9 Insane Soviet Era Buildings

4) Yerevan Russia Cinema, Armenia

This one screams Soviet at you. Imposing and monumental, it’s the architectural equivalent of a fist in the face. This stark obscenity is actually a two screen cinema in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, made in 1975 and has a “Russian theme” apparently.

5) Karen Demirchyan Complex, Armenia

Also in Yerevan, Armenia, this venue looks like a cross between a Chinese temple and a Flash Gordon space craft. It houses a 5,000 seater sports hall and a 1,300 seater music auditorium. If you were wondering, which I know you weren’t, this is how Karen Demirchyan Complex reads in Armenian: Ô¿Õ¡Ö€Õ¥Õ¶ Ô´Õ¥Õ´Õ«Ö€Õ³ÕµÕ¡Õ¶Õ« Õ¡Õ¶Õ¾Õ¡Õ¶ Õ„Õ¡Ö€Õ¦Õ¡Õ°Õ¡Õ´Õ¥Ö€Õ£Õ¡ÕµÕ«Õ¶ Õ€Õ¡Õ´Õ¡Õ¬Õ«Ö€. That’s a pretty mad looking language right there.

It originally opened in 1983, then it caught on fire and closed in 1985 and then finally reopened for good in 1987. It’s named after an assassinated Armenian politician and nowadays is mostly used for figure skating.

6) Fyodor Dostoevsky Novgorod Theater, Russia

In the 1960’s Soviet authorities, in an effort to stop mass migration, decreed that any city with over 200,000 inhabitants had to build a theatre. It was an effort to entertain and develop a sense of culture in pretty bleak times. The architect Somov was also an avant-garde painter which sort of makes sense when you look at the completed beast.