Moscow Heritage at Crisis Point
Edmund Harris, Editor-in-chief
MAPS/SAVE Europe’s Heritage, 2009, updated expanded edition, 301pp. Large
format, fully illustrated, index.
ISBN 978-0-905978-59-8 Available for a suggested donation of £10 from Adam
Wilkinson, SAVE Europe’s Heritage, 70 Cowcross Street, London, EC1M 6EJ.
Cheques should be made out to “SAVE Europe’s Heritage”.

This stylish campaigning volume has a panoramic view of the centre of Moscow
on its front cover. In the foreground we have part of the fenced-off wreck
of the “Rossiya”, behind it the Kremlin and Red Square, beyond them mixed
historical styles of all types, and at the back but overshadowing all, huge
high rise blocks, for all the world like alien invaders.

The first edition of this book created a big impact in May 2007 and has
resulted in more public awareness and support for Moskomnaslediye (the city
government’s building conservation body). Its energetic head, Valery
Shevchuk, has made public the list of protected buildings and some action
has been taken against offenders. However this only indicates the mountain
still to be climbed by conservationists.

This second edition of their book lists a few successes, lists the types of
threat to the Moscow cityscape, and raises the fundamental question of
authenticity - what actually constitutes preservation? The rest of the book
describes, period by period and style by style, what makes Moscow
architecture unique, and what is happening to each of them.

Further chapters are on actual losses, buildings under threat, building
conservation law, direct action, sham replicas, thorny issues, sustainable
re-use and restoration today. The book concludes with a small (but
hard-hitting) 15 pages on St Petersburg. The text throughout is in bilingual
columns, with illustrations on most pages with bilingual captions. The
useful index at the back is similarly bilingual.
 
What makes the Moscow cityscape unique is the organic way the city has
evolved, the special mix of uniquely Russian, and European, styles, the fact
that Moscow was the cradle of “modern” architecture in the 1920s (what could
be more modern than the Lenin Mausoleum?), moving on to the Stalinist period
with its landmark skyscrapers (which are praised in this book) and finally
the present second wave of modernism.

The chapter “10 Threats to Historic Moscow” however shows how difficult it
is to preserve what is valuable from the past against the pressures of
modern wealth and power. To mention just one example, the developer Leonid
Kazinets has declared that “70% of the buildings in the centre (of Moscow)
are of absolutely no interest”.
The debate rages as to what constitutes restoration and who should be
allowed to do it.

An article on pp. 217-225 discusses the authenticity of the modern replicas
of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the Kazan church and Resurrection
gates on Red Square, where no parts of the original fabric were available or
used. The rebuilding of the Andreevsky and Aleksandrovsky halls in the
Kremlin, which this reviewer has visited, are equally ersatz, but they are
internal and represent an enhancement, and a return to the original glories
of the building. The disaster that has overtaken the Bolshoi Theatre is
described: when renovation was begun in 2005, three underground spaces were
opened up under Teatral’naya Ploshchad before the main building had been
underpinned.

The main technique used in “restoration” is demolition of all except the
outside walls, rebuilding inside, the insertion of underground car-parks and
shopping malls, the addition of fake-old or blindingly modern extra stories
on the top. Despite the ignorance and vandalism displayed, nonetheless some
restoration schemes are complimented, there are examples of good practice,
and Moscow and world architects are now observing and monitoring most of the
important sites, so the situation is not as bad as it was. But it is still
bad enough.

Anyone who cares about the old Moscow they knew and loved will be
fascinated, and horrified, by this book. Those with further queries are
invited to contact Clementine Cecil on [log in to unmask] or Adam
Wilkinson on [log in to unmask]
ANDREW JAMESON
Malvern

Andrew Jameson
Consultant on Russian Language and Culture
Translator, Russian & German to English
Russian Committee, ALL
Reviews Editor, Rusistika
Listowner, russian-teaching list
6 Gilbert Road
Malvern WR14 3RQ UK
01684 572466

-----Original Message-----
From: Announcement list for BASEES members
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sarah Hudspith
Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2010 10:22 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Moscow: A Global City. Conference 26 November Call For Papers

Moscow: A Global City
Interdisciplinary conference
University of Leeds
26 November 2010

Call for papers deadline: 20 September 2010
Moscow has always held a special significance in Russian consciousness, not
only as a political, historical, and cultural centre, but also as a talisman
of Russia’s messianic role in the global arena. Today, both despite and
because of dramatically transformed circumstances, Moscow’s image continues
to dominate the country’s identity. Indeed, under Putin/Medvedev as
president and Luzhkov as mayor, Russia’s promoted self-image and Western
portrayals of the city implicitly equate Moscow with Russia. The purpose of
the conference is to bring together leading academics in anthropology, art,
film, history, literature, and sociology, as well as art and media curators,
to examine the phenomenon of ‘Moscow as A Global City’—specifically, its
role as manifested in high and popular culture across a variety of media,
including architecture and the internet. Focusing on Moscow as a
representation of Russia both within the post-communist space and in the
West, the conference will explore issues of city and nation branding,
globalisation, mediation, and everyday practices.
Keynote speaker: Vasilii Tsereteli (Director, Moscow Museum of Modern Art)
Round table chaired by Prof. Helena Goscilo (Chair, Department of Slavic
Languages and Literatures, Ohio State University, and Visiting Leverhulme
Professor, University of Leeds).
Proposals for talks (20 minutes) are welcome from a range of cultural,
historical, and social studies disciplines and may include such themes as
cultural and national identity; gender, ethnic and sexual identity;
transition; postmodernism; the organisation of space; Moscow as symbolic
capital; Moscow in the consciousness of the Russian diaspora.
Please send short abstracts (250 words) to Sarah Hudspith
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> by 20 September
2010.

Our intention is to publish the conference proceedings. Therefore those
unable to attend the conference but interested in contributing to the volume
should submit abstracts (500 words) for articles of approximately 8000 words
to Sarah Hudspith [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
by 1 October 2010.