And in Shchusev's biography. A

In the winter of 1929, the famous Russian architect Alexei Shchusev and the no less famous historian and archaeologist Frederik Poulsen discussed a task of national importance - which of the pagan burial pyramids should be shaped like the mausoleum of the leader of the world proletariat. Historians to this day cannot come to a consensus about what kind of building rises in the very heart of Moscow.

According to one version, Shchusev built an Orthodox church-chapel, symbolizing the image of Mount Golgotha. According to another, the daring architect erected a copy of the step pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser and the tomb of Cyrus the Great near the Kremlin walls. However, others see Sumerian ziggurats or structures of the ancient Aztecs in the mausoleum. Shchusev was always committed to preserving historical heritage Russia. Why exactly did the shape of a pagan pyramid seem to him to be the most optimal for the ancient square of the ancient Russian city? Read about this in a special story on the Moscow Trust TV channel.

Young talent

Alexey Viktorovich Shchusev was born in 1873 in Chisinau into the family of a court councilor. At the age of 18 he entered the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, where his mentors were Benois and Repin.

“Of course, Shchusev was an incredibly gifted person with a happy fate. And fate gave him not only talent, but also many chances to embody this talent, to achieve some kind of professional and social success. And I must say that Shchusev probably did not miss a single one chance. He was still a man of results,” says the director of the State Museum of Architecture. A.V. Shchuseva Irina Korobyina.

Shchusev was talented in everything. In particular, in addition to his undoubted artistic talent, nature rewarded him with rare charm and assertiveness.

One day, a third-year student at the Academy of Arts learned from the newspapers about the death of General Shubin-Pozdeev. And literally a few days later, having no letters or recommendations to his name, he showed up to the general’s widow with a ready-made sketch of a tombstone. Struck by both the project itself and the disarming self-confidence of the twenty-year-old architect, the general’s wife agreed.

“Indeed, as a young boy he convinced his first customer. And, obviously, she still didn’t really understand what she wanted, but he felt it and explained it to her. I think that’s the only way,” says Irina Korobyina.

This is how Shchusev’s first creation appeared at the cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra - a solid monument made of wrought iron. Its author soon graduates from the Academy of Arts and begins to try his hand at an architectural workshop at the Holy Synod - he designs iconostases and churches.

“His first independent work after he graduated was the iconostasis of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra Cathedral. Wow, an order for a novice master!” - says architect-restorer Alexander Mozhaev.

Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh on the Kulikovo Field. Photo: wikipedia.org/Arssenev

Orders are multiplying. Shchusev restores a unique 12th-century church in ancient Ovruch, designs the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh on the Kulikovo Field.

Clients are also appearing in Moscow. In 1909, Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna, the widow of Governor General Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, who fell at the hands of terrorists four years earlier, having sold all her jewelry, bought an estate in the city center - four houses and a garden.

This is how the Marfo-Mariinskaya Convent of Mercy appeared on Bolshaya Ordynka - a monastery, charitable and medical institution. The townspeople called this monastery “The White Angel of Moscow.”

Hospital, outpatient clinic, free pharmacy and canteen, shelter for orphan girls. The only thing missing was the main thing - the temple. The design of the cathedral, which it was decided to consecrate in honor of the Intercession Holy Mother of God, were entrusted to a young but already famous architect.

Temple Builder

Shchusev built the temple in a style called neo-Russian by his contemporaries. The wall paintings of the Intercession Cathedral were done by the great Russian artist Mikhail Nesterov.

“Of course, before the restoration it presented a completely different picture: there were high partitions, the windows were curtained, broken bars and window frames. A lot of work had to be done here, to open and restore the original floors, which remember the steps of Elizabeth Feodorovna and other representatives of the royal family. First, What catches your eye is this composition with Christ and people flocking to him. This is how art historians say, Elizaveta Fedorovna herself is depicted in white robes with a wounded soldier, she is leading the wounded soldier to Christ,” says restoration architect Sergei Demidov.

“The benches along the perimeter of the cathedral were intended for the sick and wretched - after all, it was for them that the monastery was built. For many years, the benches were considered lost, but when restorers opened the floors, under them they discovered carefully hidden stone bases of the benches, and even the central chandelier.

"We found the central image of this chandelier with cherubs, with decorative overlays, which during the closing of the temple were somehow kind soul I took it off, rolled it up, the whole thing was pressed together, and put it under the floor. It lay there for 60-70 years and was biding its time. And it waited,” says Sergei Demidov.

Even the dungeons of the Intercession Church were designed by Shchusev according to the principle of ancient Russian cathedrals. The Grand Duchess assumed that this place, the so-called crypt, would become her tomb in due course.

“And for these purposes, at her request, Shchusev designed an arcosolium, where the grave of Elizaveta Fedorovna was to be located,” says Demidov.

Cathedral of the Intercession in the Marfo-Mariinskaya Monastery. Photo: wikipedia.org/Ludvig14

But fate decreed otherwise. In 1918, Elizabeth, along with other members of the imperial family, was shot in the small Ural town of Alapaevsk. Later, her remains were transported to the holy land.

“By the will of fate, her body is now in Jerusalem in the Gornensky Monastery, and here, in this carved wooden shrine, is the fabric in which the body of Elizabeth Feodorovna was wrapped during transportation from Alapaevsk to Jerusalem,” explains architect-restorer Sergei Demidov.

The Convent of Mercy was closed in the same year, 1918. A cinema was located in the Church of the Intercession, and then the restoration workshops of Igor Grabar, thanks to whom, in fact, both the unique temple and the entire monastery were preserved in almost original form.

“I remember my impression from my youth, when, as a student, I walked along Ordynka and simply gasped. I looked through the fence and was amazed by this architecture - this absolutely unusual white temple with a huge dome. That is, Shchusev’s innovative architecture simply amazed his contemporaries, not leaves no one indifferent even now,” says the chief architect of Mosproekt-2 named after. M.V. Posokhina Lyudmila Tudosi.

The Grand Duchess built another room of the Intercession Cathedral hidden from human eyes - an underground temple in the name of Archangel Michael - for herself to pray in solitude.

And today this tradition is sacredly observed. The abbesses of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent pray in the underground church, which in the mid-90s again became the “white angel of Moscow.” Here again the poor are fed and treated, and orphan girls are still cared for in the monastery orphanage.

Architect of the sovereign

The temple-monument on the Kulikovo Field and the Intercession Cathedral in the Marfo-Mariinsky Monastery make Alexei Shchusev famous. In 1910, the 37-year-old architect was awarded the title of academician.

A year later, he received the sovereign's largest order - the eastern gate of Moscow - Kazansky Station. The road board allocates a fabulous sum for construction - 3 million gold rubles. It took more than two years to prepare.

In mid-1913, Shchusev submitted a detailed project to the Ministry of Railways, which was crowned with a multi-stage structure reproducing the Syuyumbike tower, part of the ensemble of the Kazan Kremlin. On its spire is the mythical serpent Zilant - a symbol of ancient Kazan.

“The architect tried to combine the motifs of oriental architecture and ancient Russian, and as if he compared his work, he wanted to achieve the same thing that, perhaps, Mussorgsky achieved in the opera “Scheherazade,” that is, a combination of this colorfulness,” says Lyudmila Tudosi.

Kazan Station. Photo: ITAR-TASS

Construction of the station continued until 1940, with understandable breaks for the revolution and the Civil War. Little has survived from Shusev’s original project to this day, but what has survived is striking in its beauty and scope.

“For the hall, which was used for a long time for a restaurant, Shchusev made the first sketches, as if drawings, himself, and attracted such wonderful artists as Repin, Serebryakova, Benois, Lanceray to decorate the interiors. Their sketches were approved by the board of the road, but in view of the above circumstances - war, revolution - they were not carried out. The decoration of the hall already dates back to the early 30s,” says Tudosi.

Today, the former restaurant hall houses the VIP lounge of the Kazansky railway station. Restoration work is in full swing here. Lamps made according to Shchusev’s sketches, the famous stucco molding and unique long-span arches on the warm platform, unique for that time, have also been preserved.

Shchusev once remarked: “Every architect should hope that at least once in his life he will be able to make not only a successful project, but also to implement it in reality to the fullest extent and with the full power of his talent.” He considered the Kazan Station to be such a creative success.

“This fairy tale, this symbol is a symbol of both Moscow and Kazan, as if a symbol of our entire people, that is, this is a very important milestone in the architecture of Moscow,” says Lyudmila Tudosi.

On the wave of revolution

October 1917. In Russia, breaking foundations and destinies, a revolution is raging, confiscations and arrests are taking place, the Russian aristocracy is hastily leaving the country. Oddly enough, rich and famous Shchusev remains.

The new government is closing the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent and freezing the construction of the Kazansky railway station. However, their creator is doing well. Moreover, already in 1918, on instructions from the Soviet government, he began a project to redevelop Moscow.

His main theses are that both the Kremlin and the entire historical center of the city must be preserved, as well as the picturesque asymmetry of the streets. The city will have to develop in concentric circles that will cut through the departure radii. Private gardens should be connected and turned into parks and public gardens.

“For a huge number of problems of modern Moscow, which it is not known how to get out of, there was already a solution on how to avoid all this,” says restoration architect Alexander Mozhaev.

For example, Shchusev proposed moving all government institutions from the Kremlin to Leningradsky Prospect, then, of course, still called St. Petersburg, and turning the Kremlin and all the historical buildings adjacent to it into a museum.

“The general plan was not developed in 1923, although it was thoroughly developed. I think because he still wanted to preserve Moscow, and this was probably not welcomed,” says architect, MAAM professor Marianna Evstratova.

The authorities' displeasure with the "New Moscow" project could bring Alexei Viktorovich a lot of serious problems, but then fate intervened. Lenin died in January 1924.

Temple of the Communist God

The Presidium of the USSR Central Executive Committee decided to bury the leader of the world revolution near the Kremlin wall, and build a temporary crypt accessible to visitors over the grave.

On the night of January 23-24, Shchusev was urgently summoned to the Kremlin. The task was formulated simply and clearly - in a matter of days, to erect a temporary mausoleum on Red Square so that the people, shocked by the untimely death, could say goodbye to their beloved leader.

It is difficult to say how the famous architect treated the leader of the world proletariat, but, of course, he could not refuse a state order of such a scale.

“Shchusev perfectly understood that he could live in the country and work creatively only if he successfully implemented a project of national importance,” says historian Olga Barkova.

Wooden mausoleum in a drawing by Isaac Brodsky

Shchusev left the Trinity Gate and slowly walked along the Kremlin wall. What was he thinking about at that moment? Yes, the revolution turned the life of the country in a different direction, but for him, essentially, nothing has changed. He is again entrusted with the construction of a temple, just for a different god.

“We needed some idea of ​​a god, which for many thousands of people was Lenin. And where else could the remains of the leader be left? Only on Red Square. The mausoleum in this case was this new place of worship for thousands of people who should come and pay respects and respect for the leader,” explains Olga Barkova.

