Communist Highlights in Prague and the Czech Republic

Czechoslovakia had existed as an independent state since the end of WWI and the dissolution of the Austrian Empire. However, this small yet economically advanced province was soon to be caught right in the middle of a storm which insisted on central Europe until the 1990s, at which time this country finally gained its true independence.

Back in the Thirties, Czechoslovakia was forcibly annexed to the Third Reich as a result of the Munich Agreement in 1938. This event can be seen a major destabilizing step in Hitler’s foreign relations, clearly showing that the situation was deteriorating fast in central Europe.

Following the troublesome years of Nazi rule, this region was captured by Soviet and US troops at the end of the war. A new republic was founded, but the local communist party was very well organized, so Czechoslovakia shared the destiny of many neighbor countries which had been occupied by the Red Army in the final stage of the war. Backed by Stalin, a communist coup d’état in 1948 led to the establishment of a Soviet-style dictatorship, which was to last until 1989, making Czechoslovakia a Soviet satellite country.

Despite the relatively small size on the map, Czechoslovakia played a significant role in the economy of the Eastern Bloc. This country had a well established tradition in the production of weapons, metal hardware and machinery. Its soil is rich in Uranium. Furthermore, the forward position on the border with non-communist Western Germany and Austria further raised its strategic significance. When a secession from Moscow was tried by the local communist government, led by reformer Alexander Dubcek in 1968 – a phase known as the ‘Prague Spring’ -, the USSR reacted with all its military might, staging a full-scale invasion of the country by land and air, overturning the high ranks of the unreliable Czechoslovakian government, and putting this valuable region under a stricter communist leadership.

Clearly, the end of the communist dictatorship is today duly celebrated as a historical achievement both in the Czech Republic and Slovakia – respectively the western and eastern portions of Czechoslovakia, which peacefully split in 1993. The more than 40 years of struggle against Soviet rule constitute the theme of several interesting permanent exhibitions, but these are not the only witnesses of those troubled times. More tangible relics – all open to the public – are former border posts with former West Germany, a one-of-a-kind original communist prison camp for political prisoners, as well as some pieces of architectures and bunkers from the Cold War age.

This post is dedicated to these highlights, all to be found in the region between Prague and the border with Bavaria, in todays Czech Republic. Photographs were collected on a short trip in summer 2018.

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Sights

Museum of Communism, Prague

Far from a cheesy description of everyday life in the years of the Cold War, or an inaccurate account of the history of the communist plague as a social phenomenon, this permanent exhibition takes you in detail along the history of Czechoslovakia in the years immediately before WWII, when it basically lost its independence to the Germans, and going on to 1989, when with the so-called Velvet Revolution Czechoslovakia abandoned the Soviet sphere of influence and overthrew the communist dictatorship.

The exhibition features an equilibrated mixture of original artifacts – paintings, statues, memorabilia,… -, photographs, models, dioramas and explicative panels.

Interestingly, speaking of the Thirties and the imposed annexation to the Third Reich, you can see models of the border forts along the former German (now Polish) border. These are covered in this dedicated post.

The history of the anti-fascist operations, and of the role of the communist party in them, are thoroughly analyzed, and so are the decisive years immediately following the war. It is recalled how this nation was partly invaded by US troops, hence it was contested as a pure-Soviet conquer. A short-lived free Czechoslovakian republic was founded, which fell under communist control, and in the years of Stalin, with a Soviet military presence in the country, this meant the end of any independence from the USSR.

Similar to East Berlin, Prague ended up to host a huge monument to Stalin. This was built on top of a hill facing the city, on the north bank of the river. It was suddenly blown after the death of the Soviet dictator, leaving an empty esplanade which can be still seen today (see a section below).

The establishment of a communist rule since the start meant the implementation of brutal repressive measures, including prison camps for political opponents, which were largely employed as forced laborers all over the territory of the state, especially for mining activities. Preventive imprisonment, extorted confessions and executions were typical to the years of Stalin. Even the troops who had come in contact with the western Allies during the war were exonerated and imprisoned, to perfectly guarantee the stability of the communist leadership of the army. A detailed account of this little-know, large-scale repressive activity is documented also by means of reconstructed interrogation rooms, as well as spy gear used by the Czechoslovakian communist political police, the StB.

A related interesting chapter is that of the border shared with neighbor western countries. Similar to the German Democratic Republic (see this post), the border with West Germany and Austria was heavily guarded to stop those who wanted to flee the country. A fence of many kilometers was erected and modernized on more instances. A number of citizens were sent to prison or even lost their lives trying to escape to the West. More on this can be found today on the border with Germany (see a section below).

A significant area is devoted to the wannabe-reformer Alexander Dubcek and the 1968 ‘Prague Spring’. The aggressive Soviet reaction to the experiment, backed by the new Brezhnev leadership, provided an example for other Soviet satellite countries seeking for independence. The invasion of Czechoslovakia, called ‘Operation Danube’, was carried out as a surprise attack, paralyzing all urban infrastructures by quickly landing troops and material with a well-organized airlift on the nation’s major civil airports, including Prague and Brno. Simultaneously, land troops of many countries of the Eastern Bloc crossed the border and rapidly occupied all military installations. Guerrilla actions took place especially in Prague, but it was soon clear that an action so massive could not be counteracted by the sole Czechoslovakian forces.

The Soviet aggression cleared any doubt about the attitude of the new leadership of the USSR. It was generally condemned even by the communist parties of the western world, but this was not helpful for Czechoslovakia, which could not overthrow the re-established Soviet-style dictatorship until the almost simultaneous collapse of the communist regimes bound to the USSR in 1989.

