The Soviet Palace of Congresses

A look at the magnificent Soviet palace from 1962 & 1979

From the Soviet Press, July 1962:

ALTHOUGH the Palace of Congresses is one of the newest public buildings in the Soviet capital, opened only last October in time for the Twenty-second Communist Party Congress, it must have been seen by well over a million people by this time.

The sparkling glass and aluminum structure is one of Moscow's show places, a sightseeing must for visitors from other Soviet cities and abroad. In spite of its very modern feeling or because of it, perhaps the Palace forms a natural part of the architectural ensemble of the Kremlin, infusing today's mood and spirit into the venerable museums and cathedrals that surround it.

The Palace is built on the site of the former Cavalier Corps building, a cheerless structure, dating from the time of Czars Nicholas I and Alexander II, that detracted from the architectural unity of the Kremlin buildings.

Although the Palace is 395 feet long, 230 feet wide and 95 feet high -- a huge structure -- the impression it gives is of unusual lightness. To make maximum use of the building plot as well as to maintain the architectural harmony of the building ensemble, the Palace goes 50 feet below ground. The foundation and supporting walls of the section below street level are made of continuous reinforced concrete. The walls are faced with Ural marble tile.

The project, both in design and construction, posed many problems because of its polyfunctional character. It is intended for Party congresses, international meetings and festivals, theater performances, concerts and film showings. All the necessary requirements have been met with such ingenuity that the team of architects and of acoustic engineers responsible were awarded the Lenin Prize this year for their contributions.

The interior is striking, with its fine proportions and simplicity of form. The auditorium is lighted by 5,000 fixtures, 4,500 of which are concealed in the aluminum sections of the cambered , suspended ceiling. The spectator has a good view of the stage and can hear perfectly from every seat.

The stage, already used by many famous concert artists and theatrical companies , is the largest in the country. Intricate devices permit sets of the most complicated shapes and sizes to be installed and shifted easily and quickly. For a film showing, a 42-by-98-foot screen is automatically moved onto the stage. Behind it are five loud speakers, each the size of a two-story house.

The special sound amplifying system permits the most complicated acoustic effects. The walls, ceilings and seats are covered with either sound absorbing or resonant materials. A line spoken on the stage is relayed through 7,000 speaker units. Mounted inside the seat backs are midget speakers that transmit every syllable to the listener. More than a hundred microphones are installed on the stage, and 500 loud speakers regulate the sound level in the auditorium. The ambiophonic system takes advantage of reverberations from the walls and ceilings. It can, if desired, produce an echo effect.

The 862 rooms in the Palace are reached by wide staircases, elevators and noiseless escalators. The many corridors, passages and service areas are finished with elegant simplicity. The walls, ceilings and columns in the main halls are faced with marble and tufa from Georgia, Armenia, Siberia and the Urals. The banquet hall, with its special parquet floor, seats 4,000. Surrounding it is an outdoor gallery with an impressive view of the Kremlin.

The Palace in 1971

From the Great Soviet Encyclopedia 1979:

The largest public building of the Moscow Kremlin. Built in 1959–61.

For the design and construction of the Kremlin Palace of Congresses, its creators—M. V. Posokhin, A. A. Mndoiants, G. N. L’vov, A. N. Kondrat’ev, E. N. Stamo, P. P. Shteller, and I. I. Kochetov—were awarded the Lenin Prize in 1962. The opening (Oct. 17, 1961) was timed for the beginning of the Twenty-second Congress of the CPSU. The palace is used for highly important party, government, public, and international gatherings and as a theater; it is a second stage for the Bolshoi Theater. The building plan is rectangular, 120 X 70 m, with a total volume of 40,000 cu m; its foundation is 15 m under the ground. The building’s facade is divided by white marble pylons, with stained-glass panels between them. Above the main entrance is a gilded representation of the emblem of the USSR, made from a design by sculptor A. E. Zelenskii.

The auditorium of the Kremlin Palace of Congresses has 6,000 seats, the latest acoustic engineering, 7,000 loudspeakers, and 4,500 large and small lights. The walls and ceilings are covered with sound-absorbent materials. Translation is done into 30 languages of the world. The stage is equipped with raising and lowering devices. The palace’s banquet hall holds up to 4,500 people. On the curtain of the meeting hall, Latvian craftsmen under the direction of Kh. M. Rysin created a chased panel with a portrait of V. I. Lenin from a drawing by the artist A. A. Mylnikov. A mosaic frieze in the main foyer and mosaic emblems on the marble piers of the banquet hall facades are works of the artist A. A. Deineka. The integrity of composition, clarity of rhythm, and large scale of simple forms in combination with the open space of the interiors define the solemn character of the structure and underline its great social significance.

Among meetings held in the Kremlin Palace of Congresses have been the Twenty-second through Twenty-fourth Congresses of the CPSU, the 15th and 16th congresses of the Komsomol, the third congress of the All-Union Congress of Kolkhoz Workers, the fifth congress of the World Federation of Trade Unions, the World Congress of Women, the 13th through 15th congresses of the trade unions of the USSR, and the World Youth Forum; many ceremonial meetings and receptions have been held there. The country’s best performing companies appear on the stage of the Kremlin Palace of Congresses, and international film festivals are held there.

See also: Lenin at the Soviet Palace of the Congresses, 1961