eliades ochoa tour

Teatro Diana

September 22, 2024, teatro metropólitan, september 20, 2024, august 10, 2024, théâtre théo argence et la villle, june 29, 2024, july 14, 2024, burgerweeshuis, june 7, 2024, philharmonie, june 9, 2024, june 6, 2024, muziekgebouw eindhoven, june 5, 2024, la mar de músicas, july 22, 2024, festival de músicas do mundo, july 27, 2024, october 6, 2024, the bela bartok concert hall of the mupa, may 29, 2024, kuumbwa jazz, march 1, 2024, freight & salvage, march 2, 2024, february 29, 2024, miami beach bandshell, march 16, 2024, the sheldon concert hall, march 9, 2024, symphony center, march 8, 2024, overture center, march 7, 2024, february 13, 2024, february 10, 2024, mesa arts center, february 9, 2024, november 6, 2023, october 29, 2023, ciclo music legends, october 22, 2023, archa theatre, october 19, 2023, fiestas de san froilán, october 5, 2023, ancienne belguique main hall, october 3, 2023,  concertgebouw, october 1, 2023, conde duque, august 6, 2023, festival de jazz de tirana , july 19, 2023, dimondi festival, july 14, 2023, ribadeo indiano, july 9, 2023, music center, august 19, 2023, epstein family amphitheater, san diego, ca, august 20, 2023, august 17, 2023, august 16, 2023, noches mágicas de la granja, august 10, 2023, green theatre, mezaparks, july 25, 2023, fiest’a sète, théâtre de la mer, july 29, 2023, festival détours du monde, july 22, 2023, lonely planet ulissefest, july 15, 2023, musicastrada festival, july 13, 2023, rudolstadt festival, july 6, 2023, july 2, 2023, essaouira festival gnaoua, june 23, 2023, caprera – bloemendaal (netherland), june 20, 2023, festate – chiasso (switzerland), june 16, 2023, netherlands.

25th Anniversary Edition 2CD Casebook

$ 23.36.

25th Anniversary Edition 2LP + 2CD Deluxe Bookpack

$ 65.42.

Vamos a Bailar un Son Edición Especial CD

$ 14.02.

Vamos a bailar un Son (Special Edition) 2 LP

$ 32.71.

Guajiro LP (Presale)

$ 28.04.

Vamos a Bailar un Son CD

$ 16.81.

Vamos a Bailar un Son Vynil

@eliadesochoaofficial.

Pajarito Voló

Creo en la Naturaleza

Se Soltó Un León

• YOUTUBE SUSCRIBE

Eliades Ochoa

Canto a la Habana

Eliades ochoa: «no tuve ninguna duda para colaborar con c. tangana», published in la voz de galicia ....

“El disco de ‘Guajiro’ está hecho pensando mucho en la juventud, en el presente”

Published in faro de vigo ....

La vida anónima de ELIADES OCHOA, fundador de BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB: mucha MÚSICA y un poco de RON

Published in abc´s youtube ..., mucha música y un poco de ron: la vida anónima en madrid de eliades ochoa, published in abc ....

Musicien cubain prolifique, Eliades Ochoa dévoile Guajiro, un nouvel album dans lequel il rend hommage à la musique de ses racines.

Published in rolling stone france ....

Eliades Ochoa: “Si la vida está engrasada, no hace falta que suene”

Published in periódico de españa ..., eliades ochoa, charter member of buena vista social club, turns songwriter on ‘guajiro’ (album review), published in glide magazine ..., iconic cuban musician eliades ochoa to release ‘guajiro’ in may 2023, published in world music central ....

• Privacy Policies
• Return Policies

OCHOA OFFICIAL

This show will go on sale soon. subscribe to get notified when tickets are available..

• Moscow concerts Moscow concerts Moscow concerts See all Moscow concerts ( Change location ) Today · Next 7 days · Next 30 days
• Most popular artists worldwide
• Trending artists worldwide

• Tourbox for artists

Search for events or artists

• Sign up Log in

• Get the app
• Moscow concerts
• Change location
• Popular Artists
• Live streams
• Popular artists

Eliades Ochoa tour dates 2024

Eliades Ochoa is currently touring across 6 countries and has 8 upcoming concerts.

