Kuntsevo Dacha
Encyclopedia
The Kuntsevo Dacha was Joseph Stalin
's personal residence near the former town of Kuntsevo (now part of Moscow
's Fili
district), where he spent the last two decades of his life and died on 5 March 1953. The building is set in a forest not far from the modern-day Victory Park.
The so-called "nearer dacha
" (Ближняя дача) was built in 1933-34 to Merzhanov
's designs. One storey was added to the original wooden building in 1943. It was in Kuntsevo that Stalin lived during World War II
. It was there that he played host to such high-profile guests as Winston Churchill
and Mao Zedong
.
The interiors of the dacha were rather simple and featureless. The Soviet leader seldom left his study, let alone visited the second storey (although a lift
was installed on his orders). There was a sports ground for playing gorodki
. The dacha was heavily protected. Its defenses included a double-perimeter fence, camouflaged 30-millimeter antiaircraft guns, and a security force of three hundred NKVD
special troops.
After Stalin's death the Marx-Engels-Lenin-Stalin Institute set up a commission to make arrangements for a Stalin museum at Kuntsevo.
Nikita Khrushchev
discarded the idea, and the dacha stood unoccupied for several decades. The building is still shrouded in secrecy. The grounds are fenced and closed to ordinary visitors.
Joseph 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...
's personal residence near the former town of Kuntsevo (now part 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...
's Fili
Fili (Moscow)
Fili is a former suburban village, now a neighborhood in the western section of Moscow, Russia, notable for the events of September 1812, following the Battle of Borodino. The village was located between the Moskva River and Poklonnaya Hill, near the present-day Fili station of Moscow Metro and...
district), where he spent the last two decades of his life and died on 5 March 1953. The building is set in a forest not far from the modern-day Victory Park.
The so-called "nearer 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...
" (Ближняя дача) was built in 1933-34 to 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...
's designs. One storey was added to the original wooden building in 1943. It was in Kuntsevo that Stalin lived during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was there that he played host to such high-profile guests as Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
.
The interiors of the dacha were rather simple and featureless. The Soviet leader seldom left his study, let alone visited the second storey (although a lift
Lift
Lift may mean:* Lift , a mechanical force generated by an object moving through a fluid* Lift , rising air used by soaring birds and glider, hang glider and paraglider pilots for soaring flight...
was installed on his orders). There was a sports ground for playing gorodki
Gorodki
Gorodki is an ancient Russian folk sport whose popularity has spread to Karelia, Finland, Sweden, Ingria, Lithuania, and Estonia. Similar in concept to bowling and also somewhat to horseshoes, the aim of the game is to knock out groups of skittles arranged in various patterns by throwing a bat at...
. The dacha was heavily protected. Its defenses 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.
After Stalin's death the Marx-Engels-Lenin-Stalin Institute set up a commission to make arrangements for a Stalin museum at Kuntsevo.
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
discarded the idea, and the dacha stood unoccupied for several decades. The building is still shrouded in secrecy. The grounds are fenced and closed to ordinary visitors.