Erected in four days, the first version of the mausoleum looked like a cube topped with a three-stage pyramid. It had to be demolished quite soon, since during construction the sewer collector was damaged, and a very unpleasant smell spread around the wooden mausoleum. Even Patriarch Tikhon could not resist making a caustic comment: “According to the relics and the oil.”

It is curious that so far not a single document has been discovered that records who exactly came up with the idea of ​​​​putting the leader’s body on public display. The leader's closest circle - Krupskaya, the Ulyanov family, his associate Leon Trotsky - were categorically against both embalming and the mausoleum, and offered to bury the leader the way he wanted, at the Volkov cemetery next to his mother's grave. Krupskaya even published a heartfelt article in Pravda on January 30, 1924.

“She wrote: “If you want to leave the good name of Vladimir Ilyich to descendants, please build kindergartens, schools, nurseries - this will be the best memory of Ilyich.” It is known that Trotsky was categorically against and called this event madness,” says the historian Barkova.

However, already on February 4, the chairman of the funeral commission, Dzerzhinsky, instructed the biochemist Zbarsky and the pathologist Vorobyov to develop embalming technology.

Ziggurat with Soviet leader

As soon as the recipe for balsamic liquid was found, Shchusev began creating a project for a new mausoleum. The second mausoleum was the same wooden pyramid, but more representative.

Tribunes were mounted on the sides of the main structure, and the leader’s body was placed in a sarcophagus. But the tree does not last forever. Soon the government announces an all-Russian competition to create a permanent stone mausoleum. Projects flew to Moscow from all over the country.

“Mayakovsky, they say, demanded that a tower be erected to the sky. Shekhtel proposed a pyramid. There were balls, and bolts, and hammers and sickles. Thank God that we avoided all this,” says Alexander Mozhaev.

It was then that the archaeologist Poulsen, who specially arrived in Moscow, provided Shchusev with drawings of Egyptian pyramids, Persian tombs, the Pergamon altar and even ziggurats - temple buildings of the ancient Sumerians. The end result was something in between. It was this project that won the competition.

Lenin's Mausoleum on Red Square. Photo: ITAR-TASS

“In this case, Shchusev solved the problem of organizing this sacred space of immortality. And when we come to the Mausoleum, the space is organized in such a way that it seems to us that this is the center of the universe,” says Irina Korobyina.

For many, the Mausoleum remains the center of the universe today. And the line of people wishing to see the leader’s body flows like a leisurely river through Red Square from year to year.

In defiance of the builders of communism

Be that as it may, from the moment the construction of the Lenin Mausoleum was completed, the life of Alexei Shchusev begins new stage. Now he is the officially recognized chief architect of the Land of the Soviets, which means he can afford a lot, almost everything.

For example, defiantly not join the CPSU, wear a massive diamond ring on your finger, talk with pleasure about the past and do not hesitate to use epithets about the Soviet order.

Shchusev openly helped distressed aristocrats and his colleagues. For example, he achieved the construction of several bridges, thereby providing work for a large group of engineers and architects.

One of them was his brother Pavel. Together, the Shchusev brothers connected the banks of the Moscow River with this familiar bridge, which was later named Moskvoretsky.

In the 30s, Shchusev headed one of the most famous architectural workshops in the capital. There was no end to orders; it was a time of searching for new, avant-garde architectural forms and solutions.

“During this five-year period, from 1925 to 1930, there was a surge of all the brilliant constructivist architects. When Stalin had already gained momentum, these powerful buildings appeared. But Shchusev managed even then to build anyway as his talent told him,” says Marianna Evstratova.

Shchusev also paid tribute to constructivism. Its most striking example is the building on the corner of Sadovo-Spasskaya and Orlikov Lane.

"The building of the People's Commissariat for Agriculture is one of the most bright examples Shchusev’s talent and ability to work in styles in relation to the twentieth century. Look at this glass, it's rounded, like strip glazing is made. In this case, he was unconditionally lucky, because it was made for the ministry and to this day (almost a century already) this house has one owner,” says Moscow Architectural Institute professor Yuri Volchok.

Asymmetrical hotel

In 1937, Shchusev was involved in the construction of the first Soviet five-star hotel. Initially, young architects Savelyev and Stapran worked on the project for the Moscow Hotel, which it was decided to build on the site of the old Grand Hotel on Manezhnaya Square.

In fact, it was they who built a beautiful building in the constructivist style. But they expected something different from the main hotel of the country: imperial scale and pathos. The façade and interiors were commissioned to be implemented by Academician Shchusev.

“I first found myself in this building when I was 12 years old. My father went on a business trip to Moscow and that was the time school holidays, took me with him. Then it shocked me with its greatness. The size, the obvious thickness of the walls, the shine of the granite, the huge spaces inside, the huge halls, the chandeliers - all this shocked the children's imagination. And you know, for me the Moscow Hotel remained a symbol of the Soviet empire,” says former deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Pyotr Shelishch.

Hotel "Moscow". Photo: ITAR-TASS

However, this building is famous not only for its gigantic size and decoration in the neoclassical style, but also for its absolutely non-classical asymmetry. There is a legend that two hotel projects, made on the same drawing and separated by a vertical line, were submitted for approval to Stalin personally, and that the leader, without thinking twice, signed exactly in the middle. So, they say, they built it.

“Everyone is confused why the house is asymmetrical. Yes, because it was made by a professional. Look, the house is not exactly on the red line, it is turned along the Tverskaya axis, it seems to be addressing it. That is, accordingly, it is clear that this angle is solved more detailed, more detailed, more attentive to the pedestrian. And the one that faces the museum is more canonical. Plus, why is it still like that? It was absolutely in the character of Moscow architecture, if it was strong. if it is durable and can work, it must be included in the body of the new building. Therefore, the thick walls of the “Grand Hotel”, which stood on the right facade of us, they, of course, are included in the house, so it is wider, there is a thick wall,” explains. Yuri Volchok.

The new building, erected on the site of the previous one, dismantled to the ground, only at first glance resembles the original Shchusevsky project. It is difficult to say what prevented the Moscow authorities from preserving this unique architectural monument of the Stalin era. Is there really a catastrophic shortage of retail outlets in the capital?

“When I became a deputy, I had to live in this hotel for about a year and a half. But still, every time I enter the lobby, I somehow internally freeze. This grandeur was impressive, radiating from all its decor,” says Peter Shelishch.

“It was designed inside in such a way that it attracted people. This is the famous “Lights of Moscow” cafe - a stunning Italian-style promenade on the roof. I remember that in my younger years we had the opportunity to be there in the summer evening hours... Can you imagine what this is a view of Moscow!” says Yuri Volchok.

“Lights of Moscow” is the most romantic cafe, adored by all Muscovites and guests of the capital, located under the very roof of the hotel. There the most reverent, fateful dates were arranged over a glass of champagne, of course, “Soviet”.

Hit on the sly

On August 30, 1937, a publication entitled “The Life and Work of Architect Shchusev” appeared in Pravda under the heading “Letters to the Editor.” The authors knew exactly where to hit.

“Being an undoubted master in the past, the architect Shchusev followed the slippery path of unprincipled architecture. His projects and construction projects lack ideology, integrity and true creativity.” The letter was signed by Savelyev and Strapan, the same young architects who believed that Shchusev simply stole their project.

A.V. Shchusev. Photo: ITAR-TASS

“It’s quite a dirty story, in my opinion. When I first saw these documents, it seemed to me that this was petty envy of a major master, an undisputed leader,” says Irina Korobyina.

In 1937, such a publication was a guaranteed ticket to logging, or even execution. However, nothing like this happened to Alexei Viktorovich Shchusev.

Most likely, the NKVD still did not dare to encroach on the creator of the Mausoleum, but the article in Pravda also could not have had any consequences. Shchusev is expelled from the Union of Architects. Devastating publications in the press follow one after another. The clouds over the academician's head are clearly gathering.

And at this moment there is a new misfortune - Mikhail Nesterov, the artist with whom Shchusev once created the Intercession Cathedral in the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent, was arrested. The news of the arrest of the old artist shocked the disgraced academician. He paced around the office all night. Even a very confident person could not help but understand: he was next.

In the morning, Alexey Shchusev went to an appointment with Lavrenty Beria, recently appointed First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs. Not in order to repent, he decided to stand up for his friend, a great artist.

Beria appreciated the architect’s courage. Nesterov was released, and Shchusev received a new government order. His workshop was entrusted with the reconstruction of the NKVD building on Lubyanka.

“I think that he aroused respect from the authorities, because they understood that he solves the problems assigned to him, solves them on a big scale, solves them better, probably, than everyone else, and at the same time does not compromise on his principles. This always evokes respect,” says Irina Korobin.

This is certainly true, but there was another reason. In those years, Moscow was changing its appearance. All other styles were replaced by majestic monumental architecture, which became a symbol of the Soviet empire. And Shchusev was one of its creators.

“And he helped a lot of people, because he built the Lubyanka and was not afraid of anyone, in general. He saved a lot of people. A lot of architects were arrested from the workshop, he sought their release,” says Marianna Evstratova.

“The NKVD building and then the KGB are very well drawn, this magnificent version in the Stalinist style of the Italian Renaissance is very well done,” says Mikhail Filippov.

Museum of Architecture named after itself

After the war, Shchusev worked tirelessly to restore ancient Russian cities and at the same time began to realize the main dream of his life - the creation of an architecture museum.

“The Shchusev Museum of Architecture is an old Moscow estate, which, as a result of its complex fate, eventually became the museum named after Alexei Viktorovich,” says Irina Chepkunova, deputy director of the State Museum of Architecture named after A.V. Shchusev.

This huge estate on Vozdvizhenka has a rich history. In the 17th century, the farmstead of boyar Miloslavsky was transferred to the Apothecary Prikaz. The building then moved to famous diplomat Peter's times to Vasily Dolgoruky.

From him - to the Georgian Tsarevich Georgiy Bagrationi, from whom he was bought by Catherine the Second's courtier, Privy Councilor Alexander Talyzin. Moscow, which never liked addresses, called this place Talyzin’s house.

Museum named after A.V. Shchusev. Photo: website

“The estate was rebuilt many times in the 20th century. Here, for example, there was a reception room for the Supreme Economic Council, Molotov sat here, Stalin sat, Lenin came here. But in the early 30s, the main building was completely given over to a hostel,” explains Irina Chepkunova.

Having settled the dormitory of the NKVD employees, Shchusev began to reconstruct the estate. At the same time, he not only created a museum, he managed to unite almost all the disgraced architects of Moscow under its roof.

“He gave them work, he gave them life, he gave them the opportunity to think, to do what they loved, and there was an amazing creative, intellectual atmosphere in the Museum of Architecture during Shchusev’s lifetime,” says Irina Korobyina.

