HISTORICAL DICTIONARY A–Z - Russia: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present - page 295

Celebration of the first of May in Red Square, Moscow, 1960 (Library of Congress)

rostrum was built, from which the czar and
other officials could address Muscovites. Known
as Lobnoe Mesto (Place of the Skulls), after 1685
it became the site of public executions. The Place
of the Skulls was rebuilt several times, as late as
1786. In the 18th century, with the trading stalls
removed, the square became the center of
Moscow's cultural life, with the appearance of
book stalls, the first public library, and the first
building of Moscow University in the surround-
ing environs. In 1818 a statue to MININ AND
POZHARSKY , who led the struggle against the
Poles who had occupied the city during the TIME
OF TROUBLES was erected in front of the Upper
Trading Rows, near the center of the square. In
1930, the statue was moved closer to St. Basil's.
The last quarter of the 19th century saw the con-
struction of two important components of Red

Square's current architectural ensemble. The
dark-red State Historical Museum was built
between 1874 and 1883 from a design by the
architect O. V. Shervud. Along the other long
side of the square, the Upper Trading Rows and
Middle Trading Rows were completed in
1892-93, in a style that tried to match that of the
Kremlin walls and towers. In Soviet times, the
trading rows were nationalized and became
known as the State Universal Store (GUM). The
final addition to the ensemble of Red Square
came with the construction of the LENIN MAU -
SOLEUM along the Kremlin side of the square.
Following LENIN 's death in 1924, a temporary
wooden mausoleum was erected to house his
embalmed body. A permanent structure was
completed in 1930, at which time the observa-
tion platforms and fir trees were also added.