All-Union Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy. About "wasteland with potential" - vvts - vdnh - vshv. In the new age - in new clothes
The exhibition complex "All-Union Agricultural Exhibition" (VSHV) opened on August 1, 1939 and operated until 1941.
The pavilion "Mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR" worked from 1939 to 1955. Now there pavilion "Cosmos".
The pavilion was a boathouse, or landing stage, which was almost completely copied by the architects A. G. Taranov, V. S. Andreev and N. A. Bykova from the creation of V. G. Shukhov - the landing stage of the Kievsky railway station in Moscow. The authors of the pavilion decorated Shukhov's steel structure with steel glass arcades and two-tier galleries-stairs. This technique preserved the original plan of the square designed by V.K. Oltarzhevsky and created the effect of an arch spanning the Grand Alley and not blocking the prospect to the very border of the exhibition.
1. Pavilion "Mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR" from the Mechanization Square, 1939-1941.
(Author?? : Margaret Bourke-White, summer 1941)
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3. From some book 
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5. Pavilion "Mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR", 1939. Author of the photo: Markov-Grinberg Mark 
6. Northwest entrance to the pavilion "Mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR", 1939-1941. 
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8. Electric tractor VIME-4-500 (All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Mechanization and Electrification of Agriculture). Pavilion Mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR, 1939-1941 
9. The same electric tractor VIME-4-500, but the author Markov-Grinberg Mark, 1939 
10. GAZ-60 in the pavilion 
11. Automotive hall, Pavilion "Mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR", 1939-1941. 
12. Tractor building hall 
13. Oops... This photo is after 08/01/1954 (resumption of the exhibition after the war). In the photo, the ZiS-127, ZiS-154 and PAZ-ik buses (thanks severok1979
)
14. Truck 8-ton YAG-10, pavilion "Mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR", 1939
Author of the photo: Markov-Grinberg Mark 
15. Tractor Stalinets (SG-65), pavilion Mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR, 1939. Author of the photo: Markov-Grinberg Mark 
16. Tractor Stalinets (SG-65), pavilion Mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR, 1939. Author of the photo: Markov-Grinberg Mark 
17. Tractor Stalinets (SG-65), pavilion Mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR, 1939. Author of the photo: Markov-Grinberg Mark 
18. Tractor Stalinets, pavilion Mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR, 1939. Author of the photo: Markov-Grinberg Mark 
19. Tractor (KhTZ-T2G??), pavilion Mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR, 1939. Author of the photo: Markov-Grinberg Mark 
20. Tractors Stalinets, pavilion Mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR, 1939. Author of the photo: Markov-Grinberg Mark 
21. Pavilion Mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR, 1939. Author of the photo: Markov-Grinberg 
22. Pavilion Mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR, 1939 Photo by: Markov-Grinberg Mark 
23. Tractor Stalinets, pavilion Mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR, 1939. Author of the photo: Markov-Grinberg Mark 
24. Pickup truck GAZ-M415, pavilion Mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR, 1939. Author of the photo: Markov-Grinberg Mark 
25. Freight car GAZ MM -410, pavilion Mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR, 1939 Author of the photo: Markov-Grinberg Mark 
26. ZiS-5, pavilion Mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR, 1939. Author of the photo: Markov-Grinberg Mark 
27. ZIS-6, pavilion Mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR, 1939. Author of the photo: Markov-Grinberg 
28. ZIS-30, pavilion Mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR, 1939. Author of the photo: Markov-Grinberg Mark 
29. A truck with a GAZ-42 gas generator, pavilion Mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR, 1939. Author of the photo: Markov-Grinberg Mark 
30. A truck with a gas generator unit ZIS-21, pavilion Mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR, 1939. Author of the photo: Markov-Grinberg Mark 
31. YaS-3 (1936-1942) - dump truck based on YaG-6. The total issue volume is 4765 copies. Pavilion Mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR, 1939 Photo by: Markov-Grinberg Mark
Abbreviated name of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition; … Moscow (encyclopedia)
VSHV- All-Union Agricultural Exhibition after: VDNKh ... Dictionary of abbreviations and abbreviations
VDNH. Main entrance Pavilion "Cosmos", 1980 All-Russian Exhibition Center (VVC) exhibition complex in the North-Eastern District of Moscow, the largest in the city. The total area of the All-Russian Exhibition Center is 237.5 hectares, the pavilion area is 134,000 sq. m. ... ... Wikipedia
VSHV- [ve es ha ve], unchanged, f. All-Union Agricultural Exhibition. ◘ All-Union Agricultural Exhibition (Heading name): After the winter break, the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition resumed its work in Moscow. Youth, 1955, No. 1, 96 ... Dictionary the language of the Soviets
VSHV- All-Union Agricultural Exhibition ... Dictionary of abbreviations of the Russian language
Monument Monument to Stalin at the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition Country ... Wikipedia
Landmark Optics Pavilion from 1954 to 1959 Pavilion Leningrad and the North West of the RSFSR ... Wikipedia
- (VSHV) see Art. Agricultural exhibitions… Great Soviet Encyclopedia
"VDNH" redirects here; see also other meanings. Attraction All-Russian Exhibition Center Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy ... Wikipedia
- ... Wikipedia
Books
- The eighth wonder of the world. VSKhV-VDNKh-VVTs, Zinovieva Olga Andreevna. Western journalists called the All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition, which opened in Moscow in 1939, the "Eighth Wonder of the World". What goals were pursued by the organizers and creators of this…
- The eighth wonder of the world. VSKhV - VDNKh - VVTs, Zinovieva Olga Andreevna. Western journalists called the All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition, which opened in 1939 in Moscow, the 'Eighth Wonder of the World'. What goals were pursued by the organizers and creators of this…
The photo project "City to Remember" is a story about the city in dynamics, about how the face of the capital is changing. In these plots there is both the outgoing nature of the Soviet era, and the embodiment of creative ideas contemporary architects, and reportage photography. So, #slovomoskve, let's remember the most interesting thing. This story, number 250, was first published on June 9, 2016.
For the first time, the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition (later known as VDNKh) opened for visitors on August 1, 1939, but did not work for long, the war began. Valuable exhibits were evacuated, the pavilions were empty, and batteries of anti-aircraft guns were installed on the territory. Graceful wooden pavilions turned out to be short-lived and by the post-war opening of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition they were replaced by new, even more solemn ones.
In 1935, at the II All-Union Congress of Collective Farmers-Shock Workers, a proposal was considered to organize an All-Union Agricultural Exhibition in 1937 in Moscow. The delegates unanimously supported this idea and immediately a decree “On the organization of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition in Moscow” appeared, signed by Stalin and Molotov.
The architects considered several options for accommodating the exhibition (Timiryazev Academy, Sokolniki, Krasnaya Presnya Park of Culture and Leisure, Luzhnetskaya Embankment, Leninskiye Gory), but found flaws everywhere. As a result, another decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR "On the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition" appeared, ordering to build an exhibition in Ostankino. This site is located near the transport highway, is sparsely populated and does not require mass resettlement of residents, the terrain is flat. Vyacheslav Oltarzhevsky was appointed the chief architect of the exhibition.
