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67-467: The area of the location where the modern building sits is significant to the history of Kyiv and its geography. Historically, when Kyiv still had military fortification walls surrounding the city which ran along the modern Khreschatyk street and in the area of the Pechersk Gate, now located in today's Maidan Nezalezhnosti square. The layout of the roads leading to the gate can still be observed at

134-454: A different building that survived to the period of World War II , and this is confirmed by F. Ernst in his 1930 travel guide "Kyiv": "...25-ho Zhovtnya street (Insititutska) №14: A small wooden house in three floors height, externally decorated with yellow ochre . Nearby [ up the hill ] is a house that appeared like a cottage ( № 16 ), built by the famous Kievan architect Aleksandr Vikentievich Beretti (1816-1895). Selling it he later settled in

201-506: A fool pray and instead he breaks his forehead". Another author of the project B.Priymak too said that "the hotel had to have a powerful strength show the picturesque natural landscape of Kiev, towering high above the Kreschatik. Realisation of the projected design would have allowed to enrich the composition of the main square of the capital". In particular it was this argument that was repeated from Kyiv's architects that came throughout

268-512: A full impact on the final stage of its reconstruction. The original project of Dobrovolsky was abandoned, which upon the late 1950s was mostly complete, with the exception of the northeastern side of the Kalinin square. Construction was stopped, and the square, for almost two decades looked very odd with the asymmetry formed from the rich Stalinist buildings on the north and the old pre-war, and pre-revolution constructions opposite. However, none of

335-468: A new architectural style that would correspond to the political system of the Soviet state. According to the “VOPRA Declaration”, the creation of proletarian architecture is possible if the method of Marxist analysis is used when analyzing the art of past generations. This formulation indicates that VOPRA was a politicized organization. In 1930–1931, Aleksandr Vlasov participated in a closed competition for

402-519: A project for a new house, but being not satisfied, he self-planned an original in pseudo-Mauritanian style mansion (destroyed in 1941). In 1886, Fabritsius widened his land by buying a neighbouring plot ( Institutska 18 ) and building a new four-story house there. Like all of central Kyiv, the Ginzburg house was to have the same fate as the rest of the buildings when after the Red Army's abandoning of

469-417: A statement, so for their part they pointed out the shortcomings of landmark projects of the post-war period. The chief architect of Moscow called it unprincipled to use images borrowed from the design practice of pre-revolutionary apartment buildings as architectural decoration for modern buildings. Aleksandr Vlasov also pointed out the high cost of Moscow skyscrapers. The Leningradskaya Hotel, built according to

536-504: Is a historical neighborhood in the city center of Kyiv , the capital of Ukraine . It is a part of the administrative Pechersk Raion ( district ). Pechersk is located between the Lypky , Klov and Dnieper hills. Its main streets are Ivan Mazepa Street, Dmytro Hodzenko Street, and Lesia Ukrainka Boulevard. Its name comes from the caves of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (founded in 1051) existing since ancient times. The settlement began to emerge in

603-690: The Stalin era , was found guilty of a passion for external decoration, which led to irrational spending of budget funds. However, even after this, Aleksandr Vlasov continued his professional activities, and at the II All-Union Congress of Architects in November 1955, he was elected a member of the presidium of the Union of Architects of the USSR. The following year, the Soviet government reorganized

670-547: The USSR Council of Ministers decided to reorganize the department into the Architectural and Planning Department, the head of which remained Aleksandr Vlasov. In the same year, a new plan for the construction of Moscow until 1960 was approved, according to which large-scale development of territories outside the current Third Ring Road was envisaged. Already in 1952, under the leadership of Aleksandr Vlasov, for

737-592: The offspur also received its share of development, and the Linden tree forest was transformed into a park with a lake (in the modern location of the Ivan Franko square); all of this was inside the grounds of a massive estate that was bought in 1862 by Kyiv University professor of medicine Friedrich Mering . To gain additional profits, Mering allowed part of the park to be converted for the use of workshops and storage. When Mering died in 1895, his son Michael divided

