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A 20th-Century Empire In Decay: Abandoned Bases Of The USSR
With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Soviet Empire also began to crumble.
At its heart had been a military system that exerted huge control and influence. Eric Lusito has explored the traces left by the USSR.
“I felt like an archaeologist entering the ancient tombs of pharaohs for the first time.”
These places have been brought to ruin over time but still serve as time-capsules, characterising the dynasty of a by-gone empire where symbols of power and status commanded the most influence in the Soviet system.
“I had the feeling of discovering a new world, but one that was already starting to disappear.”
It was Lusito’s intention that his pictures spark people’s imagination:
Built in the 1970s, this air base in Mongolia had a 2-mile-long runway and was seen as a frontline for any possible conflict with China.
“These sites of power… are mostly doomed to disappear in the course of time.”
41st Motor Rifle Division, Mongolia: At the foot of this statue, nicknamed “Aliosha”, after a soldier who fought in the Great Patriotic War, is an inscription reading, “All that was built by the people must be imperatively defended.”
Under Soviet rule, the population of Choibalsan, Mongolia was over 300,000 and included a variety of military members, personnel and staff. Now, only 39,000 individuals call this home:
649th Independent Space Objects Radio Intelligence Center, Latvia: Sabotaged gas masks lie in a pile.
"All systems, including the most powerful in the world, are doomed to extinction if they cannot adjust."
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