The master plan of the exhibition was presented on a competitive basis by several teams, but none of them became the winner, but Oltarzhevsky took into account all the successful proposals and drew up his master plan. After carrying out topographic surveys, the construction of warehouses and change houses for workers began, and in 1936, the improvement of the territory began. It soon became clear that the projects of the pavilions were going through the approval stage for too long, the builders could not keep up with the work schedule, and the opening of the exhibition in 1937 would not take place. According to the decree "On the elimination of the consequences of sabotage at the construction of an agricultural exhibition," the authorities began to expose the enemies of the people, arresting the top of the Main Exhibition Committee - M. Chernov, I. Korostashevsky, R. Eikhe and others.
In the spring of 1938, accusations against the chief architect of the exhibition, Oltarzhevsky, began to appear in the Soviet press - he was accused of miscalculations in the architectural design of the pavilions, an unsuccessful master plan of the complex, “devoid of festivity and brightness”. Oltarzhevsky, who was exiled to Vorkuta, was replaced by Sergei Chernyshov. During this period, the builders showed miracles of heroism, having done a huge amount of work.
Aerial photography. 1942: http://www.retromap.ru/ Well, perhaps from a height the layout really looks somehow crooked, from the Mukhin monument "Worker and Collective Farm Girl" (in the lower right corner) the road leads to the arch and then past the Uzbek teahouse and "Young Naturalists" from the side leads to the then Main Pavilion, squeezed from two sides by other buildings.
On August 1, 1939, with a two-year delay, the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition nevertheless opened and the wasteland on the outskirts of Moscow turned into a garden city with pavilions, ponds, and fountains. Architects who escaped repression received well-deserved government awards. The exhibition was highly appreciated by Vyacheslav Molotov: “The opening of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition is a national celebration ... It sums up the decade during which the peasant masses finally turned from small individual to large collective farms ... The exhibition gives living examples of the growth of collective farms and state farms, their prosperous and cultural life.
The All-Union Agricultural Exhibition worked for only two seasons, and soon after the start of the Great Patriotic War, in July 1941, especially valuable exhibits began to be evacuated to the east. Many employees went to the front, and a counterintelligence school and a military repair plant that assembles motorcycles were located on the territory of the exhibition. In 1941, the film crew of Ivan Pyryev's film "The Pig and the Shepherd" received permission to complete work on the film here. Alas, by the victorious May 1945, desolation reigned on the territory.
In 1948, the Council of Ministers of the USSR decided to restore the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition. The second birth of the exhibition took place on August 1, 1954, when the country rose from the ruins of war. Although the name of the new exposition was the same - the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition, the format began to change towards mechanization, science and technology. The personal pavilions of each Soviet republic resembled palaces and temples, symbolizing the friendship of the peoples of the great country that defeated fascism and is building a happy future for everyone.
VSHV Plan 1954
Since June 1956, the All-Union Industrial Exhibition began its work on the territory of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition, demonstrating the successes of the Soviet industry. By the way, a curious fact: at that time, the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition was open to visitors only in the warm season and closed for the winter. On May 28, 1958, a resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR “On the unification of the All-Union industrial, agricultural and construction exhibitions into a single Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy of the USSR” was adopted, and since 1959 a new name has arisen - VDNKh of the USSR. A new history began, when the regional and republican pavilions were converted into branch ones with the destruction of the former interiors and facade decoration.
In order to see dozens of pavilions of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition in detail, it will take more than one day. Let's take a look at only four pavilions: the Main, Ukrainian SSR, Mechanization and Glavmyaso.
This is how the Main Pavilion of the 1939 model looked like (on a porcelain dish). Next to the building there is a stele of the Constitution, and on its top is the sculptural composition "Tractor Driver and Collective Farm Woman", which became the emblem of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition and in 1954 was transferred to the arch of the new Main Entrance. And the whole exhibition became an emblem and symbol of the new Soviet system, newspapers wrote about it, films were shot on the territory, images of pavilions were replicated on dishes and fabrics, and advanced collective farms had a natural desire to become exhibitors of this “vanity fair”.
The main pavilion of 1954 (https://pastvu.com/p/67383) was built for the second opening of the exhibition according to the project of Georgy Shchuko and is designed in the tradition of enlarged Russian classical architecture. This is the image of the entire Soviet Union, the face of the exhibition. The facade of the building is decorated with the coats of arms of sixteen Soviet republics - sixteen sisters. Yes, yes, at the time of construction there was the sixteenth republic - the Karelian-Finnish SSR, which was later disbanded, and its coat of arms on the facade of the pavilion was welded with a metal sheet.
The guests of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition were impressed not only by the size of the building, but also by its interiors. In 1954, the exposition of the main exhibition pavilion introduced visitors to the art of socialist realism, the foremost workers, Heroes of Socialist Labor were honored here, on whom they were equal, whose successes they were proud of. Four halls were dedicated to the Great October Revolution, the Stalinist Constitution, Peace and Science. On the walls are bas-reliefs and frescoes with historical scenes, along the walls are sculptures of happy Soviet people, banners of the Soviet republics. Later, in addition to works of art, the exhibits of the Main Pavilion included technical innovations and scientific achievements (for example, a model nuclear icebreaker"Lenin"). Schemes and maps in figures and facts clearly showed how the life of the people improved from year to year. Since 1963, the pavilion has been called the Central.
October Hall. 1962: https://pastvu.com/p/61226
1954: https://pastvu.com/p/270580
A giant sculptural composition by Evgeny Vuchetich "Glory to the Soviet people, the standard-bearer of the world!" was hidden from the eyes of visitors in 1967, while VDNKh was getting rid of the pathos of the Stalin years. Even earlier, with the debunking of the cult of personality, Stalin's profile disappeared from the banner in high relief. In the summer of 2014, the pavilion was renovated, the sculptural group was accidentally found and again appeared before the eyes of Muscovites. To this day, the archaeological artifact has survived with the loss of several heads of workers, with broken limbs, and now in the twilight it reminds not of the heyday of the socialist system, but of the collapse of the Stalin era. In the bins of the huge building, paintings from the early 1950s were also found, which also needed restoration, but the sculptures were not preserved. Under the vaults of the pavilion, you can see several frescoes depicting the labor of Soviet workers and collective farmers.
Outside, the guests were greeted by bronze statues of the leaders of the proletariat, Vladimir Lenin stood on the left, Joseph Stalin on the right. After Stalin's personality cult was exposed, his sculpture was dismantled and, presumably, went to be melted down, and the bronze Ilyich, in order not to break the symmetry of the architectural composition, was first inside the pavilion, in the Constitution Hall, then in 1970 (to the centenary of Lenin) was installed on a pedestal a hundred meters from the facade of the building. This is a typical monument, its copies were installed near the Timiryazev Academy and at the Kiev railway station. They say that the entrance to the bomb shelter is hidden under the slab near the pedestal. Under the Central one, in fact, there is a protective structure, which is still in working order under the supervision of the competent authorities.
"Mechanization". 1940: https://pastvu.com/p/67945
The pavilion, known to most citizens as "Cosmos", appeared in 1939. Then it was a functional building to showcase achievements in the field of mechanization and electrification of agriculture in the USSR (architects V. Andreev, I. Taranov, N. Bykova). Samples of agricultural machinery were exhibited on podiums along the entire length of the pavilion. It did not look like other pompous structures of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition and resembled either a boathouse or an aircraft hangar, or a structure above the platform of the Kyiv railway station. But the size was unmistakable. Yes, it's amazing now.
