Lenin Square (Donetsk)

The square is named after Vladimir Ilyich Lenin , a Russian and Soviet political and statesman.

Until 1927, the square was called Haymarket due to the fact that there was a large Haymarket on it ^[1] . In 1927, the House of Soviets was built on the square, after which the square was renamed Sovetskaya ^[1] . Then the square was called Central. In the mid-1960s, the square got its current name.

Initially, the area occupied a smaller territory. On the east, south and north sides it was surrounded by a one-story residential and public building, and on the north side there was a nail factory ^[3] , a tram depot, the Bogomolov mansion and the horse farm of the city farm. Bogomolov’s mansion was two-story, white and decorated with stucco molding over window openings, as well as turrets on a high basement ^[5] . Noble meetings were held in it, and during the Civil War , the headquarters of Vladimir Aleksandrovich Antonov-Ovseenko was located in this mansion ^[1] .

At the place where Pervomaisky Square is currently divided, the First Soviet Hospital (former Zemstvo Hospital ^[1] ) and a veterinary clinic (in the modern view, the corner of Postyshev Street and Gurov Avenue) were located. From here, on June 15, 1928, the first Donetsk tram began operating, linking the city center with the railway station (Sovbolnitsa-Stalino Station, 8 km of track).

In 1929, the House of Soviets and the building of state institutions were built ^[2] . For the construction of the House of Soviets, the Bogomolov mansion and the horse farm of the city farm located on this site were demolished ^[1] . Since 1931, the concert hall of the Donetsk Regional Philharmonic has been located in the building of state institutions. In 1938, the Donbass Hotel was built.

In 1947, a nail factory was demolished, on the site of which a drama theater building will be further built ^[3] . In 1949, a veterinary clinic was demolished. In the liberated place they created a square named after Lenin, where they erected a monument to Lenin and a small fountain ^[6] . Due to the lack of building materials, the pedestal of the monument was lined with red tiles from burnt rocks ^[7] . The same red tiles from burnt rocks are facing the building, in the northeast corner of the square (corner of Postyshev Street and Gurov Avenue).

According to the plan for the formation of the public center of the city, developed in 1949 by Giprograd (architects V. M. Orekhov, L. L. Berberov , T. I. Bondarenko), Lenin Square was to become one of the suite of three interconnected squares: Central Administrative Square (Lenin Square) , Theater and Victory ^{[2] [8]} and spatially linked to Theater Square ^[2] . The central square in the plan was a rectangle of 140 × 480 m, stretched along Artyom Street from Komsomolsky Avenue to Gurov Avenue. Parterre squares were planned on the flanks adjacent to the avenues. The axis of the Central Square is Ilyich Avenue. At the highest point of the axis, it was supposed to build a new building of the House of Soviets ^[2] . In 1953, architects V.M. Orekhov, L.L. Berberov, T.I. Bondarenko developed a detailed plan for the city center, which made significant changes compared to the plan in 1949. In the new plan, they decided to abandon the creation of Victory Square ^[8] , and build a drama theater building not on Victory Square, but on Central, instead of the new building of the House of Soviets ^[2] .

In the early 1950s, residential and administrative buildings were built along the right side of Postyshev Street ^[2] . In 1951-1956, the building of the Ministry of Coal Industry of the Ukrainian SSR was built and the territory between Artyom and Postyshev streets was freed from the old buildings. In 1961, the building of the drama theater was built. In 1966, the 100th anniversary of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was reconstructed. According to one version, the monument to Lenin from Central Square was transferred to the Petrovsky district of Donetsk and installed in the square on Victory Square ^{[6] [8]} , but Yevgeny Yasenov refutes this version and indicates that the monument to Lenin on Victory Square was erected before the monument was removed both monuments existed simultaneously at the sosbolnitsa and for some time ^[9] . In 1967, a new monument to V.I. Lenin was erected on the square. Also in the 1960s, the Hospital was demolished.

Voroshilov RIC

The building of the Voroshilov District Executive Committee is the oldest in the square. It was built in 1929 as the House of Soviets . With its construction, the formation of the architectural ensemble of Lenin Square began ^[2] . The architect is Ludwig Ivanovich Kotovsky ^{[3] [10]} .

In 1934, the building was restored by the architect N. I. Porkhunov ^[11] . The reconstruction work was dedicated to the seventeenth anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution . During the reconstruction, the decoration of the building was completely changed and the fourth floor was completed ^[3] .