Getting there and moving around

This museum is an excellent resource and a starting point for gaining an insight on the history of Czechoslovakia from the late 1930s to the 1990s. A general knowledge of the Cold War history may help to better collocate the facts reported in the exhibition on the world stage, yet even if this is the first museum of the kind you may visit, it can be extremely interesting.

It is located in central Prague, perfectly accessible with a walk in the beautiful central district from the majority of the hotels. Visiting may easily take 2 hours for an interested subject. All panels and captions are in double language, Czech and English. Website with full information here.

Nuclear Bunker for Civil Defense, Prague

Following the escalation of the nuclear stockpiles in the US and USSR, countermeasures to resist a nuclear attack were implemented in many countries. Besides specific training for both troops and civilians, shelters were built for government agencies, and for the population of most crowded areas. While typically far from sufficient to save even a minimal part of the population in case of a nuclear attack, these structures were nonetheless rather extensive and sophisticated. Especially in central Europe, within reach of nuclear missiles from the start of the rocket age (see this post), nuclear bunkers for civil defense were serious structures, today standing as tangible witnesses of the Cold War (see this post).

In Prague, the system for civil defense was implemented in the form of a series of bunkers around the city center, started in the early 1950s. Over the following decades a network was created comprising the underground railway system and several metro stops, which  similar to West Berlin, could be turned into nuclear bunkers providing shelter, decontamination gear and supplies for hundreds of people for several weeks.

Of this comprehensive system only a small part can be visited today. The bunker in the Parukarka district, northeast of the city center, can be accessed from a distinctive concrete gate – today covered in ignorant graffiti – in the side of a hill. Right behind the external gate you can find a massive tight door, capable of resisting to a nuclear blast, and providing access to a stair well, leading deep underground.

From the bottom of the stairs, you are led through a network of tunnels, originally intended for storing supplies and as living quarters for refugees.

The toilet is still operative today. An emergency room with original medical tools has been reconstructed.

An interesting exhibition showcases a beautiful collection of gas masks, dosimeters, posters with emergency survival procedures and propaganda items.

A room where the main tunnel splits in multiple branches gives access to a decontamination facility, a security communication post, and an area where a small exhibition on the Cold War has been placed.

The latter includes sample mass-produced goods originally stored in the bunker, maps, and full nuclear and chemical protection suits and masks.

You can also try putting on a mask, and take up a rifle for a weird selfie!

Getting there and moving around

The bunker can be reached a few tram stops from the main railway station. The entrance is located next to the southwestern corner of Parukarka park on Prokopova alley, a block away from Hotel Olsanka. However, the gate is usually closed, and there is no booth or visitor center there. The bunker can be visited by appointment only, or on a regular basis by taking the special-themed communist tour of Prague (see website here). The latter was my option. This tour is offered in English and maybe other languages, and will take you on a walk to a few places usually portrayed in the historical pictures from the days of ‘Operation Danube’ of 1968, and during the Velvet Revolution of 1989. The starting point is close to the Clock Tower, on the central square of historical Prague.

The highlight of the multi-hour tour is the civil defense bunker, which makes the tour appealing. For the rest, except for little information, the tour is not excessively interesting, especially if you have already a good knowledge of the history of the Cold War and of Czechoslovakia at that time. It may the depend on the guide – mine was a relatively young man, who albeit prepared, did not seem to be able to give answers to more detailed or technical questions. Furthermore, the time spent inside the bunker is limited, and very scant explanations are provided about the exhibitions and artifacts on display there. Time is not enough for good photographs. The website of the bunker, for more info or for booking a private visit, is here.

Soviet-Related Buildings and Monuments, Prague

A few buildings in Prague have a historical significance bound to the Cold War, either for the role they had in the years of the communist dictatorship, or for the fact they were erected in Soviet style.

A first example is the headquarter of the StB, the political police of Czechoslovakia, similar to the KGB, Stasi or Securitate of other communist countries. This is located in central Prague, and occupies a building which had been previously built for another purpose.

To the northwest of the historical district, on the northern bank of the river, you can find a prominent example of Soviet architecture – Hotel International. This was designed in the years of Stalin, and this is reflected in the typical Stalinist tower architecture (see this post). It had been intended as a building of the department of defense, to host high-ranking military staff. It never covered this role, and after the construction years, lasting 1952-1956, it was inaugurated as a luxury hotel, with the same name it bears today.

After the end of communism in Europe, the hotel has been refurbished, returning the exteriors to the original appearance. The star on top the central spire is original too. The frieze features hammers and sickles, as well as other examples of typical communist iconography.

Today a rather unapparent square with a nice view of the old city, the base of the monument to Stalin with the giant staircases leading to it from the water level can be found on the northern bank of the river. This area is today partly degraded, and used for temporary art installations. Only pictures from the time allow to get an idea of the monster size of the sculpture group once standing there, with Stalin and other folks overlooking the city.

The monument was blown after Stalin was condemned by the Communist Party of the USSR, soon after his death.

Among the relatively few statues and prominent buildings dating back to the years of communist dictatorship is a couple of cosmonauts. This can be found in the southern periphery of the city, immediately out of the metro station Haje. The neighborhood is mainly residential, dating from Soviet times. Notwithstanding the general decency of the area, these two astronauts are somewhat forgotten, close to an overgrown hedge.

Getting there and moving around

The mentioned communist architectural highlights in Prague are somewhat scattered.

The StB headquarters are located on the corner between Bartolomějská Ulice and Na Perstyne, at the very center of the historical district. The former Stalin monument can be reached climbing uphill from the northern end of Chechuv Most bridge, a short walk from the historical district. Besides the questionable interest for what remains of the monument, climbing up is advisable at least for the exceptional view you can enjoy from the balcony.

The Hotel International is located further north of the city center, where Koulova alley meets Cinska road. The nice residential area is served by a number of tram and bus stops, but reaching may be easier by car. Clearly, you can also elect to stay at the hotel.