1953-1954: https://pastvu.com/p/76376
Installation of the layout of the rocket "Vostok". 1967: https://pastvu.com/p/67542
Mechanization Square (Industry Square) changed its appearance several times, at first it was decorated with a monumental Stalin, dismantled after the war. In 1954, a round pond was arranged at this place, in the center of which a 25-ton model of the Vostok launch vehicle was later installed. The townspeople are accustomed to seeing the rocket in a vertical position, but there was a time when the exhibit lay horizontally on the transporter platform. The Soviet three-stage Vostok launch vehicle was developed on the basis of the R-7 rocket at the OKB-1 enterprise under the leadership of Korolev. The first successful launch took place in 1959, and on April 12, 1961, such a rocket launched a spaceship with Yuri Gagarin on board into Earth's orbit. In 1985, the rocket model was replaced with a new, identical one, and in 2010, the All-Russian Exhibition Center reconstructed it, strengthened the supporting structures, painted the rocket in historical colors, restored the inscription "Vostok" on board.
Well, the Mechanization pavilion acquired its current shape by 1954. The end of the hangar overlooking the square has acquired a facade with silhouettes of working people, metallurgists, electricians, and engineers. The future of the Soviet country was personified by a pioneer and a pioneer with models of a tractor and an airplane in their hands. And statues of machine operators were installed on the roof: a man squeezes a tractor lever, and a woman drives a combine. On the opposite side of the building, a huge hall with a glazed dome was added. Inside, a sculptural composition by Yevgeny Vuchetich “Forward, to the victory of communism!”, which has not survived to this day, appeared inside. The reconstruction of the building was carried out according to the project of architects V. Andreev, I. Taranov. The chief designer is M. Limanovsky, the dome designer is G. Gordon.
After "Mechanization", the pavilion housed the exposition "Engineering", and since 1967 - "Cosmos". The scale of the pavilion was ideally suited for the exhibition of space achievements, which every year grew with more and more new exhibits. It was one of the most interesting and spectacular pavilions in all exhibition years in terms of the content presented. Although there is still not enough lighting in it, and in winter it is cool, if not cold.
1939-1941: https://pastvu.com/p/6064
1954-1955: https://pastvu.com/p/264621
1976: https://pastvu.com/p/145350
In the 1990s, Soviet schoolchildren no longer dreamed of becoming cosmonauts; it was much more attractive to be a businessman or a racketeer. It seems that both of them took possession of Cosmos, in 1994 a car dealership settled here. The fate of the former space exposition turned out differently, some rarities returned to secret design bureaus and factories, Energia, Energomash, something was transferred to the fund of the Museum of Cosmonautics, something was stolen. It is said that space artifacts were randomly stored in the large hall of the pavilion. As the Izvestia newspaper later wrote, models of spacecraft, personal belongings of space explorers, manuscripts, samples of space rocks began to emerge at foreign auctions.
Later, the main halls were occupied by a fair of seedlings, seeds and equipment for gardening, and a portrait of Yuri Gagarin was shamefully hung with a cloth. The office space included warehouses and tenant offices, a theater and a scientific and educational Martian attraction. For several October days, the main exhibition of the country returned to its agricultural origins, and the live exhibits of the Golden Autumn agricultural forum did not leave visitors indifferent. Until recently, living creatures were sent just to Cosmos.
After a facelift in 2014, several technical exhibitions were held in the pavilion, and a good collection of domestic cars was remembered.
"Glavmeat". 1939: https://pastvu.com/p/79500
A whole livestock town of dozens of buildings was located at the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition in 1939. Having examined the section “New in the Village”, the collective farmers went to pigsties and stables, where, until the mid-1990s, live exhibits were placed, presented by the best farms in the country. Well, then the VSHV visitors, who had worked up an appetite, headed towards the ponds to the Glavmyaso pavilion to taste delicacies and stock up on canned food.
The first version of the pavilion appeared at the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition by 1939. Inside, there was a brisk trade in sausages, smoked meats, canned meat, and hot dishes were offered in a summer cafe on the roof. On the territory of the exhibition there were several more stalls "Glavmyaso", where hot sausages, cutlets and sandwiches were sold. By 1954, during the reconstruction of the Mechanization pavilion, both the pre-war Glavmyaso and the neighboring Glavkonserv had disappeared.
The Meat Industry pavilion was built by 1954 according to the project of architects V. Lisitsyn and S. Chernobay. Even before the war, two giant bulls flaunted at the entrance to Glavmyaso, which later moved to the newly rebuilt pavilion. These sculptures have not survived to this day, but the giant bull, tamed by an athletic livestock breeder, still adorns the roof of the pavilion.
Fortunately, in the 1990s, the Meat Industry did not become a trading platform. The pavilion housed joint-stock company"Hermes-Soyuz", and then the offices were rented by the company "Bizon", which organizes exhibition events. The central hall with a staircase and two large shopping and restaurant halls on the second floor still impress with their interiors. Even an impressive buffet and a wooden platform for solemn speeches have been preserved. In 2014, a cosmetic renovation of the facade and interior was carried out.
The intrigue remains - whether they will sell sausages here, as in the Khrushchev-Brezhnev times, or whether the pavilion will find some kind of exhibition and exposition use. AT recent history VDNKh exhibitions were not held in the Meat Industry pavilion, but an exposition of air defense troops was unfolded in the neighborhood.
In August 1991, an anti-Soviet campaign began in the country, the democratic government fought against communist ideology, while not thinking about the historical value of monuments of the recent past. Then it never occurred to anyone to take care of the preservation of the cultural heritage of the USSR. The Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy adapted to survive in the new conditions: the pavilions turned into trading platforms and some have become private property. The very name VDNKh was replaced by VVTs - All-Russian Exhibition Center.
One of the unrealized concepts of the late Luzhkov
When Mayor Sergei Sobyanin made a historic visit to the territory of the All-Russian Exhibition Center in March 2014, the process of returning to normal exhibition activity went at an unprecedented pace. In April, large-scale landscaping work began, in which several organizations, dozens of road equipment units, and 6,000 workers were involved. The exhibition returned to its usual name VDNKh, illegal buildings were demolished, and cosmetic repairs were made in the pavilions liberated from merchants.
Over the past two years, the main fair of the country has again become the main exhibition of the country: dozens of educational, sports, and entertainment projects have been implemented at the renovated VDNKh. It remains to be hoped that the ambitious leadership of VDNKh will work not only on modern content, but also on the restoration of architectural monuments from the VSHV times.
Original taken from
O. NIKOLOGORSKAYA
THE MAIN EXHIBITION OF THE COUNTRY. HISTORY AND MODERNITY
This is what Friendship of Peoples Square (former Kolkhoz Square) looked like before the "commercial invasion" of the early 1990s.
Pavilion "Mechanization". 1939
The arch at the main (now northern) entrance to the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition. 1939
The central pavilion of the All-Russian Exhibition Center today.
Kolkhoz Square on the opening day of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition. August 1, 1939.
The main entrance to the All-Russian Exhibition Center (opened in 1954).
Fountain "Friendship of Peoples".
The entrance to the "Agriculture" pavilion is decorated with a massive arch with decorative ornaments.
Fountain "Stone flower".
Fountain "Kolos".
Flower gardens near the "Agriculture" pavilion (in the background, on the left, the dome of the "Cosmos" pavilion).
Decorative ornament of columns at the entrance to the "Electrical Engineering" pavilion.
