No other place sums up the rise and fall of the Soviet dream quite as well as the All-Russia Exhibition Centre. The old initials by which it’s still commonly known, VDNKh (ВДНХ), tell half the story – in Russian they stand for Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy.
Originally created in the 1930s, VDNKh was expanded midcentury to impress upon one and all the success of the Soviet economic system. Two kilometres long and 1km wide, it is composed of wide pedestrian avenues and grandiose pavilions, glorifying every aspect of socialist construction. The pavilions represent a huge variety of architectural styles, symbolic of the contributions from diverse ethnic and artistic movements to the common goal. Here you will find the kitschiest socialist realism, the most inspiring of socialist optimism and, now, the tackiest of capitalist consumerism.
VDNKh is a vast place, covering over 200 hectares with gargantuan statues, flamboyant fountains and distinctive architecture. These days, the attraction is less the exhibitions themselves – although you may happen upon a business or cultural event of interest – and more the elaborate environs, a curious vestige of Soviet paradise gone awry.