The two cosmonauts can be found in the southern peripheral district Haje, just outside of the homonym metro stop, close to a larger bus stop area. Again, reaching is less time consuming by car.

Vojna Prison Camp, Pribram

A one-of-a-kind memorial in the panorama of former communist-led countries is preserved just south of the small town of Pribram, about 40 miles southwest of Prague. This is a full scale prison camp for forced laborers, instituted by the communist dictatorship in the years of Stalin, back in 1947. The prisoners of this camp were interned only for political reasons. Together with other similar installations, it supplied workforce for the extraction of uranium ore from mines nearby. The number of inmates increased steadily until the early 1960s, reaching the order of 1,500, until a series of amnesties were promulgated and prison camps were closed in Czechoslovakia.

The camp went on to be operated as a military depot, and reopened as a national memorial in the late 1990s.

Close to the entrance, which is via the original gate in the outer fence of the camp, a former industrial building has been substituted by a modern building with roughly the same shape, hosting a conference center and the visitor center. When on a self-guided tour, you are advised to start your visit with an exhibition on the history of the Czechoslovakian prison camps, hosted in the former guard quarters. The exhibition provides models, pictures and quick numbers to get an idea of the proportion of the repression and internment of political prisoners, as well as of the forced labor system set up by the communist leadership.

A memorial to those who perished as a result of political repression and imprisonment in the area of Pribram concludes this part.

The partly original and partly reconstructed buildings on display include a complete external perimeter, a prison and a rigor cell.

Inside an inner guarded perimeter, a few barracks for the inmates have been reconstructed or refurbished, and are used to showcase temporary and permanent exhibitions. One of great interest at the time of my visit described in detail the days of the liberation from the Nazi occupation – US troops briefly took over control of the area, and they met the Soviet army nearby Pribram.

There are also service buildings for the guards, with a small movie theater and a canteen.

Another interesting part is the original emergency room and clinic. The face of Stalin in the doctor’s room is particularly disturbing. Besides the generally harsh living conditions, illnesses and injuries typical to mine works were rather common. Inexperience of the forced laborers clearly added to the injury rates.

In a building to the far end of the camp you can find an exhibition about mining activities in the area and uranium extraction in Czechoslovakia, which represented an asset of this country in the eyes of the USSR.

Getting there and moving around

The prison camp is opened as a national memorial. It can be reached by car along highway N.4 in 30 minutes from central Prague in the small village of Lesetice, immediately south of Pribram. There are opening times, but you can visit either on a self-guided basis or with a guide. I was not given the option of a guided tour in English though, so I enjoyed a self-guided tour. There is some paneling in English, but not extensively covering all parts of the installation. Access to the rigor cell is only possible with a guide, but you may join a guided tour only for that small part of the exhibition, just to get access.

A complete visit on a self-guided basis may take about 1.5 hours for the interested subject, including time for taking all the pictures.

Please note they accept only cash. Website in English with full information here.

Iron Curtain Museum, Rozvadov

This atypical museum is located right on the border with Germany, between the Czech village of Rozvadov and the German town of Frankenreuth, Bavaria. Back in the years of the Cold War, the highway E50 today crossing the border nearby did not exist, and this border post was a major checkpoint on the line between the Eastern Bloc and the West.

The museum is deceptively located in the basement of the gas station immediately cross the border on the Czech side. The gas station itself used to be the custom and border control station, as you can see from historical pictures inside the museum.

The museum is constituted of a collection of photographs and artifacts. The exhibits cover roughly two themes – communism in Czechoslovakia and the Cold War as a global confrontation.

Red banners, small sculptures, photographs and propaganda posters have been collected from various locations in Czechoslovakia. These include official portraits of the communist presidents of Czechoslovakia, and memorabilia belonging to their offices.

A good collection of weapons and communication gear belonging to border guards and local troops of both sides of the Iron Curtain is also on display. Communist-themed commemorative medals and dinnerware are part of the collection.

The part on the global confrontation is smaller, and include photographs from sister museums in other countries including the US, a small documentation on the history of nuclear tests and the nuclear stockpiles in the Cold War period.

On the outside, a few vehicles of the former border guards can be found (no pictures due to heavy rain).

Getting there and moving around

This nice small museum is surely worth visiting for the interested subject, even though it does not concentrate much on the history of the local border post. The website in Czech language can be found here, basic visiting info can be easily found with some Google translation. It can be reached by car on the road connecting Frankenreuth, Bavaria, and Rozvadov, immediately cross the border on the Czech side. Signs to the entrance can be found around the local gas station. Entry is behind the building of the gas station. Visiting on a self-guided basis will not take more than 45 minutes for the interested subject.

Please note that they accept only cash.

Museum of the Border Guard, Rozvadov

This museum is actually a preserved former barrack of the border guards. Not only it looks like the building is still being operated, it actually is, albeit only for reunions of the former guards and local ranger corps, which today keep it open.

Thanks to this special condition, the place is very vivid and makes for an extremely interesting visit. Besides the sleeping quarters, you can find a series of rooms with rifles and technical material, including radio and communication equipment.

If you are lucky, the guide will give you a demonstration of how parts of this technical gear work.

A former class room/meeting room hosts a reconstruction of the fences which used to run all along the border with West Germany and Austria. The level of control was totally similar to the one implemented between the two German Republics (see this post). In the same room there is a small collection of weapons you can touch.

