illusion").
The “old” building, located along the Moscow River, initially accommodated NKVD employees, then they began to accommodate military and party leaders. After the construction of the central volume and the opposite wing, representatives of the Soviet elite began to move into the house: creative intelligentsia, outstanding scientists, military and party nomenclature, in memory of whom a large number of memorial plaques were installed on the facade of the house. Among others, Faina Ranevskaya, Galina Ulanova, Alexander Shirvindt, Alexander Tvardovsky, Lyudmila Zykina, Robert Rozhdestvensky, Vasily Aksenov, Konstantin Paustovsky, as well as Dmitry Chechulin himself, the author of the building project, lived in the house over the years.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, apartments in the building began to be bought by “new Russians,” officials and successful Russian artists.
A curious moment in the modern history of a residential building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment was the matter of painting the star: On August 20, 2014, during the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine, a Ukrainian flag was hoisted on the spire of the high-rise building, and half of the star was painted blue, which is why it also acquired the colors of the Ukrainian flag. A criminal case was opened for vandalism (later it was reclassified as hooliganism), on suspicion of which four base jumpers who jumped from a high-rise building on the day of painting and a St. Petersburg roofer were detained. A Ukrainian roofer took responsibility for the incident. Pavel Ushivets(Mustang Wanted), who dedicated his act to the Independence Day of Ukraine. The base jumpers were later acquitted and released, and the St. Petersburg roofer was convicted of assisting Pavel Ushivets.
Today, the high-rise building is gradually losing its position in the rankings of exclusive real estate, since many new unusual projects have appeared in Moscow, executed with greater luxury and considered more prestigious, but it is in no way inferior to its position in cultural terms, still serving as one of the symbols of Moscow.
It offers excellent views from the capital's observation platforms, and the stepped silhouette has become so familiar to the city landscape that it is now difficult to imagine that it once did not exist.
Residential building on Kotelnicheskaya embankment located at Kotelnicheskaya embankment, 1/15. You can get to it on foot from metro stations "Taganskaya" Circle and Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya lines, as well as "Marxist" Kalininsko-Solntsevskaya line.
Stalin's skyscrapers have always given rise to many incredible rumors and speculations. Since the 1950s, they have aroused awe, admiration, and enormous interest. Each of these majestic buildings has its own history and its own individual charm. The high-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya, which has repeatedly appeared in feature films as a home for the elite and the ultimate dream of an ordinary citizen, is no exception.
Khrushchev called the house unsuccessful
Construction of the main building of the high-rise began in 1938 and took two years to complete. The completion of this large-scale project was completely prevented by the war. Only in 1947 did construction resume under the decree on the construction of high-rise buildings in the city, signed by Stalin. So the official date of foundation of this house (like other famous Stalinist skyscrapers) is still considered September 7, 1947, the day of celebration of the 800th anniversary of the capital.
The project was led by Dmitry Chechulin, who was later given an apartment here. By the way, when Nikita Khrushchev came to power, the Stalinists began to be actively criticized for the irrational use of folk resources, and the excessive pretentiousness and decoration of these buildings. Khrushchev named Chechulin first of all as the culprit of such “mistakes in construction.”
I had to sacrifice the side streets
The grandiose L-shaped high-rise building “crushed” the ancient lanes that were previously located on this site (Bolshoi Podgorny, Maly Podgorny, Sveshnikov and Kurnosov), and also visually blocked the view of Shvivaya Gorka from the embankment. This historical outskirts of the city has been inhabited since the 15th century, and at first artisans in flammable professions lived here. The area later began to be called the Lousy Hill, and the embankment itself received its name in honor of the small settlement of Kotelnikov that stood here.
Shvivaya Gorka generally has a very rich history, and the development of the area itself was no less interesting, so, of course, it is a great pity that this area fell out of the panorama of Moscow.
Granite and marble were not spared
The high-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya is a three-building building with 32 floors in the central part and 8-10 in the side parts. It is designed in the form of a star with three rays. The Stalina spire is crowned with a coat of arms installed at a height of 176 meters.
The building, made in the Stalinist Empire style, is very interesting from an architectural point of view. On the one hand, it was intended to show America our construction and architectural power, and on the other, it recalls the tall tower-shaped temples and towers of old Moscow and refers us to the charm of ancient Russian wooden architecture. At least that was the original idea.