The same atmosphere has been preserved in the museum to this day. In the former carriage house of Talyzin's house, exhibitions alternate.

"TO exhibition hall We treat our museum, which is called "Ruina", as an experimental platform where any projects can be exhibited. And I must say that this hall is very popular with us, because it is a very interesting space and people like to exhibit here,” says Irina Chepkunova.

The refectory of the Pharmacy Order has also been preserved. Exhibitions are also held here. For example, here is a collection wooden sculpture from Russian destroyed churches.

The figures look slightly unusual because they were once installed on iconostasis, and people looked up at them. The director's office is also part of the Museum of Architecture, because Shchusev designed it for himself.

“Yes, he was sitting in this office, this is Shchusev’s office. This is the office of all directors in general,” says Irina Korobyina.

But Shchusev practically did not have time to settle into the director’s chair. “He managed to die before the museum opened for people on Comintern Street, on Vozdvizhenka, in the Talyzin estate,” explains Korobyina.

The latest creations of the architect-genius

The last work of the great architect was the Komsomolskaya metro station on the Circle Line. The war has just ended, the country is rejoicing. And the 75-year-old architect is building his last temple - the Temple of Victory deep underground. Shchusev only managed to draw sketches, some of which were preserved in the house of his co-author, architect Alisa Zabolotnaya.

“One fine moment - my mother told me - she was sitting and drawing something, some details, he came up to her from behind and said: “That’s it, everyone is leaving, I will work only with Alice.” As a result, the two of them worked together on this project,” says Marianna Evstratova.

Alexey Viktorovich Shchusev died in 1949. For half a century creative biography he himself and with his active participation built more than 40 objects in different cities of the USSR. But architectural historians are confident that his most important and most outstanding projects were still temples.

“There are national geniuses, each country has its own. For us, Shchusev is a national genius, he is important specifically for Russia. Among researchers, there is generally an opinion that Shchusev’s works are pre-revolutionary - he built many churches - these are the best works in his work ", says Irina Chepkunova.

But for ordinary people, Shchusev’s main work was and remains Lenin’s mausoleum, for some it was the temple of the deity of a new era, for others it was almost an altar of Satanic masses, the shape of which was borrowed either from the ancient Sumerians or from the bloodthirsty Aztecs. There have been talks about its liquidation for more than 20 years, but it still stands. And the state spends about $2 million a year on its maintenance.

Metro station "Komsomolskaya". Photo: ITAR-TASS

“We need to calm down and treat Red Square not as a symbol of an endlessly changing state ideology, but simply understand that this museum space is absolutely brilliant, and live like that,” says Alexander Mozhaev.

Shchusev Alexey Viktorovich (born in 1873 - died in 1949)

An outstanding Russian architect, a supporter of both traditional and avant-garde styles. In 1900 - 1910s. - leading architect of the neo-Russian style, in the 1920s. - successful constructivist, in the 1930s-1940s. - a consistent supporter of classical forms, skillfully combining them with everything Soviet, including the late Stalinist “barbarian empire style”. Academician of the Academy of Arts (1910), Honored Architect of the USSR (1930; for the design of the Mausoleum of V.I. Lenin), Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1943), four-time laureate Stalin Prize(1941, 1946, 1948, 1952 - posthumously). Author of a number of outstanding architectural projects: a church-monument on the Kulikovo Field, a monastery in Ovruch, the Trinity Cathedral in the Pochaev Lavra, the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent, the Kazansky Station in Moscow, the A. Navoi Opera and Ballet Theater in Tashkent, etc. The foundation is named after the architect named after the Museum of Russian Architecture in Moscow, streets in Moscow and Novgorod.

Kazansky railway station, Mausoleum of V.I. Lenin, Komsomolskaya-Koltsevaya metro station, Marfo-Mariinskaya Convent - these are so different and so wonderful (each in its own way and style) works on long years, and perhaps for centuries, determined the appearance of the capital. All of them are just a small part of what the amazing architect created, a real poet architecture Alexey Viktorovich Shchusev. One of the key figures in the architecture of the Soviet period, he became an academician long before the revolution. A student of Benois and Repin, Shchusev created an incredible amount in architecture. His creative heritage extensive and multifaceted - anyone, even the most experienced person in architectural studies, will find something new in his works, behind which another, hitherto unfamiliar page of history will open for him domestic architecture. They say that Shchusev could even be canonized if he built another church. But the architect erected a mausoleum, which the world architectural community recognized as an absolute masterpiece. This building is also a kind of temple, only from a different era. The authorities were always favorable to Shchusev, and he built what they wanted from him, sensitively catching changes in style. With the highest permission of the Emperor, Shchusev began the construction of the Kazan station. On behalf of Lenin, he became the chief architect of the first All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition. Under the leadership of Stalin, he designed the Moscow Hotel. None other than A.V. Shchusev initiated the construction of the capital's famous high-rise buildings. Much of what he built does not seem to fit together. It is hard to believe that the author of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent and the KGB building on Lubyanka is one and the same person. Shchusev was often accused of excessively mixing styles and even called his work frivolity in architecture. Only much later did they understand: its uniqueness lies not in innovation, but in the highest level of skill.

Alexey Shchusev was born in Chisinau in the family of a caretaker of charitable institutions. The architect himself wrote about his origins as follows: “I still have the paper. where it is said that my ancestor, Konstantin Shchusev, served in the Zaporozhye army as an esaul, from which I conclude that I come from Ukrainian Cossacks, that is, my ancestors are kind of akin to the legendary freedom fighter Taras Bulba.” The architect's father, Viktor Petrovich, was of small rank, but in his native Chisinau he attracted attention with his impressive appearance and zeal in any activity that he had the opportunity to undertake. He became most famous for his participation in the construction of a school, hospital and other charitable institutions. Mother, Maria Korneevna, nee Zozulina, was much younger than husband. She came from the circle of the local intelligentsia, which subsequently affected the upbringing of her four sons. Alexey, the third son in the Shchusev family, was born on September 26, 1873.

Outwardly, the boy was very similar to his mother. Lively and independent, he was always the leader in games with his peers. The boy's early talent for drawing was a source of particular joy for his parents. All children draw, but Alyosha Shchusev drew differently - not like the others. He painted, subconsciously striving to master the world. The boy mastered the objects of the world, transferring them to a children's album. These first artistic experiences will be the guarantee that Shchusev himself will subsequently become comfortable in the world, bringing into it objects that the world will take great pleasure in owning. Over the years, my passion for drawing grew into a strong desire to become a professional. In 1891, 18-year-old Shchusev arrived in St. Petersburg, where he entered the Academy of Arts. His mentors were such talented masters as L.N. Benoit and I.E. Repin. While studying in the workshop of Leonty Benoit, the young man became convinced that in the capital the struggle for survival requires much more ingenuity than in the provinces. Therefore, he did not miss the opportunity to express himself, not stopping even at extravagant moves. So, in 1895, having learned from the newspaper about the death of General D.P. Shubin-Pozdeev, he came to the widow with a ready-made sketch of a tombstone. Shchusev was not acquainted with either her or the deceased, had no recommendations, but managed to defend his conviction that the order should be given to him. As a result, a chapel appeared at the cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, created according to the sketch of the young architect.

In 1896, Shchusev completed his graduation project on the theme “The Manor’s Estate” - a sketch of a mansion in the spirit of the French Renaissance and a church reminiscent of Moscow examples of the late 17th century. It was quite an ordinary eclecticism, but the professors who taught the young man liked the work. The talented graduate was awarded a Big Gold Medal and the right to travel abroad. But Shchusev did not go to Europe, but went in a completely different direction - to Asian Samarkand. There, as part of an archaeological expedition, he explored the tomb of Tamerlane. A year later, Alexey Shchusev finally went on a European tour, visiting Austria, France, Belgium, England and Italy. The young architect was especially impressed by Italian Florence - the protected world of stone. Returning to St. Petersburg, Shchusev organized an exhibition of travel sketches, in which he expressed the emotions that gripped him during the trip. I. Repin declared Shchusev the best draftsman among architects. But this was already a success of the past. But in the present, more important for Shchusev was that among architects he was still a beginner. In Chisinau, where Shchusev had many wealthy patrons, he could have been provided with both orders and funds. However, the position of a provincial architect and the well-being guaranteed by this position no longer attracted Alexei. Too wide horizons opened up to his spiritual gaze.

The architect decided to stay in St. Petersburg. It was not an easy time for him. Shchusev whiled it away, by his own admission, “wandering around the academy, then among acquaintances” in order to “remind himself of himself.” He conscientiously carried out one-time assignments from eminent architects, but did not strive to devote himself entirely to work in their workshops. Becoming an “apprentice” with Benoit or Kotov was prestigious; besides, it promised a decent salary, but threatened with loss of individuality. And Shchusev longed for independent work, a creative flight in which his talent would develop. He energetically became involved in social activities and gradually acquired connections and experience. Shchusev actively participated in the organization of the 3rd All-Russian Congress of Russian Architects. With recommendations from Benoit and Kotov, he joined the St. Petersburg Society of Architects. The dowry he received for his wife removed the threat of a miserable existence, and Shchusev had the patience to wait for the moment when his professional skills were in demand. Soon Professor G.I. Kotov began to forward some of his orders to Shchusev. These were mainly church orders.

Very little time passed, and Shchusev became widely known as a master of church architecture. According to his designs, many churches were built in the Old Russian style, not only in Russia, but also in France and Italy. He received two orders of the Russian Empire, which Shchusev never wore in his life - Anna II degree and Stanislav III degree - from the hands of the Tsar on the recommendation of the Holy Synod for his contribution to the cause of church construction. The design of the Intercession Cathedral was commissioned by the architect from Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna herself. Every master has his favorite creation. Experts, as a rule, recognize him as the most perfect of all that he has done. The architectural monuments created by Shchusev are without exception recognized as outstanding buildings of the era. But the master himself loved most of his creations the Church of the Intercession in Zamoskvorechye. It was built in 1908 - 1912. for the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent, which Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna founded in memory of her husband, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, Governor-General of Moscow, killed by the Socialist-Revolutionary Kalyaev. This truly unique work of art, steeped in the poetry of Novgorod-Pskov architecture, can be admired endlessly. And those who did not have a chance to see it with their own eyes should perhaps trust the authority of the artist M. Nesterov, a great friend of Shchusev, who wrote: “The Church of the Intercession is the best of the modern buildings in Moscow.” Inspired by this beautiful temple, the artist depicted it on canvas. About the friendship of two greatest masters in one of his interviews, the grandson of Alexei Shchusev, who also became an architect, said: “Nesterov baptized my father, and it was in honor of Nesterov that my father was named Mikhail. He and Korin often came to us - to Gagarinsky Lane, house 25, where I was born, where I spent my childhood. The corner room in this house was once my grandfather's home workshop. He is there winter night In 1924 he sketched the first sketches of the mausoleum.”

