Soviet Era Iconography, Part Two, a photo essay

 

Marx, Engels and Lenin are featured in this frieze above what was formerly the headquarters of the Communist Party in Balti, Moldova. The building has been renovated and functions now as an office for various municipal agencies, and though the city has removed all of its Lenin statues, as of 2022 this frieze still remains. 

This is also in Balti at the peak above the main entry to School No 6, named after Nikolai Gogol. 

This and the next few images are also from above the entryway to a school. In this case, it's a Russian and Romanian speaking school in Balti, Moldova.

This decorous red structure pictured above is in a park in the city of Khabarovsk, though it's a type seen commonly throughout the former USSR.

Note the red medaillion symbol as part of the upper facade of the State Natural Gas building in Khabarovsk. The ice swan in front of it was carved by hand on the site as part of a celebration of winter that features ice sculptures across the city.

This frieze pictured above tops the main entry of the People's Concert and Performance Hall built between the wars in the city of Khabarovsk.

Visible are the last two words of a quotation from V.I. Lenin: Art Belongs To The People

Above is pictured a section from a mural in the city of Komsomol Na Amur. Below are more images from the same mural.

The banner reads: Glory To The Komsomol. 

KOMSOMOL is an abbreviation for the full name: Communist Youth League.

The initials on the sign that run in arc below Lenin's head are VLKSM, which stand for: All Union Leninist Young Communist League. 

The three statues above represent the ideal young workers, or proletariat, both male and female.

These museum figures represent soldiers, most likely tank operators from the Second World War.

Olympic circles were quite common as part of the Soviet aesthetic, which would date this mural to circa 1980, the year the Olympics were held in Moscow.

Above, this is a former Soviet municipal building. Note the flags. This was taken in 2015. 

In the photo above there is a large red banner in the upper left-hand corner to celebrate the 70th year anniversary of victory over the Nazi's in the Second World War. These banners were in nearly every city of the Russian Federation in 2014-15.

Memorials celebrating the estimated 20 million (possibly more) dead due to the Second World War can be found in every former Soviet city. 

This is a sign for #9 Soviet Street. 

Women fighters, as well as nurses and teachers were celebrated by the Soviets, especially after their significant contribution during World War Two.

At the same time, motherhood and the care of children was valued highly and celebrated.

Above is a photo of the Gazprom office and in front of it the largest remaining staute of Lenin in the former USSR. This is in Petropavlosk Kamchatky. There are more of them below, as well.

These last two images below are of the same statue. There were many like this one, showing Lenin caring with compassion for children. In this one, he's comforting a boy who is crying.