Ostankino Tower (russian: links=no, Останкинская телебашня, Ostankinskaya telebashnya) is a television and radio tower in Moscow, Russia, owned by the Moscow branch of unitary enterprise

Russian TV and Radio Broadcasting Network Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network (RTRN) (russian: Российская телевизионная и радиовещательная сеть) is a unitary enterprise created on August 13, 2001, by decree of the president of t ...

. Standing , it was designed by Nikolai Nikitin, Pyotr Gorchakov and

Yuri Kondratyuk Yuri Vasilyevich Kondratyuk (russian: Юрий Васильевич Кондратюк; ukr, Юрій Васильович Кондратюк; 21 June 1897 – February 1942), real name Aleksandr Ignatyevich Shargei (russian: Алекса́нд� ...

. , it is the tallest free-standing structure in Europe and 12th tallest in the world. Between 1967 and 1974, it was the tallest in the world. The tower was the first free-standing structure to exceed in height. Ostankino was built to mark the 50th anniversary of the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mom ...

. It is named after the surrounding Ostankino district of Moscow.

History

Construction and record holder

Construction began in 1963 and was completed in 1967. Extensive use of

prestressed concrete Prestressed concrete is a form of concrete used in construction. It is substantially "prestressed" ( compressed) during production, in a manner that strengthens it against tensile forces which will exist when in service. Post-tensioned concreted ...

resulted in a simple and sturdy structure. It surpassed the

Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from " Empire State", the nickname of the ...

to become the tallest free-standing structure in the world. It held this record for eight years until it was overtaken by the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada in 1975, which surpassed its height by .

Height increase plan

In 1994, there was a plan to increase the tower's height to by adding a long antenna. However, this plan to reclaim the "tallest free-standing structure in the world" was not implemented due to lack of funding.

Reopening and recent activity

In April 2009, the observation platform reopened, and the Seventh Heaven restaurant reopened in November 2016. On 21 July 2018, there was a race up the tower, featuring athletes from 12 countries. They ran up the narrow, spiral staircase and reached the location at an altitude of 337.0 meters. The fastest of the 28 athletes was German, Christian Riedl, who made it to the top in 9 minutes and 51 seconds. The women's winner was Cynthia Harris (USA), who reached the top in 12 minutes and 15 seconds. Absolute records were then broken into the categories of men and women.

Accidents

Over the course of its 21st century history, there have been accidents at the tower, including a fire in 2000, the tower struck by a parachutist in 2004, and a minor fire in 2007.

August 2000 fire

The tower caught fire on 27 August 2000, killing three people. A firefighter and lift operator died when their elevator cabin crashed to the ground level due to the fire. In addition, television and radio signals were disrupted around Moscow. The fire broke out at a height of about , or approximately above the observation platform and the Seventh Heaven restaurant, after a short-circuit in wiring belonging to a paging company. The fire forced the evacuation of all visitors and staff from those locations. According to Russian news agencies, the evacuation was complete 90 minutes after the start of the fire. The loss was substantial due to the age and poor maintenance of the electronic equipment, much of which was installed in the 1960s. In addition, the tower had become increasingly packed with equipment. The failure of the fire suppression systems allowed the fire to destroy most of the tower's interior. Although more than 300 firefighters and other emergency workers were called in, firemen were forced to haul heavy equipment, including chemical fire extinguishers, by hand up the tower to halt the fire. Temporary firewalls of

asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...

placed up stopped further spread.Firefighters struggle against a blaze in Moscow television tower
by Nick Wadhams, The Independent, 28 August 2000. The fire knocked out virtually all television broadcasts in Moscow and the surrounding regions. The only television station unaffected was the private NTV station, but the government decreed that state channels took priority, and as such, the RTR TV channel began transmitting to several Moscow districts. The fire caused the tower's upper spire to tilt slightly, triggering fears the tower might collapse. The subsequent inspection determined that although the structure sustained heavy damage, the tower was not in danger of collapse. Efforts began immediately to rebuild the tower, which proved to be a long and expensive task. The fire was the third disaster in Russia in a month
following an explosion
in Moscow's Pushkinskaya Metro Station (which killed 12 people and injured 150), and the sinking of the submarine ''Kursk'' in the Barents Sea, in which 118 died. Russian President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

stated that "This latest accident shows the shape of our vital installations and the overall state of our country. We should not fail to see major problems in the country behind this accident, and we should not forget the economy. Whether or not such accidents happen again in the future will depend on how we work in this vital direction."Fire in 1,800ft TV tower adds to Russians' feeling of doom
by Helen Womackin, The Independent, 29 August 2000. On 25 March 2005, the first new elevators since the August 2000 fire, made by the German company

ThyssenKrupp ThyssenKrupp AG (, ; stylized as thyssenkrupp) is a German industrial engineering and steel production multinational conglomerate. It is the result of the 1999 merger of Thyssen AG and Krupp and has its operational headquarters in Duisburg a ...

, were tested and put into service. The new elevators travel at a speed of

2004 tower struck

On 1 July 2004, Austrian BASE jumper Christina Grubelnik struck the tower during her descent, receiving a concussion and losing consciousness. Her parachute snagged on a lower-level service platform and she was rescued by Russian emergency services.

2007 fire

On 25 May 2007, the Ostankino again caught fire, though it was less serious this time and isolated to a platform on the outside of the tower. All people inside the tower were evacuated and the fire was successfully extinguished, with no casualties.Fire out at Moscow landmark tower
''BBC News''

Channels listed by frequency

Analogue radio (FM)

Digital television (DVB-T2)

Analogue television

In Moscow and the

Moscow Region Moscow Oblast ( rus, Моско́вская о́бласть, r=Moskovskaya oblast', p=mɐˈskofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ), or Podmoskovye ( rus, Подмоско́вье, p=pədmɐˈskovʲjə, literally " under Moscow"), is a federal subject of Ru ...

, along with 18 other regions, analogue television closed on 15 April 2019, at 12:00 (UTC+3).