In a room close by the entrance a sentinel was always keeping the assigned sector of the border under control. The various protective layers prevented anybody from escaping the communist territory. Besides watchtowers along the border line, when touched the innermost fence triggered an alarm in the sentinel’s room. This appeared as a mark on a specially designed detector, which could tell with good approximation where the fugitive was trying to cross the border. This would trigger the other guards, who would scramble out and seek for him. This sophisticated piece of machinery was manufactured in the GDR…

Getting there and moving around

Reaching the place can be tricky, for there are no signs leading to it. From the road 605 in Rozvadov, follow the indications to Casino Admiral. This is located on a road climbing gently uphill from the 605. Going further on the same road, you will reach a dead-end, and a group of shabby barracks after about .3 miles. These must have been all service buildings and barracks for the border guards. One of the barracks is the museum. The exact GPS coordinates are (49.673994, 12.545367).

Information on the opening times can be found from the website of the town administration (on the right hand side of the web page).

Opening times are extremely limited. You are followed on your visit by one of the guards, some of them can speak a little English, sufficient for making the visit extremely interesting. There is no institutional ticket, but they will ask for a voluntary cash offer. Visiting may take about 30-40 minutes.

Minsk – A Soviet Capital of the New Millennium

Belarus is exceptional in the panorama of post-soviet countries. Maybe thanks to its geographical location, next to the heart of Europe yet in the closest vicinity of todays Russian Federation, this large piece of almost flat and fertile land is the contact point of two civilizations and ways of life – Russia and core Europe – which merge here in an inexplicable harmony. And this is perfectly reflected in the appearance of its unique capital town – Minsk.

If you have never been there but you are not new to former-communist countries in Europe, what you might expect from the capital of very little-mentioned Belarus, a republic once in the realm of the USSR, is a chaotic town, full of rotting, stripped buildings built with the huge volumes typical to the peripheral areas of Moscow and St. Petersburg, old and smoky Ladas and Chaikas rumbling along rough roads full of puddles, like ten years ago in Sofia or Bucharest (see for instance this chapter). Once there, you will soon understand the picture is really different.

The impression is that of a rich country, with infrastructures right at the level or even above those of western Europe, large and paved roads, modern cars, gas stations everywhere, freshly painted buildings, leveled walkways, colored lights and nightlife.

Of course, the soviet grand architecture is all there. Actually, since Minsk was totally destroyed in 1944, in a fierce battle between the Red Army and the slowly retreating German Wehrmacht – an episode which gained the town the high honor of ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’, still eagerly displayed today – after the war was over, a master-plan for the reconstruction in a perfect Stalinist style was put in place. As a result, Minsk is a rare – perhaps unique – example of a Soviet model-capital from the early Cold War era, when the USSR ruled by Stalin had just triumphed on the stage of a world conflict, and it was setting about to keep up its hold on all eastern Europe. In this sense, at least for a westerner Minsk looks today a town more soviet than others in Russia.

Another element you perceive clearly, not so typical to bigger and way more populated metropolitan areas in the nations of eastern Europe and even in Russia, is a strong sense of order. Nightlife is quiet and not bombastic, cars move around at moderate speed and without creating jams, everything is very clean and calm. Minsk is both busy and quiet, thriving and disciplined – maybe this is just how a soviet capital should have looked like? Belarus suggests how the Soviet Union might have evolved in our days, had it survived its own social and economic failure.

Still today the strong ties with the Russian Federation help feeding the economy on the one hand, but on the other make entering this country a complicated business, like the case is for Russia – anticipated invitations, visas, stringent time frame limitations, … All these rules are gradually being lifted, but the country remains oriented mainly towards its huge eastern neighbor – something you see confirmed looking at the airport timetable in Minsk, from where you can fly to anywhere in Russia, but almost nowhere in Europe. While possibly difficult to deal with, all these controls and bureaucracy help preserving some ‘soviet aura’, which may add to an uncommon travel experience.

This post presents some photographs from central Belarus, taken during a visit to Minsk and some neighbor sites – conveniently reached with a car in less than two hours – in spring 2018.

Map and Visiting

The majority of the sites listed on this chapter can be reached with a relatively short walk from whatever hotel in the city center. Nonetheless, the city is not small and some perspectives are really broad and long. For a more relaxed visit as well as for reaching Khatyn and the Stalin’s Line a car is highly recommended.

Entering the country with a car can be a nightmare, but flying into Minsk and renting a car is indeed possible – I landed in Minsk from Kiev in the Ukraine, and got my car from Avis. Differently from most former countries of the Eastern Bloc, roads are well in line with the highest European standard. Gas stations are abundant, and they accept credit cards. Plus traffic is really well-disciplined, totally different from the Balkan states or even Russia. Parking is generally not a problem, so hop-on/hop-off from your car allows for a time-saving, very effective way of moving in downtown Minsk.

Of course, if you are not planning to go beyond the city limits, you may choose to move around with the public transport system, with a fairly extensive network. Generally speaking, everything is like in the western world from the viewpoint of services, most top-tier western hotels are represented, there are shopping malls with international brands, and so on.

Minsk and its surroundings are unrealistically ordered, you feel perfectly safe both day and night – totally to the other end of the spectrum, compared to other post-soviet cities in eastern Europe.

I spent three full days visiting Minsk and its surroundings, including some historical sites not covered in this chapter, located farther west in the country. I would say this is a good compromise for getting a decent insight of this city.

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Sights in Minsk

Praspyekt Nyezalyezhnastsi – World’s longest boulevard

The backbone of the Stalinist architectural master-plan put in place in Minsk is a multi-miles boulevard called Praspyekt Nyezalyezhnastsi, the longest boulevard in the world at least in Minsk’s tradition, cutting through the most monumental districts and connecting the executive airport to the southwest of downtown to the eastern peripheral belt of the city. The end of the boulevard to the east is not evident, for at some point it changes into a highway, leaving Minsk behind, heading for Smolensk and Moscow.

If you are coming in town from the main airport, located well out of the urban area to the southeast, you are likely to be driven along the full length of this boulevard – with its unpronounceable name.