The Vostok spacecraft, an exact copy of the rocket that lifted the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into Earth's orbit, was installed near the Cosmos pavilion.
"Public transport" at the All-Russian Exhibition Center.
The sculpture by V. I. Mukhina "Worker and Collective Farm Woman" was installed at the main entrance to the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition by the opening day - August 1, 1939. In 1954, this entrance became the northern one, and the main one was located to the south of it.
M. V. NESTEROV Portrait of the sculptor V. I. Mukhina. 1940
It is impossible to talk about this exhibition in isolation from our history. She, as in a mirror, reflected all the stages of development of the former USSR and the new modern Russia. The All-Union Agricultural Exhibition (VSHV), built in 1939, demonstrated the successes of the world's first socialist state in the development of agriculture. Its post-war exposition, which opened only in 1954, was formed following the then principles of economic management, mainly on a territorial basis: each pavilion presented the achievements of one of the union, autonomous republics or regions. In 1959, the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition was renamed the Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy - VDNKh. In connection with the new economic tasks, the principle of building an exposition becomes a sectoral one.
When the USSR sank into oblivion, the exhibition, named in 1992 as the All-Russian Exhibition Center, was hit by all the hardships of the economic crisis. VVC could not hold its ground main exhibition country and gradually ceded a large share of the territory under retail space. But, in spite of everything, active exhibition activity continues here: permanent expositions work, numerous thematic exhibitions and fairs replace one another - industrial, scientific and technical, art, innovation, press (the magazine "Science and Life" takes part in this exhibition for 10 years in a row), new Russian goods, folk art, flowers, the exhibition of scientific and technical creativity of youth has been revived and is regularly updated.
What fate awaits the All-Russian Exhibition Center in the near future? Will there be investments to revive the former glory of the country's main exhibition, or will it completely turn into a trade zone or a park of culture and recreation?
EXHIBITION "CITY" WITH A 63-YEAR HISTORY
The All-Union Exhibition Center is a whole city with its own streets, squares, squares, fountains, "public" transport, cinemas, shops and restaurants. Its main attraction is created in different time exhibition pavilions of various architectural styles. They reflect the history of the development of our country, or rather, the history itself appears here in wood, stone, glass and metal. As in the old days, the All-Russian Exhibition Center is surrounded by greenery: orchards, ornamental shrubs, bright flower beds, spacious green lawns. All this diversity embodies the age-old experience of gardening and the art of laying out regular parks, where architectural buildings, green spaces, ponds and fountains coexist in perfect harmony.
At one time, the organizers of the exhibition complex were reproached for eclecticism, excessive embellishment and bad taste. Perhaps this is so, from the point of view of a connoisseur of classical architecture. But we must not forget that the exhibition was designed by world-famous architects: V. A. Shchuko, V. G. Gelfreikh, L. M. Polyakov, sculptors S. T. Konenkov and V. I. Mukhina, muralists A. A. Deineka, A.P. Bubnov, P.P. Sokolov-Skalya. Thousands of craftsmen from all Union and autonomous republics, territories and regions participated in the creation of the exhibition. Thanks to their talent, each building of the exhibition acquired original national features inherent only in it. The oldest pavilions are over 60 years old. Not all of them have come down to us in their original form: some were rebuilt, others were destroyed. It is all the more valuable that, on the whole, the architectural and artistic appearance of the exhibition, which was formed in the era of socialism, has been preserved and conveyed to us the spirit of that time.
VSHV 1939The All-Union Agricultural Exhibition - VSHV - opened in Moscow on August 1, 1939. Every advanced collective farm, state farm, MTS or livestock farm strove to present their products there. The honorary right to visit the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition was achieved in socialist competition. The leaders of production participating in the exhibition were awarded diplomas, gold, silver and bronze medals, watches, radios, cash prizes, and the best farms - motorcycles and cars. Only for 85 days of work in 1939 the exhibition was visited by 3.5 million people. The atmosphere of a general holiday that reigned there is conveyed by the famous film directed by Ivan Pyryev "The Pig and the Shepherd" (1941), which was loved and well remembered by people of the older and middle generation.
The well-known Danish writer Martin Andersen-Nekse, having visited the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition shortly after its opening, wrote that the picture that presented itself to him gave a deeper idea of humanity as a whole than all the world exhibitions he had seen so far: the true culture of the country was nowhere visible there, and here, in Moscow, it is shown "in time and space".
The grandiose exhibition complex is spread over an area of 136 hectares. AT short term more than 250 large and small buildings were built, parks, flower beds, squares and fountains were laid out, streets were laid, and orchards were planted.
According to the general plan of the architect V. K. Oltarzhevsky, the pavilions were erected along an axis stretching from the northwest to the southeast. At the main entrance, and then it was the northern entrance of the exhibition, visitors were met by a of stainless steel, a 24-meter sculpture by V. I. Mukhina "Worker and Collective Farm Girl" sparkling in the sun, which in 1937 crowned the building of the Soviet pavilion at the World Exhibition in Paris.
The All-Union Agricultural Exhibition opened Kolkhoz Square (later - Peoples' Friendship Square), around which the pavilions of the union republics, territories and regions grew. Behind them stretched Mechanization Square with the Mechanization pavilion (later - Industry Square with the Cosmos pavilion), the authors of the project were architects V. S. Andreev, I. G. Taranov. The pavilion was a gigantic parabolic vault covering a wide alley. Tractors, self-propelled harvesters and other agricultural machinery stood on hills along it.
As conceived by the organizers, visitors, bypassing the territory of the exhibition, as if making a trip across our vast country - from the Baltic to Kamchatka and from the Arctic Ocean to the Pamirs. The pavilion of each republic reflected the national flavor and folk traditions. The expositions were decorated with the works of the best artists of Mstera, Khokhloma, Palekh, carpets, tapestries and silk panels of craftswomen from Central Asia. Specially for the exhibition, craftsmen from all republics made beautiful samples of fabrics, dishes, mosaics, and embossing.
PICTURES FROM THE EXHIBITION. HISTORY AND ARCHITECTUREThe new permanent exposition of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition, which opened for the first time after the war in 1954, demonstrated the achievements of the Union republics, territories and regions in agriculture and industry.
The territory of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition has expanded to 207 hectares. The number of buildings reached 387. Many pavilions were reconstructed, some were built anew, but the basic layout laid down by the general plan of 1939 has been preserved. In the new master plan, developed under the guidance of architects A.F. Zhukov and R.R. Kliks, only some elements of the ensemble were changed. In this almost original form, we see the exhibition complex today.
In the appearance of the exhibition buildings built by 1954, the architects sought to reflect, first of all, the theme of the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War. An example of this is the new main entrance of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition, built to the south of the old one. The author of the project, architect I. I. Melchakov, used one of the symbols of victory - the triumphal arch. He created a high massive multi-span arch with two administrative buildings symmetrically continuing it. Together they stretched 300 meters in length. The main entrance is crowned by the sculpture "Tractor Driver and Collective Farm Woman" (author - sculptor S. M. Orlov, who created a monument to Yuri Dolgoruky in Moscow).
Large-scale, clear lines, aspiration upward - these are the main features of the buildings erected at that time at the exhibition. Such, for example, is the Central Pavilion (architects V. A. Shchuko and V. G. Gelfreikh). With ledges resembling the steps of a giant staircase, it rises to a height of almost 100 meters. The white building is framed by three tiers of columns, decorated with bronze and gilded sculptures and bas-reliefs. In 1954, the architects Yu. V. Schuko and E. V. Stolyarov added a high spire with a star to it.
