Lack of capital is another determining factor in this new form of architecture. Reinforced concrete has replaced stone and granite and everything is being designed and carried out with the greatest economy and simplicity. Russia prides itself in being a nation of workers and considers that its factories and business buildings should look like "work shops" and not like the mansions and palaces of an aristocracy. While the need for economy is evident in all modern Russian buildings, it is commendable that the new Government has not allowed the ancient buildings to fall into decay. Domed palaces and minarets have been painted and regilded. Mansions, now the headquarters of Government departments or of bakeries and other commercial industries, have been redecorated as originally designed. Churches of artistic merit have been repaired, and theatres, the pride of the people, receive particular attention.
Construction is of reinforced concrete throughout, painted in revolutionary red and grey. Walls are reduced to a minimum suf ficient only for constructional purposes, while enormous glass areas are introduced to give the maximum window space to the workers. Flat roofs and balconies for the recreation of the workers are also considered essential. These new conditions pro duce their own problems in a country where the temperature is often 3o° F below zero and the snow-fall great. To overcome the cold in winter elaborate heating systems have to be introduced. The windows are covered with a network of heating pipes placed behind the glazing bars, while double glazing is provided for all windows to keep out the cold. The greatest problem is that of
the flat roof, as during winter the roof with its parapet walls forms a tank for the snow, with the resultant danger from leak ages and burst pipes when thaw sets in. There are various methods of roof construction but the best is that in which a double concrete slab is used with an air space between.
Russia is still in a state of transition. Lack of materials and skilled craftsmen makes it difficult for their advanced dreamers and architects to carry out their conceptions. Nitski, one of the ablest Bolshevik art critics, has said that the dreams of Lenin could not be realized for at least zoo years. Some of the most recent buildings carried out in the modern manner are : the Cen trosoyus warehouse; the new Telephone building; the Telegraph building and the Gostorg State building. (T. S. T.) Souslow, Monuments de l'ancienne architecture russe, 2 vols. (St. Petersburg, 1895-1901) ; L. Hautecoeur, L'architec tare classique a Saint Petersbourg a la fin du XVIII. siècle (Paris, 1912) ; R. H. Newmarch, The Russian Arts (New York, 1916) ; A. Eliasberg, Russische Baukunst (Munchen, 1922) ; W. H. Ward, "Rus sian Architecture," in Journal of the Royal Institute of British Architects, 3, vol. xxix, pp. 261-268 (London, 1922) ; G. K. Lukomski, Alt-Russland, Architektur and Kunstgewerke (Munchen, 1923) ; The Russian Art Exhibition, foreword by C. Brinton, introduc tion and catalogue by I. Grabar (New York, 1924) and Die Fres komalersi der Dimitry Kathedrale in Wladimir (Berlin, 1925).