Their next tour date is at Müpa Budapest in Budapest, after that they'll be at Muziekgebouw Eindhoven in Eindhoven.

Currently touring across

• 🇳🇱 Netherlands

Upcoming concerts (8) See nearest concert

Müpa Budapest

Muziekgebouw Eindhoven

Gent Jazz Festival

Teatro Metropólitan

Teatro Diana

Past concerts

Afro Roots Fest: Eliades Ochoa

The Sheldon Concert Hall and Art Galleries

Symphony Center

View all past concerts

Recent tour reviews

Eliades Ochoa, the last of the Buena Vista Social Club, and his band brought us a great show in Luxor Live in Arnhem.

There was a “click” with the crowd, athough he only spoke Spanish. The music was as was to be expected, GREAT! Mostly the music was “swinging”, so we dances a lot.

Eliades was clearly promoting his last CD, but he did that in a funny way.

Altogether we had a great evening. The concert was not very long, but the quality was more important.

Come back soon Eliades Ochoa!

Report as inappropriate

• Most popular charts
• API information
• Brand guidelines
• Community guidelines
• Terms of use
• Privacy policy
• Cookies settings
• Cookies policy

Get your tour dates seen everywhere.

• But we really hope you love us.

Eliades Ochoa Verified

Concerts and tour dates, bandsintown merch.

Fan Reviews

Fans Also Follow

About eliades ochoa.

Eliades Ochoa Tour Dates and Upcoming Concerts

Frequently asked questions about eliades ochoa, is eliades ochoa on tour, how many upcoming tour dates is eliades ochoa scheduled to play, when does the eliades ochoa tour start, what venues is eliades ochoa performing at, 2024 tour dates:.

• Visiting Artists

Eliades Ochoa

The rugged features, the signature hat, the cowboy boots and the iconic ‘man in black’ image… The songs from the school of life imbued with the sort of hard-earned, country-tinged wisdom that can’t be bought. You don’t have to look or listen too hard to understand why Eliades Ochoa is often called ‘Cuba’s Johnny Cash’. Yet if parallels abound, his new album Guajiro also shows him to be a singular voice with his own unique style and sound, rooted deep in Cuban tradition but with an appeal that is as timeless as it is universal.

Back in 1997 when he shot to international recognition as a member of the Grammy-winning Buena Vista Social Club, Eliades was the young gun. True, he was by then in his 50th year - but he was still in the flush of youth compared to legendary veterans Compay Segundo and Ibrahim Ferrer, who had been playing since before he was born and with whom he duetted unforgettably on classic songs such as “Chan Chan” and “Candela”.

A quarter of a century later, Eliades is now the veteran with a legendary back story of his own and Guajiro presents Cuba’s very own ‘Man In Black’ as we’ve never heard him before. The songs on Guajiro – most of which are his own compositions – are the most intimate and personal Eliades has ever recorded. “The album tells a lot about me and my history,” he says. “It’s really the story of my life and each song has a lot of meaning.”

What triggered his late blossoming as a songwriter he isn’t entirely sure - other than a feeling that the time was ripe, the inspiration was strong and that life’s journey had provided him with insights which cried out to be shared. “It’s a different stage of my life from when we made Buena Vista,” he says. “People like Compay and Ibrahim had a big history and lots of stories and making that album with them opened doors to the entire world. Now it feels like the right time for me to tell my stories. I’m in a good place and these songs are close to my heart. You could say it’s my manifesto.”

In making Guajiro he called upon an array of sympathetic collaborators. Producer Demetrio Muñiz represents a direct link to Buena Vista, having acted for many years as the musical director of the touring band that spun-off from the original project. But others are drawn from far beyond the shores of Cuban music, including the Mississippi blues harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite, Fania All-Stars legend Rubén Blades and indie-rock auteur Joan Wasser, who records as Joan As Police Woman.

