When the Soviet Union crumbled, so did many old ways of thinking. In an effort to leave their communist past behind them, many countries of the former USSR bloc designed buildings that were bold, unique, and futuristic. Photographer Frank Herfort, based in Berlin and Moscow, recently released a book entitled Imperial Pomp, which celebrates this architectural revival. The book details the photographer’s 15,000-mile trek through dozens of former Soviet countries. He spent his journey documenting the striking and often peculiar buildings he came across, which sometimes stand in sharp relief against a sparse and humble backdrop.
“Architects, it seems, were encouraged to be as bold as possible. You feel that each building wants to scream out, that ‘I’m the best, the biggest, the richest.’ It is now more a question of prestige, which didn’t play any role in the Soviet times,” Herfort told Metropolis Mag.
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[via VisualNews]
