Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Post-Stalinist Moscow
When Stalin died, his funeral procession brought out so many gawkers that a riot ensued
and scores of mourners were trampled to death. The system he built, however, lived on, with
a few changes.
Nikita Khrushchev, a former mayor of Moscow, curbed the powers of the secret police,
released political prisoners, introduced wide-ranging reforms and promised to improve liv-
ing conditions. Huge housing estates grew up around the outskirts of Moscow; many of the
hastily constructed low-rise projects were nicknamed
khrushchoby,
after
trushchoby
(slums). Khrushchev's populism and unpredictability made the ruling elite a bit too nervous
and he was ousted in 1964.
Next came the long, stagnant reign of ageing Leonid Brezhnev. Overlooking Lenin's
mausoleum, he presided over the rise of a military superpower and provided long-sought-
after political stability and material security.
During these years, the Cold War shaped Moscow's development as the Soviet Union en-
thusiastically competed with the USA in the arms and space races. The aerospace, radio-
electronics and nuclear weapons ministries operated factories, research laboratories and
design institutes in and around the capital. By 1980 as much as one-third of the city's indus-
trial production and one-quarter of its labour force was connected to the defence industry.
Moscow city officials were not privy to what went on in these secretly managed facilities.
As a matter of national security, the KGB discreetly constructed a second subway system,
Metro-2, under the city.
Still, the centrally planned economy could not keep pace with rising consumer demands.
While the elite lived in privilege, ordinary Muscovites stood in line for goods. For the Com-
munist Party, things became a bit too comfortable. Under Brezhnev the political elite grew
elderly and corrupt, while the economic system slid into a slow, irreversible decline. And
the goal of turning Moscow into a showcase socialist city was quietly abandoned.
Nonetheless, Moscow enjoyed a postwar economic boom. Brezhnev showed a penchant
for brawny displays of modern architecture. Cavernous concrete-and-glass slabs, such as the
now defunct Hotel Rossiya, were constructed to show the world the modern face of the
Soviet Union.The city underwent further expansion, accommodating more and more build-
ings and residents. The cement pouring reached a frenzy in the build-up to the 1980 Sum-
mer Olympics. However, Russia's invasion of Afghanistan caused many nations to boycott
the Games and the facilities mostly stood empty.
Appreciation for Moscow's past began to creep back into city planning. Most notably, Al-
exander's Triumphal Arch was reconstructed, though plans to re-erect Peter's tall Sukharev