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804-502: The 12th century as the Pechersk Lavra settlement including areas around the former village of Berestove . In 16-17th century, Pechersk was a town. Construction of Old Cave Castle (the administrative center of Kyiv) began in the 1st half of the 18th century followed by New Pechersk fortress 30 - 40 years later. In the 19th century, the settlement included the former settlement Vasylkivski Rohatky. Pechersk name can be found in

871-472: The 1960s and 1970s, who, in unison, stressed that the building should be completed in stand alone fashion, maybe not Stalinist, but at least in its form, it should be done so to become a visual image of Kyiv rather than an eyesore. However even, when in the 1980s the Kalinin (then renamed October Revolution) square finally did obtain the full symmetric look that was originally projected, the reconstruction of Moskva deemed too complex to carry out then. In 2001, it

938-590: The 8th Moscow Gymnasium. His letters to his wife testify to the high level of education received in his youth. During a business trip abroad in 1935–1936, he often referred to examples from the ancient and medieval history of Europe , and sometimes used phrases from the French language in the text. In 1920 he entered the Moscow Polytechnic Institute at the architectural department (since 1922 - MIGI). Course projects from 1923, completed under

1005-542: The Mykolaevska (modern Horodetska) and Institute streets. In 1901, under the project of architect Shleif, a six-story building was constructed on Mykolaevska-9 and built into the new mansion complex. The building still stands today, though badly damaged in 1941, it has lost some of its original decor following post-war restorations. Indeed, in 1884, the mansion of Instituska 16 was bought by a military engineer, Colonel M. Fabritsius. He ordered architect A. Gekker to create

1072-640: The Palace of the Soviets, the most expensive building in the country, to the competition. Although Aleksandr Vlasov did not become the winner in this round, he soon received an order for the reconstruction of the Central Park of Culture and Recreation. Even foreign experts appreciated the implemented plan: Aleksandr Vlasov received the Grand Prix for the Central Park of Culture and Culture project in 1937 at

1139-547: The Raion, Square, Descent, Boulevard (now Lesia Ukrainka Boulevard), Street (no longer exists) and Novopecherska Street (no longer exists). Now Pechersk preserves monuments of architecture from the Kyivan Rus era and later centuries. Aleksandr Vlasov (architect) Aleksandr Vasilyevich Vlasov ( Russian : Александр Васильевич Власов ; 19 October 1900, Bolshaya Kosha, Selizharovsky District - 25 September 1962, Moscow)

1206-706: The Ukrainian Academy of Architecture, professor (since 1969) and laureate of the USSR State Prize (1967) Abraham Miletsky wrote: Aleksandr Vasilyevich Vlasov and the architectural workshops he created (now the Main Directorate of Kievproekt) played a big role in the formation of Kyiv architecture. Small in stature, extremely reserved, in Kyiv he diplomatically and subtly solved the problems of implementing architectural plans... All planning work

1273-528: The best of those proposed, according to critics, not a single concept fully corresponded to the image of the Palace of Soviets. The decision to construct the building was postponed. In 1960, the Office for the Design of the Palace of Soviets was created, headed by Aleksandr Vlasov. However, construction never began. Shortly before his death, Aleksandr Vlasov was elected first secretary of the Union of Architects of

1340-415: The building must be cut by five floors. Later I was told that Nikita Khrushchev , during one of his visits to Kiev asked what happened to the finale of "Moskva" and after seeing that this is how the "struggle with decorative extras" is being conducted, with pity said that unique constructions are not affected by that decree and only housing property, and what happened here was just like in the old saying "make

1407-448: The central part of the city proceeded quite quickly: by the end of 1945, 30 thousand m of living space had been restored. Nevertheless, the development plan for Khreshchatyk was discussed for a long time, and the construction of the first buildings began only in 1949, shortly before Aleksandr Vlasov left for Moscow. New Kyiv houses, in accordance with fashion , received rich ornaments. Granite, majolica, and ceramics were used to decorate

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1474-480: The city of Shymkent . For several years he developed projects for the restoration of destroyed cities. These developments came in handy after his appointment to the post of chief architect of Kyiv. In the 1930s and 1940s in the Soviet Union, when designing new and restored destroyed urban ensembles, a concept dating back to the urban planning traditions of the 19th century was used. The central highway became

