From ‘Red Manchester’ to ‘Red Disneyland’: Constructivist Architecture and the Representation of Ivanovo

Authors

  • Mikhail Timofeev Ivanovo State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15826/qr.2016.3.176

Abstract

The author studies the role of constructivist architecture in the cultural and historical heritage of the city of Ivanovo (known as Ivanovo-Voznesensk before 1932). Due to its becoming a large textiles center by the turn of the 20th century, the city transformed into the center of a new governorate in 1918 and the center of a major industrial region in 1929. As its population was rapidly growing, certain housing issues needed to be addressed and the new administrative status of the city implied the development of a proper infrastructure. This determined the formation of Ivanovo-Voznesensk as a model socialist city of pioneer architectural and engineering solutions. There appeared work settlements that realized the idea of a ‘garden city’, and in the second half of the 1920s – early 1930s, a few constructivist buildings designed by Moscow, Leningrad and local architects were built. During the 1950s, some of them were remodeled, and later on in the 1970s two unique buildings were demolished. Until the late 1990s, the architectural heritage of the 1920s – 1930s had not been regarded as an important part of the cultural heritage of the city. It was only as late as the 21st century that the value of the avant-garde heritage (whose part is the remaining constructivist ensemble of the city) was recognized by means of the activity of the Ivanovo Fine Arts Museum and the Museum of Industry and Arts. At present, more and more emphasis is put on the use of early Soviet culture in representation practices both by the media and administrative structures, controlling the work with the cultural heritage. According to the author, the fact that Ivanovo was at different stages of Soviet history represented as a ‘red Manchester’, the ‘homeland for the first Soviet’, and the ‘third proletarian capital’ makes it possible to use the architecture of the city as a unique symbolic asset in the project of ‘red tourism’.

