The Vienna Architectural Center dedicated its 19th Congress to Soviet modernism and the architecture of the republics of the USSR in the period 1955-1991. This event was preceded by a lot of preparatory work, trips to all republics, meetings with living authors of the best structures, interviews with them, working in archives, searching for documents, project materials and publications. Its result was an exhibition entitled “Soviet Modernism 1955–1991. Unknown Stories”, presented in the exhibition hall of the Center in the museum quarter of the Austrian capital and a 350-page catalog published in German and English, containing publications on the architecture of each republic, interviews with the authors of the structures and many illustrations covering almost all worthy objects … Large-scale posters were posted around the city inviting people to the exhibition, which opened on November 8th and will run until February 25th.
The Congress opened with a greeting from the Director of the Center, Dietmar Steiner, and was distinguished by a meaningful discussion, in which more than twenty speakers representing the newly independent states and Russia, as well as researchers of Soviet modernism from Austria, Germany, Canada, the United States and the Czech Republic, took part. The guests of the congress were the long-term chief architect of Baku, Rasim Aliyev, and the outstanding Armenian architect Hrach Poghosyan.
The idea of holding the "Last Congress of Architects of the USSR" within the framework of the congress was warmly welcomed by the organizers and it was included in the program of the first day. The Moscow "delegation" included the famous Soviet architects Antsuta, Vasilevsky, Gnedovsky, Larin, Likhtenberg, Logvinov, Kosinsky, Krasilnikov, and was headed by the President of the SA of Russia Andrei Bokov, who opened the "congress" with the message "The State and the Union of Architects." I spoke with recollections of architectural "restructuring", Yuri Gnedovsky presented a slideshow on Russian modernism, Andrei Kosinsky showed his works in Uzbekistan, and Igor Vasilevsky ended the "congress" with a demonstration of a "flying saucer" in Yalta.
More than two hundred people took part in the work of the congress and the exhibition enjoys wide public attention. As a result of the second day of discussion, the Congress unanimously adopted a petition with the following content.
Petition of the 19th Vienna Congress of Architecture
“XIX Vienna Architecture Congress“Soviet Modernism 1955–1991”, held on November 24–25 at the Vienna Architectural Center as part of the exhibition“Soviet Modernism 1955–1991. Unknown Stories”was devoted to the study of the architecture of this period in the former republics of the Soviet Union and the issues of its preservation. During the congress, the high artistic value and historical significance of this architectural heritage as an integral part of world culture was recognized. The congress participants consider it necessary to preserve, scientific restoration and restoration of buildings of this era. The Congress appeals to the governments, public organizations and cultural institutions of the newly created independent states - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Estonia - with an urgent request to recognize the value of these structures and ensure their safety for future generations."
Vienna, 25 November 2012
It can be assumed that thereby the legacy of Soviet modernism received an invitation to the world architectural history. It should now be up to us, Russia, our turn to show all the diversity of the content of the Soviet modernist movement. With the joint efforts of the Shchusev Museum of Architecture, the Union of Architects of Russia, RAASN and MAAM to create a worthy exposition with an appropriate catalog and hold an international conference dedicated to this topic. The bar set by the Vienna Center for Architecture - exhibition, catalog and level of discussion - is quite high. It is our duty to surpass her. After all, the USSR was our country.
