During the course of its eight decades in existence the Soviet Union created one of the most unique political, cultural, and social environments in recorded history. During the 1930’s Stalin commissioned an architectural project that was to be a perfect representation of this unique environment. That project, which was to be the Palace of Soviets, was designed in a way the completely fit the Socialist Realism style of art.The Palace of Soviets was to be the greatest government building and office center in the world. Because of its unique history the Palace of Soviets is remembered as a monumental building project rather then an actual structure. When design of the building began it was decided to create something that would function as a government building, office center, and a monument all in one. While many architects competed it was Boris Iofan who won the competition and was granted the honor of designing it. If finished the building would have been 1,361 feet high, which at the time would have made it the largest building in the world. The whole edifice was to be crowned with a massive statue of Lenin made out of aluminum and the inside would have housed a main chamber that would seat 20,000 people. To make room for the structure Stalin had the Cathedral of Christ the Savior torn down. Although work began the construction had only risen to the eleventh story when the project was halted at the beginning of the war in 1941. Eventually the whole structure was torn down so that the steal girders could be melted down and used to create tank traps. To understand the history of the Palace of Soviets one must understand the artistic style of the time because it was this style that influenced the buildings design even more so then its intended use.
The Communist party managed to impact almost every aspect of life in the Soviet Union after the revolution. Upon taking control of the government the party quickly moved to control not only every aspect of administration but also to assume authority over areas that had hitherto been considered outside of government control. Art was one of the areas that became very important to the Soviets at an early stage. The Bolsheviks believed that art was one of the most important ways to control society and shape its perceptions. This attitude lead to a government approved style that was called Socialist Realism. This new style was first formulated at the Congress of Soviet Writers in 1934. In theory the style was supposed to be realistic depictions of things from a socialist perspective. What this translated to in real life though was a style that was always positively portraying Soviet life and culture in ways that were affirmative to the point of being totally divorced from the reality of life within the Communist system. The general characteristics that are seen in this style was an emphasis on things that normal workers and peasants could relate to. In terms of the way that this style was applied to architecture everything built should be large, project strength and greatness, and be awe-inspiring.
The design of the Palace of Soviets was one that was fully based on the style of Soviet Realism. If it had been completed the building would have dominated the skyline of Moscow. It would have been something seen from miles around by every citizen as they walked around downtown and did their daily business. Soviet Realism dictates that art is subservient to the state and the palace would have been the greatest manifestation of this principle, as the building would have become the great symbol of the Soviet Government. The classical style of the architecture was something that every citizen could understand and appreciate which was important. Crowning the whole building was a statue of Lenin. This piece was important for it added a sense of heroicness to the building as well as made a political monument instead of just a building. The design of the Palace was done in such a way so that every citizen and especially every party member who saw the building would be filled with a sense of awe and feeling that the building projected power, greatness, and success.
While other architectural projects based on Socialist Realism were completed during Stalin’s reign none of them ever came close to matching the size scope or grandeur of the Palace of Soviets. When the plans to build the palace were abandoned after World War II the site was turned into the world’s largest swimming pool until the 1990’s when the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was rebuilt exactly where Stalin had torn it down. In the end the Palace of Soviets has become a striking illustration for the history of the USSR itself. Grand and magnificent in design, poorly initiated in construction, incomplete, and ultimately swept away.
