Published on: 2026-05-12
Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
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The “Active Citizen” project has been completedvoting, dedicated to the fate of house 2 at the intersection of Bolshaya Dmitrovka and Teatralny Passage. The residents of the capital were invited to decide whether it is worth restoring the sculptures of athletes lost on the facade of the building in the mid-20th century. 155 thousand people shared their opinion.
An overwhelming majority — 80.9 percent — voted for the restoration of the historical appearance of the building, 4.7 percent were against, and 14.4 percent of those who voted trusted specialists on this issue. Now the architects will proceed to a detailed elaboration of the project for the recreation of the sculpture.
Previously, figures of athletes, executed in the classical style, were placed in high semi-circular niches of the façade. The author was the sculptor Armenak Stepanyants. It is believed that the model for one of the statues was the circus artist and teacher Alexander Shiray.
In 1950, the figures of the athletes had to be dismantled due to their poor technical condition. Decades later, the opportunity arose to restore the architectural design. In the work on returning the sculptures, specialists will be helped not only by archival documents but also by Moscow analogues that appeared: the yards on Dmitrovskoye Highway (house 59, building 1) and Marshal Vasilevsky Street (house 13, building 1) are decorated with statues. When recreating figures slightly taller than human height, specialists use modern technologies and durable materials.
The voting was prepared by the project“Active Citizen”together with the capitalDepartment of Cultural Heritage.
Project“Active citizen”has been operating since 2014. During this time, more than seven million people have joined it, a total of over 7,600 votes have been cast. Monthly, from 30 to 40 decisions are implemented in the city. The project is being developed by the State Corporation “New Management Technologies” and the capitalDepartment of Information Technologies.
Creation, development, and operation of electronic government infrastructure, including the provision of mass socially significant services, as well as other services and services in an online format, corresponds to the tasks of the national project“Economy of data and digital transformation of the state”and the regional project of the city of Moscow “Digital State Administration.” More information about the national project of Russia and the contribution of the capital can be found atspecial page.
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