1541-510: The city remote explosives were employed to detonate and blow up the central city. Ginzburg house was not totally destroyed but remained as a ruined shell. After Kyiv's liberation, during the cleanup of the streets and squares of the city from the ruins the remaining part of the Ginzburg house were pulled down. Symbolically on the 22nd of June, 1944 the City Council called for a competition for architects from Kyiv as well as other places from

1608-463: The complex. We sought to implement the idea of space in the building of the Palace of Soviets in a new way. For the climate of Moscow, where nature is stingy and dead for 6–7 months a year, the introduction of living nature inside the building in the form of a blooming garden seems interesting; it imparts a new quality to the entire building . And although a commission of public referents, created in 1958, headed by Yuri Yaralov, recognized his idea as

1675-516: The connecting link of the area, along which local architectural ensembles were created. An exemplary project carried out in accordance with this principle is Khreshchatyk , developed by a group of architects led by Aleksandr Vlasov. In the midst of work in Kyiv, in 1947, Aleksandr Vlasov was elected a full member of the USSR Academy of Architecture. He ended up in Kyiv where he was offered he

1742-487: The construction of individual structures and in the design of standard residential buildings. Since domestic specialists did not have enough experience to quickly solve this problem, major masters went on business trips abroad. In particular, Aleksandr Vlasov went to the USA. In connection with the changes that have occurred in the industry, the government decided to carry out significant resignations. So in 1955, Aleksandr Vlasov

1809-560: The country, the government's attitude towards architectural style changed. For the new management, it was important to increase the pace of construction while reducing costs. From this point of view, standard buildings devoid of expressive decorative elements became the most profitable. On November 30, 1954, at the "All-Union Meeting of Builders..." that opened in Moscow, Nikita Khrushchev criticized Soviet architecture in recent years. Industry leaders, including Aleksandr Vlasov, were ready for such

1876-485: The creation of exceptional structures. In 1953, he proposed his project for the Pantheon , a memorial complex where prominent figures of the country were supposed to be buried. He, like other architects, used the idea of an ancient temple as a starting point. After changes in government policy that occurred in 1954–1956, the very idea of such a structure lost its meaning. Subsequently, the Soviet government did not return to

1943-492: The creation of the Leninist Communist University on Vorobyovy Gory. For the first time, he received approval for the construction of a large architectural ensemble in Moscow, and in 1936, according to his design, the first buildings were created - the dormitories of the future institute. However, construction of the complex stopped there. The party leadership did not even approve the seventh version of

2010-460: The departmental academy, which received a new name - the Academy of Construction and Architecture. Since architecture was formally recognized as secondary to construction, Vlasov took the post of vice president in the new institution. In the fall of 1956, the Soviet government announced a new competition for the construction of the Palace of the Soviets. In parallel, an open part of the competition

2077-492: The design of architects Leonid Polyakov and Aleksandr Boretsky , was recognized as an anti-record. The price of 1 m of the building cost the state 21,000 rubles. Aleksandr Vlasov laid the blame not on the political leadership of the country, not even on Joseph Stalin personally, but on the architects who made mistakes "in understanding the method of socialist realism". After this, the so-called "perestroika" period began, when Soviet architects had to develop new methods, both in

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2144-478: The estate for development into several quarters, due to the formation of the estate's service driveways. One of these driveways became the modern Olhinska street, which effectively placed the offspur in the geographical layout that survives today, with the Olhinska street cutting off the offspur in the south. The remaining parts of the offspur, south of the Olhinska street did not receive a lot of development, as it

2211-557: The facades; on some houses, sculptural groups were installed along the facade[14]. According to an early plan, the building of the Kyiv Executive Committee (building 36) was conceived as an analogue of Stalin's high-rise buildings: 22 floors high, topped with a spire and decorated with groups of workers and collective farmers. However, as a result, a more modest 10-story building was built, which does not stand out among other buildings on Khreshchatyk. Honorary member of