Author Biography

Mikhail Timofeev, Ivanovo State University

PhD (Philosophy), Professor

References

100 % Ivanovo : Agitatsionnyy tekstil′ 1920–1930-kh godov iz sobraniya Ivanovskogo gosudarstvennogo istoriko-kraevedcheskogo muzeya im. D. G. Burylina [Agitation Textile from the Collection of the Ivanovo Historical Museum Named after D. G. Burylin]. (2010). 304 + 172 pp. Moscow, Pervaya publikatsiya.
XX vek : Montazh [20th Century. Montage]. URL: http://ivartmuseum.ru/exibitions/full_exib.php?id_exib=172&God=10&place=1 (mode of access: 27.05.2016).
Azeeva, G. T. (Ed.). (2011). Ivanovo-Voznesensk v pis′makh sem′i nemetskogo inzhenera Erbe [Iwanowo-Wosnessensk in Briefen der Familie des deutschen Ingenieurs Erbe].122 p. Ivanovo, A-Grif.
Akt gosudarstvennoy istoriko-kul′turnoy ekspertizy vyyavlennogo ob′′ekta kul′turnogo naslediya “Zdanie upravleniya Gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti pri Sovete Ministrov SSSR po Ivanovskoy oblasti”, raspolozhennogo po adresu: g. Ivanovo, prosp. Lenina, 37 [An act of State Historical and Cultural Commission on Expertise of the Object of Cultural Heritage “Building of the Direction of State Secutiry of USSR Council of Ministers”, located in Ivanovo, Lenin ave., 37]. URL: http://www.ivanovoobl.ru/UserFiles/file/org-isp-vlasti/komitet-OKN/vremenno/expertiza/akt25.pdf (mode of access: 28.05.2016).
Akt gosudarstvennoy istoriko-kul′turnoy ekspertizy po opredeleniyu kategorii istoriko-kul′turnogo znacheniya vyyavlennogo ob’’ekta kul′turnogo naslediya “Zdanie gostinitsy ‘Tsentral′naya’”, raspolozhennogo po adresu: Ivanovskaya oblast′, g. Ivanovo,
Sheremetevsky pr., d. 1/25 [An Act of State Historical and Cultural Commission on Expertise of the Object of Cultural Heritage “Building of the ‘Tsentralnaja’ Hotel”, Located in Ivanovo, Sheremetevsky pr., 1/25]. URL: www.ivanovoobl.ru/UserFiles/file/org-isp-vlasti/komitet-OKN/vremenno/expertiza/akt18.pdf (mode of access: 28.05.2016a).
Andreev, O. (n.d.). Krasnyy Manchester [Red Manchester]. URL: http://www.itogi.ru/obsch/2011/32/168192.html (mode of access: 24.05.2016б).
Anferova, N. (2007). Simvolicheskie reprezentatsii vlasti v kul′turnom landshafte Ekaterinburga: perekodirovka sovetskogo opyta [Symbolic Representations of Power in the Cultural Landscape of Yekaterinburg: A Re-coding of Soviet experience]. In Obóz : Problemy narodów byłego obozu komunistycznego, 49.
Barykin, N. (1937). Konkurs proektov [A Competition of Projects]. In Ivanovskaya oblast′ : ezhemesyachnyy politiko-ekonomicheskiy zhurnal, 1, pp. 125–127.
Barshch, M. & Vladimirov, V. (1929). Dom-kommuna. Stroykom RSFSR [Commune house. Stroikom RSFSR]. In Sovremennaya arkhitektura, 4, pp. 122–129.
Bass, V. (2007). Prodaetsya slavyansky shkaf, ili Arkhitektura pobedivshego man′erizma [A Wardrobe for Sale, or the Architecture of the Victorious Mannerism]. In Teoriya mody : Odezhda. Telo. Kul′tura, Iss. 3, pp. 411–430.
Butkovskaya, E. D. & Chernyakova, M. A. (n.d.). Ispol′zovanie mnogoobraziya arkhitekturnykh stiley goroda Magnitogorska v ekskursionnom turizme [The Use of Variety of Architectural Styles of Magnitogorsk in Excursion Tourism]. URL: http://www.scienceforum.ru/2014/pdf/2557.pdf (mode of access: 24.05.2016).
