In the old Soviet empire, bus stops were far from the utilitarian structures common in western Europe. Instead, they were architectural extravaganzas, ranging from pyramids and arches to domes and vaults, often held together with thick layers of paint. This peculiar phenomenon is captured in a new photobook, Soviet Bus Stops, by Canadian photographer Christopher Herwig, with a foreword by Jonathan Meades.
Herwig's journey began in 2002 when he cycled from London to Stockholm. His self-imposed challenge to photograph something interesting every hour led him to notice the distinctive bus stops of Lithuania. “Within the first 50km, I noticed these peculiar bus stops everywhere,” he recalls. The structures ranged from open-fronted pastel concrete boxes to expressive cantilevered rooftops and daring barrel vaults.
The obsession continued when Herwig moved to Kazakhstan, where he discovered even wilder designs. “Some were totally mad,” he says. “Each had its own completely unique personality.” Over 12 years and 30,000km, he selected his favourite stops from 14 former Soviet countries, showcasing a rich seam of regional variation, from Kyrgyzstan's kalpak hat-shaped stops to yurt-inspired shelters.
These bus stops, officially known as “bus pavilions”, provided a rare outlet for creativity in a system that otherwise stifled architectural expression. “It was practically impossible to express oneself,” says Belarusian architect Armen Sardarov, who designed nearly 100 such stops. “It was a time of monotony in architecture.” However, a government stipulation that stops should be beautiful and reflect local aesthetics allowed for this burst of imagination.
Prof Konstantinas Jakovlevas-Mateckis, former head of road design in Lithuania, recalls the civic pride involved: “We wanted the first well-ordained, landscaped highway to be the face of two cities – Vilnius and Kaunas. Building bus stops was a way to change the monotonous reality of Soviet times and to emphasise the local.” The resulting structures, now fading and often neglected, stand as a testament to the individual creativity that flourished despite the iron curtain.