2278-464: The first time in the history of the USSR , a project for the largest single urban complex was implemented: an area in the southwest of the capital, the main thoroughfare of which was Leninsky Prospekt . 8- and 9-story standard brick houses were erected, the first floors of which were allocated for shops and public buildings. In parallel, infrastructure facilities were built: schools, kindergartens, clinics. Aleksandr Vlasov still wanted to participate in

2345-664: The five small streets coming out of the northern part of the square. Overlooking the Pechersk Gate from the south was an offspur of the Pechersk plateau with two roads on both sides linking the Pechersk with old Kyiv. One of which, modern Institutska Street, was known since days of Kievan Rus' as the Ivanovo road and the other (modern Horodetska) lead to a large market that was to the south. A beautiful Linden wood covered

2412-692: The guidance of architect Ilya Golosov , have been preserved: "Passage Hotel with a Restaurant on the Roof" and "Central Station on the City Square". Already in these works one can see the desire of the future architect to design large city buildings with spacious, bright rooms. In 1924, the Faculty of Architecture of MIGI became an administrative unit of the Moscow Higher Technical School , and Aleksandr Vlasov continued his studies at

2479-459: The highest Republic level. As a result, with the carcass of the structure already rising, the architects were commissioned to alter the design in the most obscure ways possible. First came the rich foundation "grote" then the colonnade enriched entrance, replaced by a glazed lobby. In external decoration none of the small sculptures or bas-reliefs survived. Yet even at that the assault did not stop. The politicians, going against all principles, attacked

2546-689: The idea of the Soviet Pantheon. In 1954, construction began on the Central Lenin Stadium in Luzhniki. This is the last major project implemented according to the design of Aleksandr Vlasov with the participation of architects Nikolai Ullas and Igor Rozhin. The building became a milestone in the development of domestic architecture. Prefabricated reinforced concrete structures were actively used during construction. The large building has virtually no external decor, which for that time

2613-518: The impacts of the "struggle" were as visual as the final fate of the Hotel Moskva itself. In 1954 construction began on the empty space on top of the flattened remnants of the offspur following the clean-up of the Ginzburg house rubble in the late 1940s. Yet for a medium-sized building in 1955 construction was put on hold, then continued, but under a much slower rate. The design came under repeated waves of criticisms in light of Khrushchev's decree on

2680-586: The international exhibition in Paris. In 1935, the architect won the competition to create the Crimean Bridge, which was built under the leadership of engineer Boris Konstantinov in 1938. In 1940, Aleksandr Vlasov was elected corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Architecture. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War , the architect, along with other academicians, was evacuated to

2747-621: The new university. He received a diploma in Civil engineering only in 1928 and remained to teach at the department. At the same time, in 1931–1932, he lectured at the Institute of Architecture and Construction. In 1929, together with Karo Alabyan , Vladimir Babenkov and Viktor Baburov , he created VOPRA - the All-Russian Association of Proletarian Architects. This organization criticized constructivism and sought to form

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2814-438: The original plan to simplify construction. Despite this, several stage venues appeared in it, the two largest of which are the musical and drama theaters with 1464 and 733 seats, respectively. In 1932, Aleksandr Vlasov headed the architectural workshop No. 2 of Mosproekt, and the following year he completed his teaching career in order to engage exclusively in design and construction. Already in 1934, he submitted his design for

2881-577: The original projects, despite that that many were submitted in the long three-phase part was realized. The competition dragged on for several years and eventually the organisers gave the development of the general reconstruction project of central Kyiv to the first workshop of the institute "Kievprojekt". Thus the modern hotel building dates to 1948 when a joint group of architects headed by the chief Architect of Kyiv Aleksandr Vlasov and included A.Dobrovolsky, A.Malinovsky, V.Elizarova, B.Priymaka, A.Zavarova amongst many others. However, in 1949 Dobrovolsky took

2948-489: The past. I think that the architectural practice of those times was saved by the high level of professionality of the people designing it. However this proved powerless against the direct intervention of politics into architecture. I remember that night, when the member of the Ukrainian government I.Senin called me and, with extreme sadness in his voice, told about the government session that just closed. Nothing could be done,

