Revolution Square, Moscow

Revolution Square (Russian: Площадь Революции, Ploshchad Revolyutsii, Revolyutsii Square) is a square located in the center of Moscow, in Tverskoy District, northwest of Red Square. The square has the shape of an arc running from the southwest to the north and is bounded by Manezhnaya Square to the southwest, Okhotny Ryad to the north, and the buildings separating it from Nikolskaya Street to the south and to the east. It is one of the Central Squares of Moscow. The continuation of the Revolution Square north behind Okhotny Ryad is Teatralnaya Square.

Moscow City Hall in 2000

There are three Moscow Metro stations located under the square, all of them having at least one exit at the square: Ploshchad Revolyutsii, named after the square, Teatralnaya, and Okhotny Ryad. All these stations are transfer stations, with Teatralnaya being connected with the other two.

History

Originally, the Neglinnaya River, a tributary of the Moskva River, currently underground, was flowing through the area. Between 1534 and 1538, the wall of Kitay-gorod with Iberian Gate and Chapel was constructed. In 1817-1819, the Neglinnaya was rebuilt as a tunnel, and thus the area became a square. It got the name of Voskresenskaya Square (Resurrection Square), after the other name of Iberian Gate, Resurrection Gate. In 1918, the square was renamed after the October Revolution.[1] In 1931, Iberian Gate was demolished (rebuilt in 1994-1995), and in 1935, Hotel Moskva was built on the northern side of the square, separating it from Okhotny Ryad. The road traffic was subsequently separated, so that traffic from Tverskaya Street in the direction of Lubyanka Square followed Revolution Square, and road traffic in the reverse direction followed Okhotny Ryad. In 1993, all road traffic around the Moscow Kremlin was made unidirectional (in the clockwise direction), and Revolution Square ceased to be a through road. It is now mostly used for parking.

Notable buildings

Hotel Metropol and Revolution Square.

• Hotel Metropol, located in the northwestern side of the square at the corner with Teatralny Lane, was built in 1899-1907 and is considered one of the finest Art Nouveau buildings in Moscow.[2]
• Hotel Moskva, located at the northern side of the square and separating it from Okhotny Ryad, was built between 1932 and 1938 by Alexey Shchusev and demolished in 2004 despite being recognized as a monument of architecture. Construction of a new building has been completed, and the new hotel, rebranded as Four Seasons, has the same appearance as the old one. There were allegations of mismanagement and fraud related to the construction.[3]
• The building of Lenin Museum, built in 1890-1892 by Dmitry Chichagov, originally was used as Moscow City Hall. It separates Revolution Square from Red Square.
• Resurrection Gate was built in 1535, rebuilt in 1680, demolished in 1931, and rebuilt in 1994-1996. It connects Revolution Square with Red Square.

References

1. Агеева Р.А. и др, Р.А. и др (2007). Имена московских улиц. Топонимический словарь. Moscow: ОГИ. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
2. Вержбицкая, Елена. "Веком раньше - . Москва, Петербург, Провинции. Часть III: Модерн" (in Russian). «Архдизайнстрой». Archived from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
3. Мельниченко, Дмитрий. Почему российские стройки намного дороже европейских?. Вести (in Russian). Государственный интернет-канал "Россия". Retrieved 10 December 2011.