In posts earlier this year, I’ve written about Mariupol and about a series of books on Socialist Modernism, and this post looks at two new photo albums that bring the two themes together in their celebration of architectural decoration in the city largely from the second half of the Soviet century.  They are Mariupolʹ monumentalʹnyĭ (Monumental Mariupol) from 2022 and Usi vidtinky mariupolʹsʹkykh mozaïk (All the colours of Mariupol mosaics) from 2020.

Both books are really eye-catching.  Soviet-era architectural decoration is not to everyone’s tastes (while I’d welcome a mural of metalworkers in any waiting room, as below, you might not), but it is undeniably interesting.

Yet as with all things relating to Mariupol, there is a strong sense of hovering tragedy throughout.  How many of the work that features in the books still survives in the city after its devastation by the Russian invasion?  Both books feature the work of photographer Stanislav Ivanov.  In the 2022 book, he has a chapter specifically called Mariupol Monumentalism after 24 February 2022.  We will of course look out for any new editions where this theme might be further explored, but with the city still under Russian occupation, it would be dangerous for anyone to be trying to photograph damage right now.

We hope that these newly acquired books will be of interest to readers studying Ukraine across various subjects.

Mel Bach