Lubyanka — Uncover the Secret Archives

Your quest for truth begins in front of the State Historical Museum, a building constructed between 1875 and 1883, standing proudly on Red Square in Moscow. This monument is the threshold of your immersion into Moscow's historical heritage, a city where every stone tells a story. From there, you will head to the Alexander Gardens, created in 1821 by Nicholas I. These gardens, adjacent to Red Square, house the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier since 1962, a poignant memorial that prepares you for the magnitude of the stories you are about to unearth about Soviet repression.

Continue your exploration in Moscow by heading to Revolution Square, where the metro, inaugurated in 1935, displays 72 bronze statues representing workers and peasants. A local tradition suggests that touching the dog statue brings good luck – a striking contrast to the dark realities you are about to uncover. A short walk away, the Metropol Hotel, built in 1905 in Art Nouveau style, was a direct witness to the post-1917 upheavals, used by the Bolsheviks. It embodies the brutal transition from an era of imperial luxury to the Soviet era, offering insight into the social and political changes that marked the Russian capital.

The heart of your investigation leads you to the famous Lubyanka Building. Constructed in 1898 by architect Alexander V. Ivanov as the headquarters of the All-Russia Insurance Company, with its yellow brick facade, it was seized after the 1917 Revolution to become the headquarters of the Cheka, then the OGPU, NKVD, KGB, and today the FSB. The adjacent prison, established in 1920, was expanded to six floors and ironically nicknamed 'Moscow’s tallest building' because 'you could see Siberia from its basement'. These extensions, particularly those in 1940-1947 and 1983, testify to its growing role in the state apparatus.

Lubyanka Square (Lubyanskaya Ploshchad) itself is inseparable from the history of repression. As early as the 18th century, it was associated with executions and torture, serving as the headquarters of Catherine the Great's secret police. In the 20th century, it became synonymous with Soviet repression with the Cheka's establishment in 1917. In 1990, the Solovetsky Stone was erected there, a memorial to the victims of the Gulag, offering a place for remembrance in the heart of Moscow. Not far, the remains of the Kitay-gorod Wall, medieval fortifications built in the 1530s under Ivan III to protect the merchant quarter, recall another era of defense and power in the Russian capital.

Your journey through Moscow concludes having unveiled an essential part of the FSB Russia site and the city's complex past. You have traversed layers of time, from the neo-baroque elegance of 1898 to Soviet austerity, passing through echoes of Catherine II's secret police. This exploration of Moscow's monuments has allowed you to understand how real and often dark history has shaped the urban landscape and collective memory. This thematic Moscow circuit is an immersion into the soul of Russia, a discovery of the places where millions of destinies were played out, offering you a unique perspective on Moscow's historical heritage.