Russian Federation. Kaliningrad. 2001.House of Soviets.The area in front of the Hotel Kaliningrad is where Konigsberg began. The city Konigsberg - originally three separate towns - grew around walls of a 13-century castle. Severely damaged during WWII air raids, it could have been restored, but was dubbed by the Soviet authorities a symbol of fascism and Prussian militarism and therefore demolished. Despite letters of protest sent to the Kremlin, the castle was razed in 1968. The concrete House of Soviets was built in its place, designed to be the centrepiece of the new ideal socialist city called Ka-li-ningrad. Today this half-finished construction sits decaying on one of the best pieces of real estate in the city.