There are people whose fate can become a script for an interesting film without any embellishment. Among them is the famous architect Karo Alabyan, whose biography is dedicated to this article.
early years
Karo Semenovich Alabyan was born in 1897 in Elizavetpole (now the city of Ganja, Azerbaijan). As in any Armenian family, his parents, even though they could barely make ends meet, dreamed of giving their son a good education. To this end, they sent the boy in his aunt to Tiflis, where young Karo entered the famous Nersisyan seminary. Anastas Mikoyan studied there with him, who later held the highest posts in the Soviet state.
Karo Alabyan not only stood out among the other students by diligence, but also knew how to draw beautifully, play the violin and sang beautifully. Soon, in parallel with his studies at the seminary, the young man began to study at the vocal department of the local conservatory.
In Tiflis, Alabyan met many prominent representatives of the Armenian intelligentsia - with the composer Aram Khachaturian, artist Martiros Saryan and others, and became interested in modernism that was fashionable in those days. However, at age 20, Karo joined the ranks of the RSDLP and chose a realistic style in art. During the Civil War, Alabyan fought for Soviet power and in one of the battles saved the life of his classmate and fellow soldier Anastas Mikoyan. As a result, young people, according to the old Caucasian custom, began to consider each other as blood brothers.
Studying in Moscow
Great influence on the young Alabyan was made by the Armenian proletarian poet Yeghishe Charents, whose collections of poems he illustrated, and Vahan Teryan. The latter helped Karo to go to Moscow in 1923 and enter the VKHUTEMAS architectural department.
There, the young man studied with M. Mazmanyan, G. Kochar and V. Simbirtsev, with whom he later had to work on building projects that today adorn the capital and the city of Yerevan.
As a student, Alabyan met with actor and director Ruben Simonov. They struck up a friendship that did not stop all their lives. In 1928, in collaboration with Aram Khachaturian, they staged at the Vakhtangov Theater in Moscow a play based on the comedy of Uncle Baghdasar by Hakob Paronyan. Earlier, in collaboration with M. Mazmanyan, he designed the productions of the plays “Brave Nazar” by D. Demirchyan and “The Red Mask” by Lunacharsky on the stage of the First State Theater of ArmSSSR in Yerevan.
Work in Armenia
In 1929, Karo Alabyan graduated from high school and went to Yerevan. There he headed the First State Design Institute of Soviet Armenia. During the two years spent in the Armenian capital, a talented architect created projects of such famous buildings as the Builders Club (now the building of the Stanislavsky Russian Theater), a house for workers of the Electrochemical Trust, the office of the main exploration department, etc. In addition, during this period Karo Alabyan taught her life at the architectural faculty of the EPI.
In Moscow
In 1932, the architect Karo Alabyan finally moved to the capital. One of the first famous buildings created by the architect in Moscow was the building of the Central Theater of the Red Army (now TsATRA), which he designed together with his former classmate V. Simbirtsev and B. Barkhin. The construction is made in the shape of a five-pointed star and today it is the main decoration of the Suvorov Square in Moscow.
In the prewar period, Karo Alabyan created designs for buildings such as the pavilions of the Armenian SSR All-Union Agricultural Exhibition in Moscow and the USSR at the international exhibition in New York in 1939. For the last work, carried out together with the architect M. Iofan, the architect was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of this largest American metropolis.
In the 40s
During the war, Karo Semenovich Alabyan led the Union of Architects of the USSR and the Academy of Architecture, and also headed a special workshop in which plans were developed to mask the main defensive and industrial structures of Moscow. In 1942, he was also appointed a member of the Commission for the Registration and Protection of Monuments and chairman of the commission, which was supposed to rebuild the cities destroyed by the war. In particular, it was Alabyan who was entrusted with developing the General Plan for the destroyed Stalingrad. In addition, he was engaged in the creation of a project for the restoration of the main Kiev street - Khreshchatyk.
