The Will to Power

the seven sisters in concept art by soviet Russian architects

 

Gargantuan. Brutal. Imposing. Such was the trend of 20^th century international architecture, a feat that symbolized the exponential growth of technology, economic systems, and quality of life for citizens around the globe. The United States, and New York in particular, began gaining recognition for their mountainous skyscrapers that captivated inhabitants and tourists alike. This captivation served as a reminder of the successes followed by progress made under the capitalist economic model, and international powerhouses after the World War were keeping keen eyes on the awe bestowed on these new giants in the sky.  As the smoke began to settle after the victory of the Second World War, Joseph Stalin had new challenges. How does Russia remain dominant on an international scale? How can the critiques of communism be nullified?  The western cultural model had been viewed as favorable than the perceived drab model of the Soviets, how can this perception be flipped? Stalin, among a plethora of other projects over the coming decades, began to incite notions of Russia becoming the holistic international powerhouse.

Russia, with the objective success of the World War, became one of the central international forces that would go on to become a geopolitical and technological mainstay and powerhouse for the remainder of the 20^th century into the 21^st century. Stalin’s vision for the future of Moscow and the country was wildly ambitious in scope and would require an innovation to the very identity of the Soviet culture and design. While projects for an injection in skyscraper aesthetics were in contention for construction before the world war, structures never came into fruition in large part due to the urgency of the war taking precedence over an aesthetic makeover. Only until after the war did Stalin begin to significantly consider the plans and intentions of the buildings that would come to be known as The Seven Sisters.

Stalin, envious of the awe incited by the skyscrapers of capitalist cities such as New York, anxiously hatched a series of plans that would see the construction of Baroque and Gothic style-influenced skyscrapers that would stand out from the rather paltry size of the surrounding buildings and infrastructure. What Stalin envisioned was not only the construction of aesthetically pleasing, if not monumental, buildings that would captivate tourists and incite discussion of Russian superiority in design contrasted with Western design; he envisioned a foundation to the idea that Communist Russia was philosophically superior than the capitalist-consumer culture that began emerging in the West after the world war. Physically imposing, the stature of the buildings would serve as a philosophical symbol of the power and prosperity of the Soviet Regime. This mindset would serve as the root for the current state of power that Russia holds, albeit with some philosophical tweaks in their system of government since the conclusion of the war. Stalin’s idea of the city of Moscow serving as the center of Russian success stands today, with the Seven Sisters serving as beacons of progress and power. Begining with physical powers dominating the view, Moscow would begin to engineer its place in the pantheon of infleuntial movements that stand today. The Seven Sisters serve as the physical and symbolical foundation to the might of Communist Russia and its 20th century struggle for dominance over the West.