Kinoteatr Imperiya grez (Mir)

Kinoteatr Imperiya grez (Mir) is a cinema located on Kiselev Square, by the central entrance to the Avtozavodsky Park in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. The building was designed by architect Alexander Grinberg and opened on 5 November 1937, making it one of the city's first cinemas built in the pre-war years. It is a recognised cultural heritage site of the Russian Federation, noted as a monument of urban planning and architecture and a characteristic example of post-constructivism. The cinema was originally conceived as part of a larger Palace of Culture complex for the Avtozavodsky district. In 1934, Sergey Dyakonov, director of the GAZ automobile plant, initiated a design competition that attracted leading Soviet architects. Grinberg's winning proposal allowed the complex to be built in stages, and construction of the cinema began in 1936. The building featured a colonnade forming a gallery and eleven sculptures on the parapet by sculptors Nadezhda Krandievskaya and Lev Pisarevsky, representing workers, collective farmers, a pilot, a sportswoman and others. The venue opened as a cinema-concert hall timed to the 20th anniversary of the October Revolution. From 1958 to 1962 it housed a music lecture hall, and in 1959 it was among the first in the city to screen widescreen films. In 1962 a people's cinema university opened there, and the name "Mir" (Peace) was assigned that same year, after the GAZ Palace of Culture opened, reflecting the era's peace campaigns. The cinema underwent a major renovation in 2002. Today the Mir operates under the Imperiya Grez ("Empire of Dreams") cinema chain, which manages several cinemas in Nizhny Novgorod. It continues to serve as a neighbourhood cinema while retaining its protected architectural status.

The cinema that became "Mir" was born out of a grand cultural project for the Avtozavodsky district of Nizhny Novgorod (then Gorky). In 1934, Sergey Dyakonov, director of the GAZ automobile plant, initiated a competition for the design of a Palace of Culture at the Avtozavodsky Park of Culture and Rest. Leading architects of the Soviet Union were invited. By January, major institutes and architectural workshops had prepared several proposals, and in February the designs were exhibited at the Sotsgorod club. The exhibition was one of the largest cultural events of the Avtozavod in the 1930s, drawing over two thousand visitors on its first day. Two projects received particular public acclaim: those by the workshops of Alexey Shchusev and Alexander Grinberg. Shchusev proposed a monumental classical building with a theatre in the centre and a club and cinema in the projecting wings. Grinberg proposed an original design splitting the Palace of Culture into three buildings: a cinema-concert hall, a club and a theatre, placed next to each other as a single complex. Grinberg's project won the competition, largely because it allowed the buildings to be constructed gradually. Construction of the cinema began in 1936 on the central square opposite the first line of stone buildings of Sotsgorod. Grinberg embedded in the building's appearance the idea of unity among Soviet people of different professions. From the square side, a colonnade framed the building, forming a bypass gallery. On the parapet, eleven sculptures were installed — a worker, a collective farmer, a pilot, a sportswoman and others — created by sculptors Nadezhda Krandievskaya and Lev Pisarevsky. The ceremonial opening of the cinema-concert hall, timed to the 20th anniversary of the October Revolution, took place on 5 November 1937. From 1958 to 1962, a music lecture hall operated in the building. In 1959, widescreen films were shown there for the first time. In 1962, a people's cinema university opened. The name "Mir" was assigned to the cinema in 1962, after the opening of the GAZ Palace of Culture, in the spirit of the times: the struggle for world peace was then underway. In 2002, the cinema underwent a major renovation. The building, designed by Alexander Grinberg, is an object of cultural heritage of the Russian Federation — a monument of urban planning and architecture. It is one of the first cinemas in the city built in the pre-war years and a characteristic monument of post-constructivism. Today it operates as part of the Imperiya Grez cinema chain.

• 2002

  The cinema undergoes a major renovation.

• 1962

  A people's cinema university opens; the cinema is named "Mir".

• 1959

  Widescreen films are shown in the cinema for the first time.

• 1958

  A music lecture hall begins operating in the building (until 1962).

• 1937

  The cinema-concert hall opens on 5 November, timed to the 20th anniversary of the October Revolution.

• 1936

  Construction of the cinema begins on the central square of Sotsgorod.

• 1934

  Sergey Dyakonov initiates a design competition for a Palace of Culture at the Avtozavodsky Park; Alexander Grinberg's project wins.

A historic, heritage-listed neighbourhood cinema operating within a modern regional chain.

• Cinema screenings

• Widescreen film screenings

• Music lecture hall (historical)

• People's cinema university (historical)

1. 1Wikidata: Kinoteatr Imperiya grez (Mir)wikidata.org
2. 2Wikipedia (ru): Мир (кинотеатр, Нижний Новгород)ru.wikipedia.org
3. 3Official websitexn--c1adbibb0aykc7n.xn--p1ai