Masterarbeit / Master's Thesis

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Masterarbeit / Master's Thesis MASTERARBEIT / MASTER’S THESIS Titel der Masterarbeit / Title of the Master‘s Thesis The Cathedral of Christ the Savior and Russia’s Self-perception verfasst von / submitted by Karolina Foletti, BA angestrebter akademischer Grad / in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (MA) Wien, 2016 / Vienna 2016 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt / A 066 687 degree programme code as it appears on the student record sheet: Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt / Masterstudium Osteuropäische Geschichte degree programme as it appears on the student record sheet: Betreut von / Supervisor: a.o. Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Marija Wakounig, MAS 2 Table of Contents Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................... 7 1. Research Questions, Methodological Approach ............................................................................................. 7 2. State of Research ................................................................................................................................................11 3. Note on Transliteration, Dates, Footnotes and Text Structure ..................................................................14 Chapter 1.......................................................................................................................................................................16 Cathedral of Christ the Savior and Russian Identity in Tsarist Russia ...............................................................16 1.1. Cathedral of Christ the Savior as a National Church ................................................................................17 1.2. First Plan of the Cathedral .............................................................................................................................19 1.3. Second Plan for the Cathedral.......................................................................................................................22 1.3.1. Description ...............................................................................................................................................22 1.3.2. National Style ...........................................................................................................................................24 1.3.3. National Style and National Identity – Byzantine Heritage or Russian Sovereignty? ..................27 1.3.4. Reception of Ton’s Cathedral and the Legacy of Russian-Byzantine Style in the Context of Russian “National Self-perception” ................................................................................................................33 Concluding Remarks ..............................................................................................................................................36 Chapter 2.......................................................................................................................................................................38 Palace of the Soviets: Rupture and Continuity. ......................................................................................................38 2.1. The Cathedral from its Consecration to the Revolution ..........................................................................38 2.2. Destruction .......................................................................................................................................................39 2.3. Search for a New Symbol of Soviet Identity ...............................................................................................40 Concluding Remarks ..............................................................................................................................................44 Chapter 3.......................................................................................................................................................................46 Reconstructing the Cathedral. The Search for Post-Soviet Russian Identity. ...................................................46 3.1. The Cathedral of Christ the Savior as a Symbol of New Russia .............................................................47 3.1.1. Coming to Terms with Soviet Past and Proposals for New Russian Identity ...............................47 3.1.2. El’cin’s Speech and its Analysis .............................................................................................................49 3.2. Orthodoxy in the New Russian Identity, Cathedral as a Sign of Desecularization ..............................52 3.3. Project of the Construction. Public Debate between its Opponents and Defenders. .........................57 Concluding Remarks ..............................................................................................................................................62 Chapter 4.......................................................................................................................................................................64 The Cathedral as a Stage for Protest. Re-formulation of Russian Identity. .......................................................64 3 4.1. Description of the Incident ...........................................................................................................................65 4.2. Orthodox Hierarchy and Russian Government .........................................................................................67 4.3. Official Discourse............................................................................................................................................72 4.4. Reaction of the Public ....................................................................................................................................76 4.5. Participants’ Comments .................................................................................................................................78 As a Conclusion: ..........................................................................................................................................................83 Cathedral of Christ the Savior in the longue durée Approach .................................................................................83 