Vysotniye Zdaniya

Identification

Plan

Faits

• Although these "Stalinist Gothic" towers weren't completed until the mid-1950s, their designs were in fact conceived during the 1930s at a time when similar style towers were being constructed in New York City.
• These are the main buildings to dominate the skyline of Moscow for over forty years.
• Often derided in the West during the Cold War, and nicknamed "Stalin's Wedding Cakes".
• Sonstsevo, a small worker-settlement for those involved in the construction of the Vysotniye Zdaniya, was built near the city before construction commenced. Today it is one of Moscow's suburbs.
• Aside from the buildings of the Kremlin these are the most famous buildings in Russia, with extensive exposure in movies and souvenirs.
• Before construction the developers surveyed the towers' visibility from around the city by launching zeppelins to the future positions of the spires.
• A few similar buildings were built elsewhere, including the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, Academy of Sciences in Riga, and South Urals State University in Chelyabinsk.
• 21st century skyscrapers inspired by the Seven Sisters include Triumph-Palace and Edelweiss in Moscow and Triumph of Astana in Astana, Kazakhstan.