Soviet architecture: description, history and interesting facts

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Building a new society could not but affect the culture of the country in general and architecture in particular. Soviet architecture went through several stages of development, it knew its ups and downs, but in any case it became a definite event in world architecture. There were several architects of the highest level in the USSR, and today in the expanses of the post-Soviet space you can see several world-class masterpieces. Let's talk about how the styles of Soviet architecture developed and how it developed.

Features and tasks of Soviet architecture

After the October Revolution of 1917, the new government of the country actively undertook to change all spheres of life. For some time, everyone was not up to architecture, but very soon it became clear that it should also perform an ideological function, like everything else.art. In the 1920s, architects were not directly tasked with forming a new space, but the creators themselves acutely felt that the time had come for new forms and began to search for the expression of ideas of change. But later, Soviet architecture was called upon to serve the ideas of socialism. All art in the USSR had to prove the only correct way of development - socialist. This determined the main features of Soviet architecture, which always had to be first of all ideological, and lastly - beautiful. If at first the creators still managed to combine utility, idea and beauty, then gradually aesthetics gave way to utility, and this led to a decline in the potential of great architecture.

Historical background

The development of Soviet architecture went through several stages. The origin of this phenomenon is associated with the period of the 1920s - the beginning of the 30s, when there is an active search for new forms, classical methods of architecture are rethought. At this time, two main avant-garde trends in Soviet architecture were taking shape: constructivism and rationalism. At the end of the 1930s, it became clear that the avant-garde was not on the path with the ideological Soviet culture. A new architecture begins to take shape, the purpose of which is to glorify the greatness and achievements of the socialist idea. The implementation of the ideas of this period was prevented by the Second World War, after which a new period in architecture begins. It is associated not only with the restoration of destroyed cities, but also with the creation of a new space that would support in a persona sense of pride in their country. It is on this ideological basis that the Stalinist Empire is formed, with its craving for scale. The beginning of the 60s exacerbated the problem of residential architecture. People lived in inhuman conditions, and this could no longer be attributed to the post-war reconstruction. It is necessary to solve the problem of building mass housing. This task was solved due to the maximum reduction in the cost of projects. This turned out to be a tragedy for Soviet architecture. which chose not the best path of development and followed the French in their functional standard construction.

All creative attempts of architects were recognized as redundant and harmful. What made the creators engage in "paper architecture", that is, create projects without the hope of implementation. In the 1980s, Soviet architects were acutely aware of the impending crisis. At this time, a typical, faceless project dominates. Architecture is evolving from art to mere drawing skill. She very slowly began to emerge from this crisis only towards the end of the 90s, but this is already the post-Soviet period.

Soviet avant-garde

At the end of the Civil War, the question arose of restoring Moscow. By this time, two new trends had developed in the architecture of the country: constructivism and rationalism. They were created by outstanding architects who were formed within the framework of the Russian and European tradition, but saw the need to create a new architecture that would meet new realities. At that time, the creators were fascinated by the idea of creating a new society and forming a new, harmonious person.

Constructivists led by the Vesnin brothers, Konstantin Melnikov, Moses Ginzburg believed that the composition of the building should meet the function. They abandoned historical continuity, giving the main role to simple structures with a minimum of decor. Thanks to them, the architecture of the Soviet avant-garde was enriched with such buildings as the round house of K. Melnikov in Moscow, the building of the Izvestia newspaper, the ZIL Palace of Culture and many others. The direction was very favorably received by the architects and its branches appeared in Leningrad, Kharkov, Gorky, Sverdlovsk. In many cities of the former USSR, you can still admire the constructivist buildings.

The second avant-garde trend, rationalism, led by N. Ladovsky and V. Krinsky, received less implementation than constructivism. They saw the psychology of the perception of a building by a person as the main thing in their work. In the early 1930s, the avant-garde was recognized as ideologically alien to Soviet art and quickly ceased to exist. Later, rationalism was "rehabilitated" and its ideas were actively used in architecture in the 60s.

Architecture of the 30s-40s

In the mid-1930s, Soviet architecture entered a new period. The need for mass reconstruction of residential and public buildings, the construction of new types of structures, for example, a site for an agricultural exhibition, is brewing for the new government. Traditional techniques and methods come to the fore. A great architect leads the traditionalistsold school, neoclassicist I. Zholtovsky. A retrospective in his views, he returns to domestic practice the love of columns, pilasters, arches, etc. During this period, the influence of constructivism is still strong, but the bias towards the classics is becoming more and more pronounced. Before the outbreak of World War II, the country, especially in Moscow, experienced a construction boom. The VDNKh complex, the State Library named after V. I. Lenin, several stations of the Moscow metro are being built. An ensemble of Dzerzhinsky Square is being built in Kharkov. Government House appears in Yerevan. New cities appear on the map of the USSR, the plans of which embody the ideas of new architecture. These are Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Magnitogorsk, Khabarovsk. Before the war, about 170 million square meters were built in the country. m of housing. A new, imperial style of the USSR is gradually taking shape.

