CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 9/22/2015

Soviet Bus Stops

We love FUEL Publishing's addictive new book on Soviet Bus Stops, collecting 160 of Christopher Herwig's most emblematic photographs of this heretofore underappreciated vernacular form. Vera Kavalkova-Halvarsson writes, "In the middle years of the Cold War, the Soviet Union appeared to be marching in unison to the beat of a single drummer. With Brezhnev at the helm, the liberal reforms of Khrushchev's era froze over, leaving little room for new ideas or creativity. This era—from the late 1960s to the 1980s—became known as the time of stagnation. Ideology regulated all spheres of life, including architecture and art… Yet innovation and creativity always find a way out, and thus 'minor architectural forms' took to the stage. This included the development of unique objects such as 'bus pavilions,' as they were respectfully called. Bus stop designs had certain guidelines, but they were not tightly enforced. Design was limited only by common sense, and even that was sometimes completely abandoned. One of the most famous bus stop architects is Zurab Tsereteli from Georgia, an artist who regularly favored form over function. 'I cannot answer why there is no roof, why is this, why is that – it's their problem. I, as an artist, do everything artistically,' he said." Featured photographs are from Karakol, Kyrgyzstan and Pitsunda, Abkhazia.