The main building of Moscow State University () is a , 36-story (central part)

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. It was designed by Lev Rudnev as the headquarters of

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

, and is the tallest among the " Seven Sisters" constructed in Moscow between 1947 and 1953 in the Stalinist architectural style. It was the tallest building in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

for 37 years, from 1953 to 1990, before being surpassed by the

Messeturm The Messeturm, or Trade Fair Tower, is a 63-storey, skyscraper in the Westend-Süd district of Frankfurt, Germany. It is the second tallest building in Frankfurt, the second tallest building in Germany and the third tallest building in the Eu ...

in Germany. , it remains the tallest educational building in the world.

Features

Moscow State University Main Building Star

The skyscraper has 36 levels in its central part and is tall. Its roof () is topped by a 58-metre spire which ends with a 12-ton

five-pointed star A five-pointed star (☆), geometrically an equilateral concave decagon, is a common ideogram in modern culture. Comparatively rare in classical heraldry, it was notably introduced for the flag of the United States in the Flag Act of 1777 and si ...

. Lateral towers are lower than the central one; two 18 and 9 storey dormitory wings define, with the central corpus of the complex, a ''cour d'honneur'' courtyard. Among the statues which decorate the building is a sculpture by

Vera Mukhina Vera Ignatyevna Mukhina (; ; – 6 October 1953) was a Soviet sculptor and painter. She was nicknamed "the queen of Soviet sculpture". She was one of the members of the art association ‘ The Four Arts’, which existed in Moscow and Leningrad ...

representing a couple of students and a statue by N. Tomsky of

Mikhail Lomonosov Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (; , ; – ) was a Russian polymath, scientist and writer, who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. Among his discoveries were the atmosphere of Venus and the law of conservation of ...

(1711–1765), the founder of Moscow University. The University premises cover around 1.6

square kilometres The square kilometre (square kilometer in American spelling; symbol: km2) is a multiple of the square metre, the SI unit of area or surface area. In the SI unit of area (m2), 1 km2 is equal to 1M(m2). 1 km2 is equal to: * 1,000,000 square ...

. The complex was partially renovated in 2000. The Main Building of Moscow State University is not open to the general public. Visitors from outside the university must be pre-approved by their university host and must submit their domestic passport (Russian) or international passport in order to gain entry.

History

The leading architect

Boris Iofan Boris Mikhailovich Iofan (, ; April 28, 1891 – March 11, 1976) was a Soviet architect of Jewish origin, known for his Stalinist architecture buildings like the 1931 House on the Embankment and the 1931–1933 winning draft of the Palace of t ...

bid for the skyscraper project in 1947 but the job was assigned to Lev Rudnev, because Iofan made a mistake placing his draft skyscraper right on the edge of

Sparrow Hills Sparrow Hills (, ), formerly known as Lenin Hills (, ), is a hill on the right bank of the Moskva River and one of the highest points in Moscow, reaching a height of above the river level. The observation platform is on a steep bank above ...

, a site concerned with a potential landslide hazard. Rudnev had already built important edifices like the M. V. Frunze Military Academy (1932–1937) and the ''Marshals' Apartments'' (Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya, 28, 1947), earning the esteem of the Communist Party. He set the building 800 meters away from the cliff. The chief of the engineers' team was Vsevolod Nikolaevich Nasonov. The main tower, which consumed over 40,000 tons of steel for its framework and 130,000 cubic metres of concrete, was inaugurated on September 1, 1953. At 240 metres tall, it was the 7th tallest building of the world as well as the tallest in Europe. Its European height record held until 1990 when it was surpassed by the

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It was also, and still remains, the tallest educational building in the world. Moscow University is probably the best known of Rudnev's buildings, for which he was awarded the Stalin Prize in 1949. The University skyline inspired various buildings in the socialist countries, like the

Palace of Culture and Science The Palace of Culture and Science (; abbreviated ''PKiN'') is a notable high-rise building in central Warsaw, Poland. With a total height of , it is the second tallest building in both Warsaw and Poland (after the Varso Tower), the sixth talle ...

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, and also the logo of 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.

References

Notes

External links

* * * {{Buildings in Europe timeline School buildings completed in 1953 Stalinist architecture Seven Sisters (Moscow) Skyscrapers in Moscow Cultural heritage monuments of regional significance in Moscow

Features

History

See also

References

Notes

External links