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28-953: The Lutheran cemetery on Dekabristov Island is known to have existed in 1747. The Smolenka River divides it from the Smolensky Orthodox Cemetery on Vasilievsky Island . This cemetery contained the burials of the parishioners of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Katarina and the Catholic Church of St. Catherine , including Leonhard Euler , Xavier de Maistre , Germain Henri Hess , José de Ribas , Moritz von Jacobi , Agustín de Betancourt , Jean-François Thomas de Thomon , Ludvig Nobel , Fyodor Litke , Georg Friedrich Parrot , Karl Nesselrode , Vladimir Lamsdorf and Vasily Radlov . Some tombstones of notable people were transferred to

56-475: A British investment company launched a development project on a 1 square-kilometer lot in western Goloday Island, hiring Ivan Fomin and Fyodor Lidval to design a Neoclassical middle-classical neighborhood. A small part of this project was completed before World War I and the Russian Revolution . Eastern and northern sides of the island were heavily industrialized; the western half of the island

84-690: A corruption of a British merchant name Halliday) is an island in Vasileostrovsky District of Saint Petersburg , Russia , to the north of Vasilyevsky Island , separated from it by Smolenka River . The island, originally low-lying and frequently flooded, all the same was traditionally used as the Smolensky Lutheran Cemetery . In the early Soviet period, the name was changed to Decembrists' Island to commemorate five executed leaders of Decembrist revolt , who were buried in an unmarked grave on Goloday. In 1911,

112-514: A neoclassical draft. In 1904, Fomin published his Revival Manifesto in Mir Iskusstva magazine, pledging to architectural legacy of Catherine and Alexander I . "These days, everyone wants to be individual, to invent his own, and in the end we cannot see neither a dominant style, nor a trace of those who can eventually create it". Fomin believed in a universal idea uniting everyone, and in an architectural style that could serve it. He promoted

140-651: A promoter of Art Nouveau. However, his attempts to forge the new Architectural Society failed. In 1902, he set up the Construction College in Moscow, with a separate class for women. Fomin acquired a solid reputation, but did not have an architect's license yet. He returned to St.Petersburg in 1905 and completed Leon Benois ' course at the Academy of Arts in 1909, winning a one-year study tour to Greece, Egypt and Italy. At this time, Neoclassical Revival became

168-546: A result, the new architectural order can be simplified to a laconic set of basic elements, not bound by strict proportions. In practice, like all theories, it worked for good architects (like Fomin himself) but could not help mediocre imitators. In 1929, Fomin relocated to Moscow. There, he completed the Dynamo building, an experiment halfway between modern art and his own neoclassicism. The building, using steel frame and concrete slab floors, looks like an industrial object, but

196-436: A true Doric Greek classic. Unfortunately for Golosov, extremely hard geological conditions required heavy, wide support pylons. His otherwise fine draft was not feasible for 1935 technology, giving way to Fomin's simple red granite design – a tribute to the old Red Gates , demolished in 1932. This station opened to public in 1935, while Fomin was alive. He designed one more station, Teatralnaya (then Ploschad Sverdlova ), which

224-700: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Ivan Fomin Ivan Aleksandrovich Fomin ( Russian : Иван Александрович Фомин; 3 February [ O.S. 22 January] 1872 – 12 June 1936) was a Russian architect and educator . He began his career in 1899 in Moscow , working in the Art Nouveau style. After relocating to Saint Petersburg in 1905, he became an established master of the Neoclassical Revival movement. Following

252-720: The Russian Revolution of 1917 Fomin developed a Soviet adaptation of Neoclassicism and became one of the key contributors to an early phase of Stalinist architecture known as postconstructivism . Born in Oryol , Fomin received a classical education at a high school in Riga , and studied mathematics at the Moscow University . In 1894, he joined the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg but

280-640: The Government of Ukraine building became a staple of Soviet textbooks on architecture, a model of Stalin's Empire . Fomin's son, Igor Ivanovich Fomin (born 1904) also became an architect, working primarily in Saint Petersburg. A constructivist in his twenties, he later completed various Stalinist projects like Schemilovka residential district and Ploschad Vosstania metro station. Similarity of initials (I.I. Fomin vs. I.A. Fomin) frequently confuses journalists. Fomin's Moscow studio and museum (at

308-471: The Reck family, who sponsored Art Nouveau. In 1902–1903, he organized the "Exhibition of Art and Architecture of New Style", showcasing his works in interior design. Fomin contracted top-level furniture makers, foundries and ceramic plants for his own designs, but also displayed works by guests like Charles Rennie Mackintosh , Joseph Maria Olbrich , Koloman Moser and Russian artists. Fomin established himself as

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336-487: The academy's exhibitions in "History of Russian Art" (1909) and "History of Architecture" (1911), as vigorously as he did his Art Nouveau shows. Fomin was an outspoken advocate for building preservation, leading a campaign against the conversion of historical mansions into rental apartment buildings. Fomin completed numerous interior renovations, and two new buildings (Polovtsov mansion, and Abamelek-Lazarev mansion ). His greatest urban projects of this time, interrupted by

364-459: The chair of Petrograd (St.Petersburg) Zoning commission, and designed the Field of Mars landscape (1920–1923). Fomin trained a new generation of architects at VKhUTEMAS /VKhuTEIN, at the same time developing his own concept of proletarian classicism . He asserted that a universal architecture must borrow essential principles from classicism, but the details of classicism are not important. As

