The Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy (VDNKh) in Moscow was built on the site of the Ostankino swamps, where a gypsy camp was located with its wagons. In 1934, it was dispersed and grandiose pavilions were erected.
The exhibition (originally called the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition) was opened on August 1, 1939. At the entrance, a 24-meter sculptural group "Worker and Collective Farm Woman" by Vera Mukhina was installed. Not long before that, the sculpture was exhibited at an exhibition in Paris and made a splash.
City from "Thousand and One Nights"
The exhibition has become a favorite vacation spot for Muscovites and guests of the capital. In a large old park adjacent to it, a recreation area was laid out, various attractions worked: a parachute tower, a Ferris wheel, a laugh room, carousels. A playground with playgrounds was created for children. In addition, a green theater, a concert stage, a circus and two cinemas were built.
The success of the exhibition was enormous. More than 3 million people visited it from August 1 to October 25. The famous Danish communist writer Andersen-Neksø, who was among the first guests, described it as follows: “Before us is an Exhibition that resembles with its 52 pavilions the city from“A Thousand and One Nights”. Each nation of the USSR received its specific place at the Exhibition. The result is a picture that, despite the fact that it only covers the peoples of the Soviet Union, gives a deeper understanding of humanity than those world exhibitions that I have seen so far!"
Critic Alfred Basseches could not help admiring the picture of food abundance: “Mountains of fruits, unheard of, amazing in their splendor, lay in the windows and on the floor of the pavilions. The cheeses rose like heavy millstones. Bunches of grapes surrounded bottles of old, aged wine, in which the reflections of the far south played. The stands of the northern pavilions were filled with precious animal skins. Huge cucumbers, watermelons, melons, magnificent skins, fine silk, sheaves of selected wheat curving under the load of grain - all this immense wealth of the country of socialism literally overwhelmed the mind."
2 thousand guides and a thousand group guides worked at the exhibition. 200 guides served foreign guests, whose interest in the Soviet exhibition was unusually high. In 1940, the exhibition ran for five months and was attended by almost 5 million people.
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Anti-aircraft guns were installed on the territory of the exhibition during the difficult war years, and all the pavilions were closed. Interestingly, during the entire war, not a single enemy bomb fell on the 136 hectare territory of the exhibition.
What is “Friendship of Peoples” based on?
After the war, the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition again received visitors only on August 1, 1954. Its goal was to widely promote the achievements of agriculture and the fastest introduction of advanced experience into collective and state farm production.
To take part in the post-war exhibition, it was necessary to achieve better results than before. So, to participate in the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition in 1939, the collective farm of the Non-Black Earth Belt had to collect 12-14 centners of wheat per hectare, and in 1954 - no less than 19!
By this time, the architectural appearance of the exhibition had radically changed. Huge construction work was carried out, its area increased significantly - up to 207 hectares. The pavilions of the Baltic republics were erected, as well as the pavilion "Uzbekistan" - one of the most beautiful. The entrance to this pavilion was decorated with an openwork rotunda; a fountain was arranged inside, emphasizing the lightness and grace of its columns.
The main pavilion, a powerful colonnade, six-meter sculptural groups, numerous bas-reliefs, a 35-meter spire crowned with a golden star were completed. A monument to Vladimir Lenin was erected in front of the pavilion. But the 30-meter sculpture of Stalin was dismantled and buried somewhere on the territory of the exhibition. According to rumors, the Friendship of Nations fountain was built at the burial site.
Almost the entire plant world of the Soviet Union was presented on the territory of the exhibition. The exhibition town was decorated with 40 thousand ornamental trees, 450 thousand shrubs, about 5.5 million annual and perennial flowers. The pride of the exhibition gardeners was the rose garden - about 50 thousand varietal roses grew in it!
From morning to evening, an endless stream of visitors was drawn to the livestock pavilions. In 1954 alone, this section showed 800 heads of cattle of 32 breeds, 800 sheep of 53 breeds, 500 pigs of 30 breeds, 3 thousand heads of poultry. From early morning in the livestock town there was a liveliness: the animals were scraped, cleaned, washed. And then representatives of farms in national costumes showed their pets to the authoritative jury and spectators.
On the basis of the exhibition, training in new methods of work was carried out, and excursionists' visits to advanced farms were practiced. The excursion activities were improved, groups of excursionists were formed from workers of the same profession.
Under a new name
In June 1956, the All-Union Industrial Exhibition began its work on the territory of the All-Union Industrial Exhibition, the main task of which was to demonstrate the success of the industry. The first Soviet electronic computer was shown at the exhibition. By the way, the creation of this technique in the USSR began in 1948.
The Mechanical Engineering Pavilion became one of the main pavilions of the industrial exhibition. Samples of new technology were demonstrated in open areas adjacent to it. It was here that the first Soviet passenger jet airliner was exhibited, designed and built under the leadership of the outstanding aircraft designer Andrey Tupolev.
In 1958, it was decided to combine the exhibitions into one under the name VDNKh (Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy) of the USSR.
And on June 16, 1959, the exhibition hospitably opened the doors of its pavilions for visitors. Exhibition activities began to be built according to the production and industry principle. Thematic exhibitions and reviews have become of paramount importance in the work of all pavilions. On their basis, the exchange of experience and training of workers in industry, construction and agriculture were widely carried out.
Such an organization made it possible to significantly speed up the introduction of new technology into production, as well as modern labor methods.
VDNKh of the USSR, like a mirror, reflected the main milestones in the life of the country. So, after Yuri Gagarin's flight into space, the exhibition was decorated with a copy of the Vostok launch vehicle.
Since 1992, VDNKh has a new name - All-Russian Exhibition Center (VVC). Moreover, in the dashing 90s, the All-Russian Exhibition Center was considered an exhibition rather formally. The pavilions were actually leased for warehouses and points of sale of household and computer equipment, as well as various consumer goods. At the same time, the amusement park was open, and various physical experiments were shown in the Central Pavilion for children and youth.
VDNKh-VVTs is still one of the favorite places for residents of the capital and its guests. It is still green here, there is something to see and where to walk. This is, in fact, a paradise accessible to everyone in noisy Moscow. True, a grandiose reconstruction is currently underway here, but after its completion, this place will probably become even more beautiful.
Irina SMIRNOVA