Ghosts of the Soviet Past

The communist ideology saw the way to an ideal society in progress and industrialization. Large—scale architectural forms helped to emphasize these aspirations — and to show the power of the regime. Almost 30 years after the collapse of communism, many of the impressive buildings naturally fall into decay. British photographer Rebecca Litchfield has traveled to 13 countries in search of crumbling monuments of the past.

A military unit near the town of Skrunda in western Latvia.

Soviet monument in Bulgaria. It was established on September 9, 1974 in honor of the 30th anniversary of the socialist revolution in Bulgaria. An eternal flame once burned inside the monument.

The house-Museum of the Bulgarian Communist Party on the top of Buzludzha Mountain, Bulgaria.

Soviet submarine U-475 "Black Widow", moored near the city of Rochester, Great Britain. From 1957 to 1983, about 75 such boats were built.

Closed village of Irbene/Ventspils-8, Latvia.

Belitz-Heilstetten Hospital near Berlin, Germany. The hospital consists of almost 60 buildings, they began to be built at the end of the XIX century. After the Second World War, the hospital ended up in the Soviet occupation zone.

Pilot school in East Germany. This military base was built back in 1870. Abandoned since 1994.

Tallinn Patarei Prison (Patarei Tallinn Prison). Built in 1840, it was used until 2004.

Tallinn Patarei Prison, Estonia.

Wunsdorf, Germany.

Steam locomotive Máv Class 424, Hungary. Year of manufacture: 1941. It was operated until the 1960s.

Skrunda, Latvia.

Abandoned pioneer camp, Russia.

Cinema, Russia.

Soviet anti-aircraft missile base in Devinska Kobyla, Slovakia. Built in the 1980s, ceased to function in 1990. It still remains closed to the public.

Pripyat, Ukraine.

The military town of Krampnitz (Krampnitz) of the Western Group of Soviet Troops in Germany, is a suburb of the city of Potsdam.

Sanatorium in Russia.

Gym in Estonia.

Sports hall, Russia.

Rebecca Lichfield photographs a monument house on the top of Buzludzha Mountain, Bulgaria.

Rebecca Litchfield.