392-560: The early Soviet period when vital records are missing or prove difficult to find. Historians use them to research the social histories of the city. Somewhere in the cemetery lies the little body of infant Louisa Catherine Adams (August 12, 1811 - September 15, 1812), the fourth and last child and only daughter of John Quincy and Louisa Adams . Dekabristov Island Dekabristov Island ( Russian : остров Декабристов , lit.   'Decembrists Island'), known prior to 1926 as Goloday Island (остров Голодай – possibly

420-561: The exact writing on each headstone . He has published a two-volume book on the cemetery detailing its history ( Deutsche in St. Petersburg: ein Blick auf den Deutschen Evangelisch-Lutherischen Smolenski-Friedhof und in die europäische Kulturgeschichte , 1998). The second volume contains an index of all those buried there whose graves are still standing today. The publications are used by genealogists for family research in pre-revolutionary Russia and

448-410: The leading style in St. Petersburg, and the most technologically advanced. Banks and department stores, who favored the style, could afford a steel frame and concrete slab floors. A combination of money and technology allowed the mix of classical columns and arches with large glass surfaces. Fomin's turn to Neoclassicism is traced to 1903, when he applied to the contest for Count Volkonsky estate with

476-424: The monumental imperial classics in a middle class community. Only a fraction of his plan materialized before World War I. One building, a school on Kakhovsky Street, stands today. In 1918, Fyodor Lidval left for Sweden . Fomin stayed in St. Petersburg. The Russian Civil War stopped all new construction; the few architectural jobs concentrated in monumental propaganda and city planning. Fomin managed to secure

504-502: The necropolis of famous people at Alexander Nevsky Lavra . Among them are Thomas de Thomon (relocated in the 1930s), Euler (1956), Betancourt (1979), and others. In the last perestroika years of the Soviet Union two parts of the cemetery were destroyed. The first was a large section in the far north west corner of the cemetery which was entirely flattened to make way for a building for a local fire department in 1985. The second

532-414: The outbreak of World War I, didn't materialize in full. Novy Peterburg ( Goloday Island development) was a huge Palladian fantasy. In 1911 a British investment company led by Riccardo Gualino , launched a development project on a 1 square kilometer lot in the western Goloday Island, awarding general planning to Fomin. Building design was split between Fomin and Fyodor Lidval . Fomin wanted to recreate

560-447: The paired columns, Fomin's trademark, give away its classical origin. In 1933, when all Moscow architects were assigned to 20 Mossovet workshops, Fomin is appointed to lead Design Workshop No.3 . Here, he designed his three last projects (two will be completed after his death). According to Selim Khan-Magomedov , Fomin was one of the two forerunners of so-called postconstructivism , an early stage of Stalinist architecture (the other

588-411: The quilt warms up an otherwise dull shape. Column capitals also differ from their Corynthian prototypes: at this height, he reasoned, fine Greek details would be lost, so he simplified and enlarged leaves of his ornament. Fomin died of a sudden stroke in 1936 and was interred at Novodevichye Cemetery ; Teatralnaya and Government of Ukraine were completed by other architects. After World War II ,

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616-461: Was Ilya Golosov ). Postconstructivism is defined as classical shapes without classical details , an attempt to reinvent new styling to replace classical order . Fomin eventually disposed with it in favor of true neoclassicism (as did all Stalinist architecture). Fomin took part in all of the major architectural contests of his time: He did win and completed one of the Metro jobs. Palace of Soviets

644-456: Was a small section at the entrance which was replaced with a petrol station in the early 1990s. The person who has done the most work in investigating the current status of the cemetery is Robert Leinonen, a longtime resident of Saint Petersburg who moved to Germany in 1991. Between 1988 and 1991, Leinonen went on countless personal visits to the cemetery itself and compiled an inventory of all those graves that are still standing today, copying

672-440: Was built up with a Brezhnev -era high-rise. Dekabristov Island is connected to Vasilievsky Island to the south with five automobile bridges, and to the tiny Serny Island north from it. It is connected to the center of the city through Primorskaya station of Saint Petersburg Metro . 59°57′N 30°14′E  /  59.950°N 30.233°E  / 59.950; 30.233 This Saint Petersburg location article

700-483: Was completed two years after his death. His last project on the ground, Government of Ukraine building in Kyiv , was approved for construction in 1934. This 10-story building, the earliest example of true Stalin's Empire Style , was hailed as the way to build and spawned numerous imitations. A peculiar feature is the quilt-like ornament on the columns. Fomin knew very well that a 25-meter bare column will look unnatural;

728-465: Was expelled in 1896 for political activities. After a year of studies in France, Fomin settled in Moscow and passed the tests for a contractor's license. He worked for Lev Kekushev and Fyodor Schechtel , two leading masters of Art Nouveau . Schechtel assigned him to Moscow Art Theatre project, which exposed Fomin to the public and eventually brought him his first own commissions. Fomin's early style

756-678: Was related to Schekhtel's and Austrian Jugendstil . His first and most notable work was the Wilhelmina Reck mansion in Skatertny Lane. The building is loosely modeled after the Elvira Studio by August Endell (1896, destroyed 1944); instead of Endell's marine motifs, Fomin decorated his work with plaster flowers and majolica inserts. The same floral motifs were used in the iron gates. The building still stands, albeit rebuilt beyond recognition. Fomin continued working for

784-493: Was won by Boris Iofan , construction began with enormous publicity but was terminated by German attack of 1941 . His other two contests did not get beyond concept drafts. Unlike Ivan Zholtovsky , who abstained from the lowly work on subway stations, Fomin eagerly joined the contest for the Metro. He competed on the Krasniye Vorota ( Red Gates ) against former constructivist Ilya Golosov , whose entry appeared to be

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