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................................................87 General Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................87 Sources ......................................................................................................................................................................94 Sources Chapter 1 ..............................................................................................................................................94 Sources Chapter 2 ..............................................................................................................................................95 Sources Chapter 3 ..............................................................................................................................................96 Sources Chapter 4 ..............................................................................................................................................99 Abstract ...................................................................................................................................................................... 103 Zusammenfassung .................................................................................................................................................... 105 Annex ......................................................................................................................................................................... 106 Tables ..................................................................................................................................................................... 106 Texts ....................................................................................................................................................................... 109 Illustrations ........................................................................................................................................................... 115 4 Acknowledgments First of all, I would like to thank a.o. Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Marija Wakounig, MAS for the direction of this Master’s thesis. I am grateful not only for precious comments but also for the understanding and care to grant me the best conditions for my work. My thanks go to Philippe Luisier for introducing me into the rich library of Pontificio Instituto Orientale. I would like to thank Adrien Palladino and Rachel Moland for their help with language corrections. I also thank Pavel Rakitin, Pavel Boček and Nicolas Bock for their kind encouragements, comments and their help with obtaining source materials. Special thanks go
Recommended publications
  • Russian Museums Visit More Than 80 Million Visitors, 1/3 of Who Are Visitors Under 18
    Moscow 4 There are more than 3000 museums (and about 72 000 museum workers) in Russian Moscow region 92 Federation, not including school and company museums. Every year Russian museums visit more than 80 million visitors, 1/3 of who are visitors under 18 There are about 650 individual and institutional members in ICOM Russia. During two last St. Petersburg 117 years ICOM Russia membership was rapidly increasing more than 20% (or about 100 new members) a year Northwestern region 160 You will find the information aboutICOM Russia members in this book. All members (individual and institutional) are divided in two big groups – Museums which are institutional members of ICOM or are represented by individual members and Organizations. All the museums in this book are distributed by regional principle. Organizations are structured in profile groups Central region 192 Volga river region 224 Many thanks to all the museums who offered their help and assistance in the making of this collection South of Russia 258 Special thanks to Urals 270 Museum creation and consulting Culture heritage security in Russia with 3M(tm)Novec(tm)1230 Siberia and Far East 284 © ICOM Russia, 2012 Organizations 322 © K. Novokhatko, A. Gnedovsky, N. Kazantseva, O. Guzewska – compiling, translation, editing, 2012 [email protected] www.icom.org.ru © Leo Tolstoy museum-estate “Yasnaya Polyana”, design, 2012 Moscow MOSCOW A. N. SCRiAbiN MEMORiAl Capital of Russia. Major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation center of Russia and the continent MUSEUM Highlights: First reference to Moscow dates from 1147 when Moscow was already a pretty big town.
    [Show full text]
  • Architecture, Form, Expression. the Helicoidal Skyscrapers'geometry
    Bridges 2012: Mathematics, Music, Art, Architecture, Culture Architecture, Form, Expression. The Helicoidal Skyscrapers’Geometry Alessandra CAPANNA Dipartimento di Architettura e Progetto “Sapienza” Università di Roma Via Flaminia 359 - 00196 Roma, ITALY E-mail: [email protected] Mauro FRANCAVIGLIA Marcella G. LORENZI Dipartimento di Matematica, Laboratorio per la Comunicazione Scientifica Università di Torino Università della Calabria Via Carlo Alberto,10 - 10123 Torino, ITALY Cubo 30b, 87036 Arcavacata di Rende CS, E-mail: [email protected] ITALY E-mail: [email protected] Abstract The Expressionist utopia of an Architect imitating the rigorous and -at the same time- extremely bizarre formative principles of Nature, linked with the engineering “must” of a coherent and correct structure are apparent antithesis if only played as the manifestation of an irrational and uncontrolled freedom. We explore the ancient idea of Harmony and Beauty and the historical confidence in the logarithmic spiral as the symbol of perfection in an un- built project for a 565 m (1,854 ft) high skyscraper that was supposed to be built on the tip of Manhattan, NYC. The role of geometry is no more exploited as an instrument for controlling architectural form, but for its liberation: the project for a helicoidal skyscraper consisted of a succession of warped wings developed on the layout of the logarithmic spiral. The helicoidal shape, works better than the others in splitting up the force of the wind in resistance, has a positive influence on the stability of the building and is the result of a strong design theory wondering about the power of invention, the power of geometry, the power of relationships among numbers, and finally the beauty of (deriving from) mathematics (in Architecture).
