Thursday, July 15, 2010

The History of Moscow Hotels Industry

The history of the Moscow hotels industry is a history which in many ways follows the history of the country of Russia as a whole, particularly the rise and fall of the Soviet Union during the 20th century.

Few hotels exist in the city of Moscow which pre-date the creation of the Soviet Union back in 1917. During the Soviet era between 1917-1991, many hotels were built in the city of Moscow. However most of these hotels were little more than gigantic, clunky block-like structures with rooms not designed for comfort, hotels that most modern people would find practically un-useable.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, a new era began for the development of Moscow hotels, a development which is still under way. However this development has also come with the destruction of many of the hotels which once graced the city. In an effort to modernize the city and move past the history of the Soviet Union, many of the hotels which were built during the Soviet era have either been completely demolished and rebuilt or greatly remodeled, making them something almost completely different from what had existed before.

With the Red Square and the Kremlin as the heart of Moscow, it is no surprise that much of the current massive development in the hotel industry is taking place here. In fact a “Golden Ring” has been planned to encircle the area surrounding the Kremlin. Some of this development has been on new sites but mostly it has been accomplished through the demolishment of Soviet era hotels in order to build new modern ones.

A perfect example of this is the Ritz Carlton Moscow, which opened its doors in July of 2007. This massive and extremely expensive hotel has a perfect view of the Kremlin from many of its windows, and stands upon the site where 20 years ago the Intourist building once stood.

Another remnant of the Soviet era that has been destroyed is the Rossiya Hotel, also located in the era of the Golden Ring development. In its time it was the largest hotel in the entire world with 21 stories and an incredible 3,200 rooms as well as housing a night club, a movie theatre and a 2,500 seat concert hall. In 2006 the building was demolished in order to make way for a completely new tourism development.

Many who study the history of the Moscow hotel industry see the current development as completely destroying the heritage of the Soviet era of Russia, as famous Russian hotel after famous Russian hotel is demolished in order to make way for the building of new, completely modern hotels and tourist destinations. To many, the incredibly rapid growth of the Moscow hotels industry is coming at the cost of losing much of Moscow’s history of the 20th century.

The massive development projects currently under way promise fruition by about 2010, with 100+ new hotels having been completed between 2000 and 2010. This explosive growth is a testament to the new spirit which has filled Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, but has also come at the price of erasing much of the history of the Soviet era.

SOURCE:http://www.tomoscow.com/article_7/

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