Even though the reason that stands behind the realization of this project, is the design competition, held in the begging 1930, for the socialist city of Magnitogorsk, we found ourselves obliged to do something more about it. This, in order to achieve the maximum understanding in terms of the conditions that played a vital role in the competition itself.
The final result consists of three separate but organically bonded parts. In the first one, we try to analyze the conditions that prevailed in the Soviet Union, especially in reference to the early years that followed the revolution and the civil war, in an attempt to clarify the overall context, of needs and dreams, which had to be met. We also deal with the first economic schemes, which contain the first seeds of socialist housing and even follow the consequences that these have on the most active groups of architects at the time.
In the second part, more light is shed on the conditions that apply on the region of Magnitogorsk itself. For that we use as a point of reference the site of the Metal Kombinant, whose construction has already begun, in order to acquaint ourselves with all of the elements that were to participate in the rise of the socialistic city. We trail the battle of the workers against the elements of nature and bureaucracy, in their effort to successfully accomplish a deed unthinkable, even in terms of more technologically advanced western nations.
In the third and last part, we present the proposals that, according to us, posed the most interesting opinions. So the proposals of Ernst May, Ivan Leonidov, Mikhail Okhitovich and Nikolai Miliutin are one by one analyzed. In every case we refer firstly to the character and personality of each contestant and then to the main ideas that he expressed. As a result, we hope to achieve better understanding of the general context and the ideals behind each and every proposition made by the four architects. In addition to this we present series of sketches and drawings made by them, but also in many cases a 3d general re-viewing, that should be rather helpful.