A wide panorama of the exhibition opens up behind the Central Pavilion. In the foreground is the Friendship of Peoples Square (former Collective Farms Square), huge in size. Its center is occupied by a fountain of the same name made of gilded bronze and red granite (authors - architects K. T. Topuridze and G. D. Konstantinovsky). In the middle of the octahedral granite bowl is a bronze sheaf of wheat surrounded by water jets. Around - a round dance of girls in national costumes. Their dance symbolizes folk festivities on the harvest festival. The gilded figures were carved by sculptors I. M. Chaikov, Z. V. Bazhenov, A. I. Teneta, N. V. Ryleeva.
On the opposite side of the square there is a fountain "Stone Flower" (architect K. T. Topuridze, sculptor P. I. Dobrynin). Its composition is inspired by the poetic Ural tales of P. P. Bazhov. In the pool, lined with red granite, next to the bronze fish and birds, a flower of Ural gems "blooms" with green, blue and gold "petals" shimmering in the jets of water.
On one of the ponds rises the third famous fountain of the exhibition - "Spike". It was built from thin-walled concrete covered with gilded smalt. The complex pattern of flexible jets beating upwards and to the sides creates the impression of a living ear swaying in the wind.
Friendship of Peoples Square is opened by two pavilions facing each other: the Central Black Earth Regions (now - "Nuclear Energy") and the "Northern Caucasus" ("People's Education"). Behind them are the pavilions of the Union republics. In their appearance, the architects sought to express the features of the national style as brightly as possible. This explains the excessive congestion of buildings with decorative details. But there are true architectural masterpieces among the pavilions of the exhibition.
One of them is the pavilion of the Karelian ASSR (later - "The Book", "Soviet Press", now - again "Karelia"). The Republic again presents the products of its enterprises here. The pavilion was created by the architect F.I. Rekhmukov, who used original decor elements from natural materials of this northern region. The columns are made of polished blocks of dark red Karelian granite known for its beauty, and the massive triangular pediment is entirely made of wood. The figures carved on it depict the traditional occupations of the inhabitants of Karelia. At one time, the pavilion was decorated with a three-meter wooden sculpture by S. T. Konenkov "The Rune Singer". Now it is kept in the Museum visual arts Karelia in Petrozavodsk.
Built in 1939, the pavilion of the Uzbek SSR (now - "Culture") can also be attributed to the pearls of the exhibition. Its author is the architect S. N. Polupanov. The pavilion was decorated by the best craftsmen of Uzbekistan. Their hands made light-filled majolica panels framed by the entrance, carved wooden doors, bright stained-glass windows. Bushes and bolls of cotton - the main agricultural crop of the republic - are woven into the ornament of cornices, capitals of columns, and the roof of the gazebo. The side wings of the pavilion used to be decorated with large picturesque panels by the artist P.I. Kotov. Unfortunately, they have not survived. The plaster figures of a musician and a tambourine player, created by the sculptor O. M. Manuilova, who stood in front of the entrance, were also lost. The pavilion was renovated in the 1950s. A light and elegant openwork gazebo appeared on the spacious terrace.
The Electrical Engineering Pavilion (formerly the Belarusian SSR), designed by architects G. A. Zakharov and Z. S. Chernysheva, is framed by monumental columns with carved garlands resembling embroidered towels in traditional Belarusian colors - yellow and green. A tower with a statue of a woman with a wreath rises above the central part. The author of the sculpture is the People's Artist of Belarus A. O. Bembel, one of the creators of the memorial complex "Mound of Glory" near Minsk.
Behind the fountain "Stone Flower" one can see the facade of the pavilion "Agriculture" (formerly the pavilion of the Ukrainian SSR) with an openwork majolica crown woven from decorative flowers, herbs and ears of corn. The entrance arch is framed by a magnificent ceramic wreath, at the top - a tight sheaf of wheat. The architect A. A. Tatsiy, who designed the building, widely used elements of Ukrainian folk art in its decor.
On June 16, 1959, the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition became known as the Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy of the USSR - VDNKh. She represented the successes of the rapidly developing Soviet industry. By 1964, the concept and the general principle of building the exposition according to the sectoral principle were finally formed: the pavilions "Atomic Energy", "Computer Engineering", "Radioelectronics", "Metallurgy", "Chemical Industry", " Gas industry" and others.
The Cosmos Pavilion (rebuilt Mechanization Pavilion) remained one of the largest. Its glass dome is visible from everywhere. In the mid-1960s, a Vostok launch vehicle was installed in front of the pavilion - a copy of the one that launched the first of earthlings, Yuri Gagarin, into space. This exhibit has become one of the main attractions of the exhibition.
The main task of VDNKh was to promote best practices. Here representatives of the most different specialties. The pavilions hosted scientific and technical conferences, reviews, exhibitions, seminars, courses, schools of excellence. Every year 200-300 thousand people participated in them. International events were also organized, especially at book fairs. In those years, VDNKh received more than 8 million visitors a year.
TIME FOR NEW FORMSIn the late 1960s, a new pavilion grew up near the northern entrance, which became known as the "Montreal" pavilion. It was designed by architects M. V. Posokhin, A. A. Mdoyants, B. I. Thor, engineer A. N. Kondratiev, chief artist R. R. Clique for the World Exhibition "Expo-67", held in Montreal. The exhibition demonstrated the achievements of the economy, science, technology, culture and art.
Impressive in size, dressed in glass, the Soviet pavilion surprised everyone - both visitors and specialists. Its huge, almost one hectare, concave and protruding roof rests on just two V-shaped steel supports - at that time a unique architectural and technical solution. The building seems light, directed forward. This feeling is created by a slight slope of the front glass wall and a large visor resembling a springboard over the entrance.
When the exhibition in Montreal ended, the pavilion was dismantled, brought to Moscow and installed next to VDNKh (now it is the territory of the exhibition complex).
In 1986, here, in the northern part of the exhibition, the pavilion "Consumer Goods and Services to the Population" was built. It was built by a team of architects and engineers under the leadership of I. M. Vinogradsky. The two triangular buildings are connected by a wide inner street illuminated by daylight through a transparent glass ceiling. This through passage, as it were, continues the alley that leads to the northern (formerly the main) entrance of the exhibition. Next to it, at the beginning of the alley, stands an elegant white arch, built in 1939, with carved floral ornaments that tightly cover its walls and the domed space. The second arch similar to it is the entrance to the consumer goods pavilion. This decision made it possible to link together modern architecture and the old exhibition building.
TOMORROW VVCIn 1992, VDNKh was renamed again. The new name - All-Russian Exhibition Center - took root with difficulty, but today it is unlikely that anyone will call the exhibition complex in the old way. What is the All-Russian Exhibition Center of the beginning of 2003? It occupies an area of more than 238 hectares, it houses 70 pavilions (46 of them are monuments of history and culture), unique fountains, squares and other examples of landscape architecture. On the other hand, the All-Russian Exhibition Center is also a huge market where you can buy any product - from a needle to a car. Crowds of buyers, a heap of tents, bistros and eateries, cluttered and dilapidated pavilions, and in them - trade counters instead of expositions... At the same time, the exhibition complex continues to live its own main life: more than 300 exhibitions and fairs, including international ones, are held here annually. Simultaneously in 20 pavilions (the rest have to be rented trade organizations) can be used 130 thousand square meters. m of exhibition space.
