Kremlin gas station on Volkhonka

“The gas station was supposed to be part of the huge complex of the Palace of Soviets, which they wanted to build on the site of the temple that was blown up in 1931 . But in the end, the Moscow pool was opened here, and the gas station was the only reminder of the grandiose plans. (...) Almost all the original parts remained intact, except for the columns themselves - they were replaced with new ones several years ago ” ^[2] .

Another gas station, built according to a similar project, was abandoned and was located in the Airport area, at Chernyakhovsky Street , between 16 and 18, and was demolished around 2012.

Novaya Gazeta tried to clarify the ownership: “By the way, on the Internet there are a bunch of official city-planning documents, where refueling is spoken of as an object of the FSO . But the FSO itself told me that 16 do not know or heard about any gas station on Volkhonka, the information is closed, and that’s it. ” ^[5]

In the 2010s, it was decided to turn the neighboring Pushkin Museum into a museum town , for which it is planned to rebuild the quarter. The gas station, which occupies a large space opposite the Cathedral of Christ the Savior , was in danger of demolition ^[3] . In particular, among the models presented by the famous English architect Norman Foster , a five-leafed building is depicted in its place. Later this idea was rejected, however, in 2013, when discussing the project at the Arch Council, among the recommendations made to the museum, a proposal was made to transfer the gas station to another place and build an exhibition hall in its place ^[6] .

Among the voiced places is the transfer “to a more organic architectural environment for him (for example,“ Houses on the Embankment ”or the constructivist“ Garage ”)” ^[7] .

The “life” of a gas station extends the fact that it is not owned by the city of Moscow, but belongs to federal structures ^[3] . The site is part of the protected area of ​​the federal monument and has the subject of protection, so nothing can be designed there until a legal solution to this issue ^[8] .

The coordinator of the public organization " Archnadzor " Rustam Rakhmatullin believes: "The desire of the Architectural Council to build up this territory is only a desire. This site is a territory of monuments, namely the estate of princes Golitsyns , Volkhonka, 14. In this territory it is impossible not only to ruin or demolish the house, but also to build up space. Only in restoration mode ” ^[3] .

The Museum Town funding project, published in the fall of 2013, involves “the construction of a FSO Russia gas station to free up the territory for the construction of a parking and exhibition center - the estimated commissioning date is 2015” ^[9] .

In September 2013, news appeared that the FSO refueling is unlikely to interfere with the implementation of the museum town project on the basis of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (GMII), since this project does not yet exist, a source in one of the design organizations told RIA Novosti. Commenting on the corresponding statement of the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Vladimir Medinsky .

In 2016, it was announced that this territory would nevertheless be included in the Museum Town of the Pushkin Museum. “But, as the museum assured, the Soviet gas station, which has the status of an architectural monument, will be preserved. The construction of the town is carried out around the gas station. “We plan to use the gas station as a ticket office and an information center,” explained the deputy director for development of the Pushkin Museum. A. S. Pushkina Anna Trapkova ” ^[11] .

In December 2017, it was announced that the building was moved to the Kremlin Embankment, and a transformer concert hall of the Pushkin Museum will be erected in its place ^[12] .