Gosprom was built in the 20s of the last century, it is considered the most famous object of Soviet constructivism and is under the protection of UNESCO.
Russia continues its rocket attack on Kharkov. On the night of October 28, the invaders attacked the city center, hitting the legendary State Industry building on Freedom Square. Derzhprom was built in the 20s of the last century. It is considered the most famous object of Soviet constructivism and is protected by UNESCO.
Scale of destruction
A direct hit from Russian bullets completely destroyed one of the building’s walls and the ceiling above the third floor. The right one is at the entrance where the economic court is located, in the office of one of the judges. Derzhprom is a civilian facility and has no military significance.
Unique building
Gosprom is the tallest building in Kharkov and one of the largest constructivist buildings in the post-Soviet space. Some researchers call it the “Soviet skyscraper”: the total height of the building is 108 meters, of which 45 is the TV tower on the roof of one of the buildings. Despite its size, the building was built very quickly: preparations for construction began in the summer of 1925, and the opening was timed to coincide with the 11th anniversary of the revolution, November 7, 1928. The reason for such a strict deadline is the special purpose of the building: it was built for the government of Soviet Ukraine – Kharkov was the capital of the Ukrainian SSR until 1934.
Unique engineering solutions save time – a team led by Pavel Rottert is responsible for them. Up to 80% of the work was mechanized, and industrial reinforced concrete was used as the main material – at that time the newest material. In addition to chief engineer Rottert, architects Sergei Serafimov, Samuil Kravets and Mark Felger worked on the building; the project for which they won an architecture competition is called Uninvited Guest.
Complex geometry
Gosprom consists of three parts with H-shaped plans. Between the tall buildings there are air spans at different levels, from the fourth floor to the eighth. The building is built in a semicircle around Freedom Square. The architect Serafimov wrote that he tried to “show a factory, a plant turned into a palace.” British modernist scholar Owen Hatherley noted that Gosprom’s complex geometry gives “the dizzying feeling of being in an imaginary, but less visible Fritz Lang city, where you can walk and touch everything thing.”
When the capital of the Ukrainian SSR was moved to Kyiv in 1934, the building was occupied by the Kharkov Regional Executive Committee of the Communist Party. During World War II, German troops used it for stables and burned it down before retreating in 1943, but the building survived.
Another crime
Now there are offices in Derzhprom. The building remains a symbol of Kharkov: in 2018 it was recognized as an architectural monument of national importance. Over time, many of the original details have been changed, including the materials and shape of the window frames. Despite this, in 2017, Derzhprom was nominated as a candidate for the UNESCO World Heritage List. It still has no status, but in September 2023, the organization added the building to the list of objects for “enhanced protection” – along with Hagia Sophia in Kyiv, the historical center of Lviv and other Ukrainian monuments. This means that its damage is considered a serious violation of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its Second Protocol, adopted in 1999.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.