The Great Palace of the Moscow Kremlin [antikvár]

The Great Palace, a majestic, light-coloured building which stands atop Borovitsky Hill in the Kremlin, is famous not only in the Soviet Union, but also far beyond its boundaries. It is the seat of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the highest legislative body of the Soviet state, and of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, the largest of the Soviet republics. Both chambers of the Soviet Parliamentthe Council of the Union and the Council of the Nationalitiesmeet for combined sessions in the spacious Conference Hall on the second floor, while other rooms and halls of the palace are reserved for the permanent committees of the Supreme Soviet and the Praesidium, advisers, and members of the Secretariat. The Faceted Palace is used for meetings of the Council of Elders. It is in the Great Palace that talks between leaders of the Communist Party and the Soviet Government and foreign delegations take place, and large state and diplomatic receptions and meetings of party and government officials with eminent scientists, scholars, artists, and the foremost workers are held. Up until 1970, foreign ambassadors presented their credentials to the Chairman of the Praesidium of the Supreme Soviet in the St Catherine Hall; in the State and Private Apartments awards are presented to citizens who distinguished themselves in their work, and the committee which chooses the candidates for the International Lenin Peace Prize holds its meetings. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th congresses of the Communist International took place in the palace, and also numerous CPSU congresses; on 7th October, 1978, the third Soviet constitution, that of a developed socialist society, was adopted there.The Conference Hall of the Supreme Soviet was designed and built between 1932 and 1934 by I. Ivanov-Schitz, who joined together the St Andrew and St Alexander Halls, named after the old Russian Orders of Sts Andrew the First-Called and Alexander Nevsky. During reconstruction, the existing brick vaults and their supporting columns were torn down and replaced by one concrete vault, and the new, larger hall was thoroughly reequipped and redecorated in a simple, austere fashion, more suitable for the hall's function than the earlier gaudy decor. As well as the sessions of the Supreme Soviets of the USSR and RSFSR, all-union conferences of workers from various sectors of the economy and congresses of writers, artists, architects, film-makers and actors also take place in the Conference Hall. The hall covers an area of more than 1,600 square metres with seating for more than 2,500 people. The seats on the main floor, of which there arc more than 1,500, are reserved for deputies of the Supreme Soviets of the