The Manezh building in the hero-city Moscow during the World War 2 in camouflage colors against the Luftwaffe bomber raids in the winter of 1941. Eastern Front, Second World War.
Location: Moscow, USSR
Date: Winter of 1941
Moscow Manezh (Manezh Central Exhibition Hall) is a historic building located at Manezhnaya Square, 1, between Manezhnaya and Sapozhkova Squares, Aleksandrovsky Garden and Mokhovaya Street. The main exhibition area of the State Budgetary Cultural Institution of the City of Moscow “Museum and Exhibition Association “Manezh””.
The building was built in 1817 according to the design of Augustine Betancourt in honor of the fifth anniversary of victory in the Patriotic War of 1812. In 1824-1825, Osip Bove designed the facades of the Manezh in the Empire style. Initially, Manezh was called Exertsirgauz and was intended for drill training of troops. Since 1831, exhibitions and festivities began to be held in the building, and even later – concerts and balls. After the Great October Revolution, the Bolsheviks set up a barracks in its premises, then a garage for government cars. In 1957, the institution was given the status of the Central Exhibition Hall, it regularly began to host exhibitions and other public events, including the famous dispersal of Nikita Khrushchev members of the Moscow Union of Artists of the Russian Federation in 1962, timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Art Academy.
March 14, 2004 – on the day of counting votes in the next presidential election – at 21:15 – the building was badly damaged by fire and was rebuilt according to the project of architect Pavel Andreev. After the restoration, the complex received an underground floor, expanding the economic and exhibition areas. Currently, exhibitions, concerts, performances, and lecture courses are organized at the sites of the Manezh Museum and Exhibition Association.