10 impressive PHOTOS of Stalin's 'Empire-style' architecture

Mikhail Rozanov. From the 'Dream' series , C-Print, 2019-2020
A new look at Soviet buildings and their intriguing facades.

The buildings of Moscow’s seven Stalinist skyscrapers and the Lenin Library are quite distinct, but photographer Mikhail Rozanov cast a new light on them, revealing details you probably never noticed before.

His black-and-white series Mechta (Dream) is dedicated to the last great architectural style in the USSR: "Soviet neoclassicism." It includes many variations, including the so-called Stalinist Empire style, intended to showcase the pomp and grandeur of the “Land of the Soviets.”

Take a look at the monument-style ornamentation of the buildings of Moscow State University, the Lenin Library, the skyscrapers on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment, the Central pavilion at VDNKh, and other Soviet-era edifices.

The works of Mikhail Rozanov are on display from Feb. 6 to March 29 in the Dream exhibition at the Ruarts Gallery as part of the Photobiennale-2020 festival.

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