The Hotel Rossiya was the largest Soviet and Russian hotel complex, standing in Moscow's Zaryadye district from 1967 to 2006. Listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest hotel in Europe and the world, the Rossiya was a leading symbol of Soviet monumental modernism and a hub of the capital's diplomatic, cultural, and business life.
Construction History and Architectural Scale
The hotel was built to a design by architect Dmitry Chechulin on the site of the historic Zaryadye district, originally slated for the eighth Stalinist skyscraper (the People's Commissariat of Heavy Industry). The complex formed a closed 250×150-meter rectangle of four 12-story blocks with a 21-story tower at the center. The hotel had 3,182 rooms and could accommodate more than 5,300 guests at once.
The Hotel Rossiya's Restaurants in the Soviet and Post-Soviet Era
The Rossiya's restaurant complex was the largest of its kind in the USSR, comprising dozens of dining halls, bars, buffets, and banquet rooms (including the elite Zaryadye restaurant, a restaurant in the Central Tower, and express-service halls):
- The Soviet period: the hotel's restaurants served delegates to CPSU congresses, foreign diplomatic missions, participants in the Moscow International Film Festival, and the Soviet elite. Getting in off the street, without connections or a tip for the doorman, was next to impossible.
- The 1990s: in the early '90s the hotel's halls and restaurants became a magnet for the new commercial class, foreign businessmen, pop stars, and official delegations. The complex saw its first nightclubs, casinos, and Western-style bars open for business.
The hotel closed in 2006 and was fully demolished by 2010. Zaryadye Park now stands on the site.