Development of revolutionary avant-garde movement in the architecture of Petrograd — Leningrad according to the rigid town-planning canons of imperial St. Petersburg. Part 1. From Peter the Great to V. I. Lenin

Abstract

The article is devoted to consideration of some significant features of the development of Petrograd’s architectural avant-garde movement. It takes into account those most impressive, full of pathos, landmarks and fully-manifested plans and proposals that sought to create unique, vertical dominants of global significance. These include, namely, “Tatlin’s Tower” (1919) and the “Monument to V. I. Lenin” (1924). Both monuments were proposed to be located in Holy Trinity Square in Petrograd. Features of project-proposals for these objects are studied and there are revealed some surprising regularities of the formulation of these revolutionary ideas in line with imperial St. Petersburg’s traditions of town planning, thereby designating the uniqueness of the Petrograd architectural avant-garde as a successor (in many respects) to the imperial St. Petersburg town-planning school. Refs 52. Figs 9.