The All-Russian Exhibition Center will continue to organize exhibition and fair activities that contribute to the development of the economic, scientific, technical and social infrastructure of Russia, interregional and international cooperation, market formation innovative products and intellectual property, the introduction of science-intensive technologies and developments into production. Now, for example, preparations are underway for holding in July this year the IX International Exhibition of Youth Scientific and Technical Projects "EXPO Science-2003". It will be a grandiose youth forum, which will be attended by more than 2,000 participants from 80 countries.
The revival of the All-Russian Exhibition Center as an exhibition of achievements in science, technology, culture and agriculture could be facilitated by a grandiose political investment project of holding the World Exhibition "EXPO-2010" in Moscow, on its territory. But Moscow did not win the competition; according to the international selection committee, the Chinese city of Shanghai turned out to be a more worthy contender. Nevertheless, plans related to the preservation of the exhibition complex, the development of its infrastructure, the construction of new areas, transport services, etc., are already being implemented.
A flyover is being built near the All-Russian Exhibition Center for a new type of urban public transport - a monorail. It will start at the Timiryazevskaya metro station, then go through the Botanical Garden to Ostankino, go around the All-Russian Exhibition Center from the side of the main entrance and end at the tram depot, which will be converted into monorail transport. The overpass will be raised above the ground to a height of 6-15 meters (depending on the development and terrain). Trains made up of 2-6 wagons will be able to reach speeds of up to 60 km/h and carry up to 4,000 passengers per hour. The construction of a monorail will cost an average of 5 times less than the subway. Construction, financed from the Moscow budget, is already in full swing. It is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2003.
It is planned to realize other ideas of architects and designers. Among them - the construction of 150 thousand square meters. m of new exhibition space. As this grandiose investment project(the start of work is scheduled for 2004) the exhibition complex will receive a profit, which, according to calculations, will finally make it possible to stop leasing pavilions and open areas to trade organizations. In the future, the All-Russian Exhibition Center will have moving sidewalks - travelators, new forms of lighting masts, lanterns, billboards, newsstands and information kiosks. The architectural and park ensemble will cover both the Botanical Garden and the territory of the Ostankino Park, where there is a monument of history and architecture of the 18th century - the palace of Count Sheremetev and the adjacent oak grove and a cascade of ponds.
The All-Union Exhibition Center is visited annually by 11 million people. In the very near future, it should expand significantly, get prettier, acquire modern infrastructure in order to become on a par with the world's best complexes for holding major international exhibitions.
IN THE NEW AGE - IN NEW CLOTHES
One of the most famous sculptural monuments of the 20th century, the work of V.I. Mukhina "Worker and Collective Farm Woman" became for the Soviet people a symbol of the unity and youth of the country, and for the rest of the world - the personification of the image of socialist Russia. The famous sculpture is already over 60, but it looks like it will get younger in the near future: repairs, restoration and a change of pedestal are waiting for it.
The International Exhibition "Art, Technology and Modern Life" opened in Paris in May 1937. It was the year of the twentieth anniversary of the October Revolution - a serious occasion to demonstrate to the whole world the best achievements of the Land of Soviets. The designers were given a difficult task: to create a pavilion in a short time that would capture the imagination of visitors to the Paris exhibition.
The architect B. M. Iofan, who was entrusted with the project of the Soviet pavilion, wrote: “The pavilion was drawn as a building that reflects with its dynamics the powerful growth of the achievements of the world's first socialist state, the enthusiasm and cheerfulness of the great era of building socialism, when work is a matter of honor, valor and heroism. This idea had to be expressed so clearly that any person, at the first glance at our pavilion, felt that this was the pavilion of the Soviet Union. " According to his plan, the top of the building directed forward and upward with ledges was to be crowned with a sculptural composition - a girl and a young man with a sickle and a hammer in their hands, personifying the unity of the working class and the collective farm peasantry.
In order to choose a worthy performer of such a responsible work, a competition was organized in which the largest sculptors of that time took part - I. D. Shadr, M. G. Manizer, V. A. Andreev, V. I. Mukhina. The sketch of the sculpture "Worker and Collective Farm Woman" by Vera Ignatievna Mukhina was recognized as the best.
Mukhina managed to achieve a synthesis of the architectural and sculptural parts of the ensemble. Her composition continued the general silhouette of the building, and the figures with the hammer and sickle raised high in their joined hands turned, in the author's words, "a solemn tread into an all-destroying impulse."
The project was approved on November 11, 1936. At first it seemed that all that remained was to enlarge the sketch to the desired size. In fact, the creators of the monument had to overcome many technical problems. Now, after the lapse of time, it seems almost unbelievable that such a huge and complex sculptural composition could be created in less than one year.
The 24-meter monument had to be raised to a 34-meter height. Stone or bronze, as heavy materials, were not suitable for this. Then the specialists of the Scientific Research Institute of Metalworking proposed the use of strategic chromium-nickel (stainless) steel - a light, durable and pliable material, ideally suited for the implementation of the author's plan. VI Mukhina went on a risky experiment and "sculpted" a sculpture of stainless steel. Provided invaluable technical assistance Chief Engineer Institute P. N. Lvov. The factory produced steel sheets only half a millimeter thick, and work began.
The tight deadlines forced the idea of creating a full-size plaster model to be abandoned. We settled on a sculpture measuring 165 cm. (Made in bronze, now it is in Tretyakov Gallery.) P. N. Lvov, especially for "Worker and Collective Farm Woman", developed an original method for enlarging fragments of the composition to the desired size. Only the heads, as the most important elements, were first sculpted from clay on a scale of 1:1.
The model was handed over to the factory, and there Vera Ignatievna and her two assistants - sculptors Z. G. Ivanova and N. G. Zelenskaya, together with engineers and workers, essentially “beat out” fragments of figures from metal. When they were all ready, they began to assemble the individual parts of the statue into a single whole. The work was so intense that Mukhina sometimes did not leave the workshop for days.
“February and March of this year were not kind,” Vera Ignatievna later recalled, “there were almost no sunny days: either frost, or rain, or blizzard. The frame and forests were covered with ice, but the two giants were systematically covered with steel. the other lifted parts of the statue. The legs stood in place, the torsos were put on, floated through the air and fused with the bodies of the hands, then the heads, and finally, the crossed hammer and sickle crowned the statue. "
Despite the lightness of the material, the sculpture weighed 75 tons. Before being sent to Paris, the steel giant was dismantled into 65 parts and loaded into 28 railway cars. V. I. Mukhina and Z. G. Ivanova, with a group of engineers and workers, followed them to mount and install the statue. It was assembled, fastened and welded for 11 days.
Finally, the finished sculpture took its place at the top of the Soviet pavilion. Crowned with a mighty statue, he riveted the eyes of all visitors to the exhibition. Sculpture by V. I. Mukhina left an indelible impression. Against the background of floating clouds, the movement of the figures seemed real, almost physically palpable. She was spoken of as a miracle, compared with Nika of Samothrace.
Romain Rolland, who visited the Paris exhibition, wrote in the guest book: International Exhibition on the banks of the Seine, two young Soviet giants lift the hammer and sickle in an indomitable impulse, and we hear the heroic hymn pouring from the chest, which calls the peoples to freedom, to unity and will lead them to victory.
