Soviet Architecture In Almaty

Lots of great, old, iconic Soviet architecture is spread throughout Almaty. Who knew that an old communist war horse could design such modernist, brutalist, funky stuff? Time to take a walk and a look.

Behold the Kazakh Academic Drama Theater. Big place, big name. That's a statue of a relaxed, confident, Mukhtar Auezov, noted Kazakh writer.

The famous Hotel Kazakhstan. It deserves to wear its crown. Speed skating frieze (see what we did there?) at the mountainside Medeo Rink.

Trippy. Spacey. It's the Children's Republican Palace, complete with observatory.

The Wedding Palace. Single people go in, married people come out. Nice mosaic at the entrance. Your Life Here.

Soviets liked round buildings. The circus.

Making some points. The post-Soviet Independence monument, flanked by definitely Soviet period office buildings. Brutalist detail, the jagged corner of a bank building.

College is waiting for you. A former government building, now re-purposed, as the capital of Kazakhstan is now Astana.