Andrey G. IVANOV Lipetsk State Technical University
30, Moskovskaya street, Lipetsk, 398055, Russian Federation
Head of the Department of Philosophy and Social Communications
The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (Lipetsk Branch)
3, Internatsionalnaya street, Lipetsk, 398050, Russian Federation
Professor of the Department of Public, Municipal Service and Management
Doctor of Science in Philosophy
Associate Professor
e-mail: agivanov2@yandex.ru
ORCID: 0000-0003-1136-251X
Ivanov, A. (2025) Reflection of Architectural Utopian Projects and Mythosymbolism of 1930s Moscow in Contemporary Russian Cinema (on the Example of 2024 Motion Picture ‘Master and Margarita’)Abstract: The article shows how Moscow could look like in the 1930s in case the 1935 General Plan was fully implemented. The author examines the relationship between myth, symbol and Soviet utopia, the specifics of the translation of the corresponding mythosymbolism during the 20th century, draws attention to the spontaneous nature of the work on myth and the aspects of mythosymbolics highlighted by G. Gill, and gives a definition of modern myth as a narrative containing a stable core, constantly filled with new plots and interpretations. Moscow turns out to be the place where attempts to realize the Soviet utopia were carried out in the 1930s, which is clearly demonstrated by architectural projects. To illustrate the images of pre-war Moscow, the author turns to the capital’s mythosymbolism in the 2024 film adaptation of the novel The Master and Margarita, in which the Soviet utopia is embodied in vivid architectural images. The philosophical interest in architecture as the first augmented reality that emerged in the context of the object-oriented approach corresponds to the buildings present in The Master and Margarita, but not actually existing: the clinic of Dr Stravinsky, the Palace of Soviets, the building of the People’s Commissariat of Heavy Industry. G. Gill’s ideas about aspects of mythosymbolism, as well as the actualization of manifestations of mythocontent phenomena (manifestations of social mythology, partially containing mythological content) complete the picture of Moscow in the theoretical aspect, making the city a space for testing connections between the intuitions of the supporters of flat ontology about the applicability of G. Harman’s object-oriented approach to the study of architecture and existing or projected structures. In particular, the concept of a network of seven Stalinist high-rise buildings turns out to be correlative to the project of a blockchain city by T. Wiscombe, a contemporary architect and populariser of the ideas of object-oriented ontology. The conclusion is made about the popularity in modern media, including cinema, of works that create spectacular images and alternative spaces, while using the potential of social mythology.
Key words: soviet utopia, Moscow, mythosymbolism, myth, mythologization, architecture, cinema, memory. object-oriented approach, flat ontology.
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For Citation: Ivanov, A. (2025) Reflection of Architectural Utopian Projects and Mythosymbolism of 1930s Moscow in Contemporary Russian Cinema (on the Example of 2024 Motion Picture ‘Master and Margarita’). International Journal of Cultural Research, 4 (61). 63–74. DOI: 10.52173/2079-1100_2025_4_63
DOI: 10.52173/2079-1100_2025_4_63
