Bishkekistan

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Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan is a city of visual contrasts. Its diverse architectural styles reflect the country's syncretic heritage and history: Monumental statues of folk heroes stare down expat-filled nightclubs; luxury apartment towers cast shadows on unregulated housing settlements; imposing Soviet-era government buildings flank newly built mosques; and bustling markets jockey for prime real estate with foreign-built shopping malls.But Bishkek's most enduring architectural characters are the numerous concrete structures built during the heyday of the Soviet Union. Despite their apparent uniformity, these buildings are uniquely Kyrgyz. They bear the fingerprints of not only the Soviet planners who commissioned them, but also of the local architects who modified their designs to suit local conditions and sensibilities, and of the citizens who have occupied them ever since.

A walk through Soviet Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

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