Moscow’s skyline tells a story if you know what you’re looking at, and a lot of that story is Soviet. The 20th century left the city with several distinct architectural styles, often standing within a few streets of each other, each reflecting a different phase of Soviet ambition.
The Seven Sisters
The most recognisable Soviet-era landmarks in the city are the so-called Seven Sisters, a group of monumental skyscrapers built in the years following the Second World War, on Stalin’s order, timed to mark Moscow’s 800th anniversary in 1947. Known locally as Stalinskie Vysotki, or Stalin’s high-rises, they share a distinctive tiered, spired silhouette sometimes described as a wedding-cake design, blending Russian Baroque and Gothic influences into something entirely their own. Similar towers were later built in other Eastern Bloc capitals, most famously the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, as an export of the same architectural language.
- Moscow State University’s main building, the largest and most famous of the seven, and for decades the tallest building in Europe
- Hotel Ukraina, now operating under a different hotel brand but still recognisable by its original form
- The Kudrinskaya Square Building, a mixed residential and commercial tower
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs building
- The Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Building, overlooking the Moskva River
- The Leningradskaya Hotel, near the northern railway stations
- The Red Gates Administrative Building
An eighth tower was planned for the Zaryadye district near Red Square but never built after Stalin’s death in 1953, when the architectural style fell out of official favour; the site later became a park, and today houses the modern Zaryadye Park.
Earlier: Constructivism
Before the grand Stalinist towers came a very different Soviet architectural movement: Constructivism, an avant-garde style from the 1920s built around geometric forms, function over ornament, and a genuinely radical break from everything that came before it. It emerged directly out of the revolutionary period, when architects saw new building forms as a way to physically embody a new kind of society, with communal housing blocks, workers’ clubs and industrial buildings among its most characteristic outputs. Constructivist buildings are scattered across Moscow, often unassuming from the street but architecturally significant, and worth seeking out if this era interests you specifically.
Later: the utilitarian turn
After Stalinist Empire style was officially abandoned in the mid-1950s, criticised by Khrushchev himself as wasteful, Soviet housing construction shifted sharply toward function and speed, producing the plain, repetitive apartment blocks, often nicknamed khrushchyovki after the leader who ordered the shift, that still house a large share of Moscow’s population today. They’re not designed to be admired the way the Seven Sisters are, but they’re a real and visible part of how most Muscovites actually live, and worth noticing as the contrast to the city’s more monumental architecture.
Seeing it for yourself
You don’t need a dedicated architecture tour to take this in. Several of the Seven Sisters are visible from central Moscow’s main streets and from the river, and simply walking or riding the metro between the city’s main sights will put you within sight of examples from most of these eras over the course of an ordinary day of sightseeing. The Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Building is particularly easy to combine with a walk along the river near the historic centre.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Seven Sisters?
Seven monumental Stalin-era skyscrapers built after World War Two in a distinctive tiered, spired style, including Moscow State University’s main building and several hotels and government buildings.
Can I visit the inside of the Seven Sisters buildings?
Some, like the hotels, are open to the public as functioning businesses. Others, like the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, are working government buildings and not open for casual visits.
What’s a khrushchyovka?
A plain, mass-produced apartment block from the mid-1950s onward, named after Khrushchev, who ordered the shift away from Stalin’s more ornate architectural style.
Written by Anastasia Ivanova, Moscow native and author at allaboutmoscow.com. Last updated April 2026.
Anastasia is a Moscow-based travel blog writer who brings a local’s insight to one of the world’s most fascinating and misunderstood cities. Born and raised in Moscow, Russia, Anastasia shares an authentic, on-the-ground perspective on what it’s really like to explore the city beyond the postcards.
Her writing focuses on tourism in Moscow, practical guides for first-time visitors, and hidden corners that most travelers miss. In addition, Anastasia writes extensively about expat life in Moscow, covering everyday realities such as housing, transportation, cultural differences, and settling into life in the Russian capital.
As a solo traveler in her own city, she also documents Moscow through the lens of independence and curiosity — from navigating the metro alone at night to discovering cafés, museums, and neighborhoods that feel welcoming for solo visitors. Her work blends local knowledge with honest personal experience, helping travelers and expats alike feel more confident, informed, and inspired when discovering Moscow on their own terms.