“It’s different from the albums I’ve done before, taking me outside my comfort zone”, Eliades notes. “I’ve been playing traditional son cubano for many years and at this point in my life I wanted to do something a little different - and I’ve always loved collaborating and being open to other rhythms and working with different artists.” Musselwhite is an old friend of more than 20 years standing who played on Eliades’ first post-Buena Vista album, 1999’s Sublime Illusion. Here they renew acquaintance on the lovely country/blues harmonica-guitar duet “West” as Eliades nostalgically recalls the horse he owned and loved as a child.

Rubén Blades is another compadre of long-standing who lends his distinctive vocals to “Pajarito Voló” (Little Bird Flew), another Eliades composition about a woman who refuses to bend to the whims and prejudices of men and society but is couched in the metaphor of a bird which escapes the confines of its cage to fly to a life of new-found freedom.

“Creo en la Naturaleza” (I Believe in Nature), on which the voices of Eliades and Joan As Police Woman combine gloriously, is another highlight on which Eliades reflects poetically on the beauty of the natural world and what really matters in human existence.

Other Eliades compositions include the contagiously joyful opener “Vamos a Alegrar el Mundo” (We’re Bringing Joy To The World);, “Abrazo de Luz” (Embrace of Light), a poignant meeting of bolero and flamenco composed during the pandemic when Eliades was separated from loved ones; and “Canto para Ti Guajira” (I Sing for You Guajira), an homage to the music and traditions of the Cuban countryside in which he grew up.

The handful of songs not written by Eliades were chosen for their personal significance in his life. “Soy Guajiro” (I am a Farmer) is the tale of a simple man from peasant stock which Eliades makes his own as he remembers his own humble origins in the fields of eastern Cuba. “Ando Buscando una Novia” (I’m Looking for a Girlfriend) and “Anita Tun Tun Tun” were both composed by Sergio Rivero, an old friend from Eliades’ home town. There’s a fine new arrangement of the traditional Puerto Rican plena “Se Soltó un León” (The Lion Was Released) while “Los Ejes de Mi Carreta” (The Axles Of My Cart) is a folkloric song by Argentina’s Atahualpa Yupanqui, which evokes memories of Eliades’ rural childhood and is graced by some wonderful bouzouki playing by Amir-John Haddad.

The story Eliades Ochoa relates on Guajiro began in the rural province of Santiago de Cuba in eastern Cuba, where he was born in 1946 into a family of farmers and musicians. By the age of six was playing the guitar and its uniquely ringing, Cuban variant known as the tres. When he was 12 the family moved to Santiago, a friendly, slow-paced city which prides itself in rivalling Havana as the musical capital of the island and is famous as the birthplace of several of Cuba’s best-loved rhythms, including son. To this day it remains the capital of the country’s folk music, heard particularly in the guajira traditions of the songs sung by peasants and farmers from the surrounding countryside. It is on this rich heritage that Eliades’ music has always drawn and by his mid-teens he was a familiar figure singing and playing guitar in the bars of Santiago.

By the early 1970s he was a regular at the Casa de la Trova, one of Cuba’s most famous music clubs and still a favourite port of call on the itinerary of international tourists. Eliades played there as a member of Quinteto Oriente and with Septeto Tipico before he took over the leadership of the renowned Cuarteto Patria in 1978. Not so much a band as a Cuban institution, Cuarteto Patria was formed in 1939 by the guitarist Pancho Cobas, who on his retirement four decades later hand-picked Eliades to inherit his mantle. Inspired by Eliades’ innate musical curiosity and ambition, Patria expanded its repertoire from the criolla, guaracha and bolero songs the group had been playing for 40 years and fashioned a more contemporary, updated style.

By the time he joined the Buena Vista Social Club sessions, he had been leading Cuarteto Patria for 18 years and had supervised the recording of the group’s first two albums. Away from the group, in 1986 he had also made the first recording of “Chan Chan” with Compay Segundo - the song the pair of them would revive together a decade later as the atmospheric opening track of the Buena Vista Social Club album.

