Mosaics in the design of bus stops in Soviet Ukraine (late 1960s – early 1990s): historical and cultural context

Abstract

The aim of the article is to analyze the historical and cultural factors that determined the use of monumental decorative mosaics in the design of bus stops in Soviet Ukraine in the late 1960s to the early 1990s. Among the main objectives is an attempt to identify how and why the implementation of the Soviet state road construction program in the Ukrainian SSR resulted in outcomes that were distinctly “national in form”. The methodological framework of the study is based on historical and cultural analysis, as well as the approaches and tools of postcolonial criticism, including the deconstruction of the Soviet narrative and the reinterpretation of national identity. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the comprehensive analysis of the historical and cultural context of the creation of mosaics at bus stops in Soviet Ukraine. Conclusions. The results of the study confirm that the mosaics of bus stop pavilions of the late 1960s to the early 1990s constitute a significant phenomenon in Ukrainian culture, as they combine the language of Soviet modernism with national features of Ukrainian visual culture. It appears appropriate to consider this phenomenon from several perspectives: as a material manifestation of the implementation of the Soviet state's socio-economic policy; as an original form of national visual and artistic expression under conditions of increasing Soviet unification; and as an expression of small-scale economic and artistic entrepreneurial interaction between local organizations and practitioners. The choice of mosaics for decorating roadside small architectural forms was determined by several factors: first, the availability of raw materials and production capacities for ceramic tiles and smalt used in mosaic production; second, the preservation of the traditions of the Ukrainian school of monumental art; and third, the training of professional artistic personnel.