Alabyan Karo Semenovich: personal life
Although the famous architect was considered an enviable groom and had an attractive and impressive appearance, he did not marry for a long time. Only in 1948, having crossed the 50-year milestone, Alabyan made a marriage proposal not to anyone, but to the star of Soviet cinema and one of the most beautiful women of that time - Lyudmila Tselikovskaya. Unlike Karo Semenovich, his chosen one has already tried three times to start a family. At that time, she was very worried about a divorce from Mikhail Zharov, with whom she broke up due to the lack of children.
Future spouses met thanks to Ruben Simonov, who had known Tselikovskaya from 16 years old. At one time, Luda's mother was friendly with the actress of the theater. Vakhtangova Anna Babayan and asked her to show her daughter to her main director. Ruben Simonov immediately discerned the acting talent of Tselikovskaya and advised the girl to enter a theater university.
Despite the great age difference, Karo Alabyan, who at that time already held the position of chief architect of the capital, was able to win the heart of Tselikovskaya. A year later, the couple was born a son. Karo Alabyan was beside himself with happiness. However, he soon had to leave his wife and child and go to Armenia.
Opal
According to contemporaries, Karo Semenovich fearlessly came to the aid of his friends and colleagues, who became victims of political repression. This is also confirmed by his numerous letters to various authorities, asking him to release one or another person from imprisonment.
In the early 50s Karo Alabyan publicly argued with Lavrenty Beria, who argued that the construction of high-rise buildings is economically viable. The architect recently returned from the United States and realized that at the level of development of construction technologies that was in the Soviet Union at that time, the country would not be able to handle such projects.
Beria was furious and did everything possible to get Stalin to remove Alabyan from all posts. Karo Semenovich was also threatened with arrest, as one of his employees suddenly turned out to be a "Japanese spy." The architect was saved by his blood brother Anastas Mikoyan. He found an opportunity to send Alabyan away from Beria to Yerevan. Separation from his beloved wife and a newly born baby was a real torture for Karo Semenovich.
Return to Moscow
Alabyan could return to the capital only in 1953, after the death of the leader of the peoples and Beria. He had no apartment, no job. The family wandered around relatives and lived on the salary of Tselikovskaya. To complete all the misfortunes, it turned out that Sasha Alabyan had polio and needed special care.
Then Karo Semenovich wrote several letters to members of the Soviet government. An appeal to the leadership of the Soviet state had its effect. Alabyan’s family was provided with housing, and he himself was given a job. Fortunately, it also turned out that the son of Karo and Lyudmila had a reversible form of the disease, and he soon recovered. Slowly, life went back on track. In particular, in 1954, Alabyan, in collaboration with L. Karlik, created a project for the building of the Sochi Sea Station, which for a long time was one of the architectural symbols of the city.
Death
Throughout his adult life, Karo Alabyan smoked a lot and never cared about his health. 6 years after returning to Moscow, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. In those years, a surgical solution to this problem with a successful outcome was out of the question. A few months later, the architect died. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.
The grave of Karo Alabyan is not alone. In 1992, 33 years after the death of a famous architect, Lyudmila Tselikovskaya was buried next to her. Although Alabyan’s wife, after his death for almost 16 years, was the common-law wife of director Yuri Lyubimov, she wished that her resting place was next to the grave of her beloved Karo.
At the Novodevichy cemetery Alabyanu a monument. It was created by Moscow sculptor Nikolai Nikoghosyan and is a basalt square with the profile of an architect. Another monument to Karo Alabyan is installed in Yerevan. And the famous architect has a grandson, who was named in his honor. Streets in Moscow and Yerevan also bear his name.
Awards and Achievements
In 1937-1950, Karo Alabyan was a deputy of the USSR Armed Forces. Earlier, he was elected a correspondent member of the British Royal Institute of Architecture.
Karo Alabyan was also awarded:
- Order of the Red Banner of Labor;
- honorary title of Honored Art Worker of the Armenian SSR;
- Order of the Badge of Honor;
- numerous medals;
- Grand Prix of the Paris International Exhibition of Arts and Technology.
Now you know who Karo Alabyan is. The biography of this famous architect is full of unexpected twists. The last years of his life were brightened up with love and a happy marriage with one of the most beautiful women of the Stalin era, and buildings built according to his designs, to this day, adorn Moscow and Yerevan.