Along this boulevard, or very close to it, you will meet the majority of the sights described in this chapter.

You may get a really striking impression from this boulevard visiting at night, for every building along it is lighted. The pictures below give some examples.

Independence Square

Locating the actual focal point in the center of Minsk is not easy, but a choice may be Independence Square, once Lenin’s Square – as the name of the underground station recalls. This may be also a trail-head for your tour of the town.

This long and narrow square hides an underground shopping mall. The crystal cupolas on the ground are a distinctive feature of the square. The central monument is centered on the stork as a subject. This bird is not uncommon in this part of Europe, and is the national bird of Belarus.

Around the square you can find some notable buildings. On the northern side is the Roman Catholic church of Saint Simon and Saint Helena, dating from the beginning of the 20th century, and closed for the long decades of the communist dictatorship.

In the northwest corner it is impossible to miss the huge Palace of the Government, with a prominent statue of Lenin. Similar to Russia, the father of pragmatic communism and of the Soviet Union is still kept in high respect.

Continuing around the square, the tallest building to the west and the adjoining facades on the southern side are all part of the Belorussian State University. To the southeastern corner you can spot an office of the Department of Justice.

Central Post Office

Leaving the square along Praspyekt Nyezalyezhnastsi to the east, a first distinctive building is the central post office. The hammer and sickle emblem is still proudly standing on top of the eclectic, soviet-classicism façade. You can find also an interesting clock, looking like a gigantic copy of a vintage radio alarm from the 1960s.

Inside, the small cupola covers a fully functional post office, where also many items of philatelic interest from the Eastern Bloc can be found (they accept credit cards).

Stately apartment and office buildings can be found on both sides of the boulevard as you walk east.

KGB Headquarters

Yes, the name is correct. It is not an exaggeration. Differently from the Russian Federation, the Belorussian government did not change the name of the world-famous State’s security service since the time of the USSR. The huge building of the headquarters is clearly the same. The façade looks impenetrable and grim.

The shield and sword emblem is still prominently standing on the wooden front door.

The ‘soviet aura’ around here couldn’t be more intense. This building is really magnetic, a living witness of a bygone era.

Cross the street, where a nice boulevard – with the very Soviet name of Komsomolskaya Ulitsa – takes to the south going slightly downhill, you can even spot a bust of Felix Dzerzhinsky, a Bolshevik, Lenin’s friend, revolutionary, and founder of the Cheka – the revolutionary executive repression service, years later to evolve in the KGB.

Dzerzhinsky was the armed hand of Lenin, and due to its clear and heavy responsibility in the killing of many of the early victims of the October Revolution, he was put aside even in Russia, his statue being reportedly removed from ahead the Lubjanka, the KGB headquarter in Moscow. The same did not happen in Minsk, possibly because the man was from a noble family from around here.

Crossing with Ulitsa Lenina

Moving on, you will find more buildings with nice soviet-themed friezes and decorations, including the building of the Central Bank of Belarus.

The crossing with Ulitsa Lenina – not unexpectedly – is another focal point of the architectural master-plan. Clearly, here is McDonald’s – probably the neatest in the world!

One block to the south from this crossing along Ulitsa Lenina, you can find a house with tons of marble commemorative tablets on the front, where many notable people have lived. They include Felix Dzerzhinsky.

Kastrycnickaya Square

Taking again Praspyekt Nyezalyezhnastsi and going west, you soon find to the north of the road a huge square – Kastrycnickaya Square – with the modern-soviet building of the Palace of the Republic right in the middle. This building was designed in the 1980s and partly built under soviet leadership. Following the collapse of the USSR, construction was halted for years, and the building was completed only in the late Nineties. It is basically an auditorium for artistic performances, conventions and public governmental meetings as well.

To the eastern side of the square the Labor Union Palace of Culture is a great example of soviet classicism, with sculptures adorning the façade and corners of the greek-temple-like building.

Presidential Palace

Cross the road there is a garden going gently uphill. There is no car access to the eastern side of the garden, and you can spot the stately, grim front of a building of the Armed Forces – once the Soviet Red Army. Today this is mainly a representative building, featuring also a theater. On the southern side of the park you can find the Presidential Palace, a pure soviet-style monster occupying the majority of the block. You will see policemen discreetly keeping a watch on the area.

There are other smaller government-connected buildings around, some with soviet insignia. On a corner of the park there is the Yanka Kupala National Academic Theatre, which for the location and style may be one of the few remains of pre-soviet Minsk in the area.

Television Center and Lee Harvey Oswald’s Home

Again on Praspyekt Nyezalyezhnastsi, the road goes downhill and crosses a small waterway. The area is really nice, and looking northeast from the bridge you can spot the Television Center, with a distinctive tower made of iron beams and likely dating from soviet times.

Getting close to the center, you see the building right ahead of the tower, still today hosting a TV channel, is just another Soviet neoclassical building, still part of the Stalinist master-plan.

The nice apartment building to the the southern side of the TV channel headquarters has some historical significance, since it was there that Lee Harvey Oswald used to live when he spent some years in the Soviet Union in the Fifties.

Much has been said about the intricate plot leading to the shooting of President Kennedy, and the actual part of Oswald will probably remain largely unknown (see this post). Especially his relationships with the USSR are shrouded in mystery, but looking at the building – stately and very nice even for todays standard – the idea that Oswald could live there while being a poor, anonymous worker in a soviet factory does not seem very credible.

House of the First Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party

This small and modest house belonging to the pre-soviet era was until the end of the USSR a pilgrimage destination from all over the Union. It was here that the embryo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, namely the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, held its first congress. This happened back in 1898, and the reportedly largely unsuccessful meeting was held in secrecy among only a few notable political figures, known as troublemakers to the government of the Tzar.