Stalin Empire style

After World War II, the history of Soviet architecture enters a new phase. It took a lot of resources to rebuild the destroyed settlements. In the mid-1940s, the second “great style” in architecture after constructivism, the Stalinist Empire style, was formed in the USSR. He combined several trends: classicism, baroque, art deco, empire. He was characterized by scope, pomposity, majesty. Buildings in this style were designed to demonstrate the victory and scale of Soviet achievements. Moscow skyscrapers became famous as a symbol of this style: Moscow State University, hotel "Ukraine", the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and others. The Stalinist Empire style became the dominant style for 150 years, it changed the face of the country. Stalinskayaarchitecture appeared in almost all cities of the country.

Massive residential architecture

In the post-war period, the problem of housing became acute. But in the 50s, the management could not solve it, since it was necessary to restore the production infrastructure. But in the 1960s it was already impossible to postpone the solution of this problem. Just by this time, the end of the Stalin era came and N. Khrushchev called for the maximum reduction in the cost of residential construction. He also initiated a fight against "artistic excesses", it was recommended to take the quarters of French functionalism as a model. This is how the famous Cheryomushki appeared as an example of a new living environment. The block was supposed to have all social infrastructure facilities, and buildings should provide a minimum area for each resident.

Architecture of the 60-80s

From the end of the 60s, mass-scale construction of standard housing began. In all cities and towns of the USSR, houses made of enlarged concrete parts appear. Construction is going fast, people are getting apartments. But it is difficult to apply the word "architecture" to this development, since the buildings were absolutely faceless and identical. So the architecture of the Soviet region according to a standard project in any city was like two drops of water similar to other settlements. It was over this that the film director E. Ryazanov laughed in the film "The Irony of Fate". Mass construction and the fight against architectural excesses led to the fact that by the 80s the phenomenon of Soviet architecture had turned into nothing. Certainly there wereindividual creators and buildings worthy of attention, but in general, architecture was in a deep crisis. It is interesting that living architectural creativity at that time moved from the capitals to the provinces and union republics.

"Paper" architecture

In the 80s, when the official architecture of the Soviet period is plunging into crisis, this unusual phenomenon appears. Young architects at that time could not count not only on the implementation of their ideas, but even on their recognition. Therefore, they created projects on paper, often sent them to various foreign competitions and won prizes. A whole generation of good architects is being formed in this area. The founders of the movement are A. Brodsky, I. Utkin, M. Belov, Yu. Avvakumov, M. Kharitonov. Architects have developed their own style of presenting ideas. Since they were sure that the projects would not be realized, they focused on the visual presentation of the concept. Basically, these architects were inspired by the ideas of antiquity, although they often created futuristic projects.

The best architects of the USSR

Soviet architecture in the first half of its history developed thanks to the creativity of architects who studied and formed back in imperial times. After this generation is gone, there is a short period of calm. But soon a new pleiad of architects grows up, bringing new ideas and new tasks. Among the best architects of the USSR, experts include K. Melnikov, V. Tatlin, A. Shchusev. These constructivists are the real pride of our country.in world architecture. Also among the best in domestic architecture are N. Ladovsky, I. Rerberg, the Vesnin brothers, A. Krasovsky. A great contribution to the formation of the image of many Soviet cities was made by I. V. Zholtovsky, V. N. Semenov, N. Dokuchaev, B. Iofan, V. Krinsky. In Soviet times, architects were formed who had the opportunity to transform the post-Soviet space after perestroika. Among them, it is worth mentioning I. Utkin, A. Brodsky, Y. Grigoryan.

Interesting facts

The architecture of the Soviet era is full of interesting objects and facts. So, the round house of K. Melnikov is one of the best monuments of constructivism in the world. The outstanding world architect Le Corbusier came to Moscow three times to be inspired by new ideas. In the 30s, the most ambitious project of Soviet architecture was created - the Palace of Soviets, the height of which was supposed to be about 400 m, 100 floors. To implement it, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was blown up, but the plan was not realized.