Russian Bus Stop Architecture
January 11, 2007 4:04 PM   Subscribe

The (previously mentioned) excellent webzine Polar Inertia has a great photo essay on Soviet Roadside Bus Stops. The crazy architecture & diversity are really interesting, as is the abject sparseness of territory around the stops. Via.
posted by jonson (18 comments total) 12 users marked this as a favorite
 
That site (Polar Interia) has alot of beautiful photography. Aside from the subject of this post, also check out the New Orleans pictures, for example.
posted by milnak at 4:41 PM on January 11, 2007


Bus stops number 2, 6 and 7 are in Kazakhstan.

Many of the others are in other parts of Central Asia - Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
posted by maggiemaggie at 5:03 PM on January 11, 2007


Captain Kirk ?
posted by sgt.serenity at 5:20 PM on January 11, 2007


that should be Spock, sorry.
posted by sgt.serenity at 5:21 PM on January 11, 2007


Bizarro bus stops. Better concrete than metal (Russian Man Freezes Penis To Bus Shelter).

I really love the photography at that Polar Inertia site.
posted by nickyskye at 5:41 PM on January 11, 2007


Whoa, kind of constructivist. These are great, jonson, thanks.
posted by mediareport at 6:44 PM on January 11, 2007


These are stunning. I'm just crazy about these things. Really cool post, jonson!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:43 PM on January 11, 2007


I have to say that these are more exceptions than rules. I did see a number of such stops during my time in Russia, but most stops looked more like this one or this one.
(self links)

This is pure speculation, but it seemed to me that there must have been a program to implement such things- an artist's grant kind of thing.

Warning, browser-breaking huge 10mpix images.

Nice post, definitely a good find.
posted by fake at 8:49 PM on January 11, 2007


jonson: fail sometime for me. please? it'd be nice to know you weren't an excellence robot.
posted by localhuman at 9:12 PM on January 11, 2007


Jesus, those are some of the most beautiful Bus stops I’ve seen… (wouldn’t it be a good idea if we were to have artists/sculptors/designers try and create these all around the cities where we lived, and then we could all enjoy them whenever we wanted.).
posted by hadjiboy at 10:26 PM on January 11, 2007



fake:
I once heard a designer from Berlin speak about life for East German art school graduates; apparently the authorities published a sort of catalog or list of various "good works" that artists could apply for. I wouldn't be surprised if the Soviets had something similar.

Great find, jonson! I think this one is my favorite.
posted by oneirodynia at 10:32 PM on January 11, 2007


archetypical soviet
posted by subaruwrx at 10:42 PM on January 11, 2007


These make me think "'50's". Rt. 66 w/o the appeal to consume.
posted by pointilist at 10:50 PM on January 11, 2007


archetypical soviet

That looks just the thing to shield you from the ravages of a Russian winter.
posted by vbfg at 1:26 AM on January 12, 2007


Eh, a lot of that Polar Inertia stuff isn't worth the time. That photog has some good notions, but they fill out the portfolios with a lot of repetitive and/or pointless shots.
posted by Tuffy at 5:53 AM on January 12, 2007


This is my favourite, they should make some like this around here.

It's kind of wierd how many of these shelters seem to be no where near a road.
posted by Mitheral at 6:53 AM on January 12, 2007


Nice photos, thanks!
posted by carter at 1:15 PM on January 12, 2007


It's kind of wierd how many of these shelters seem to be no where near a road

Maybe the good comrades over at the Supreme Soviet Central Planning Committee decided that building bus shelters in the middle of nowhere would serve as powerful incentive for dynamic capitalist entrepreneurs to emerge from society and build a network of private highways that would connect all the state-run farms and factories.

That must be it.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:07 PM on January 12, 2007


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