.gif)
Lubyanka (KGB)
Encyclopedia
The Lubyanka is the popular name for the headquarters of the KGB
and affiliated prison
on Lubyanka Square
in Moscow
. It is a large building with a facade of yellow brick, designed by Alexander V. Ivanov in 1897 and augmented by Aleksey Shchusev in 1940-1947.
The Lubyanka was originally built in 1898 as the Neo-Baroque headquarters of the All-Russia Insurance Company, noted for its beautiful parquet floors and pale green walls. Belying its massiveness, the edifice avoids an impression of heroic scale: isolated Palladian
and Baroque
details, such as the minute pediments
over the corner bays and the central loggia
, are lost in an endlessly-repeating classicizing palace facade, where three bands of cornices emphasize the horizontal lines. A clock is centered in the uppermost band of the facade.
Following the Bolshevik Revolution, the structure was seized by the government for the headquarters of the secret police, then called the Cheka
. In Soviet Russian jokes it was referred to as the tallest building in Moscow, since Siberia could be seen from its basement. Another joke referred to the building as "Adult's World" as compared to "Children's World," the name of the popular toy store across the street.
During the Great Purge
, the offices became increasingly cramped due to staff numbers. In 1940 Aleksey Shchusev was commissioned to double its size by adding another storey and engulfing backstreet buildings. Shchusev's design accentuated Neo-Renaissance
detailing, but only the left part of the facade was reconstructed under his direction in the 1940s, due to the war and other hindrances. This asymmetric facade survived intact until 1983, when the symmetry was restored at the urging of Communist Party
General Secretary and former KGB
Director Yuri Andropov
in accordance with Shchusev's plans.
Although the Soviet secret police changed its name many times, its headquarters remained in this building. Secret police chiefs from Lavrenty Beria to Yuri Andropov
used the same office on the third floor, which looked down on the statue of Cheka
founder Felix Dzerzhinsky
. A prison at the ground floor of the building figures prominently in Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
's classic study of the Soviet police state, The Gulag Archipelago
. Famous inmates held, tortured and interrogated there include Sidney Reilly
, Raoul Wallenberg
, János Esterházy
and Walter Ciszek
.
After the dissolution of the KGB, the Lubyanka became the headquarters of the Border Guard Service of Russia
, and houses the Lubyanka prison and one directorate of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB). In addition a museum of the KGB (now called Историко-демонстрационный зал ФСБ России, Historical-demonstration hall of the Russian FSB) was opened to the public.
In 1990, the Solovetsky Stone
was erected across from the Lubyanka to commemorate the victims of political repression.
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
and affiliated prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
on Lubyanka Square
Lubyanka Square
Lubyanka Square in Moscow is about north east of Red Square. The name is first mentioned in 1480, when Ivan III settled many Novgorodians in the area. They built the church of St Sophia, modelled after St Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod, and called the area Lubyanka after the Lubyanitsy district of...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. It is a large building with a facade of yellow brick, designed by Alexander V. Ivanov in 1897 and augmented by Aleksey Shchusev in 1940-1947.
The Lubyanka was originally built in 1898 as the Neo-Baroque headquarters of the All-Russia Insurance Company, noted for its beautiful parquet floors and pale green walls. Belying its massiveness, the edifice avoids an impression of heroic scale: isolated Palladian
Palladian architecture
Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...
and Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
details, such as the minute pediments
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
over the corner bays and the central loggia
Loggia
Loggia is the name given to an architectural feature, originally of Minoan design. They are often a gallery or corridor at ground level, sometimes higher, on the facade of a building and open to the air on one side, where it is supported by columns or pierced openings in the wall...
, are lost in an endlessly-repeating classicizing palace facade, where three bands of cornices emphasize the horizontal lines. A clock is centered in the uppermost band of the facade.
Following the Bolshevik Revolution, the structure was seized by the government for the headquarters of the secret police, then called the Cheka
Cheka
Cheka was the first of a succession of Soviet state security organizations. It was created by a decree issued on December 20, 1917, by Vladimir Lenin and subsequently led by aristocrat-turned-communist Felix Dzerzhinsky...
