15 highest buildings in Russia

About one hundred years ago the buildings reaching 50-60 meters in height were considered skyscrapers, the first of them was the ten-storeyed Home Insurance Building in Chicago. High-rise construction soon became popular in many countries and even in the Soviet Union several impressive buildings, nicknamed “the Stalin skyscrapers”, were built. For a long time they were the only buildings of this kind in Russia, but over the past twenty years the situation has changed dramatically. One after another modern steel and glass towers began to appear, and now there are more than a hundred of buildings one hundred meters and more. Our list includes fifteen of the highest skyscrapers in Russia.

Rating of the highest buildings in Russia

The 15th place – Residential Complex “House on Mosfilmovskaya”, building 1

Rating: 3.6

The main tower of the complex has 52 floors and its height is 213 meters. The complex stands apart in the Ramenki district and consists of two towers united by a seven-storey section. There is a restaurant, a trading hall and offices in this section. At a cursory glance one gets the illusion of a skyscraper leaning, in this way the architect implemented the idea of dynamic and lightness of the building combining modern expressionism and postmodernism style. The facade of the tower is faced with light natural stone. In 2012, when it was put into use, the skyscraper won several prestigious awards for architecture. The upper floors of the elite residential complex offer a picturesque view of the Moskva River, Moscow State University and Poklonnaya Gora.

14th place – the Empire skyscraper

Rating: 3.7

“Empire” is a 60-story skyscraper 239 meters high designed according to the vertical city concept. The building is located in the business center Moscow City, on Presnenskaya Embankment. The project was created by the famous American architectural bureau NBBJ in the actual hi-tech style. Four years of construction work and finished in 2011. Inside the complex there are both commercial and residential premises: offices, shopping centers, a fitness center, a hotel with almost three hundred rooms and about two hundred luxury apartments. The total area of the skyscraper exceeds 203 thousand square meters. It is served by thirty high-speed elevators from KONE.

13th place – Moscow State University’s Main Building

Rating: 3.8

The main building of the Moscow State University is a classic example of the Stalin Empire style and is one of the seven famous Soviet high-rises. The monumental symmetrical construction rises 240 meters, including the spire. The architectural project was initially supervised by Boris Iofan, but then he was dismissed and the work continued by the team of architects led by Lev Rudnev. The reason for Iofan’s dismissal was his principled position regarding the location of the future MSU building. According to many experts, the site he insisted was not reliable enough to provide a stable foundation for such a colossal structure. The construction was done at a quick pace involving thousands of prisoners of labor camps. For 50 years, it was the tallest building in Moscow, built in 1953. To this day it is considered one of the main symbols of the capital and is included in the cultural heritage fund of the Russian Federation.

12th place – Federation International Financial Corporation, West Tower

Rating: 3.9

The western skyscraper of the Federation complex is 242 meters high, it is the lower of the two towers standing on the same base. The 62-storey complex built in 2008 became the most important part of the Moscow City business district. Thanks to its first-class infrastructure and tenant appeal the skyscraper was soon awarded several prestigious prizes, including a win in the Real Estate World Records competition. The tower has both office space and residential apartments (in the upper part), as well as a high-rise Sixty restaurant. Stylobate is allotted for trading halls. The total area of the building is 112 thousand square meters. Six high-speed elevators and 11 twin elevators provide movement between the floors.

11th place – Evolution Tower

Rating: 4.0

The Evolution skyscraper has an amazing spiral shape, with each floor rotated by three degrees compared to the previous one. The facade is stylized as a DNA molecule and represents the evolutionary development. The author of the project is the architect Tony Kettle, head of the international architectural firm RMJM. The most original of the towers of the international business center has a height of 250 meters and consists of 55 floors. Its area is 154 thousand square meters. The building, which was completed in 2014, was the first in Moscow to use the innovative technology of cold curved glazing. This allowed the façade to be strong and visually smooth, despite its complex shape.

10th place – “Eye” mixed-use complex, North Tower

Rating: 4.1

The northern skyscraper of the Oko mixed-use complex is a 49-story, minimalist building. Beveled edges add personality to the simple geometric shape of the facade. The tower is 254 meters high and houses Class A offices and luxury housing (some apartments have a floor area of about 300 square meters). The building is connected to the south tower by a crystal stylobate, by the way, that’s why the complex was called the “Eye” (united by the base crystal). At the base are retail space, gymnasium, restaurants and conference rooms. The American architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, famous primarily for creating the world’s tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa, worked on the project.

9th place – “Capital City” complex, “Saint Petersburg” tower

Rating: 4.2

The St. Petersburg Tower, part of the Capital City complex, stands out for its memorable design. The shape of the facade imitates huge cubes stacked on top of each other and displaced at random. This solution allowed the embodiment of the idea of dynamism, continuous movement. The project was designed by Eric van Egeraat of the American company NBBJ. The building was constructed from 2005 to 2009. A high-tech skyscraper, 257 meters high, has 65 floors. A large part of it is office premises, and above them there are luxury residential apartments. An 18-storey business center connects the lower part of the building with the neighboring tower. The skyscraper is equipped with 22 elevators.

