Shadows of a Forgotten World

As part of Ukraine's efforts to decommunize the country, in Lviv a few streets are being renamed and a number of memorial plaques and other objects that have Soviet symbols are being dismantled, including Soviet-era flag holders. Here's a small collection of the hammer and sickle and star flag holders that I've come across on various streets in Lviv.        I like the juxtaposition of a Ukrainian flag in a hammer and sickle holder

Today I was very sad to discover that my favorite Soviet sign has vanished. This lovely fox sign, a remnant of a Soviet-era fur studio, used to protrude from my building, but as of recently, it's been removed (and rather mysteriously I'd say because the storefront has been empty for years, and no work is currently being done there). In general I'm most interested in pre-Soviet history and remnants, but this is another reminder that Soviet remnants are also disappearing. They are also worth documenting, so this will only motivate me to put more effort into taking picutres of and researching the remants of this era of Lviv's history. Below is a photo of my building from 1980 with the fox sign visible

A couple of years ago my friend and I had the idea of documenting Ukraine’s Soviet-era bus stops, which remain in many villages across the country. The majority are decorated with mosaics and many have a distinct Soviet style of Socialist realism or  Soviet pop art, but others styles include Cubo-Futurism, Expressionism, and folk art. village Vovkiv, near Lviv Some of the bus stops are in really bad shape  —  mosaic tiles missing, painted over, graffiteed; but others remain in rather good shape.  I think some are quite beautiful actually; others are a bit too Soviet for me. What makes them quite special is that that each one (and there must be thousands) is unique.  from a bus stop in the Carpathians (photo by Charitie Hyman) In any case, they are very interesting relics of the Soviet era. We never did start documenting them, but it seems that others have had the same idea. I’m glad that someone else took the initiative, because with time t...