Alexey Viktorovich, who over the course of several years managed to become a prominent figure in St. Petersburg, became interested in Count Olsufiev, a major dignitary and snob. In 1902, the architect received from him an unusually tempting offer - to remodel and build on the Olsufiev family mansion on the Fontanka. A few years later, Shchusev also modernized the second count's house, which stood not far from the first. The result was a charming mini-ensemble, which the Count was delighted with. The building, as you know, is a kind of costume for such an owner, and Shchusev’s facades were then the latest in architectural fashion. In addition, Shchusev showed Olsufiev “how fitting a camisole cut according to the style introduced into use by Peter I was.” Having approved Shusev’s project for his own house on the Fontanka, Olsufiev fully believed in the talent of the architect. And since the count was the chairman of the committee for the perpetuation of the Battle of Kulikovo, he suggested that Shchusev take up the project of the temple-monument. True, the young architect quite shocked the committee members with his sketch. The temple he painted with two powerful towers created the illusion of an ancient Russian town. The architect noticed that the towers in the temple were out of place. But Shchusev knew how to surprise without disturbing, and preferred to give explanations that were captivating in their simplicity. He said that the towers symbolize two monastic heroes who distinguished themselves in battle. This argument was in its own way undeniable: the skeptics calmed down, and Shchusev could create freely. The ideas that excited his soul found a worthy embodiment in this work. Plastic to the point of sculpture, the temples he built are most comparable to the works of the Spaniard A. Gaudi. In 1908, A. Blok recorded the poetic cycle “On the Kulikovo Field.” Shchusev's work on the temple was in full swing. The striking consonance of the architectural and poetic versions of the monument to the victims of the historical battle!.. In the summer of 1904, Shchusev went to Ovruch, where the ruins of the Church of St. Basil were in a deplorable state. Archaeological research has shown that the facade of the ancient temple had towers on both sides of the entrance, i.e. the same structure as the facade of the temple on Kulikovo Field, composed by Shchusev. This fact eloquently characterizes the intuition of the architect.

In the architecture of the national trend, Shchusev won the position of undisputed leader. The neo-Russian style, which quickly became fashionable, began to be called Shchusevsky. The powerful cathedral of the Pochaev Lavra, the lyrical complex of the Marfo-Mariinsky monastery, the lovely church in the village of Natalevka in the Kharkov province, the pathetic memorial on the Kulikovo field - this is far from full list masterpieces created by the architect in those years. Alexey Viktorovich published his creative credo in the magazine “Zodchiy” in 1905. By this time, he was already a recognized master and addressed his colleagues instructively: “We are convinced that architects also need to grasp and feel the sincerity of antiquity and imitate it in their work without copying old ones forms and correction, i.e. by damaging them, but by creating new forms. One must create freely in the Russian style, remembering only the general idea, the silhouette of the building and its connection with the area and the taste of the inhabitants.”

Shchusev never engaged in “paper” design, that is, one that did not imply subsequent implementation. Even his unrealized projects are an example of a balanced approach to solving a problem, so important in architectural practice, based on excellent academic education and extensive experience. Shchusev's value as an architect lies in his ability to always clearly respond to the conditions of a specific task and the peculiarities of the modern situation, while at the same time turning to universal, universal images of beauty. Starting from 1913, Alexey Viktorovich lived permanently in Moscow. From the moment of his arrival until 1918, he taught at the Stroganov School of Art and Industry, then began to head the architectural workshop of the Construction Department of the Moscow Soviet. The construction of the Kazan railway station, called the “Gateway to the East of the Empire,” brought unprecedented fame to the master. In this most ambitious of all his retrospectives, the architect used motifs from the Russian Baroque of the 17th century. Moscow committed itself to an unprecedented construction budget - three million gold rubles - and was right. The play of natural light, combined with a thoughtful color scheme and stone pattern of the facade, makes this architectural ensemble a real masterpiece.

Kazan Station

Alexey Viktorovich began designing the building of the Kazan station with the highest permission of the emperor, and the master was destined to complete its construction another day. historical era. It’s unlikely that he knew about this when he started. In 1918 - 1924 A.V. Shchusev together with I.V. Zholtovsky led the “New Moscow” project, foreseeing in his (albeit unrealized in those years) plan the modern principles of linking the radial-ring system of Moscow with transport communications. Plans for the reconstruction of the center and especially the south-west of Moscow, where for hundreds of years architects had only been able to build manor palaces and churches, were grandiose. According to Shchusev's designs, the buildings of the People's Commissariat of Agriculture, the Russian State Library (formerly Leninka), and the Central House of Culture of Railway Workers (next to the Shchusevsky station) were built.

During these same years, Shchusev held the positions of chief architect of the All-Russian Agricultural and Handicraft-Industrial Exhibition (1922-1923) and the 2nd design workshop of the Moscow City Council (1932-1937). Was the director Tretyakov Gallery(1926 - 1929), as well as the organizer and director of the Museum of Architecture, which now bears his name. In 1924, Shchusev began designing a structure that was destined to become iconic for many years - the Mausoleum of V.I. Lenin on Red Square (1929 - 1930). In this famous work, the author organically combined constructivism with reminiscences of antiquity. Shchusev treated his work extremely responsibly. The first project was born overnight. Then a verified, precise decision came - we decided required proportions and scale. A life-size plywood model was created on Red Square. When converted from wood to granite, the mausoleum grew almost to the battlements of the Kremlin wall (its height is 12 meters). The structure's grandstand turned into an element that became nationally necessary for a long time. The mausoleum (a new structure, completely foreign to the Kremlin) turned out to be capable of “holding” the ancient square and everything on it.

In Shchusev’s subsequent works, the avant-garde consistently gives way to national-historical stylization, impressively expressing the monumental pathos of “Stalinist classicism” (Moskvoretsky Bridge, 1936 - 1938; Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater named after A. Navoi in Tashkent, 1940 - 1947; building NKVD on Lubyanka Square, 1946, etc.). In the same spirit, the Moscow Hotel was built (1932 - 1938), which became one of the first Soviet hotels. In addition to hotel rooms, there were numerous restaurants, bars, shops, and in the center above the monumental eight-column portico - open cafe. There is an anecdote associated with the facade, which has an asymmetric design: supposedly Stalin was brought a project in which, as is customary, two options for finishing the facade were combined. The leader signed without looking, but nothing could be changed, so different shapes of turrets, balconies and window openings appeared on the right and left. “Moscow” reigned over Manezhnaya for many years, but today the square has changed and there is no longer room for a hotel on it. Its outdated design interferes with the development of the underground shopping paradise, so demolition of the Shusevsky hotel has already begun.

In 1925, Alexey Viktorovich actually became the chief architect of I.V. Stalin, his opinion in matters of architecture became law. In 1941, the Kazansky railway station complex was completed, the plastic and decorative ideas of which were continued in the Komsomolskaya-Koltsevaya metro station designed by Shchusev (opened in 1952).

During the Great Patriotic War the architect drew up projects for the restoration of cities destroyed by the Nazis: he developed a project for the reconstruction of the city of Istra, the Pulkovo Observatory in Leningrad, participated in the development of a master plan for the reconstruction and restoration of Novgorod, Chisinau, Stalingrad, Minsk, etc. The author of a large number of scientific works, Shchusev left a memory of himself and as a teacher (he taught at the Higher Art and Technical Workshops, at the Moscow Architectural and other institutes). The buildings, the author of which was Shchusev, were awarded the Stalin Prize four times. He was awarded the Order of Lenin and two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor.

Shchusev died on May 24, 1949. The Museum of Russian Architecture in Moscow, founded by him, is named after the architect. In 1980, opposite the building of the Moscow Central House of Architects, on the street that then bore the name of the outstanding architect, a monument was erected - a bronze bust on a high pedestal of black granite. Next to the pedestal there is a bronze capital - a copy of the capital of the column of the Komsomolskaya-Koltsevaya metro station, built according to Shchusev’s design. The capital is a symbolic attribute of architecture; there is a laconic inscription on it: “To Alexey Viktorovich Shchusev - an outstanding architect.”

Valentina Markovna Sklyarenko

From the book “100 Famous Muscovites”, 2006

« The most daring design cannot and should not conflict with artistic principles architecture» A.V. Shchusev

Architect Shchusev Alexey Viktorovich. Stylistics of architecture: Retrospectiveism. Neoclassicism. Functionalism. Constructivism. Main architectural objects and projects: project of the Marfo-Mariinsky community with all its buildings; Temple-monument to Sergius of Radonezh on the Kulikovo Field; Kazan Station; Moscow redevelopment project; Lenin Mausoleum; branch of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism under the CPSU Central Committee in Tbilisi; State Library of the USSR named after Lenin; project of the Central Telegraph on Tverskaya Street; Central House of Culture for Railway Workers; Hotel "Moscow"; Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge; Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater named after A. Navoi in Tashkent; NKVD building on Lubyanka Square.

« Creativity in architecture, more than in other arts, is connected with life"- said Shchusev. He constantly looked for the connection between architectural forms and life processes, not considering either one or the other to be frozen. Like a true artist, he tried himself in various forms of architecture, finding satisfaction in the knowledge and expression of everything new and new and not being completely satisfied. Alexey Viktorovich Shchusev was born on September 26, 1873 in Chisinau. He was the son of Viktor Petrovich Shchusev - court councilor by rank and caretaker of charitable institutions by position. In 1891, Alexey graduated from high school and on August 26 of the same year became a first-year student in the architectural department of the Academy of Arts.

Lenin Mausoleum. Architect Shchusev. Project - 1924.

The building of the NKVD (FSB) on Lubyanka Square. Architect Shchusev. 1946

Since 1894, Shchusev worked in the workshop L.N. Benoit, from whom he received thorough professional training. Shchusev was generally lucky with his mentors. Each of his teachers had his own circle of creative interests, his own passions. Professor Kotov's credo consisted in establishing the canons of Russian classics and promoting national heritage. Kotov opposed the pseudo-Russian style, against formalist copying of historical monuments of Russian architecture, demanding a modern understanding of Russian antiquity. In 1894-1897, Shchusev made detailed measurements of ancient monuments Samarkand Gur-Emir And Bibi-Khanim. The impressions received from the colorful ancient art of Central Asia played a big role in the further work of the master.

In 1897, Shchusev graduated from the academy. His graduation project " Barskaya estate"was rated the highest. The project was awarded the Big Gold Medal, and the author of “The Manor’s Estate” received the right to travel abroad. Shchusev spent 1898-1899 abroad: in Vienna, Trieste, Venice and other cities of Italy, Tunisia, again in Italy, France, England, Belgium. A report exhibition was compiled from his drawings of this period, which received an approving review from I.E. Repina.

Upon returning from abroad, Shchusev was not accepted into the department of the academy. Everything was decided by the professor's invitation Grigory Ivanovich Glotov. Alexey jumped at this invitation, although he had previously refused such work, calling it slavery. In addition, the amount of the annual salary turned out to be slightly higher than initially proposed.

