Relics from Soviet Russia in Moscow

Like locations for a sci-fi tale that never existed, or as if they were part of the set of an epic movie about to be dismantled, some of the remains from the era of the Soviets are as fascinating as the stories that surround them.

As time passes, both the dreams and the nightmares that were lived by the people who made them, start to fade away in the collective memory. This is how old monsters from the past get a gloss of strange beauty, leaving more room to be seen out of context, just like strange artifacts with which your imagination can run rampant:

A spacecraft in Gorky Park. One of the most popular spots in Moscow hosts a special exhibit: a prototype of the Buran, the soviet answer to NASA's Space Shuttle program.

Not much far from the Buran you can also find the descriptive Graveyard of Fallen Monuments.
Image by Garrett Ziegler

In Moscow there's no place like the All-Russia Exhibition Centre (ВДНХ - VDNKh), to see the rise and fall of communist aesthetics. It was like a world's fair, but obviously devoted only to the achievements from the countries and territories that by the time were in the orbit of the USSR. Pictured, the facade of the Pavilion of Ukraine, with an art-nouveau look.

Don't expect to be amazed inside these impressive buildings. The large spaces and high ceilings have been taken and chopped into little cheap shops.

The star of the park is the hanging Vostok rocket, a design which inspired the popular Soyuz spacecraft.

The titanium Monument to the Conquerors of Space is a landmark over the brilliant Museum of Cosmonautics, reopened in 2009.

First Soviet space suit: I wouldn't even wear this to go collect honey from a beehive!

Like the lion of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, this monumental soviet statue, the Kolkhoznitsa, was used as logo for the oldest film studio in Russia, Mosfilm. It used to come out just before watching the movies of Andrei Tarkovsky.

Another shocking place is the Novodevichy Cemetery, that holds the tombs of Russian VIPs. They are organized by topic, depending on the cause of the glory of the deceased. This militar was buried with a set of missiles...

Who needs crosses? This engineer has got instead a tank!
Image by Dennis Jarvis

General Govorov is going to enjoy for eternity what seems like a submarine launching nukes.
Image by Carl Bagge

Inside the War Museum this oval hall has the Imperial look of the roman Pantheon.
Image by Eser Karadağ

The Seven Sisters are skyscrapers Stalinist style, built from 1947 to 1953.
Image by Expect Mohr

What about the famous Moscow metro?

Novoslobodskaya is a station decorated with stained glass like a Neo-Gothic cathedral.
Image by Andrew Griffith

Some room for the small details: this super-cute hand-painted sign belongs to a long distance train, built like 50 years ago and still in service.

The mummy of Lenin in Red Square is of course the most important soviet relic of Moscow. But before you go to queue, why not to get into your nearest supermarket to enjoy an Ice Cream CCCP style?