Lubyanka Square

Welcome to Lubyanka Square, a place that occupies a dark and formidable corner of the Russian psyche. To stand here is to be in the presence of the most iconic symbol of state security and repression in the world: the Lubyanka…

The main Lubyanka building was not originally designed for the secret police. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it was the headquarters of the All-Russian Insurance Company. …

Behind the elegant windows of the upper floors lay one of the most feared prisons in the world. The Lubyanka prison was designed for maximum disorientation. …

There is a famous, dark joke among Muscovites: 'The Lubyanka building may only be eight stories tall, but it’s the tallest in Moscow—from its cellars, you can see Siberia.' This humor stems from the terrifying reality that a trip…

In 1990, just before the total collapse of the Soviet Union, a new monument appeared in Lubyanka Square that stood in direct opposition to the power of the building. The Solovetsky Stone is a simple, uncarved boulder brought from…

On August 22, 1991, Lubyanka Square witnessed one of the most dramatic moments in modern Russian history. Following a failed coup by communist hardliners, a massive crowd of Muscovites gathered in front of the KGB headquarters. …

The Lubyanka’s reach was not limited to the borders of the Soviet Union. It was the nerve center for 'Sinister Foreign Operations' that targeted defectors and enemies of the state worldwide. …

As we conclude our time in Lubyanka Square, take a moment to look at the orange facade of the headquarters and the gray stone of the memorial boulder. This square is a place of absolute contradictions—a site of institutional…