The neighbourhood of Sotsgorod (which means ‘socialist city’ in Russian) was built according to the ideals of Soviet urban planning. It is located in the important Ukrainian industrial city of Zaporizhia.

Here two architectural styles meet: constructivism from the 1920s and socialist classicism from the 1930s and 1940s. (Constructivism is associated with Scandinavian functionalism and German Bauhaus.)

The buildings in Sotsgorod embody the dream of a better, fairer society. There is perhaps something touching about that now that early modernist buildings themselves look so worn out.

The move from constructivism to socialist classicism also symbolises an important change in Soviet political discourse.

So it’s not just about the architecture.