The first independent order received by Shchusev was the design iconostasis for the Assumption Cathedral of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra and its successful implementation seemed to firmly tie the talented young specialist to work on religious buildings. But the architect saw in them only the basis for creating monumental works of art, increasing the glory of Russian art.

In mid-June 1904, the Synod sent Shchusev to Ovruch. Shchusev worked all winter on the project of a local church and by spring he presented to the court a project for a five-domed church in the spirit of the traditions of Russian classics, organically incorporating the preserved details into it. When Shchusev's project appeared at the St. Petersburg exhibition of modern architecture, critics immediately ranked it among the most striking phenomena of our time. In artistic circles and in the press they started talking about the Shchusevsky direction in architecture, declaring the architect the founder neo-Russian style. This is how fame came to Shchusev. He took it completely calmly.

Dates back to 1907 project of the Marfo-Mariinsky community with all its buildings. According to the academician I.E. Grabar, Alexey Viktorovich subsequently fondly recalled his work on the image of “Marfa”, when he “was inspired by the beautiful smoothness of the walls of Novgorod and Pskov monuments, devoid of any decoration and affecting the viewer’s feelings only by the harmony of volumes and their interconnection.” Despite its relatively large size, “Marfa” makes a surprisingly homely, cozy impression. The plan of the temple resembles an ancient key: the beard is turned to the west, the three rounded petals of the eye are oriented to the east. These three semicircular apses create a feeling of comfort, hiding from view the main volume of the structure, which is completed by a tall, strong drum, topped with a slightly pointed dome sphere.

The first building that Shchusev built in his homeland, in Chisinau, was a two-story Karchevsky's dacha, located in the Char Valley (now Kerchenskaya Street), and later Dragoev's house on Pushkin Street corner Kuznechnaya (now Bernardazzi). In 1912, Shchusev built church on the estate of landowner Bogdan(Kuchureshti village).

Shchusev participated in the development of the general scheme for the reconstruction of Chisinau in 1945-1947. According to Shchusev's design, a monument to Lenin was built. It was installed on October 11, 1949 on the Central Square in front of the Government House (now Great Square National Assembly). In 1991, the monument was dismantled and is currently located on free territory economic zone"Moldexpo". Shchusev also proposed a project for a bridge across the Byk River, which was deep at that time. The bridge that was built was much smaller than the originally planned size. Many projects were developed with active consultations by Shchusev (train station, store " Child's world" and etc.).

In Chisinau, one of the central streets of the city is named after Shchusev. The house where the architect was born and raised is now a museum that houses his personal belongings, photographs and documents.

After Ovruch and “Marfa”, Shchusev’s fame as a fashionable Russian architect was established. Rich clients were hunting for him: everyone wanted to have at least something on their lands " in Shusev style" In 1913, according to Shchusev’s design, it was built pavilion at an art exhibition in Venice, the architectural composition of which was a unique interpretation of the national architecture of the 17th century. Contemporaries noted that the forms of ancient Russian architecture were harmoniously combined with the picturesque landscape of Italy.

In 1913, in the Italian city of San Remo, according to Shchusev’s drawings and under the guidance of the architect Pietro Agosti an Orthodox church was built Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The temple is designed in the style of Russian churches of the 17th-18th centuries, decorated with stone carvings and tiles; nearby there is a bell tower with a hipped roof.

Towards the idea of ​​constructing a new building Kazansky railway station In Moscow, Alexey Viktorovich was almost indifferent at first. The draft designs submitted for the competition were sketchy and approximate. Having chosen Shchusev’s sketch, the board flattered itself with the hope that if they could touch the architect’s nerves, interest him in the very idea of ​​a “gateway to the East,” then success would be ensured. And it was not wrong. Professional instinct, love for Russian history and archeology served Shchusev a great service - he found the right color scheme for the “gate to the East.” On October 29, 1911, Academician Shchusev was officially approved as the chief architect of the construction of the new building of the Kazansky railway station in Moscow. The road board allocated a fabulous sum for the construction - three million gold rubles. But only towards the end of August 1913 did the architect submit a detailed project to the Ministry of Railways. Shchusev has not yet had a single project for which he would have spent more than two years preparing. The architect searched for a long time and painfully for how to get out of the “pit” of Kalanchevskaya Square until he came up with the idea of ​​placing the main dominant feature of the ensemble - the tower - in the lowest place, then the entire ensemble could be easily read, as if with a single glance. As soon as the Kazan Station project appeared on the pages of the Zodchiy magazine, congratulations began pouring in to Alexey Viktorovich. The more than two hundred-meter length of the station did not interfere with the holistic perception of the building. A deliberate violation of symmetry, a lone tower in combination with different-sized masses of architectural volumes should have opened the building anew from each new point of the square. Perhaps no architect before has been able to play with chiaroscuro so freely and whimsically, to make not only the sun, but also the clouds revive the stone pattern.

Together with I.V. Zholtovsky Shchusev led the work of a team of architects on Moscow redevelopment project. Looking carefully at the historical structure of Moscow, the architect strengthened it, revealing the development potential inherent in it - promising areas for development and improvement. The engineering and technical transformation of the routes of movement of Muscovites around the city turned out to be difficult. The plan linked radial-circular surface transport traffic with commuter rail traffic for the first time. What was completely unprecedented at that time, the network public transport tied in plan into a single knot based on the radial-ring diagram of the Moscow metro. So in 1919, Shchusev guessed the most secret dreams of Moscow.

In 1922, Shchusev was appointed chief architect of the All-Russian Agricultural and Handicraft Exhibition, it was opened in August 1923 on the territory of the current M. Gorky Central Park of Culture and Culture. Shchusev rebuilt the building of a former mechanical plant into a handicraft industry pavilion and supervised the construction of 225 exhibition buildings.

In 1924 he was commissioned to create a project Lenin Mausoleum. Designed and built in a matter of hours, the first wooden Mausoleum was simple in form, but it already contained an idea that was later brilliantly developed: the cubic volume of the tomb has a stepped completion. Later, an All-Union competition was announced to create a permanent Mausoleum. As a result of the competition, the government commission suggested that Shchusev “translate the temporary Mausoleum from wood to granite.” The task was not easy. If we consider the Mausoleum in the style of Russian architecture, then, “set up” to the Senate Tower, it will be lost under the walls of the Kremlin. And pushed forward, he will involuntarily be forced to argue with St. Basil's Cathedral. Shchusev found a way out. The mausoleum rose and reached a height of twelve meters, which was equal to one-third of the height of the Senate Tower and one-sixth of the height of the Spasskaya Tower, its three fractional ledges merged into one. Bottom belt with mourning ribbon of black granite boldly stepped forward and insistently demanded that the crowning portico be extended almost to the battlements of the Kremlin wall. The architect also found another trick: if you soften the left corner, then the almost imperceptible asymmetry will enliven the difference in the ledges, the play of volumes, and the color scheme of the belts. The mausoleum was able to organize and “maintain” the square. The square opened up, its ensemble became integral. The architect brilliantly managed to fit into the square a seemingly foreign structure in architecture and organically subordinate everything that is here to the Mausoleum.

A number of works by Shchusev dating back to the second half of the 1920s embodied the architectural forms of constructivism. These are building projects Branch of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism under the CPSU Central Committee in Tbilisi (1938), State Bank in Okhotny Ryad and on Neglinnaya Street, State Library of the USSR named after Lenin, as well as a hotel and sanatorium building in Matseste, built in 1927-1928. Buildings are also characteristic in this regard Coopers Union in Orlikov Lane(1928-1933) and Mechanical Institute named after Lomonosov on Sadovaya-Triumfalnaya (1930-1934).

At the beginning of the summer of 1926, a competition was announced for the construction Central Telegraph on Tverskaya Street. In the midst of debates about the appropriateness and expediency of the innovations of constructivism, Shchusev decided to show by example that understanding the dynamics and rhythm of time in architecture is always based on a powerful layer of spiritual culture, which constructivism also has every right to exist if you are filled with spirituality. Shchusevsky's project amazed even adherents of constructivism. The purely constructivist telegraph scheme carried the idea of ​​communication - a connection between eras, an international connection between countries and continents. Artistic image The telegraph was extremely strict. And at the same time, the subtle grace of the bewitchingly bold lines, the lightness and freshness of breath captivated at first sight. The utilitarianism of the building was emphasized by the rhythm of granite verticals and glass belts. The project showed: modern rhythm can combine monumentality with spaciousness, lightness with power. In an explanatory note to the project, Shchusev wrote: “The building, according to its program, is highly technical, and its design complies with the principles of rationalism and economy.” For its time, the Shchusev telegraph was purely innovative, for this reason it was not implemented.

Shchusev's pride was design of the Central House of Culture for Railway Workers. The airy amphitheater of the auditorium was suspended on remote consoles designed by A.V. Kuznetsov. The CDKZH became one of the best concert halls in the country and became the architect’s undeniable argument when he argued that the most daring design cannot and should not conflict with the artistic principles of architecture.

The highway of Leningradsky Prospekt, planned by Shchusev, cut through by green belts with pedestrian paths, was realized and became a true decoration of Moscow. At that time, this highway seemed to many to be pointlessly spacious, wasteful even for a city like Moscow, but time has proven the architect right. The addition of part of the building to the Tretyakov Gallery, carried out in the same years (Shchusev was director of the gallery in the late twenties), characterizes the architect’s careful attitude to the main part of the gallery, the facade of which was built according to the drawings of V.M. Vasnetsova.

The reconstruction of the capital, which began in the 1930s, was associated with the organization of new architectural workshops of the Moscow City Council. One of them - the second - was headed by Shchusev. In this workshop, projects for the reconstruction and development of areas of the former square were developed Triumphal Gate(now Mayakovsky Square), Bolshaya Sadovaya Nlitsa, Kudrinskaya Square (now Vosstaniya Square), Rostov and Smolenskaya embankments. The workshop team also participated in the development of other areas of the capital. In the 1930s, several large residential buildings were built according to Shchusev’s designs, the most famous of which are the residential building of the Bolshoi Theater artists, the residential building of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and the residential building of architects.

According to the design of Shchusev and young architects L.I. Savelyev and O.A. Stapran, one of the first hotels of Soviet times was built in Okhotny Ryad in 1932-1938 - Hotel "Moscow".

Alexey Viktorovich Shchusev also owns the project for the reconstruction of Tverskaya Zastava Square, during which the Arc de Triomphe was dismantled (1936), Big Moskvoretsky Bridge (1936-1938), Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater named after A. Navoi in Tashkent (1940-1947), NKVD building on Lubyanka Square(1946) and other structures. In 1941, the Kazan station complex was completed. Shchusev was a member artistic association"The Four Arts".

