Soviet modernism gift guide
There are so many different reasons one could be interested in Soviet Modernism and microrayons - history, pure aesthetics, nostalgia, urban planning or modernist furniture. Trying to find gifts for us can be pretty tricky and there are only so many copies of Frédéric Chaubin’s ‘CCCP’ one can have. So whether you are trying to get something for a dedicated architecture enthusiast, someone who appreciates the brutalist aesthetic or even just want to find a good book on the subject for yourself, hopefully, this guide can help!
1.A book from FUEL Publishing
FUEL is a design-focused publisher with many interesting photography/design books to choose from (so no worries, not a lot of reading here). This year I have to highlight Ukrainian photographer Dmytro Soloviov’s book ‘Ukrainian Modernism’ with an introduction by architecture critic Owen Hatherley. A book that I will be gifting myself.
Or if you need a break from soviet modernism, ‘London Estates: Modernist Council Housing 1946–1981’ by Thaddeus Zupančič would be a great choice.
2. A Map from BlueCrow media
A great gift for someone planning a future trip or always looking for inspiration on where to go next is one of the Blue Crow Media maps. You will find a great variety of different architectural and design maps here, not just modernism-related ones (and even ones highlighting women’s history in London or the Great Trees of Paris). The one I have bought myself to manifest a future trip to Georgia is Tbilisi Architecture Map, but I’m sure everyone can find something for themselves here.
3. A calendar or mug (or chair?) from Made in Yugoslavia
If they’re more interested in the aesthetics of the period, interior decors like posters or even dishes would be a great place to start. I’m sure there are plenty of vintage/second-hand shops wherever you live (if you do happen to live in Latvia, my suggestions would be Tikai Krējms, Labā Bode or Skandināvs), but sometimes that requires too much time and effort. Recently Made in Yugoslavia store has been popping up on my feed and, although I haven’t tested them out yet, the mix between genuine vintage items produced in Yugoslavia and Yugoslavia themed ‘merch’ is quite tempting. For example, this Hotels of Yugoslavia wall calendar would be the perfect gift this holiday.
4. Vintage book from iBook (or iskrabooks)
Even though I have a love/hate relationship with this website, if you think you’ve read all the mainstream books on soviet modernism (and live in Latvia), it’s time to open up iBook. It’s basically facebook marketplace (or andelemandele) for books. And once you get over the interface, you can find some quite interesting stuff on there. One of my favourites is ‘Rīgas Arhitektūra’ by Jānis Lejnieks and Indriķis Stūrmanis with information about different districts in Riga and stunning photographs. Or ‘Dzīvojamās ēkas III’ by V.Auns. Plus the prices are unbeatable. Alternatively iskrabooks is a good resource if you live abroad!
5. A poster from the modernist
Or how about a poster with their favourite British housing estate? The modernist is a society/gallery/magazine/shop based in Manchester where you can find various brutalism themed books, maps and posters. They recently came out with ‘Modernist Scotland’ by Bruce Peter, which is on my to-read list. But you can also find zines and exhibition journals more related to soviet modernism. Like this ‘BRUTAL’ issue by Tom Benjamin on Linnahall, or this catalogue from a past exhibition named Fragile Brutalism on Ukranian mass housing by Ukranian urban graphic project Seria__.
6. Architectural model from ZUPAGRAFIKA
I’m sure most of you have heard of ZUPAGRAFIKA - a publisher, author and photography team based in Poland. Besides their book ‘Panelki’ or ‘Eastern Blocks II’ (with pictures from Riga), they have Build Your Own kits with miniature architectural paper models. Like this Brutal East kit with buildings from Vilnius, Prague, Belgrade and more.
7. Owen Hatherley ‘Baltic Postcards’
As mentioned above, Owen Hatherley is an architecture critic, but not in a snobby ‘I won’t understand what half of this means’ way, but in a more honest and approachable way. He often writes about architecture and history as he is exploring these spaces, which adds a great deal of detail and shows us how much built spaces can tell us about the past. Some of you might be familiar with one of his books, like ‘Landscapes of Communism’ which I would also recommend (although while it’s an interesting read, it definitely isn’t a quick one). But this time I want to highlight a collection of his essays ‘Baltic Postcards’ (Baltijas atklātnes) translated in Latvian and published by Orbita. As the name suggests, it includes essays the author has published on the Baltic region.
8. A calendar of brutalist architecture in Prague? Or a postcard with soviet playgrounds from Germany?
Perhaps something a little less accessible for most of us, but I still wanted to include these. PRGbrut is an account documenting brutalism in Prague and this year they have come out with a wall calendar that you can find (amongst other things) on their website.
But if you’re based in Germany, then it is worth checking out Gerüste der Republik, archiving vintage playgrounds and making cute graphics out of them. They do have a calendar and postcards on their website, but you might have to catch them in one of the winter markets if you want to buy them!