The participation of the USSR in the World Exhibition in Paris was more than successful. It contributed to strengthening the authority of our country in the international arena. The image of the sculpture "Worker and Collective Farm Woman" was replicated on posters, postcards, badges, which scattered all over the planet. The name of Vera Ignatievna Mukhina became known to the whole world.
But now the exhibition is over... The French liked the sculpture so much that they didn't want to part with it. And only after the insistent request of the Soviet government "Worker and Collective Farm Woman" was dismantled and sent to the USSR. During dismantling and transportation, the sculpture was badly damaged, so it had to be recreated almost from scratch.
In 1939, the statue was erected in front of the entrance to the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition in Moscow. And here she immediately won universal recognition and immense popularity. The famous creation of Mukhina became the emblem of the Mosfilm film studio, her image appeared on the first frames of any film of this studio. In December 1984, the sculpture was made the emblem of the Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy to replace the former one - "Tractor Driver and Collective Farm Girl".
To the great regret of the author, in Moscow the sculpture was installed on a pedestal too low for it, which violated the proportions of the monument, designed for viewing at a high altitude. “Sculpture crawls on the ground,” V.I. Mukhina said bitterly and dreamed that her brainchild would be transported to the Sparrow (Lenin) Hills. There, at the height of the observation deck, the monument would have looked much more advantageous. But, despite the high appreciation of the work of V. I. Mukhina (in 1938 she was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, and in 1941 - the Stalin Prize), all attempts to achieve a more suitable pedestal for the "Worker and Collective Farm Woman" did not lead to anything . The statue remained standing at a 10-meter height not far from the northern entrance to VDNKh, closed in a cramped space of a small area.
Over the past decades, the monument has been cleaned and repaired only a few times, the last one almost 20 years ago. The steel was covered with dirt and almost lost its former luster. The metal frame also needs reconstruction: due to the moisture accumulating inside, the connecting frames have rusted. Pieces of granite are falling off the facing of the pedestal. Even the "fluttering in the wind" scarf - Mukhina's brilliant find - was somehow deformed and drooped ...
The Moscow government found a way to save the "Worker and Collective Farm Girl". The sculpture will be restored and installed at a height of 35 meters, most likely on the roof of a new business center. Perhaps, for the updated statue, they will erect their own pedestal, repeating the architectural forms of the pavilion created in 1937 for the World Exhibition in Paris. It is assumed that at the feet of the giants will build observation deck. The expenses are borne by the company, which has been allocated an adjacent plot of land for the construction of a multi-storey car park and shopping complex. During the reconstruction, the frame of the sculpture will be made of titanium, the figures will be coated with a special anti-corrosion compound.
The restoration and raising of the monument will be carried out by the production and creative workshops of BIOR under the supervision of specialists from the Main Directorate for the Protection of Monuments of the City of Moscow. Work is expected to begin this year. And in 2005, after the completion of the construction of the shopping complex, the sculpture by V. I. Mukhina "Worker and Collective Farm Girl" will regain its former grandeur and beauty.
Pavel Nefedov bcxb
The All-Russian Exhibition Center has a huge territory, which is not all effectively used today. There are a lot of small various administrative buildings: one-story, not one-story, in which the degree of wear is quite high. These areas are not used efficiently, that is, part of the territory on which reconstruction is possible, and even new construction, ”he once said. a certain analyst from the Miel company. In these words, one can see the usual developer rudeness in relation to historical Moscow (the definition of “one-story, not one-story” includes all buildings at the exhibition, without exception, where it is generally difficult to find a building higher than two floors). But there is another problem. It is difficult to say which buildings in the exhibition are original; preserved from the time of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition, which were rebuilt, which were destroyed.
All published scientific studies of the exhibition ensemble are limited to the end of the 30s, they do not trace the fate of these buildings during the construction of the exhibition in 1950-54. and even more so in our time. Accordingly, today the historical value of a building is most often determined by eye.
The purpose of this article is to give a complete list of the oldest VSHV structures that have survived since 1939.
VSHV-39
Any exhibition, by definition, is a very changeable object, where updates are taking place all the time, expositions and external design are changing. Therefore, the surviving exhibition buildings of 70 years ago are of great value, although from a historical point of view, their age may seem insignificant. It is difficult to find an exhibition ensemble in the world that has existed for so long and at the same time more or less retains its original layout.
There are two documents that list the objects of the exhibition, which are monuments of history and culture:
1. Decree of the Government of Moscow dated October 23, 2003 N 1945-RP "On the implementation of the provisions federal law dated 25.06.2002 N 73-FZ “On objects of cultural heritage (monuments of history and culture) of peoples Russian Federation”in terms of delimitation of powers on issues of state protection, conservation and use of cultural heritage objects.”
2. Order of the Council of Ministers - Government of the Russian Federation of July 5, 1993 N 1190-r on inclusion in the list of historical and cultural monuments to be protected as monuments of national importance, approved by the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR of August 30, 1960 N 1327 "On further improving the protection of cultural monuments in the RSFSR”, urban planning and architecture objects located on the territory of the All-Russian Exhibition Center.
The data of these documents, full of ridiculous errors and inaccuracies, are combined into official list Moskomnaslediya (part 1 and part 2). Errors can be explained by only one thing: no one, including none of the employees of the exhibition, took the trouble to thoughtfully compare the lists of pre-war and post-war buildings, and then project this to the present day.
However, for this article I had to work not even with lists, but with detailed schemes of the exhibition. First of all, buildings were identified that matched the outlines in the plan. Selected archival photographs. Next, an external inspection was made to make sure that this was indeed the original pavilion, and not a later box, possibly built on an old foundation.
For example, pavilion No. 30 (Microbiological Industry, formerly Khlopok) had to be excluded. Its current outlines correspond exactly to the pre-war ones. The guide to the General Plan of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition of 1951 (the exhibition resumed its work in August 1954) also states that the old pavilion is being reconstructed, and not rebuilt. However, the archival photo shows that the shape of the pavilion used to be completely different. During the external examination, no pre-war elements could be found. It is possible that some structures from 1939 were indeed used, but even in this case this pavilion cannot be recognized as preserved.
Newcomers to the exhibition are always confused by one more thing: the pavilions were constantly renamed, the expositions moved from one building to another.
Here is just one example. In 1937, it was planned to place the State Farms pavilion on the Mechanization Square (where the rocket is now). By 1938, the building was completed, but handed over for the exposition of the "Grain" pavilion, which was previously located in the pavilion opposite across the square. The vacated pavilion was, in turn, renamed "Cotton". By 1954, the old pavilion "Grain" was demolished and rebuilt in its original place. But already in 1960, another pavilion, located next door on the main alley (the former pavilion of the Central Chernozem Regions), was called "Grain". In 1967, it was also demolished, and the Grain pavilion moved to where many Muscovites remember it - to a building with a golden spire on the central square (which in fact used to be the pavilion of the Moscow Region). If you do not unravel this whole tangle, then often it is simply not clear which building is referred to in this or that document.
Therefore, in the list of buildings, I tried to show as accurately as possible which buildings I mean. For each building, its number and name are indicated according to the schemes and years. In addition, the number and name are indicated according to the official scheme of 2008 (as a rule, this number is now written in large letters somewhere on the wall of the building). The links open photos, archival and modern.
