Architecture in the Age of Stalin

This book examines cultural mechanisms that affected the evolution of architecture in Russia during the Stalinist period.

This book examines the evolution of architecture in Russia during the Stalinist period, demonstrating how the aesthetic choices of Stalin and his architects were conditioned by the cultural mechanisms of the 1930s and 1940s. Paperny presents the remarkable trajectory of architectural and cultural transformation that marked a pivotal moment of Russia's history.Architecture in the Age of Stalin: Culture Two examines the cultural mechanisms that affected the evolution of architecture in Russia during the Stalinist period. Defining two conflicting trends - Culture One and Culture Two - that have alternately prevailed in Russian culture, Vladimir Paperny argues that the shift away from the architectural avant-garde of the 1920s was not entirely the result of Stalin's will. Rather, he demonstrates how the aesthetic choices of Stalin and his architects were conditioned by the prevailing cultural mechanisms of the 1930s and 1940s. Combining academic precision with engaging narrative, and using previously unavailable archival materials published in the West for the first time in this edition, Paperny leads the reader through the remarkable trajectory of architectural and cultural transformation that marked a pivotal moment of Russia's history.