Moscow State University (MGU), Main Building (Moscow, Russia) : Frontal view of the Stalinist-Gothic skyscraper, showing the upper tower

Creator:

Rudnev, Lev, 1885-1956

Published/Created:

Sparrow Hills, Moscow, Rossiya, Russia
ca. 1947-1953

Physical Description:

240 m (height, 36 storey)

Date Depicted:

1950 AD - 2010 AD

Materials:

brick
stone

Notes:

MGU is the largest university in Russia. The Main building was designed by architect Lev Vladimirovich Rudnev. In the post-war era, Stalin ordered seven huge tiered towers to be built around the city. The MSU Main building is by far the largest of these. It was the tallest building in the world outside of New York City at the time of its construction, and remained the tallest building in Europe until 1990. The central tower is 240 m tall, 36 stories high, and flanked by four huge wings of student and faculty accommodations. It is said to contain a total of 33 kilometers of corridors and 5,000 rooms. Facilities available inside the building include a concert hall, a theatre, a museum, various administrative services, a library, a swimming pool, a police station, a post office, a laundry, a hairdresser's salon, several canteens, bank offices and ATMs, shops, cafeterias, a bomb shelter, etc. Along with the university administration, the Museum of Earth Sciences and four of the main faculties - Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, the Faculty of Geology, the Faculty of Geography, and the Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts - now reside in the Main building. The star on the top of the tower is large enough to include a small room and a viewing platform; it weighs 12 tons. The building's facades are ornamented with giant clocks, barometers, thermometers, statues, carved wheat sheaves, and Soviet crests (recently renovated).

Variant Titles:

M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University

Topics:

Architecture -- Russia -- 20th century -- (YVRC)

Period/Style:

Stalinist
Twentieth century

Culture:

Russian

Accession Number:

1A2-R-M-MU-A6

Genre:

architecture (AAT)

Format:

Image

Content Type:

Sculptures, Models, & Architecture

Rights:

Copyright Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc
The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement.

Access Restrictions:

Yale Community Only

Digital:

architectural exteriors; Stalin, Joseph, 1879-1953; education construction buildings; schools (buildings); universities; complexes; mixed-use developments

Source Creator:

Gilchrist, Scott

Source Title:

Archivision Module Four

Source Created:

2878 Chamonix, Montreal QC
Archivision, Inc.

Source Note:

Purchase, Visual Resources Collection, May, 2011; photographer Scott Gilchrist

Yale Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Digital Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Local Record Number:

4152

OID:

10107477

PID:

digcoll:1845943