Besides the political-historical interest, the small museum offers interesting memorabilia and furniture from the late Tzar’s era. This house was visited also by communist dictators and dignitaries from around the world, including Nikita Khruschev, Walter Ulbricht and Fidel Castro, whose visits are witnessed by signed documents and photographs.

Victory Monument

Going back to Praspyekt Nyezalyezhnastsi and proceeding slightly farther east, you immediately find an oval square, with an eternal flame and a tall obelisk in the middle. This is the Soviet Victory Monument, celebrating the triumphal march of the Red Army against the invading forces of Nazi Germany. Passing under German control soon after the invasion of the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941, Minsk was hit with extreme violence by the maneuvers of both contending armies three years later, in a crucial battle which opened the Red Army the gate to the last rush through Poland to Berlin. The town was besieged by the Red Army, and as a result of the heavy fighting it was almost leveled when the front line moved west.

The monument celebrates without excesses the sacrifice of many soldiers and civilians in the struggle. Minsk and a handful of other Soviet towns – Stalingrad, Kursk and Murmansk, to name a few – were later decorated with the title of City Hero of the Soviet Union. These towns, which were the stage of as many fierce battles, are remembered here with stones bearing their names.

The monument is particularly striking at night, thanks to the eternal flame ahead of it and the accurate lighting of the buildings nearby making for a nice scenery.

Yakuba Kolasa Square

Further east along the Praspyekt Nyezalyezhnastsi buildings start to look more average, but there are also more nice examples of soviet architecture. You soon meet the Yakuba Kolasa square, with a the philharmonic theater and other office buildings presumably from Stalin’s time or a little later.

National Library of Belarus

Closer to the eastern border of Minsk, where big apartment buildings from soviet times as well as more modern ones frame the road, you can find one of the most prominent modern buildings of Belarus, the state’s National Library, dating from 2006. The large glass volume over the main building is nicely lighted at night, but unfortunately I could not get a picture.

Close to this point, the long Praspyekt Nyezalyezhnastsi changes into the M2 highway, leaving Minsk to the east.

Mound of Glory

An incredible Soviet relic lies about ten miles along the M2, right on the interchange with the road leading to the main airport of Minsk a few miles south. This monument is a further celebration of the victorious battle of 1944 against Germany.

It is built in the form of a mound with an assembly of four bayonets on top, representing the cooperation of various armies and local partisans, and a victory crown with the faces of representatives of the branches of the army and of soviet society. The monument is really soviet in style, and while not necessarily esthetically pleasant, is not excessively bombastic either.

The monument on top of the mound can be reached with a flight of stairs. From there you can enjoy a 360° view of the hilly and relaxing countryside around.

The monument is lighted at night, but I could not take a picture at that time.

Belorussian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War

This fantastic museum alone may easily justify a trip to Minsk! It is hosted in a building prepared on purpose, overlooking a huge green area in the city center. At the base of the hill you can spot a kind of triumphal arch, presumably built with the main building itself and forming an interesting ensemble.

The always growing collection relocated from a previous venue, where it had been opened to the public back in 1944, before the war had ended! By the way, the Great Patriotic War is WWII in the Soviet/Russian culture. Website here.

The collection is really huge, with rooms devoted to the many major battles fought by the Red Army in WWII. There are tons of memorabilia, including a very good collection of light weapons, and even a few larger crafts – tanks, aircraft, Katyusha rocket launchers, anti-aircraft guns, field cannons, …

Similar to other museums in the USSR, it is packed with material from Nazi Germany, which by comparison cannot be found in Germany, nor in this measure in western Europe or the US. Among the countless items, you can find also display cases devoted to soviet war spies in the west, modern dioramas and uniforms from the time.

On the top floor there is a large modern commemorative installation, with the names of fallen soldiers, and hammer and sickle insignia. This installation is recent – or recently refurbished – so the presence of abundant Soviet symbolism produces a strange ‘dystopia effect’.

Outside, on top of the building you can find a further monument, with an obelisk, some sculptures, and a Red Banner waving above the cupola. Behind, there is a Lisunov Li-2, a licensed  USSR-built Douglas C-47.

Minsk hosts an excellent aviation-themed museum, centered on warplanes and transport aircraft from the soviet era. This is covered in this dedicated chapter.

Palace of Independence

This palace not far to the back from the Museum of the Great Patriotic War is apparently another building of the Government or where the president lives – not very clear. On the rare occasions when Belarus is mentioned internationally, this is what appears on TV. It is very big and carefully watched, so the only pictures I could get were from cross the road.

Zamcyska District

This central district is located roughly between the KGB building and the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. It features a large and nice pond in the middle. Here some of the few remaining notable buildings from pre-soviet age in Minsk can be found. The main group is composed of a handful of churches making for a nice sight on a low hill to the south of the pond.

There are an Orthodox and two Catholic churches, surrounding the old city hall. The area is really nice to tour, and at night it is very lively and fully lighted.

Close by, the Trinity Hill displays some rebuilt or refurbished buildings from the 18th century or earlier, giving an idea of how Minsk would have looked had it not been totally destroyed. Also this district is very picturesque at night, definitely a nice place for a relaxed stroll.

To the far end of the pond you can spot an unimaginable residential building, with a façade roughly as long as an airport, made a little more digestible when lighted at night.

In the same area there are a large soviet-themed metallic sculpture on the front of a building, and multiple huge banners in neon lights with celebration exclamations and slogans.

…More!

The city is full of majestic perspectives and interesting buildings. One of them is the totally ‘Stalin’s gothic’ Gate of Minsk, right behind the central railway station. It is composed of two bulky towers, with the façade adorned in a way resembling Kutuzovsky Alley in Moscow, or Karl-Marx-Allee in Berlin, two eminent examples of this style. See this chapter for more examples of this iconic architecture.

