Post-War Soviet Architecture of Georgia by Italian Photographers

In a new photography collection, two Italian photographers, Roberto Conte and Stephano Perago, have produced photographs that epitomize the architecture and buildings of post-World War II Soviet Georgia.  

A part of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1991, Georgia is home to untraditional and utterly unique buildings and monuments from this post-war period.  Enthralled, Conte and Perago wanted to showcase its architecture.  

Their collection features the former Ministry of Highway Construction by George Chakhava and Zurab Jalaghania and the Palace of Rituals by Victor Djorbenadze.  Chakhava and Zurab’s work is truly eye-catching with its geometric, modern design situated beside a river—nature alongside modernity and technology.  Djorbenadze’s work with the Palace of Rituals again created a perhaps contradicting image.  The building was constructed under the Soviet Union, which was atheist, but was meant to house (non-religious) weddings.  With its tall peak and fluid walls, it holds a certain majestic, spiritual nature despite being built under atheist beliefs.  Conte and Perago capture not only the beauty of these places, but also conflicting images and messages of a complex moment in Georgia’s history.

Other buildings, monuments, and sculptures were photographed by Conte and Perago.  Some of these landmarks have been weathered down or damaged, but they are share a common facet.  The architecture these men caught on film was uniquely Georgian.  

By Shirin Mahdavi