To the 90 year old Compay and the other Buena Vista ancients, Eliades was ‘the young ‘un’, even though he had been a professional musician for three decades. His vitality made a potent contribution to Buena Vista’s success, both on the eight-million selling album and in Wim Wenders’ evocative, award-winning documentary film of the same name. He also joined the veterans at the handful of historic live dates played by the original line-up in Amsterdam and at New York’s Carnegie Hall. It led to Virgin Records Spain signing him as a solo artist and a string of fine albums featuring appearances by Ry Cooder, David Hildago of Los Lobos and Raul Malo of the Mavericks among others, as well as his loyal comrades from Cuarteto Patria, which he continued to lead.

His 2012 album Un Bolero Para Ti won four Latin Grammy Awards and he was also a key collaborator in World Circuit’s 2010 Grammy-nominated album AfroCubism, which brought together the finest musicians from Mali and Cuba in a glorious, border-breaking celebration of shared virtuosity. Eliades was also the first Cuban to be awarded the Latin Award Canada in 2018.

In 2018, his career was the subject of the documentary film Eliades Ochoa from Cuba to the World, directed by Cynthia Biestek. Now with the release of Guajiro, he adds a new and revealing chapter that weaves together all the threads and strands of his storied life and career into a definitive and compelling personal testament that honours his past while ambitiously taking his music into pastures new.

Please note:   Biographies are based on information provided to the CSO by the artists or their representatives. More current information may be available on websites of the artists or their management.

• Skip to content

Accessibility

• Buy Tickets
• Use Promo Code
• Email Sign Up
• Charge by Phone 314-534-1111 or 800-293-5949

Eliades Ochoa

• Date March 9 , 2024
• Event Starts 8:00 PM
• Venue Sheldon
• On Sale Buy Tickets Now
• Tickets $45, $40, $35

Whitaker World Music Concerts

Eliades Ochoa is one of the most renowned Cuban “soneros” of all time, a notable defender of traditional Cuban music, and one of the best guitarists of his generation. An original member of the famed Buena Vista Social Club, his musical style reflects his place of origin in the Cuban countryside, the anecdotes he listened to, the “guateques campesinos,” and other elements of Cuba’s rich culture that made him the artist he is today.

Made possible by the W H I T A K E R F O U N D A T I O N

Date Information

Pricing Info

Pre-Show Dinner Add-On

We are thrilled to offer a pre-concert dinner in our Ballroom at 6 p.m. featuring a fantastic menu from Havana's Cuisine for $35 per person.

Menu includes arroz con pollo ( yellow rice with chicken); toston relleno ( shredded beef or black beans); maduro (sweet fried plantain); Yucca rellena con picadillo o queso ( cheese or beef stuffed yucca ); mini Cuban sandwich (pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, mustard with Cuban bread); croqueta de jamón o broccoli cheddar (ham or broccoli cheddar croquette); pastelito de guayaba y queso (guava and cream cheese pastry). Cash bar will be available until 7:30 p.m.

Click here to purchase.   Orders are due by Wednesday, March 6 at 12 p.m. Dinner does not include a concert ticket. 

METROTIX OFF SALE: 1 hour prior to concert The Sheldon balcony is NOT wheelchair accessible. Online purchases for wheelchair accessible seating at The Sheldon are limited to two tickets (wheelchair + companion). Patrons with more specific needs or who need more than two tickets in an accessible area should contact The Sheldon at 314-533-9900. Contact The Sheldon in advance to reserve an accessible parking spot on The Sheldon’s west parking lot.

View Upcoming Events

Concert Hall Seating Chart

Click here to view the Concert Hall seating chart in a new window.

http://www.thesheldon.org

A street level entrance is available, with an elevator to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors of the building.

Contact The Sheldon in advance to reserve an accessible parking spot on The Sheldon’s west parking lot. 314.533.9900

CONCERT HALL : The Sheldon balcony is NOT wheelchair accessible. Accessible seating is located at the rear of the Orchestra level. 