    [Show full text]
  • The Open Notebook’S Pitch Database Includes Dozens of Successful Pitch Letters for Science Stories
    Selected Readings Prepared for the AAAS Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellows, May 2012 All contents are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Table of Contents INTRODUCTION PART ONE: FINDING IDEAS 1. Lost and found: How great non-fiction writers discover great ideas—In this topical feature, TON guest contributor Brendan Borrell interviews numerous science writers about how they find ideas. (The short answer: In the darndest places.) 2. Ask TON: Saving string—Writers and editors provide advice on gathering ideas for feature stories. 3. Ask TON: From idea to story—Four experienced science writers share the questions they ask themselves when weighing whether a story idea is viable. 4. Ask TON: Finding international stories—Six well-traveled science writers share their methods for sussing out international stories. PART TWO: PITCHING 5. Ask TON: How to pitch—In this interview, writers and editors dispense advice on elements of a good pitch letter. 6. Douglas Fox recounts an Antarctic adventure—Doug Fox pitched his Antarctica story to numerous magazines, unsuccessfully, before finding a taker just before leaving on the expedition he had committed to months before. After returning home, that assignment fell through, and Fox pitched it one more time—to Discover, who bought the story. In this interview, Fox describes the lessons he learned in the pitching process; he also shares his pitch letters, both unsuccessful and successful (see links). 7. Pitching errors: How not to pitch—In this topical feature, Smithsonian editor Laura Helmuth conducts a roundtable conversation with six other editors in which they discuss how NOT to pitch.
    [Show full text]
  • Rus Sian Jews Between the Reds and the Whites, 1917– 1920
    Rus sian Jews Between the Reds and the Whites, 1917– 1920 —-1 —0 —+1 137-48292_ch00_1P.indd i 8/19/11 8:37 PM JEWISH CULTURE AND CONTEXTS Published in association with the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies of the University of Pennsylvania David B. Ruderman, Series Editor Advisory Board Richard I. Cohen Moshe Idel Alan Mintz Deborah Dash Moore Ada Rapoport- Albert Michael D. Swartz A complete list of books in the series is available from the publisher. -1— 0— +1— 137-48292_ch00_1P.indd ii 8/19/11 8:37 PM Rus sian Jews Between the Reds and the Whites, 1917– 1920 Oleg Budnitskii Translated by Timothy J. Portice university of pennsylvania press philadelphia —-1 —0 —+1 137-48292_ch00_1P.indd iii 8/19/11 8:37 PM Originally published as Rossiiskie evrei mezhdu krasnymi i belymi, 1917– 1920 (Moscow: ROSSPEN, 2005) Publication of this volume was assisted by a grant from the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation. Copyright © 2012 University of Pennsylvania Press All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations used for purposes of review or scholarly citation, none of this book may be reproduced in any form by any means without written permission from the publisher. Published by University of Pennsylvania Press Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104- 4112 www .upenn .edu/ pennpress Printed in the United States of America on acid- free paper 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 -1— Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data 0— ISBN 978- 0- 8122- 4364- 2 +1— 137-48292_ch00_1P.indd iv 8/19/11 8:37 PM In memory of my father, Vitaly Danilovich Budnitskii (1930– 1990) —-1 —0 —+1 137-48292_ch00_1P.indd v 8/19/11 8:37 PM -1— 0— +1— 137-48292_ch00_1P.indd vi 8/19/11 8:37 PM contents List of Abbreviations ix Introduction 1 Chapter 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Lewis Mumford – Sidewalk Critic
    SIDEWALK CRITIC SIDEWALK CRITIC LEWIS MUMFORD’S WRITINGS ON NEW YORK EDITED BY Robert Wojtowicz PRINCETON ARCHITECTURAL PRESS • NEW YORK Published by Library of Congress Princeton Architectural Press Cataloging-in-Publication Data 37 East 7th Street Mumford, Lewis, 1895‒1990 New York, New York 10003 Sidewalk critic : Lewis Mumford’s 212.995.9620 writings on New York / Robert Wojtowicz, editor. For a free catalog of books, p. cm. call 1.800.722.6657. A selection of essays from the New Visit our web site at www.papress.com. Yorker, published between 1931 and 1940. ©1998 Princeton Architectural Press Includes bibliographical references All rights reserved and index. Printed and bound in the United States ISBN 1-56898-133-3 (alk. paper) 02 01 00 99 98 5 4 3 2 1 First edition 1. Architecture—New York (State) —New York. 2. Architecture, Modern “The Sky Line” is a trademark of the —20th century—New York (State)— New Yorker. New York. 3. New York (N.Y.)