The Lubyanka Building
Lubyanka, commonly referred to as the headquarters of the Border Guard Service (an FSB agency) and its associated prison, is located on Lubyanka Square in Moscow, Russia. This expansive Neo-Baroque structure, featuring a yellow brick facade designed by Alexander V. Ivanov in 1897 and expanded by Aleksey Shchusev from 1940 to 1947, was once the central office of the KGB. Soviet hammer and sickle symbols are visible on the building's exterior.
Description[]
The Lubyanka structure houses the Lubyanka prison, the Border Guard Service headquarters, a KGB museum, and a segment of the FSB. Some sections of the prison have been transformed into a museum, though obtaining special authorization is necessary for visits.
The lower levels feature granite construction adorned with Soviet crests.
History[]
Origins[]
Originally constructed in 1898 as the headquarters for the All-Russia Insurance Company, the Lubyanka building occupies the location where Catherine the Great once housed her secret police. Designed by architect Alexander V. Ivanov, the structure is recognized for its parquet floors and pale green walls. Despite its massive size, the building doesn't convey a sense of heroic scale. Instead, Palladian and Baroque details are somewhat obscured in a repeating palace facade with horizontal emphasis through three cornice bands. The uppermost band features a centered clock.
Previously, a fountain adorned Lubyanka Square in front of the building. After the Bolshevik Revolution in 1918, the government repurposed the structure as the headquarters for the secret police, then known as the Cheka. The prison within became operational in 1920, detaining notable individuals like Boris Savinkov, Osip Mandelstam, Gen. Władysław Anders, and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. In Soviet humor, it humorously earned the title of "the tallest building in Moscow" as Siberia, a metaphor for the Gulag labor camp system, was said to be visible from its basement. While the prison is situated on the top floor, the absence of windows led most prisoners, and the general public, to believe they were held in the basement.
KGB[]
During the Great Purge, the offices at Lubyanka became increasingly cramped due to the growing staff numbers. In 1940, Aleksey Shchusev was tasked with enlarging the building. By 1947, his new design had effectively doubled Lubyanka's size horizontally, with the original structure occupying the left half of the facade when viewed from the street. Shchusev added another storey and extended the structure by incorporating adjacent buildings from backstreets. His design emphasized Neo-Renaissance detailing, but only the right part of the facade was constructed in the 1940s under his direction, due to war-related hindrances.
Raoul Wallenberg was held in the Lubyanka prison and reportedly died there in 1947. According to the KGB, interrogations ceased at Lubyanka in 1953 after Stalin's death.
In 1957, Russia's largest toy shop opened on the opposite side of Lubyanka Square, replacing a medieval cannon foundry. The fountain at the square's center was replaced in 1958 by an 11-ton (or 14-ton, or 15-ton) statue of Felix Dzerzhinsky ("Iron Felix"), the founder of the Cheka.
In 1972, Vasili Mitrokhin moved 300,000 KGB files from the Lubyanka building, later providing them to British intelligence in 1992.
The building's asymmetric facade remained intact until 1983 when the original structure was reconstructed to match the new build, following the plans of Shchusev. This reconstruction was prompted by Communist Party General Secretary and former KGB Director Yuri Andropov.
Despite the Soviet secret police undergoing name changes, their headquarters remained in this building. Secret police chiefs from Lavrenty Beria to Andropov used the same office on the third floor, overlooking the statue of Cheka founder Felix Dzerzhinsky. The ground floor of the building served as a significant prison, featuring prominently in Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's book "The Gulag Archipelago." Notable individuals held, tortured, and interrogated there included Sidney Reilly, Greville Wynne, Raoul Wallenberg, Ion Antonescu, Osip Mandelstam, Genrikh Yagoda, János Esterházy, Alexander Dolgun, Rochus Misch, and Walter Ciszek.
In the 1980s, the prison underwent a transformation into a cafeteria for KGB staff.
Post-KGB[]
Following the dissolution of the KGB in 1991, the Lubyanka transformed into the headquarters of the Border Guard Service of Russia, housing both the Lubyanka prison and serving as one directorate of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB). A museum of the KGB, now known as the Historical Demonstration Hall of the Russian FSB, was opened to the public.
In 1990, an employee of the Lubyanka, Katya Mayorova, was crowned Miss KGB, marking the inaugural "security services beauty title." The same year, the Solovetsky Stone was erected across from the Lubyanka to honor the victims of political repression. August 1991 saw the removal of the statue of Felix Dzerzhinsky from the center of Lubyanka Square. During that year, Western visitors were granted access to tour the building's prison for the first time. A 2004 documentary at the Lubyanka showcased the remains of Adolf Hitler, as well as those of Joseph and Magda Goebbels.
Hitler's personal Golden Party Badge, discovered by the Red Army after the capture of Berlin, was stored in the Lubyanka. In 2005, the badge was stolen when guards believed a cat had triggered alarms, enabling the burglar to escape.
In 2015, the Lubyanka's front door was intentionally set on fire by Pyotr Pavlensky, a performance artist. He was released from jail six months later. In 2017, a sizable church was consecrated next to the Lubyanka building on the grounds of the Sretensky Monastery. This church is dedicated to the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Orthodox Church, including those who were executed at Lubyanka. In December 2019, a shooting incident occurred in the vicinity of the Lubyanka.
Modernity[]
In 2008, the wing of the house located on Myasnitskaya Street was designated a cultural heritage site. In 2011, it underwent reconstruction, during which reports surfaced about the potential installation of a helipad on the building's roof. According to Viktor Petrakov, the head of Rosokhrankultura, the helipad had been in existence for an extended period. Despite the lack of protection for the roof, the Moscow Department of Cultural Heritage representatives asserted that the project was unauthorized, and the reconstruction lacked proper documentation. Details of the facades' restoration, occurring in 2013-2014, remained undisclosed due to the object's classified status.
The toponym "Lubyanka" has become a widely recognized term due to the activities of government agencies within the building. Over time, phraseological units associated with the house have emerged. In 2015, ahead of the opening of the reconstructed "Children's World" opposite the Lubyanka, a stylistic advertisement was released: "Do you love a child? Take me to the Lubyanka." This campaign triggered a strong negative reaction in society.
Regular rallies and pickets occur near the FSB building and the adjacent Solovetsky Stone monument. In October 2018, ongoing single-person rallies were conducted near the house in support of prisoners involved in the cases of the New Greatness and Network Case organizations. In November 2016, artist Petr Pavlensky staged a protest action by setting fire to the main entrance of the building, expressing dissent "against continuous terror." He was fined for damaging a cultural heritage site, although it was later revealed that the original door had been removed long ago.