Seven Sisters (Moscow)
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- For other uses, see Seven Sisters.
The Seven Sisters (called "vysotki" in Russian) are a group of seven Stalinist skyscrapers in Moscow, Russia. They were built during the last 10 years of Stalin's rule in an elaborate style combining elements from baroque Kremlin towers, Gothic cathedrals of medieval Europe, and American skyscrapers of 1930s.
They comprise:
- The main building of Moscow State University (Europe's tallest building when completed).
- An apartment building on Kotelnicheskaya Naberezhnaya.
- Hotel Ukraina (Украина).
- Hotel Leningradskaya (Ленинградская).
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- The Ministry of Heavy Industry.
- An apartment building on Kudrinskaya Square (better known as Дом на площади Восстания).
The original plans included an eighth tower, Palace of the Soviets, which would have been one of the tallest buildings in the world if it had been constructed. Construction work began in 1931, and Cathedral of Christ the Saviour was demolished to clear the site for the new tower. However, World War II halted the project. After Stalin's death the project was abandoned and the foundation pit was turned into an outdoor swimming pool. In the 1990s the swimming pool was demolished and Cathedral of Christ the Saviour was rebuilt in its original place.
The biggest tower outside the Soviet Union to be built to a similar scale and design is the Warsaw Palace of Culture and Science, itself a gift from the Soviet Union.
[edit] The Eighth Sister
The Eighth Sister refers to the project for an eighth building to join the group of seven Stalinist skyscrapers in Moscow. The original plans included an eighth tower, which would have been one of the tallest buildings in the World if it had been constructed. Following Stalin's death, it was decided that the projected structure would overshadow the Moscow Kremlin and the Rossiya Hotel was erected on the spot. The Triumph-Palace, completed in 2003, now the tallest building in Europe and 59th in the world, is unofficially referred to as the Eighth Sister.
[edit] Images
 Another view of the MGU |
 Ministry of Foreign Affairs as viewed from Kutuzov Avenue. |
 Original project for the 8th tower. |
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 Heavy wooden doors of the apartment building on Kudrinskaya Square. |
 A figure of worker decorating the building on Kudrinskaya Square, an example of Socialist realism sculpture. |
