The Image of the Soviet Far East in the Architecture of Regional Pavilions at Agricultural Exhibitions in Moscow (1923–1954)

Abstract

With a new stage in the development of the Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy, which began after the year 2014, and the increased interest of a wide range of researchers in the history of architecture of the country's main exhibition complex, specifically in evolution of the architectural and planning composition of the pavilions, their architectural images are of particular importance. The article discusses the changes in the perception of the Russian Far East in the context of the Soviet culture of the 1920-s - early 1950-s, drawing on the versions of the Far Eastern pavilions at the major national exhibitions in Moscow of 1923, 1937, 1939, and 1954. On the basis of archival documents, publications in periodicals, projects, and photographs, the features of the architectural composition of the pavilions, the genesis of their forms, and architectural image are investigated. The special atmosphere of the national exhibitions held in Moscow was generated not only by the need to demonstrate economic achievements but also to represent easily readable cultural codes that formed the national image of the country. The transformation of the image of the Far East through the architecture of its pavilions was one of such cultural messages that influenced the formation of a regional architectural school as well. In this context, the example of a pavilion, representing a complex and the most remote from the capital region, seems especially interesting from the point of view of the changes that have occurred both in the region itself and in its perception by architects and artists working on the image of the Far Eastern pavilion for the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition, Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy, and previous exhibitions.