TL;DR
Russia’s state broadcasting network plans to dismantle almost all of Moscow’s 1922 Shukhov radio tower on Shabolovka and replace it with a replica by 2028. Preservation specialists say replacing the original steel would effectively destroy engineer Vladimir Shukhov’s landmark structure.
The Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network (RTRS), owner of Moscow’s landmark Shabolovka Tower, plans to dismantle almost all of the 1922 structure this fall and replace it with a replica by 2028, according to a report by the news outlet Meduza. Specialists cited in the report say the overhaul would be tantamount to destroying engineer Vladimir Shukhov‘s best-known work, because preserving the original metal matters as much as preserving the tower’s shape.
The 144-meter (about 470-foot) tower is a lattice hyperboloid structure built between 1919 and 1922 in Moscow’s Shabolovka neighborhood. It was the Soviet Union’s first and main radio transmitter, later its main television tower, and remained Moscow’s tallest structure until 1953. Meduza reports that RTRS, the state network that owns the tower, intends to take apart nearly all of it and erect a replica in its place by 2028, describing the project as a restoration.
Specialists interviewed for the report dispute that characterization. They argue that replacing the original steel would amount to the destruction of Shukhov’s engineering achievement, since the material itself carries historical value beyond the tower’s silhouette. The structure is regarded as a landmark of engineering from the New Economic Policy era.
Shukhov held a patent on lattice hyperboloid structures, built from straight metal rods set at angles and secured by rings. The design made the Shabolovka tower strong but light: its 48 supports each carried one forty-eighth of the total weight, allowing thinner rods, less metal than conventional towers, and shallow foundations — archival drawings suggest the supports extend only about three meters into the ground despite a base roughly 40 meters across.
Why the Original Steel Matters
The dispute turns on the difference between a replica and a preserved monument. Specialists say a rebuilt tower, however faithful in shape, would no longer be the structure Shukhov’s team erected a century ago. The tower is one of the few surviving major works by an engineer whose innovations — from hyperboloid structures to petroleum refining equipment — shaped both Russian industry and modern architecture.
The tower is also a cultural touchstone: Alexander Rodchenko photographed it in his celebrated 1920s–1930s series, and it appeared on the cover of Vladimir Mayakovsky’s book “The Flying Proletarian”. Its loss would remove a defining feature of the Shabolovka neighborhood and a widely admired example of early Soviet engineering from the era of Vladimir Lenin, who personally backed the project and called radio a “newspaper without paper and without distance.”
From Comintern Tower to Landmark
When it opened in 1922, the structure was called the Comintern Radio Tower. Lenin had signed a decree in 1919 ordering a powerful radio station built in Moscow “with extraordinary urgency.” The tower transmitted its first television signal in 1937, with regular broadcasts beginning March 10, 1939, and served as the Soviet Union’s main television tower until the Ostankino Tower was built.
Shukhov originally designed the tower at 350 meters — taller than the Eiffel Tower — but metal shortages during the Civil War forced a scaled-down, six-section version. Akim Nikolayev, chairman of the Radio Council, recalled having to “fight” the military for metal from warehouses in Smolensk. The tower was erected by telescopic assembly, with sections built at ground level and raised one after another. Accounts of a fatal cable accident during construction and a possible “suspended death sentence” for Shukhov remain disputed; engineer Airat Bagautdinov says official sources show no death from the snapped cable, though two workers died under other circumstances.
“They chose the highest site they could find as close to the Kremlin as possible.”
— Alexandra Selivanova, architectural historian and former director of the Shabolovka Avant-Garde Center
Disputed Plans and Unverified Stories
It is not yet clear exactly how much of the original structure RTRS intends to preserve, what will happen to the dismantled steel, or whether any portions of the 1922 metal will be retained in the rebuilt tower. Meduza’s report does not specify whether the project has received final approval or a precise construction schedule beyond the 2028 target.
Historical details about the tower’s construction also remain contested. The claim that a worker died when a cable snapped during the lifting of the fourth section, and that Shukhov received a “suspended death sentence,” rests largely on a single source — Shukhov’s own diary — and, according to Bagautdinov, no one has searched the Federal Security Service’s archives for corroborating documents.
The Path to 2028
Dismantling work is planned to begin this fall, with the replica slated for completion by 2028, according to Meduza. Preservation advocates and architecture specialists are likely to continue pressing for the original metal to be saved rather than replaced. Further details on the project’s scope, timeline, and treatment of the historic steel are expected from RTRS as work proceeds.
Key Questions
What is happening to the Shukhov radio tower in Moscow?
Its owner, the state broadcaster RTRS, plans to dismantle almost all of the 1922 tower this fall and replace it with a replica by 2028, according to Meduza. The project is described as a restoration, but specialists say replacing the original steel would effectively destroy the landmark.
Why is the Shabolovka Tower significant?
Built 1919–1922 by engineer Vladimir Shukhov, it was the Soviet Union’s first and main radio transmitter and later its main television tower. Its lattice hyperboloid design was an engineering landmark, admired worldwide and photographed by Alexander Rodchenko.
How tall is the Shukhov tower?
The tower stands 144 meters (about 470 feet) and was Moscow’s tallest structure until 1953. Shukhov originally designed it at 350 meters — taller than the Eiffel Tower — but metal shortages during the Civil War forced a smaller version.
Will any of the original steel be preserved?
That is not yet clear. Reports say almost all of the original steel will be replaced, and it is unknown whether any portions will be retained in the rebuilt structure.
Source: rss
