In St.Petersburg that used to carry Lenin's name (Leningrad) one can find dozens of monuments for the Soviet leader. These are just a few of them. The last photo with a wooden box has a special story. The ass of one of the main Lenin's monuments on Lenin's square was blown up by some explosives on the 1 April earlier this year. Lenin's ass is now under repair.
There is not much difference between Narva and Ivangorod, except for the fact that Narva is the third biggest city in Estonia, which is part of European Union, while Ivangorod is just a rural area in Leningradskaya oblast in Russia. In Soviet times they operated as a single town (even thought Ivangorod was oficially also a seperate town then) but today Ivangorod sinks into recession and survives only thanks to transit and contrabanda of alcohol and cigarettes. The first photos are from Narva, while the last six photos are from Ivangorod.
Yesteday there was a "white night" in Riga where various cultural events took place. One of them was a blue monument made by the artist Aigars Bikše. The statue that resembles Lenin occupied the same spot as Lenin's monument in the past. It was made of plastic and in a 2 minute sequence was inflating and deflating, thus referring to how political leaders rise and fall to power. The statue should remain there until 20 September.
VEF kultūras pils in Riga is a culture house that bares the name of the famous State's electro-technical factory (Valsts Elektrotehniskā fabrika) even though the factory doesn't exist anymore - it bankrupted soon after the collapse of Soviet Union. The factory was producing telephones, radios and also is considered the birthplace for the world's smallest Minox camera. Built in typical 1950s monumental style the building today hosts various low-key events and youth hobby clubs.
In the Russian populated Narva, the city in Estonia near the border with Russia, Lenin has not been destroyed or vandalized like in many other Baltic cities, but only displaced. In the early 1990s from the central city square it moved to the nearby touristic Narva fortress, which makes it perhaps the best placed monument of Lenin in the Baltics.
1 September is the day when the school starts in Latvia and most East European countries. Pupils gather in the class but no lectures are held, instead they just meet the teacher as well as attend an official ceremony, such as director's speech in the main hall. In Soviet times pupils also had to visit the monument of Lenin and place red flowers. Today all flowers go to teachers only.
I found this strange abandoned motel in Bosnia and Herzegovina, near the border town Foča.
Stalin and Lenin can be found even in Tirana, Albania. But not in the best spot - the large monuments are hidden behind the National art gallery and most likely date back to early 1950s when Albania were friends with Soviet Union until Stalin's death. Besides - Lenin is missing a hand.
In Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, it is hard to find something that reminds of its former name - Titograd, unless you look at utility holes.
Bus stations in rural areas usually have a vintage look. The first photo depicts the station in Preiļi, while the map is from the station Dagda, both East Latvia.
I already posted photos of some shops in Latgale region of East Latvia. Here goes a few more. Usually they are called just "shops" (veikals) and not by some name because in most cases they don't need one as there is no competition - there is no other shop nearby. Also, most of them who haven't changed the place just kept the old time sign "veikals" for ages.