Pavilion No. 27 “Physical Education and Sport” at VDNH

This pavilion is one of the few surviving from the pre - war All - Union Agricultural Exhibition. It was built in 1939-1940 according to the project of architects M. 3. Kraevsky andFani Belostotskaya in the territory connected to the exhibition, which before that belonged to the Ostankino park . Both at the time of construction and in our time, the pavilion is located at a noticeable distance from everyone else. The pavilion was erected in the Art Deco style and in plan is a pentagon, which symbolizes the five-pointed Soviet star, emphasizing the theme of the pavilion, which was originally dedicated to the International Organization of Assistance to the Fighters of the Revolution (IDRM) . The facade of the pavilion is decorated with pilasters, and a bas-relief with banners and a Soviet star is placed above the main entrance (in 1954 it was replaced by the sign “ Ready for work and defense ”). The roof is crowned with a five-pointed turret, which was completed by the sculpture group "Proletarians", which has not survived to the present day ^{[2] [3]} .

The exposition devoted to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Trade did not manage to accommodate in the pavilion, since in 1940 the Baltic countries were annexed to the Soviet Union, and it was decided to give the pavilion to the newly formed Estonian , Latvian, and Lithuanian SSRs. During the post-war reconstruction of the exhibition, three separate pavilions were built for the republics, and pavilion No. 27 changed its subject, called “Physical Education and Sport”. On the alley leading to the pavilion, sculptures “Football Players” were installed (sculptor Vasily Monakhov ), “Basketball Players” (sculptor Yuri Pommer ) and "Climber and Climber" (sculptor Evgeny Abalakov ) ^{[2] [3]} .

Also on the facade were marble slabs with statements by Vladimir Lenin , Joseph Stalin and Mikhail Kalinin on the subject of physical education and sports. Boards with quotes from Lenin and Stalin were subsequently dismantled, but a board with a quote from Kalinin was preserved:

The exposition, located in the pavilion in 1954, was dedicated to the history, development and individual achievements of Soviet sports. The stands on the sports competitions held in the USSR, as well as the participation of Soviet athletes in international competitions, awards received by Soviet athletes, samples of sports equipment and equipment were demonstrated. Also in the pavilion there was a sports hall for VDNH workers, and a small stadium was located nearby ^{[2] [3]} .

In the post-Soviet years, the exposition was abolished, and the pavilion remained in an orphan state for a long time. In November 2017, the restoration of the pavilion was completed, in which it is now planned to place a lecture hall and sports sections ^[4] .

• Zinoviev, A.N. Ensemble of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition: Architecture and Construction. - M. , 2014 .-- 408 p. - ISBN 978-5-9903159-2-1 .
• Nefyodov P., Korobyina I. Guide to VDNH. - M .: ABCdesign, 2014 .-- 240 p. - ISBN 978-5-4330-0033-9 .

• Pavilion "Physical Culture and Sports" on the website of VDNH
• Pavilion No. 27 “Physical Culture and Sports” on the website “Discover Moscow”