About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherPrinceton University Press

ISBN-100691178909

ISBN-139780691178905

eBay Product ID (ePID)14050070766

Product Key Features

Number of Pages288 Pages

Publication NameMoscow Monumental : Soviet Skyscrapers and Urban Life in Stalin's Capital

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2020

SubjectUrban & Land Use Planning, Russia & the Former Soviet Union, History / Contemporary (1945-), General

TypeTextbook

Subject AreaArchitecture, History

AuthorKatherine Zubovich

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height0.9 in

Item Weight32.3 Oz

Item Length10.4 in

Item Width7.3 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceCollege Audience

LCCN2020-011491

ReviewsDrawing on extensive archival research, the book delineates an arc from early conceptualization of Moscow as the capital of Soviet Russia to infighting leading to the demise of monumentality as a dominant force in Soviet architecture during the 1950s. ... Recommended., "Zubovich has done stellar work in the city's archives, uncovering a trove of letters and petitions from ordinary Soviet citizens. . . This is a book which delves into the very human tensions created by a society forced into transition, and the effects on a city undergoing a seismic political, cultural, and architectural change." ---Jennifer Eremeeva, The Moscow Times, "A monumental story, pun intended. . . .Readers will find this highly refreshing." ---Heather D. DeHaan, Contemporary European History, "A superb, sweeping account of the realization of a magnificent group of skyscrapers. Grounded in meticulous archival research, and highly readable, it will appeal to specialists and general readers alike interested in topics as wide ranging as Soviet-US relations, architecture, intellectuals, and everyday life under Stalin." ---Christine Varga-Harris, American Historical Review, "Zubovich gives us what the archives (and page limits) allow: a rich and thoughtful story of the ambition and contradiction that characterized the Soviet effort to create a lived utopia." ---Diane P. Koenker, Journal of Modern History, "Well researched and lucidly written, Moscow Monumental is a welcome contribution to the field of urban history. It will be a good addition to the reading lists for university courses on Russian social and cultural history. It will also be much appreciated by lovers of Russian history outside academe." ---Elena V. Baraban, Ab Imperio Quarterly, " Russian and Soviet urban history has expanded and developed greatly in the last two decades by drawing attention to the built environment, lived experience, and aesthetic choices and meanings of buildings. In Katherine Zubovich's Moscow Monumental: Soviet Skyscrapers and Urban Life in Stalin's Capital we have an example of some of the best trends in recent years. " ---Karl Qualls, Russian Review, Honorable Mention for the Alexander Nove Prize, British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies, Shortlisted for the Best Book in Cultural Studies Prize, American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages

Dewey Edition23

IllustratedYes

Dewey Decimal720.483094731

SynopsisAn in-depth history of the Stalinist skyscraper In the early years of the Cold War, the skyline of Moscow was forever transformed by a citywide skyscraper building project. As the steel girders of the monumental towers went up, the centuries-old metropolis was reinvented to embody the greatness of Stalinist society. Moscow Monumental explores how the quintessential architectural works of the late Stalin era fundamentally reshaped daily life in the Soviet capital. Drawing on a wealth of original archival research, Katherine Zubovich examines the decisions and actions of Soviet elites--from top leaders to master architects--and describes the experiences of ordinary Muscovites who found their lives uprooted by the ambitious skyscraper project. She shows how the Stalin-era quest for monumentalism was rooted in the Soviet Union's engagement with Western trends in architecture and planning, and how the skyscrapers required the creation of a vast and complex infrastructure. As laborers flooded into the city, authorities evicted and rehoused tens of thousands of city residents living on the plots selected for development. When completed in the mid-1950s, these seven ornate neoclassical buildings served as elite apartment complexes, luxury hotels, and ministry and university headquarters. Moscow Monumental tells a story that is both local and broadly transnational, taking readers from the streets of interwar Moscow and New York to the marble-clad halls of the bombastic postwar structures that continue to define the Russian capital today., An in-depth history of the Stalinist skyscraperIn the early years of the Cold War, the skyline of Moscow was forever transformed by a citywide skyscraper building project. As the steel girders of the monumental towers went up, the centuries-old metropolis was reinvented to embody the greatness of Stalinist society. Moscow Monumental explores how the quintessential architectural works of the late Stalin era fundamentally reshaped daily life in the Soviet capital.Drawing on a wealth of original archival research, Katherine Zubovich examines the decisions and actions of Soviet elites-from top leaders to master architects-and describes the experiences of ordinary Muscovites who found their lives uprooted by the ambitious skyscraper project. She shows how the Stalin-era quest for monumentalism was rooted in the Soviet Union's engagement with Western trends in architecture and planning, and how the skyscrapers required the creation of a vast and complex infrastructure. As laborers flooded into the city, authorities evicted and rehoused tens of thousands of city residents living on the plots selected for development. When completed in the mid-1950s, these seven ornate neoclassical buildings served as elite apartment complexes, luxury hotels, and ministry and university headquarters.Moscow Monumental tells a story that is both local and broadly transnational, taking readers from the streets of interwar Moscow and New York to the marble-clad halls of the bombastic postwar structures that continue to define the Russian capital today.

LC Classification NumberNA6234.R82M679 2020