Kuntsevo District
Encyclopedia
Kuntsevo is a district of Western Administrative Okrug
of Moscow
, Russia
. Population:
. Kuntsevo is the site of the Church of Theotokos Orans. In the 19th century, Kuntsevo became a summer resort for the Muscovites. A summer theater was opened in 1890. Artists and writers lived and worked in Kuntsevo; among them Nikolay Karamzin, Ivan Turgenev
, Vasily Perov
, and Ivan Kramskoy.
Kuntsevo became a town in its own right in 1926. On December 4, 1941 German troops reached Kuntsevo during the Battle of Moscow
before being repulsed. In 1960, it became a part of Moscow. Now a district of Moscow, it contains many factories, residential areas, and has a well-connected infrastructure. Kuntsevo is reported to be the location of the Strategic Missile
Command center.
instructed his architect, Miron Merzhanov
, to build him a dacha
on the bank of the Moskva River
and moved there in 1934. With his move other members of the nomenklatura
had their dachas built in the surroundings. Stalin conducted much of his business from his Blizhnyaya Dacha ("nearby dacha"). It was heavily protected and included a double-perimeter fence, camouflaged 30-millimeter antiaircraft guns, and a security force of three hundred NKVD
special troops. Stalin died at the dacha in 1953.
Western Administrative Okrug
Western Administrative District, or Zapadny Administrative Okrug , is one of the ten administrative okrugs of Moscow. The district was founded in 1991 and has an area of...
of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Population:
History
In the 18th century, a palace and a park were built; they were often visited by the Empress Catherine IICatherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
. Kuntsevo is the site of the Church of Theotokos Orans. In the 19th century, Kuntsevo became a summer resort for the Muscovites. A summer theater was opened in 1890. Artists and writers lived and worked in Kuntsevo; among them Nikolay Karamzin, Ivan Turgenev
Ivan Turgenev
Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright. His first major publication, a short story collection entitled A Sportsman's Sketches, is a milestone of Russian Realism, and his novel Fathers and Sons is regarded as one of the major works of 19th-century...
, Vasily Perov
Vasily Perov
Vasily Grigorevich Perov ; 2 January 1834 – 10 June 1882) was a Russian painter and one of the founding members of Peredvizhniki, a group of Russian realist painters....
, and Ivan Kramskoy.
Kuntsevo became a town in its own right in 1926. On December 4, 1941 German troops reached Kuntsevo during the Battle of Moscow
Battle of Moscow
The Battle of Moscow is the name given by Soviet historians to two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated Hitler's attack on Moscow, capital of...
before being repulsed. In 1960, it became a part of Moscow. Now a district of Moscow, it contains many factories, residential areas, and has a well-connected infrastructure. Kuntsevo is reported to be the location of the Strategic Missile
Strategic Rocket Forces
The Strategic Missile Troops or Strategic Rocket Forces of the Russian Federation or RVSN RF , transliteration: Raketnye voyska strategicheskogo naznacheniya Rossiyskoy Federatsii, literally Missile Troops of Strategic Designation of the Russian Federation) are a military branch of the Russian...
Command center.
Kuntsevo Dacha
Communist leaders started to settle in Kuntsevo in the 1920s. Joseph StalinJoseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
instructed his architect, Miron Merzhanov
Miron Merzhanov
Miron Ivanovich Merzhanov, born Meran Merzhanyantz , was a Soviet architect of Armenian descent, notable for being the de-facto personal architect of Joseph Stalin in 1933–1941...
, to build him a dacha
Dacha
Dacha is a Russian word for seasonal or year-round second homes often located in the exurbs of Soviet and post-Soviet cities. Cottages or shacks serving as family's main or only home are not considered dachas, although many purpose-built dachas are recently being converted for year-round residence...
on the bank of the Moskva River
Moskva River
The Moskva River is a river that flows through the Moscow and Smolensk Oblasts in Russia, and is a tributary of the Oka River.-Etymology:...
and moved there in 1934. With his move other members of the nomenklatura
Nomenklatura
The nomenklatura were a category of people within the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries who held various key administrative positions in all spheres of those countries' activity: government, industry, agriculture, education, etc., whose positions were granted only with approval by the...
had their dachas built in the surroundings. Stalin conducted much of his business from his Blizhnyaya Dacha ("nearby dacha"). It was heavily protected and included a double-perimeter fence, camouflaged 30-millimeter antiaircraft guns, and a security force of three hundred NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
special troops. Stalin died at the dacha in 1953.