Photographer Documents The Wild Architecture And Bizarre Beauty Of Soviet Bus Stops

With most bus stops in the United States, they are very boring looking. If you are lucky, they consist of some plastic, maybe some advertisements, and that’s about it. Occasionally you’ll come across a city that focuses a lot on their public transit and they may add art from local artists to the bus stops as well. This is only if you are lucky. In most cases, you are standing next to a pole that has the bus number next to it, exposed to the elements, waiting for your ride. Recently Canadian photographer Christopher Herwig noticed that in Russia, there were a lot of bus stops that had a lot of unusual art and architecture to them. He decided to travel 18,000 miles around the former Soviet states searching for these bus stops and shelters. Soviet authorities gave local architects free rein when it came to these bus stops because they were more or less insignificant at the time. Going all the way from the Black Sea to the Kazakh Steppe, Herwig found bus stops showing off the artistic ability of Soviet architects and artists alike. The total project took Herwig 12 years to complete, and he compiled all of his images in a book. this book has actually sold out on his Kickstarter page as well. Check out these Soviet bus stops.

Kootsi, Estonia

Pärnu, Estonia

Rokiskis, Lithuania

Skverbai, Lithuania

Naelavere, Estonia

Mary, Turkmenistan

Kablakula, Estonia

Niisiku, Estonia

Leliunai, Lithuania

Marijampole, Lithuania

Pitsunda, Abkhazia

Pitsunda, Abkhazia

Kaniukai, Lithuania

Saratak, Armenia

Pitsunda, Abkhazia

Echmiadzin, Armenia

Sardarapat, Armenia

Yerevan, Armenia

Saratak, Armenia

Vosgeliai, Lithuania

Taraz, Kazakhstan

Gudauta, Abkhazia

Kupiskis, Lithuania

Echmiadzin, Armenia

Pitsunda, Arkhazia

Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

Termez, Uzbekistan

Panasesti, Moldova

Falesti, Moldova

Gagra, Abkhazia

Poltava, Ukraine

Balykchy, Kyrgyzstan

Mary, Turkmenistan

Aralsk, Kazakhstan

Altay Mountains, Kazakhstan

Charyn, Kazakhstan

Lelyukhivka, Ukraine

Taldykorgan, Kazakhstan

Shymkent, Kazakhstan

Balti, Moldova

Tursunzoda, Tajikistan

Astana, Kazakhstan

Machukhy, Ukraine

It’d be great to see other cities and countries do this to their bus stops, not only adding a bit of art to their surroundings, but also providing shelter for their residents who travel using public transit. It’s great that Christopher Herwig was able to really take advantage of the beauty around him and throughout the Soviet states, and now he’s sharing them with anyone and everyone through his book. It’d be interesting to travel to these same areas just to see these Soviet bus stops and shelters in person.