Lubyanka Square, Moscow

In recent history, Lubyanskaya Square (Russian: Lubyanskaya ploshchad) or simply Lubyanka, has been one of, if not the, most notorious locations in Moscow, largely associated with the presence of the infamous headquarters of the Soviet secret service in its various incarnations: Cheka, OGPU, NKVD, MGB, KGB, and lately FSB.

The first historical records of Lubyanka date back to 1480, when Tsar Ivan III, having conquered Novgorod in 1471, settled many Novgorodians in this part of Moscow who then called the area Lubyanka after the Lubyanitsy district in their home town.

After the Revolution, the square was renamed and for many years (from 1926 to 1990) went by as Dzerzhinsky Square in honor of the founder of the Soviet security force Felix Dzerzhinsky. The monumental Lubyanka building was constructed in 1897-1898 and originally intended to house an insurance company. In 1918, the Bolsheviks seized it to accommodate the newly-established Cheka.

In 1958, the fountain at the center of Lubyanka Square was replaced by an 11-ton statue of Felix Dzerzhinsky ("Iron Felix"). In 1991, the statue was removed by liberal protesters following the failed coup against Mikhail Gorbachev, upon which the square's original name was officially restored.

Opposite the FSB building stands the massive Detsky Mir ("Children's World"), Europe's largest children's store. Built between 1953 and 1957, it was fully restored in 2014. There, inside the main atrium you will find the world's largest mechanical clock, Raketa Monumental.