Bychkov, Yu. A. & Desyatnikov, V. A. (1981). Po “Zolotomu kol′tsu” Rossii : fotoputevoditel′ [Around the “Golden Ring” of Russia: A Photo-Guidebook]. 255 p. Moscow, Planeta.
Dmitriev, M. & Volovenskaya, S. (2007). Peyzazh s fabrikoy [A Landscape with a Factory]. In Regional′nyy al′bom, 2, pp. 8–13.
Doma-kommuny – reshayushchee zveno bytovoy revolyutsii [Commune Houses – the Decisive Part of the Revolution in Everyday Life]. (1930). In Rabochy kray, July 4.
Dubeykovsky, V. (n.d.). Konstruktivizm i brending gorodov [Constructivism and the Branding of Cities]. URL: http://citybranding.ru/konstruktivizm-i-brending-gorodov/(mode of access: 24.05.2016).
Efremova, E. N. (2015). “Zdes′ budet gorod-sad”: utopichesky obraz goroda v zavodskoy gazete Uralmasha [Here Will Be a Garden-city]. In Quaestio Rossica, 4, pp. 57–82. DOI 10.15826/QR.2015.4.126.
Ekspert Snitko khochet likvidirovat′ v Ivanove eshche odin pamyatnik konstruktivizma [Expert Snitko Wants to Demolish yet Another Monument of Constructivism in Ivanovo].URL: http://1000inf.ru/news/57749/ (mode of access: 27.05.2016).
Glebov, Yu. F. & Leshukov, T. N. (1981). Ivanovo : putevoditel′ [Ivanovo. A Guide].256 p. Yaroslavl, Verkhne-Volzhskoe knizhnoe izdatel′stvo.
Glebov, Yu. F., Leshchukov, T. N. & Loginov, S. F. (1968). Gorod Ivanovo : putevoditel′ [Ivanovo City. A Guide]. 160 p. Yaroslavl, Verkhne-Volzhskoe knizhnoe izdatel′stvo.
Golubev, N. (n.d.). “Ne otvechaet minimal’nym trebovaniyam oblastnogo tsentra” [“Not Corresponding to the Minimal Demands of the Regional Center”]. URL: http://1000inf.ru/news/55457/ (mode of access: 27.05.2016).
Il′chenko, M. S. (2015). Arkhitektura avangarda i sposoby vospriyatiya sovetskogo proshlogo v sovremennoy publichnoy ritorike [Avant-garde Architecture and the Ways to comprehend the Soviet Past in the Present-day Public Rhetorics].
In Vorob′eva, M. V. & Rabinovich, E. I. (Eds.). Sovetsky sotsiokul′turnyy proekt: istorichesky shans ili global′naya antiutopiya : materialy Mezhdunarodnoy nauchnoy konferentsii (X Kolosnitsynskie chteniya),24 aprelya 2015 goda (pp. 58–63). Yekaterinburg, Gumanitarnyy universitet. Khachaturov, S. (n.d.). Loskutki Velikoy Utopii [Scraps of the Great Utopia]. URL: http://www.mn.ru/newspaper/culture/70558 (mode of access: 27.05.2016).
Khan-Magomedov, S. (2001). Arkhitektura sovetskogo avangarda : v 2 kn. [Architecture of Soviet Avant-garde]. Book 2. Sotsial′nye problemy. 712 p. Moscow, Stroyizdat. Khmel′nitsky, D. S. (n.d.). Mif industrializatsii : Plany pyatiletok i zhil′e dlya stroiteley sotsializma [Myth of Industrialization. Five Year Plans and the Living Houses for the Builders of Socialism]. URL: http://archi.ru/lib/publication.html?id=1850569774 (mode of access: 27.05.2016).
Kropotov, S. & Litovskaya, M. (2007). Revitalizatsiya utopicheskogo v urbanisticheskom prostranstve: sluchay Ekaterinburga/Sverdlovska [Revitalization of the Utopian in Urban Space: The Case of Yekaterinburg / Sverdlovsk]. In Obóz : Problemy narodów byłego obozu komunistycznego, 49.
Lektsiya “’Gorod-sad” kak literaturnaya i arkhitekturnaya metafora “ivanovskogo teksta’” [Lecture “Garden city’ as a literary and Architectural Metaphor of ‘Ivanovo Text’”]. URL: http://www.culture.ru/events/93484/lektsiya-gorod-sad-kak-literaturnaya-i-arhitekturnaya-metafora-ivanovskogo-teksta (mode of access: 27.05.2016).