• For events with General Admission (open) seating, please see an usher or the box office when you arrive at The Sheldon to arrange for a seating location, or call The Sheldon at 314-533-9900 to reserve an accessible location in advance. 
• Online purchases for wheelchair accessible seating in the Concert Hall are limited to two tickets (wheelchair + companion). Patrons with more specific needs or who need more than two tickets in an accessible area should contact The Sheldon at 314-533-9900. 

BALLROOM & THE KONNEKER ROOM : These spaces are accessible via elevator and do not generally require special ticketing, unless specifically noted.

Other Venue Info

Unless otherwise noted:

• Senior pricing, if available, is for ages 62+
• Doors to the building generally open 1 hour prior to performance time. Will Call is generally available at that time.

COVID-19 Protocols

Beginning April 22, 2022, The Sheldon will no longer require proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test to enter. Masks are also no longer required for entry. For the health and safety of patrons, volunteers, staff and artists, The Sheldon recommends masking at all times, unless eating or drinking, especially for those who are unvaccinated.

• Mask and vaccination policies are subject to change at the request of the performer or event organizer.   Please check the website for information about individual events.
• Ticket holders will be contacted directly if the policy for their event differs from general Sheldon policies.
• Please note that these policies are also subject to change in accordance with any local mandates. The Sheldon will continue to follow the guidance and mandates set forth by public health and our local government, and will be reevaluated as vaccination and transmission rates change over the coming months.
• The Sheldon will also maintain a flexible ticket exchange policy throughout the season to accommodate any health and safetyrelated concerns

https://www.thesheldon.org/covid-updates/

Eliades Ochoa

With special guest marcos crego.

February 9, 2024

Ikeda theater.

Presented by Mesa Arts Center

Box Office Hours: TUE-SAT 12P-5P

Eliades Ochoa, one of the most renowned Cuban “soneros'' of all time, a vigorous champion of traditional Cuban music and the best guitarist of his generation. Eliades rose to international acclaim as one of the stars and founders of Buena Vista Social Club - from which GRAMMY® wins, Oscar nominations, PBS specials and an entire global cottage industry has sprung!

You May Also Like:

Ana Bárbara - La Reina Grupera Tour

September 7, 2024.

The Fab Four

November 29, 2024.

Robert Glasper

November 9, 2024.

Box Office & Registration: 480.644.6500 [email protected]

One East Main St Mesa, AZ 85201

• Privacy & Terms
• Accessibility

Connect With Us:

Check our social media buzz.

© 2017-2023 City of Mesa. All Rights Reserved.

Full Calendar Broadway Classical Concerts Dance Jazz

National Geographic Speakers Theater/​Comedy Summer Series Performing Live Resident Companies

About Art Exhibitions Current Upcoming Past

Collection Events / Programs Learn Artist Opportunities Museum Store

Arts in Service Faces Of Mesa Project Lit Literacy Thru Drama Creative Aging Classical Music Inside Out

Careers, Volunteers & Opportunities Donate Now Membership Sponsorships & Business Engagement Legacy Giving Circle Other Ways To Give Mesa Arts Center Foundation

About Accessibility Security Policies Theater and Ticket Policies Resident Companies

Getting Here Contact Us The Store Tours Host an Event

• Saved concerts

Eliades Ochoa

Sun, oct 1 eliades ochoa.

from €29.00

Eliades Ochoa, one of the original members of the legendary Buena Vista Social Club®, is coming to The Concertgebouw's Main Hall with his band! He'll perform songs from his new album Guajiro as well as Buena Vista classics.

Het Concertgebouw Eigen Programmering

Jazz and pop music

It goes without saying that The Concertgebouw and jazz & pop music make a perfect combination. The stages of both the Main Hall and the Recital Hall have borne witness to nearly the whole of jazz history. Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald have both performed here, as have Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong. Famous pop stars and bands that have graced the stage of the Main Hall include Frank Zappa, the Doors and the Eagles, to name but a few. Legendary concerts, in the present as well as the past.

Event information and tickets

Prices and ranks.