There are also churches dating back to before the USSR era, or rebuilt after it. One of them is quite central, and surrounded by an Orthodox cemetery still used today.

To the west, the peripheral belt has been built functionally, with large infrastructures but also very big – let’s say, excessively big! – apartment buildings, in a style which is typical to post-soviet countries. Yet, as previously observed, even these areas do not look degraded, but on the contrary rather well looked after and actively maintained.

Sights around Minsk

Khatyn

Much confusion exists about this location, which is actually where the forces of Nazi Germany burned an entire village with its occupants back in 1943. By chance – or may be not – in a place with the same name but some 100 miles to the east in Russian territory the NKVD (later to evolve in the KGB) by direct order of Stalin had deported and mass executed a substantial quota of the officials of the Polish Army – in the order of the thousands – in 1940. The responsibility for this tragedy was fully recognized by Russia only after the end of the USSR.

The memorial in (Belorussian) Khatyn is a celebration monument made in the 1960s to remember the local tragedy with typical soviet pomp, with statues, stonewall retracing the area of the village and stones with inscriptions.

There are also bells producing a sad rhythmical tone. The place stands as a memorial of all similar horrible episodes for which the Nazis are responsible.

This location is very popular since the Cold War years, and it still attracts many visitors from Belarus and nearby Russia these days. There is also a very small indoor museum, which I had not the chance to visit.

Stalin’s Line History and Heritage Museum

Similar to other countries in the inter-war period – for instance, France and Czechoslovakia – the Soviet Union invested in the preparation of a long defensive line, to fortify the western border against an invasion from central Europe. The name of the USSR’s defensive line, which passed close to Minsk, was ‘Stalin’s Line’.

This was composed of a backbone of reinforced concrete bunkers, with a capability to withstand fire from the tanks of the enemy’s armored divisions. In these bunkers, often prepared in groups of interconnected pillboxes, anti-tank cannons and machine guns were installed for effectively counteract an invasion.

The strongholds of the line were surrounded by various obstacles, including anti-tank obstacles, barbed wire traps and so on.

Construction of the Stalin’s Line was interrupted after the Ribbentrov-Molotov agreement between the USSR and Hitler’s Germany in 1939. The unfinished line turned little effective in containing the surprise aggression by the Wehrmacht in 1941, when the country fell under German controls.

Nonetheless, parts of this line are duly preserved as monuments. The Stalin’s Line History and Heritage Museum is centered on one such fort, which can be visited thoroughly. The inside of most of the bunkers have been restored to a mint condition, and are really interesting to visit.

The size of the rooms in the bunkers is generally smaller than the French, Czechoslovakian or Finnish counterparts. All bunkers are painted in a camo coating.

The museum presents also a reproduction of the border line with the Soviet Union, with a watchtower, anti-penetration barriers and green-red posts with the emblem of the USSR. In the same area, a collection of turrets from more countries is displayed.

A second, very large part of the museum is composed of a world’s class collection of weapons, dating from various ages from WWII and the Cold War, and providing an insight on the USSR’s warfare capabilities.

On a first apron there are field cannons, motorized cannons, rocket-launchers and armored vehicles. Close by, you can try shooting with a machine gun or even an anti-tank cannon! This unique feature of the museum makes it very lively, for you are often distracted by the loud bang of a firing weapon!

In another area you can spot a group of soviet aircraft and helicopters, a steam locomotive, and a full array of prefabricated structures, intended to be buried to form bunkers with various purposes – missile storage, interred barracks, … These are extremely interesting, as you can see here the actual shape of the items often found elsewhere in the former Eastern Bloc, typically in abandoned bases covered in other chapters (see for instance this chapter).

Furthermore, there are both tactical and strategic missiles with their launching and monitoring equipment. Of particular interest is the SS-4 ‘Stiletto’

– involved in the Cuban crisis of 1962 – with its launching gantry. Notice the rig anchoring the gantry to the ground – you can find similar items even in Germany (see for instance this chapter), witnessing the deployment of this type of missile in eastern Europe.

Finally, if you dare, you can enjoy a run on an armored vehicle. The place is reportedly active with reenactments, and actually you can find a good reconstruction of a theater of war from the WWII years.

A striking feature, a recent bust of Stalin has been placed in the parking – close by an Orthodox chapel, to suitably exorcise his deadly presence.

The place is managed like a top class museum, and reportedly there are many visitors, also due to the close proximity with Minsk. Website with full information here.

Stalin’s Skyscrapers

A distinctive feature of Moscow and some other European capital cities, Stalin’s skyscrapers were designed in the Forties and built from the early Fifties to the early Sixties. For this reason they stand as an symbol of the early Cold War period, when the Soviet Union and the Western Powers were starting to openly competing on almost everything, from the blast intensity of thermonuclear devices to the new frontier of flight – space.

Stalin died in 1953, so he couldn’t see in person the completion of the buildings bearing his name, but it is reported that he was involved personally in the master plan – approved before 1947 -, choice of architects and design of the towers in Moscow, which were to symbolize the might of the Soviet Union, a key player and a winning power of WWII, and to showcase a tangible realization of the Socialist social model. This was also to create a counterpart to the American skyscrapers, a prominent feature of many cities of the US since the mid Twenties.

Today all Stalin’s skyscrapers are still in place, and especially in the very fashionable and modern Moscow, they remain among the most evocative remains of the Communist era. Besides the gothic-renaissance style they are built in, with imposing volumes and tall pinnacles and spines, resulting in a “Gotham City” appearance in contrast with today’s mostly widespread minimal style, these buildings are covered with symbols and sculptures totally bound to the old ‘Communist code’ – tens of hammers, sickles, waving flags and stars, plus portraits of farmers, workers, socialist virtues and happy families – a true relic of a bygone era.

