State Kremlin Palace
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The State Kremlin Palace (Russian: Государственный Кремлёвский Дворец), formerly and unofficially still better known as the Kremlin Palace of Congresses (Кремлёвский Дворец съездов), is a large modern building inside the Moscow Kremlin.
The building was built under personal insistence of Nikita Khruschev as a modern arena for Communist Party meetings. Although the architecture of the projected building contrasted sharply with the historic milieu, building work started in 1959. The structure was opened along with the 22nd Congress of the CPSU on October 17, 1961. In 1962 the architects of the project, headed by M.Posokhin were awarded the Lenin Prize for their work.
The building is a modern glass and concrete design and nearly half of it (17 metres) submerged underground. The main hall is able to hold six thousand people and its acoustics were considered to be the most advanced at the time. Over the years this was the main place for mass state events (particularly party congresses). Presently it is used for official and popular concerts. It is also the scene of the Kremlin ballet group. Also currently the Bolshoi Theatre is performing there while their historic building is closed for repairs. The number of individual rooms is well over eight hundred.
Externally the palace is faced with white marble and the windows are tinted and reflective, which particularly makes the ancient architecture in the Kremlin appear very picturesque. However, from the start, the construction of a large public building in an ancient ensemble generated quite uproar of argument. The building also replaced some of the historical constructions including the old neo-classical building of the State Armoury and some of the back corpuses of the Great Kremlin Palace. Although this was hardly the first time that the Soviet government destroyed architectural heritage (notably the Chudov and Ascension cloisters) in Kremlin and generally, however by the mid 1950s laws were in place effectively considering all pre-Soviet constructions as historical monuments and protecting their demolition, in someways making the construction illegal. Moreover the Palace was integrated into the larger complex of the Great Kremlin Palace with walkways linking it to the Patriarchal chambers and the Terem Palace.
Today it remains the least liked building in the Kremlin, and for some, its bright contrast with the rest of the ensemble remains a symbol of Soviet neglect for ancient heritage, and calls for its demolition are still heard from some political groups. Others however already value the palace as a permanent addition to the Kremlin's tradition of collecting religious, state and public constructions from different historical periods.
[edit] External links
- (Russian)/(English) Description on the Official page of the Kremlin museum
- (Russian)/(English) Description on the Official page of the Presidency
- (English) Satellite shot centred on the building
Moscow Kremlin |
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| Dormition Cathedral | Archangel Cathedral | Annunciation Cathedral |
| Church of the Twelve Apostles | Church of the Deposition of the Robe | Saviour Church |
| Chudov Monastery | Ascension Convent |
| Ivan the Great Bell Tower | Tsar Bell | Tsar Cannon |
| Grand Kremlin Palace | Palace of Facets | Terem Palace | Amusement Palace | Patriarchal Chamber |
| State Kremlin Palace | Senate | Arsenal | Armoury | Diamond Treasury |
| Hill | Sobornaya Square | Ivanovskaya Square |
| Wall | Towers | Armorial Gate | Necropolis | Stars | Chiming Clock |
