Paperback, ill., 304 pp., 2007

An architect by education, the famous architectural history expert Dmitry Khmelnitsky has lived in Germany for the past twenty years. In Stalin the Architect, Khmelnitsky looks at Soviet architecture of the 1930s, 40s and 50s, suggesting that the “Stalinisation” of Soviet architecture had more to do with one man’s individual tastes than with ideological considerations. To support his argument, Khmelnitsky presents ample documentary evidence, including sensational material hitherto unpublished. Architecture under Stalin, he claims, was entirely determined by the likes, dislikes and strategic considerations of the supreme leader. Discarding the theory of evolution of style in Soviet architecture, the author insists on the purely personal nature of 1930s – 1950s architectural practice.

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