3015-425: The position of the head after Vlasov moved to Moscow. In the early 1950s the remaining rubble of the Ginzburg house was removed, along with the old foundation, on the edge of the plateau, and the empty space was slowly prepared for the future high rise hotel. Construction of the building finalized by the architects A.Doborvolsky, V.Priymak, A.Miletsky, A.Kosenko and V.Sazansky began in 1954. By this point, construction

3082-424: The present wooden building. On the place of the cottage, now stands the mighty skyscraper (Ginzburg house). The wooden house ( № 14 ) is barely standing and inside is a hall with interesting pilasters." But only three years later, both mansions on Instituska 16 and 18 are transferred to the famous Kyivan contractor L. Ginzburg. Thus he becomes an owner of almost 34 square kilometres (13 sq mi) of land between

3149-496: The project proposed by Vlasov. Over time, the government abandoned the very idea of creating a Leninsky Komvuz on Vorobyovy Gory. The finished buildings were transferred to the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions . In 1931, the authorities of the city of Ivanovo announced a competition for the creation of a regional theater - a grandiose structure even by the standards of the capital. The complexity of

3216-557: The project was that a site located on the top of a small hill was allocated for the building. In addition, the Kokuy stream flowed nearby, which could undermine the soil under the foundation. 11 architects took part in the competition. The jury named the best project by Aleksandr Vlasov, who proposed the construction of a multi-level building stylistically close to the Mausoleum. During construction, Ivanovo architects made numerous changes to

3283-407: The republic and the union to develop a new project for a complete reconstruction of the central city. Most of them had provisions to place a new tall building on the place of the original Ginzburg house. The 1937 opinion of Alexander Dovzhenko about the Ginzburg house that all likewise constructions of Kyiv should be based on its geographical relief, was echoed in almost every project. Not a single of

3350-547: The resettling was directed towards the remaining Linden forest, which was deforested by the order of the governor. This area formed nowadays' most expensive city neighbourhoods: Lypky (from the Ukrainian translation of Lindens "Липки" ). However the offspur itself did not receive a lot of development due to the lack of space, and as a result, some of the Linden trees still existed for a long time afterwards. In particular, Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko documented: "My flat

3417-401: The surrounding hills forming a picturesque view from the city walls. Eventually, the military fortification was pulled down, and as the 18th century drew to a close, development of the picturesque area quickly began turning the Ivanovo road into Ivanovskaya Street (renamed in the 1820s to Bigechevskaya when an estate of General Bigechev was constructed on it). At the same time, the other side of

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3484-465: The top, a viewing platform would be installed so that visitors can see the whole of Kyiv. After the death of Joseph Stalin , Nikita Khrushchev firmly secured his position in Moscow. With the destalinisation programme in full swing the Soviet State re-prioritised its main objectives. One of the biggest problems was construction of housing, which despite being ten years since the end of the war,

3551-417: The whole top of the building, not only the spire, but the crowning five floor pedestal that the spire sat on, effectively halving the final height. As a result, the hotel, with its mutilated design that should have, with respect to the original decree, accelerated and rationalised its rate of construction, was opened only in 1961, seven years after construction began. The massive Moscow State University which

3618-470: Was a Soviet architect . He served as Chief Architect of Kyiv from 1944 to 1950 and Chief Architect of Moscow from 1950 to 1955 as well as President of the USSR Academy of Architecture from 1955 to 1956 and 1st Secretary of the Board of the Union of Architects of the USSR from 1961 to 1962. Born in the village of Bolshaya Kosha, Tver Oblast , in the family of a forestry scientist. In 1918 he graduated from

3685-557: Was also underway in the rebuilding of the Khreschatyk and the, renamed in 1946, Kalinin Square opposite the offspur. The original hotel was to be based much on Moscow's seven sisters that were built during that time. The finalised project featured an I shaped building with the central part towering over the two wings and topped with a decorative spire and a red star. A massive neo-classic foundation would serve as an entrance, and from

3752-567: Was born out of sorrows and hardships, with more than twenty individual projects that were developed, each one in turn passing the government in face of never-ending criticism. It is not surprising that the silhouette of the building reminds of the high rises that were erected at the time in Moscow . Back then it could not have been different, because projecting one of the most responsible buildings had direct state interest. Nonetheless, even in such conditions we tried to maximise our artistic individuality, made many attempts to use traditional motifs of

