Kuntsevo Dacha

Kuntsevo Dacha
Kuntsevo Dacha
Бли́жняя да́ча
	Location within Moscow
Alternative names	Blizhnyaya Dacha
General information
Type	Dacha
Location	Kuntsevo, Moscow, Russia
Coordinates	55°43′28″N 37°29′09″E / 55.72444°N 37.48583°E
Completed	1934
Client	Joseph Stalin
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Miron Merzhanov

The Kuntsevo Dacha (Russian: Ку́нцевская да́ча, romanized: Kuntsevskaya dacha) was Joseph Stalin's personal residence between Moscow and Davydkovo (on the road leading to the former town of Kuntsevo) (then in Moscow Oblast, now part of Moscow's Fili district), where he lived for the last two decades of his life and died on 5 March 1953, although he also spent much time inside the Kremlin, where he possessed living quarters next to his offices. The dacha is located in a forest not far from the modern-day Victory Park.^[1]

Also called the "nearer dacha" (Russian: Ближняя дача, romanized: Blizhnyaya Dacha, as distinct from the "far dachas"), it was built in 1933–34 to Miron Merzhanov's designs.^[2] One storey was added to the original building in 1943. Stalin lived in the Kuntsevo dacha (which incorporated a bunker/bomb-shelter) during World War II. There he played host to such high-profile guests as Winston Churchill (in August 1942^[3]) and Mao Zedong^[1] (in December 1949).

^ ^a ^b Данченко, Михаила. "Наследие Кунцево" [Legacy of Kuntsevo]. Администрация муниципального округа Кунцево (in Russian). Retrieved 5 May 2022. ^{[dead link]}
^ Tommy O'callaghan (2018-10-10). "Peter I's cottage to Gorbachev's lavish dacha: Russian leaders' residences in pictures". rbth. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
^ Reynolds, David; Pechatnov, Vladimir, eds. (27 November 2018). "Churchill's 'Lump of Ice' (August to October 1942)". The Kremlin Letters: Stalin's Wartime Correspondence with Churchill and Roosevelt. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 140–141. ISBN 9780300241044. Retrieved 3 December 2023. [Churchill] was driven to the Kremlin for his first encounter with the Soviet leader at 7 p.m. on 12 August. [...] Churchill felt that they parted after four hours in an atmosphere of goodwill. He returned to 'State Villa No. 7' (Stalin's dacha at Kuntsevo, which had been placed at his disposal during the visit [...].

[kuntsevo-1] Данченко, Михаила. "Наследие Кунцево" [Legacy of Kuntsevo]. Администрация муниципального округа Кунцево (in Russian). Retrieved 5 May 2022. ^{[dead link]}

[2] Tommy O'callaghan (2018-10-10). "Peter I's cottage to Gorbachev's lavish dacha: Russian leaders' residences in pictures". rbth. Retrieved 2023-12-15.

[3] Reynolds, David; Pechatnov, Vladimir, eds. (27 November 2018). "Churchill's 'Lump of Ice' (August to October 1942)". The Kremlin Letters: Stalin's Wartime Correspondence with Churchill and Roosevelt. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 140–141. ISBN 9780300241044. Retrieved 3 December 2023. [Churchill] was driven to the Kremlin for his first encounter with the Soviet leader at 7 p.m. on 12 August. [...] Churchill felt that they parted after four hours in an atmosphere of goodwill. He returned to 'State Villa No. 7' (Stalin's dacha at Kuntsevo, which had been placed at his disposal during the visit [...].

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