• For this event, a drink is not included in the price of admission. When the price category 'Online sprint under 30' is available, you can order 1 ticket 4 hours before the start of a concert.
• Prices do not include transaction fee: € 4,50 per order.
• Eliades Ochoa guitar, vocals
• This concert has no intermission

Sound and vision

You might also like:

10cc's Graham Gouldman: Heart Full of Songs

Serenade to Friends

Ammodo Conducting Masterclass with the Concertgebouw Orchestra

From Southeast with Love: One Family

Eliades Ochoa Will Bring 'Guajiro' Tour to the Overture Center Next Month

The performance is on Thursday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m.

Eliades Ochoa will perform at Overture Center in Capitol Theater on Thursday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets ($40-$60) are available at overture.org .

About Eliades Ochoa

Back in 1997 when he shot to international recognition as a member of the Grammy-winning Buena Vista Social Club, Eliades was the young gun. True, he was by then in his 50th year and had already been leading Cuba's leading band Cuarteto Patria for 18 years, but he was still in the flush of youth compared to legendary veterans Compay Segundo and Ibrahim Ferrer, who had been playing since before he was born and with whom he duetted unforgettably on classic songs such as “Chan Chan” and “Candela.”

A quarter of a century later, Eliades is now the veteran with a legendary back story of his own and “Guajiro” presents Eliades as we've never heard him before. The songs on “Guajiro” – most of which are his own compositions – are the most intimate and personal Eliades has ever recorded. “The album tells a lot about me and my history,” he says. “It's really the story of my life and each song has a lot of meaning.”

In making “Guajiro,” he called upon an array of sympathetic collaborators. Producer Demetrio Muñiz represents a direct link to Buena Vista, having acted for many years as the musical director of the touring band that spun-off from the original project. But others are drawn from far beyond the shores of Cuban music, including the Mississippi blues harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite, Fania All-Stars legend Rubén Blades and indie-rock auteur Joan Wasser, who records as Joan As Police Woman. “It's different from the albums I've done before, taking me outside my comfort zone,” Eliades notes. “I've been playing traditional son cubano for many years, and at this point in my life I wanted to do something a little different, and I've always loved collaborating and being open to other rhythms and working with different artists.”

What triggered his late blossoming as a songwriter he isn't entirely sure—other than a feeling that the time was ripe, the inspiration was strong and that life's journey had provided him with insights which cried out to be shared. “It's a different stage of my life from when we made Buena Vista,” Eliades says.  “People like Compay and Ibrahim had a big history and lots of stories and making that album with them opened doors to the entire world. Now it feels like the right time for me to tell my stories. I'm in a good place, and these songs are close to my heart. You could say it's my manifesto.”

With the release of “Guajiro,” he adds a new and revealing chapter that weaves together all the threads and strands of his storied life and career into a definitive and compelling personal testament that honours his past while ambitiously taking his music into pastures new.

“Se Soltó Un León,” a classic Puerto Rican plena with blazing horn arrangements, is available to listen to now.

Join Team BroadwayWorld

Are you an avid theatergoer? We're looking for people like you to share your thoughts and insights with our readers. Team BroadwayWorld members get access to shows to review, conduct interviews with artists, and the opportunity to meet and network with fellow theatre lovers and arts workers.

Interested? Learn more here .

Madison SHOWS

Recommended For You

• About Our Authors
• SRAS: Study Abroad or Online
• GeoHistory: Geopolitics, History, News
• PopKult: Popular Culture
• Museum Studies: Museum Science, High Culture, City Planning
• Students Abroad: Travel Guides

Popular articles

Lubyanka: Inside the Story of Moscow’s Infamous Building and District

Published: June 15, 2021

There is always history surrounding us. In a city like Moscow, this can seem overwhelmingly apparent. Moscow has many imposing buildings from many eras – some are immediately recognizable and others only invite wonder as to what stories lay behind their beauty or grime.

Lubyanka is the name commonly used to refer to the building that has historically housed the security services of the USSR and modern Russia, from the Cheka to the KGB to the FSB. The name has also, for a much longer history, been applied to the adjacent square and surounding neighborhood.