One of the many buildings in the design of which Shchusev took part was the Soviet embassy in the capital of Romania, Bucharest, located on the Kiseleva highway. Its construction began before the war.

In 1946, Shchusev founded the Museum of Architecture in Moscow and served as its director until 1949. A significant place in Shchusev’s activities is occupied by projects for the restoration of cities destroyed during the Great Patriotic War: Istra (1942-1943), Novgorod (1943-1945) and Chisinau (1947).

The latest creation of Alexey Shchusev was the Moscow Komsomolskaya-Koltsevaya metro station, reflecting the triumph of victory over fascism.
Shchusev died in Moscow on May 24, 1949.

Teaching activities:

Alexey Shchusev taught at the Stroganov School of Art and Industry (1913-1918), the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1914-1917), Vkhutemas (1920-1924), Moscow Architectural Institute (1948-1949), etc.

Alexey Viktorovich Shchusev(1873-1949) - Russian and Soviet architect. Honored Architect of the USSR (1930). Academician of Architecture (1910). Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1943). Winner of four Stalin Prizes (1941, 1946, 1948, 1952 - posthumously).

« The most daring design cannot and should not conflict with the artistic principles of architecture». « Creativity in architecture, more than in other arts, is connected with life ", - said Shchusev. He constantly looked for the connection between architectural forms and life processes, not considering either one or the other to be frozen. Like a true artist, he tried himself in various forms of architecture, finding satisfaction in the knowledge and expression of everything new and new and not being completely satisfied.

The desire to create a theory of their art goes back among architects to Vitruvius. Especially many variants of the theory of architecture began to appear in the next century. The theories differ in the breadth of coverage and categoricalness of their positions, in their initial principles and goals, and to varying degrees they explain or justify, guide or limit architectural creativity. On the basis of theories adopted by outstanding architects, their followers are formed into creative architectural “schools” and directions.

Shchusev did not strive to become the founder of such theories or any “school”. His significance in the history of Russian and Soviet architecture is determined mainly by the buildings and structures he created. However, his theoretical statements are of very great interest, as they show his innate architectural talent, taste and understanding of architecture.

In his work, Shchusev relied mainly on feeling, intuition, common sense, life experience, knowledge of the craft side of things.

This basis allowed him to endow his works with wisdom and express great social ideas through the means of architecture. His architectural work is characterized by the confidence with which he considered it possible to create and indeed created very individual architectural images, operating with forms that had already developed in life. These could be forms of the historical national style of a particular country (primarily Russia) or international invariants of both classical and modern architecture. It was not abstract logical calculations, but an aesthetic feeling that helped him fuse the plastic material of architecture (and sometimes sculpture and painting) into a new artistic unity, prompted by his great knowledge and personal taste.

This is his most famous and remarkable work - Mausoleum of V. I. Lenin on Red Square in Moscow (1926-1930). It would seem that neither its stepped-pyramidal volume nor the group of rectangular pillars carrying the top slab are new to architecture. However, on the whole, the architectural image of the Mausoleum turned out to be powerful, innovative, quite original, expressive and precisely suited to its purpose, merged with its position in the ensemble of the square, with its time. The proportions of its elements play a decisive role. The heights (thicknesses) of the slabs either increase or decrease, the mourning horizontals turn into energetic verticals, the closedness and compactness of the mourning chamber enclosing the sarcophagus, and the width of the podium and stairs open to light and wind. Therefore, the mournful and majestic Mausoleum is capable of being transformed on days of celebration and naturally playing the role of the center of solemn demonstrations.

As a perfect work of art, the Mausoleum carries in its artistic image enormous spiritual content, a complex of lofty ideas and experiences that correspond to its unprecedented fame and popularity among workers all over the world.

Shchusev's work received recognition even before the October Revolution. By 1917, Shchusev arrived with 15 years of experience. practical work and the title of Academician of Architecture, received in 1910 for the successful results and original method of restoration of a 12th-century temple in Ovruch (in Volyn).

Alexey Viktorovich Shchusev was born in the fall of 1873 in Chisinau. This was the third child in the modest family of a retired official. The boy showed early and vivid ability and love for drawing. Since 1894, Shchusev worked in the workshop of L.N. Benoit, from whom he received thorough professional training. Shchusev was generally lucky with his mentors. Each of his teachers had his own circle of creative interests, his own passions. Professor Kotov's credo was to affirm the canons of Russian classics, to promote national heritage. Kotov opposed the pseudo-Russian style, against formalist copying of historical monuments of Russian architecture, demanding a modern understanding of Russian antiquity. In 1894-1897, Shchusev made detailed measurements of the ancient monuments of Samarkand Gur-Emir and Bibi-Khanym. The impressions received from the colorful ancient art of Central Asia played a big role in the further work of the master.

In 1897, Shchusev graduated from the academy. His graduation project “The Manor’s Estate” received the highest score. The project was awarded the Big Gold Medal, and the author of “The Manor’s Estate” received the right to travel abroad. Shchusev spent 1898-1899 abroad: in Vienna, Trieste, Venice and other cities of Italy, Tunisia, again in Italy, France, England, Belgium. A report exhibition was compiled from his drawings of this period, which received an approving review from I.E. Repina.

Upon returning from abroad, Shchusev was not accepted into the department of the academy. Everything was decided by the invitation of Professor Grigory Ivanovich Glotov. Alexey jumped at this invitation, although he had previously refused such work, calling it slavery. In addition, the amount of the annual salary turned out to be slightly higher than initially proposed.

The first independent order received by Shchusev was the design iconostasis for the Assumption Cathedral of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra and its successful implementation seemed to firmly tie the talented young specialist to work on religious buildings. But the architect saw in them only the basis for creating monumental works of art that would increase the glory of Russian art.

In mid-June 1904, the Synod sent Shchusev to Ovruch. Shchusev worked all winter on the project of a local church and by spring he presented to the court a project for a five-domed church in the spirit of the traditions of Russian classics, organically incorporating the preserved details into it. When Shchusev's project appeared at the St. Petersburg exhibition of modern architecture, critics immediately ranked it among the most striking phenomena of our time. In artistic circles and in the press they started talking about the Shchusevsky direction in architecture, declaring the architect the founder of the neo-Russian style. This is how fame came to Shchusev. He took it completely calmly.

Dates back to 1907 project of the Marfo-Mariinsky community with all its buildings. According to Academician I.E. Grabar, Alexey Viktorovich subsequently fondly recalled his work on the image of “Marfa”, when he “was inspired by the beautiful smoothness of the walls of Novgorod and Pskov monuments, devoid of any decoration and affecting the viewer’s feelings only by the harmony of volumes and their interconnection.” Despite its relatively large size, “Marfa” makes a surprisingly homely, cozy impression. The plan of the temple resembles an ancient key: the beard is turned to the west, the three rounded petals of the eye are oriented to the east. These three semicircular apses create a feeling of comfort, hiding from view the main volume of the structure, which is completed by a tall, strong drum, topped with a slightly pointed dome sphere.

The first building that Shchusev built in his homeland, in Chisinau, was Karchevsky’s two-story dacha, located in Char Valley (now Kerchenskaya Street), and later Dragoev’s house on Pushkin Street corner Kuznechnaya (now Bernardazzi). In 1912, Shchusev built a church on the estate of landowner Bogdan (village of Kuchureshty).

Subsequently, Shchusev participated in the development of the general scheme for the reconstruction of Chisinau in 1945-1947. According to Shchusev's design, a monument to Lenin was built. It was installed on October 11, 1949 on the Central Square in front of the Government House (now the Great National Assembly Square). In 1991, the monument was dismantled and is currently located on the territory of the Moldexpo free economic zone. Shchusev also proposed a project for a bridge across the Byk River, which was deep at that time. The bridge that was built was much smaller than the originally planned size. Many projects were developed with active consultations from Shchusev (train station, Detsky Mir store, etc.).

In Chisinau, one of the central streets of the city is named after Shchusev. The house where the architect was born and raised is now a museum that houses his personal belongings, photographs and documents.

After Ovruch and “Marfa”, Shchusev’s fame as a fashionable Russian architect was established. Rich clients were hunting for him: everyone wanted to have at least something “in the Shchusev style” on their lands. In 1913, according to Shchusev’s design, a pavilion was built at an art exhibition in Venice, the architectural composition of which was a unique interpretation of the national architecture of the 17th century. Contemporaries noted that the forms of ancient Russian architecture were harmoniously combined with the picturesque landscape of Italy.

In 1913, in the Italian city of San Remo, according to the drawings of Shchusev and under the leadership of the architect Pietro Agosti, an Orthodox church was built Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The temple is designed in the style of Russian churches of the 17th-18th centuries, decorated with stone carvings and tiles; nearby there is a bell tower with a hipped roof.

The largest creation of Shchusev was begun in 1912 Kazansky railway station building in Moscow(completed by him in 1940). At first, Alexey Viktorovich was almost indifferent to the idea of ​​​​building a new building for the Kazansky railway station in Moscow. The draft designs submitted for the competition were sketchy and approximate. Having chosen Shchusev’s sketch, the board flattered itself with the hope that if they could touch the architect’s nerves, interest him in the very idea of ​​a “gateway to the East,” then success would be ensured. And it was not wrong. Professional instinct, love for Russian history and archeology served Shchusev a great service - he found the right color scheme for the “gate to the East.” On October 29, 1911, Academician Shchusev was officially approved as the chief architect of the construction of the new building of the Kazansky railway station in Moscow. The road board allocated a fabulous sum for the construction - three million gold rubles. But only towards the end of August 1913 did the architect submit a detailed project to the Ministry of Railways. Shchusev has not yet had a single project for which he would have spent more than two years preparing. The architect searched for a long time and painfully for how to get out of the “pit” of Kalanchevskaya Square until he came up with the idea of ​​placing the main dominant feature of the ensemble - the tower - in the lowest place, then the entire ensemble could be easily read, as if with a single glance. As soon as the Kazan Station project appeared on the pages of the Zodchiy magazine, congratulations began pouring in to Alexey Viktorovich. The more than two hundred-meter length of the station did not interfere with the holistic perception of the building. A deliberate violation of symmetry, a lone tower in combination with different-sized masses of architectural volumes should have opened the building anew from each new point of the square. Perhaps no architect before has been able to play with chiaroscuro so freely and whimsically, to make not only the sun, but also the clouds revive the stone pattern.

And in this case, Shchusev went his own way, not following the accepted cliche - the image of the station as a mixture of an enriched industrial and simplified palace structure. The heterogeneous functional purposes of the station premises pushed Shchusev to interpret the station as a “town” consisting of a complex of several buildings united by a strong vertical corner tower. In drawing the magnificent details of the building, Shchusev freely interprets the motifs of Russian architecture of the 16th-17th centuries.

The same features of a confident and free, broad and at the same time heartfelt interpretation of large and small forms are easy to see in other significant works of this talented architect, many-sided, but always true to himself throughout his great creative life, no matter what direction or “style” he worked in.

