The life, death and resurrection of the cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Moscow

Gentes, Andrew A.

doi:10.1093/hwj/1998.46.63

Cited by 7 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…In other cases, post-socialist regimes seek to directly reach back to the pre-socialist past to create landscapes that reflect their aspirations. The rebuilding of the nineteenth century Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow (Gentes 1998;Sidorov 2002) is one such example. A further strategy is to build entirely new landscapes that express post-socialist values and project a sense of purpose and confidence.…”

Section: Capital Cities Urban Landscapes and Post-socialist Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban space, political identity and the unwanted legacies of state socialism: Bucharest's problematic Centru Civic in the post-socialist era

Light¹,

Young

2013

Natl. pap.

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This paper explores the relationship between the urban cultural landscape of Bucharest and the making of post-socialist Romanian national identity. As the capital of socialist Romania, central Bucharest was extensively remodelled by Nicolae Ceauşescu into the Centru Civic in order to materialize Romania's socialist identity. After the Romanian “Revolution” of 1989, the national and local state had to deal with a significant “leftover” socialist urban landscape which was highly discordant with the orientation of post-socialist Romania and its search for a new identity. Ceauşescu's vast socialist showpiece left a difficult legacy which challenges the material and representational reshaping of Bucharest and constructions of post-socialist Romanian national identity more broadly. The paper analyzes four attempts to deal with the Centru Civic: developments in the immediate post-1989 period; the international architectural competition Bucureşti 2000; proposals for building a Cathedral of National Salvation; and the Esplanada project. Despite over 20 years of proposals central Bucharest remains largely unchanged. The paper thus deals with a failed attempt to re-shape the built environment in support of national goals.

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Section: Capital Cities Urban Landscapes and Post-socialist Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%