Tsoi's Childhood – The House with a Spire

Viktor Tsoi was born on June 21, 1962, in the maternity hospital at 25 Kuznetsovskaya Street. Today, a cardiology clinic is located there.

Tsoi’s childhood and youth were spent in the house with a spire — at the corner of Moskovsky Prospect and Basseynaya Street. The "General’s House" near the Park Pobedy metro station is visible from any point on the government route thanks to its 76-meter spire topped with a wreath and a star. Today, this height may not seem record-breaking, but in the mid-20th century, it earned the building the title of the tallest structure in the city. Sharp-eyed citizens can spot figures of doves on the four corners of the tower, as well as men with anchors and women with steering oars. The maritime theme is likely explained by the fact that a Southern Bypass Canal, connecting the Neva River with the Gulf of Finland, was planned to be dug here. Moreover, the spire itself was crafted by workers from the Admiralty Shipyards.

One of the building’s architects was Vladimir Vasilkovsky, the creator of the Saint Petersburg TV tower. Construction began in 1940, and before the war, only the main building was completed. The tower at the corner of Basseynaya Street was built later, in 1953. Along with two other architects — Grigory Simonov and Boris Rubanenko — Vasilkovsky was supposed to erect a grand complex on Moskovsky Prospect: two more similar high-rises and a 120-meter skyscraper on the site of today’s Rossiya Hotel. However, these plans never came to fruition, and the stately beauty in the style of Stalinist Empire architecture remained solitary. The Saint Petersburg skyscraper is considered the most Moscow-like building in the city. Its style echoes the Stalinist skyscrapers of the capital, including the main building of Moscow State University and the Ukraina Hotel. Viktor Tsoi spent his childhood in this building. Many autobiographical references to his place of residence can be found in his songs, for example, in "Children of the Pass-Through Yards," "Idler," and "My Mood." In the 1960s and 1970s, this building was considered elite housing. However, Viktor’s family lived in a shared room. According to fans, the apartment was located on staircase No. 1.

Tsoi was a descendant of Russified Koreans. His ancestors lived in Kangwon Province, in central Korea, and later the musician’s great-grandfather moved to Primorye. In 1937, as part of a campaign to "suppress Japanese espionage," the Tsoi family was deported to Kazakhstan, to the city of Kzyl-Orda. Viktor’s father, Robert Maksimovich, was born there and later moved to Leningrad to study at the Baltic State Technical University (Voenmekh) in the engineering faculty.

Viktor Tsoi lived here from the age of 15 — from 1977 to 1982 — in a shared room, and moved out when he and Marianna, his future wife, needed separate housing.

One of the residents of the Moskovsky District said: "In this archway, I saw an inscription on the wall — from such and such year to such and such year, Viktor Tsoi lived here. The inscription was painted over many times — but it kept reappearing..." Interestingly, one of the main rockers of the 80s, a rebel and "anti-Soviet," lived in a building that was constructed for nomenklatura employees.

Sources:

https://www.spb.kp.ru/daily/26568.5/3584112/

https://ar.culture.ru/ru/subject/4-dom-so-shpilem-ili-generalskiy-dom

https://peterburg2.ru/restplaces/dom-viktora-coya-12450.html

https://forpost-sz.ru/a/2019-07-27/neboskreb-v-kotorom-provel-detstvo-coj