Nikolai Nikitin designed and engineered the tower, and Leonid Batalov and Dmitry Burdin shaped its appearance. The infobox gives a construction start of 1963, while the text says 1959. The grand opening in 1967 marked the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution, and the remaining works were finished by 1969. It is reinforced concrete with steel cables inside.
The antenna spire stands 1,772 feet (540.1 m) high, the roof 1,264 feet (385.4 m) and the top floor 1,182 feet (360.4 m). The infobox lists it as the tallest free-standing structure in the world from 1967 to 1975. The glazed observation deck is at 1,106 feet (337 m).
A fire on August 27, 2000, destroyed the restaurant's three floors and killed three people. Only 19 of the 150 cables remained intact. Restoring the restaurant took 16 years. Observation decks reopened with pilot tours on March 27, 2008.
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