Krasny Oktyabr (Red October) is a Russian and Soviet confectionery factory on Bersenevskaya Embankment (between Moskva river and Vodootvodny canal) in Moscow.
Built by the German firm “Einem” in the 1890s, after the October Revolution, it was nationalized and received its present name. In the 2000s, it joined the United Confectioners company. After the closure of the enterprise, the factory buildings were mainly preserved and converted into offices, retail and exhibition areas.
The last owners of the enterprise retained the legal entity (Open Joint Stock Company Krasny Oktyabr), whose production facilities are located in the new building of the Babaevskaya confectionery factory on Malaya Krasnoselskaya Street.
In 1889, the next owner Geiss acquired several plots on the Bersenevskaya embankment in connection with the expansion of production. One of the first facilities was the production building designed by the architect A. V. Flodin. Later, according to the architect A. M. Kalmykov’s project, several more production buildings and tenement houses were erected, forming the basis of the factory ensemble.
The formation of the factory ensemble was completed in 1914 by joining the apartment building of the Cloth Factory, converted into garages. In total, 23 buildings were built for the Einem factory on the Bersenevsky site, which became the main one.
Closing and repurposing
In 2004, the first stage of the Patriarchal Bridge was opened, providing a convenient approach to the nearest metro station (Kropotkinskaya). From then, an exhibition and trade complex began on the factory’s territory.
On September 18, 2004, in the premises of the former factory garages, on the initiative of the artist Vladimir Dubossarsky, the cultural center “ARTstrelka” was opened, which existed until 2009.
Later, numerous art exhibitions and contemporary art fairs were held on the factory’s territory, and art galleries were opened.
The new owner of the former factory buildings – “Guta-development” – rents out the premises; among the tenants are the Strelka Institute, VCIOM, several architectural bureaus, the Digital October conference center, several exhibition centers, restaurants and shops.
Nearest metro: Kropotkinskaya.
See also Architecture of Moscow, Palaces and most historic buildings of Moscow.
