Modern Soviet Architecture and Design

Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation 
 
The Federal State Budget Educational Institution of Higher Education  
Tomsk State University of Architecture and Building 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
V.V. Mulenok 
 
 
MODERN SOVIET ARCHITECTURE  
AND DESIGN 
 
 
Study Guide 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tomsk 
Published by TSUAB 
2024 

UDK 72.036+72.012](47+57)(075.8) 
BBK 85.113я73 
M94 
 
Mulenok, V.V. 
Modern Soviet Architecture and Design : A Study Guide / 
V.V. Mulenok. – Tomsk : Published by Tomsk State University of 
Architecture and Building, 2024. – 104 p. – Text : direct. 
ISBN 978-5-6050247-8-1 
 
This study guide provides a concise overview of the artistic styles and architectural trends during the early years of Soviet rule, as well as the architectural development 
in the RSFSR (Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic) and the USSR (Union of 
Soviet Socialist Republics) throughout much of the 20th century, from 1917 to 1991. This 
period encompasses Visionary Architecture, Constructivism, the decline of the Russian 
Avant-Garde, the emergence of the Stalinist Empire style, and the rise of New Modernism. The guide covers both volumetric design and urban planning concepts, proposals, 
and trends. The theoretical content is fully illustrated with drawings by 4th-year students. 
The cover features portraits of notable architects from the Soviet era. 
This manual is intended for full-time students of the Faculty of Architecture, in 
particular, in the following areas: 07.03.01 "Architecture", 07.03.02 "Restoration and Reconstruction of Architectural Heritage" and 07.03.03 "Design of the Architectural Environment". It will also be of interest to anyone interested in the history of architecture of 
the Soviet Union.This manual is a translated and corrected text of the manual "Modern 
Domestic Architecture and Design" published in 2011. 
The author thanks A.A. Abrosimova, Ju.V. Lapina, V.U. Tereshonok, 
V.A. Chuprynin and S.V. Mulenok, as well as the Department of Foreign Languages of 
TSUAB, for the translation and preparation of the manual. 
 
UDK 72.036+72.012](47+57)(075.8) 
BBK 85.113я73 
 
Peer reviewers: 
P.Yu. Rachkowski, Architect of ARM «ARKADA-NT», member 
of the Union of Architects of Russia, member of the All-Rassian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments; 
G.V. Koblashova, PhD in Architecture, Associate Professor at the Department of Architectural Design, TSUAB. 
 
 
ISBN 978-5-6050247-8-1 
© Tomsk State University  
   of Architecture and Building, 2024 
© Mulenok V.V., 2024 
M94 

INTRODUCTION 
The avant-garde movements in Soviet architecture hold a significant place in the history of global architecture. The revolutionary romanticism, symbolism, and especially the Constructivist monuments 
stand out for their innovative and straightforward designs. This era had 
a profound impact on the evolution of architecture worldwide. By 
moving away from the traditional imitative arts, such as the detailed 
order systems and the more intricate elements of the Art Nouveau style 
(remnants of the previous artistic era), pioneering architects introduced their own distinctive and simplified visual language. This transformation is evident not only in the new architectural details but also 
in the profound compositional and stylistic shifts. These changes were 
driven by major political developments in Russia, the complex modernization of architectural creativity, and the overall advancement of 
the construction process. 
Styles, replacing each other throughout the 19th century, led to 
the gradual abandonment of the dominance of the classical order system. The first to partially abandon the classical column were the adherents of Neo-Gothic in the 1830s and 1840s. In the 1850s and 1860s, 
the so-called 'national' style dominated architecture. After the difficult 
but victorious Russo-Turkish War, by the late 1870s, the national style 
re-emerged with new vigor. A detail with a column is still present 
there, but it is different, not classical. 
By the late 1880s, the brick style, heavily complicated in its details, led to an overcomplication of façades. There are many details, 
but they blend into a continuous tapestry, no longer highlighting the 
individual parts of the façades. Red brick, plaster, and separate stone 
elements are used in the finishing. The brick style itself has various 
styles: folk, Russian, and traditional (pan-European). Everyone is familiar with the building of the Historical Museum on Red Square in 
Moscow by the architect Sherwood (an example of the Russian style). 
Characterized by a certain heaviness, this style gradually gave way to 
a new style. The increasingly frequent use of metal structures, which 