On the facade of the building there are memorial plaques in honor of the fact that Vladimir Ivanovich Degtyarev and Alexander Pavlovich Lyashko worked on it (opened on November 18, 2003 ^[12] ).

On August 21, 2007, the foundation stone of the monument to women miners was installed in the square in front of the building ^[13] .

Philharmonic

The building where the concert hall of the Donetsk Regional Philharmonic named after Sergei Prokofiev is located was built as a mirror copy of the building of the Voroshirovsky district executive committee - these buildings are similar in plan, but differ in design ^[11] . The building was built in the 1930s by Yuzhzhilstroi and was called the “building of state institutions”. It was designed by architect Ludwig Ivanovich Kotovsky . After World War II, the building of state institutions was significantly rebuilt ^[3] .

Memorial plaques are installed on the facade of the building:

• in honor of the fact that in September 1941 the headquarters of the 383rd miners' rifle division was located there ;
• in honor of the fact that in the building during the German occupation of the city in 1941-1943 there was an underground group that printed anti-fascist leaflets;
• in honor of the fact that the Philharmonic was named after Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev ;
• in honor of the fact that the organ on which Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky played was placed in the philharmonic.

Donbass Palace

The building of the Donbass Hotel was built in 1938 according to the design of I. I. Rechanik and A. A. Shuvalova. During construction, the project was revised by N.I. Porkhunov.

The lower floor of the hotel was made in the form of a powerful basement , and lined with dark brown polished granite. The three upper floors were finished with bay windows , with loggias between them. The fifth floor was made in the form of a light gallery with white half-columns in the walls. The corner tower is round, crowned with pilasters and a sculptural belt of marble. The building was crowned by a tower with a gilded spire ^[3] .

The building was partially destroyed in wartime. From 1947 to 1949, the hotel building was reconstructed according to the project of N. I. Porkhunov ^[1] . During the reconstruction, the dome part was not restored due to lack of funds. In 1971, the Donbass Institute of Civil Engineering carried out restoration work.

In 2000, the hotel owners decided to demolish the existing old building and build a new building in its place, which would correspond to the original design and include a dome. On February 26, 2001, the old hotel building was blown up.

The new building consists of five floors, two additional floors in the domed part and an office basement. Dimensions: 52 meters long, 44 meters wide and 34 meters high.

Fountain

In the 1950s, a fountain was installed on the square. The author of the fountain is the sculptor Sviridenko Maya Kuzminichna born in 1926.

The image of this fountain is used as the main figure on the coat of arms of the Voroshilov district of Donetsk.

In 2003, the fountain was restored ^[14] . A group of designers, electronics engineers, programmers of the GKP Donetskgorvodokanal added equipment for the fountain to work in light and music mode.

The hydraulic, light and software of the fountain are controlled by a system from a central computer and 288 microprocessors. The system involves 78 proportional valves and 210 underwater searchlights, which regulate the degree of luminescence ^[14] . The musical fountain’s repertoire includes works by composers Johann Sebastian Bach , Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , Johann Strauss , Ludwig van Beethoven , Boccherini and songs by contemporary popular singers ^[14] .

Minugleprom

The monumental administrative building, which previously housed the Ministry of Coal Industry of the Ukrainian SSR, was built in 1956. With its construction, Lenin Square received modern spatial identification, since by that time Pervomaisky Square had already been laid, which completed the square’s space on the north side, and residential and administrative buildings were constructed along the right side of Postyshev Street ^[2] .

The building is located along the south side of the square. The facade of the building is emphasized by a powerful 10-column portico of the Corinthian order . The columns reach the fifth floor, and above the sixth floor is a complex ledge with a large extension ^[2] .

Architects - V. M. Orekhov and V. R. Kostenko. A memorial plaque was installed on the facade of the building in honor of the fact that Alexander Fedorovich Zasyadko worked in it.

Drama Theater

The theater building was built in 1961. Architect - E. N. Chechik . The theater, with the exception of the stage part, is made in the form of an ancient Greek temple ^[2] . The facade is designed as a columned portico of the Corinthian order ^[1] .

The theater is located at the highest point on the transverse axis of Lenin Square, which is a continuation of Ilyich Avenue ^[2] . At this place, it was planned to build a new building of the House of Soviets, but changes were made to the plan for the formation of the public center of the city. Due to the fact that the theater building is squat and small in volume, unlike the planned building of the House of Soviets, the architectural merits of the ensemble of Lenin Square were reduced, the silhouette of the buildings was depleted and the square did not receive a complete architectural and spatial solution ^[2] .

