Modernist Architecture and Religion in the Soviet Union: The Case of the Palace of the Soviets and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

Although the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and the Palace of Soviets represent two completely different styles and ideologies, they are deeply intertwined in their shared building site, histories, and architecture. These two monuments were produced out of a desire to establish a new Russian architectural style and serve as symbols of power. My thesis will address the architectural competition of the design of the Palace of the Soviets and its place in the broader religious context of the Soviet Union, examining the link between religion and nation-building architecture in twentieth-century Russia. I will be framing this analysis by comparing the architectural components of the original Cathedral and the Palace of the Soviets, arguing that the conception and architectural features of both buildings and the similarities in the religious and secular rites of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the Communist regime illustrate the lingering presence and influence of religion in the Soviet ethos. I will be positioning the competition for the design of the Palace of the Soviets within the context of style debates that were going on in the first half of the twentieth century and the gradual move away from modernist aesthetics towards socialist realism

Spartan Daily, October 8, 1981

Volume 77, Issue 26https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/6802/thumbnail.jp

Style trends in Soviet architecture of the 1930s

In 1932, the competition for the Palace of the Soviets formally proclaimed a focus on “mastering the classical heritage”. From that moment on, Soviet architects turned with passion to Italian Renaissance motifs and the tradition of domestic pre-revolutionary architecture. However, in 1934, the Palace of Soviets was accepted for construction in an innovative, ribbed style and Art Deco forms. In those years, that kind of architecture was developing abroad as well. New York and Chicago became centres of rapid growth in the number of skyscrapers in Art Deco style; the new centre of Washington was worked out in Neoclassical style. All this allows us to record the phenomenon of style parallelism in the Soviet and foreign architecture of the 1930s

Strands of theatre: Le Corbusier’s staging of the Palace of the Soviets, 1931

El proyecto para el concurso del Palacio de los Soviets en Moscú (1931) de Le Corbusier plantea otra posible y más fragmentaria clave de interpretación que, aunque en principio sea más marginal, merece ser mencionada: la relación con el teatro, con la renovación de la escena europea y con la experimentación soviética, porque Le Corbusier es consciente de que la arquitectura no consiste sólo en la cualidad del edificio, es también una puesta en escena, una dramaturgia. Escenógrafos como Appia, con la luz, o directores de escena como Max Reinhardt, con el espectáculo de masas, y Vsevelod Meyerhold, con el teatro japonés del Kabuki, van penetrando en el sentir de un Le Corbusier que deja la impronta teatral en la puesta en escena de la megaestructura moscovita.Le Corbusier’s design submitted to the public competition for the Palace of the Soviets in Moscow (1931) may have an additional interpretation which, although less researched and in principal more marginal, is noteworthy. And that is the relationship between theatre and the resetting of the stage in Europe and Soviet experimentation. Le Corbusier was aware that architecture goes beyond the building itself and is also a sort of staging or dramaturgy. Set designers such as Appia, through the use of light, or stage directors like Max Reinhardt, through the use of performance for the masses, and Vsevelod Meyerhold, through Japonese Kabuki theatre, gradually permeated the sensibility of Le Corbusier who left staging as a mark in his design for the Moscow megastructure

ケンチク プロジェクト ソヴィエト キュウデン ノ ゼンタイゾウ ト ケンセツ ニ カンスル ケンキュウ

PDF/A形式により利用可能アクセス:WWWによる東京外国語大学大学院地域文化研究科博士 (学術) 論文 (2016年12月)博甲第221号その他のタイトルは英文要旨による別冊 (91p) : 参考画像参考文献: p [192]-204東京外国語大学 (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies)博士 (学術

Two magazines and a project by Le Corbusier. Cahiers d Art, L Architecture d aujourd hui and The Palace of the Soviets