. In Soviet Russian jokes it was referred to as the tallest building in Moscow, since Siberia could be seen from its basement. Another joke referred to the building as "Adult's World" as compared to "Children's World," the name of the popular toy store across the street.
During the Great Purge
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
, the offices became increasingly cramped due to staff numbers. In 1940 Aleksey Shchusev was commissioned to double its size by adding another storey and engulfing backstreet buildings. Shchusev's design accentuated Neo-Renaissance
Neo-Renaissance
Renaissance Revival is an all-encompassing designation that covers many 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Grecian nor Gothic but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of classicizing Italian modes...
detailing, but only the left part of the facade was reconstructed under his direction in the 1940s, due to the war and other hindrances. This asymmetric facade survived intact until 1983, when the symmetry was restored at the urging of Communist Party
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
General Secretary and former KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
Director Yuri Andropov
Yuri Andropov
Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov was a Soviet politician and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 12 November 1982 until his death fifteen months later.-Early life:...
in accordance with Shchusev's plans.
Although the Soviet secret police changed its name many times, its headquarters remained in this building. Secret police chiefs from Lavrenty Beria to Yuri Andropov
Yuri Andropov
Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov was a Soviet politician and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 12 November 1982 until his death fifteen months later.-Early life:...
used the same office on the third floor, which looked down on the statue of Cheka
Cheka
Cheka was the first of a succession of Soviet state security organizations. It was created by a decree issued on December 20, 1917, by Vladimir Lenin and subsequently led by aristocrat-turned-communist Felix Dzerzhinsky...
founder Felix Dzerzhinsky
Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky
Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky was a Communist revolutionary, famous as the first director of the Bolshevik secret police, the Cheka, known later by many names during the history of the Soviet Union...
. A prison at the ground floor of the building figures prominently in Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn was aRussian and Soviet novelist, dramatist, and historian. Through his often-suppressed writings, he helped to raise global awareness of the Gulag, the Soviet Union's forced labor camp system – particularly in The Gulag Archipelago and One Day in the Life of...
's classic study of the Soviet police state, The Gulag Archipelago
The Gulag Archipelago
The Gulag Archipelago is a book by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn based on the Soviet forced labor and concentration camp system. The three-volume book is a narrative relying on eyewitness testimony and primary research material, as well as the author's own experiences as a prisoner in a gulag labor camp...
. Famous inmates held, tortured and interrogated there include Sidney Reilly
Sidney Reilly
Lieutenant Sidney George Reilly, MC , famously known as the Ace of Spies, was a Jewish Russian-born adventurer and secret agent employed by Scotland Yard, the British Secret Service Bureau and later the Secret Intelligence Service . He is alleged to have spied for at least four nations...
, Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish businessman, diplomat and humanitarian. He is widely celebrated for his successful efforts to rescue thousands of Jews in Nazi-occupied Hungary from the Holocaust, during the later stages of World War II...
, János Esterházy
János Esterházy
Count János Esterházy a member of the House of Esterházy was the most prominent ethnic Hungarian politician in former Czechoslovakia...
and Walter Ciszek
Walter Ciszek
Rev. Walter Ciszek, S.J. was a Polish-American Jesuit priest known for his clandestine missionary work in the Soviet Union between 1939 and 1963....
.
After the dissolution of the KGB, the Lubyanka became the headquarters of the Border Guard Service of Russia
Border Guard Service of Russia
The Border Service of Russia , also called the Border Force of Russia is a branch of Federal Security Service of Russia tasked with patrol of the Russian border. In English, the terms "Border Guards" and "Border Troops" are frequently used to designate this service...
, and houses the Lubyanka prison and one directorate of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB). In addition a museum of the KGB (now called Историко-демонстрационный зал ФСБ России, Historical-demonstration hall of the Russian FSB) was opened to the public.
In 1990, the Solovetsky Stone
Solovetsky Stone
The Solovetsky Stone is a monument located in Lubyanka Square in Moscow, across from KGB headquarters. The monument consists of a large stone brought from the Solovetsky Islands, the location of Solovki prison camp, part of the Soviet Gulag system...
was erected across from the Lubyanka to commemorate the victims of political repression.