For the first time, you can stroll through one of the masterpieces of constructivist architecture in Sverdlovsk-Yekaterinburg—the former Dzerzhinsky Community Center (Center of Culture), including a peek into the basements and courtyard, where regular visitors never go! It now houses the Museum of History and Archaeology of the Urals (Yekaterinburg, Lenin Avenue, 69/10).

The five-story building of the former Dzerzhinsky Community Center is a historical and architectural monument of federal significance. It was built in the 1930s, along with the complex of the famous Chekist Town, according to a design by an architectural group led by Ivan Antonov.

We'll admire the façade of this monument to constructivist architecture from various angles, and then, with tour guide Lyubov Dvinskikh, we'll explore the building's legendary cellars and courtyard, explore the foyer, and ascend the magnificent grand spiral staircase, gazing at the wooden five-pointed star on the ceiling. We'll also descend the lesser-known service staircase, exploring the former grand auditorium, dance hall, and other spaces.

You'll learn who built the famous Chekist Town in Sverdlovsk and when, why its residents and other citizens came to the Dzerzhinsky Club, how many Sverdlovsk residents visited the Club during Soviet times, what was in the building's basements, and where the popular Voentorg store operated. What curious details locals recall about the Club's stunning spiral staircase, which corners of the building were considered meccas of happy Soviet childhoods, where busts of Felix Dzerzhinsky and Joseph Stalin stood, which films became the highest-grossing at the Dzerzhinsky Club cinema, which Soviet pop stars performed on the Club's stage, and how its history is connected to the Ural writer Pavel Bazhov, among many other stories.

You'll see rare photographs chronicling the construction of Soviet Sverdlovsk during the industrialization era, along with archival documents and photographs from the museum's collection.

Filming and editing by Alexey Travkin

Learn more about the tour "Light and Shadows of the Chekist Palace of Culture":
https://uole-museum.ru/events/ekskurs...

Learn more about the Ural History and Archaeology Museum:

https://uole-museum.ru/museums/muzej-...