Such works include: sanatorium building in Matsesta (1927), Ministry of Agriculture on the street. Kirov in Moscow (1933), Moskvoretsky Bridge (1938), building of the Marx-Engels-Lenin Institute on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi (1938), Opera and Ballet Theater named after Navoi in Tashkent(1947), station halls " Komsomolskaya-ring» Moscow Metro (1952, construction completed after Shchusev’s death) and others.

His favorite theme, the theme of a more or less free “town”, a typical Russian ensemble into which relatively dissimilar buildings are combined, can also be traced in Shchusev’s art, starting with his graduation project for a “country villa” and ending with the project for a complex of buildings of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

Together with Shchusev, he led the work of a team of architects on Moscow redevelopment project. Looking carefully at the historical structure of Moscow, the architect strengthened it, revealing the development potential inherent in it - promising areas for development and improvement. The engineering and technical transformation of the routes of movement of Muscovites around the city turned out to be difficult. The plan linked radial-circular surface transport traffic with commuter rail traffic for the first time. What was completely unprecedented at that time, the public transport network was tied in plan into a single node based on the radial-ring diagram of the Moscow metro. So in 1919, Shchusev guessed the most secret dreams of Moscow.

In 1922, Shchusev was appointed chief architect of the All-Russian Agricultural and Handicraft Exhibition, it was opened in August 1923 on the territory of the current M. Gorky Central Park of Culture and Culture. Shchusev rebuilt the building of a former mechanical plant into a handicraft industry pavilion and supervised the construction of 225 exhibition buildings.

In 1924 he was commissioned to create Lenin Mausoleum project. Designed and built in a matter of hours, the first wooden Mausoleum was simple in form, but it already contained an idea that was later brilliantly developed: the cubic volume of the tomb has a stepped completion. Later, an All-Union competition was announced to create a permanent Mausoleum. As a result of the competition, the government commission suggested that Shchusev “translate the temporary Mausoleum from wood to granite.” The task was not easy. If we consider the Mausoleum in the style of Russian architecture, then, “set up” to the Senate Tower, it will be lost under the walls of the Kremlin. And pushed forward, he will involuntarily be forced to argue with St. Basil's Cathedral. Shchusev found a way out. The mausoleum rose and reached a height of twelve meters, which was equal to one-third of the height of the Senate Tower and one-sixth of the height of the Spasskaya Tower, its three fractional ledges merged into one. The lower belt with a mourning ribbon of black granite boldly moved forward and insistently demanded that the crowning portico be extended almost to the battlements of the Kremlin wall. The architect also found another trick: if you soften the left corner, then the almost imperceptible asymmetry will enliven the difference in the ledges, the play of volumes, and the color scheme of the belts. The mausoleum was able to organize and “maintain” the square. The square opened up, its ensemble became integral. The architect brilliantly managed to fit into the square a seemingly foreign structure in architecture and organically subordinate everything that is here to the Mausoleum.

A number of works by Shchusev dating back to the second half of the 1920s embodied the architectural forms of constructivism. These are projects for the buildings of the branch of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism under the Central Committee of the CPSU in Tbilisi (1938), the State Bank in Okhotny Ryad and on Neglinnaya Street, the State Library of the USSR named after Lenin, as well as a hotel and sanatorium building in Matsesta, built in 1927-1928. In this regard, the buildings of the Koopinsoyuz on Orlikov Lane (1928-1933) and the Lomonosov Mechanical Institute on Sadovaya-Triumfalnaya (1930-1934) are also characteristic.

At the beginning of the summer of 1926, a competition was announced for construction of the Central Telegraph on Tverskaya Street. In the midst of debates about the appropriateness and expediency of the innovations of constructivism, Shchusev decided to show by example that understanding the dynamics and rhythm of time in architecture is always based on a powerful layer of spiritual culture, and that constructivism has every right to exist if it is filled with spirituality. Shchusevsky's project amazed even adherents of constructivism. The purely constructivist telegraph scheme carried the idea of ​​communication - a connection between eras, an international connection between countries and continents. The artistic image of the telegraph was extremely strict. And at the same time, the subtle grace of the bewitchingly bold lines, the lightness and freshness of breath captivated at first sight. The utilitarianism of the building was emphasized by the rhythm of granite verticals and glass belts. The project showed: modern rhythm can combine monumentality with spaciousness, lightness with power. In an explanatory note to the project, Shchusev wrote: “The building, according to its program, is highly technical, and its design complies with the principles of rationalism and economy.” For its time, the Shchusev telegraph was purely innovative, for this reason it was not implemented.

Shchusev's pride was design of the Central House of Culture for Railway Workers. The airy amphitheater of the auditorium was suspended on remote consoles designed by A.V. Kuznetsov. The CDKZH became one of the best concert halls in the country and became the architect’s undeniable argument when he argued that the most daring design cannot and should not conflict with the artistic principles of architecture.

Planned by Shchusev came true and became a true decoration of Moscow. Leningradsky Prospekt highway, cut through by green belts with pedestrian paths. At that time, this highway seemed to many to be pointlessly spacious, wasteful even for a city like Moscow, but time has proven the architect right. The addition of part of the building to the Tretyakov Gallery, carried out in the same years (Shchusev was director of the gallery in the late twenties), characterizes the architect’s careful attitude to the main part of the gallery, the facade of which was built according to the drawings of V.M. Vasnetsova.

The reconstruction of the capital, which began in the 1930s, was associated with the organization of new architectural workshops of the Moscow City Council. One of them - the second - was headed by Shchusev. In this workshop, projects were developed for the reconstruction and development of the areas of the former Triumphal Gate Square (now Mayakovsky Square), Bolshaya Sadovaya Nlitsa, Kudrinskaya Square (now Vosstaniya Square), Rostov and Smolenskaya embankments. The workshop team also participated in the development of other areas of the capital. In the 1930s, several large residential buildings were built according to Shchusev’s designs, the most famous of which are the residential building of the Bolshoi Theater artists, the residential building of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and the residential building of architects.

According to the design of Shchusev and young architects L.I. Savelyev and O.A. Stapran, one of the first hotels of Soviet times was built in Okhotny Ryad in 1932-1938 - Hotel "Moscow".

Alexey Viktorovich Shchusev also owns the project for the reconstruction of Tverskaya Zastava Square, during which the Triumphal Arch (1936), the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge (1936-1938), the Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater named after A. Navoi in Tashkent (1940-1947), and the NKVD building were dismantled on Lubyanka Square (1946) and other buildings. In 1941, the Kazan station complex was completed. Shchusev was a member of the Four Arts art association.

One of the many buildings in the design of which Shchusev took part was the Soviet embassy in the capital of Romania, Bucharest, located on the Kiseleva highway. Its construction began before the war.

In 1946, Shchusev founded the Museum of Architecture in Moscow and served as its director until 1949. A significant place in Shchusev’s activities is occupied by projects for the restoration of cities destroyed during the Great Patriotic War: Istra (1942-1943), Novgorod (1943-1945) and Chisinau (1947).

The latest creation of Alexey Shchusev was the Moscow metro station " Komsomolskaya-ring", reflecting the triumph of victory over fascism.

Through the numerous influences of time and social conditions under which Shchusev worked and to which he was very sensitive, his directly unexpressed, but now obvious, tireless and cherished craving for “self-expression” breaks through. It was precisely the need for artistic self-expression that Shchusev took on in the garb of national images in architecture, of which he was such a master. The power of the intuitive sources of creativity distinguished Shchusev from the large army of stylists working in the same years, who designed and built “in the Russian style” either as archaeologists, or as pedantic copyists, or as followers of a speculative stylistic scheme.

Shchusev's aesthetic worldview was formed in the artistic environment of the Academy of Arts and during the period of pre-revolutionary development of Russian aesthetic thought. Such ideological principles, how the democracy and patriotism of the Russian man, which merged after the October Revolution with the patriotism of the Soviet man, formed an integral part of his nature and deep convictions carried throughout his life. Throughout his more than half a century of creative and social activities his theoretical views were naturally influenced by his turbulent times. The awareness of the high social calling of the art of architecture and the great responsibility of the architect to society was strengthened and strengthened in them.

Shchusev's creative heritage includes more than one hundred and fifty projects, of which over four dozen were carried out in kind. The amount of literary materials he left behind is also great. Lists of what was published from 1902 to 1950 (the last article published posthumously) include more than 240 titles. In most cases, these are statements on one or another specific issue, responses to current events and circumstances of architectural life. A small part of the texts written by Shchusev is used in this edition.

These texts relate to general, fundamental problems of architecture. They bear the stamp not only of Shchusev’s personality, but also of their time, as a result of which some of the statements have lost some of their former persuasiveness and become controversial, while others still resonate today. They reflected the historical evolution of not only Shchusev’s views on architecture, but also the evolution of architecture itself. Selected statements by Alexei Viktorovich make it possible to consistently judge first a number of problems of pre-revolutionary Russian architecture, then about new problems brought October Revolution, followed by a period positive attitude Shchusev to the ideas of constructivism in architecture, then - the transition to the development of the classical heritage and the positive characteristics of architectural classics.

From approximately 1933 to 1948, when the creative orientation, which had changed towards the development of the classics, remained stable, Shchusev spoke a lot to clarify his positions on various problems of architecture: urban planning, national architecture, the connection of architecture with technology, with the plastic arts, etc.

Despite some contradictions, despite the fact that Shchusev did not strive for a complete presentation of his concepts, yet one note constantly sounds in his words, one stable, albeit seemingly dotted thought, the thought of the artistic freedom of the architect. It is closely related to the noted feature of his architectural creativity as a means of self-expression.

Starting from the title of the first article, Shchusev again and again asserts the need for either directly “freedom of creativity”, “space for creative imagination”, “revealing one’s face” in creativity, or expresses the same idea in a call to follow the “demands of life”, and not a preconceived doctrine.

In a number of cases, he asserts the same position, but in a negative form, condemning the “constraint” of creativity, “submission to style,” “herd mentality,” “clichéd images,” “narrow limits of doctrine,” “canons,” etc.

But in relation to this theoretical and ethical position, Shchusev was not a doctrinaire. Having taken the idea of ​​the need for creative freedom from the period of formation of his architectural worldview, he spoke about it only in passing. But he confirmed the principle of freedom with the whole work of his life, creating best works by the method of freely embodying his own aesthetic sense and ideas dear to him.

The theme of freedom in creativity is so theoretically and practically large that Shchusev’s interpretation of it deserves attention and study, as the original contribution of this extremely powerful artist to the architectural aesthetics of our time.

Shchusev died at the age of 76 on May 24, 1949. The last of the texts cited here date back to the time of large restoration and urban planning work after the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 and the first post-war five-year plan.”

Aleksey Viktorovich Shchusev is an outstanding Russian and Soviet architect, Honored Architect of the USSR, Academician of Architecture, Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences, winner of four Stalin Prizes (1941, 1946, 1948, 1952 - posthumously).

