Plans, Pragmatism and People: Legacy of Soviet Planning for Today's Cities - Changing Eastern Europe S. 2 (Hardback)

This work provides a survey of the seven decades of Soviet power in the context of the planning and development of its cities. Throughout this historical analysis, the author assesses the consequences of the period for the successor States that rose from the ashes of the Soviet bloc and are struggling to establish and organize themselves today. The book begins with an overview of the legacy from the pre-revolutionary history of Russia, a legacy overwhelmingly rural, but with important urban elements that were to prove enduring. In the 1920s - when the new communist regime was expected to create a new world - there were fierce debates on the nature of the "city of socialist man". Little was accomplished in terms of bricks and mortar, but principles were established that underlay the town plans of the whole Soviet period.