Socialist modernism – a way of disseminating a new ideology in the architecture of entertainment buildings

Abstract

During the years 1955–1991, the attempts and searches meant to impose qualities corresponding to the fundamental principles of socialism on the architecture led to the realization of buildings with distinctive features, qualified today as modernist-socialist. Over a period of more than three decades, Soviet architecture turned to a synthesis of Western paradigms and its own avant-garde, largely unbuilt heritage. Theater, cinema and music, considered to be fields of culture accessible to the masses at large, are the genres of art placed at the center of the cultural policy of the Soviet state. In addition to the old buildings readapted for cultural activities, new buildings are designed based on a rigorous transposition of functional requirements. Representative for this time period are the cinemas designed to meet the requirements of a growing audience and to be expressive architectural pieces in the new micro-districts. The large number of houses of culture built in the district centers on the basis of standard projects is significant. At the same time, unique architectural programs appear functionally reflecting the social superstructure.