allow for the creation of light, spacious, and joyful architecture, 
prompted the search for a new stylistic direction. 
Modernism (Secession, Jugendstil, Art Nouveau, etc.) is a new 
all-encompassing architectural style. Modernism, in its essence, proposes the transformation of human life through art. 'Beauty will save 
the world' is the fundamental tenet of this new style. Architects like 
F.I. Lidval, F.O. Shekhtel, and many other talented designers are associated with this movement. During its 10–15 years of dominance, 
Modernism laid a strong foundation for further architectural experiments. Evolving from classical early forms to various directions in 
its maturity, Modernism successfully draws on diverse visual 
achievements of world architecture, such as Neo-Gothic, Neo-Russian, Moorish, and other styles. Architects attempt to combine previously incompatible elements. Complex asymmetrical compositions 
are used in both plans and façades. By the end of the 1910s, Modernism gradually gave way to Postmodernism, more restrained style in 
terms of imagery. The architecture of this period features functionally complex plans but simple façades, with a minimum of details 
and large glazed surfaces. 
In Russia, in addition to architectural and construction prerequisites, the main driving force toward new architecture was the revolutionary transformations. The October Revolution sparked an extraordinary creative surge, and many, sincerely believing in the ideas of 
communism, tried to transform life through architecture. People debated and searched for new ideas, offering original architectural solutions. Until the early 1930s, the authorities practically did not interfere 
in these architectural debates and decisions. 
With strengthening of the totalitarian power, the state sought to 
suppress all free thinking, including in architecture. The creation of 
the Union of Architects of the USSR in 1932 primarily aimed to stop 
unnecessary discussions and pluralism. There was to be one opinion, 
and one direction in architecture. The order system returned, along 
with the classical arrangement of plans and façades. Despite the difficulties of wartime, the architecture of the Stalinist Empire style per

sisted until the mid-1950s. By 1955, it became necessary to focus on 
simple, minimalist architectural solutions. 
The era of standardized construction begins. The heavy façades, 
richly adorned with details, give way to light, glass façades with almost no details of the new minimalist architecture of the 1960s. Architectural solutions of this period are simple and light. Standardized 
designs are widely used, and individual projects are rare. However, the 
uniformity of these simple forms leads to the necessity to move away 
from standardized design (at least occasionally). The architecture of 
the 1970s and 1980s represents, on one hand, a partial departure from 
overly minimalist standardized solutions, and on the other hand, a return to heavier and more complex façades. 
Throughout the following decades, the trend toward diverse architectural solutions and various stylistic directions continued until the 
end of the Soviet Union. 
 
 
 

1. PRECONDITIONS OF THE RUSSIAN AVANT-GARDE 
A distinctive feature of the revolutionary era was the high level 
of spiritual and ideological intensity in life. In connection with this, 
the innovative movements that emerged in various forms of art before 
1917 received a new impetus. Genres were mixed, and new forms of 
influence on people emerged. Exploration, experimentation, and 
heightened expressiveness were the distinguishing features of the art 
of the 1920s. 
When considering the development stages in visual arts from the 
late 19th century to 1917–1920 in the 20th century, a certain sequence 
of movements stands out: 
1. Post-Impressionism artists: G. Seurat, A. Sisley, P. Cézanne, 
V. Van Gogh (France), and others; 
2. Cubism, Fauvism artists: P. Picasso, G. Braque, A. Derain, 
A. Ozenfant (France), P. Mondrian (Netherlands), K.S. Malevich 
(Russia), and others; 
3. Futurism artists: U. Boccioni (Italy), V. Kandinsky, M. Chagall, and others; 
4. Suprematism artist: K.S. Malevich (Russia). 
Cubism is characterized by the following features: 
– disappearance of perspective; 
– the object form is viewed from different points of view simultaneously, and the object is divided into smaller fragments (often 
planes with clearly visible edges). 
Futurism in Russia was primarily a literary movement. However, in depicting reality, artists used techniques similar to those of 
Cubism and Abstract Art, but fundamentally different in terms of subject matter. The dynamics of the world were to be expressed through: 
the combination of different viewpoints caused by movement, the repeated multiplication of figure outlines, their deformation, decomposition along intersecting 'force' lines and planes, sharp color contrasts, 
and the introduction of verbal fragments (collages), as if snatched from 
the flow of life. In sculpture, the illusion of movement was to be cre

