The Atlas Sovieticus is a project driven by a deep fascination with the visual legacy of the socialist era. Through photography and on-the-ground exploration, I document the fading mosaics, monumental sculptures, and distinctive architecture that once defined the public spaces of the former USSR and Eastern Bloc.

Hi, I’m Ruben Dhaenens — Belgian photographer, writer, and founder of The Atlas Sovieticus.

With just a camera and a passion for history, I travel across post-Soviet countries to capture these overlooked artistic relics before they vanish. Each mosaic tells a story — of ambition, ideology, craftsmanship, and community — and each deserves to be seen, remembered, and reappreciated.

The Atlas Sovieticus works in two main ways:

• On the ground, we travel, photograph, research, and write. We share original photography and publish articles — including curated Soviet heritage walking tours — to make public art more visible and accessible to anyone interested in exploring it, both digitally and in person.

• Online, we are building an ever-growing library of resources, grouped by country. This includes links to individual projects, blogs, articles, maps, books, and other materials that document monumental art in each region. We are also mapping as much as we can on an interactive world map, plotting each location to create the largest and most comprehensive atlas of socialist-era public art to date.

Whether you’re a historian, an artist, or simply curious about this unique aesthetic, I hope The Atlas Sovieticus inspires you to see these artworks in a new light.

📍Babruysk, Belarus

Mission and vision

To document, preserve, and share the monumental art and architecture of the socialist world — before it disappears. The Atlas Sovieticus aims to build awareness, foster appreciation, and encourage dialogue about this unique and often overlooked chapter of visual history.

If you’d like to collaborate, contribute, or just share your thoughts, feel free to reach out through the Contact page.

The contributors

This project is only possible thanks to the many people who have contributed their time, knowledge, and passion to the Atlas. United across borders by a shared fascination with Soviet art, they help uncover, document, and preserve this fading visual heritage — one mosaic, monument, and map pin at a time.

Louis Jacob	Ezra Jones	You