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House of the Government of the Russian Federation
The House of the Government of the Russian Federation, known colloquially as the White House (Russian: Белый дом, romanized: Belyy dom, IPA: [ˈbʲɛlɨj ˈdom]), and previously as the House of Soviets of Russia, is more than just a building in Moscow; it's a monument to a tumultuous era, a stage for political drama, and an architectural statement. It stands on the Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment, a formidable presence overlooking the Moskva River. This structure isn't merely an office building; it's the nerve center of the government of Russia, the official seat of the prime minister. Its story is etched in concrete and scarred by conflict, a narrative that spans from Soviet ambition to post-Soviet upheaval.
History: From Soviet Blueprint to Post-Soviet Scar
Construction and Use in the Soviet Union
The genesis of the House of Soviets dates back to 1965, when construction commenced with the intention of housing the administrative bodies of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. The architectural vision was spearheaded by Dmitry Chechulin, a prominent figure in Soviet architecture, in collaboration with Pavel Shteller, Vladimir Lukyanov, and their team at Mosproekt-1. The building’s design bears the unmistakable imprint of Chechulin's earlier, albeit unrealized, 1934 draft for the Aeroflot building.
The initial proposal by Chechulin envisioned the structure on Taganka Square, a location offering a commanding view of the city. However, the allure of the high bank of the Moskva River and its expansive vistas ultimately swayed the decision to the Krasnopresnenskaya embankment. This site, though perhaps initially deemed less convenient due to neighboring structures, offered a more dramatic and symbolic placement.
The House of Soviets was a pioneering feat of engineering for its time, employing a uniformly shaped prefabricated reinforced concrete frame with monolithic stiffness cores—a novel approach for multi-storey construction. Its exterior was clad in individual claydite concrete panels, meticulously finished with marble, lending it an imposing, yet refined, facade. The sheer scale of the complex was staggering, encompassing a total area of 732,000 square meters, with a substantial 132,000 square meters dedicated to office space. Beneath the surface lay a sophisticated three-level underground system housing parking facilities, bunkers, ventilation chambers, and refrigeration equipment. The building was further equipped with its own independent sewerage and power supply, a testament to its intended self-sufficiency. Whispers persist of subterranean passages connecting it to the metro system, though official confirmations remain elusive.
There's a curious anecdote regarding the flagpole atop the building. According to builder Felix Mikhailovich Ashurov, Chechulin ordered a three-meter reduction for aesthetic balance. However, fearing construction delays, the workers allegedly installed the original, longer flagpole in secret over a weekend.
Construction, a project that spanned many years, was finally completed in 1981, with a final cost exceeding 94 million rubles. The architects and designers behind this monumental undertaking, including Dmitry Chechulin, Vitaly Mazurin, and Yuri Dykhovichny, were recognized with the prestigious Lenin Prize. From 1981 until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, and continuing into the nascent years of the Russian Federation, the White House served as the venue for the Supreme Soviet of Russia, whose sessions were previously held in the Grand Kremlin Palace. In 1991, the building’s significance was immortalized on a 50-kopeck stamp, commemorating the resistance to the 1991 Soviet coup attempt.
Role in the 1991 Coup Attempt
The White House’s role as a symbol of resistance solidified during the tumultuous events of August 1991. As the State Committee on the State of Emergency attempted to seize power, the building became the focal point of opposition, led by Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Massive rallies erupted around its perimeter, with Yeltsin himself delivering impassioned speeches, most famously from atop a tank of the Taman Division on August 19.
A human chain of Muscovites, a living testament to their support for Yeltsin, encircled the building. Improvised barricades, constructed from scavenged materials like garbage cans, park fences, benches, and felled trees, sprung up around its base. Graffiti, charged with political messages, adorned the walls. By August 20, the scene was a sea of humanity, with an estimated two hundred thousand people gathered, including prominent public and political figures such as Ruslan Khasbulatov, Ivan Silayev, Alexander Rutskoy, Eduard Shevardnadze, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Andrey Makarevich. The building was spared a direct assault, a decision widely attributed to the potential for significant civilian and military casualties. These pivotal events, unfolding both at the White House and across the Soviet Union, became known as the August Coup. It was during this period that the building earned its enduring moniker, "White House," a name rapidly adopted by state media. In 1992, its image was featured on commemorative coins celebrating the "victory of democratic forces" and the anniversary of Russia's state sovereignty.
Forceful Dispersal of the Supreme Soviet of Russia
The relative peace was shattered by the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis. President Boris Yeltsin, through Decree No. 1400, dissolved the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Soviet of Russia. The White House found itself cut off from television and radio broadcasts. The Constitutional Court of Russia declared Yeltsin’s actions unconstitutional, leading to an emergency session of the Supreme Soviet, which resolved to defend the building.
A spontaneous rally coalesced around the White House, with protective detachments formed from security personnel, civilians, Cossack volunteers, and retired military personnel. Reports on the weaponry stored within the building vary. From September 23 to October 4, 1993, the Tenth Session of the Congress of People's Deputies convened in the White House, as the Grand Kremlin Palace conference hall was under repair. The Congress and the Supreme Soviet declared Yeltsin’s powers terminated, transferring them to Vice President Alexander Rutskoy.
