Place Loubianka

See also: Loubianka

The place Loubianka (in Russian, Лубянскаяплощадь ) of Moscow is an important place of the history of the city, located not far from the Red Place. Its name was mentioned for the first time in 1480, when Ivan III installed inhabitants of Novgorod not far from this zone. Those built the church of Holy Sophie, on the model of the Holy Cathedral Sophie de Novgorod, and called the district Loubianka , in reference to the Loubianitsi district of their town of origin.

The Loubianka place is especially known for the broad building of yellow brick, built by Alexeï Chtchouchev, old seat of an insurance company, and which was used as general headquarters at the Soviet secret services in their various incarnations (Tchéka, Guépéou, NKVD, MVD, NKGB, the KGB). Stalin gave the order besides to make demolish all the historical churches of Loubianka in order to put forward the dominant position of the general headquarters of NKVD. The place was famous place Dzerjinski during long years, in homage to the founder of Tchéka, first Soviet intelligence service, Felix Dzerjinski, called Felix de Fer . A statue of Dzerjinski carved by Evgueni Voutchetitch was set up in the center of the place.

The October 30th 1990, the Memorial humanitarian organization set up a monument with the victims of the Gulag, in the shape of a simple stone coming from the Îles Solovetski. In 1991 the statue of Dzerjinki was withdrawn, following the coup d'etat missed against Mikhaïl Gorbatchev and the place took again its label of origin.

The station of subway Loubianka is located under the Loubianka Place.

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