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Stalin's Empire style: the Russian response to the Americans. /Photo: yandex.ru, user nadezda-mni
The outside of the house is lined with granite (lower floors) and ceramics (upper part), and inside - marble, non-ferrous metals and expensive wood.
Construction: facts and rumors
The bold project to build Stalinist high-rise buildings was met from the very beginning by the lack of necessary buildings and technical capabilities among the builders. They sometimes had to learn while working, and solve technical problems in real time. So, due to the weak Moscow soils (sand, loam, etc.), a super-strong foundation was required for the construction of such heavy monoliths. Factories were specially created in Lyubertsy and Kuchina. Special tower cranes and special bricks began to be produced. So we can say that the construction of Stalinist buildings accelerated the development of the construction industry in the USSR as a whole.
During the construction of the building on Kotelnicheskaya, as well as during the construction of the Moscow State University high-rise building, the labor of prisoners was actively used, for whom a special camp department was immediately set up, surrounded by a three-meter fence with barbed wire.
The participation of prisoners in the construction gave rise to the most incredible rumors among residents. Some said that the prisoners left their marks and mysterious inscriptions on the walls in the basements, others said that particularly objectionable political criminals or obstinate foremen were walled up in the walls. There is even a legend about an attempt by two construction prisoners to fly on plywood wings from the upper floors of a high-rise building, which, according to one version, ended in their death, and according to another, was crowned with success.
What was elitism?
Stalin's high-rise buildings, including the famous building on Kotelnicheskaya, were the first in the capital to have central heating and were supplied with hot water from the citywide heating network. In addition, the Stalin buildings, of course, had sewerage, water supply, and also an air conditioning and dust removal system. The ceiling height in most apartments is more than three meters. At the same time, the apartments on the upper floors turned out to be not so comfortable: they were small in size, not so high ceilings and had an unsuccessful layout.
The Stalinist building on Kotelnicheskaya embodied the “all in one” idea, similar to what Soviet architects tried to do in the so-called communal houses - shops, leisure, and everyday services were concentrated in one building. However, at Kotelnicheskaya everything was done on a grand scale. What other home can boast of having a cinema? And residents of Stalin on Kotelnicheskaya could go down from their apartment and almost two steps away visit the pompous “Illusion” (originally called “Banner”), in which sometimes you could even see Western films that had escaped censorship.
The bas-reliefs and ceiling paintings in the hall depicted happy Soviet people, which should have completely coincided with the worldview of the “special” residents. In general, the appearance of the high-rise resembled a museum. However, this can be seen in those feature films in which the house appeared - for example, during the filming of the film “Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears,” the interiors of the building on Kotelnicheskaya were used.
It is clear that the settlement of the house took place mainly according to social status, but not at all chaotically. In one part of the house lived mostly eminent scientists, in another - high-ranking NKVD officers, in the third - celebrities of creative professions, and so on. Moreover, the lists of the first tenants were coordinated with Stalin himself.
This house was literally crammed with famous people, and if you list them all, the list would be incredibly long. Is it possible to remember a funny story about how the poet Tvardovsky, having forgotten the keys to his apartment, asked to go to the toilet with Faina Ranevskaya, after which she then reminded him every time they met: “The doors of my closet are always open for you!”
High-rise today
In the main building of the house on Kotelnicheskaya there are three buildings, and each of them has its own concierge. In addition, in the building, of course, there are security guards who know all the permanent residents almost by name, and are also aware of all the news happening in the house.
In the central foyer of the building you can still see the preserved mosaic on the ceiling and marble cladding. As for the apartments, many of them have undergone changes, and this is not only renovation, but also redevelopment.
Among the residents of the building you can now meet anyone, and not just people of high status, since quite a large part of the housing here is rented. Well, the price of apartments in this building is in the tens of millions.
Few people knew that security officers were living in the house on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment and that no one could name the exact number of apartments. At the same time, the legendary Stalinist high-rise building also keeps other secrets. The author of the site, Nikolay Bolshakov, selects the most interesting facts and myths about this high-rise building.
The rise of a skyscraper
The high-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya was part of the overall plan for the construction of Stalinist skyscrapers in Moscow. Moreover, it was built on the basis of an existing house, erected before the Patriotic War. Subsequently, this house will be called building “A”, and now it can be easily seen, since the building faces the Moscow River. And in general, the house on the embankment was supposed to play a supporting role, which was to ensure that the building fit organically into the architectural composition of the Palace of the Soviets on the site of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. However, the project of this huge palace, as we know, was not implemented, and now the high-rise building stands on its own, facing the red walls of the Kremlin.