— Buildings, structures, etc. I. Wojtowicz, No part of this book my be used or repro- Robert. II. Title. duced in any manner without written NA735.N5M79 1998 permission from the publisher, except in 720’.9747’1—dc21 98-18843 the context of reviews. CIP Editing and design: Endsheets: Midtown Manhattan, Clare Jacobson 1937‒38. Photo by Alexander Alland. Copy editing and indexing: Frontispiece: Portrait of Lewis Mumford Andrew Rubenfeld by George Platt Lynes. Courtesy Estate of George Platt Lynes. Special thanks to: Eugenia Bell, Jane Photograph of the Museum of Modern Garvie, Caroline Green, Dieter Janssen, Art courtesy of the Museum of Modern Therese Kelly, Mark Lamster, Anne Art, New York.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Article
    Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 324 International Conference on Architecture: Heritage, Traditions and Innovations (AHTI 2019) Architects of Russian Emigration in Rome Between Two Wars: Questions of Integration and Ways of Adaptation* Anna Vyazemtseva Scientific Research Institute of the Theory and History of Architecture and Urban Planning Branch of the Central Scientific-Research and Project Institute of the Construction Ministry of Russia Moscow, Russia E-mail: [email protected] Abstract—At the beginning of the 20th century, lots of further outstanding career1 in Moscow, was isolated. At the young and promising Russian architects travelled to Italy, beginning of the 1920s in Rome, like other cities of Europe interpreting gained experience in projects and buildings (V.F. and the world, there was a strong presence of Russian Shuko, I.A. Fomin), and some of them even had building immigrants, represented above all by high and cultured practices there (A. Schusev). After the October Revolution of social classes: aristocracy, bourgeoisie and intelligentsia. 1917 many actors of creative professions leaved Russia, but the While emigrated architects were rather few, most of the architects were in the minority among immigrants and only a professionals remained in patria, trying to adapt their work to few of them settled (A.Y. Beloborodov, L.M. Brailovsky) or the new conditions. constantly worked (G.K. Lukomsky) in Italy. The paper tries to analyze the careers of the mentioned and other architects, to In early 1920s the trips to Italy sometime turned in describe the particular circumstances of their work in the emigration. In 1923 Ivan Zholtovsky, at the moment the conditions of emigration, to determine their place in the Italian director of the work on the new Moscow master plan and and international professional culture of that time.
    [Show full text]
  • The Past and Present of Soviet Constructivism The
    BOLSHEVISM IN BRICK AND CONCRETE: THE PAST AND PRESENT OF SOVIET CONSTRUCTIVISM DOI 10.15826/qr.2016.3.173 УДК 72/036(063)+72/038/11+72.035.93+725.1(470-25) THE 4TH CIAM CONGRESS IN MOSCOW. PREPARATION AND FAILURE (1928–1933)* ** 2 Thomas Flierl Independent Researcher, Berlin, Germany At the first meeting in Zurich I said right away that I could not imagine a Congress without the participation of the Russians. Letter by Sigfried Giedion to El Lissitzky. 21 May 1928. GTA archive. Zurich The paper deals with the dramatic story of the preparation for (and subsequent failure of) the 4th Congrès internationaux d’architecture moderne (CIAM) conference in Moscow. The offer to host the congress in Moscow was made in 1929, with the planned topic ‘Urban Organisation, Urban Construction, and Regional Planning’. Had it taken place in 1930 or 1931, the planned congress would have had an enormous impact. It probably would have been able to counteract the split of the modern urban construction movement into two factions, with those in favour of reconstructing existing cities on the one hand and proponents of building brand new cities on the other. It is widely believed that the congress was moved from Moscow to Athens due to CIAM’s protest against the results of the competition for the Palace of Soviets. Indeed, the controversy over this contest certainly delayed the congress. However, the study of the archival sources shows that the postponement was a result of a drastic change in the USSR’s domestic policies, which took place before CIAM challenged the results of the competition.
