31 Beautifully Abandoned Communist Monuments

Publish date: 2024-06-03

Though Francis Fukuyama cheerily declared that the world had reached “the end of history” in 1992, he was at best half right. True, the Soviet Union and its ideological model had collapsed, and the Western model of liberal democracy had prevailed. However, even as ideas come and go, the structures in which we house them tend to take a bit longer to disappear.

Such is the case with the monuments scattered across the former Soviet Union and former communist countries. Before its dissolution, the Soviet Union had an area of 8.65 million square miles, filled with approximately 290 million people. While these abandoned Soviet-era and Soviet-friendly monuments have succumbed to time and natural elements, they remind us of the transformative and lasting power of ideas — both good and bad:

Abandoned Soviet Monuments Zimnitsa A communist statue in the tiny town of Zimnitsa, Bulgaria. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Pillars Niš, Serbia. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Spikes Kosmaj, Serbia. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Dome Kruševo, Macedonia. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Tree Jasenovac, Croatia. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Dilapidated Košute, Croatia. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Graffiti Sanski Most, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Angle Near the town of Cacak, western Serbia. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Opening Tjentište, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Spomenik Petrova Gora, Croatia. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Beams Brezovica, Kosovo. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Sharp Kolašin, Montenegro. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Star Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Stone Tjentište, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Boards Makljen, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Popped Mitrovica, Kosovo. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Cube Ilirska Bistrica, Slovenia. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Triangles Korenica, Croatia. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Circle Nikšić, Montenegro. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Tower Kozara, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Landing Sinj, Croatia. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Sunburst Kadinjača, Serbia. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Hollow Grmeč, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Wings Podgarić, Croatia. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Buzludzha Hill The area outside Buzludzha, Bulgaria Abandoned Soviet Monuments Shumen Shumen monument, Bulgaria. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Soldiers Russian soldiers facing Moscow. Varna, Bulgaria. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Man Monument to 1300 Years of Bulgaria, in the city of Shumen. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Stairs Monument of the Bulgarian-Soviet Friendship, Varna, Bulgaria. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Geometry Inside the Plovdiv Hillock of Fraternity, Bulgaria. Abandoned Soviet Monuments Buzludzha Buzludzha Communist Party Headquarters, Bulgaria.

All images come from Crack Two and Yomadic. For more abandoned structures, check out our post on abandoned Detroit, abandoned Olympics sites and beautiful abandoned photographs.

ncG1vNJzZmiZnKHBqa3TrKCnrJWnsrTAyKeeZ5ufonyirsCnm6imlZl6pLvMpqynoaOpeq67za6knqakqA%3D%3D