The high-rise building was supposed to create a single composition with the Palace of the Council
The high-rise project was led by one of the most talented Soviet architects of that time, Dmitry Chechulin. And Lavrentiy Beria himself was in charge of the construction, because that building “A” was intended specifically for NKVD employees. And therefore, it was no coincidence that this building was called “Chekist”, because security officers actually lived in it, and the list of new settlers from the NKVD was personally signed by Beria. The skyscraper was built from 1948 to 1952, it grew 32 floors and the height was 176 meters. Of all the “Stalinist skyscrapers,” the high-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya was the very first to be inhabited. This building remained the tallest in Moscow and in Russia for a whole year, until this title was taken away by the State Building of Moscow State University.
The first building of the building was built before the war
Secrets and legends of high-rise buildings
This house has always been famous for its famous residents. The Soviet elite liked to settle here, because if you look at the list of neighbors, you can be surprised at the density of the population of stars per square meter. Actresses such as Faina Ranevskaya, Lydia Smirnova and Klara Luchko lived here. The poet Andrei Voznesensky rested here, Alexander Tvardovsky, Evgeny Yevtushenko, Lyudmila Zykina, Alexander Shirvindt and Yuri Lyubimov drank tea. Sofya Nikolaevna Perovskaya, the great-granddaughter of the revolutionary Sofia Perovskaya, lived on Kotelnicheskaya, as well as many other celebrities.
Famous residents could not help but meet each other inside this large building. For example, old-timers say that Tvardovsky had the honor of meeting Faina Ranevskaya in a completely awkward situation. The fact is that he simply forgot the keys to the house when he urgently needed to go to the restroom, and there was no one in the apartment. Therefore, the poet was forced to knock on Faina Ranevskaya’s door, which is how their acquaintance began. Ranevskaya, seeing Tvardovsky off, invited him to come in again: “Come again,” she said, “the doors of my closet are always open for you!”
The high-rise was built gradually, step by step, with the help of prison labor
Faina Ranevskaya and Alexander Tvardovsky lived in the house on Kotelnicheskaya
However, there are also creepy stories associated with this high-rise building. Thus, residents like to say that if you drive a nail into a wall, you may accidentally stumble upon someone’s skeleton. This is all because the house was built with the labor of prisoners, and who knows, maybe they really had a chance to wall up unwanted workers... They also say that in one special room, under strict secrecy, there was special equipment, and above it there was a secret dormitory of the General Staff in one of the apartments of the building "IN". That is, the high-rise building could well have become an important strategic object of the Soviet state, because it was not for nothing that security officers settled there. There is also a theory that claims that underground tunnels were going to be built from the building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment to the Kremlin. And for these purposes, the riverbed of the Yauza was specially shifted.
It would seem that nothing could be doubted less than the number of apartments. However, their number in the high-rise is also an inexplicable mystery. Official sources differ at least on approximate figures: the annual magazine “Soviet Architecture” for 1954 claimed that there were 344 apartments in the building, while the book “Tall Buildings of Moscow” claims that there are approximately eight hundred.
The height of the house on Kotelnicheskaya embankment is 176 meters
Unforgettable stories
In this house right in the center of Moscow, absolutely everything was the subject of sweet dreams of the Soviet and party elite. Luxury amazed the imagination of any person: crystal chandeliers, bronze lamps, ceiling moldings, expensive parquet, marble and granite framing the internal lobby of the building. Many foreigners living in Moscow want to register here. And in theory, everything should be under the most reliable security, but even this high-rise building did not remain unrobbed.
The story of the unprecedented robbery says: on December 30, 1981, a group of unknown men with a Christmas tree and a box in their hands appeared at the entrance to the house. They told the trusting concierge that they had come from the State Circus and that they were instructed to leave the Christmas tree with a box at the door of trainer Irina Bugrimova. They were allowed inside without any doubt, but the concierge did not appear again. Later it turned out that the door had long been wide open and the apartment had been robbed! The men, taking with them Bugrimova’s collection of diamonds, fled through the back entrance.
The star of the house is repainted in the colors of the Ukrainian flag
The high-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya, or rather its star, has managed to become the center of attention in our days. In August 2014, during the conflict in eastern Ukraine, unknown individuals climbed onto this spire using climbing equipment and repainted the top half of the yellow star blue, making it appear that the star had the colors of the Ukrainian flag. Also, one young man waved a Ukrainian flag at the top, which then hung there for about three hours. As soon as they noticed what was happening on the spire of the building, the police immediately arrived. The police detained two young men and two girls, against whom a criminal case was opened.
