White House (Moscow)

For other uses, see White House (disambiguation).

The House of the Government of the Russian Federation
Дом Правительства Российской Федерации
The building in 2016
Former names	House of Soviets of the RSFSR House of Soviets of the Russian Federation
General information
Typ	Parliament
Architectural style	Soviet modernism
Town or city	Moscow
Land	Russland
Construction started	1965 (1965)
Completed	1981 (1981)
Height	119 m
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Dmitry Chechulin, Pavel Shteller

The White House (Russian: Белый дом, romanized: Bely dom, IPA: [ˈbʲɛlɨj ˈdom]; officially The House of the Government of the Russian Federation, Russian: Дом Правительства Российской Федерации, romanized: Dom pravitelstva Rossiyskoi Federatsii), also known in Russia in the 1990s as the Russian White House, is a government building in Moscow. It stands on the Krasnopresnenskaya embankment. The building serves as the primary office of the government of Russia and is the official workplace of the Russian Prime Minister.

It was built from 1965 to 1981 according to the design of architect Dmitry Chechulin to house the People's Control Committee and the Supreme Soviet of Russia. During the August 1991 coup d'état attempt, the building became a center of resistance to the State Committee on the State of Emergency. The structure was badly damaged during the 1993 constitutional crisis and was subsequently reconstructed.

History

Construction and use in the Soviet Union

In 1965, construction of the House of Soviets began to accommodate the administrative bodies of the RSFSR at this site. The plan for the reconstruction of the territory was prepared by a group of architects known as Mosproekt-1, led by Dmitry Chechulin, Pavel Shteller, Vladimir Lukyanov, and others, alongside a team of engineers. The overall design follows Chechulin's 1934 draft of the Aeroflot building. Initially, Chechulin proposed constructing the building on Taganka Square, which rises above a significant part of the city, as the site on the Krasnopresnenskaya embankment was inconvenient due to nearby buildings; however, because of the good view alongside the high bank of the Moskva River, the current location was chosen instead.

The House of Soviets was the first multi-storey building in which a uniformly shaped prefabricated reinforced concrete frame with monolithic stiffness cores was used. Outside, the structure was lined with individual claydite concrete panels, which were previously finished with marble. The total area of the complex was 732,000 square meters, with a total area of office space around 132,000 square meters. The building was designed with a complex three-level system of underground floors, where parking, bunkers, ventilation chambers and refrigeration equipment were located. The structure was equipped with a separate sewerage and an autonomous power supply system. There is a theory that the building is connected by underground passages to subway tunnels, but official sources do not confirm or refute this information. According to the memoirs of one of the builders, Felix Mikhailovich Ashurov, when installing the flagpole, Dmitry Chechulin ordered it to be shortened by three meters for a more harmonious combination of proportions; however, due to possible delays, workers were ordered to install the already prepared bar in secret from the architect over a weekend.

Construction was completed in 1981, with a total cost exceeding 94 million rubles. After the completion of the project, team leader Dmitry Chechulin, architect Vitaly Mazurin, and designer Yuri Dykhovichny were awarded the Lenin Prize. From 1981 to 1993, the Supreme Soviet of Russia, which had until then held its sessions in the Grand Kremlin Palace, used the White House. The Supreme Soviet of Russia remained in the building until the end of the Soviet Union in 1991, as well as during the first years of the Russian Federation. In 1991 the Soviet Union issued a 50-kopeck stamp depicting the White House and honoring resistance to the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt.

Role in 1991 coup d'état attempt

Main article: 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt

In August 1991, the House of Soviets became the center of a confrontation against the State Committee on the State of Emergency. The opposition was headed by Russian President Boris Yeltsin, in support of whom large-scale rallies were held around the building. During this period, Yeltsin repeatedly spoke to the audience, with his most famous speech being delivered on August 19 from the tank of the Taman Division. At that time, the building was surrounded by a living chain of Muscovites who supported the president. An improvised barricade was built around the building, using materials such as garbage cans, fences of nearby parks, benches, and sawn trees. Protestors also painted graffiti of political topics on the walls of the building. By August 20, approximately two hundred thousand people had gathered around the structure including public and political figures Ruslan Khasbulatov, Ivan Silayev, Alexander Rutskoy, Eduard Shevardnadze, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Mstislav Rostropovich, Andrey Makarevich, and others.

The building was not stormed, presumably due to the possible number of civilian and military casualties. Later, the events that took place near the walls of the House of Soviets and elsewhere in the Soviet Union were defined as the August Coup. It was during this period that the name "White House" was assigned to the building, which was widely used by the state media. In 1992, the building was depicted on the back side of commemorative coins in honor of the "victory of democratic forces" and the anniversary of Russia's state sovereignty.

Forceful dispersal of the Supreme Soviet of Russia

Main article: 1993 Russian constitutional crisis

The White House in 1993, soon after it was shelled by tanks

By sunrise on 4 October 1993, the Russian Army encircled the parliament building, and a few hours later army tanks began to shell the White House. The White House stood damaged for some time after the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, and the black burns from tank shelling became famous, so much so that it became traditional to photograph newly-weds in front of its damaged façade.

End of the 20th century and the present

The reformed parliament, known thereafter by its Imperial-era title of the State Duma, was elected in December 1993 and moved to another building on Moscow's Okhotny Ryad (street). As of 2016 the renovated White House houses the Russian government. An inscription at the base of the tower reads, "House of the Government of the Russian Federation".

Architecture

The White House (2014).

During the construction of the White House, Dmitry Chechulin used elements of his unrealized 1934 design for the headquarters of state airline Aeroflot. The original idea was developed in honor of the rescue, by Soviet pilots, of the passengers of the sunken steamship SS Chelyuskin. The construction was supposed to have simplified forms. The stylobate of the building was similar in size to the ship, it was supplemented with numerous sculptural compositions. The main entrance emphasized the portico, which resembled a triumphal arch. It was assumed that the building would form a new look of the Belorussky railway station square. But the structure did not correspond to the site in size and configuration, so it was never built.