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The ministry itself
It is a working ministry with controlled access. There are no tours inside for tourists, and the halls and offices can only be seen in official photographs.
4 / 7Outside only
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Building
The skyscraper on Smolenskaya Square, home to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1953. You cannot get inside, but from outside it is one of the most austere and striking of the sisters.
Outside
The Foreign Ministry skyscraper on Smolenskaya Square © Vyacheslav Bukharov, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Foreign Ministry skyscraper at the end of the street © Юрий Д.К., CC BY 4.0
The Foreign Ministry skyscraper among the trees © Юрий Д.К., CC BY 4.0
The top of the tower and the spire without a star © Юрий Д.К., CC BY 4.0
The Soviet coat of arms on the Foreign Ministry facade © Юрий Д.К., CC BY 4.0
History
The Foreign Ministry building between 1959 and 1966 © Яков Гольдин, CC BY 4.0
The Foreign Ministry building between 1959 and 1966 © Fortepan, Nagy Gyula, CC BY-SA 3.0
At a glance
- Can you go in
- No. It is a working ministry and tourists are not allowed inside
- Best view
- From the start of the Old Arbat and from Borodinsky Bridge
- How much time to allow
- 15 minutes for the building, then a walk along the Arbat
- Architects
- Vladimir Gelfreikh and Mikhail Minkus
History
The skyscraper was built from 1948 to 1953 for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Trade. The site chosen was on the Garden Ring by Smolenskaya Square, where the Arbat begins.
According to a well-known story, the first design had no spire and ended in a flat-topped tower. When the building was already going up, Stalin saw the design and demanded a spire like the other skyscrapers. The structure could no longer have carried a heavy stone spire, so the spire was made light, from metal sheets, and painted to match the facade.
© Яков Гольдин, CC BY 4.0The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been in the building ever since. In Soviet times the country’s coat of arms appeared on the facade, and it is still there.
© Fortepan, Nagy Gyula, CC BY-SA 3.0Architecture and numbers
The building is austere, with hardly any extra decoration. The tower rises in tiers above a broad base, and the vertical ribs of the facade make it look taller. A large Soviet coat of arms hangs above the main entrance.
172 mheight with spire
27floors
1953year completed
0stars on the spire, the only such skyscraper
The top of the spire has no star, unlike all the other skyscrapers. That makes the Foreign Ministry building easy to recognise from afar.
What is inside and can you go in
The ministry has been in the building since 1953, so tourists are not allowed in. But the main features can be seen from outside.
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Open
The coat of arms and the spire
A huge Soviet coat of arms hangs above the main entrance at a height of about 114 metres. Above it rises the spire, made of metal sheets and hollow inside. In 2017 it was replaced with a new one that copies the original.
By booking
People behind the skyscraper
Two architects designed the building, and since 1953 Soviet and then Russian foreign ministers have worked here.
Vladimir Gelfreikh
Architect
Co-author of the Palace of Soviets and the Lenin Library. He designed the Foreign Ministry building together with Mikhail Minkus.
Mikhail Minkus
Architect
After the war he worked on plans for Smolenskaya Square. The Foreign Ministry skyscraper became his most important building.
Andrei Gromyko
Minister of Foreign Affairs
He ran the ministry from 1957 to 1985, almost three decades, and worked in this building longer than any other minister.
In film
The skyscraper often appears in panoramas of Moscow, and in the earliest film it was shown straight from the construction site of a neighbouring sister.
True Friends
1954KP8.5IMDb7.4
The heroes climb to the 35th floor of Hotel Ukraina while it is still being built, and from there they look out at the newly completed Foreign Ministry building.
Legends
A monument to great folly
The design had no spire. It was added on Stalin’s orders when the building was already going up. After Stalin’s death Gelfreikh proposed removing the spire, but, as the story goes, Khrushchev refused and called it a monument to Stalin’s folly.
Secret passages
The building is classified, which feeds rumours of underground passages from the ministry to the metro and straight to the Kremlin. There is no public evidence for them.
Falcons on the spire
When the old spire was due to be dismantled in 2016, the work had to be postponed. A family of falcons had settled on it, and dismantling began only after the chicks had grown up and flown away.
Where to take photos
The building stands at a junction of wide streets, so it is easy to photograph from different sides.
The start of the Old Arbat
From the start of the pedestrian Arbat the skyscraper closes the view down the street. A good shot in the evening when the street lamps come on.
The garden by the building
From the green side of the building the tower looks lovely among the trees. From here you can see both the spire and the coat of arms over the entrance.
Borodinsky Bridge
From the bridge you see the skyscraper along Smolenskaya Street, with the Moskva River and Hotel Ukraina behind you.
Where to stay nearby
Around the Arbat there are many hotels and apartments for every budget.
Hotels on the Arbat
The very heart of old Moscow, a 20 minute walk from the Kremlin.
Hotels near Smolenskaya Square
Next to the skyscraper, the metro and the Garden Ring.
Hotels on Novy Arbat
An avenue 10 minutes from the skyscraper, with cafés, shops and the metro nearby.
Hotels near Kievsky station
Across Borodinsky Bridge, handy for the Aeroexpress to Vnukovo.
What to see nearby
Walking times are from the skyscraper.
Map
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Address
Russia, Moscow, Smolenskaya-Sennaya Square 32/34
Getting there by metro
3Smolenskayaabout 3 minutes
Metro line 3 (blue).
- The metro exit leads onto Smolenskaya Square, and you see the skyscraper right away.
- Walk to the skyscraper. Cross the Garden Ring only by the underpasses, as there are no surface crossings here.
4Smolenskayaabout 7 minutes
Metro line 4 (light blue).
- Leave the metro and walk along Smolenskaya Street to the Garden Ring.
- The skyscraper will be ahead of you, about 500 metres away.
Other Moscow skyscrapers
1
Moscow State University Main Building
2
Hotel Ukraina
3
Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Building
5
Kudrinskaya Square Building
6
Red Gates Building
7
Hotel Leningradskaya
Moscow State University Main Building
2
Hotel Ukraina
3
Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Building
5
Kudrinskaya Square Building
6
Red Gates Building
7
Hotel Leningradskaya
Never built
More “sisters”
FAQ
Can you go inside the Foreign Ministry building?
No. It is a working ministry and tourists are not allowed in. You can look at the building from outside from Smolenskaya Square and the Arbat.
Why is there no star on the Foreign Ministry spire?
The spire was added during construction and made light, from metal sheets. No star was put on it, so the Foreign Ministry is the only one of the seven skyscrapers without a star.
How tall is the Foreign Ministry building?
172 metres including the spire, with 27 floors.
How do I get to the Foreign Ministry building?
Take the metro to Smolenskaya on the blue line. The exit leads straight onto the square by the skyscraper.
When was the Foreign Ministry building built?
From 1948 to 1953. It was the first of the seven skyscrapers to be completed, and the ministry has been here since 1953.
How many lifts does the Foreign Ministry building have?
When it was built it had 28 lifts, 18 of them high-speed.