Formally, the construction of a residential building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment began only after the end of the Great Patriotic War. One wing was erected back in the 30s as an independent structure. Subsequently, the residential building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment became one of the seven Stalinist high-rise buildings erected on the spit of the Yauza and Moskva rivers.
According to the architect's plans, a residential building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment on the left bank of the Moscow River was supposed to mark the place where the Yauza flows into its bed and continue the concept of the designed 400-meter Palace of the Council.
One of the authors of the project for a residential building on the embankment was D. Chechulin, who was also entrusted with the design of a high-rise building in Zaryadye. And what’s surprising is that he received the state prize not for a residential building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment, but for the project of a skyscraper that was never built in Zaryadye.
The master plan for the reconstruction of the capital in 1935 provided for the construction of 9-12 storey buildings. According to D. Chechulin’s project, the central part of the house on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment was supposed to be 25 floors, which not only did not cause protests, but on the contrary, the architect was recommended to increase the structure to 26 residential floors without taking into account another 6 technical floors.
The new skyscraper, according to the designers, was to be visible from all the most significant points of the city. As with other Stalinist high-rise buildings, during the design and construction process the height of the residential building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment increased several times. As a result, the height was 173 meters.
In artistic terms, all Stalinist skyscrapers and the residential building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment are no exception; they are the result of mixing completely different and dissimilar architectural solutions, called the “Stalinist Empire style”. The composition of the house paved the motifs of the Trinity, Nikolskaya and Spasskaya towers of the Moscow Kremlin. The main building of the building is decorated with carved turrets, openwork arches, hipped tops with spiers and, of course, a central spire with a star.
Thanks to elements typical of buildings in the historical part of the capital, the residential building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment by architect D. Chechulin on the embankment fits into the silhouette of the city. Despite its size, the skyscraper on the embankment is partly in harmony with the Kremlin towers, the bell tower of Ivan the Great, and the walls of the Novodevichy Convent.
In the architect's memoirs, a lot is written about the period of destruction of the old part of the city. And at the same time, as D. Chechulin wrote, huge skyscrapers contributed to preserving the image of Moscow. This statement is completely inconsistent with the demolition of historical monuments - the Sukharev Tower, the Kitai-Gorod Wall and many others.
The city reconstruction plan was designed for 20–25 years, but many nomenklatura officials really wanted to speed it up and report on its implementation. Chechulin, in his book “Life and Architecture”, describing the history of the reconstruction of the city, often uses words such as “I was advised”, “I was recommended”, etc. Moreover, it is never indicated who advised and who recommended.
This is how most figures of the Stalin era presented their memories; there was no need to point to specific persons, everyone already knew that only one person in the country could give undiscussed instructions. Although officially the supervisor of the construction of this building was Comrade Beria.
Joseph Stalin personally gave instructions to architects extremely rarely. Most often, he expressed his wishes through his subordinates. And despite the fact that these were wishes, their failure to fulfill them did not bode well.
A distinctive feature of all Stalin-era buildings is that they all resemble large birthday cakes. This is clearly expressed in the architecture of the residential building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment. Each tier of the structure is decorated with numerous unique bas-reliefs, sculptures, obelisks and parapets.
The top of the main volume and wings is crowned with many small spiers, finials and turrets, which gives the structure the appearance of a huge crown. The residential building on Kotelnicheskaya looks especially magical at night, when the electricity in the rooms is turned on, and the resemblance to a crown is complemented by a bright glow, similar to the play of light in precious stones.
Cost per square meter
The construction of a residential building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment for the elite cost the state a very impressive amount. The cost per square meter of the building was almost 5.5 thousand rubles. Of course, not as much as the cost of the Leningradskaya Hotel. For comparison, in the early 50s, a Moskvich car cost 9 thousand rubles, and the salary of a qualified engineer was no more than 1 thousand rubles per month.
Due to architectural features, the usable area of the residential building on Kotelnicheskaya was very small. The average 40-meter apartment had a 20-meter balcony or veranda. The view from such a balcony was striking in its magnificence, but the apartment itself was not at all inspiring.
At the same time, the layout of the apartments in the old pre-war building was quite ordinary and practically did not undergo reconstruction. Work on the facade of the house on Kotelnicheskaya could not erase the difference between the pre-war and post-war buildings.
