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was opened at the National Gallery for Foreign Art. It was organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the State Reseach Museum of Architecture named after A. V. Schusev, the State Museum and Exhibition Center ROSIZO and the National Gallery for Foreign Art.

The exhibition features 119 projects, archival photographs, schemes, blue-prints, and other images presenting the cultural avant-garde in Soviet Russia in the 1920s and 1930s.

The architectural avant-garde is well-known and profoundly researched in its country of origin. It is assessed as significant cultural and historical heritage, revolutionary and inseparable from the fundamental changes that took place in Russia after 1919. Being one of the most inimitable phenomena of Russian art, avant-garde is closely related to the experiments of Malevich, the constructivist performances of Meierhold, to Mayakovsky and the tower-monument of Tatlin called The International, to the original system of training in architecture, to the activity of ASNOVA (Association of New Architects) and, naturally, to the large-scale realistic construction of the 1920s and 1930s.

The social orientation of construction was a major trend in architectural avant-garde. During its relatively short existence there were some bulky buildings constructed, that are bound to stay “for ever and ever”. Due to the historical and economical context of this decade, the so called trade union “clubs” were especially striking examples of “the cultural revolution in the country of the triumphant socialism”. For a short time, there were built many trade union clubs that embodied the concept of the multiple functions of these installations.

The exhibition displays works of distinguished authors of this remarkable decade, of architects like Melnikov, Golosov, as well as Huhmanov’s book Architecture of the Club published in 1930, which introduces the concept of architecture of the clubs and the palaces of culture.

The exhibition shows projects of the Palace of Culture competition which was planned to be erected on the area of a large workers’ district as a centre of the proletarian origin bearing major ideological significance. Projects of huge audience halls are on display, which make it possible for the spectators to actually participate in the performances together with the actors. Finishing the construction of the Palace of Culture in the Proletarian region in 1937 put an end to the “epoch” of similar constructions.

Further development unfolds in the direction of designing single, self-contained edifices – halls, stadiums, sports grounds and libraries. This revolutionary epoch comes to an end with the epochal competition for the building of the Unions in Moscow, which raises brings forth many legends, controversial evaluations and interpretations.

The exhibition will last until January 20th, 2009.