(Source: https://tretiy-rim.moscow/tajny-moskovskih-vysotok-istoki-zamysla-stalina)

Famous “Stalin skyscrapers” became new high-rise dominants of Moscow. In the late 1940s, a special decree was passed on the construction of high-rise buildings in Moscow. It was planned to have seven buildings for various purposes: a university, a ministry, hotels, and residential buildings. They were constructed surprisingly quickly: by the end of the 1950s, all of them were put into operation.

The tallest one (240 m) was the new building of Lomonosov Moscow State University (Leninskiye Gory st., 1), designed by architect L. Rudnev. It served as a symbol of the priority of the government - its concern for science and education. Located on the Sparrow Hills, the main building of Lomonosov Moscow State University towered over the bank of the Moscow River, organizing the space of the entire area. The interiors and the exterior of MSU are really spectacular: expressive sculptural decoration (workshop of V. Mukhina), polished columns made of jasper, granite and marble, stucco molding, and wooden panels.    There is a crowned high spire above the building, lined with glass plates with a five-pointed star on top.

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A 34-storey hotel "Ukraine" opens Kutuzovsky Prospect (Kutuzovsky Prospect, 2/1 – 1A), located on the banks of the Moscow River.

There is a residential building of 700 apartments on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment, 1/15, equipped with all required household infrastructure (including shops, restaurants, cinema and a post office).

The building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Smolenskaya-Sennaya Ploshchad, 32/34) looks more strict. Its main decoration is a huge emblem on the facade symbolizing the Soviet Union. Originally, it was not supposed to have a spire, but it was still built on. It had to be made of light steel, and most likely, that was the reason for the absence of a five-pointed star on it - the spire could not bear its weight.

The remaining buildings are the Leningradskaya Hotel (21/40 Kalanchevskaya St.), a residential building on Kudrinskaya Square (1, bldg. 1),  and the administrative and residential building at Krasnye Vorota (Sadovaya-Spasskaya Street, 21) - each of them is unique and interesting in  their own way.

All skyscrapers have some similarities, however, at the same time, each of them has its own compositional solution, designed for the perception of the building in a particular place.

There is another construction, the eighth high-rise, which has never been built. According to the plan of Joseph Stalin, all seven high-rises should serve as a frame for the Palace of the Soviets, the priority one for Moscow. It should have been located on the site of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Volkhonka. The Palace of Soviets was planned to become the highest building in the world to serve as a meeting place for the USSR Supreme Soviet. The huge building in the form of a tower, decorated with many columns, was supposed to rise above Moscow and carry the statue of Lenin on its top. The height of the building together with the statue should have reached up to 420 meters. Construction work started in 1939, however when the war began, funding of the project ceased, and had never started again.