The building has almost 700 apartments from 2 to 5 rooms. For convenience, the house on Kotelnicheskaya also housed a cinema, shops, cafes, a post office and a savings bank. Many of these establishments are still in operation today.
According to the architect's plan, all social and welfare institutions should have been part of the building so that residents would not have to go outside. This idea of a social and community center in every home was part of the bright idea of communism, universal equality and the slogan “from each according to his abilities, to each according to his work.”
Already during the construction process, the project was slightly modified: the height was increased and the base area was reduced, which somewhat stretched the proportions of the building. The five lower floors of the Stalinist high-rise are faced with granite and form a monumental base.
One of the advantages of the project is that the silhouette, rising in steps towards the center, successfully fits into the landscape of the city. The building completes the formation of space along the banks of the Moscow River and connects the streets leading to the Yauza embankment.
The panorama of a high-rise building on the embankment of the Moscow River, opening from the Borovitsky Bridge and from the walls of the Kremlin, has become one of the calling cards of the capital. Of course, the already narrow Yauza River began to seem even narrower and disappeared from the panorama of Shvivaya Gorka, one of the hills of the historical center of Moscow.
The construction of a residential building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment was carried out, like other Soviet skyscrapers, by prisoners. Unlimited human resources were provided by L. Beria's department.
As the building was being erected, the guards accompanied the builders to the upper floors less and less, as they were afraid of “accidentally” falling down. On the technical floors or basements you can still find inscriptions left by the builders in memory of themselves: “built by ZEKs,” “10th detachment,” etc.
Features of apartments in a residential building on Kotelnicheskaya
During the construction of the high-rise building on the embankment, very noteworthy design errors were revealed. The three-room apartment had a living area of only 55 square meters, and utility rooms another 41 square meters. Which caused a lot of indignant responses from the leadership elite, who were lucky enough to move into the house at 1 Kotelnicheskaya Embankment.
The kitchen in each luxury apartment was equipped with the latest appliances, which not all residents knew how to use. The white color chosen by the artists to decorate the kitchen was absolutely not practical and did not at all meet the goal of creating a cozy atmosphere.
The white table, chairs-stools, cupboard, refrigerator and enamel sink created the impression of a hospital room or operating room, but not a kitchen in which you can cook a delicious dinner.
The bathroom, which was a luxury in itself, was equipped with a heater for drying clothes, a washbasin with a sink and mirror, a drawer for storing linen, and a cabinet for dental supplies, cosmetics and perfumes.
It should be noted that during construction, apartments of the same type were equipped and decorated in the same way, with the exception of some minor details. The decoration of walls and ceilings, furniture in the kitchen and rooms, chandeliers and sconces - everything was the same.
Residents were strictly forbidden to move them, or even change them. Since the location of certain interior elements was determined not so much by the convenience for residents, but by the convenience of listening.
The generally accepted “conversations in the kitchen” within these walls were especially unsafe; the walls were stuffed with equipment that made it possible to secretly wiretap any apartment. The entrance halls were more reminiscent of theater foyers.
The walls are decorated with bas-reliefs made of the finest porcelain in the color of tea rose and ivory, large chandeliers with crystal pendants and wall sconces imitating antique bronze candlesticks.
Such wastefulness, given the terrible shortage of housing in the capital, could cause indignation among ordinary people, but only a select few were allowed to admire all the everyday advantages of a residential building on the Kotelnicheskaya embankment of the Moscow River.
In a Soviet magazine dedicated to Soviet architecture, a paragraph was dedicated to the residents of an elite house: “There is a white stone house above the Moscow River, in which ordinary Soviet people live - workers and engineers, doctors and artists, architects and pensioners... It is impossible to imagine that somewhere in In America, England, France, any capitalist country, the government would build such a building and populate it with workers and specialists...”
The composition of the residents allowed the house on Kotelnicheskaya to occupy for a long time one of the most important places in Moscow and the first of all Stalin’s high-rise buildings. Famous Soviet figures of science and art, who with great difficulty could be classified as “simple workers,” lived in the house on Kotelnicheskaya.
Over the years, stars of Soviet cinema and theater lived in this house. Faina Ranevskaya, a famous actress who has starred in more than 30 films and played several dozen roles in the theater, is one of those who celebrated a housewarming in the model house. An amazing story preceded its settlement.