ated by the piling up and simultaneous shifting of 'streamlined' or angular volumes. 
Suprematism is an art movement in which complex multicolored 
compositions are replaced by simple objects in terms of color and 
form, floating in a white space (objects of various colors – at the beginning of the period red, black, and white – at the end of the period). 
The compositions were both static and dynamic. The combination of 
monochromatic (in most cases) compositions with the ideology of 
building a 'society of the future' led Malevich to create his compositions: Architecton and Planits. According to K.S. Malevich, Architecton is 'architectural formulas according to which architectural structures can be given shape' [6]. 
Architecton and Planits represent the transition of Suprematism 
into architecture. Emerging in 1913 as a branch of abstract art, Suprematism leads us to architecturally similar compositions, to architecture. They introduce the rejection of symmetry, the play of light and 
shadow, the combination of simple forms in architectural compositions, a new interpretation of tectonics, and other techniques characteristic of modern architecture, which were innovative at that time. 
The intermediary link between the final stage of planar Suprematism and the Architecton are Lissitzky's Prouns, created between 
1919 and 1921. Working at the intersection of architecture and visual 
art, he did much to transfer the formal-aesthetic discoveries from leftist painting into new architecture, which helped in the formation of 
a new style. In the early 1920s, Lissitzky created his Prouns (projects 
for the affirmation of the new) – axonometric images that balance various geometric forms, either resting on a solid foundation or seemingly 
floating in cosmic space. Artistic Constructivism (V. Tatlin, the Stenberg brothers, L. Popova, G. Klutsis, and others) is 'another cornerstone in the foundation of new architecture'. 
Vladimir Tatlin began his experiments with abstract compositions at the intersection of painting and sculpture in 1913–1914. He 
referred to them as counter-reliefs (Fig. 3). His counter-reliefs represent a transformation of a Cubist painting into a relief using materials 

such as plaster, glass, metal, and wood. The project for the Monument 
to the Third International, created by V. Tatlin in 1919, played a crucial role in the development of new architecture. Tatlin's Tower (as it 
is called) was an artistic breakthrough. The original structure of the 
building, with its exposed constructions and internal volumes, gave 
Tatlin's project such an unusual appearance that it became one of the 
most important symbols of new art and a distinctive hallmark of Constructivism (Fig. 5). 
 
 
 

2. SYNTHETIC ART FORMS 
Artists searched for ways to bring new art to the broader masses. 
Art had to be understandable to the people. As a result, three main 
directions of synthetic forms emerged: 
1. Agitational-Decorative. This includes painting agit-trains, 
agit-barges, and steamships, decorating squares and streets, rallies, 
festivals, as well as reinterpreting performances, among others. 
2. Sculptural-Architectural. This primarily refers to Lenin's plan 
for monumental propaganda. Between 1918 and 1922, over 40 monuments and nearly 50 memorial plaques were built in Moscow and St. 
Petersburg, and even in Novonikolaevsk, a Memorial to the Victims 
of the Revolution was constructed. Artists applied various directions 
of visual art, including Cubism. For example, monuments to Röntgen 
(N. Altman), Lassalle (V. Sinaisky), Marx (the Vesnin brothers), 
Flame of the Revolution (V. Mukhina), Perovskaya, Timiryazev, 
Radishchev, and others. Some monuments were created in architectural forms, such as the Monument to the Fighters of the Revolution 
on the Field of Mars in Petrograd (Fig. 4). 
3. Production Art. This direction can be considered the emergence of design. Between 1922 and 1925, the following artists 
worked in Proletkult: A. Rodchenko, L. Lissitzky, V. Tatlin, V. Mayakovsky, the Stenberg brothers. The main focus of the artists was 
on interiors, equipment, furniture, etc. The key features of this direction were emphasized functionality, asceticism, and a clear emphasis 
on technical aspects. 
Centers of Innovative Thought in Art 
1. ZHIVSKULPARKH (Painting, Sculpture, Architecture), initially SINSKULPARKH under the People's Commissariat for Education, 1919–1920 (Moscow), architects: V. Krinsky, N. Ladovsky, 
A. Rukhlyadev, D. Friedman, and others. 
2. UNOVIS (Champions of New Art), 1919–1922 (Vitebsk), artists: K. Malevich (leader), N. Suetin, architect L. Lissitzky, and others. 

3. GINHUK (State Institute of Artistic Culture), 1923–1924 
(Petrograd), artists: K. Malevich (rector), V. Tatlin, and others. 
4. INHUK (Institute of Artistic Culture), 1920–1924 (Moscow), 
artists: V. Kandinsky, A. Rodchenko, V. Stepanova, and others. 
5. VKhUTEMAS-VKhUTEIN (Higher Art and Technical Studios, Higher Art and Technical Institute), 1920–1930 (Moscow), architects: I. Zholtovsky, N. Ladovsky, K. Melnikov, the Vesnin brothers, and others.