Lichak, N. A. (2010). Razrushenie pamyatnikov tserkovnogo zodchestva v Ivanovo-Voznesenskoy gubernii v 1920–1930-kh godakh [The Demolition of Monuments of Church Architecture in Ivanovo-Voznesensk Governorate in the 1920s – 1930s]. In Izvestiya Tul′skogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Ser. Gumanitarnye nauki, 2, pp. 83–91.
Litovsky, O. S. & Mayorov, I. A. (1925). Krasnyy Manchester : Ivanovo-Voznesenskaya guberniya : khudozhestvennyy al′bom [Red Manchester. Ivanovo-Voznesensk Governorate]. Part 1. 358 p., 450 fotoil. Ivanovo-Voznesensk, Izdanie “Reklamoprovintsii” pri gazete “Rabochiy Kray”.
Malevich, K. (n.d.) Deklaratsiya U-eli-stov [A Declaration of U-eli-sts]. URL: http://kazimirmalevich.ru/t5_1_3_12/ (mode of access: 27.05.2016).
Malinova, O. Yu. (2013). Problema politicheski “prigodnogo” proshlogo i evolyutsiya ofitsial′noy simvolicheskoy politiki v postsovetskoy Rossii [The Problem of Politically ‘Suitable’ Past and the Evolution of Symbolic Politics in Post-Soviet Russia]. In Politicheskaya kontseptologiya, 1, pp. 114–130.
Manuil′sky, M. (1930a). Nado stroit′ doma-kommuny [We Ought to Build Commune-houses]. In Rabochy kray, Feb. 4, 5, 6.
Manuil′sky, M. (1930b). Sotsialistichesky gorod – ne fantaziya [A Socialist City is not a Fantasy]. In Rabochy kray, Feb. 8.
Mayakovsky, V. V. (1955). Polnoe sobranie sochineny : v 13 t. [Full Collection of Works in 13 volumes]. Vol. 9. Stikhotvoreniya 1928 goda (p. 51). Moscow, Goslitizdat.
O dopolnenii i chastichnom izmenenii postanovleniya Soveta Ministrov RSFSR ot 30 avgusta 1960 g. № 1327 “O dal′neyshem uluchshenii dela okhrany pamyatnikov kul′tury v RSFSR” : postanovlenie № 624 Soveta Ministrov RSFSR ot 4 dekabrya 1974 g. [Decree № 624 of Council of Ministers of RSFSR as of Dec., 4, 1974]. URL: http://ppt.ru/newstext.phtml?id=10498 (mode of access: 27.05.2016).
Prikhod′ko, A. F. & Glebov, Yu. F. (1972). Ivanovo: putevoditel′ [Ivanovo: A Guide]. 191 p. Yaroslavl, Verkhne-Volzhskoe knizhnoe izdatel′stvo.
Progulki po gorodu [Walks around the city]. (2015). 108 p. Ivanovo, Referent.
Sabsovich, L. (1930). Sotsialisticheskie goroda [Socialist Cities]. 124 p. Moscow, Gosizdat RSFSR, Moskovsky rabochy.
Semenova, A. (n. d.) Navylet [Through the Heart]. URL: http://1000inf.ru/news/45995/ (mode of access: 27.05.2016).
Smirnov, L. (n. d.). Konstruktivizm kak brend Sverdlovska [Constructivism as a Brand of Sverdlovsk]. URL: http://old.arch66.ru/articles/1/90/ (mode of access: 27.05.2016).
Stepanov, A. V. (2012). Odna imperiya, tri puti razvitiya [One Empire, Three Ways of Development]. In Proekt “Manchester”: proshloe, nastoyashchee i budushchee industrial′ nogo goroda. 180 p. Ivanovo, Izdatel′stvo Ivanovskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta.
Strategiya razvitiya gorodskogo okruga Ivanovo do 2020 goda (skorrektirovannaya) [Strategy of Development of the City District of Ivanovo until 2020 (Corrected)]. URL: http://www.ivgorduma.ru/files/document/521/proekt-strategii-razvitiya-gorodskogo-okruga-ivanovo-do-2020-goda.pdf (mode of access: 27.05.2016).
Taganov, L. N. (2006). “Ivanovsky mif” i literature [“Ivanovo Myth” and Literature].340 p. Ivanovo, MIK.
Tikhomirov, A. M. (1996). Khramy Ivanovo-Voznesenska [Temples of Ivanovo-Voznesensk].137 p. Ivanovo, MIK.