In the architectural project of the theater, made in 1958, a pediment figure was planned, but it was abandoned during the construction of the theater because of the decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the USSR Council of Ministers of 1955 " On eliminating excesses in design and construction ." During the reconstruction of the theater in the 2000s, it was decided to install a sculpture on the pediment . Since the project documents did not preserve information about which figure was planned for installation, a new image was chosen ^[15] . They became the muse of the tragedy of Melpomene from ancient Greek mythology . She is depicted with a palm branch in her hands ^[16] . Height 3.5 meters (height was calculated based on the proportions of the entire architectural ensemble of the theater), weight - about a ton. The author is the sculptor Yuri Ivanovich Baldin . The sculpture was cast in bronze and installed on March 14, 2005.

Monument to Lenin

In 1967, in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution , a monument to Lenin was erected on the square, which is a monumental composition from a full-length sculpture of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and a separate pylon . The sculpture is made of bronze seven and a half meters in size ^[1] . It is mounted on a black and gray pedestal made of granite. Together, the sculpture and pedestal have a height of thirteen and a half meters. Near the monument is a trihedral pylon made of stainless steel forty-two meters high ^[1] .

The location of the monument was chosen for ideological reasons. It should not have been positioned in such a way that it turned its back to Makeevka (east), the building of the Ministry of Coal Industry (south) and the building of the regional party committee (west) ^{[1] [17]} , so the sculpture is facing south and its back to the north .

The authors of the monument are sculptor E. Kuntsevich and architects V. Ivanchenko and N. Ivanchenko. The pedestal and the pylon are on the granite stylobate , to which the staircase leads. On the pylon posted a quote from Lenin:

Under granite slabs, two time capsules are walled into the base of the pylon ^[18] :

Arbor of lovers

The arbor of lovers was established in 2007 ^[19] . This is a wrought-iron openwork arbor, which stands above the restored fountain of lovers in Pervomaisky Square. Given to the city by blacksmiths ^[19] .

Youth

The sculpture "Youth" was installed in Pervomaisky Square on July 9, 2008 ^[20] . It was presented to the city by the banker Vladimir Pavlovich Matvienko , who worked in Donetsk for twenty years ^[21] . On July 12, a grand opening took place ^[22] .

The sculpture was created by Ukrainian sculptor Nikolai Bilyk. Height - 3 meters 15 centimeters, weight - 5 tons ^[1] . It is made of Carrara marble and is a figure of a half-naked girl. This girl is the heroine of a poem by Vladimir Matvienko, whose quatrains are carved in stone next to the sculpture.

City-wide cultural events are regularly held on the square: concerts, rallies, exhibitions, sporting events; events dedicated to the city day, youth day, Europe day ; Miss Donbass beauty contests, Roses of Donetsk festivals, Easter Red and others. Mobile amusement parks are set up here . For concerts, a temporary scene is mounted. On New Year's Day, a Christmas tree is dressed up in the square.

• Monument to V.I. Lenin in Donetsk // Construction and Architecture. - 1968. - No. 4. -. 7: photo.
• Yasenov E. Volodya large and Volodya small // Walks in Donetsk. - Donetsk: Donetsk region, 2008. - S. 27-36. - ISBN 978-966-556-831-5 .
• A.I. Kravchenko. Lenin Square // Memorial places of Donbass: Guide / compiler A.Z. Didova. - Donetsk: Donbass , 1979. - S. 3-10.
• Monument to Lenin // TV Guide. Special issue. Donetsk is tourist. 150 best places for families. - Donetsk, August 2010. - No. 2 . - S. 6 .

• Yasenov E. From Ilyich to Ilyich ... (unopened) (inaccessible link) . Newspaper in Donetsk (October 2, 2008). Date of treatment September 28, 2009. Archived January 31, 2012.
• The opening of the monument to V.I. Lenin in the central square of Donetsk (November 1967) (neopr.) .
• Lenin Square. Reference point (unspecified) .
• 10 years to the fountain in the square (neopr.) . Date of treatment September 13, 2011. Archived November 25, 2012.
• So here you are, Lenin! (unspecified) .
• The origins of Lenin Square in Donetsk (Neopr.) .
• The evolution of Lenin Square: 1925-2012 (Neopr.) .