8th place – the “Triumph Palace” skyscraper

Rating: 4.3

The residential high-rise building is located in the Khorosheevsky district; before the construction of the Moscow City business district it was for a long time the highest building in the capital. A group of Russian architects from Tromos bureau worked on the Triumph Palace project. By its form the skyscraper repeats the stylistics of “seven sisters”; moreover while developing the construction specialists often used archive drawings of Stalin skyscrapers. The building has nine sections in total, the tallest of which, the 57-storey, reaches 264 metres. Construction work was completed in 2006. The most complex structural element was the 53-meter-high spire weighing over 40 tons – it had to be delivered upstairs in parts by a Mi-10 helicopter. There are about a thousand apartments in the building, and the top floors are occupied by a hotel. Stylobate part is allocated for public facilities such as fitness center, beauty salon, bank, dry cleaners, etc. Apartments in the “Triumph Palace” are considered to be among the most prestigious in Moscow, many of the apartments belong to the stars of sport, cinema and show business.

7th place – “Naberezhnaya tower” complex, tower C

Rating: 4.4

The complex includes three buildings, the tallest of which is Block C. The skyscraper is intended for office use and meets the highest class A office standards. The 268-meter-high structure has 60 stories and five underground levels. For rent is designed about 108 thousand square meters of interior space, a little more than a thousand square meters occupied by retail space of the first floor. At the moment the offices are mainly leased by large companies, both Russian and foreign.

6th place – Capital City Complex, Moscow Tower

Rating: 4.5

The Moscow skyscraper is one of the towers of the Capital City high-rise complex, representing the two most important Russian cities. The architecture of the 76-storey building is identical to St. Petersburg Tower, an incredible facade of glass cubes displaced horizontally in relation to one another. The height of the building is 302 meters. Shortly after completion, it won the prestigious Emporis Skyscraper Award and was named one of the world’s top ten skyscrapers. The interior space of the building is occupied by offices and elite residential units, while the stylobate that connects the two towers contains stores, spas and a fitness center. Residents and employees are transported to the height by 42 elevators.

5th place – the skyscraper “Eurasia

Rating: 4.6

Eurasia Tower, also called Steel Top, is the only skyscraper in the international complex with a steel rather than reinforced concrete frame. The building’s facade is simple and laconic, and thanks to the emerald glazing it is recognizable. The project was created by Swanke Hayden Connell Architects. At 309 meters high, the building has 76 floors, between which there are 39 modern elevators. The skyscraper “Eurasia” is divided into three zones: luxury residential apartments, office space of international level and the commercial and recreational zone, located at the bottom.

4th place – Mercury Tower mixed-use complex

Rating: 4.7

Its futuristic shape and golden façade make it the most prominent structure in Moscow City. The building has 75 floors and rises 339 meters above the ground. Construction of the skyscraper lasted from 2009 to 2013, designed by Frank Williams, whose work had a significant impact on the architectural look of modern Manhattan. The building is mixed-use, combining Class A-plus office space with prestigious residential apartments. Under the last in the “Mercury Tower” is allocated about 20 thousand square meters. A special feature of the skyscraper is the highest media facade in Russia.

3rd place – “Eye” mixed-use complex, South Tower

Rating: 4.8

The southern building of multifunctional complex “Eye” (united by a crystal base) is a modern minimalist structure. The façade design created by the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill won an honorary award in a prestigious international competition. The 85-story tower is 354 meters high and is designed for luxury residential apartments of different sizes. There is also a hotel with about 300 rooms in the skyscraper.

2nd place – Federation mixed-use complex, East Tower

Rating: 4.9

The tallest skyscraper in the capital, being 95 floors high, is now the leader in the whole of Russia and Europe by this indicator and the second tallest in terms of height, which is 374 meters. The designers of this elegant high-tech structure are the famous architects Peter Schweger and Sergey Tchoban. Thanks to the high-strength concrete mix used during construction, the building can even withstand a plane crash like the one that happened in New York in 2001. Eastern tower of the complex is famous for its observation deck Panorama 360, it offers a magnificent view over the center of Moscow.

1st place – Lakhta Center

Rating: 5.0

Lakhta Centre is the tallest tower not only in Russia, but also in Europe. Its top rises above St. Petersburg at 462 meters. The giant structure was designed by the British architectural firm Robert Matthew Johnson Marshal and then refined by Gorproekt in Russia. During the construction a record was set: builders poured more than 19,500 cubic meters of concrete in 49 hours. The building is owned by the Gazprom company and contains the company’s headquarters, offices, an innovative medical center, a panoramic restaurant and many other facilities. The internal area of the skyscraper is 400 thousand square meters. On the top floor there is an observation deck, from where you can admire views of the northern capital.