Take a look inside Moscow’s iconic Seven Sisters skyscrapers

1. The Kotelnicheskaya Embankment building

(finished 1952, Kotelnicheskaya Embankment, 1/15), architect Dmitry Chechulin

It remains a prime slice of Moscow real estate and its spire is 176 meters tall.  

Legion Media

The original door of the building’s central entrance.

Anton Belitskiy

The central elevator hall with bas-reliefs.

Anton Belitskiy

Original 1950s sign displaying apartment numbers.

Anton Belitskiy

The bas-reliefs in the elevator hall portray “the happy people of the Soviet Union.”

Anton Belitskiy

The fresco in the central entrance hall.

Anton Belitskiy

2. Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs

(finished 1953, Smolenskaya-Sennaya sq., 32/34), architect Vladimir Gelfreykh, boasts 27 floors and is 172 meters tall.

Getty Images

One of the halls inside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, used as a picture gallery.

Anton Belitskiy

The building’s main conference room.

Anton Belitskiy

The building’s canteen.

Anton Belitskiy

Antique Chinese vases probably received as a gift by an ambassador.

Anton Belitskiy

Sofas near the elevator.

Anton Belitskiy

The History of the Russian Foreign Service Museum, located in Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Anton Belitskiy

3. Hotel “Ukraine”

(finished 1957, Kutuzovsky prospect, 2/1), architect Arkady Mordvinov. The main spire is 206 meters tall.

Legion Media

The fresco in the hotel’s main lobby.

Anton Belitskiy

The lobby boasts several Soviet sculptures.

Anton Belitskiy

The former smoking room, now a cocktail lounge.

Anton Belitskiy

The wing of the main lobby.

Anton Belitskiy

The main lobby from above.

Anton Belitskiy

If using any of Russia Beyond's content, partly or in full, always provide an active hyperlink to the original material.