Russia has always been different from Europe, although it sought to imitate it. In the countries of the Old World, the traditions of parliament have evolved over centuries. In Russia, the appearance of the first parliament is dated 1906, it was called the State Duma. Twice she was dispersed by the government.
Where is the highest representative and legislative body of our country based today? Since 1994, the building of the State Duma is located at Okhotny Ryad, Building 1, earlier the Council of Labor and Defense met here. The year of its construction was 1935, the project was created by A.Ya. Langman. For the sake of building a building on this place, the restored 17th-century Golitsyn chambers and the Paraskeva Pyatnitsa church were demolished.
Today, the building of the State Duma includes two buildings interconnected by a transition. The new is located in St. George Lane, and the old - in Okhotny Ryad.
Inconspicuous wires ...
There is information that the building of the Council of Labor and Defense in 1941 at a dangerous moment of the possible capture of Moscow by the Germans was mined. This was discovered only forty years later - incredibly, but they simply forgot to clear the building of the State Duma in Moscow ... What is this? Coincidence or not? Be that as it may, it is a real happiness that the builders nevertheless discovered these inconspicuous, but terrible, going nowhere wires.
Wouldn’t I go to the Duma ... on an excursion?
The building of the State Duma is not a closed top-secret organ; you can come here for an excursion. Having visited it, you will touch on the history of parliamentarism, become a witness to the daily work of committees and factions, you will see Duma halls and offices of deputies. The latter will certainly tell you something if the opportunity arises. Entrance to the building of the Russian parliament is from the 10th entrance, from St. George Lane.
Excursions are free, are collective in nature, applications are accepted from organized groups of 5 to 25 people who every week on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday can visit the building from 9:40 to 16:00, accompanied by the group leader. If you are older than 14 years, take a passport and come see how the building is arranged inside and at least a little plunge into the bustle of the work of "servants of the people."
Combination of styles
So, a little about the building itself, where the State Duma of the Russian Federation sits. You will not confuse him with any other. It is located on the corner of Tverskaya and Okhotny Ryad Streets. It was this structure that determined the type of government buildings in the Soviet Union for years to come.
Look at the photo of the building of the State Duma: strictly symmetrical facades, logical and accurate, reflect the style of constructivism. At the same time, the monumentality and grandeur of the structure refers us to the next architectural period of the Soviet era under the name Stalin's Empire or Soviet classicism. The building represents the transition from one style to another - this is its peculiarity.
It is close to American art deco, in which metal and expensive stone are used for cladding.
A place
The history of the State Duma building began in the 30s of the twentieth century. Today, the lower house of parliament is based in a house built on the site of the famous Paraskeva Friday Church in Okhotny Ryad. St. Paraskeva Friday was the patroness of trade, and therefore a church was erected in honor of this great martyr next to the most famous and largest market in Moscow - Okhotny Ryad. The church was destroyed in 1928, and a few years later, thanks to the project of architect A.Ya. Langman, at this place the building of the Council of Labor and Defense was erected - this body was responsible for the management of economic construction and defense of the Soviet Union. Then, the Council of Ministers and the USSR State Planning Committee were based here in turn.
When creating this building for the first time in Soviet space, reinforced concrete pillars lined with brick with rigid reinforcement were used. After the onset of 1990, planned reconstruction work was carried out in the interior of the building, after which the Russian State Duma was relocated here.
All the largest officials of the Union and the present were located and worked here, inside this grandiose gigantic building at the very beginning of Tverskaya Street.
Appearance
The severity of forms, monumentality and expressiveness of the image of the government building fascinate, make you stop and consider everything in detail. If you look at the structure surrounded by neighboring houses, you can see that the building has an important city-planning function: it forms a building line in both streets - Tverskaya and Okhotny Ryad, and is a real decoration of the corner of the quarter.
The length of the central building is 160 meters, at the very top there is an attic with the emblem of the USSR. Another detail is no less interesting - a portal lined with dark stone with a height of three floors.
Across the entire height, the building is decorated with pilasters, and powerful vertical pylons emphasize symmetry and are carried by the architrave, in the center of which there is an attic.
The base and the entrance to the building are made of Karelian red-gray granite.
The external decoration of the building of the State Duma of the Russian Federation was carried out using facing plates from the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, destroyed in 1931, and limestone brought from the village of Protopopovo near Kolomna.