31 Creepy Monuments From The Heyday Of Communism

Published May 20, 2014
Updated February 9, 2018

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.

author
All That's Interesting
author
A New York-based publisher established in 2010, All That's Interesting brings together subject-level experts in history, true crime, and science to share stories that illuminate our world.
editor
Savannah Cox
editor
Savannah Cox holds a Master's in International Affairs from The New School as well as a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and now serves as an Assistant Professor at the University of Sheffield. Her work as a writer has also appeared on DNAinfo.