BUILDINGS OF THE VSHV 1939
2008 - No. 13 - Health
In 1939, pavilions of three Transcaucasian republics—Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan—were built on the left side of Kolkhoz Square (the main square of the exhibition). The Georgian pavilion, the most spectacular of them, has not survived to this day. The other two still stand on the main avenue, although they have undergone significant alterations. The pavilion of the Armenian SSR, originally built in the spirit of classical Armenian architecture, especially got it.
In the interval between 1939 and 1954, nothing significant happened, everything was limited to repairs.
But in 1960, the pavilion was rebuilt, turning it into a blind box. In fact, only three arches on the facade remained from the original form. Behind was made a massive extension. In 1963, the pavilion was renamed "Food Industry".
And around 1967, the facade was completely glazed, obscuring the arches. In 1980, when the pavilion was already called "Healthcare", the glass wall was replaced with billboards. After another 10 years, the entrance was built up with stalls, and all this heap is still standing today. Going inside, you can make sure that the interior decoration of the pavilion has been preserved, and the original elements of the facade are visible from behind the fences.
2008 - No. 14 - Computing
A similar story: the pavilion came to the exhibition in 1954 without any alterations, only the plinth was lined with red polished granite.
But around 1965-66, the facade was completely covered with a black box with white letters "BT" (in the 70s, the coloring was changed to the opposite - a white box with black letters). The lower part was glazed. Now this structure itself can be considered a monument of the 60s, however, objectively speaking, it looks just ugly. This is especially noticeable if you approach the pavilion from the side. The modernist façade structure is roughly attached to the main body of the pavilion, which is decorated in an oriental style.
The old photo shows that the side arches of the entrance were richly decorated with tiled tiles. Surprisingly, they are still preserved. Even last year, they could be easily seen by going into the glass "dressing room" of the pavilion. But now another wax museum is located in this room, and all the walls are draped with some kind of black rags.
2008 - No. 58 - Agriculture
The building of the pavilion is relatively new - it was built in the early 1950s, although in many respects it repeats the pre-war form and decor.
But the sculptural groups "Industry" and " Agriculture” have been standing here since the first day of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition. Between 1939 and 1954 some metamorphosis took place with them. Both workers lost their tools. Now, instead of a wrench and a steel ladle, they clench their empty fists sternly. In addition, the banners of both sculptural groups were significantly restored - now they do not just hang behind, but flutter in full width.
By the way, it seems to many that these sculptures are made of bronze. In fact, they are reinforced concrete, like all the other sculptures in the exhibition (except for the sculptures from the Friendship of Peoples fountain).
By the way, for some reason, D.N. Chechulin is listed as an architect in List 1. In fact, the author of this pavilion is the architect A.A. Tatsiy.
2008 - No. 59 - Grain
The architect Chechulin mentioned above is the author of this particular Moscow pavilion. However, in List 1 there is again a misunderstanding - Zhukov A.O. and Grevs A.A. The first is, apparently, A.F. Zhukov, the chief architect of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition. The second name is not known to me or Yandex.
The pavilion has survived to this day, because. back in 1939 it was built in capital constructions. By 1954 it was substantially reconstructed. The most notable upgrade is the tower topped with a golden spire with a ruby star.
The proportions of the reconstructed pavilion are very reminiscent of the unrealized project of an administrative building in Zaryadye, made by the same Chechulin several years earlier.
Of the pre-war details of the decoration, a very characteristic lancet glazing has been preserved (after the reconstruction, it also appeared on the tower). While inside, you can see very detailed stained-glass windows depicting various vegetables in central Russia.
2008 - No. 26 - Transport
In List 2, the building is mentioned in a strange way: “Portico of the pavilion “Transport of the USSR” (former “Agriculture”)”. The wording sounds cynical: in fact, this is an open invitation to tear down the entire back of the building and add something more substantial to the protected portico.
In fact, the oldest part of the building is not the portico.
In 1939-41. the pavilion "Cotton" was located on this place. For the exhibition of 1954, an introductory hall, a lecture hall and service premises. The rest of the wooden part of the "Cotton" pavilion was reconstructed and built up to a height of 11 m. "Transport of the USSR".
Compared to 1954, only some details of the stucco molding have been lost, and the capitals of the first row of columns - they collapsed from dampness in the late 70s.
2008 - No. 311 - Service building
This small pavilion appeared at the exhibition in the spring of 1941. Previously, this piece of territory was formally outside the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition (as was the Green Theater located next door). What was originally planned to be placed in it is not known. But it is known that in 1940 the Red Army "liberated" Bessarabia, and a separate pavilion was needed for the new socialist republic - the Moldavian one. He was here for only six months, and then the war began, and the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition was closed for 13 years.
For the 1954 exhibition, the facade of the building was reconstructed, and the pavilion became known as "Sericulture".
Now this building houses an unnamed office, and the building itself looks somewhat peeling.
This pavilion is not in any of the "guard" lists.
2008 - No. 56 - Veterinary
From 1939 to the present day, the pavilion has retained its specialization and appearance. Even the fountain in the form of a bowl with a snake is original, pre-war.
The pavilion was slightly reconstructed for the 1954 exhibition.
None of the "protective" lists of this pavilion is present.
Three years ago, almost the entire building (except for the facade) was covered with beautiful colored banners with the inscription "The Veterinary Pavilion is under reconstruction." Today, the banners are still hanging there, but the words "under reconstruction" are carefully erased. In some places, holes were even cut into the banners to use the doors that were under it. The building is still in a rather deplorable state.
Details and illustrations here: http://bcxb.livejournal.com/8615.html
Opposite the pavilion, on the lead-out circle, there is a sculpture of a horse. It, too, has been preserved since 1939 (it even survived a recent fire that destroyed a warehouse just a few meters away). True, there was also a foal at the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition, but its fragile structure collapsed long ago. And yet, on the other side of the hatching circle, there was a sculpture of a cow. Now only a pedestal remains from it.
2008 - No. 57 - Exhibition pavilion No. 57 (Space)
At the 1939 exhibition, it was the largest and most original pavilion. A steel parabolic arch, open on both sides, created a huge canopy under which various agricultural machines were located. In terms of shape, the pavilion was deliberately made to resemble a boathouse for airships - because of this, a funny myth has even appeared today that before the creation of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition, some enterprise of Dirigiblestroy was located on this site.
In the winter of 50-51, the reconstruction and expansion of the pavilion began. The main façade was formed by two towers crowned with sculptural figures of a worker with a lever and a collective farm woman with a steering wheel. On the opposite side, a domed hall made of reinforced glass on a steel frame was attached. In this form, the pavilion has been completely preserved to this day.
It received the name "Cosmos" in the fall of 1967, on the anniversary of the October Revolution. At the same time, a rocket with the Vostok spacecraft was installed in front of the pavilion. Before that, another pavilion was officially called “Cosmos” (now it is listed under No. 2).
Periodically, the pro-Moscow press begins PR about the disastrous state of the Cosmos pavilion, which is supposedly about to collapse. And therefore it needs to be either urgently dismantled or “regenerated”. Of course, this would be a complete disaster, because the Moscow construction complex should not be allowed to come here for a cannon shot. This building - one of the symbols of Moscow, an architectural monument of world significance - must remain intact.
2008 - No. 27 - Physical education and sports
All modern photographs of the exhibition buildings are made by the author of the article.
since we are all smart, many links are now broken, do not blame me
A. A. Romodanovskaya