Tikhomirov, A. M. (2011). Ivanovo. Ivanovo-Voznesensk : Putevoditel′ skvoz′ vremena [Ivanovo. Ivanovo-Voznesensk. A Guidebook through the Ages]. 328 p. Ivanovo, Referent.
Tikhomirov, A. M. (2012). Ivanovo : putevoditel′ [Ivanovo. A Guide]. 80 p. Ivanovo, Referent.
Tikhomirov, A. M. (2013). 10 luchshikh osobnyakov Ivanovo-Voznesenska [10 Best Mansions of Ivanovo-Voznesensk]. 160 p. Ivanovo, Referent.
Timofeev, M. (2006). Russky, krasnyy i rossiysky Manchester, ili Ivanovo kak nezavershennyy proekt [Russian, Red and Russian Manchester or Ivanovo as an Incomplete Project]. In Nasha rodina – Ivanovo-Voznesensk, 5, pp. 43–46.
Timofeev, M. Yu. (2014). “Samyy sovetsky gorod”: arkhitekturnyy kapital do vostrebovaniya [“The Most Soviet City”: Architectural Capital to be Called for]. In Krasnokamsk: integratsiya v budushchee : materialy konferentsii “Arkhitekturnoe nasledie sotsgorodov –bremya proshlogo ili resurs razvitiya?” 27–28 noyabrya 2013 g. (pp. 68–74). Krasnokamsk,Perm, Liter-A.
Timofeev, M. Yu. (2014). “Sovetsky gorod”: instruktsiya po ekspluatatsii [“Soviet City”: A Manual]. In Lipatov, N. V. (Ed.). Regional′naya identichnost′ v istoricheskom i kul′turnom prostranstve Rossii : VIII Sytinskie chteniya : materialy mezhdunarodnoy nauchno-prakticheskoy konferentsii, posvyashchennoy pamyati istorika C. L. Cytina : v 2 ch. Ul′yanovsk, 25–26 sentyabrya 2014 g. Part 1, pp. 108–113. Ulyanovsk, Korporatsiya tekhnologiy prodvizheniya.
Timofeev, M. Yu. (2015). Nasledie ivanovo-voznesenskogo konstruktivizma kak resurs razvitiya goroda [Heritage of Ivanovo-Voznesensk Constructivism as aResource for Development of Cities]. In Problemy rossiyskoy istorii : Sotsialistichesky gorod i sotsiokul′turnye aspekty urbanizatsii, Iss. 13, pp. 310–320. Magnitogorsk, Magnitogorskiy dom pechati.
Timofeev, M. (2015). Simulyakry i simulyatsii vozvrashchayutsya [Simulacra and Simulations Are back]. In 1000 ekzemplyarov, 7. URL: http://1000inf.ru/news/52075/ (mode of access: 27.05.2016).
Timofeev, M. (2016). Potaennyy konstruktivizm Ivanovo-Voznesenska [The Secret Constructivism of Ivanovo-Voznesensk]. In Russkoe iskusstvo, 1, pp. 16–23.
Timofeev, M. Yu. (2016). Sovetskoe, znachit ivanovskoe (Ekspozitsiya “Kommunizm + Kommuna = Kommunalka” v Dome-muzee pervogo Soveta) [Soviet Means Ivanovo (Exhibition “Communism + Commune = Communal Flat” in the House Museum of the First Soviet)]. In Labirint : Zhurnal sotsial′no-gumanitarnykh issledovany, 1–2, pp. 86–92.
Tolstova, A. (n. d.). Revolyutsionnyy sitchik : Ivanovsky agitatsionnyy tekstil′ na gastrolyakh v Moskve [Revolutionary Chintz. Ivanovo Agitation Textile in Moscow]. URL: http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1634061 (mode of access: 27.05.2016).
V. G. (1931). V etom zhe godu nachat′ postroyku doma-kommuny [Start the Construction of the Commune House This Year]. In Rabochy kray, July 2.
V-in A. (1930). Za doma-kollektivy [For the Houses-collectives]. In Rabochy kray,Jan. 12.
Zav′yalov K. (1933). Korabl′ : ocherk [The Ship: An Essay]. 59 p. Ivanovo : IvGIZ.

Published

2016-09-30

How to Cite

Timofeev, M. (2016). From ‘Red Manchester’ to ‘Red Disneyland’: Constructivist Architecture and the Representation of Ivanovo. Quaestio Rossica, 4(3), 72–92. https://doi.org/10.15826/qr.2016.3.176

Issue

Section

Vox redactoris