Alexey Viktorovich Shchusev was born on September 26 (October 8, new style) 1873 in Chisinau, in the family of a caretaker of charitable institutions.

From 1891 to 1897, Shchusev studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. Among his teachers were academician L.N. Benois and artist I.E. Repin. As a student, Shchusev learned from newspapers about the death of General D.P. Shubin-Pozdeev. Young Shchusev dared to come with a sketch of a tombstone to the general’s widow without recommendations, managing to convince her to entrust the execution of the order to him.

The theme of Shchusev's graduation project was "The Manor's Estate". He did the job brilliantly, and was released from the Academy with a Big Gold Medal and the right to travel abroad. After graduating from the Academy, the aspiring architect joined an archaeological expedition in Central Asia, to Samarkand. During the trip, Shchusev studied such ancient architectural monuments as the tomb of Tamerlane and the Bibi Khanum Cathedral Mosque. Shchusev will apply the experience of this expedition in his subsequent works.

In the period from 1888 to 1899, Alexey Viktorovich visited Tunisia, Austria, Italy, England, Belgium and France. In 1898, while in Paris, he attended the Académie Julian. The drawings that Shchusev completed during his studies at the Paris Academy were then demonstrated at the reporting exhibition, and received a positive assessment from I.E. Repina.

Returning to Russia, Shchusev settled in St. Petersburg. In 1901, he entered the service of the Holy Synod, one of his first works in the position was the design of the iconostasis for the Assumption Cathedral of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. A few years later, in 1904, Shchusev was engaged in the reconstruction of the ancient church of St. Vasily (12th century) in Ovruch.

Over time, Shchusev became a fairly famous architect in St. Petersburg, and thanks to this fact, in 1902 he received an order from Count Olsufiev. The count expressed a desire to remodel and build on his mansion, located on the Fontanka, which Shchusev successfully accomplished. Count Olsufiev was the chairman of the committee for the perpetuation of the Battle of Kulikovo, and admired the work of Shchusev, he gave him a sketch of a memorial temple in honor of the victory of Russian weapons. In 1911, the design of the temple was ready, and in the period from 1913 to 1917, the Church of Sergius of Radonezh was built on the Kulikovo Field.

In the first decades of the 20th century, Shchusev established himself as a master of new style church architecture. Among his works was the already mentioned Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh on the Kulikovo Field, as well as the monastery in Ovruch, the Trinity Cathedral in the Pochaev Lavra, the Marfo-Mariinsky Monastery in Moscow, a pilgrimage hotel in the Italian city of Baria, and so on. In addition, Shchusev worked as a restorer and historian-archaeologist. In 1904, in Ovruch, he was involved in the restoration of the Church of St. Basil the Great, built in the 12th century.

For the Martha and Maryinsky Convent (1908-1912), Shchusev created designs for the Church of Martha and Mary in the hospital building and for the Intercession Cathedral, which is the center of the architectural ensemble of the monastery. During the construction of the Church of the Intercession, Shchusev took as a basis the form of ancient Novgorod and Pskov churches.

In 1912, on the initiative of the Orthodox residents of the city of San Remo, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was founded. This temple was built according to the drawings of A.V. Shchusev. The construction was led by architect Pietro Agosti. The church was founded in November, and in December 1913 the cathedral was already consecrated. The building is made in the style of Russian churches built in the 12th-13th centuries; it is lavishly decorated with carvings and tiles. A tented bell tower was built next to the cathedral.

In May 1913, in Italian Baria, according to Shchusev’s drawings, a church in honor of St. Nicholas and a hospice house were founded. The architect's next work was the Transfiguration Church in the medieval Russian style, which was built at the All Saints Cemetery. Unfortunately, in 1948, when Sandy Streets were being built up, this church was demolished.

But the most large-scale were Shchusev’s civil buildings. In 1911, Alexey Viktorovich became an academician of architecture, and then he was appointed chief architect for the construction of the new Kazansky railway station building in Moscow. Work began only two years later. During this time, the architect moved from St. Petersburg to Moscow and studied the difficult terrain of Kalanchevskaya Square in order to optimally plan the structure. As a result, he decided to place a tower in the lowest place, which would be the dominant feature of the entire ensemble. According to Shchusev’s plan, the violation of symmetry was supposed to contribute to a change in perception from different vantage points. The architect used motifs of ancient Russian architecture as decorative elements. Nizhny Novgorod and Ryazan, and the tower echoes a similar building in the Kazan Kremlin. The station building is decorated in white and red colors, which is typical for buildings in the Moscow Baroque style of the 17th century. Before 1916, Shchusev designed and built several more stations: in Sofrino, Krasnoufimsk, Sergach.

The October Revolution of 1917 did not harm Shchusev’s career; on the contrary, he became one of the most sought-after specialists. In the period from 1918 to 1925, together with the architect I.V. Zholtovsky Shchusev was involved in the development of the project for the reconstruction of the city “New Moscow”. This project provided for the preservation of the historical circular development of the city and the radial-ring traffic pattern. But the final reconstruction plan was approved only in 1935, and most of Shchusev’s ideas were not included in it.

In 1923, in the area of ​​the modern Central Park of Culture and Leisure named after. Gorky hosted the first All-Russian Agricultural and Handicraft Exhibition. The main architect of the exhibition was Shchusev, who planned and built more than two hundred buildings and pavilions to accommodate participants.

In 1922, Shchusev assumed the post of Chairman of the Moscow Architectural Society, which he held until 1932. During this period, he participated in the design of the Sokol village at the intersection of Alabyan Street and Volokolamsk Highway. This was the first cooperative village in Moscow, its residents were artists, teachers, people's commissariat workers, scientists, and workers.

The creation of Shchusev, which is known to all residents former USSR became the Lenin Mausoleum. The first mausoleum was wooden; under the leadership of Shchusev, it was built literally within 24 hours on the day of V.I.’s funeral. Lenin. The silhouette of the wooden structure was the same - cubic with a stepped end. In the spring of 1924, Alexey Viktorovich built a more spacious mausoleum with two stands, but then it turned out that Lenin’s body could be preserved for a very long time, and the task arose of constructing a durable building. A competition was announced among the architects for the best project, and A.V. won it. Shchusev. In October 1930, the new Mausoleum was ready. The building is constructed of reinforced concrete, faced with granite slabs, and the finishing is made of marble and labradorite. In form, this structure is an organic combination of constructivism and elements characteristic of ancient tombs, such as the pyramid of Djoser or the tomb of Cyrus the Great.

In the mid-20s, not far from the Kazan railway station, the Central House of Culture for Railway Workers was built according to Shchusev’s design. This building was conceived as part of a single architectural complex with the station, so a red and white palette was also used in its decoration.

Alexey Viktorovich Shchusev has accomplished a lot over the years of his life. From 1926 to 1929 he worked as director of the Tretyakov Gallery. During his tenure in this position, the museum acquired an extension to the main building, the facade of which was designed according to the drawings of the artist V.M. Vasnetsova. During these same years, Shchusev was a member of the Four Arts art association. In addition, Alexey Viktorovich was engaged in teaching activities. At various times he taught at the Stroganov School of Art and Industry, at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, at the Moscow Architectural Institute and other educational institutions. Since 1938, Shchusev was a member of the Academic Council, which was created to carry out the restoration of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.

When the plan for the reconstruction of Moscow began to be implemented in the 30s, several architectural workshops were organized in the city, one of which was headed by Shchusev. Shchusev's workshop is known for the fact that its employees presented many interesting projects, which were then used not only in Moscow, but also in other cities of the USSR. Basic distinctive feature All these projects had the goal of creating not a separate building, but a single architectural ensemble. The most famous projects of Shchusev’s architectural studio were: redevelopment of the Leningradskoye Highway; reconstruction of Okhotny Ryad, reconstruction of Red Square; reconstruction of Tverskaya Zastava Square, including dismantling Arc de Triomphe; planning of sections of the bank of the Moscow River in the area of ​​the Crimean Bridge; development project for the Smolenskaya and Rostov embankments residential buildings, the house of the USSR Academy and much more.

In 1933-1935, the very first Soviet hotel was built - Moscow, which remained one of the largest in the city until 2004 (the hotel building was dismantled). Initially, architects L. Savelyeva and O. Stapran worked on the hotel building project. But their version was made in the manner of constructivism and did not fit into the historical buildings. Then Academician Shchusev was invited to become a co-author in order to correct the existing project. Alexey Viktorovich proposed adding decor to the building, as well as building a six-story, eight-column portico, adding arcades in the center and turrets in the corners. These changes gave the building a more classic look, and now it did not look out of place against the backdrop of the old city quarters.

Around this time, Shchusev developed projects for the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge, the Soviet Embassy building in Bucharest, as well as several other significant buildings in Tbilisi, Tashkent and other cities.

When in 1934 the USSR Academy of Sciences decided to move from Leningrad to Moscow, the need arose to build an academic campus. A place was allocated for it behind the Kaluga Outpost Square. Shchusev won the project competition. According to his proposal, it was planned to build 40 buildings for academic institutes, museums, libraries and service institutions in the Cheryomushki area. In the center of the town there was the building of the Presidium and the academic library. But the leadership of the Academy decided that the Presidium should be located closer to the center of Moscow, and a place was allocated for it in the area of ​​​​the Crimean embankment. The outbreak of the Great Patriotic War suspended the construction of the building at the foundation level. Only in 1970 was the Central House of Artists built on this site. Of all the institutes of the Academy, only the Institute of Genetics managed to be built before the war. All other buildings were built already in post-war years. Before the war, a residential building for the Academy of Sciences was built on Bolshaya Kaluzhskaya Street, in which A.V. himself settled. Shchusev.

Another famous work of Shchusev is the NKVD building on Lubyanka Square. It was reconstructed according to Shchusev's design in the period from 1940 to 1947. Since 1946, Alexey Viktorovich Shchusev again headed the museum, this time it was an architecture museum.

In the post-war years, Shchusev worked a lot on projects for destroyed cities: Istra, Novgorod, and his native Chisinau. Nowadays in Chisinau, in the house where A.V. was born. Shchusev, there is a museum. Personal belongings, photographs and documents of Alexei Viktorovich are stored here.

One of Shchusev’s last outstanding works was the Moscow metro station Komsomolskaya-Koltsevaya, illustrating the victory over fascism.

A.V. died Shchusev May 24, 1949. He was buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy cemetery (site No. 1). In memory of the outstanding architect in Moscow, a memorial plaque was installed on the house located at Leninsky Prospekt, 13 (Shchusev lived here from 1939 to 1949). In 1949, a street in Moscow was named after him (in 1992 it was given back its historical name - Granatny Lane). An architecture museum in Moscow is named after Shchusev. In Chisinau, one of the central city streets and a children's city art school bear the name of Shchusev.

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