    [Show full text]
  • Modern Architecture & Ideology: Modernism As a Political Tool in Sweden and the Soviet Union
    Momentum Volume 5 Issue 1 Article 6 2018 Modern Architecture & Ideology: Modernism as a Political Tool in Sweden and the Soviet Union Robert Levine University of Pennsylvania Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/momentum Recommended Citation Levine, Robert (2018) "Modern Architecture & Ideology: Modernism as a Political Tool in Sweden and the Soviet Union," Momentum: Vol. 5 : Iss. 1 , Article 6. Available at: https://repository.upenn.edu/momentum/vol5/iss1/6 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/momentum/vol5/iss1/6 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Modern Architecture & Ideology: Modernism as a Political Tool in Sweden and the Soviet Union Abstract This paper examines the role of architecture in the promotion of political ideologies through the study of modern architecture in the 20th century. First, it historicizes the development of modern architecture and establishes the style as a tool to convey progressive thought; following this perspective, the paper examines Swedish Functionalism and Constructivism in the Soviet Union as two case studies exploring how politicians react to modern architecture and the ideas that it promotes. In Sweden, Modernism’s ideals of moving past “tradition,” embracing modernity, and striving to improve life were in lock step with the folkhemmet, unleashing the nation from its past and ushering it into the future. In the Soviet Union, on the other hand, these ideals represented an ideological threat to Stalin’s totalitarian state. This thesis or dissertation is available in Momentum: https://repository.upenn.edu/momentum/vol5/iss1/6 Levine: Modern Architecture & Ideology Modern Architecture & Ideology Modernism as a Political Tool in Sweden and the Soviet Union Robert Levine, University of Pennsylvania C'17 Abstract This paper examines the role of architecture in the promotion of political ideologies through the study of modern architecture in the 20th century.
    [Show full text]
  • Boym 1. Model for the Monument to the Third International, November
    LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS boym 1. Model for The Monument to the Third International, November 1920 62 2. Vladimir Tatlin, trying Letatlin (Moscow, 1932) 67 3. Sketch for the set decoration of Chalice of Joy (1949–50) 68 4. Vladimir Tatlin, White Jar and Potato (1948–51) 69 5. Vladimir Tatlin, A Skull on the Open Book (1948–53) 69 6. Model of Tatlin’s Tower 70 7. Constantin Boym, Palace of the Soviets and Tatlin’s Tower (1996) 71 8. Leonid Sokov, Moscow Yard 72 9. Leonid Sokov, Watchtower: Self-portrait as a Soldier 74 10. Leonid Sokov, Ur-Neo-Geo Tower 74 11. Yuri Avvakumov, Perestroika Tower (1990) 76 12. Ilya Kabakov, sketch for The Palace of the Projects (1999) 77 13. Ilya Kabakov, sketch for The Palace of the Projects (1999) 78 14. Svetlana Boym, ‘‘Return Home,’’ from Nostalgic Technologies 80 15. Tatlin’s Letatlin and Nabokov’s Butterfly from Hybrid Utopias (2003–6) 81 16. Tatlin’s Letatlin and Nabokov’s Butterfly from Hybrid Utopias (2003–6) 82 17. Tatlin’s Letatlin and Nabokov’s Butterfly from Hybrid Utopias (2003–6) 82 eshel 1. Deserted, cemented-up houses in Haifa’s Arab quarter 138 2. Igal Shtayim, Untitled 139 3. Nava Semel, ‘‘Le’vad’’ (Alone) 140 4. Facsimile of first page of Kluge, ‘‘Der Luftangri√ auf Halberstadt am 8. April 1945’’ 145 hell 1. Gustave Doré, The New Zealander 173 2. Adolf Hitler with the Italian king in Rome 184 3. The Mosaic Room in Albert Speer’s Chancellery, Berlin 187 beasley-murray 1. Vilcashuamán 218 2.