[EN] December 1931. Le Corbusier, together with Pierre Jeanneret and his assistants, concludes the project for the Palace of the Soviets in Moscow; one of the grands travaux he never managed to build. Hence, perhaps, the publications became for the master a valid vehicle for its reconstruction; as if the role of magazines and books had the possibility of building some of the most significant ideas of this architectural project. From then on, there were two magazines in which the palais occupied a few but important pages as soon as it was completed: issues 1-2 of Cahiers d Art in 1932 and issue 10 of L Architecture d aujourd hui in 1933. Significant publications in which the architect undoubtedly condenses the most relevant aspects of his unfortunate palace. Hence the interest in these two editions.[ES] Diciembre de 1931. Le Corbusier, junto con Pierre Jeanneret y sus ayudantes, concluye el proyecto para el Palacio de los Soviets de Moscú; uno de sus grands travaux que nunca logró construir. De ahí, quizás, que las publicaciones se convirtieran para el maestro en un vehículo válido para su reconstrucción; como si el papel de las revistas y los libros, tuvieran la posibilidad de construir algunas de las ideas más significativas de este proyecto de arquitectura. A partir de ahí fueron dos las revistas en las que, nada más concluido, el palais ocupó algunas pocas -pero importantes- páginas: el número 1-2 de Cahiers d'Art de 1932 y el número 10 de L'Architecture d'aujourd'hui de 1933. Publicaciones significativas en las que el arquitecto, sin duda, condensa lo más relevante de su desventurado palacio. De ahí el interés de estas dos ediciones.Ponce Gregorio, P.; Peris Blat, I.; Sanchis Gisbert, SJ. (2022). Dos revistas y un proyecto de Le Corbusier. Cahiers d'Art, L'Architecture d'aujourd'hui y el Palacio de los Soviets. EGA Expresión Gráfica Arquitectónica. 27(46):222-231. https://doi.org/10.4995/ega.2022.16859222231274

POZNAŃSKI „OKRĄGLAK” ORAZ WARSZAWSKI PAŁAC KULTURY – IDEOLOGICZNE PARADOKSY ARCHITEKTURY PO II WOJNIE ŚWIATOWEJ

A – department store commonly referred to as “Okrąglak” (“The Rotunda”) in Poznań and the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, both completed in 1955, represent features of two opposing styles. This leads to further reflections on modernism and socialist realism as demonstrated by the – two buildings. The modern features of the tower of the Palace of Culture and Science have been outshined with the national form and communist contents clearly reflecting Poland’s subordination to the Soviet Union. References to the pattern, the Palace of the Soviets, defined the top-down accepted model of progress. The department store (“Okrąglak”), designed in 1948, was also meant to demonstrate modernity of commerce in a communist country. However, its form designed by Marek Leykam represents a more universal concept of progress free from any designations.A – department store commonly referred to as “Okrąglak” (“The Rotunda”) in Poznań and the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, both completed in 1955, represent features of two opposing styles. This leads to further reflections on modernism and socialist realism as demonstrated by the – two buildings. The modern features of the tower of the Palace of Culture and Science have been outshined with the national form and communist contents clearly reflecting Poland’s subordination to the Soviet Union. References to the pattern, the Palace of the Soviets, defined the top-down accepted model of progress. The department store (“Okrąglak”), designed in 1948, was also meant to demonstrate modernity of commerce in a communist country. However, its form designed by Marek Leykam represents a more universal concept of progress free from any designations

Convention between Romania and the Great Powers on the 12th of September 1944

The formula for the “unconditional surrender” adopted in Casablanca on the 24th of January 1943 was meant to acquaint the governments of the states at war with the United Nations with the treatment and the terms of their countries would have to take, no matter when or why they might withdraw. As far as Romania was concerned, the terms of surrender included, among others, demobilisation and disarmament, handing over war materials, amends etc, all of which were to be imposed on by the three great powers and had been thought mainly to secure safety and to carrying on the warfare against Germany. These objectives were considered to have deep political implications.surrender, unconditional surrender, Romanian delegation