this post was submitted on 01 Dec 2025
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Ah, yes. Wintertime grey photography of Soviet brutalism. A classic anti Soviet technique. Still looks pretty cool, if you like Soviet brutalism (and I very much do).
When I see photos like these I always go and find the nicest summer picture I can find of it.
Hah, that's a funny thing to do. I like the idea but my brain just doesn't work like that.
It nicely demonstrates that the building looks stunning in the snowy night
Somehow, I always like the winter photos better anyway. They definitely capture the vibes I like about this type of Soviet architecture way better than summer photos do... it's probably that the things I like about these types of buildings are exactly what most "ugh, concrete commieblocks!" liberals hate about stereotypical Soviet architecture. I dunno, I just really like them. And it's not just that I like to be contrarian or think liberals' nightmares of "authoritarian tankie hell" sounds like a commie wet dream (although it absolutely sometimes does), I just really like brutalism when it's done well, and Western nations and institutions so rarely get it right. And the Soviets absolutely could get it wrong, but they have such a good track record by comparison.
as a winter lover this is pro-soviet imagery to me
I bet it's nice and warm in there
Yes. You get it. I bet it's so cozy and warm and safe in that concrete fortress of a regular old building. So neat.
Same. There's something about this kind of peculiarly Soviet architecture (yes, brutalism was a thing outsite the Soviet Union, but a lot of Western countries just couldn't do it well then and still bloody can't, the way the Soviet Union usually did it is the only interpretation of it I've ever liked), photographed in an Eastern European winter, that's just my favourite aesthetic ever. More contemporary Western building styles in winter don't quite do it, summer pictures of these same Soviet brutalist structures don't quite do it. Huge grey concrete blocks and towers rising out of the snow. Extremely powerful imagery that evokes a strong ideological fortress in the storm that is the Cold War and opposition forces from all sides. For me the appeal of Soviet brutalism is a building that makes you feel like you'd be safe in there, from any threat. Like there's probably a bunker underneath the part you can see the exterior of. Like the walls are much too strong for any disaster to actually damage the building. And that imagery and being inside a bunker or blockhouse like that, is what I imagine when someone calls me a "tankie" (or makes a joke about commies and our bunkers), and I get all warm and fuzzy inside.