    [Show full text]
  • TWO REGIMES, TWO UNIVERSITY CITIES Architectonic Language and Ideology in Lithuania and Portugal: 1930-1975
    TWO REGIMES, TWO UNIVERSITY CITIES Architectonic language and ideology in Lithuania and Portugal: 1930-1975 Neringa Sobeščukaitė Dissertation of the Integrated Master’s Degree in Architecture supervised by Professor Nuno Alberto Leite Rodrigues Grande Department of Architecture, FCTUC, July 2013 TWO REGIMES, TWO UNIVERSITY CITIES Architectonic language and ideology in Lithuania and Portugal: 1930-1975 The author would like to thank numerous persons for their varied help, advice and encouragement, without whom research on this subject would have been impossible, if not at least much less comfortable or entertain- ing. These persons include but are not limited by colleagues from Kaunas Art Faculty of the Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts and Department of Architecture of the University of Coimbra. In particular, the author would like to thank: Miguel Godinho, Pedro Silva, João Briosa, Theresa Büscher, Monika Intaitė, Joana Orêncio, Lara Maminka Borges, Vânia Simões, Nuno Nina Martins, Magdalena Mozūraitytė, Jautra Bernotaitė, and Andrius Ropolas, for their support, and helpful hints along the way. The specificity of this work would not have been possible without the personal experience and academic for- mation in two institutions: Kaunas Art Faculty of the Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts, the university where the author finished its Bachelor degree, and Department of Architecture of the University of Coimbra, the current place of studies of the author. In this contex, the author would like to express the deepest gratitude to all pro- fessors and colleagues, for their help and support, for their brief discussions to deep, sometimes all night long conversations, that helped to feel at home, even when being half-way across the world.
    [Show full text]
  • The Architecture of Tbilisi, 1801-1917), Tbilisi, V
    FaRiG Rothschild Research Grant NINETEENTH-CENTURY ARCHITECTURE OF TBILISI AS A REFLECTION OF CULTURAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY OF THE CITY Nino Chanishvili The city of Tbilisi underwent incredibly rapid development in the 19th century. From a feudal town, it grew into one of the most important metropolises of the Russian Empire and became the major political, administrative and cultural center of the South Caucasus. The present article purports to explain how the social and the cultural context of Tbilisi reverberated on the face of the city. Trends of urban development similar to Tbilisi are found in different cities of the Caucasus and the Balkans as well. Baku, Salonica and Sarajevo have been chosen for comparative analysis because these cities, like Tbilisi, constituted regional centers of different Empires in the 19th century: Tbilisi and Baku were incorporated into the Russian Empire, Salonica was in the Ottoman Empire, whereas Sarajevo in the beginning was part of the Ottoman Empire, but from 1878, the city was dominated by the Austro-Hungarian rule. Historically, beginning from the medieval period, these cities were inhabited by ethnically and religiously diverse populations. The rulers of their respective empires approved this diversity and supported the process of settlement of the cities by migrants of different nationalities and faiths. The Russian Empire, for example, settled Tbilisi as well as other regions of Georgia with Armenian nationals evicted from Turkey and Persia, so-called Dukhobors expelled from Russia and sectarians deported from Wurttemberg and Baden. The development of urban culture in these cities was rapidly taking hold and the co-existence between these people of different nationalities and faiths was more or less peaceful.
    [Show full text]
  • UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Previously Published Works
    UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Previously Published Works Title To the New Shore: Soviet Architecture's Journey from Classicism to Standardization Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3k42j0g2 Author Zubovich, Katherine Publication Date 2013-07-01 eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California To the New Shore: Soviet Architecture’s Journey from Classicism to Standardization Katherine Zubovich-Eady Summer 2013 Katherine Zubovich-Eady is a PhD Candidate in the Department of History at the University of California, Berkeley. Acknowledgements I would like to thank Professor Yuri Slezkine and the participants in his Fall 2011 Soviet History research paper class for their comments on earlier versions of this essay. I would also like to thank Professor Andrew Shanken, whose generous comments on my essay graphic design in Arkhitektura SSSR have made their way into this paper. Figure 1: “K novomu beregu,” Arkhitektura SSSR, November 1955. To the New Shore: Soviet Architecture’s Journey from Classicism to Standardization In November 1955, the leading Soviet architects’ journal, Arkhitektura SSSR, featured a “friendly cartoon” (druzheskii sharzh) satirizing the uncertain state of the architectural profession (Fig. 1). Titled “To the New Shore,” this image showed the greats of Soviet architecture as they prepared to embark on a journey away from the errors of their past work. “After a lengthy and expensive stay on the island of excesses,” the cartoonists explained in their narrative printed alongside the image, “the architectural flotilla is preparing itself, at last, to depart for the long- awaited shore of standardization and industrialization in construction.”1 At the lower right of the cartoon, three of the architects of Moscow’s vysotnye zdaniia say goodbye “from the bottom of their hearts to their excesses (izlishestva),”2 which they have been prohibited from taking on board.
    [Show full text]