3819-556: Was carried out under his direct supervision. Having stood the test of time, they still amaze with the originality of the concept and the high quality of its implementation. But this was done in those years when there were ruins of blown-up houses on both sides of the street. In 1950, Aleksandr Vlasov headed the Department of Architectural Affairs of the Moscow City Executive Committee - the department

3886-652: Was considered almost a revolutionary approach. In the summer of 1954, the Moscow City Committee instructed the leadership of the APU and Mosproekt to accelerate the development and construction of standard house designs in Moscow - the period of large-scale development of the capital's outskirts began. As a result, in 1954–1959 alone, and in the South-West alone, 1.5 million m of living space were put into operation. With Nikita Khrushchev coming to power in

3953-502: Was directly across from the institute, not on the Kreshchatik, but on a hill. I offered it to Sofia Samoilovna and myself settled in architect Beretti's house." The flat that Shevchenko describes was in a one-floor wooden house with a Mezzanine which was built by architect Alexander V. Beretti on Instutska 14, in the early 1840s. It is probable that sometime later, this house was either demolished or rebuilt before being replaced by

4020-408: Was held, where all construction teams in the country could participate, and a closed part, in which only the country's leading architects submitted applications. Aleksandr Vlasov participated in the first closed competition, and in 1958 in the second. His project received special praise. The highlight of the building was to be a large winter garden, which was proposed to be created in the central part of

4087-554: Was much too slow with millions of people still living in communal flats. Faced with the dilemma in 1955 Khrushchev issued a decree, that initiated what became later known as the "struggle with decorative extras". In short it meant that rich exquisite features such as colonnades, sculptures, pilasters and other central features of Stalinist Architecture were not to be used. Although this was primarily addressed at housing, nonetheless, its impact found itself into projects that were already developed and in construction. For central Kyiv this had

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4154-649: Was offered a job by the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, Nikita Khrushchev . Since the capital of the Ukrainian SSR was almost completely destroyed during the Great Patriotic War , architects had the opportunity to rebuild Khreshchatyk. The main result of the street restructuring was a radical expansion - from 35 to 75 meters, with half of the new space allocated for green spaces. The reconstruction of

4221-658: Was removed from the post of chief architect of Moscow. Since he knew Nikita Khrushchev even before working in Kyiv, he managed to maintain his influence. Vlasov was even elected president of the USSR Academy of Architecture. On November 4 of the same year, in the Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR , the former chief architect of Moscow, along with other masters of

4288-529: Was renamed Ukrayina, in honour of the 10th anniversary of the independence of Ukraine. The hotel became a vantage point for journalists covering the Euromaidan in 2013 and the Revolution of Dignity the following year. In 2024, the hotel was privatized after being sold at auction to businessman Maksym Krippa for Hr 2.5 billion ($ 60 million). Pechersk, Kyiv Pechersk ( Ukrainian : Печерськ )

4355-616: Was reserved in 1830 by the Governor of the Kiev Governorate Knyaz Levashov, who ordered the construction of a new Pechersk Fortress which would continue for almost twenty years. The construction would later be abandoned due to political instability in the Russian Empire . However, for the construction, some of Pechersk's residents had to be resettled (in all 1,180 households were demolished). Some of

4422-421: Was responsible for the design of all buildings and structures in the capital. At this time, preparatory work began on the creation of new districts located on the former outskirts of the city. The architects had to not only design individual buildings, but also solve many infrastructural issues: think through the street grid, transport routes, and the location of public organizations. In this regard, on June 2, 1951,

4489-508: Was thrice as big was finished in only four years 1949-1953, i.e. almost twice as fast. The new building, originally meant to be an elite hotel, much like the Ginzburg house before it became an eyesore. Moreover, the transition from Stalinist Architecture was so rapid, that by the time of its opening, the architectural changes of the 1960s, inspired by the Space Age and new technology made it simply archaic. Dobrovolsky later wrote: This object

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