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).
this post was submitted on 01 Dec 2025
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When I see photos like these I always go and find the nicest summer picture I can find of it.
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.
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
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.
haters will look at a kick-ass obelisk of the arts and unironically call it "depressing" or "dystopian"
Some people just don't understand brutalism. Or knee jerk to "hate the Soviets for building concrete boxes" when they see something like this in Russia. Even if they'd love it photographed in different lighting and if they were told it was in America or Western Europe.
it could use a mural
That's my favourite thing about those "depressing commieblocks" when they were still well maintained... all the murals based on Soviet cultural values or just plain cool art in that awesome socialist realism style. Those were awesome. I hate seeing modern pictures of them just falling to pieces on sides of crumbling buildings.
My first thought albeit the one with Rutger Hauer
seems a bit tall for concert hall, what are they cooking there
This does look like it was stylised to look like a 1900's mine, the part in middle is a elevator above the shaft, on the sides are smokestacks of the steam machines, and the box in the back is main building where usually the elevator winding machine was (those could be really huge). I guess it was compressed to fit a smaller plot.
I love this photo! Thought it was black and white at first, but the cherries and berries add a welcome contrast (for once). I’m incredibly biased though as a lover of concrete and Russian composers/ballet. For instance I far prefer this to the look of the Bolshoi theater in Moscow 
Me: “fuck yeah concrete” https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kP6azyz7PHE
This is me with those Soviet brutalist buildings too... sure, there's absolutely situations for elaborate art in architecture, but functional concrete cubes are definitely my favourite.
Usually the acoustics are top notch and project the sound very well inside. Not to mention insulation!
The Soviets really knew what they were doing when it came to putting function first and aesthetics next in almost any project. And yet a shit ton of their projects still turned out as "highly functional public art".
Yeah I’ve made a point to study cold weather engineering and a lot of times it’s “oops all Soviet engineering!”
Well, if you look at the USSR on a map and overlay a climate map, you'll see why that is. Huge chunk of the nation was in the far north, and when you have a huge nation that's mostly in a very cold climate, you'll tend to design infrastructure across the whole nation to be suited to cold weather, if you always care about function first and aesthetics last, which the Soviets usually did.
For sure. My point of reference is northern North America- so not really form or function- just extraction at the lowest possible cost
Ah yeah. Same. For all that people here rant and rave about Soviet brutalism being where good design goes to die, at least it focused on function, I've seen far uglier buildings that don't even look well built in my city.
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
Thank you robot
aesthetic
Ballet my ass, I know a haunted space station when I see one
looks capable of withstanding up to a 10 megaton airburst
also i bet it's like being inside a cave
That building > Dredd (2012)
Seriously. Damn. I watched the movie just last week.