The White House (Russian: Белый дом, romanized: Belyy dom, IPA: [ˈbʲɛlɨj ˈdom]), officially the House of the Government of the Russian Federation (Russian: Дом Правительства Российской Федерации, romanized: Dom pravitelstva Rossiyskoi Federatsii), also known as the Russian White House and previously as the House of Soviets of Russia, is a government building in Moscow. It stands on the Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment. The building serves as the primary office of the government of Russia and is the official workplace of the prime minister. It was built from 1965 to 1981 according to the design of architect Dmitry Chechulin to house the People's Control Committee and the Supreme Soviet of Russia. During the failed August 1991 coup attempt, the building became a center of resistance to the State Committee on the State of Emergency. The structure was badly damaged during the 1993 constitutional crisis and was subsequently repaired.
History
Construction and use in the Soviet Union
In 1965, construction of the House of Soviets began to accommodate the administrative bodies of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) at this site. The plan for the reconstruction of the territory was prepared by a group of architects known as Mosproekt-1, led by Dmitry Chechulin, Pavel Shteller, Vladimir Lukyanov, and others, alongside a team of engineers. The overall design follows Chechulin's 1934 draft of the Aeroflot building. Initially, Chechulin proposed constructing the building on Taganka Square, which rises above a significant part of the city, as the site on the Krasnopresnenskaya embankment was inconvenient due to nearby buildings; however, because of the good view alongside the high bank of the Moskva River, the current location was chosen instead. The House of Soviets was the first multi-storey building in which a uniformly shaped prefabricated reinforced concrete frame with monolithic stiffness cores was used. Outside, the structure was lined with individual claydite concrete panels, which were previously finished with marble. The total area of the complex was 732,000 square meters, with a total area of office space around 132,000 square meters. The building was designed with a complex three-level system of underground floors, where parking, bunkers, ventilation chambers and refrigeration equipment were located. The structure was equipped with a separate sewerage and an autonomous power supply system. There is a theory that the building is connected by underground passages to subway tunnels, but official sources do not confirm or refute this information. According to the memoirs of one of the builders, Felix Mikhailovich Ashurov, when installing the flagpole, Dmitry Chechulin ordered it to be shortened by three meters for a more harmonious combination of proportions; however, due to possible delays, workers were ordered to install the already prepared bar in secret from the architect over a weekend. Construction was completed in 1981, with a total cost exceeding 94 million rubles. After the completion of the project, team leader Dmitry Chechulin, architect Vitaly Mazurin, and designer Yuri Dykhovichny were awarded the Lenin Prize. From 1981 to 1993, the Supreme Soviet of Russia, which had until then held its sessions in the Grand Kremlin Palace, used the White House. The Supreme Soviet of Russia remained in the building until the end of the Soviet Union in 1991, as well as during the first years of the Russian Federation. In 1991 the Soviet Union issued a 50-kopeck stamp depicting the White House and honoring resistance to the 1991 Soviet coup attempt.
Role in 1991 coup d'état attempt
In August 1991, the House of Soviets became the center of a confrontation against the State Committee on the State of Emergency. The opposition was headed by Russian president Boris Yeltsin, in support of whom large-scale rallies were held around the building. During this period, Yeltsin repeatedly spoke to the audience, with his most famous speech being delivered on August 19 from a tank of the Taman Division. At that time, the building was surrounded by a living chain of Muscovites who supported the president. An improvised barricade was built around the building, using materials such as garbage cans, fences of nearby parks, benches, and sawn trees. Protestors also painted graffiti of political topics on the walls of the building. By August 20, approximately two hundred thousand people had gathered around the structure including public and political figures Ruslan Khasbulatov, Ivan Silayev, Alexander Rutskoy, Eduard Shevardnadze, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Mstislav Rostropovich, Andrey Makarevich, and others.
The building was not stormed, presumably due to the possible number of civilian and military casualties. Later, the events that took place near the walls of the House of Soviets and elsewhere in the Soviet Union were defined as the August Coup. It was during this period that the name "White House" was assigned to the building, which was widely used by the state media. In 1992, the building was depicted on the back side of commemorative coins in honor of the "victory of democratic forces" and the anniversary of Russia's state sovereignty.
Forceful dispersal of the Supreme Soviet of Russia
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