Table of Contents

Essay by Owen Hatherley • Soivet Metro station photographs from: Moscow • St Petersburg • Tashkent • Kiev • Baku • Tbilisi • Minsk • Yerevan • Novosibirsk • Yekaterinburg • Samara • Nizhny Novgorod • Kryvyi Rih • Dnipro • Kharkiv

About the Author

Christopher Herwig is a Canadian born photographer and videographer. Currently based in Jordan, his previous homes have included Liberia and Kazakhstan. Owen Hatherley is a British writer and journalist. He is the author of Landscapes of Communism, a history of communism in Europe told through the built environments of former socialist states.

Reviews

Christopher Herwig celebrate[s] the metro's expansive architectural legacy, travelling as far as Tashkent and Baku.-- "Calvert Journal"

Christopher Herwig has completed a subterranean expedition photographing the stations of each Metro network of the former USSR. From extreme marble and chandelier opulence to brutal futuristic minimalist glory, Soviet Metro Stations documents this wealth of diverse architecture.-- "ArchDaily"

From Kyivska's Kharkiv Metro to Moscow's Tulskaya stop, Christopher Herwig photographs Soviet-era train stations all over Ukraine, Russia, Georgia and beyond. The project (and now book) follows his previous endeavor photographing bus stations, and the result is quite stunning. Whether featuring opulent chandeliers and luxurious marble or mosaics celebrating hard work, each subterranean scene is a peek behind what was the Iron Curtain.-- "Cool Hunting"

[Herwig's] photographs are hyper-perfect, composed for maximum effect to showcase each station's dramatically unique personality, energy, opulence and cathedral-like scale.--Shana Nys Dambrot "LA Weekly"

[Soviet Metro Stations] is a stunning collection of images showcasing the elaborate stations that feature a mix of Byzantine, medieval, baroque architectural styles, and the stories behind them.--Tamara Hardingham-Gill "CNN"

Already alive to the unexpected beauty of Soviet bus stops, photographer Christopher Herwig now turns his lens on the grandeur of Soviet design below ground.--Tish Wrigley "The Spaces"

Christopher Herwig spent many early mornings capturing the pre-rush-hour emptiness of Soviet metro stations with their exhilarating mix of propaganda, exquisite mosaics and cosmic lighting fixtures.-- "The Guardian"

Herwig suggests [with his photographs] that if owning a car was the American dream, a world-class subway was pushed as part of the Soviet dream.--Adele Peters "Fast Company"

Herwig's images take viewers on a journey through the architectural and political influences of decades past.--Andrew Lasane "Colossal"

Herwig's photography [in Soviet Metro Stations] gives an insight into the array of political influences and architectural styles seen during the Soviet era.--Lizzie Crook "Dezeen"

Herwig's photos ... break the underground open like a geode to reveal the intricate world within. Each station seems more imaginative than the next...looking ahead toward a space-traveling, futuristic utopia.--Laura Mallone "WIRED"

Mesmerizingly gorgeous...-- "Boing Boing"