The actress, who was already 70 years old at that time, was approached by a young KGB operative with the goal of recruiting the actress. And, as required by instructions, he had a subtle and delicate conversation with her about the work of foreign agents in the USSR, about the lack of high-class agents in the KGB and the duty of every decent citizen to help his country.
In response, he heard a vivid monologue from Faina Georgievna, in which she expressed her complete readiness to cooperate, and the only obstacle in this field is the fact that she lives in a communal apartment and talks in her sleep. A month later, she was laying out a tablecloth in her new apartment in the snow-white kitchen.
And a month later to the state authorities. security received a denunciation in which the residents of the house expressed concern about the behavior of a certain actress living in their house. She screams all night long about the fight against the imperialist threat and about her ability to destroy all enemy agents after she becomes a freelance KGB employee.
After such a letter, Ranevskaya was marked with a heavy cross. As it turned out later, she wrote the denunciation herself and, for two bottles of vodka, persuaded a local mechanic to take it to the appropriate authorities. The actress herself explained her action very simply: “...I can’t give much to my organs, but my conscience doesn’t allow me to do much – damned upbringing!”
Ranevskaya's neighbors were Nonna Mordyukova, Klara Luchko, actress Marina Ladynina with her husband, film director Ivan Pyrev, poet Alexander Tvardovsky, writer Konstantin Paustovsky, and many other famous representatives of the creative intelligentsia. The architect Dmitry Chechulin himself also lived in this house on the embankment.
The great ballerina Galina Ulanova lived in building “B” on the 6th floor for 12 years. In 2004, a museum was opened in her apartment No. 185, which preserved the furnishings and collected her personal belongings. The museum consists of four rooms with very modest furnishings.
A huge mirror has been preserved for constant training. The ballerina, despite her age and state of health, spent several hours at the barre every day. Favorite reading chair in the same place. In the bedroom there is a warm terry blanket on the ottoman and glasses next to it on the nightstand.
In the hallway there is a seemingly forgotten umbrella, and in the wardrobe there is a demi-season checkered coat. Small details are carefully placed throughout the rooms to create a homely feel. One gets the impression that it’s worth waiting a little and Galina Sergeevna will return to her apartment after another brilliant performance on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater.
Modern actors are also happy to buy housing in a residential building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment. Renata Litvinova, a Russian actress, TV presenter and director, neighbors with actor, musician, showman Dmitry Nagiyev. Actor and writer Efim Shifrin even called his book “Diary of a Boilermaker.”
High-rise on Kotelnicheskaya in the cinema
In Soviet-era films, an elite residential building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment often appears as the place of residence of the main characters. In the comedy “True Friends” by Mikhail Kalatozov, one of the main characters, Academician Nestratov, supervised the construction of this particular Stalinist high-rise building without leaving his office. And his childhood friends were looking for him while climbing the scaffolding.
One of the famous episodes is the scene in which the young heroines of the film “Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears” meet the unknown actor Innokenty Smoktunovsky on the stairs of the Illusion cinema, located in a residential building on Kotelnicheskaya. All the scenes in the entrance were filmed in this building, while according to the plot of the film, Professor Tikhomirov lived in a high-rise building on Vosstaniya Square (Kudrinskaya Square).
In modern films, high-rise buildings also appear as locations. In the sensational television series “Brigade”, on the occasion of their wedding, the main character Sasha Bely and his wife are given an apartment by friends in a residential building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment, where on the very first day there is an attempt on their life using a tripwire with a grenade.
According to the plot, the family of the protagonist of the TNT TV series “The Last of the Magikians” lives in an apartment in a residential building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment.
Political views or banal hooliganism
Not so long ago, a residential building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment became famous not only in Russia, but also in other countries. In August 2014, an unknown person placed a Ukrainian flag on the spire of a high-rise building and repainted half of the star yellow to match the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
Photos of the high-rise building with a two-color flag were distributed to magazines and newspapers both in Russia and abroad. Russian law enforcement agencies quickly established the identity of the roofer, who appeared on social networks as Mustang. He turned out to be a Ukrainian citizen who tried to express his political views in such an inappropriate way.
Subsequently, information appeared that a patriotic citizen of Ukraine sold his photographic materials to a well-known magazine for a substantial fee. In response to a request from Russian law enforcement agencies to extradite a roofer accused of hooliganism, Ukraine refused, saying that its citizen carried out an important special task in enemy territory and was awarded an honorary insignia for this.
Even taking into account the trouble that occurred, the residential building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment remains a monument to the Stalin era and great Soviet architecture.