Visiting is generally limited to coming close and walking around, for these buildings are all still used today for various functions, including housing and governmental.

This little report is unfortunately not complete, as I will present only photographs I’ve taken myself of those buildings I had the chance to come close to in Moscow (but not all that you can see there), Warsaw and Riga. Yet I hope to give an impression of what these buildings look like, and… to be able to complete the report with the missing ones in the future!

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Moscow, Russia

Moscow State University (Lemonsovo University)

This building is the largest of Stalin’s skyscrapers, and the tallest educational building in the world – taking pictures of the facade is a real challenge even with a wide lens! The perception of the volume of the building is reduced – to some extent… – due to the isolated position on top of a hill dominating central Moscow from the west.

The campus of the University can be accessed freely (there are gates and fences, but I guess they are normally open at least in daylight), and I suggest going for a walk from the metro stop ‘Vorobyovy gory’ (line 1) to the top of the hill, where you will get a breathtaking panorama of downtown Moscow, as well as a perspective view of the university building. You may then walk closer to the building and eventually move around it, reaching the metro stop ‘Universitet’ (line 1) for your train back to Moscow. The area is huge, so consider more than 1 hour for a complete relaxed tour of the area, even if you are just taking pictures of the outside.

The decoration of the building is probably the most elaborate of all Stalin’s skyscrapers, and include huge communist coats of arms, metal banners with engravings, a Lenin memorial sculpture, a big clock, various allegorical sculptures, and a gigantic USSR emblem with a star on top of the 787 ft tall central spine.

The panoramic view you get from the easternmost part of the perspective allows you to spot from the distance all other Stalin’s skyscrapers in town, including Hotel Ukraine (today Radisson Royal), which is partly covered by the modern skyscrapers of ‘New Moscow’.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Located on the western end of the very popular Arbat boulevard next to the ‘Smolenskaya’ interchange station on metro lines 3, 4 and 5, this imposing building is still today occupied by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

The decoration is sober, and the tiles covering the exterior are made from a dark brownish material, giving a solemn, serious and possibly grim appearance to the complex. Slabs with hammer and sickle engravings can be found on the western gate on Smolensky Blvd.

Kudrinskaya Square Building

This imposing apartment building, built for high-ranking members of the Soviet cultural panorama, can be reached from ‘Barricadnaya’ on metro line 7 or equivalently from ‘Krasnoprechenskaya’ on the circle line 5. It is very close to the American embassy, and not excessively far from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The neighborhood is composed mainly of smaller residential buildings, but nonetheless this skyscraper is proportionately designed, rather ‘mimetic’ and not excessively imposing. The typical pale tiles covering most of the façade and the lack of bombastic decoration add to the nice overall perception you may get of this skyscraper.

Kotelnicheskaya Enbankment Building

This is probably the most prominent and impressive of Stalin’s skyscrapers, due to the incredible location on the Moskva river. It can be admired from the distance from the southeastern corner of the Kremlin, and especially from the bridge immediately south of the Red Square and St. Basil. The very light color of the façade gives this large building an airy appearance. A huge spine with a star and a hammer and sickle emblem complete the profile.

It is still today an apartment building. Needless to say, from the building you will get an almost unobstructed view of the Kremlin. It can be reached with a walk from the Kremlin or a more quiet walk from the interchange station ‘Taganskaya’ on line 5, 7 and 8, ideal if you are also visiting Bunker-42.

Walking closer to the building will give you a mixed feeling of grandeur and poor quality at the same time, due to size of the skyscraper on one hand, and to the many small commercial activities on the ground floor, and a certain disorder around the main entrance on the other – due to an overcrowded small parking, and a small, unnecessary fenced park.

Leningradskaya Hotel & Red Gates Administrative Building

I only had the chance for a quick pass by these buildings. The Leningradskaya Hotel (today Hilton) is the most modestly sized of Stalin’s Skyscrapers in Moscow, and is located on the western side of the highly trafficked Komsomolskaya Square, with three railway stations offering connections to everywhere in Russia and to international destinations as well, and a terminal for the world-famous Transsiberian line. The corresponding metro station is ‘Komsomolskaya’ on line 1 and 5.

From the square you can see the tower of the Red Gates Administrative Building, which can be reached with a quick walk from there or with the metro line 1 (‘Krasnye Vorota’ stop). Together with Leningradskaya Hotel, these are probably the least imposing of all Stalin’s skyscrapers, even though some mastery was reportedly necessary in the construction process of this building, due to a complicated reaction of the soil to its weight.

Riga, Latvia

Latvian Academy of Sciences

The latest of Stalin’s skyscrapers to reach completion – opened in 1961 – this distinctive building can be spotted from quite afar in the skyline of Riga, the capital city of the Latvian Republic. In the era of the USSR, this was not a ‘satellite state’, instead it was annexed to be one of the Socialist Soviet Republics, together with its neighbors Estonia and Lithuania. The building can be spotted to the south of the historical district and can be reached with a short walk from there.

This building retains only the style of Moscow’s Stalinist skyscrapers. The construction method is here based on reinforced concrete, where all buildings in Moscow are based on steel frames and masonry. The covering tiles are rather dark, giving a grim appearance to this otherwise well proportioned tower. The building can be accessed and you can reach the top to enjoy the panorama to a small fee.

Warsaw, Poland

Palace of Culture and Science

This service building is on Marsalkowska, next to the metro station ‘Swietokrzyska’, about .6 miles from the totally central University of Warsaw on Krakowskie boulevard.

The building is somehow isolated from the surroundings, being in the center of a large square. It is very imposing and comparable in size to those in Moscow – it is still today one of the tallest buildings in Poland, and can be easily spotted from several places around Warsaw.

You can climb to the top for a fee.