The Lubyanka Building

by Alyssa Rider

The building now known as Lubyanka was originally several buildings.

The two largest were originally designed by Alexander Ivanov and were separated by a street. The largest of these two was built in 1898 and the smaller in 1902 by the All-Russia Insurance Company. Insurance and banking were rapidly growing and profitable industries at that time. Insurance companies would often invest their substantial cash holdings in real estate. Thus, most of the buildings were built as residential and the space was rented for profit.

Perhaps ironically, the original, much more ornate façade of the main building included two female figures representing Justice and Solace.

The buildings were seized following the 1917 revolution and became the headquarters for the secret police – the Cheka at the time, though it has served in the same role for the various iterations of the Soviet, and now Russian, state security services – from the OGPU and NKVD, the KGB, and now the FSB.

Lubyanka prison was established in 1920 inside a two story structure adjacent to the main buildings. It had originally been a hotel built, again, by the All-Russia Insurance Company. It was soon expanded to six floors. Jokes referred to it as the “tallest building in Moscow,” as one could purportedly see Siberia (and the Gulag system) from its basement, as that was the fate that awaited most that saw the inside of the prison’s walls.

In 1940, Aleksey Shchusev was commissioned to enlarge the complex to accommodate the increasing amount of staff required to handle the Great Purge. The staff had grown from 2,500 in 1928 to nearly 34,000 in 1940.

An extra floor was added, and the main building expanded horizontally, consuming and incorporating nearby buildings. This expansion was interrupted by the Nazi invasion, leaving the facade lopsided until it was completed under the orders of Yuri Andropov in the 1980s.

The building now contains FSB headquarters, a group of holding cells, the headquarters of the Border Guard Service, and two museums: one devoted to the KGB/FSB and one dedicated to the old prison (neither is actually open to the public).

The Museums Inside the Lubyanka Building

The museums offer regularly updated exhibits, both historical and modern. The Museum of the KGB, now known as the Historical Demonstration Hall of the FSB of Russia, is located inside the Lubyanka complex, and contains four rooms and over two thousand exhibits.

Exhibits cover the history of Russian and Soviet counterintelligence, and there are documents from the times of both Peter and Catherine the Great, as well as the Napoleonic War and WWI. There are separate stands with information on events relating to mass repressions, as well as a room dedicated to WWII. The museum also includes a significant amount of technical equipment that has been used for reconnaissance and counterintelligence purposes, as well as more recent documents relating to FSB operations.

The prison museum has never been open to the public and is maintained only for FSB personnel and high-ranking government officials. The “Demonstration Hall” was opened to the public in 1989. Accessing it was still difficult, as it is located inside the FSB complex and tours were offered almost exclusively through private tour companies and only after screening potential visitors. In recent years, the tours became rarer and today this museum, too, is officially closed to outside visitors.

Lubyanka: Fountain, Statue, or Abstract Nothing?

The names were not the only thing that changed. In 1835, a fountain was installed on the square. This fountain was called Nikolsky Fountain (its name borrowed from the same gates mentioned above), and was designed by the Italian sculptor Giovanni Vitali and supplied potable water to the neighborhood.

Nikolsky Fountain is one of the oldest in Moscow, and it still stands, but no longer on Lubyanka. It was moved in the 1930s to a new location in the courtyard of Alexandrinsky Palace in Neskuchny Garden, part of the Gorky Park complex in central Moscow.

In 1958, a 15-ton iron statue of Dzerzhinsky, known as “Iron Felix” was installed in its former place on Lubyanka. This statue, in turn, was toppled in a public demonstration after the fall of the Soviet Union. It was transferred by the Russian Academy of Arts to the Muzeon, also known as Fallen Monument Park, to be joined by many other Soviet statues removed or toppled at that time.

In 2017, a general renovation of Lubyanka and the surrounding traffic patterns was announced by the city. It was debated if the fountain or even Iron Felix should be brought back. In the end, however, the space was enlarged and landscaped with flat, circular geometric shapes. The space, used and undecorated, remains largely unused.

