Giant monument to the Soviet Union in the center of Europe

For almost thirty years, disputes over the fate of Joseph Stalin's gift to the Polish people have not ceased in Poland. For more than 60 years, a gigantic Stalinist skyscraper has risen in the very center of the European capital, which is second only to the main building of Moscow State University in Moscow.

The history of the most famous Stalinist skyscraper outside the USSR began in 1951. There is information that Joseph Stalin personally decided to present the Palace of Culture and Science to the fraternal Polish people, the Soviet Union took all the costs of building the skyscraper. Jozef Sigalin, Warsaw’s chief architect, was informed of the gift by Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov during his visit to Poland. In the future, many called this gift an offer that could not be refused, and some even today consider this building a symbol of enslavement.

Soon, the Warsaw architect was commissioned to develop plans and recommendations for Soviet architects and builders who would arrive in Poland to erect a gift. But in reality, the help of the Poles was needed only in choosing a place for construction (in the very center of Warsaw, so that it could be seen from anywhere in the city), the whole development of the project was carried out by Soviet specialists under the guidance of the architect Lev Rudnev, the author of the main building of Moscow State University. About 3,500 Soviet workers arrived to build the skyscraper in the Polish capital, they built a 237-meter building in just three years! The grand opening of the palace took place in the summer of 1955.

The building became the largest Stalinist skyscraper after the famous building of Moscow State University. Today, the skyscraper is the largest in Poland and is one of the top European skyscrapers. And in the early 2000s, a clock was installed on the building and the skyscraper became the tallest building in the world with a clock (such a title lasted for a skyscraper for two years).

On the thirtieth floor of the building there is a large observation deck, which still remains one of the most visited places in Poland by tourists. In addition, the building houses museums, theaters, a university, an office center and much more, this is a huge multifunctional skyscraper.

Soviet monumentality of construction!

Find five differences from the wardrobe of any Soviet theater?)

In general, the entire capital of Poland was restored and built like many Soviet cities. Therefore, sometimes Warsaw is very difficult to distinguish from any Novosibirsk or Yekaterinburg.

The friendship between the two countries ended in the 90s, and since then, talk about how to destroy the Soviet legacy has not ceased. Polish politicians compare the Soviet skyscraper with the Berlin Wall and demand destruction, once in several years there is talk again and again about dismantling the building into several parts, then about an explosion by the forces of the Polish army.