The ensuing unrest in Moscow saw armed skirmishes, and the area surrounding the White House was designated a high-risk zone. Following a meeting of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the decision was made to storm the building. President Yeltsin authorized the deployment of Ministry of Defense troops to Moscow. During the assault, six tanks from the Taman Division, positioned on the Novoarbatsky Bridge, unleashed 12 shells upon the upper floors of the White House.
Arkady Baskaev, appointed commandant of the White House post-assault, asserted that the fire engulfing the building originated from tank shelling. Alexander Rutskoy, recounting the ordeal, stated:
"The first shell hit the meeting room, the second in Khasbulatov's office, the third in mine. And they were beaten with high-explosive shells, not insacks, as they claim today. The building will not burn from the dummy. I was sitting in my office when the projectile broke the window and exploded in the right corner [of the room]. Fortunately, my table was on my left. A stunned man came out of there. I don't know what saved me."
The shelling ignited a fire that raged across the 12th and 13th floors, consuming approximately 30% of the building's total area. The estimated damage reached a staggering 170 billion rubles. A correspondent for the Kommersant newspaper described the scene post-assault:
• "By order of the White House Commandant Major General Arkady Baskaev, there is enhanced security from assault rifles and special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on each floor. Such caution is by no means unnecessary, since armed supporters of parliament are still in the basements of the Armed Forces building. [...] In the first minutes after the assault, as soon as the shots subsided and special forces soldiers went to inspect the upper floors of the White House, streams of marauders rushed into the halls. [...] The inside [of] the parliament building is completely looted. Everything you can have [has] been carried away: TVs, phones, table lamps and even plumbing."
Ruslan Khasbulatov, citing eyewitness accounts published in Nezavisimaya Gazeta, claimed that approximately 1,500 victims perished, their bodies reportedly removed through secret passages.
End of the 20th Century and the Present
Following the constitutional crisis, Boris Yeltsin’s decree transferred control of the building to the Government of the Russian Federation, the executive branch. Reconstruction efforts commenced under their purview. The newly elected State Duma, established in December 1993 with its Imperial-era title, relocated to a different building on Moscow's Okhotny Ryad.
American architect Charles Jencks proposed a distinctive approach: marking the fire-damaged floors with black granite cladding. This idea was ultimately set aside in favor of restoring the building to its original appearance. Reports suggest Turkish workers were involved in the repairs on the upper floors. During the restoration, the tower clock was refurbished and reinstated, only to be replaced by a gilded double-headed eagle—the coat of arms of Russia—by late 1994. Simultaneously, a formidable fence was erected, separating the building from the embankment and effectively preventing public gatherings at its base. Despite this, protesters continued to assemble nearby, on the Humpback Bridge. In 1996, a chapel was consecrated in the adjacent Presnensky Park, dedicated to the memory of those who perished in the House of Soviets.
The restoration work, lasting nearly a year, concluded in 1994, with the Government of the Russian Federation occupying the renovated complex. An inscription at the tower's base now denotes its official name: "House of the Government of the Russian Federation." The third floor houses an office for the President of Russia. While the President traditionally convenes year-end meetings with the Council of Ministers in the White House, routine meetings are seldom held there. In 2008, a significant reconstruction of the fifth floor took place. Media speculation about the addition of a swimming pool and gym was not officially confirmed. A private restaurant opened on the twelfth floor a year later. Plans in 2012 to relocate government offices to a new federal center in Kommunarka were indefinitely postponed. The following year saw the installation of a helipad near the building.
In September 2020, the press service of the Government of the Russian Federation announced that the White House had been declared an emergency structure, citing issues with the roof and basement leaks. The government committed over 5 billion rubles for reconstruction purposes.
Architecture
Dmitry Chechulin's design for the White House drew heavily from his 1934 concept for the Aeroflot headquarters. That original project, conceived to commemorate the heroic rescue of passengers from the sunken steamship SS Chelyuskin by Soviet pilots, featured simplified forms. The proposed building's stylobate was envisioned to mirror the size of a ship, adorned with numerous sculptural elements. A prominent portico, reminiscent of a triumphal arch, marked the main entrance. While intended to redefine the cityscape around Belorussky railway station square, the Aeroflot building's scale and configuration proved incompatible with the site, and it was never realized.
Chechulin repurposed these plans in 1965 for the House of Soviets, though the final monument differed significantly from his initial vision. The White House presents a symmetrical, pyramidal composition, divided into three distinct sections. A robust base, accented by diverging ramps and a grand front staircase, supports a wide, seven-storey structure with flanking wings. Ascending from this is a twenty-storey tower with gracefully rounded edges. The rhythmic regularity of the windows is intentionally broken on the upper technical floor, where narrower openings create a visual shift. The building's exterior is clad in granite and white marble. Crowning the structure is a smaller tower, adorned with a gilded Russian coat of arms and a flagpole bearing the national flag. Including the flagpole, the building reaches a height of 119 meters; without it, 102 meters. This structure stands as the final major project of Dmitry Chechulin's career and remains a distinctive element of Moscow's urban panorama, defining the embankment's skyline.
The interior spaces are embellished with intricate, multicolored marble inlays. The main assembly hall, situated in the central section of the seven-storey base, overlooks the Moscow River. In total, the building houses 27 meeting and reception rooms.
Video: Government commission inside the former House of Soviets after assault and fire (October 1993)
Image: Project of the Aeroflot building by Dmitry Chechulin (1934)