In 2021, another effort to bring back the statue was proposed by the modern Communist Party in Moscow. The mayor initially agreed to allow the issue to be voted on in a referendum, but soon reversed his decision and killed the initiative.

The Solovetsky Stone

The Solovetsky Stone is a monument located across the street from Lubyanka Square in a separated area known as Musuem Park. It was created in commemoration of the political prisoners who were repressed under the GULAG system.

The Solovetsky Stone is a large granite block brought from the Solovetsky Islands, where the Solovetsky Special Purpose Camp operated in the 1920s and 1930s as part of the GULAG system. It was officially opened on October 30, 1990.

Founding such a memorial had become a matter of public discussion a few years earlier, in the late 1980s. The Memorial Society, now a globally-respected NGO, began a petition with the goal of creating a monument of political repression in 1987, and in 1988, a Public Council for the creation of such a monument was formed. A contest was also held in 1988, wherein people could submit their monument ideas and suggest locations, but a winner for this contest was never chosen.

The specific stone idea came from a memorial created in the village of Solovetsky in 1989 by former Solovetsky prisoners, many of whom stayed there after their release, and members of the Memorial Society. Members of the Society from Arkhangelsk, St. Petersburg, and Moscow liked the idea so much that they acquired boulders to place in their own cities.

The opening of the Moscow memorial on served as a triumph not only in its own right, but also marked the first official recognition of the Day of Victims of Political Repression since that day began to be recognized by dissidents in 1974. Every year on this day, people now gather near the Solovetsky Stone to mourn. Since 2007, a practice called the ‘Return of Names’ has taken place on the 29th from 10 AM to 10 PM – people from across the city gather in a long line to take turns reading the names of Muscovites who were executed. Similar actions take place in many other cities and even other countries, on this day or the next.

The Solovetsky Stone has also become an unofficial site for civil protest, serving not only as a memorial but as a symbol for modern-day political dissonance.

You Might Also Like

Russian Protest Art that Isn’t Pussy Riot

When most think of Russian protest art today, they think immediately of Pussy Riot, the long-famous, all-female punk movement. These women have, since their “punk prayer” launched them to international notoriety, been heavily covered in the English-language press and heavily studied in English-language academia. However, Russian protest art is a diverse genre with a long […]

The Muzeon and Art Market

Across the street from Gorky Park, on the territory of the New Tretyakov Gallery and the Central House of Artists lies Sculpture Park, which is known as “Muzeon” to locals. It is most famous as a graveyard of Soviet era statues, but also contains much modern art and several themed, sculpted landscapes all in an […]

The State Museum of Political History of Russia

Centrally located in St. Petersburg, the State Museum of Political History of Russia examines Russia’s tumultuous political history. It does so in a way that is both modern and quite balanced. Exhibits in the main building are shown in an attractive, recently-renovated tsarist-era mansion with modern technology and artful multimedia presentations. Exhibits give a wide […]

GULAG History Museum

Excursion included in SRAS cultural program for Moscow for Fall, 2017. The GULAG Museum, established in 2001 by writer, historian, and former gulag prisoner A.V. Antonov-Ovseenko, is the only state museum devoted to Stalin’s repressions and the GULAG system. We took a guided tour of this small but informative museum as part of our SRAS […]

About the authors

Katheryn Weaver

Katheryn Weaver is a student of rhetoric and history at the University of Texas, Austin. Her primary areas of investigation include revolution and the rhetorical justification of violence against individuals, state, and society. She is currently studying Russian as a Second Language with SRAS's Home and Abroad Scholarship.

Program attended: Home and Abroad Scholar

View all posts by: Katheryn Weaver

Alyssa Rider

Alyssa Rider, at the time she wrote from this site, was a rising senior at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, majoring in Russian Studies and International/Global Studies with a minor in History. She planned to study abroad in Dublin, Ireland, in the fall, to study Russian, as well as a few other things. While she first became interested in Russia because of the language, she also developed an interest in LGBTQ rights in Russia. She also hoped to work as a translator.

Program attended: Online Interships

View all posts by: Alyssa Rider